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wyntrchylde's reviews
637 reviews
The Supervillain Handbook: The Ultimate How-to Guide to Destruction and Mayhem by Matt D. Wilson
2.0
The Supervillain Handbook: The Ultimate How-to Guide to Destruction and Mayhem
By King Oblivion PHD
…as told to Matt D. Wilson
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Published In: New York, New York, USA
Date: 2012
Pgs: 176
Summary:
Tips about everything evil, from picking your supervillain name to the sacred art of revenge.
Genre:
How-to. Comics. Humor.
Main Character:
King Oblivion
Favorite Character:
N/A
Least Favorite Character:
N/A
Favorite Scene:
The part that made me realize that Home Depot would be the perfect supervillain hideout. Hide in plain sight. Handy parking for supervillain-mobiles and machines, just park them next to the construction equipment and the concrete blocks on that one end of the building where the general public rarely goes. Put the secret entrance to the sub-basement lair in one of the display shower enclosures.
Though possibly the best one-liner in the whole books comes when he is describing the history of supervillains. In 1973, the International Society of Supervillains stole Japan and replaced it with a country where all the people watch cartoons where tentacle monsters rape women.
Plot Holes/Out of Character:
N/A
Last Page Sound:
HA!
Author Assessment:
I would look at something else by this author. Whether I would read it or not would depend on the subject matter, but yeah…I’d at least give it a look.
Disposition of Book:
Return it to the library. Doubt I will re-read it.
Why isn't there a screenplay?
This could only be a screenplay if it were done like Zombieland. Narrator becoming a new supervillain tells us the story as he goes through the steps.
:/ Guess that would work.
By King Oblivion PHD
…as told to Matt D. Wilson
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Published In: New York, New York, USA
Date: 2012
Pgs: 176
Summary:
Tips about everything evil, from picking your supervillain name to the sacred art of revenge.
Genre:
How-to. Comics. Humor.
Main Character:
King Oblivion
Favorite Character:
N/A
Least Favorite Character:
N/A
Favorite Scene:
The part that made me realize that Home Depot would be the perfect supervillain hideout. Hide in plain sight. Handy parking for supervillain-mobiles and machines, just park them next to the construction equipment and the concrete blocks on that one end of the building where the general public rarely goes. Put the secret entrance to the sub-basement lair in one of the display shower enclosures.
Though possibly the best one-liner in the whole books comes when he is describing the history of supervillains. In 1973, the International Society of Supervillains stole Japan and replaced it with a country where all the people watch cartoons where tentacle monsters rape women.
Plot Holes/Out of Character:
N/A
Last Page Sound:
HA!
Author Assessment:
I would look at something else by this author. Whether I would read it or not would depend on the subject matter, but yeah…I’d at least give it a look.
Disposition of Book:
Return it to the library. Doubt I will re-read it.
Why isn't there a screenplay?
This could only be a screenplay if it were done like Zombieland. Narrator becoming a new supervillain tells us the story as he goes through the steps.
:/ Guess that would work.
Mrs. God by Peter Straub
1.0
Mrs. God
By Peter Straub
Publisher: Pegasus Crime
Published In: New York, New York
Date: 1990
Pgs: 185
Summary:
On a lonely estate home in England, the Seneschal family, historic patrons of the literary arts, one-time hosts of D.H. Lawrence, T.S. Elliot, Ford Madox Ford, and Henry James among others, a new honoree has been invited. Invitations to Esswood House come and are rescinded regularly. This one comes to a distant relative of a previous darling of Esswood, Isobel Standish. It couldn’t have come at a better time for Professor William Standish, untenured, cuckolded once, expecting his and his wife’s first child…if it’s his. An escape for three weeks to work on a dissertation about his famous relative and the house that so impacted her art. And a chance to explore the mystery that is Esswood…but the ominous phrase, “It’s better to never leave Esswood.”
Genre:
Horror, genetics, demons, vampires, madness
Main Character:
Professor William Standish…though I almost said Esswood House
Favorite Character:
After long thought, I’d have to say that my favorite character is Esswood House, at least through the first three quarters of the book. During the run up to the finale, she…it seems to recede back to being just a house watching what’s going on.
Least Favorite Character:
The Professor. There were so many places where the character could have turned aside, chosen a more rational path, etc.
Favorite Scene:
The whole first three quarters of the book are so immersive…at least once he gets to Esswood. From the moment he walks in the front door, even with chapter breaks, it felt like one long scene to me. I read through this book at a breakneck speed wanting to see what happened next and discover the secrets of Esswood. The climax and denouement sucked a lot of that enjoyment out of it for me.
Plot Holes/Out of Character:
There is a huge gapping hole left at the end. Not really an ending. A big climax…a denouement…and then, it stops. No real payoff.
Last Page Sound:
“grunt”
Author Assessment:
I had high expectations for Straub. Somehow he had been on my radar for a long, long time, but I hadn’t read any of his books. This one was on the new pub shelf at the local library when I took my youngest over there. So, it came home with me. I loved the books. The imagery is, as previously stated, immersive. The book was great…75%. Just wish he could have finished in the same vein.
It pains me to give this book only one star because it was so much better than the ending gave it to be.
Disposition of Book:
Returning to the library. Not ever re-reading.
Why isn't there a screenplay?:
No…not without a significant rewrite of the ending. And with modern culture being what it is, they’d have to retitle it. As written, it would make a helluva trailer…just not sure if it would live up to it’s presence with the ending. Meh.
By Peter Straub
Publisher: Pegasus Crime
Published In: New York, New York
Date: 1990
Pgs: 185
Summary:
On a lonely estate home in England, the Seneschal family, historic patrons of the literary arts, one-time hosts of D.H. Lawrence, T.S. Elliot, Ford Madox Ford, and Henry James among others, a new honoree has been invited. Invitations to Esswood House come and are rescinded regularly. This one comes to a distant relative of a previous darling of Esswood, Isobel Standish. It couldn’t have come at a better time for Professor William Standish, untenured, cuckolded once, expecting his and his wife’s first child…if it’s his. An escape for three weeks to work on a dissertation about his famous relative and the house that so impacted her art. And a chance to explore the mystery that is Esswood…but the ominous phrase, “It’s better to never leave Esswood.”
Genre:
Horror, genetics, demons, vampires, madness
Main Character:
Professor William Standish…though I almost said Esswood House
Favorite Character:
After long thought, I’d have to say that my favorite character is Esswood House, at least through the first three quarters of the book. During the run up to the finale, she…it seems to recede back to being just a house watching what’s going on.
Least Favorite Character:
The Professor. There were so many places where the character could have turned aside, chosen a more rational path, etc.
Favorite Scene:
The whole first three quarters of the book are so immersive…at least once he gets to Esswood. From the moment he walks in the front door, even with chapter breaks, it felt like one long scene to me. I read through this book at a breakneck speed wanting to see what happened next and discover the secrets of Esswood. The climax and denouement sucked a lot of that enjoyment out of it for me.
Plot Holes/Out of Character:
There is a huge gapping hole left at the end. Not really an ending. A big climax…a denouement…and then, it stops. No real payoff.
Last Page Sound:
“grunt”
Author Assessment:
I had high expectations for Straub. Somehow he had been on my radar for a long, long time, but I hadn’t read any of his books. This one was on the new pub shelf at the local library when I took my youngest over there. So, it came home with me. I loved the books. The imagery is, as previously stated, immersive. The book was great…75%. Just wish he could have finished in the same vein.
It pains me to give this book only one star because it was so much better than the ending gave it to be.
Disposition of Book:
Returning to the library. Not ever re-reading.
Why isn't there a screenplay?:
No…not without a significant rewrite of the ending. And with modern culture being what it is, they’d have to retitle it. As written, it would make a helluva trailer…just not sure if it would live up to it’s presence with the ending. Meh.
Probe by Margaret Wander Bonanno
3.0
Probe
By Margaret Wander Bonanno
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published In: New York, New York
Date: 1992
Pgs: 344
Summary:
The Probe almost destroyed the Earth. Only a last ditch, time traveling expedition to the past to bring back whales who the Probe was trying to contact could save Earth…this was the plot of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.
This book looks at where the Probe went when it left Earth. What the Romulans were up to. And the patterns of life.
Genre:
Science fiction. Television. Militaria.
Main Character:
The Probe
Favorite Character:
While my favorite character in any Star Trek novel would usually be McCoy, in this one, it’s the Probe, a wandering leviathan tasked by its creators to find other lifeforms like them and, if they be primitive, help shepherd them along and, if they are advanced enough, introduce them to the creators.
Least Favorite Character:
Tiam. The Romulan is a straw man and a pawn in multiple ways.
Favorite Scene:
The brief flashback scene to when the Probe was damaged out along one of the spiral arms of the galaxy by mites, its word for smaller lifeforms…humans, Romulans, etc, etc, in cube shaped vessels.
Plot Holes/Out of Character:
No real holes, but some of the characters just don’t have very much to do.
Last Page Sound:
Ahhh.
Author Assessment:
The book started well, but it slipped into a bit of slow going before the midway point, the parts leading up to the conference with the Romulans. After that point, it picked back up and ran pell mell toward the ending. The pacing was off, but well, all in all, I liked the book. I like Margaret Wander Bonanno’s work and would absolutely read something else by her.
Disposition of Book:
Keep it
Why isn't there a screenplay?:
There isn’t any need for this to even be considered for a screenplay. If they were still doing a Star Trek animated series, this could have made a good two or three part episode. But not a movie.
By Margaret Wander Bonanno
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published In: New York, New York
Date: 1992
Pgs: 344
Summary:
The Probe almost destroyed the Earth. Only a last ditch, time traveling expedition to the past to bring back whales who the Probe was trying to contact could save Earth…this was the plot of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.
This book looks at where the Probe went when it left Earth. What the Romulans were up to. And the patterns of life.
Genre:
Science fiction. Television. Militaria.
Main Character:
The Probe
Favorite Character:
While my favorite character in any Star Trek novel would usually be McCoy, in this one, it’s the Probe, a wandering leviathan tasked by its creators to find other lifeforms like them and, if they be primitive, help shepherd them along and, if they are advanced enough, introduce them to the creators.
Least Favorite Character:
Tiam. The Romulan is a straw man and a pawn in multiple ways.
Favorite Scene:
The brief flashback scene to when the Probe was damaged out along one of the spiral arms of the galaxy by mites, its word for smaller lifeforms…humans, Romulans, etc, etc, in cube shaped vessels.
Plot Holes/Out of Character:
No real holes, but some of the characters just don’t have very much to do.
Last Page Sound:
Ahhh.
Author Assessment:
The book started well, but it slipped into a bit of slow going before the midway point, the parts leading up to the conference with the Romulans. After that point, it picked back up and ran pell mell toward the ending. The pacing was off, but well, all in all, I liked the book. I like Margaret Wander Bonanno’s work and would absolutely read something else by her.
Disposition of Book:
Keep it
Why isn't there a screenplay?:
There isn’t any need for this to even be considered for a screenplay. If they were still doing a Star Trek animated series, this could have made a good two or three part episode. But not a movie.