20230314 - Castle in the Air [Book Review]

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Magic carpet chase \\ cold mist above desert dunes, \\ courtyard made of clouds.

#HAIKUPRAJNA - Castle in the Air [Book Review]

Read online [ https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2023/03/20230314-castle-in-air-book-review.html ]

...

Hello readers,

Castle in the Air,  the second book by Diana Wynne Jones in her Howl’s Moving Castle series, follows another charming cast of characters with Abdullah, his friend Jamal, Jamal’s dog, a magic carpet, a Soldier, mother cat Midnight and her kitten Whippersnapper, a genie in a bottle, djinns, angels and strong princesses who avoid the helpless damsel in distress tropes.

A cool part of this world, which helped to distinguish the books in the series, was how the names of other locations change depending on which kingdom or country one was within, such as Ochinstan being Ingary. The cast of Howl’s Moving Castle was also hiding among these new members from Zanzib; I will avoid spoilers because I had a lot of fun trying to figure out their disguises, but Sophie’s peculiar brand of magic was still prominent and well used throughout the story.

Abdullah used his polite flowery morals as his magic charm while living the life of a carpet merchant.

He was sold a magic carpet by a djinn in disguise, and the carpet carried Abdullah, as he slept, to where the Sultan kept Flower-in-the-Night, his daughter, locked away. Their romance, along with Sophie and Howl’s, felt authentic, real and charming; Flower-in-the-Night's keen intelligence and dry wit were great trade-offs from Sophie’s in the protagonist duo.

Flower-in-the-Night was stolen, among all the other princesses across the world, and taken to the eponymous castle in the sky by a giant djinn, where Abdullah was blamed but he escaped with the carpet to embark on a dreamlike journey to rescue the missing princesses. I want to reread these books soon in order to absorb just how much thought went into little things like the thief Kabul Aqba; the plot threads were woven together and were resolved or explained with complete satisfaction.

Diana Wynne Jones wrote Castle in the Air about topics like respect--as in modesty, but also in terms of idealism and honor, such as with the appearance of a family--where social cues were described like magic spells, with examples like people crying to bully others into submission, the belief in prophecies and dreams, and sultans giving orders; this was made clear when godlike beings admitted to manipulating the cast through their fearful beliefs in fate. 

That is where the best part of this book shines, in its real life metaphors designed to be palatable for all, as the author made it known that such fatalistic deities were bound to their rules and codes of conduct in ways which a virtuous child could work with to mutual benefit. As Abdullah learns to be careful about what one wishes for, the reader learns the benefits of accepting that, rather than scorning nature, such Big Ideas do know better than humans.

Thank you for reading.

Allen W. McLean 

P.S. Read my Howl's Moving Castle review [ https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2021/12/20211229-review-howls-moving-castle.html ]

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20230305 - Little Snow White [Book Review]

...

The Fairest of All \\ attracting the jealous Queen, \\ blood red on white Snow.

#HAIKUPRAJNA - Little Snow White

Read online [ https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2023/03/20230305-little-snow-white-book-review.html ]

...

Hello readers,

Little Snow White is a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm about an evil Queen's attempts at killing her stepdaughter (or biological child if you are reading the original version).

Under Snow White's surface, the Grimms crafted a story about the dangers of allurement and envy. What was emphasized for me was the different forms of magic used in the story, from the Queen's wish upon the blood stained snow, to her use of a looking-glass to not only compare the Evil Queen's beauty with Snow White's, but for the Queen to also verify her own fairness, while employing disguises and alternate appearances against Snow White.

The Queen grew so jealous that she hired a huntsman. In an act of persuasion, Snow White begged for her life and, due to her beauty, was spared, so the huntsman tricked the Queen into eating what she thought was Snow White's heart, all of which acted as a display of Snow White's superior abilities over the Queen's.

The princess took shelter in the house of the Seven Dwarves who found and welcomed her to stay, provided she did their housework while they were mining for gold.

Meanwhile, the Queen used her magic looking-glass to be told how fair she was, only to be told that Snow White was living with the Dwarves.

The envious Evil Queen disguised herself, tricking Snow White with affordable trinkets in order to strangle her. When the Queen found she survived, the Queen poisoned her twice; the first toxic hair brush failing, the Dwarves at last found her dead from the apple.

The main takeaway from the Queen's failures was, despite her certainty of having finished the deed each time, she still needed confirmation from the looking-glass, contrasted with Snow White's doubtlessness.

The Dwarves shut her in a glass coffin, but the apple had only put her in a coma, so when another kingdom's Prince finds and wins her from the Dwarves with his profession of love, versus buying the sealed coffin, she awakens as a Queen.

The story ends with the jealous Evil Queen arriving at Snow White's wedding, only to be executed by being forced to wear red hot iron shoes, symbolizing the Evil Queen's fatal restlessness. 

Thank you for reading.

Allen W. McLean 

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20230226 The Electric Tale of Pikachu [Book Review] [Pokemon Day 2023]

...

An electric mouse, \\ with positive energy, \\ found chewing live wires.

#HAIKUPRAJNA - The Electric Tale of Pikachu [Book Review] [Pokemon Day 2023] 

Read online [ https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2023/02/20230226-electric-tale-of-pikachu-book.html ]

...

Hello readers,

It’s the 27th anniversary of the Pokemon franchise, so this Pokemon Day we are celebrating with a copy of "The Electric Tale of Pikachu" along with some anime. [This review also includes volumes two through four; "Pikachu Shocks Back", "Electric Pikachu Boogaloo" and "Surf's Up, Pikachu"]  

This Pokemon World is slightly more realistic, grounded and mature in tone and art at times than the games or anime. What was most interesting to me about this Pokemon World was how most citizens seem to have given up on training after a few months, where it is said that very few continue into adulthood, and that the majority see Pokemon as animals, pests or supernatural spirits and beings; the way people in this Pokemon World grow reminds me of how I have grown with the series, as one can argue that I have retired from training Pokemon in new regions, but I still live in a world with Pokemon and I still experience stories and adventures from the rest of the franchise outside of the mainline games.

This was the manga I read from my school library when I was six or seven years old before reading Pokemon Adventures, and along with the N64 plus the NGC games and the anime, this manga series was among my earliest exposures to the franchise; I have read online that Electric Tale was the first Pokemon manga to be translated into English.

Like the anime, Electric Tale of Pikachu follows Ash Ketchum’s journey to fight the various Gym Leaders for their badges in order to compete for the title of Pokemon Champion through the Indigo League and the Orange Islands, but these comics came with a number of refreshing differences that set it apart from its contemporaries including how Ash and Pikachu met and how often Misty and Brock traveled with them, while still managing to hit plot points like Team Rocket and the Eevee Brothers. Personal highlights of the series include Bill's story about the Venusaur, Sabrina and Brock talking to Ash about a godlike Haunter, and the Bulbasaur family story in Volume 3.

There are translation differences between localizations, to cut page count and due to some of the art by the book's graphic artist Toshihiro Ono, and the second half felt more comical than the first, but the series as a whole has that kind of charm to it too. Ash grows as a Trainer, his rivalry with Gary is revisited often, and he got to challenge another Pokemon League to iron out the mistakes he learned over the course of the story, becoming--spoiler alert!--the Champion of the Orange Islands with the help of Pikachu.

Thank you for reading.

Allen W. McLean 

...

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20230206 - A Boy and His Dog [ Book Review / Analysis / Summary / Essay ]

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Survival is not \\ knowing when to kill; rather, \\ knowing what love is.

#HAIKUPRAJNA - A Boy and His Dog [II] 

Read online [ https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2023/02/20230206-boy-and-his-dog-book-review.html ]

...

Hello readers, 

I need to read the rest of the stories related to “A Boy and His Dog” by Harlon Ellison [Eggsucker, “Run, Spot, Run”, and the collected “Blood’s a Rover”].

As I referenced in the previous review, the title is deceiving, as this post-apocalyptic survival fiction story is R-rated with its descriptive gunfights, told from the protagonist’s point of view, and with its casual nudity, sex and social depravity.

I have read online that these stories served as inspiration for other nuclear wasteland franchises, such as the Fallout games, with shared features including gangs that upkeep local services, cutesy killer robots, nighttime nuclear monsters and an attention to epic gunfights or combat in a literary sense.

“A Boy and his Dog” followed Vic, a Solo from such gangs, who formed a pact with Blood, a telepathic dog; together, they were sniffing out Quilla June, a girl from a suburban downunder, which Vic later was lured into and was itching to escape from. Blood's pride in his telepathic parentage, and everything Vic learned from him, was a good way to provide readers with backstory and world-building.

Vic and Blood followed Quilla to an abandoned YMCA, but she was as depraved as him, highlighting the genre and setting through the conflicts of man vs self and nature. Blood's suggestion of burning down the YMCA, when they figured they were outgunned, was a great dramatization of this. 

Quilla later escaped, so Vic planned to chase her for revenge, and he fought Blood reasoning for them to tend to their wounds. 

Alone, Vic went downunder, where prewar suburban society had been frozen and bottled up, stopping progress. He realized Blood was right, that he was being lured into a trap. It is revealed to Vic that the men were impotent downunder and were in need of Vic.

An important aspect of the story is how resources, supply and demand, command not just one's impulsive desires, but also one's survival. 

Anyway, Vic schemed to abuse their hospitality in order to escape after killing Quilla.

But, when he had his chance, the two found she and he were legit in love. So, they teamed together to escape, killing her 'pa and fighting other townsfolk along the way out.

The line where they were climbing, where he kept telling her he loved her, was genius for being both true and for continuing the thematic thread of love being a universal idea, an evolutionary survival outline. 

When they got up top, Vic found Blood was still waiting, wounded and hungry. This was a complex situation; both Quilla June and Blood were fearful for their mortal wellbeing--both were dependent on Vic for their present situation. But Vic had to choose one of them, and choosing Blood was a given for Vic. Vic had picked both at different points in time, but he knew Blood was right about being lured, about love and history, since his love for Blood was stronger, despite the difficulty of feeding his dog. 

"A Boy and His Dog" is about, of all things, how it means to love something, the effects of love and the lengths one will go for the ones they love most.

Previous review [ https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2021/01/20210102-wip-update-boy-and-his-dog.html ]

Thank you for reading.

Please share your thoughts in a comment.

Allen W. McLean 

...

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20230126 - Rapunzel [Book Review / Analysis / Summary / Essay]

...

Towering over, \\ took away what one loves most, \\ removed from the world.

#HAIKUPRAJNA - Rapunzel [Book Review / Analysis / Summary / Essay] 

https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2023/01/20230126-rapunzel-book-review-analysis.html

...

Hello readers, 

I have begun a fairy tale themed series, and I am starting it off with a review of Rapunzel by the Brothers Grimm.

This fairy tale is set around the tower of Gothel, an enchantress. Gothel had taken the daughter of the parents who were stealing from her rampion garden. Rapunzel was then kept away from the rest of the world. She was kept hostage until she fell in love with a prince, who overheard Gothel's request, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down thy hair."

What stuck out to me was Gothel's desire to keep her being in direct conflict with the parents' and the prince's desire to have her.

The original fairy tale stories' gruesomeness is great at being dramatic in a dark way, with characters flinging themselves towards death or despondency over their misfortune. 'Rapunzel' succeeded in this by moving to a happy ending that is juxtaposed to highlight both the drama and the resolution. This is explored further through the symbolism of Rapunzel being separated from the world as a way to prevent the desire that afflicted the rest of the cast. In a theatrical manner, the Prince's desire to see her led to Rapunzel's awareness of the outside world and her desire to leave.

When Rapunzel revealed that she was using the method that Gothel was using to visit Rapunzel to also bring up the Prince, Dame Gothel decided to take Rapunzel's hair away and she cast Rapunzel away.

Gothel then displayed her ability to use the hair against Rapunzel to lure the Prince up the tower. Gothel's gloating over taking away both of their desired objects was genius in its display of the duality in using the love that others provide for one's own purposes.

It also displayed--via the Prince--how that can leave one lost and wandering in blindness. His reaction set the tone for Gothel as a villain who would have instead reacted by taking from anyone that had just wronged her.

Every character acted upon what they desired. Readers are thus left with an important idea to contemplate. Dame Gothel was wronged in the same manner as the others. However, the other characters reacted without malice when they were wronged. Nobody else was afraid to suffer the consequences of their acts of freely given love, regardless of the source being one's own or another's. 

Gothel could have helped the parents, I feel. She could have wedded her adopted (stolen) daughter and been related to royalty. Instead, she removed herself from the equation.

The shared suffering further cemented the love between Rapunzel and the Prince. The greatest symbolic lesson I found from this story was how that was shown to even heal their wounds; a good, short bedtime story.

Thank you for reading.

Please share your thoughts in a comment.

Allen W. McLean 

...

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I write mindfulness meditation scifaiku and haiku poetry on my book reviews and on previews of my metaphysical stories, such as "Escape Perennial City". Learn more about my reviews here [ https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/book-review-summary-study-notes.html ]

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Thanks to you, over ONE-THOUSAND (1000!) readers have joined us on Medium! Need to stay in the Medium Partner Program? Please follow and turn on email notifications; I will follow you back! "Ado the Owl" and "Hector Blake" are available to read, right now, on Medium. [ https://haikuprajna.medium.com/subscribe ]

April's psychedelic music videos, art and poetry is available on all streaming platforms; Electric Armchair - The Charlatan (Official Music Video) [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYROJsg98Xs ]

Electric Armchair - Amorphous I (FULL ALBUM) [ https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/electricarmchair/amorphous-i ]

"Falgara the Giant" is available to order on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited! Add to Goodreads and learn more [ https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/falgara-giant.html ] 

Support by buying a sticker [ https://haikuprajna.redbubble.com ]

Kindle ebooks can be read on any device at www.read.amazon.com

These poems will be collected in future editions of the HaikuPrajna Collection.