This past weekend was the first in a while where I didn’t have any plans with anyone, any plans to travel, or any plans to do anything, really. So I spent a relaxing weekend doing a little cleaning, catching up on my reading, and watching a couple of movies.
First, the books:
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Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan – 4 stars
I picked up this book because I was interested in seeing the movie, and in my experience, if I’m going to see a movie and also read the book it’s based off, it’s better to read the book first, since the book is always better than the cinematic retelling. This did not prove to be the exception, but more on that later. The book itself, though made for a slightly younger audience and not quite as engaging as the Harry Potter books—how must it feel to have written something against which all other efforts in the genre are judged forever after?—was very entertaining and got me hooked on the series. Very nice, if a trifle predictable.
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Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan – 4 stars
A strong follow-up to the first novel, this one develops the characters and the setting further, upping the stakes and building toward the (hopefully) epic finale. Better than the first book.
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Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child – 4 stars
I know, I know, I said I was close to never picking up a Reacher novel again. And I actually hadn’t intended to, until my sister encouraged me to go back and read this one (the second to most recent book), because she thought it was a lot better than the Reacher books had been in a while.
And you know what? It was. My chief complaint with the past few novels was that Reacher himself seemed to be going through the motions and didn’t seem engaged in the story; if even he couldn’t get interested, why should I? Moreover, he hadn’t had a decent challenge since The Enemy or One Shot. Where was the conflict?
Gone Tomorrow, on the other hand, was a refreshing return to basics. Much more engaging and personal than its immediate predecessors, this one is as good as any of the Reacher books and better than most. If you’d become disenchanted with the series, this book makes it worth picking it back up again. Highly recommended.
As for the movies:
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Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief – 1 star
This was a total and complete bastardization of the novel, one of the worst novel adaptations I think I have ever seen. Almost the only similarity between the two was that some of the characters had the same names—the makers took so many liberties with the story that they cut out perhaps the most crucial plot point. The movie looked exactly like what it was: a studio vehicle with clumsy product placement, a very thin plot, and gratuitous special effects. The end result had none of the charm of the book and was a huge disappointment.
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The Blind Side – 3 stars
A bit sugary, but engaging. I liked it.