The Siren's Call: An archive of past reviews
November 1, 2009
THE SIREN'S CALL
The Siren's Call: Jesus in the East; two extraordinary Victorian ladies
Jesus is everywhere.
October 11, 2009
THE SIREN'S CALL
The Siren's Call: An epic poet as Mary Shelley's co-author
How did Mary Shelley come up with the idea for "Frankenstein"? Did that spooky storytelling contest at the Villa Diodati in 1816 -- you know, the one with Byron, John Polidori and Mary's husband Percy -- send her imagination into high gear? Was it all the result of a nightmare?
September 20, 2009
THE SIREN'S CALL
The Siren's Call: Are angels among us?
I heard this anecdote somewhere:
August 30, 2009
THE SIREN'S CALL
The Siren's Call: Bigfoot and secret societies
Remember Robert Bly's bestselling 1990 book "Iron John: A Book About Men"?
August 9, 2009
THE SIREN'S CALL
Siren's Call: A talk with Michael Moorcock
Where do you begin with Michael Moorcock? His career and background range as far and wide as his characters do across the multiverse. Novelist, short story writer, editor (of New Worlds and other publications), journalist, musician -- and, in the case of this column, a very gracious interviewee. His detailed answers below, like those found on his website, Moorcock's Miscellany, seem designed to help enthusiasts and scholars alike to a better understanding of his multiverse.
July 5, 2009
THE SIREN'S CALL
Scary books: Read any good grimoires lately?
Thanks to their conspicuous use by Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the girls of the TV show "Charmed," Elphaba in the Broadway musical "Wicked" and plenty of other prominent pop culture figures, grimoires have become far more familiar to the general public. In "Grimoires: A History of Magic Books" ( Oxford University Press: 368 pp., $29.95), Owen Davies traces their development and notes a democratic impulse in their spread helped by the creation of the printing press (thank you, Mr. Gutenberg).
May 24, 2009
THE SIREN'S CALL
Man in black: Robert E. Howard's Solomon Kane
Considering the many horror films featuring heroes in black who take out ghoulish enemies with crossbows or holy water bullets -- think of the "Underworld" or "Hellboy" movies, or "Van Helsing," whose titular hero seems inspired by the subject of this month's column -- Robert E. Howard's Solomon Kane, a vengeance-seeking Puritan swordsman, is long overdue for the screen.
April 19, 2009
THE SIREN'S CALL
Exorcists, wizards and con men
Demonic attack -- now there's something that Hollywood animation crews have realized in vivid, awful detail in film after film. Check out the trailer for the new movie "The Haunting in Connecticut" and you'll see a perfect recent example. Shadowy figures, horrific tattoos breaking out all over someone's body, a young boy vomiting a snake-shaped cloud . . . there's enough in the trailer alone to guarantee plenty of uncomfortable nights if you live alone (or if you don't, for that matter).
February 22, 2009
THE SIREN'S CALL
In Lovecraft and Hill, every picture tells a story
HERE'S an unlikely pairing: Susan Hill and H.P. Lovecraft.
December 7, 2008
FAVORITE BOOKS/MYTH AND LORE
The Siren's Call: New narratives, old myths
Myth is an extremely rich vein that writers have always mined. This year was no exception, as demonstrated by Kate Summerscale's splendid nonfiction study of a 19th century murder, "The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher" (Walker: 380 pp., $24.95).
November 23, 2008
THE SIREN'S CALL
In search of a wizard
Think of your favorite movie Merlin: Was it Sam Neill's Tolkienesque version (see photo) or was it "Excalibur's" Nicol Williamson, with that unforgettable steel skullcap? How about Stephen Dillane's blue-faced portrayal in the 2004 box office disappointment "King Arthur"? (The movie didn't disappoint me, Keira Knightley was in it.)
August 10, 2008
THE SIREN'S CALL
Christopher Priest's 'Inverted World' imagines a city that crawls
Spoiler alert: Plot surprises in Christopher Priest's novel "Inverted World" are discussed in the following column.
June 29, 2008
THE SIREN'S CALL
The Greek connection
Despite the obvious danger, a determined postman climbed to the top of Mt. Etna to complete a delivery. Once there, he took a small parcel from his satchel. He stared at the label again, just to be sure. It read:
June 1, 2008
The Siren's Call
A riddle in three dimensions
Semi-spoiler alert: Some of Kate Summerscale's conclusions in "The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher" are presented but not all.
May 11, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
'The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican' by Benjamin Blech and Roy Doliner
MICHELANGELO studied the Kabbalah and Talmud? It's all right there, above our heads, as Benjamin Blech and Roy Doliner demonstrate in their fascinating study of the Sistine Chapel, "The Sistine Secrets" (HarperOne: 336 pp., $26.95). I understand the desire to reach Dan Brown's audience with the book's provocative subtitle -- "Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican" -- but this book is hardly a "Da Vinci Code" knockoff. The authors, both experts on Judaica, scoured Michelangelo's work and found many oddities, raising such questions as: Why does the serpent in Eden have arms? Why, in that scene, is the Tree of Knowledge a fig tree instead of an apple tree? And, hey, why does the shape of "The Last Judgment" resemble the tablets of the Ten Commandments?
October 28, 2007
BOOK REVIEW
Contemplating the angel in us all: Harold Bloom's 'Fallen Angels'
Call it a celestial case of trading up: The prophet Elijah, carried to heaven in a chariot, becomes the angel Sandalphon. Enoch becomes Metatron and St. Francis, gentle lover of animals, is transformed into Rhamiel. "Fallen Angels" (Yale: 72 pp., $16) is literary critic Harold Bloom's meditation on the metaphoric power of angels in Western culture. "[F]or me a fallen angel and a human being are two terms for the same entity or condition," he declares.
BOOK REVIEW
Middle-earth evolution
This has been a busy year for J.R.R. Tolkien fans. "The Children of Hurin," a grim tale of Middle-earth's First Age, became a bestseller in the summer; film director Peter Jackson signed on to produce a movie of "The Hobbit"; and now we have more insights into Tolkien's creative processes, with the publication of a handsomely illustrated edition of "The Hobbit" packaged with "The History of 'The Hobbit,' " edited by John D. Rateliff (Houghton Mifflin: three volumes, $95). Now, wait, for Belladonna's sake -- this boxed set isn't a thin collection of odds and ends but a substantial look at revisions, much like what Tolkien's son Christopher did in "The History of Middle-earth." Rateliff's labors have resulted in a rich treatment of the many changes, false starts and motivations behind Tolkien's storytelling choices. In "The Hobbit's" early drafts, the story is basically the same but with surprising variations: The hospitality of poor Bilbo Baggins is sorely tested by a band of dwarves and a blue-hatted wizard named Bladorthin (not Gandalf), who coerce him into stealing the treasure of a dragon named Pryftan (not Smaug). As the story expanded, names (and much else) were changed to mesh with Tolkien's vision of the world he was creating.
Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times
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