Long Way Down (Jason Reynolds)

Shawn is dead. Will, his younger brother, remembers the three rules of his neighborhood:

1) No crying

2) No snitching

3) Get revenge

Will finds Shawn's gun and plans to kill the perpetrator. But in the elevator, Will encounters the ghosts of friends and family who have killed and been killed over the years. He wrestles with the past and these rules . . . were they meant to be broken? Or "for the broken to follow"? And he remembers his mother's words . . .

but just remember, when

you're walking in the nighttime,

make sure the nighttime

ain't walking into you.

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This book, presented in verse with sparse word counts on each page, is powerful. You can get through the 306 pages in an hour, but reflect on it for days. The format heightens the tension, the sadness, the hardship. What terrible cycles of vengeance we can find ourselves in. What will we do when wronged?

Rating: A

Excalibur (Bernard Cornwell)

Continuing from book two . . .

Last time, Arthur put down Lancelot's rebellion yet reels from Guinevere's betrayal. But he doesn't have time to mourn . . . the two Saxon kings (Aelle and Cerdic) appear to have put their differences aside and join forces to overwhelm the British kingdoms . . . the fate of many will be decided at Mount Badon.

Merlin has disappeared, and Nimue with him. Determined to summon the pagan gods at any cost, they lay plans to do so. All who oppose them—friend or foe—will be cursed.

Mordred is now rightful king and developed a taste for war. He hones his skills in foreign lands, but soon rumors of his death abound, making Arthur's son the rightful heir. But all is not as it seems . . . and the foes are many. For the Saxon threat ever lingers, hatred on multiple sides will not rest, and this time, it might prove too much. 

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Book three concludes Arthur's story in an appropriate yet heartbreaking way. As with the first two volumes, this historical fantasy conjectures a realistic/historical Arthur fused with many elements of the legend familiar to modern readers. And Cornwell succeeds in what he sets out to accomplish, making this book (and the series) an enjoyable tale.

This volume makes Guinevere more nuanced and less annoying; throughout the trilogy, Cornwell does a good job portraying the spirit of the legendary characters in a historical setting. In the end, I found only Lancelot's portrayal objectionable.

I think this book was the best of the three, with the most memorable lines, poignant scenes, and suitable conclusion. It left me wanting more (in a good way), but that is an appropriate way to end a tale of the once and future king.

Rating: A

Wyvern

Today's review is of the 1994 release, Wyvern. A Collectible Card Game (CCG), this went out of production in 1997, making it a 'dead' CCG. 

Overview

In Wyvern, your goal is to win a series of battles where you defeat your opponent's dragons and overcome their terrain. If you win a battle (meaning your opponent has no more terrain or dragon cards on the battlefield), you get 25 points plus however many gold you have left in your supply. Then everything is reset and the next battle begins. The first to 100 points overall wins. Do you have what it takes?

Wyvern has four card types: dragons, terrain, action, and treasure. The first two are shuffled and placed in their deck to the left of the battlefield; the last two are shuffled and placed in their deck to the right.

To begin, each player draws 6 cards from their dragon/terrain deck and places them face-down in two rows of three, making their battlefield. Each player starts with 25 gold. Then, each player draws 7 cards from their action/treasure deck and the game begins.

On your turn, you take the following steps:

- draw a action/treasure card

- play a treasure (if possible/desired; these go on either side of the battlefield)

- move any two cards (switch their position on the battlefield)

- take your first action phase (play action cards)

- battle*

- second action phase

game in progress; image from here

*to battle, turn a dragon face-up and pay its costs. That makes it eligible to attack. Choose an eligible target (one row away unless there are modifiers), and your opponent turns that card face-up. If it is a dragon, your opponent pays its costs and they fight (higher strength wins, and both players can use action cards to help). If it is terrain, you do what the card states (and can overcome or be weakened/destroyed by its abilities). When a dragon or terrain card is defeated, it is removed from the battlefield and not replaced. 

I won't go into more detail on the game phases; you can find the rules here and a how to play video here.

Review

I enjoyed this game considering its era (the first generation of CCGs). It is simple but 'sneaky' in the sense that you don't know what you are attacking; it could be a trap. (I've heard this game compared to Stratego.) The rulebook could be better, but the online resources above are sufficient.

As a dead CCG, you can still pick up cards for reasonable prices. I might get a few more just for deck building options, but don't blow the bank on this one.

Rating: B

Deadpool & Wolverine

Now in the Marvel multiverse, Wade Wilson (AKA Deadpool) travels from his reality (Earth-10005*) to the Avengers' (Earth-616), hoping to join them. Spurned, he returns to his own life, where he leads a downhearted existence working as a used car salesman. But things are not to last . . .

The Time Variance Authority (TVA), keepers and monitors of the various realities, offer Deadpool a new opportunity in another timeline. But when he learns his own is deteriorating, he decides instead to seek its restoration. He goes against TVA wishes to other multiverses seeking a Logan's help, but the TVA cast both into the Void to get them out of the way. Undeterred, Wade and Logan will encounter familiar faces and new threats as they seek to save their respective realities. Can they do so?

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As with the other Deadpool movies, I was amused, disturbed, and edified . . . all at once. The humor is great, the cameos/allusions are impressive (and go way back into superhero movie past . . . I hope you started following 25 years ago), the violence and language are graphic (done for comedic effect, yet disturbing), and the message . . . is surprisingly good. 

As with Birdman (see previous review), this movie is about meaning. Deadpool feels like he doesn't matter. Wolverine like he's the wrong guy. Both have let people down. Both want respect, attention, and the sense that they've been someone worthy of both. But unlike Birdman, this movie actually provides an answer. The way to matter is to lay down your life for others. And they just might do the same for you. It's an amazing message wrapped in gore, cursing, innuendo, and humor. So viewers beware, and keep your kids away . . . but there is some gold here.

Rating: A-

*which is apparently the reality where the X-men and Deadpool movies reside, to include Logan.

Birdman

Riggan Thomson was Birdman, starring as the hero in a series of popular movies some thirty years prior. Now faded and forgotten, he seeks meaning, purpose, and adoration (or love?) as he writes, directs, and stars in a play on Broadway based on Raymond Carver's short story "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love." As the show approaches opening night, Riggan loses a main actor and turns to a well-known but problematic replacement. Will the show be a success? Will it matter?

I've had this 2014 film on my "to watch" list for quite a while. It is full of profanity, yet is a powerful and poignant look at our often futile, selfish, and harmful quest for purpose, validation, and affection. Riggan's daughter has the quote of the movie:

You're doing this because you're scared to death, like the rest of us, that you don't matter. And you know what? You're right. You don't. It's not important, okay? You're not important. Get used to it.

Yet Riggan persists, even as he agonizes. "Why do I have to beg people to love me?" he asks on stage. "I wanted to be what you wanted," he pleads to this ex in the play. Offstage, he (and others) wrestle with feeling invisible. "I don't exist. I'm not even here," says one. The main characters will grasp at anything to be convinced they matter; that they are special. Yet they feel like frauds, and even dreams, when seemingly fulfilled, do not satisfy. They want someone to say "you're good enough," and beyond that, they want to be "above them all." They want truth, love, and meaning . . . but their hopes seem pointless. An ambiguous ending leaves the audience wanting closure and a solution . . . but there is neither.

This is a great film, if incomplete. It rightly wrestles with some fundamental human challenges, and (also rightly) comes up with no earthly solution. If only it had considered or pointed to the heavenly one. It didn't, so I will: check out my religion page for some good news. Only in Christ can we rest in our quest for meaning, for we are indeed loved—but not due to our own actions.

 

Rating: A-

The Oxford Guide to Arthurian Literature and Legend (Alan Lupack)

The Oxford Guide to Arthurian Literature and Legend is just that. Starting with the earliest references to Arthur, Alan Lupack investigates every known scrap of material (from historical to fictional) of the once and future king, from mentions in the sixth century to the present.

Structurally, "this guide is designed so that the book as a whole may serve as a critical history of the Arthurian legend. By selecting one chapter, a reader may follow some of the main traditions from their origins to the present." Since different traditions (and threads or components within them) "intersect and diverge frequently," there are a lot of intratextual references within the volume (and thus some repetition).

Lupack looks at the following themes:

• Early Accounts of Arthur, Chronicles, and Historical Literature
• One emphasis: Geoffrey of Monmouth
• The Romance Tradition
• One emphasis: Chretien de Troyes
• Malory, his Inflence, and the Continuing Romance Tradition
• One emphasis: Thomas Malory
• The Holy Grail
• Gawain
• Merlin
• Tristan and Isolt

Though the focus is writing, Lupack also looks at dramas, music, art, and more.

So was Arthur real? "While the question of Arthur's historicity is critical to the historian and intriguing to anyone interested in the legends, there is a sense in which it does not matter. Real or not, Arthur has inspired a vast cultural tradition, which is manifested in poetry, fiction, drama, music, art, film, and popular culture, and has been adapted to the concerns of eaach succeeding age that reintprets the tradition." Indeed, "each succeeding age continues to discover innovative ways of interpreting the legend and drawing on its remarkable diversity to comment on contemporary fears and values." 

Why does Arthur endure? "The stories of Arthur and the knights and ladies of his court are so enduring because their themes are universeal and therefore remain important, even in this century. The essence . . . involves olove and hate; honour and duty; religion and rependance; freidnship and betrayal; war and peace; leaderslp; the relationship between weak and powerful individuals or nations; values and ideals, and codes by which to live; the struggle to overcome baser instincts and to do what is right despite the cost; the choice between conflicting ideals."

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This work is impressive in scope and detail. I skimmed or read sections only, as it is too much to ingest in anything other than small doses. Each work (be it historical or romantic) is evaluated and explained in some depth—Lupack will give synopses and other insights as he deems fit. That is great (for the dedicated) and too much (for the novice wanting more of an overview).

Having dabbled in Arthur for years, I enjoyed this work. I learned of a few works I had no idea existed, earmarked several I'd like to read one day, and will keep this as a nice (and compact) reference for Arthurian studies.

Rating: A

Jesus Loves the Little Children (Daniel Hyde)

In Jesus Loves the Little Children, Daniel Hyde explains why we (many denominations of Christianity) baptize children. He looks at:

• Defining terms (understanding what baptism is)
• Circumcision and baptism (and the similarities between this respective Old Testament and New Testament signs)
• Covenant and baptism (understanding the nature of how God relates to His people and their children)
• Baptism or dedication (looking at the differences between them)
• The mode of baptism (immersion, pouring, or sprinkling)
• A brief history of infant baptism from early church sources

Overall, this is a solid introduction. Believers can squabble over this doctrine, because there is no command in Scripture that explicit says baptize (or do not baptize) your children. I agree with Hyde that "infant baptism is a biblical doctrine because it is a "good and necessary consequence" of the entirety of scriptural teaching." And I think he does a reasonable job presenting his case, looking across the Scriptures in the above areas (especially in his discussion of original sin and how that doctrine applies here . . . that isn't always mentioned but should be). Sometimes, I think his arguments/proofs aren't quite as firm as he states (even though I agree with him), but this is a good introduction nonetheless. I would recommend it alongside R.C. Sproul's introduction to the topic.

Rating: A-