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The Hobbit Review

Posted by Velox , in Reviews Jan 07 2013 · 129 views
The Hobbit, Movie Review, Review and 1 more...

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So I saw The Hobbit the day after it came out in theaters, and I’ve been meaning to write a review since. This review will contain some slight spoilers, so if you haven’t seen it yet, I’d wait to read this entry until then.
 
I want to start off with saying that the book is fantastic – it’s a perfect kid’s fairy-tale-type-book, but then again, that’s not surprising, considering Tolkien wrote it. However, the movie is not the book – not exactly, anyway. Of course this was completely expected, and I personally didn’t have a problem with it. But if you’re expecting it to be the book line-by-line, you’ll be disappointed. 
 
That said, it is “the movie” – it fits in very nicely with the LOTR movies, and is a great prologue to the trilogy. Half of me wants them to release a “book version” (basically, cut out all the extra scenes, change some of the changes slightly to better fit the book, etc.). I realize this is improbable, but I still think it’d be cool. Don’t get me wrong, I love the movie, and I’m sure I’ll love the extended edition, too. I just think it’d be awesome to have both; a “book version” and a “movie version.” But yeah, that’s not going to happen. =P Anyway, it's also obviously a lot darker, but that's to be expected -- I wasn't disappointed with that bit. 
 
Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins is the absolute perfect choice. He was completely fantastic, and is the perfect, perfect Bilbo (and Watson, for that matter). His whole part was extremely well-done, and I loved every one of his scenes. Ian McKellen, too, did a supurb job. Of course all of the other actors did too, but I thought that they, particularly, did an outstanding job.
 
But of course that list of “outstanding jobs” would not be complete if I didn’t include Andrew Serkis in that list. His performance as Gollum was absolutely amazing, and was one of the best parts about the whole movie. The Riddles scene was very well-done (sure, some slight inconsistencies like there being more light than there should be, but again…this is the movie, so that didn’t really bother me. And the riddles themselves were fantastically done – I’m really hoping all of them are included in the extended edition).
 
Back to the movie itself, the beginning was absolutely fantastic. Yes, I’ve probably said “absolutely fantastic” or some variation of a dozen times already, but I don’t care – because it’s true. The history of the Lonely Mountain was done extremely well, and I loved how you saw Smaug but at the same time…you didn’t (if you saw the movie you’ll understand what I’m saying =P). On that note, everything about Smaug was well-done. Sure, I wish we could’ve seen him in this movie, but at the same time, I think they built him up spectacularly, and I’m sure the second part of the trilogy will be amazing with him.
 
The very beginning narration with Ian Holm and the tie-in to LOTR was also extremely well-done. I really, really enjoyed this, and the first…30 minutes or so all together, with Bilbo and Frodo and later Bilbo the Younger. As implied, I really liked how they tied this movie into Ian Holm telling Frodo about his adventure, the switching to Martin Freeman. And I liked how for the first part with Martin Freeman, some lines were copied directly from the book. I had just read the book a few days before, so it was cool seeing that.
 
The dwarves were over-all well-done. I had some concerns about them at first, but after seeing the movie I was pleased with their performance. I do wish they could’ve had their instruments and their coloured hoods, but their “That’s What Bilbo Baggins Hates!” song was very well done. Even more so was the Misty Mountains song – that was just simply fantastic, and one of the best parts of the movie. Which, speaking of, the whole soundtrack was extremely well-done. Of course, that was expected with Howard Shore, but still. I can’t wait to buy the Deluxe Version at some point.
 
As for the Azog inclusion…I guess I both liked and disliked that. Obviously it’s not true to the book, but I liked how there was a single antagonistic character for the dwarves and Bilbo. I also thought that Azog was very well-done, himself, and seemed to be a cool character. At the same time, I think they could’ve gone slightly more in-depth with him. Sometimes it seemed like he was placed in simply so there was an “enemy” for the company. The inclusion of the Necromancer, too, was cool, and I definitely look forward to Cumberbatch playing him in future films (who is, of course, a perfect Sherlock as well). And I thought most of Rivendell was well-done. I also liked Radagast for the most part. 
 
The troll scene was obviously different from the book, which I both liked and disliked. The personalities were very well done, but I kind of wish Gandalf would have done his voices trick. At the same time, I understand having to introduce Bilbo as the “hero” early on, since they’re dragging it out to three, three-hour-long movies.
 
I was very pleased with the portrayal of the goblin king. I was interested to see how they would do that, and I think they pulled it off well. His death, however, not so much. In fact, it was rather lame, unfortunately. Which is really too bad, considering I liked the rest of him. Oh well. But on that note, I didn’t like the front porch scene. I really wish they would’ve kept truer to the book here (I liked how there was a crack in the wall, and the ponies disappeared, etc., rather than the movie version). Oh, well.
 
The stone giants, too, was a little over-done. I really liked it, up until the point that they were stuck on the giant’s legs. That just went overboard, and wasn’t necessary. I wish they would’ve kept it off to the distance – have them dodging boulders, sure, but to be actually on a giant was a little much. 
 
And lastly, the ending could’ve been done better. The very, very end was done well, I think, in the sense that it was a good way/place to stop it (I hope that the eagles speak in the second movie, though). But the tree scene was…disappointing. Of course you had to have the dramatic Thorin and Azog (which wasn’t even done all that well, unfortunately). The idea itself wouldn’t’ve been too bad if it were done a little differently, I think. Even Bilbo saving him, I can see how that’d be useful to develop Bilbo’s character. But it just wasn’t executed as well as it could’ve been. And the falling trees and domino effect was even worse. I have to say I was disappointed with that. Oh, well. 
 
This was the first time I had seen a 3D movie, and I think it worked well here. Also the sped-up frames-per-minute was kind of cool. I didn’t really notice it all that much, but coupled with the 3D at times it definitely worked well. I’ve heard some people say that the movie seemed too long, but personally I didn’t think so, and I was happy with the length (in fact, I was surprised it was over all ready when it was – didn’t seem like nearly three hours).
 
Overall, The Hobbit was a great movie, and I’d highly recommend it. Sure, there were other small little problem I had with it (mostly from differences between the movie and book), but overall it was amazing, especially if it’s looked at as a prologue to the movies more than an exact movie-version of the book. Peter Jackson did well, and I look forward to the Extended Edition and the next two movies. 
 
~ Velox



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A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole

Posted by Velox , in Reviews, Literature Dec 03 2012 · 93 views
Confederacy, Dunces, John Toole and 2 more...

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A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole
ISBN: 0802130208
Publisher: Grove Press
Release Date: January 21st 1994
Rating: 2/5
Synopsis: Set in New Orleans, A Confederacy of Dunces outswifts Swift, one of whose essays gives the book its title. As its characters burst into life, they leave the region and literature forever changed by their presences – Ignatius and his mother; Miss Trixie, the octogenarian assistant accountant at Levy Pants; inept, wan Patrolman Mancuso; Darlene, the Bourbon Street stripper with a penchant for poultry; Jones, the jivecat in space-age dark glasses. Satire and farce animate A Confederacy of Dunces; tragic awareness ennobles it.
Review: (Review from [Book Reviewing Site])
 
I’m honestly not sure why this is considered such a great book by some people. The only reason that I finished it is that I had to for one of my college English classes, but otherwise I probably wouldn’t've (and I hate leaving books unfinished, even if they’re not very good). At almost no point in the story does the plot, characters, writing style or setting grip my attention. Ignatius, the main character, is perhaps slightly interesting at first, but it gets to the point where it’s just too ridiculous and frankly boring — it all gets old quick.

As I alluded to above, however, there were some parts toward the beginning where Ignatius was an interesting character. In fact, the book itself had some promise to it, but soon it was apparent that this book would be nothing more than mediocre at best.

This is also supposed to be an extremely funny book — I didn’t feel that. The only thing I felt was that Ignatius (and, every character, really) is just so ridiculous that it’s not believable. It’s not funny any more because you don’t believe that anyone could ever act like that. At least I don’t. While the characters are all distinctly different — something usually that is good — they are different to extremes. Whatever they are, they are that to the very extreme. And it really hurts the book.
 
Furthermore, it just epitomizes a lazy, whiny, and very un-funny main character. You’re not left laughing at Ignatius’ actions. You’re left wanting to slap him (and in a bad way -- not in the "author-did-a-good-job-making-you-hate-him" way, because he's supposed to be funny, even if he's not likable) because of his laziness, stupidity, or just overall annoying habits and mannerisms. Ignatius is not a fun, lovable character. And he’s not a despicable character in the good way, either — as in, some characters you’re meant to hate, they’re meant to annoy you, and if an author pulls that off, it’s a great feat. This, however, is not that either. What you have here is some weird medium where you think you’re supposed to like him and think he’s funny, yet you really hate him at the same time. Additionally, Ignatius is never really well-characterized. At the end of the novel I’m left with only the facts that he’s an extremely lazy, whiny, dependent man who wouldn’t last on his own for more than a week at best. And again, not in some funny or good way, but in a way that is just simply not entertaining at all. It's not just about the character being someone who's not likable, but it's about the fact that it tries too hard at humor, as if it was trying to prove its hilarity. There was almost none.
 
I’ve wrestled with whether or not to give this one star or two. One star doesn’t seem quite fair, as the book isn’t horrible, and the writing is by no means bad (just not all that enjoyable — but then again, not the least-enjoyable thing I’ve read, either). I’m kinda iffy on this whole star system in general — most of my 5 stars would actually be 4.5, because I believe that hardly any book is perfect and worth a perfect score. Yet 4 (or if you double it, 8/10 — a “B” if it were a college paper) is too low. So I ended up giving it a two — I didn’t like it, but it was -okay- (note to BZP members: This site's rating system says "I didn't like it" for one star, and "it was okay" for two stars -- hence my middle-ground).
 
Overall I just simply cannot highly recommend this book. It’s not horrible, no, but I definitely wouldn’t call it great or even good. John Kennedy Toole, while a promising author, took things too far every time. And it’s sad, really, because the idea behind this book could probably be something great, but it was simply taken way too far, exaggerated so much that the story started to lose credibility, leading to the ultimate dissatisfaction I felt with the book.
 
~ Velox



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The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak

Posted by Velox , in Reviews, Literature Aug 23 2012 · 194 views
Book Review, The Book Thief and 1 more...

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The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
ISBN: 0375842209
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Release Date: 2005
Rating: 5/5

A fantastic story about a little girl living in Germany during World War II, her parents gone and her brother dead. She takes comfort from her foster parents, most especially from her foster-father, an extremely kind man who gives up sleep -- and himself -- for this little girl, Liesel Meminger. She gains a great love for words, books, and writing as her acordion-playing foster-father helps her to learn how to read, so much so that she steals books from wherever possible, even Nazi book-burnings. Through the struggling of learning to read, surviving during this horrible time, gaining friends, and obtaining material for her to read, The Book Thief tells the fantastic story of Liesel Meminger.  

The Book Thief, as much as anything else, is a book about people. The characters of The Book Thief are quite extraordinary, and certainly make the novel great. Liesel, of course, the main character to whom much sympathy is given. Seeing all of these events through the eyes of a nine-year-old (and up to fourteen years old as the novel progresses), is really quite amazing, and definitely emotionally moving. This story as a whole really gives you a unique look on World War II and the Germans -- it forces you to realize, whether you did before this book or not, that not all were bad. Liesel and her family prove this. WWII was a terrible thing, and horrible things happened to people on both sides -- all the more reason why it's important to remember that not every simply supported Hitler and the things he did, even if they were German. This book helps you realize that.

My favorite character, perhaps, would be "Papa" -- Hans Hubermann. A fantastically portrayed father-figure for Liesel, he's really quite the extraordinary man. Waking up every single night for a long period of time in order to comfort Liesel of her nightmares. He'll stay awake for hours, playing the accordion and teaching her how to read. Which is one of the most enjoyable parts of this book. At her brother's death, Liesel picks up a book in the snow, The Gravedigger's Handbook -- the first act of book thievery. With that she begins to read, taught by her Papa and slowly, but definitely surely, becoming better and better to the point that she can read, and read well. Even so well that she is paid in food -- something very scarce for her foster-family -- to read to an old lady. And so it is thanks to her Papa that she becomes the very enjoyable character that she is.

The Book Thief is, without question, a story about a bibliophile and a writer. Perhaps that is why I loved the book so much, as those are two traits that I share with her. Of course, I have it easy. As much as she loves books, she is only able to get them by stealing, as they are otherwise banned. The dedication she has to learning to read and write is simply awesome and inspiring. If she could become a lover of books -- if she could read books at all -- during such horrible times as WWII, then really, no one has an excuse for not reading. Everyone should love and cherish books.

And her Papa helps her with that, always supportive, always giving up time to help her. What I love about Papa is just how great of a man he is. He doesn't care what happens to himself -- as seen when he gives food to a Jewish man, among many, many other instances -- but only cares about helping others. He is a great father-figure, and suffers greatly -- even at the hand of himself -- to help others. One particular moment that I liked is when he is, to put it simply, quite stern with Liesel. He in fact even hits her (something that is not uncommon, but almost never done by Papa -- in fact this may be the only time he does it, I forget), but really, really doesn't like doing so. He wants to just hug her and hold her and tell her everything is okay, but he doesn't. He forces himself to do the right thing in order to protect her and their family. Quite simply, he saved their lives. I don't agree with the fact that he hit her, no, but you also have to realize that times were different then. And even so, I respect him for doing the hard thing as it was for her.

Liesel also develops close relationships with other characters throughout the story. One, Rudy, is her best -- and one of her only -- friend. They spend many hours together, and it was quite enjoyable reading their interactions with each other, the nick names they had (even if they were insults -- that's what made it great), how well they got along, and how badly they got along. Bickering, making fun of each other, getting in arguments, but never anything serious. Always in the way of a great friendship, made greater and stronger by his love for her and later, as she discovers, her love for him as well.

Another great character she becomes close to is Max Vandenburg. An extremely enjoyable character to read about as they also gain a great, great friendship as he lives in their basement (a Jew). The things they do together, the books he writes for her, the presents she gives him when he's sick, all forming together to create something that, again, is simply just very enjoyable, many times putting a smile to my face as I read their interactions.

The last character I want to mention, and one that she shares a strong bond with, albeit in a very, very different way from the previously mentioned character. Not a close friend that she spends a lot of time with, but still someone who Liesel grows close to and someone who is very influential on Liesel, Ilsa Hermann was another great character. She provides Liesel with many of the books she "steal", and as the novel progresses they grow closer and closer, coming to an understanding with each other. Toward the end of the book she gives Liesel perhaps the greatest gift yet -- a blank book with lined paper, the book that Liesel uses to write the story of her life; The Book Thief. At one point it says how "...there would be punishment and pain, and there would be happiness, too. That was writing." Something very true, and it's awesome to be able to relate to such an amazing character that is Liesel.

But the characters aren't the only things that make The Book Thief such an stunning book. Amazingly written, and from Death's perspective, it really is quite unique. I personally loved the format and the way that Death would narrate things -- it gives not only a unique outlook on the story, but a unique outlook on writing in general. Not to mention it reminds you that Death isn't a bad thing -- Death isn't the Devil, after all.

The emotion, as I'm sure you can imagine from a book set during World War II and about a young girl, is definitely heavily-laced throughout the story, but it is quite well done. It had me smiling and on the verge tears many times, a book that struck the heart through both happiness and sadness. The ending especially was simply fantastically written, Very sad, but fantastic all the same.

I am quite surprised that it is considered a children's book -- I can see a Young Adult's book, as I think it is an extremely important book with great messages and great for teens -- but it cannot be ignored that the subject is also not exactly for children. With much minor swearing (and a few not-so-minor occurrences) and the subject matter of WWII, it's definitely not the most kid-friendly or happy read, but all the same, it is amazing.


Overall The Book Thief was an amazing read, and I'm sure it will remain one of my favorite novels. Definitely highly, highly recommended. If you are a bibliophile, a writer, simply someone interested in Nazi Germany, then this book is especially for you -- but really, this book is for everyone.

As the New York Times puts it, "It's the kind of book that can be life changing." Definitely is a life changing book for me – it makes you realize how fortunate you are. I can go to the bookstore and buy any book I want. I can write whenever I want, any time. I can read whenever I want. Liesel didn’t have that luxury, yet she still was determined to read.


(Rantings of Harry Potter to possibly come soon, as I had just finished reading the whole series for the first time before I started The Book Thief on Tuesday)

~ Velox



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Coming Soon

Posted by Velox , in BZPower, Other, Reviews Jun 18 2012 · 97 views
ECC
Do you like epics and want to give back by giving people reviews? Ever thought of joining the ECC? Well now's your chance. Coming June 22nd, a contest will be hosted in the Epics Critics Club (staff approved); the winner will be given an internship at the ECC. Keep your eyes on the ECC topic this Friday for further information and the opportunity to put the power of the pen in your hands.

~ Velox



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A Monster Calls

Posted by Velox , in Reviews, Literature Jun 15 2012 · 162 views

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A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness is honestly one of the best books I have ever read. Illustrated by Jim Kay, this book tells the story of a thirteen-year-old boy named Conor who wakes up at seven minutes past midnight to find a monster outside his bedroom window. For a long time he has been having nightmares almost nightly, but this isn't the monster from those nightmares -- this monster is different and wants something from Conor: the truth. Filled with emotion, characterization, and great writing, this novel tells Conor's story as he faces his mother's illness and the nightmare that haunts him.

I've been trying to find this book for a few months now at a used bookstore (what can I say, I'm cheap =P), but hadn't been able to find it until I visited Powell's bookstore in Portland when I was at Bricks Cascade (I'm sure I could have found it at a normal bookstore like B&N, but I haven't looked -- I know they have it online). I actually ended up buying it new anyway (it was only $16.99), and I definitely don't regret it. I started and finished this novel a few days ago and couldn't put it down while reading it. It has so much great characterization, plot, emotions, description, tales, not to mention the fabulous illustrations that accompany the text and simply the fact that the writing was very well done. I really want to read it again, but I'm forcing myself not to so I can read some of the other books on my mile-long list of books to read.

But honestly, this book is highly recommended. I am really, really grateful to Katie (aka Ezorov) for telling me about it and "nagging" me to read it because I loved it and it is now definitely one of my favorite books. On that note, today is her birthday, so you should all go say "Happy Birthday" to her over here in the birthday topic I made for her!

And if anyone's wondering, this is where my recent banner/avatar came from. I may write a more "official" review of it later on, but I just wanted to throw this out there that it's an amazing book and highly recommended.

~ Velox



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The Brass Verdict, By Michael Connelly

Posted by Velox , in Literature, Reviews Apr 13 2012 · 35 views
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The Brass Verdict, by Michael Connelly
ISBN: 9780316166294
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Release Date: October 2008
Rating: 5/5
Synopsis: "Things are finally looking up for defense attorney Mickey Haller. After two years of wrong turns, Haller is back in the courtroom. When Hollywood lawyer Jerry Vincent is murdered, Haller inherits his biggest case yet: the defense of Walter Elliott, a prominent studio executive accused of murdering his wife and her lover. But as Haller prepares for the case that could launch him into the big time, he learns that Vincent's killer may be coming for him next.
Enter Harry Bosch. Determined to find Vincent's killer, he is not opposed to using Haller as bait. But as danger mounts and the stakes rise, these two loners realize their only choice is to work together."

Review: Another amazing novel by Michael Connelly. The first page starts off talking about lies and how everybody lies. It’s cool to see that come up a couple more times in the novel as well, a great reference to the beginning of the novel. For the first three chapters you get a flashback of a young Haller in court, starting off the novel extremely well, as court scenes are always interesting especially when you have Haller.

Right off the bat you get some great new characterization for Mickey Haller. After the events of The Lincoln Lawyer, he fell into addiction of drugs, lost his chance with his wife, lost joint custody of his daughter, and hadn’t been to court in about a year. You really get a good look into Haller throughout this novel, who has proven to be an exceptionally interesting character.

In The Brass Verdict you also get Harry Bosch, Connelly’s main character who has ~16 novels to his name (and only ~4 to Haller). I haven’t read any of Connelly’s Bosch series yet, so it’s cool to see him here. Another interesting character, to be sure. A lot of great conflict between the two, but seeing them eventually working together was cool as well, and gave another great look into the character of Haller: he really does care about helping the “good guys.” It is also cool to see how Haller finds out Bosch is his half-brother. Quite an interesting development there. I am definitely going to read the Bosch series as well.

One thing about this novel that was interesting was that at one point it focused heavily on jury selection. I never knew that the jury was selected by the lawyers, and it was cool to see how everything worked, especially Haller’s strategy for it.

The Brass Verdict kept my interest from the beginning, with a very pleasing-to-read writing style, amazing characterization, an awesome plot, and some very well-placed twists. I especially liked how Connelly related the book to the title toward the end of the book, wrapping it up nicely. I enjoyed seeing that there was a glimmer of hope with him and his daughter’s mother, and the conclusion of the book as a whole was very satisfying.

Along with the rest of the Mickey Haller series: Highly recommended.



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The Athena Project, By Brad Thor

Posted by Velox , in Reviews, Literature Apr 13 2012 · 47 views
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The Athena Project, by Brad Thor
ISBN: 1439192952
Publisher: Atria Books
Release Date: November 23, 2010
Rating: 5/5
Synopsis: "Tucked away in a remote corner of North Carolina’s Fort Bragg, behind rows of razor wire and heavily armed guards, lies the headquarters of the nation’s most elite counter-terrorism unit - the United States Army’s 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment Delta. Here, a brilliant new approach to combating terrorism has just been born. Its codename: The Athena Project.
The novels will follow an elite team of female warriors from their recruitment as top-level athletes, through their training, to their deployment on some of the most exciting and dangerous international assignments the fiction world has ever seen."

Review: Quite the thrilling read. Just the idea itself: of having a special forces/black ops team of female operators doing the same kick-butt stuff that male operators do is awesome. Then coupled with Brad Thor's incredibly improved writing skills, that just made it better.

On that subject, with this book, I also finished reading all of Brad Thor's novels. I had read Path of the Assassin (his second novel) a while ago (somewhere around Christmas), and then I decided to go back to his first, skip PotA, and then read the rest in order. His first was really lacking (Lions of Lucerne). It wasn't bad, not at all, but it wasn't great either. However, that just shows what an amazing author Brad Thor is. If there was an award for "most improved author" it'd be him. I absolutely loved State of the Union (his third novel), as well as all of his following novels (and I enjoyed PotA, too). He is definitely one of my favorite authors.

Anyway, back to The Athena Project. First introduced in the previous novel, Foreign Influence, I was immediately captivated by the idea. I mean, all those thrillers you read are about mostly guys. Having this Delta-born group of females is just a cool new idea, and I think Brad wrote it well.

Starting off with a flashback at the end of World War II, the novel dives you in to an intricate plot with which four women operatives complete their mission in several European locations. Which is another thing I liked about this. For some reason, I just like novels set in Europe, though not to say that ones set in the Middle East or Asia or wherever are bad. I also really liked a twist that was given near the end of the novel.

The one thing that I think could be improved would be the characters themselves. I just didn't feel like I knew them well enough. Maybe that's just because it was four people, rather than the usual one guy (like Scot Harvath or Mitch Rapp, from Vince Flynn). But it wasn't bad enough to distract from the novel, and the characters were still very enjoyable.

Definitely a compelling novel with a gripping plot and characters.

So yeah, I'd definitely recommend The Athena Project as well as any other of Brad Thor's books (just know that if you've only read The Lions of Lucerne, or read that first if you like reading things in order as I do, they will get better, and you should keep reading).



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The Lincoln Lawyer, By Michael Connelly

Posted by Velox , in Literature, Reviews Apr 13 2012 · 33 views
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The Lincoln Lawyer, by Michael Connelly
ISBN: 0316734934
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Release Date: October 3, 2005
Rating: 5/5
Synopsis: "Mickey Haller has spent all his professional life afraid that he wouldn't recognize innocence if it stood right in front of him. But what he should have been on the watch for was evil.Haller is a Lincoln Lawyer, a criminal defense pro who operates out of the backseat of his Lincoln Town Car, to defend the clients at the bottom of the legal food chain. It's no wonder that he is despised by cops, prosecutors, and even some of his own clients.From bikers to con artists to drunk drivers and drug dealers, they're all on Mickey Haller's client list. But when a Beverly Hills rich boy is arrested for brutally beating a woman, Haller has his first high-paying client in years. It's a franchise case and he's sure it will be a slam dunk in the courtroom. For once, he may be defending a client who is actually innocent. But an investigator is murdered for getting too close to the truth and Haller quickly discovers that his search for innocence has taken him face-to-face with a kind of evil as pure as a flame. To escape without being burned, Haller must use all of his skills to manipulate a system in which he no longer believes."

Review: Wow. I really wasn't expecting this to be that good. I saw the previews for the movie back when it came out and it looked cool. However, if a movie is based off of a book, I like to read the book first, so as such I just added The Lincoln Lawyer to my five-thousand-mile-long reading list and didn't think much of it after that. I even bought the book a while back at a used bookstore, but again, just shelved it in favor of other books that I wanted to read first. So I finished Locked On, by Tom Clancy (review here), and then was looking at my bookshelves and deciding what to read next. TLL caught my eye, and, after watching the trailer for the movie again, I chose that over the other books I was considering. Needless to say, I was hooked from the beginning, promptly read it, finished it Wednesday, and then starting The Brass Verdict (the next book in the Mickey Haller series) and finishing that in a couple days. Both were amazing.

The Lincoln Lawyer captured my interest from the start. One thing I liked is how you got to see Mickey Haller in court for a short time at the beginning of the novel, starting off the novel very well. At first I felt as if I didn't have any idea who Haller was, as if there should have been a novel before this one. Of course, this was definitely resolved with quite a bit of characterization throughout the story. And, to be honest, I'm glad it was done that way. Being in first person, the only way to really explain who he is would be to have him say "I am__" which is boring and fourth-wall-ish. It's like he's talking directly to the audience. Rather, Connelly uses the book to explain who Haller is; a very enjoyable ride.

Which was definitely one of the things I liked most about this. Mickey Haller is an extremely interesting character; very unique in his ways (Lincoln Town Cars, etc.). He says himself "sometimes I'm not sure which side of the bars I am on" -- which makes for a great character and a great chance for characterization, which Michael Connelly definitely utilizes. Continuing with Haller, while it may seem as if he doesn't care much about innocence and whatnot, deep down, he does, as revealed in the novel. It was cool to have the novel in first person; I greatly enjoyed the Dresden Files in first person, so it was nice to have another awesome first-person novel.

The other characters were all well-written and well thought-out as well. The one thing that was a little weird is the close relationship he had with his two ex-wives. I'm not complaining, however, because Connelly (and Haller) made it work, but it was interesting to see how one was his assistant and the other was still a love interest. Which provided some more great characterization with the tension between Haller and his daughter and her mother. It was really cool to see how much he cared about his daughter.

There were a few times when some of the names got confusing, as Haller was working on several cases which were mentioned periodically throughout the main case of Louis Roulet, as it would all be focused on him and then someone from a different case would be mentioned, but overall it didn't distract too much from the story, as the plot and writing kept me hooked, wanting to know what would happen next.

There were several great twists throughout the novel. One was completely expected, because I had accidentally read it in the Wikipedia plot summary (though it seemed a little easy to guess anyway), but the twist was still awesome and I still enjoyed reading it and seeing Haller's and others' reaction to it.

The best part -- or at least the most exciting part -- of the novel would definitely be the latter part with the big court scene. Mickey Haller was simply awesome during it, and it seemed very realistic. The ending, too, was very satisfying and well-done. Which is what made me want to immediately start The Brass Verdict.

The movie rendition was also very well done, but the book was far better; the movie was too fast-paced, causing you to miss out on a lot of things/scenes that made the book so great. Characterization also suffered in the movie, as you don't get to see as much of Haller's thinking, etc. However, the movie was still very enjoyable, and Matthew McCounaghey was quite awesome as the title role.



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Name ~ Andrew
Username ~ Velox
Nicknames ~ V, TV, Felix, etc.
Age ~ 18
Birthdate ~ July 8, 1994
Gender ~ Male
Location ~ Los Angeles, California
Grade ~ College Freshman
Occupation ~ Student
Hobbies ~ Writing, reading, reviewing, listening to music
Interests ~ Books, books, books, and more books. Also reading said books and music and Katie and murder mysteries. 
Religion ~ Roman Catholic
Political Views ~ Conservative Republican

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Bionicle Character ~ Takanuva and Kopaka
Bionicle set ~ Brutaka
Bionicle Element ~ Electricity, Ice
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Animal ~ Wolf, Dragon
Sport ~ Basketball
Standalone Book ~ A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness; The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
Authors ~ Vince Flynn, Michael Connelly, Agatha Christie, J.R.R. Tolkien, George R.R. Martin, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Allen Poe, Jim Butcher, Ted Dekker, and J.K. Rowling. 
Musical ~ Les Miserables
Action Trilogy ~ Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy.
Fantasy Trilogy ~ Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings
Drama Movies ~ A Few Good Men, Warrior
Animated Movie ~ Ratatouille
War Movies ~ Black Hawk Down, Saving Private Ryan, Act of Valor
Old TV Shows ~ Sherlock Holmes, with Jeremy Brett; Columbo, with Peter Falk; and The Rockford Files, with James Garner.
New TV Shows ~ Sherlock; Castle; HIMYM; Person of Interest.
Comedy Movie ~ The Princes Bride
Music genres ~ Classical, Soundtracks, Musicals, Rock, Alternative. 
Artists ~ ThePianoGuys, Rise Against, Matt Maher, Switchfoot, the Beatles, Billy Joel, and others.
Composers ~ Hans Zimmer, John Williams, Howard Shore, Handel, Vivaldi, Mozart, Beethoven
Board Game ~ Monopoly
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