Pandemic

Dr. Margaret Montoya is a fountain of self loathing. After saving the world three years ago from alien beings bent on destroying the human race, the general public sees her as responsible for killing millions and her name is dragged through the mud as the person responsible for the worst atrocity in the US. She has retreated from the world, internalized all that negativity, and destroyed her marriage by wallowing in selfpity and spending hours reading horrible things about her every day. The president calls her into action once again because she's the only person who can combat the new methods these aliens employ to turn humans against each other. It all originated for an unassuming metal cylinder found at the bottom of Lake Michigan that turned a Navy submarine into an enemy vessel. That cylinder is in the ruins of the submarine and it must be found and contained before it has the opportunity to spread.

I've been eagerly waiting for this book for 5 years and Pandemic was definitely worth the wait. This alien invasion shares characteristics with a zombie apocalypse coupled with religious zealotry, which makes it much more chilling. The aliens first invade human bodies and change into a few different types of Converted to serve the aliens. The new types not seen previous books are the most interesting and frightening. The behemoth type needs another person to form. The change elongates the persons limbs and makes bone shards protrude from their skin along with enhanced strength and speed. The other type is a leader. The infection is undetectable and allows all the groups of Converted to organize and work towards a single goal instead of simply causing random mayhem and violence as before. These creatures not only wear human faces, but unite to take over and express a type of religious zealotry I personally find frightening. The Converted are way more scary than zombies ever dream to be.

Each chapter is in the third person and through the perspective of a character in the story. The order is chaotic and features some characters more than others. Scott Sigler has a skilled way of getting into the minds of each character, even if they are only seen in their one chapter. I found the transition from normal person to Converted to be particularly interesting. One of the Converted describes in detail how his dad taught him to properly swing a baseball bat and then kills someone with one. The juxtaposition of a fond childhood memory and the sudden, jarring violence surprised me and really set the tone for the depravity of the Converted. Another character went through this and went from working hard towards beating the aliens to seeing horrifying changes in herself she knows are symptoms of the Converted to completely succumbing and viewing humans as vermin to be exterminated.

Honestly, I'm sad the series is over. Everything from Scary Perry to the thrilling conclusion is a wild ride to read. This tome of 500+ pages only took me 2 days to read and that was only because I had to stop for pesky things like eating and sleeping. I highly recommend the entire Infected series and I urge you to start the first book Infected soon.

My rating: 4.5/5 fishmuffins

The Purge

In 2022, the government reserves one night a year where almost all crime is completely legal. That's 12 hours of complete freedom to rape, murder, steal, etc. The rest of the days of the year, the society is damn near utopic with extremely low crime and unemployment rates. James Sandin devoted to his family and has made a sizable fortune selling security systems specifically to keep families safe from the Purge. He and his family always hole up for the night and wait for it to be over, but this year is different. His son takes pity on a homeless man and allows him into their house. Some random hooligans were hunting him and now demand him back or they will kill the family instead. James has to decide which is more important, the life of a stranger or the lives of his family.

I love the concept for The Purge. There are New Founding Fathers who have enacted this policy in order to allow for a practically crime and unemployment free America. I really wanted to know more about these powerful men, how they came to me known as such, and what state of events led to the legalizing of one night of legalized crime. The aim of it seems to be to let people let off steam and to rid the streets of undesirables (the poor, homeless, and nonwhite) at the same time. The quality of life of the people improves without the government having to actually do anything productive like providing more jobs or funding public programs to help the needy. They just get rid of the class of people that actually needs help. Unfortunately, none of these concepts are really explored in depth and, beyond a few small things, the film is largely a typical home invasion film that offers nothing new to the genre.

There are a couple things in the film that comment on society and brought some intrigue to the film. James Sandin is a capitalist through and through, the top seller of security at his work  Unfortunately, the security quality is quite low and doesn't actually withstand a lot of abuse despite its high price tag. The libertarian policies of his company bite him in the ass and leads to his own home being vulnerable to attack. He knew the security was crap and that didn't stop him from selling to hundreds of people and installing it in his own home. Who knows how many other people died as a result of the shoddy workmanship and corporate greed. The homeless man is the only person who is poor and not privileged in the film. He is treated as an animal and a possession by those more affluent. It might have been more interesting to have the story center around more than one person who would actually be affected by the Purge rather than a rich white family that acts supremely stupid at every turn.

The rest of the the film is your standard home invasion film. The attackers have creepy masks (a la The Strangers) and terrorize the family. They were actually pretty decent at being deranged. The family run around like chickens with their heads cut off and make the dumbest decisions on the face of the planet throughout the film. It would have been nice for them to make a decision about the homeless guy and stick with it instead of flip flopping every two seconds. I didn't really feel any sympathy for the family because they directly benefited from scamming people and the Purge plus they were boring. They were frankly getting what was coming to them.

The ending had some humor to it, but the film was overall a disappointment. The backstory was so interesting yet completely ignored after it generally set up the rules of the world. I would like to see a sequel or prequel that delves into the history behind it and focuses on the people who are actually victimized during the Purge.

My rating: 6/10 fishmuffins

Frozen

Princesses Elsa and Anna are sisters and best friends until Elsa's power over ice and snow gets away from her and she hurts Anna. Elsa completely pulls away, locking herself away from the world and working to control her powers by suppressing her emotions. Their parents downsize the staff and close the gates to Arendelle to reduce the danger Elsa poses to others. Anna feels abandoned and both girls feel utterly alone. Years later, their parents die in a boating accident, making Elsa the queen of Arendelle. She is forced to open the gates and hold a coronation celebration. The coronation goes well, but her powers are revealed after a heated argument with Anna. She runs away, leaving a wake of ice and snow, making the much needed summer into winter in Arendelle. Anna feels it's her responsibility to make amends with Elsa and convince her to life the supernatural winter.

Frozen is a fun film with charming characters and an unexpected ending. Anna and Elsa are both sympathetic characters who feel alienated and alone. I just want to give Elsa a great big hug. She tries her best to contain her powers and her feelings, sacrificing her close relationship with her sister in order to shield her from harm. She is forced to hide a fundamental part of herself in order to appear normal and utterly fails, causing harm to her entire community. I"m glad she wasn't a real villain as in the original story (which is very weird and religious), but a person trying her best and making mistakes. Anna is funny, quirky, and definitely not the poised and graceful Disney princess one might expect. She's very clumsy and embarrassingly blurts out her feelings to random people. She just wants a real relationship with her sister, to be able to make friends, and to have people around instead of cutting themselves off. My favorite character is Olaf, the living snowman who loves warm hugs. He provides perfect comic relief and he's just adorable.

Disney films are rather guilty of having two people fall in love rather quickly based on next to nothing and then living happily ever after. It seems as if this film goes in that direction when Anna falls for Prince Hans of the Southern Isles and accepts a proposal within an evening of meeting. When Anna is once again injured by Elsa's magic, her condition is said to be cured by an act of true love, suggesting Hans should save the day. The ending switches things around and Anna is cured because she threw herself in front of Elsa as Hans tried to kill her. The true love in this instance wasn't romantic love, but sisterly love. I really enjoyed this subverting of typical Disney tropes and the story is the best Disney has produced in a while.

The music of the film is delightful and another reason for the film's success. The filmmakers opted to hire Broadway composers to create these fun songs of varied styles. Do You Want to Build a Snowman is a cute, but sad song that encompasses Anna and Elsa's relationship after the accident and each of their loneliness and frustration. For the First Time in Forever is a cute song that shows Anna silly and quirky nature and her excitement for human contact and a dash of Elsa's mantra to control her powers. Love is an Open Door is an adorable instalove song between Anna and Hans with more of a rock feel and fun harmonies. In Summer is Olaf's hilarious song about his obsession with summer, but he has no idea what snow does in heat. The song has a nice old Hollywood musical flair and some unexpected lyrics. The best song of the film is Let It Go, Elsa's song of empowerment where she accepts herself despite what others think of her. Idina Menzel belts out the song and gives it the power it needs. The visuals are also amazing as Elsa effortlessly builds an ice castle around herself.



The only part of the film I didn't really like was the trolls. They were cute and provided some comedy, but didn't really add much to the story. They could have easily been cut out without anything essential being removed. Other than that, Frozen has my vote for best animated film of 2013.

My rating: 9/10 fishmuffins

Red Rising

Darrow is a Red of Mars, dedicated to slaving away his entire life for the good of the upper echelons of humanity to live on Mars hundreds of years in the future. He mines for an element needed to terraform the planet and lives in poverty with his family and his wife Eo. One day, they are found in a forbidden place, meriting a whipping, but Eo sings a forbidden song sealing her death. Darrow buries her (which is also forbidden) and is executed. He wakes up later to find he was saved in order to do greater things. He is sculpted and tortured to become a Gold, the highest caste of his society. After becoming educated, he is sent into the Academy to become an influential and powerful member of society. Darrow isn't prepared for the Academy, but it will shape him to be the leader needed to bring the Society down and change nit forever.

I honestly thought Red Rising would be a lame Hunger Games rip off, but I was wrong bothers are definite parallels and similarities between the two books, but Red Rising is a wholly different experience. The first half of the book sets up the world, shows who Darrow is at his core, and follows his transformation from Red to Gold. Reds work at hard labor and die uneducated and poor, never being offered any opportunities to rise above their station. Even though he's only 16, Darrow is wise beyond his years. He is a married adult who provides for his family and tries futilely to make their lives better, a victim of a biased system. He is broken after Eo's execution, but struggles to make her rebellion and her dream a reality. He endures the most painful torture in order to move forward with the insane plan. Surprisingly, his Red skills make him quite suited to becoming a Gold. I feel so much for Darrow. He was lied to by all of society and only wanted a good life for his family. The callous treatment by the Golds and the injustices against Reds fuel his hatred and drive him to push through the pain. The beginning of the novel starts a little slow, but delves into deep emotions and politics very early. This is easily an adult novel and only seems to have the YA label because of the age of the main character.

The second half of the novel is the Academy. Darrow thinks that it will be an easy, plush, and purely academic experience. He is incredibly wrong and his introduction is to kill a fellow classmate in order to get into the Academy. Afterwards, they are separated in to Roman deity themed houses and compete to take over every other house. This part of the novel is most like other dystopian novels (Hunger Games and Lord of the Flies), but as I read it, I was so engrossed in the story and the vibrant characters that I never made any of those connections until reflecting on it later. The Proctors don't interfere at all at the beginning, even if students are dying. There are no real rules and the students are left to take each other over in the way they see fit, whether it's morally sound or not. The students are hardened quickly, faced with starvation, death, violence, and rape. Darrow learns a lot about how to become a leader and also makes a great many mistakes. Through all the politics, real friendships and real enemies are made. Darrow's friends and enemies are all richly imagined with their own sense of morality and quirks. My favorite were Pax, a giant of a man who hated Darrow intensely then became great friends, and Mustang, the woman who helped him when he was at his lowest point and gave him some hope in humanity.

Red Rising is an amazing debut novel. The ending made me both excited and outraged at the same time. The plot had crazy twists and turns that I never saw coming. I highly recommend it. The only lament I have is that I read it before it was even released, so I have to wait even longer to devour the next in the series.

My rating: 5/5 fishmuffins

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

* spoilers *

Violet White and her brother live by themselves in a decaying mansion by the sea. Their parents are flighty artists who have been gone for months on end. Because their money is gone, she decides to put up fliers around town for someone to rent the guest house. A mysterious and attractive stranger named River West comes to stay and chaos almost immediately ensues. Violet's best friend Sunshine sees a monster in a cave. Then a little girl goes missing and the local children are convinced it's the devil that they have to kill with wooden stakes. Violet is already completely infatuated with River even as she suspects him of creating the chaos in the town. Her grandmother warned her against the devil, but never expected him to be so charming.

The cover of Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea doesn't do it justice. It looks dark, gothic, and twisted, which it is, but it's more than that. The setting is a sleepy little southern town by the sea. The atmosphere starts as relaxed, kind of like time doesn't matter and days can be spent lazing in the hot sun, drinking iced tea all day. It also has a vintage feel. The Whites don't lock their house at night and watch old movies in the town square with their neighbors, like in bygone eras. All of that changes when River comes to town. Before, people trusted their neighbors and acted friendly. Afterwards, everyone is on their guard and suspicious. The children are super creepy, running around at night with wooden stakes and attacking random people. They refused to go home at night and it was bordering on Children of the Corn with the kids attacking people.

The drastic change in the town also happens with Violet. Before River, she's carefree, trusting, and generally happy. She knows everything in her town and nothing really comes as surprising. The loss of her grandmother and the absence of her parents have affected her, but didn't make her jaded. She seems more determined to get the most out of the little things in life and has a more introspective view of life. After River, she is unhappy and suspicious. She doesn't know what to believe or even if her own feelings are authentic. I found Violet to be likeable until the end, but a bit on the naive, immature side. I liked the way she observed the small thing swithin the people and the world around her. Her falling in love with River was very instalove-y, but it is later shown to be intentional.

My big problem with the novel is River. His personality is fine. He's charming and he's got that rich boy attitude that everything is attainable. He has the power to create illusions and make people do what he wants through touch. He reminds me very much of Loki from the Thor films, creating chaos and causing death wherever he goes. Anyway, he constantly touches Violet and this shows why she becomes so very infatuated with him in such a short amount of time. He basically made her fall in love with him with his power, which is so not ok. Then he goes on to almost rape her in her sleep. This is besides the fact that he forces the town drunk to commit suicide in front of the whole town and he feels absolutely no remorse for it. After that point, he ceases to be even remotely attractive to me with his rapey, murderous, creepy ways. Violet and River's whole relationship reminds me of a woman that loves an abusive man, but can't leave him because she loves him. That's just not a healthy relationship and it makes me feel gross to read it. Ugh.

Although I liked the writing and the setting, River and Violet's attitude towards him ruined the novel for me. I'm ok with bad boys in literature, but there has to be something redeemable about them. The murder and mind rape just make him an awful character that I don't want to read about. I lose respect for Violet for being obsessed with him even after she knows all these horrible things about him. I guess it could just be River's power, but it looks like just another girl trapped in an abusive relationship.

My rating: 2/5 fishmuffins

Horns

Ignatius William Perrish is miserable. His girlfriend was murdered and he is the prime suspect. His name will never be cleared due to the lab with the evidence catching fire, so his life remains a torment. One day, he wakes up groggy and hung over after a not-quite-remembered night of drinking, blasphemy, and wallowing in his own misery. He notices he now has horns growing out of his head. Wondering if their a hallucination, he goes in public to see others' reactions and finds that everyone suddenly confides in him their deepest and darkest desires. Plus he can convince them to give in to those horrific desires. Ig decides to use his new found power to find the real murderer and enact revenge.

From page one, Horns is an addicting read. I didn't have any idea what it was about before I read except some guy randomly sprouted horns, but I couldn't put the book down after I started. The situations were so bizarre. People would just start spouting off their deepest, darkest, most sinful desires and secrets as if they talked about them all the time. These are the types of secrets people would never say out loud to anyone and were often disturbing. It was amusing at first, but grew quite serious as Ig encountered the people closest to him and heard their real opinions about him, namely that they all think he's guilty and hate spending time with him except his brother. His power is not easy to control and leaves him vulnerable when faced with his family. With the horns came other powers that showed themselves later on in the book that made it clear he was a modern adaptation of the devil complete with horns, a pitchfork, and snake minions. Despite all this new power, the villain of the novel is formidable, much stronger than anticipated, and also supernatural. I personally think a lot of Ig's bad decision making leads to the villain being so difficult.

I like and dislike the way the story is told. It starts in present day after the murder and goes until he discovers the identity of the true murderer. It's then interrupted by flashbacks to Ig's childhood for a long portion and then hopscotches back and forth from past to present. I like that clues and revelations are doled out slowly and carefully instead of in a rush all at once. However, the fast tempo the book started with was completely destroyed. It took me a long while to warm up to the new story and just as it got really interesting, the narrative again switched to the present. I would have liked it if it started a little slower and built up momentum instead of starting crazy and slamming on the breaks. The only other complaint I have is the ending. Compared to the epicness of the story, it was a little underwhelming and odd.

Horns is a wonderful novel about guilt, love, good and evil, and revenge. My favorite part of the story is the love between Merrin and Ig. We get to see her through past memories and other people's view of her. Their story is beautiful, heartbreaking, and felt the most real among all the supernatural aspects. I am eager to read more books by Joe Hill because his writing is beautifully written and sticks with you long after you've read it.

My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins

My Favorite Horror Themes Part 2

1) Bram Stoker's Dracula by Wojciech Kilar



This horror theme is epic. The low strings sound powerful at the beginning with the hammering of the piano in the background. It builds drama quickly and works perfectly with the intro of the film, which introduces Dracula when he was alive and his story with Elizabeta. The male choir in the middle of the piece sounds sinister and creepy and then the high soprano comes in with the mournful love theme. Then, the music builds with repetitive rhythms and adding instruments and voices into a huge crescendo, ending with a quiet, but menacing bass ostinato (a phrase that repeats over and over in the same voice). Kilar wrote beautiful and deeply emotional music that reflects the film perfectly.

2) Jaws by John Williams



This theme is incredibly simple, but never fails to instill dread in the viewer. This theme makes the entire film and makes it one of the most suspenseful and scary films I've ever seen. I've seen it countless times and I still jump at parts of it.

3) Psycho by Bernard Hermann



This theme is iconic and quite simple. It's just screeching high violins, but illustrates the scene insanely well. Although this theme is the most famous of the film, the entire soundtrack is amazing and worth listening to. It helps create and maintain the ominous atmosphere at the Bates Motel.

4) The Village by James Newton Howard



I don't enjoy this film, mostly due the poor twist ending, but there's no denying that the score is fantastic. This is my favorite part of it called The Gravel Road. The sweeping violin lines, the sparse arrangement, and the constant movement of the background instruments make for a beautiful atmosphere. The soundtrack definitely outshines the film.

5) Lady Vengeance by Choi Seung-Hyun



This whole soundtrack is simply gorgeous. It features newly composed music in a baroque style that goes well with the elegance and beauty of the film's cinematography. Harpsichord isn't a typical instrument and it adds something special to music.

What are your favorite film themes?