fiction

The Wind in the Willows (1995)

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

I may have heard of Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows before seventh grade before I read the actual book, given its intelligent animal cast. After reading it, it remained one of my all-time favorite pieces of literature, mildly influential upon my written word. Numerous adaptations have spawned since the dawn of film and television (most on the latter), with Disney being among the earliest studios to take a crack at it by combining it with their interpretation of Washington Irving’s completely unrelated short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Among the more contemporary (sort of) adaptations is the 1995 British animated television film produced by the TVC (Television Cartoons) in London (likely defunct since nothing has come out of the studio since 2001). It opens with a live-action sequence where a Victorian woman begins to tell her children the tale, which quickly morphs into a full-fledged animated film. The story proper starts with Mole, disillusioned with spring cleaning, emerging from his underground home to meet and befriend Ratty (just called Rat in this adaptation), with both having a picnic with another river inhabitant, Otter, and his young pup, Portly.

Then they join the wealthy Mr. Toad, who takes them on a trip with his gypsy caravan, but the amphibian hastily develops a fascination with motor vehicles when one causes his carriage to crash. The following spring, Ratty, Mole, and their friend, Mr. Badger, attempt to dissuade their amphibian friend from his obsessions, but he steals and crashes a car, earning a score-long prison sentence. He ultimately escapes with the help of the jailer’s daughter, encountering various tribulations before reuniting with his companions and taking back Toad Hall when weasels seize it. 

Overall, I enjoyed this adaptation, though I can’t wholly attest to its faithfulness to the source material (but it seems to do so, at least in my memory). The bookends of the Victorian woman telling her children the story seem unnecessary. However, I liked the various costumes of the animal characters, Otter in particular, and the animation was pleasant. I would gladly reread the book were I to get the time and watch its other adaptations, probably excluding the live-action ones since most seem to star humans that look nothing like the animals they allegedly play. Regardless, I don’t regret watching this film and would recommend it.

Daily Prompt, 4/7/2024

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

Daily writing prompt
If you could be a character from a book or film, who would you be? Why?
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Can’t think of any specific characters, but probably any of the mentats from the Dune franchise, since I wish I could have my mind and thoughts superbly organized and mimic computer abilities like being able to commit new ideas to memory, recall that which is important, and block things that trigger me.

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Written by Union Civil War General Lewis “Lew” Wallace, the first fictional work of literature blessed by a Roman Catholic Pope (Leo XIII), and the inspiration for numerous live-action and animated film adaptations, Ben-Hur opens with the Three Magi: Gaspar the Greek, Melchior the Hindu, and Balthasar the Egyptian, visiting the newborn Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. Twenty-one years later, the Roman Messala and the titular Jewish protagonist, Judah Ben-Hur, have a rivalry, with the latter being sent to galley slavery for life after a tile from a home whence he witnesses a procession nearly kills the new procurator of Judea, Valerius Gratus.

A few years later, Ben-Hur labors as a galley slave aboard a ship commanded by Quintus Arrius, who is fascinated by the young Jew and thus adopts him as his son. In Antioch, Judah sees Messala again and yearns to rival him in a forthcoming chariot race while hearing of a Messiah speaking of a greater kingdom, not of the Earth. The race transpires, but the results are contested, with northern barbarians dispatched to kill the Jew when he finds himself in an empty palace following the games. However, a maneuver involving his falsified demise allows him to escape.

Afterward, Pontius Pilate succeeds Valerius Gratus as governor of Judea, and Ben-Hur seeks his mother and sister, who went missing after the incident that led him into slavery in the first place. He eventually meets the prophesized King of the Jews, witnessing His miracles and returning to his former palace. Throughout the book, Judah befriends Balthasar’s daughter Iras, who talks of an escaped galley slave Jew who murdered others when they reunite. Messala’s fate receives its resolution, Judas Iscariot betrays Jesus, and the Messiah is crucified, having refused the throne of His ancestor David.

While I had read this around a decade ago, it didn’t very well stick with me, but I remembered some elements. However, I enjoyed Ben-Hur more with my recent reread. The historical and geographical tidbits indicate that Wallace did his research, with the names of the Wise Men and their respective countries of origin adding nice touches. I could well relate to the themes, within and without my Christian faith, and while there were many portions I somewhat skimmed, I could still follow the central plot well. Granted, much of the dialogue is awkward, such as “Unclean, unclean!” regarding lepers, but Ben-Hur is a must-read for any Christian book enthusiast.

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Emancipation

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

Emancipation: A Military Archaeological Space Adventure (The Zenophobia Saga Book 6)

Emancipation: A Military Archaeological Space Adventure by Craig Martelle
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The sixth and final entry of Craig Martelle and Brad R. Torgersen’s Zenophobia series opens with a pre-prologue excerpt where Sankar, the Tigroid protagonist of the entire saga, recovers an old computer archive. The following prologue sees a robotic Swarm moving through outer space, with the main chapters seeing Sankar conversing with Colonel Callahan, a member of the fabled Ur-Race, who knows humans will be surprised by the existence of the zenos. Callahan provides his fleet of Confederation vessels, which Sankar’s love interest, Ausha, fears will conquer the zenos, regardless of whether they win the war against the forthcoming machines.

An outpost in the middle of space has zenos from the primary races in living conditions divergent from those on their homeworld, which the Devourers target. The adversarial Direwolf damages the Bilkinmore while the machines attack the Golongals on their homeworld. Sankar ultimately finds himself in alien surroundings, with a mystical cute responding to one’s genetic makeup introduced as a MacGuffin. A brief focus goes on an elderly Golongan woman named Bela (alternatively spelled Bella), who became tired of the Oligarchy and the Families, consequentially coming out of retirement.

Dekron becomes a notable enemy in the latter half of the novel as a female named Diio survives the wreck of the Direwolf when it crash-lands. Ausha, Sankar, and a random stranger named Zee find themselves in a collapsing building, having to deal with Dekron, who pleads for his life. One chapter features Maglor the Goroid surveying the decimated colony of Ommo and expressing his love for Olympus Alloy. On Golongal, Cho-Ma Continent’s Army contingent defects to the Golongan Peoples Revolution, while the stranded Diio tries to find help by taking another spaceship she happens to find.

Back to Dekron, he yearns to prevent his enemies from escaping, having his subservient robots chase them. Diio finds herself in the darkness, hearing a transmission implying that Ocklar could be going through torture. The fate of the Direwolf is settled, with Sankar and Zee rushing through the capital city of the planet Artemis IV, with Ausha’s life imperiled, but the cube is her possible salvation. A moment of limbo comes for Sankar, who eventually meets Pacjolal, after which the war against the machines concludes. The epilogue sees Sankar and Ausha on Earth, walking along a beach.

After finishing this series, I can honestly say that it fell short of my expectations since while I usually enjoy novels starring animal characters, all six stories suffer from most of the pitfalls that plague literature of its kind. That the collection doesn’t utilize the Kindle X-Ray feature greatly mars the experience, given the near-total absence of reminders of the species of the various characters or various terms and entities, along with the constant leap in perspectives within the same chapters. In the end, Emancipation is an appropriate title for the conclusion of the Zenophobia saga since I am glad to be free from reading it and will happily avoid anything the authors have written or will write in the future.

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Messenger

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

Messenger (Zenophobia #2)

Messenger by Craig Martelle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The second entry of author Craig Martelle and Brad R. Torgerson’s Zenophobia saga opens with a young Tigroid merchantman killed by a female Tigroid named Arbai, who, with fellow Tigroid Yangis, has the eponymous “heretic” of the preceding novel, the Tigroid Sankar, in her sights. The main chapters begin with Sankar and an elderly Tigroid named Ajerra on a Fasting Hunt, during which they encounter a menace in the dark. Ajerra is injured, with Sankar’s fellow Tigroid ally Junak rescuing them. Another Tigroid named Ocklar helps Sankar in his evasion of authorities.

Meanwhile, Sankar’s other companions, the Wolfoid Bayane, the Goroid Gwarzo, and the Ursoids Akoni and Breon (the latter a newcomer to the representatives of the Veracity Corporation) ponder their next move aboard the spacefaring vessel Bilkinmore. Goroids led by a female named Tico pursue Sankar and Ocklar, with the former affirming his belief that all races across the universe came from nothing, one reason his priestly father had declared him a heretic in the first book. Tico receives injuries in her pursuit, and once she recovers in Sankar’s captivity, the Tigroid abandons her.

Arbai ultimately captures Bayane and Akoni, taking them to an asteroid colony in the Angelos system for general enslavement, during which they meet an aging Wolford called Silverface, with Sankar planning their rescue. Afterward, he wants to retrieve genetic samples from an Angelos lab, with the second entry ending with the revelation of a crucial star map. Overall, I found the second entry of the Zenophobia omnibus to be an improvement over the first and more enjoyable, with plenty of good action and animal characters; however, some of the character name choices are lazy, such as Agosta’s brother Gosta. 

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Eulalia!

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

Eulalia! (Redwall, #19)

Eulalia! by Brian Jacques
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Although this yarn of Redwall, written by the late Brian Jacques, occurs chronologically well beyond its initial entry, it contains a structure like the stories that occur beforehand. However, the setting this time is the mountain stronghold Salamandastron, where a Badger Lord tells a story to his daughter. The first chapter after the prologue introduces some of the main antagonists aboard the Bludgullet, spearheaded by the vulpine Captain Vizka Longtooth, with his entourage known as the Sea Raiders. The badger Gorath also plays a significant role, being a refugee who takes solace in the stories of Redwall and Salamandastron.

Gorath quickly finds himself a prisoner of Vizka’s forces, with the hare Maudie of the mountain sanctuary tasked with finding a badger lord to bequeath the legendary fortress. Maudie finds herself the hostage of sand lizards. Meanwhile, Redwall is relatively at peace, although the vermin kidnaps one of its residents, the hedgehog Orkwil Prink (initially expelled from the Abbey due to his thievery, a first among the “good” creatures). The hares of Salamandastron, among them Maudie, who gets in trouble for serving soup too hot, eventually rendezvous with the shrews of Guosim, its current Log-a-Log Luglug.

Another group of adversaries arises, the Brownrats led by Gruntan Kurdly, with a power struggle between his forces and Vizka’s. Gorath soon meets Orkwil and goes with him to Redwall, where the badger remains abed for much of the book. Gorath meets other badgers like the female Salixa, eventually accepting his destiny as heir to Salamandastron. Several well-described battles round out the nineteenth story, and as with its predecessors, plenty of good poetry is present. Overall, this is another enjoyable tale of Redwall, although, like most of its predecessors, most of its elements are derivative, such as depicting specific animals in black-and-white terms.

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The Long Patrol

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

The Long Patrol (Redwall, #10)The Long Patrol by Brian Jacques
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This tale of Redwall opens with the young hare Tamello De Fformelo Tussock, Tammo for short, yearning to become a member of the eponymous Long Patrol at the dawn of spring. In the meantime, the main antagonist, Damug Warfang, leads his army of vermin up the coast. The female red squirrel Russsa Nodrey also keeps watch on the Rapscallion army near the hares’ Camp Tussock and joins Tammo in his ambition to join the lapine troop. The rats have a Throwing of the Sword ceremony to commemorate Damug’s ascent to become Firstblade, with Tammo and Russa making their way to Redwall.

At Redwall, the southern wall is derelict, with a subterranean chasm contributing to this, the Abbey having lacked a badger and a hare for some time Arven the squirrel. The Long Patrol ultimately joins the Redwallers against Damug, a battle rounding out the book. It’s pretty much on par with other entries of the series, with endearing characters, although it continues to depict specific animals in black and white terms. Arven the squirrel is now the Abbey Warrior, with Tammo and Russa ultimately reaching the monastery. An infant badger eventually named Russano comes into play later, an epilogue occurring several seasons after the main events.

As with its precursors, the tenth Redwall is an enjoyable action-packed read, especially for youngsters, although it has many of the same issues with its predecessors, primarily the depiction of different species in black and white terms. For instance, mice, squirrels, hares, shrews, and badgers the late Brian Jacques depicts as inherently good, while others such as rats, ferrets, weasels, stoats, and foxes he depicts as naturally bad, akin to the variant races in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings books, which can reflect real-life xenophobia. Regardless, those who enjoyed previous books will likely appreciate this one.

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Pearls of Lutra

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

Pearls of Lutra (Redwall, #9)Pearls of Lutra by Brian Jacques
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Pearls of Lutra occurs chronologically in the Redwall timeline after Mattimeo, with the son of that book’s eponymous protagonist and Tess Churchmouse, Martin (not the original Martin the Warrior from generations past), being Redwall’s chief defender, with his parents having since passed on. The primary plotline focuses on the titular pearls known officially as the Tears of All Oceans, with the chief adversary, the pine marten Ublaz Mad Eyes, Emperor of the Isle of Sampetra, wanting to get his paws on them. Rollo the bankvole is the Recorder of Redwall, with spring showers ruining a festival celebrating the season.

Throughout the book, Tansy the hedgemaid tries to make sense of a riddle indicating the locations of the pearls, while Abbot Durral is kidnapped, and Martin and his companions leave to search for them, encountering Ublaz’s forces and occasional lizards. A female otter named Grath Longfletch, a member of Holt Lutra, also seeks the pearls, eventually meeting Martin and company and battling Ublaz, who also clashes with a fellow member of the franchise’s “vermin” species, the fox Rasconza. The good inhabitants of Redwall find clues to finding the Tears at the Abbey, which they believe would help bargain for the kidnapped Abbot and Viola the bankvole.

Overall, this is another enjoyable yarn of Redwall, though it largely heads in the direction of its brethren, given the fixed disposition of specific animals as inherently good or evil, creatures such as mice, otters, and squirrels being good, and “vermin” such as foxes and searats being villains, in accordance with the speciesism popularized by J.R.R. Tolkien in his Lord of the Rings books, although there are some good narrative beats regarding the riddles leading to the Tears of All Oceans and some witty twists. That it continued the story of Redwall after Mattimeo was a good decision by the late Brian Jacques, and those who enjoyed other entries of his iconic series will likely enjoy this one.

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