BOOK REVIEW: Murder by Other Means by John Scalzi

 

This is the follow up to the audiobook The Dispatcher. Taking place two years after the events in the last book, we find Tony Valdez in somewhat of a financial conundrum. Budget cuts have caused him to be dropped as a consultant for the police force, and the resulting downswing in his income has forced him to take jobs that legally questionable. After completing a morally ambiguous assignment for a local lawyer, he finds himself an innocent bystander in the middle of a bank robbery. However, as the investigation into the robbery progresses, one after the other of the people involved begin committing suicide, and all the clues seem to lead back to Tony. With only his police detective friend to defend him with the law, Tony must solve this mystery, or face the same fate as the others.

Narrated by Zachary Quinto, this is an excellent installment to this series. A little longer than the first, it might take a couple of days to get through, but it is definitely worth the time. Scalzi’s writing combined with Quinto’s narration makes this a mystery and thriller that will have the listener hanging on every word.

MOVIE REVIEW: The Black Phone

 

Set in the 1970s, this follows a young boy who gets abducted by a serial child killer. During his imprisonment, he starts getting calls from a black wall phone that isn’t connected to the outside world, these evidently coming from the previous victims of his captor. They lead him through a series of escape attempts, and teach him confidence against a seemingly insurmountable foe.

This film features a young actor named Mason Thames as the boy that is kidnapped, Madeleine McGraw as his sister, and Ethan Hawke as the psychotic child killer who goes by the name of The Grabber. The cast also includes Jeremy Davies as the boy’s father. It has a couple of scenes of physical child abuse, but otherwise there is only the story of the boy trying to escape his tormentor, and there is very little strong language. This is good for pre-teens, teaching the importance of not trusting strangers and the necessity of fighting against their would-be abductor(s) if the need arises. Otherwise, it is a good, tense, suspenseful movie that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Well worth the watch.

BOOK REVIEW: Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum

 

A continuation of the story of the Land of Oz, this one brings Dorothy back to the Emerald City by way of the Land of Ev. Shipwrecked after a storm at sea while accompanying her uncle to Australia, Dorothy encounters a beautiful but outrageously vain princess, meets a mechanical man, and squares off against the Nome King. All of this happens with the fun, wit, and charm of Baum's usual writing, and is a delight to the storytelling senses. If anything, this one ends far too soon. Good thing there are other books following.

MOVIE REVIEW: Cloverfield

 

This is a 2008 film by the Bad Robot studios headed by J.J. Abrams, director and producer of the first two Star Trek reboot movies. A “found video” genre film, this concerns a group of friends in New York that end up running for their lives when an alien lifeform crashes into the city. As they navigate the place that they once called home, they are attacked by parasites coming off the huge alien, have to deal with other refugees and the military, and try to save the girlfriend of one of the group from a demolished building. It is a thrill ride that has very little time to catch one’s breath, much less really understand that is actually going on. The only actor that will probably be even recognizable in this is Tim Griffin, who plays the officer in charge of the military unit the survivors run into, and who has been in everything from NCIS: New Orleans to The Bourne Supremacy. The rest were virtual unknowns when this movie was made, but that only adds to the realism. There are many scary moments, as well as a little gore and strong language, but, in all, this is an enthralling and completely spellbinding time.

BOOK REVIEW: Jungle Pilot by Russell T. Hitt

 

This is the story of pilot Nate Saint who, along with four other missionaries, was massacred while trying to evangelize to a tribe of indigenous people in Ecuador. This follows his life through childhood and service in the military, to his joining Missionary Aviation Fellowship (MAF), moving his family to Ecuador, and his efforts to spread the gospel and witness to the people there. This is an entertaining and tender story of a young man who felt within his heart that giving his life to such an effort was truly his destiny. Written to be easy to read and understand, this is a great story of courage, determination, and dedication to a cause. The story of Nate Saint is extremely inspirational, especially to those who may be thinking about a life in the missionary field.

MOVIE REVIEW: Left Behind

 

Back in 1995, a preacher, Tim LaHaye, and a novelist, Jerry B. Jenkins, released a joint novel called Left Behind. It told the story of a time when millions of people simply vanish from the earth, causing panic among the remaining populace and the virtual collapse of most of the governments of the world. Following a small group of people who come to believe that this mass disappearance is actually the rapture (the time when the biblical Jesus calls his believers to Heaven), it follows bible eschatology, including the introduction of an Antichrist in the form of a little-known member of the United Nations council who steps forward to leadership during the crisis. This stars Kirk Cameron as a journalist named Buck Williams, who becomes involved with the small group of Christian survivors by chance, and entangled with the Antichrist by career. The cast also includes Brad Johnson as Rayford Steele, the captain of an airliner that has a number of passengers disappear, and Gordon Currie as Nicolae Carpathia, the infamous Antichrist. 

Not a real nail biter, this still has its moments of suspense and high tension, making for a watchable if not very exciting time. The book series runs for another fifteen novels, with two spinoff series that included an additional seven. There were two cinematic sequels to this movie, and a reboot of the original that premiered in 2014. Many of the Christian faith have hailed these books as a faithful representation of biblical prophecy. There is no erotism, no strong language, and very little violence, so it is passable for children, but may not be interesting enough for them to sit still long enough to watch it.

BOOK REVIEW: Forestium: The Mirror Never Lies by Christopher D. Morgan

 

This is a young adult fantasy, the first of a trilogy, about a young man named Joshua who, in a quest to find his missing father, discovers that his destiny is to defeat a monster known as the Goat, who has kidnapped hundreds of people and sent them into another world. Joshua’s mission is to find three magical orbs that, when brought together, will create a portal to the world where the Goat is holding his hostages and bring them back. Along the way, Joshua finds adventure, danger, and new love.

This is what can be termed a “cozy” book, in that there are no adult scenes, no strong language, and the violence is very understated. However, that does not take away from the adventure and mystery surrounding the antagonists, or the fun of the story. The reader cares for the hero and cheers when the villains are defeated. Comparable to C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia, this is a good read for any age group.