Book Review: Trickster’s Choice by Tamora Pierce

Posted on January 6, 2026 by C.A. Jacobs

My first book for 2026 was Trickster’s Choice (Fantasy, 403 pages) by Tamora Pierce.

“Aly: a slave with the talents of a master spy, a fabled lineage she must conceal, and the dubious blessing of a trickster god.
Sarai: a passionate, charming teenage noblewoman who, according to prophecy, will bring an end to a cruel dynasty.
Dove: the younger sister of Sarai; she has a calculating mind and hidden depths that have yet to be plumbed.
Nawat: a magical young man with a strangely innocent outlook and an even stranger past; Aly’s one true friend in a world where trust can cost you your life.”

Trickster’s Choice does a wonderful job with having absolutely non-standard characters, the first of which is Alianne, the daughter of the Lionness and the King of Thieves turned second-in-command of Tortall’s spies, being the one to develop the skills of an international spymaster. I don’t know that I’ve read any story where the spymaster was a well-balanced woman without Childhood Trauma, whose parents are very much both alive and who love her. She’s also smart with a cunning eye and I very much enjoy her sense of humor.

Nawat is obviously a lot of fun, as are the crows in general. The relationship between the crows and the raka is so much fun! How both sides just accepts the other without blinking. I especially enjoyed when Nawat is introduced to the raka as being a former crow and everyone is just like, “Yep. That tracks. No wonder he eats bugs, runs really fast without effort, and behaves oddly.” And they just … go with it. No questions or other background. Though, his constant pressure on Aly to mate and have nestlings is a little uncomfortable to me, it makes sense from the perspective of a crow.

Sarai and Dove are both very good noble ladies, though Sarai’s love of riding and Dove’s cleverness are both noteworthy, as is Dove and Aly’s reactions to Sarai’s involvement with Prince Bronau. Dove is fantastic when she’s basically like, “He’s old, gross, and desperate. You shouldn’t have anything to do with him” while Aly’s thoughts are more along the lines of, “This is the just the kind of messing around I used to do back home but holy buckets is it cheesy and easy to see through when you aren’t one of the participants.”

I have a lot of respect for Duke Mequen and Duchess Winnamine, especially as the story progresses. I read the prologue for Trickster’s Queen, the next book in this series, and I wonder if the Balitangs themselves actually know that Aly is their spymaster. Duchess Winnamine is very astute and catches on to things very quickly and there are hints throughout Trickster’s Choice to indicate she has at least a small inkling of Aly’s true purpose. After seeing Aly’s da at the end of this book, and him having even provided his true name of Cooper, I suspect Duchess Winnamine knows more than she lets on. I also suspect she won’t survive through the end of the next book, which is rather unfortunate.

I’m a little bit torn about how to rate this book. The story is very interesting and the characters are completely relatable. And I know I’m not supposed to judge past books based on current experiences and knowledge, but it’s really difficult for me to be comfortable with the obvious romantic set up between Aly and Nawat. I’m getting so used to reading stories where the happy ending means the main character doesn’t have to wind up in a relationship or if there are relationships, those relationships are mostly along the lines of equal partnerships, but I remember how so many books from previous decades were required to have the only happy ending available to women – to find a husband and have children. I definitely enjoyed this book and I liked the little references to other important figures in Tortall’s history, even though all the main women leads are now married with children, which goes towards my point about what is allowed or encouraged for stories with women as the main character.

And that just rubs me the wrong way.

So overall, I definitely enjoyed this book immensely. It’s a good, fast read and the characters are a lot of fun. And there really aren’t any forced het relationships (yet) because Aly is still not involved with Nawat, though it’s clear she is enticed with him and he clearly wants to mate with her. But for the most part, there’s not much in the way of newly-established relationships in this book. I think I will rate it as a three on my rating scale. I’ll probably read it again at some point but that’s very much going to depend on how much I enjoy the next book 🙂

Pierce, Tamora. Trickster’s Choice. Random House, Inc., 2004.

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Movie Review: the Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring (extended edition)

Posted on January 5, 2026 by C.A. Jacobs

I didn’t realize I haven’t done a movie review for almost exactly two years. Given the state of the world right now, I really wanted to watch something with hope, friendship, and the idea that even the smallest good deeds can make a positive difference in the entire world.

Thus, a rewatch of the extended edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

THIS IS NOT A SPOILER FREE REVIEW.

“With the help of a courageous fellowship of friends and allies, Frodo embarks on a perilous mission to destroy the legendary One Ring. Hunting Frodo are servants of the Dark Lord, Sauron, the Ring’s evil creator. If Sauron reclaims the Ring, Middle-earth is doomed. Winner of four Academy Awards, this epic tale of good versus evil, friendship and sacrifice will transport you to a world beyond imagination.”

One of the key components to this movie, for me, is the absolutely iconic music. I don’t know that I ever actually heard of Howard Shore before Peter Jackson’s the Lord of the Rings movies, but right from the beginning of this movie, the music dredges up so many memories. I even have the soundtracks from all three movies. The music for the Shire is so vastly different than the music anytime the elves show up, or the nazgul, or when the fellowship is traveling, or when the Uruk-hai are chasing the fellowship, or the riders of Rohan. The music is powerful and moving and just incredibly well done. I could probably do entire posts about the emotional impact of each scene of music in the Fellowship of the Ring, but suffice to say, the music is amazing.

“It is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life,” Bilbo Baggins, writing in “There and Back Again: A Hobbit’s Tale” at the beginning narration of the movie. I feel like we don’t have the ability to celebrate the simple things in life right now and that makes me sad. And I very much know this is my own personal reflection on the current times we are living in because I feel like we are all slaves to the grind. Most of us are barely keeping our heads above water and it feels like all any of us have time for is going to work, getting ready for work, and doing basic chores to stay alive.

Seeing the Shrine and the hobbits living a “simple” life, just getting ready for Bilbo’s birthday celebration, inspires a love of a more technologically free society. But I do very much know that lives as depicted in the Shire are not nearly as simple or carefree as the hobbits’ lives.

The different areas and the locations of this movie are truly astounding. Each area has such a different flavor. The Shrine is clean and colorful with growing things and everyone’s houses are spaced out. This is a severe contrast to the places of men or the elves the hobbits travel through, starting with the human settlement of Bree, which the hobbits arrive at on a dark and stormy night. The streets are close together and everything is dark and confining. Bree offers the illusion of protection; a place with walls doesn’t leave you really room to move or be free. Walls can keep things out, but also people in. But then when the hobbits arrive at Rivendale, it’s such an absolutely beautiful transition. The city of the elves is shown to be spacious, with trees and waterfalls, and ancient architecture, and Elrond mentions to Gandalf that the power of the ring can’t be hidden in Rivendale. So again, those people and places the hobbits have been led to believe will be safe for them are places they can’t stay. And Lothlorien has no walls.

“It’s long since we had any hope,” Boromir in Lothlorien during the elven lament to Gandalf. And wow, do I feel that in my bones right now, especially coming from Boromir. The extended edition shows a lot more of Boromir and casts him in a completely different light than the theatrical release of this movie. We see Boromir wanting only to protect his people and then to protect the hobbits. I think because all of the “heavy hitters” like Gandalf and Aragorn, and maybe even Legolas and Gimli, are focused on protecting just Frodo, Boromir focuses more on Merry Brandybuck and Peregrin Took (Pippin). We see Boromir teaching sword fighting to Merry and Pippin and every time danger shows up, Boromir’s first words and actions are to protect Merry and Pippin. He continues to fight until the very end, even though he says so many times in this movie that there is no hope, especially not for his people. But he keeps trying to do better. He keeps trying to help, even though he makes mistakes. He makes mistakes and he owns how his behavior has hurt Frodo and then he sacrifices himself by protecting Merry and Pippin as long as possible.

So many people on the internet and in scholarly circles have posted in-depth character analysis of every character and their development throughout the movies and one can easily get lost down many rabbit holes of research when doing even a basic internet search. If the minutia analytics fascinate you, there are many rabbit holes for you to find 🙂

And I really do believe that’s one of the strongest messages of this movie. You can be far over your head in most situations but still try your hardest to protect your friends. From Boromir’s sacrifice to Gandalf’s stand off with the balrog, and even Merry and Pippin fighting the cave troll in the Mines of Moria, everyone in the Fellowship contributes to the quest.

The world feels like a continuous dumpster fire, with every day bringing new horrors. Evil is gaining more of a foothold and the world feels more overwhelming and hopeless every day. And then the servants of evil are getting bolder, murdering or enslaving anyone in their path, while the heroes are splintered, hunted, and endangered.

Funny how that description could either belong to The Fellowship of the Ring or to the actual real world in which we live right now.

The Fellowship of the Ring doesn’t end with all the heroes happy and healthy and the quest complete. It’s the first movie in a known trilogy. In fact, it’s a pretty dark ending. Gandalf is lost. Boromir is dead. Merry and Pippin are captured by the Uruk-Hai and taken off towards Isengard. Frodo and Sam have left the others and are heading alone on the darkest path of the movie. The Fellowship is broken with 2/9 of their party gone and 2/9 captured. That’s almost half of the companions dead or prisoners.

This movie is about hope, for all the darkness inherent therein. Never believe in your own limitations. Never believe what others believe you can or can’t do. Never stop fighting, or caring for the people who matter to you. Keep going. Your actions may seem small and insignificant, but every little bit matters.

Overall, this movie is easily a five on my rating scale. I am grateful to have seen this movie in the theater, many years ago when it first came out, and I am equally grateful I purchased the entire extended blu-ray movie trilogy.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Directed by Peter Jackson, performances by Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Savies, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Sean Bean, Ian Holm, and Andy Serkis, New Line Cinema, 2001 and 2021.

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Goals and Thoughts for 2026

Posted on January 1, 2026 by C.A. Jacobs

I didn’t realize it’s been about 18 months since the last time I posted. 2025 has continued the trend of being an absolute garbage dumpster fire. I’ve struggled with having or finding the energy for many things in my life but I think it’s time for me to get back to having goals and things to work towards.

Here are some things I’d like to accomplish in 2026:

1. I’d like to get back to the habit I had of reading one book a week and posting a review. While I have easily been reading at least a book a week, I definitely haven’t been posting any reviews.

2. I’d also like to get back into the habit of posting one movie or tv show a week. This one might be harder since I don’t watch very many things. But I guess we’ll see.

3. I want to make at least two books completely from scratch this year. I will probably make at least one when I take one of my American Academy of Bookbinding classes this year, but I’d also like to make two completely on my own, outside of class.

4. A couple of years ago, I started work on the History of LEGO Castle and the History of LEGO Elves. I’d like to finish both of those projects.

5. I’d like to finish my mapping project and notes for both The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

6. How long has it been since I actively worked on my writing? Or submitted anything for publication? It’s been a bit. So. I guess I would like to submit at least five things for publication this year.

7. I’d like to keep my job and maybe build up a bit of a savings account.

8. Do we think I can actually get my library cleaned up and useable at some point this year? I have no idea. But it seems like something that would definitely make my life better 🙂

9. Having all my LEGO nicely inventoried and put away correctly is a massive daydream. But if I at least try to work on it, maybe I’ll make enough progress to be satisfied?

10. I want to spend at least one of my weekends per month exploring my home. Maybe going on camping trips to the National Parks or the State Parks.

So. That’s it, then. The 10 things that would help me get my life back on track. I have many hopes for this year but I also acknowledge the world in which we currently live. So.

Treat each other like brothers and sisters and be a positive steward to the planet in which we live 🙂

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Nimona by ND Stevenson

Posted on July 1, 2024 by C.A. Jacobs

I was able to watch Nimona (animated movie) recently and when I saw Nimona (graphic novel, 266 pages) by ND Stevenson as a graphic novel in the library, I knew I had to read it.

“Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As a sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreck some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren’t the heroes everyone thinks they are.”

This story is a fantastic social discussion on both what makes someone a hero or villain and how easy it is to alter the perceptions of people at large through media and communications technology. I very much enjoyed the use of science and technology alongside magic and how both were used in the fantastic world-building. You have characters who are working with science to attempt to figure out magic and magic changing everything. Technology is being used for nefarious purposes by the government and those in charge and anyone who attempts to say otherwise is discredited and vilified.

Honestly, it’s kind of scary how close to real-life that is.

Nimona is a fantastic character and has a lot of great character growth, especially from the “kill everyone in my way” mentality to the “don’t hurt people you don’t have to because not everyone is as horrible as many have been in the past” and that’s honestly really great. Because it really is easy for people coming from a place of abuse or oppression to then become the abuser or the oppressor when they are gifted with the power to do so. The fact that Nimona waits until a viable villain with a really valid concern shows up to start rampaging and causing issues is actually really important because I think that shows a distinct lack of desire to actually hurt people, even though there’s a lot of hurt in Nimona’s past.

Overall, this graphic novel is easily a four on my rating scale. While I’m glad I checked it out from the library, I definitely need to buy a copy, as I will absolutely reread it again in the future. Also, if you haven’t watched the animated movie, you should definitely read the graphic novel and watch the movie. Both are unbelievably fantastic, though I do think I like the movie better.

Stevenson, ND. Nimona. Quill Tree Books, 2015.

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Book Review: Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

Posted on June 28, 2024 by C.A. Jacobs

I actually read Tress of the Emerald Sea (Young Adult Fantasy, 365 pages) by Brandon Sanderson several weeks ago but am only now doing the book review because the book is due back to the library today. So it goes. This book was also one of the random books my librarians put in my box, as I’m an avid and voracious reader and they like surprising me with new things to try.

“The only life Tress has known on her island home in an emerald-green ocean has been a simple one, with the simple pleasures of collecting cups brought by sailors from faraway lands and listening to stories told by her friend Charlie. But when his father takes him on a voyage to find a bride and disaster strikes. Tress must stow away on a ship and seek the Sorceress of the deadly Midnight Sea. Amid the spore oceans where pirates abound, can Tress leave her simple life behind and maker her own place sailing a sea where a single drop of water can mean instant death?”

No, that isn’t a typo or a mistake in my own typing skills in the book summary (the sentence about the voyage to find a bride and disaster strikes), that sentence is copied word for word from the front book dust cover. And the back of the book just as a paragraph from the author about a Kickstarter and nothing about the world or the book itself. Apparently, this book was written by a #1 New York Times Bestselling author who funded this book through a Kickstarter and kept it secret from his publishing company. I have a lot of thoughts about that and it’s very possible that those thoughts might have jaded my reading of this book.

The world-building is very interesting. The idea of different moons with different purposes, and a different take on water was intriguing.

Tress’ love of cups and their individual stories, and her love of Charlie’s stories, was endearing. Tress as a character had a lot of good points, especially her cleverness, her willingness to take action, and her desire to see the best in people.

I think there were two things that really rubbed me the wrong way.

The main thing that rubbed me the completely wrong way was Tress and Charlie’s relationship. Charlie seems to be the only boy in Tress’ age group that she interacts with and Tress seems to be the only person in Charlie’s age group at all that he interacts with. Additionally, there is a power difference in their statuses and the only reason they know each other at all is because she is a paid servant in Charlie’s household. This is not how you develop healthy relationships. I’m sure it’s meant to be sweet but they are trapped on a rock in the middle of hazardous seas and they don’t know or interact with anyone else. While I agree that rescuing Charlie is a good thing to do because no one should be replaced or sacrificed from their families for the sake of political convenience, the romance still felt completely forced. Now, if I had any faith at all that this was going to be a platonic, non-sexual relationship, I would actually be really supportive of it, because I didn’t feel like these characters had any actual chemistry at all.

The second was that Tress wasn’t even really the main character in her own named story. This was more Hoid’s story than it was hers. Even with all her cleverness and all her compassion, she still wasn’t the one to save the day at the end. And the dude who saved the day did so, and changed all of the lives of the pirate ship, out of an arrogant bet with the sorceress.

Overall, the book was okay. I am glad I checked it out from the library and I don’t think I will feel the need to read it again.

Sanderson, Brandon. Tress of the Emerald Sea. Tom Doherty Associates / Tor Publishing Group, 2023.

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Book Review: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Posted on March 31, 2024 by C.A. Jacobs

This month’s FanSci book club reading was The Handmaid’s Tale (fantasy (in theory, but should probably be filed in “current events”), 311 pages by Margaret Atwood.

“Environmental disasters and declining birthrates have led to a Second American Civil War. The result is the rise of the Republic of Gilead, a totalitarian regime that enforces rigid social roles and enslaves the few remaining fertile women. Offred is one of these, a Handmaid bound to produce children for one of Gilead’s Commanders. Deprived of her husband, her child, her freedom, and even her own name, Offred clings to her memories and her will to survive.”

THIS IS ABSOLUTELY NOT A SPOILER FREE REVIEW.

Because holy buckets, do I have a significant amount of thoughts about this book. I will say right from the beginning that this book is horribly unpleasant to read but it’s absolutely necessary and will definitely NOT get any easier to read as the United States gets closer to the major elections coming up in November 2024.

GO READ THIS BOOK RIGHT NOW.

Anyway.

One of the points of discussion during our book club meeting involved how when one of our members read this book twenty years ago in high school, it was a fun read because there’s “no way the United States could ever get to that point.” One of the other members of the group had a similar comment. And I think that’s what great about science fiction and fantasy and also what’s truly alarming about this book specifically because the original draft for this book began in 1984, according to the newly added author forward at the beginning of my book.

And I am definitely glad the library copy I read of this book had the author commentary at the beginning because there were several very crucial comments made about the nature of this book and the main character’s identity. One of the other members of the group mentioned the television series and how the author commentary is used during the show version of this story and adds more depth to Offred’s identity. I’m unlikely to watch the show, as the magic moving picture box doesn’t hold the same sway over me as it seems to for the rest of the population, but those comments helped our discussion about making Luke a less crappy partner and giving Offred her name back.

Our discussion on the character of Luke was interesting, as most of the people in the book club are non-male, which means none of us reacted very well when Offred starts getting to the parts about how we got to that point in the world, where religious fanatics were able to take control of everything and push women back into the role of incubators instead of the viable humans we already are and how Luke reacted to the initial changes. In the book, Luke is just like, it’s no big deal, I’ll take care of you and things will be fine while Offred is rightfully panicking about the loss of constitutional rights and their safety. I think this attitude is prominent in many males, as fundamentally, nothing would have changed for them, especially not at the beginning, as that’s an attitude I see with many males in the current world we live in. It’s not them who is losing rights or does the same job for less pay or has any experience at all with the world not catering to them and meeting their every want. Women have always had the onus of being reproductive slaves to western civilization. So because Luke’s life didn’t change, he didn’t see the need to get upset about anything happening.

And then what happened to Moira and Offred’s mom were both really hard to read. Both of them considered themselves activists before the rise of Gilead but Moira’s spirit was completely gone by the time Offred meets her again at the “playboy” party and they both saw videos with her mother in one of the nuclear waste clean up areas, which means her fate was pretty much also sealed.

I imagine it would be so hard to keep fighting or even just to build yourself a mental safe place like Offred did, but then Offred started slipping and when the book ends with Nick giving her the “Mayday” code and then the black car showing up but the reader not knowing if Offred was being rescued or taken for torture, it was rough. I almost didn’t read the follow-on chapter with the academic conference about a hundred years in the future but even my book club agreed that it would be beneficial to know how they got out of the Gilead age.

Because with religious extremism on the rise in the United States and certain populations more concerned with violating women’s constitutional rights and controlling women and their bodies, it’s not hard to think that maybe the 6 January 2021 insurrectionists right here in the United States in the real world were attempting exactly what happened around page 174: “It was after the catastrophe, when they shot the president and machine-gunned the Congress and the army declared a state of emergency. They blamed it on the Islamic fanatics, at the time.” And then, three paragraphs later, they suspended the United States Constitution. And that’s exactly what I see the religious extremists doing right now in our modern United States.

It truly terrifies me how close to this future we are.

I can’t express enough how important it is to vote, especially in your local elections. Yes, I know this year is a major presidential election for the U.S., but your local elections are critical. The primaries came and went, whether you knew it or not. If you’re in the United States, now is a great time to make sure you are registered to vote https://www.usa.gov/register-to-vote. Now is also a good time to check your local elections and see if any positions are running unopposed and maybe put your name in the hat so at the very least, you can protect small pockets of democracy.

Every little bit helps.

Every little bit matters.

Don’t let The Handmaid’s Tale be our future.

Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale. Anchor Books, 2017.

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Book Review: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Posted on March 15, 2024 by C.A. Jacobs

The third and final book in The Hunger Games series is Mockingjay (dystopian/science fiction, 390 pages) by Suzanne Collins.

“Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss’s family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding. It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans – except Katniss. The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss’s willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels’ Mockingjay – no matter what the personal cost.”

THIS IS NOT A SPOILER FREE REVIEW

Katniss was rescued by the rebellion of District 13 and taken there to start churning propaganda for their own war machine. And as Katniss sees more and more of the way District 13 operates, we’re all left feeling like no one in charge is actually taking care of the people.

Everything wrong with Panem is wrong with our world today, where we all struggle to survive and those with the resources hoard it and then lord it over everyone else. The entitled live in a very different world where all their basic needs are met and they see the people from other Districts as conversation pieces and not as real people with real struggles, but it’s also really hard to acknowledge your own privilege and try to make the world better for those whose existence needs are not being met, especially when you have been catered to in such a way that you are also trapped by the system.

Imagine growing up in a world where you and all you love were never in any danger, not from starvation and not from being culled in the annual teenage death match games. If you were never hungry, what would life be like for you to suddenly find yourself starving all the time? If you lived a life of pseudo personal freedom where you were allowed to dress how you wanted, eat what and when you wanted, and pursue an occupation at least mostly of your choice and then to find yourself subject to a ridiculously rigid schedule and system.

Neither the Capitol, nor District 13, treat the people as anything other than meat for whichever grinder they need at that time, which feels a lot like our own modern world today.

Katniss, though, sees everyone as individuals. Like how she rescues her prep team from the District 13 jail, where they’d been starved, tortured, and abused because they didn’t understand the rules of their new living arrangement. No one showed them a shred of compassion or care until Katniss found them and made Plutarch get them out, which he only does because he needs them to make her camera-ready again. But she understands that it’s not their fault they don’t fit in with this new regime. And she understands why Haymitch drinks and Johanna steals her medicine. She doesn’t fault them or judge them for it. And then she brought Johanna pine needles when she’s back in the hospital after failing her soldier exam, just to help her feel a little piece of home.

I think the key takeaway from all of this is that we have to do better by each other. Listen to each other, help each other, participate in even small acts of thoughtfulness or kindness. And, when given the chance, make the world a better place by ensuring others have a solid chance at a fair and democratic system not based on violence, torture, trauma, and control.

Honestly, this whole series is so very good, but also really hard to read in the world we live in right now. This book is probably a low four on my rating scale. I’m very glad I own a copy and I will definitely reread it in the future.

Collins, Suzanne. Mockingjay. Scholastic Press, 2010.

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Book Review: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Posted on March 13, 2024 by C.A. Jacobs

Continuing with my reread of The Hunger Games series, the next book is Catching Fire (dystopian/science fiction, 391 pages) by Suzanne Collins.

“Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol – a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create. Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she’s afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she’s not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol’s cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can’t prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.”

THIS IS NOT A SPOILER FREE REVIEW

I’m very interested in how my first thought about this continuation story of how our lives are on track to get even worse in the future if we continue to allow evil, heartless dictators use their selfish greed to burn the world for their own benefit by realizing that when Panem was created, the main thing they did was update North America’s rail system to have extremely high-speed trains used as the primary means of transportation.

Like. The modern society we know today, right now, broke so badly that everything we know went down the toilet. And then when a new nation was formed, they updated and upgraded the entire North American rail system. Katniss, Peeta, and their entire entourage get on a train and use it to travel to all the other districts on their “Victory Tour”. Even President Snow makes a random appearance first thing in the book to Katniss’s house and it’s assumed he arrived there silently, without fanfare, on a train because any sort of aircraft would have been noticed.

Personally, I think it would be great if we could upgrade our entire rail system before the end of the world as we know it and who knows? Maybe updated trains could be what prevents us from sinking any farther into the quagmire of dystopian future.

About a third of the way into Catching Fire, Katniss comes across Twill and Bonnie, refugees from District 8, who tell her about the uprising and the rebellion, and how the people of District 8 actually used the televised and mandatory Victory Tour interview with Caesar Flickerman to take over key government facilities. And these two strangers recognized Katniss and used a cracker with a mockingjay baked in to show they were on her side.

One of the things often overlooked when people discuss this series as a whole is how smart Katniss really is. She puts a lot of information together in her head without discussing anything with anyone. She understands President Snow’s threats but she also pays attention to the little comments made by her prep team when they arrive and realizes how much of Panem is likely rebelling. And she pays attention to all of it, while also respecting everyone else in her life.

She goes out of her way to take care of as many of the people in her area that she can, spreading out all the game she brings in across the Hobb and helping as many people as she can. She doesn’t judge anyone else, just accepts them as they are, where they are, when they interact with her. The only difference is when she refers to The Capitol or the Peacekeepers, those in authority who don’t do anything to make the world better for anyone, even though they would have the means and resources to do so.

When they go back into the Games for the Quarter Quell, it’s Peeta this time who has the ability and opportunity to demonstrate compassion with another tribute’s death. In The Hunger Games, Katniss befriended little Rue from District 11 and gave her a beautiful memorial, singing to her until she was gone, then covering her in flowers. In Catching Fire, it’s Peeta who tells one of the District 6 morphling addicts about the different colors he can paint and describing those colors to someone who loved them so desperately.

This is what sets Katniss and Peeta and those she allies herself with apart from those who put her in the Games and those in charge at the Capitol. How we treat our dead is a sign of who we are as people. The Careers from the lower number districts volunteer to go into the bloodbath of the Hunger Games, but they aren’t used to being hungry themselves, nor are they used to having less than what one would need to survive. The Careers kill as a matter of pride and leave the bodies for someone else to clean up. Katniss and Peeta and the others mourn the loss of the person who was and they respect the road that person traveled, no matter how it ended.

Overall, this was a very good book and I’m glad I own it and reread it. I’m probably going to reread it again many times in the future. This is probably a low four on my rating scale. And it really is getting harder to read books like this as our world continues to spiral.

Collins, Suzanne. Catching Fire. Scholastic Press, 2009.

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Book Review: the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Posted on March 11, 2024 by C.A. Jacobs

I’m not quite sure why, but I felt the need to reread The Hunger Games (dystopian/science fiction, 374 pages) by Suzanne Collins and I was surprised that I’d never done a book review.

“In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister’s place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before – and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.”

THIS IS NOT A SPOILER FREE REVIEW

I don’t remember if I read the books first or watched the movies first, but I am one of those people who knows you always treat books and movies or television shows as completely separate entities that just happen to share the same name. I remember when the movies came out, though, and how the media around the movies was exactly what the books used as social commentary – that you have a portion of the population who only sees what they are supposed to see and develop a severe disconnect with reality. In this instance, I remember catching small snippets of television spots where the sole focus of the commenters was on the love triangle with Katniss, Peeta, and Gale. In the books, there isn’t any love triangle at all. Katniss is sixteen and has spent her entire life so far struggling not just to survive, but to ensure the survival of her sister and mother, as well. She is absolutely focused on not just her own survival, but how she survives so that Prim and her mother back in District 12 don’t receive any backlash from her own highly-scrutinized actions and words. Katniss knows everything she says and does is watched and controlled and that any mistake could harm them and this makes her very self-contained.

And yet, all anyone in the media could talk about was the potential romantic interests. “What do you think, are you Team Gale or Team Peeta?” as though Katniss herself wasn’t just a teenage girl involved in a struggle to survive the worst conditions imaginable. But the media people here in our real world were just like the people in the Capitol – so far removed from real life that the only thing they can focus on is the superficial. And I also think it’s a demonstration of one of the most toxic parts of our society, where we force romance, and by extension sex, on girls as soon as their gender is identified before even their birth. But that’s another rant on sexism and misogyny all by itself.

My point is when you are in a hostile survival situation, romance is the last thing on your mind.

During the Hunger Games themselves, Katniss uses Peeta’s media-announced feelings to help them both survive. Whether her feelings are genuine or not or which of the two boys in the book she romantically prefers isn’t the point at all. Feelings are complicated and she knew she needed to provide a good show to help both of them survive, and her internal conflict over the entire situation is well-portrayed throughout the entire book.

She also doesn’t want to kill anyone at all, even if she is going into the Hunger Games. She only directly causes two deaths, the first by killing the boy who killed Rue, and the second by killing Cato, which at that point was an act of mercy.

This brings up the question of who we are when we think everyone is watching and when we think no one is. When left on your own, starving and hunted, will you treat other humans as sport or try to help whoever you can with what you have? Peeta says it before they go into the Games about how he doesn’t want them to change who he is and he doesn’t change. He’s probably one of the smartest, kindest, most considerate people in the entire story. His goal is to make sure Katniss wins the Hunger Games and he does everything he can to ensure exactly that, even pretending to form an alliance with the Careers. But still, he takes no action to willingly or knowingly kill anyone else. He thinks of the future while Katniss lives only in the present, which you can’t blame her for because the amount of anxiety in daily life in Panem is crushing.

I think this book (and the series in general) is actually getting harder to read as the years go by and we all feel like things are getting decidedly worse and not better. The past described in Panem looks more and more like our own modern future right now. There’s even a sentence on page 18: “He lists the disasters, the droughts, the storms, the fires, the encroaching seas that swallowed up so much of the land, the brutal war for what little sustenance remained.” that really just hits so hard. All of those things are getting worse right now, as climate change starts to impact more of our lives and resources are already becoming more problematic, it’s not difficult at all to imagine the world described as Panem.

Overall, this book is a solid three on my rating scale. I’m glad I own it and it’s a really good story but it’s just getting so much harder to read these days because of the deteriorating situation in the world lately. This is a future that’s too easy to see and that’s not a good thing at all.

Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. Scholastic Press, 2008.

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TV Series Review: Xena: Warrior Princess season 1

Posted on March 3, 2024 by C.A. Jacobs

As March is Women’s History Month in the U.S., I decided I should watch things that made history, starting with the first season of Xena: Warrior Princess.

“In a time of ancient gods, warlords, and kings, a land in turmoil cried out for a hero. She was Xena, a mighty princess forged in the heat of battle. The power. The passion. The danger. Her courage will change the world.”

If you’ve ever seen the show, I’m sure you heard the opening credit voice in your head as you read the summary. The back of the box summary is a little more detailed. “Xena is a smart, tough, and fearless fighter who travels the dangerous roads of Ancient Greece defending the innocent from the forces of darkness and seeking redemption for her cruel misdeeds of the past. Along for the adventures is her devoted friend Gabrielle, a compassionate girl who hopes to be a warrior one day, and other legendary figures, including the formidable Hercules. Combining impressive displays of mythology, fantasy, and martial arts, it’s the iconic show that set the bar for all female action heroes.”

The character of Xena was first seen in the 1995 Hercules: the Legendary Journeys episode “The Warrior Princess” and then she became a fan-favorite and got her own show.

This season introduces the main characters, specifically Xena and Gabrielle, and shows the very beginning of their friendship. And there’s a LOT of fun in this early season, like in “Dreamworker”, the episode where Morpheus is attempting to get Gabrielle to spill her blood innocence and her first instinct is to ask what Morpheus finds unattractive because she has many faults.

The first season introduces us to a number of Greek and historical people including Ares, Hades, Titans, Prometheus, Amazons, Centaurs, Virgil, and many others, plus guest appearances by characters from Hercule: the Legendary Journeys such as Hercules, Iolus, Salmoneus, and Autolycus, and some series specific characters like Joxer and Callisto, who become reoccurring characters throughout the show.

I think one of the best parts about this show is how absolutely irreverent to everything. One of the episodes has Salmoneus selling a “fizzy drink” and another has a vendor attempting to sell Gabrielle fake Mount Vulcan souvenirs. There’s no possibility of a consistent timeline, nor feasibility for most of the stunts. Somehow, Xena and Gabrielle are both able to be there for the fall of Troy and the attempted sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham. There’s also no real concept of how much time passes between adventures, making the show timeless.

All of this contributes to making this show absolutely fantastic!

Though, I don’t think this show would be able to be made today because fanbases get really obsessive about tiny details and a show like this would drive toxic fandoms into being even worse than they really can be sometimes. And most of those toxic fandoms center around those who would not like even the idea of a woman capable of taking care of herself and disrupting their fragile worldview. This show also used practical effects, which made it more authentic, instead of using something like CGI.

And not every episode was focused just on action or making the plot move forward. There were plenty of “filler” episodes and times where they really just had fun, though most of the episodes of the first season focused on Gabrielle helping Xena figure out how to redeem her actions from her warlord days. We see a lot of Xena being tricked into actions to set her back on her search for atonement and Gabrielle is there to make sure Xena remembers the path she’s on towards doing good.

Overall, this continues to be one of the most influential shows of my younger days and I’m enjoying the rewatch. I’d rate this first season as a solid three on my rating scale. I’m glad I own it and it’s good to rewatch it again from time to time.

Xena: Warrior Princess. Produced by R.J. Stewart, Liz Friedman, performances by Lucy Lawless, Renee O’Connor, Renaissance Pictures, Ltd, 1995.

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