Day 79 was sculpt 3-4 again. As I did on Tuesday, I made sure to warm up very well and was super focused on form, especially when using the heaviest weight. I only hit a 10 rep max comfortably on one of the exercises so the weight will mostly all stay the same for Saturday's workout.
Friday, August 19, 2022
Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 78
Day 78 was the Sweat 1-2 and abs. Again, I skipped the yoga portion and only did ab-ripper 100. I did feel like I had a bit better stamina during the workout than I did on Monday, and the abs workout did get a little bit easier. It is interesting how much a week off can affect you, but thankfully my back has been fine this week and will hopefully keep being so.
Tuesday, August 16, 2022
Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
A Dame to Kill For is the 2014 follow-up to 2005's Sin City. It was again written by Frank Miller and directed by Miller and Robert Rodriguez. It brings back many cast members from the original movie, including Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson, Powers Booth, and Bruce Willis. It also brings on several new cast members, including Josh Brolin, Eva Green, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ray Liotta, Julia Garner, Lady Gaga, and Jamie Chung, to name just a few. As was the case with the original movie, A Dame to Kill For will not appeal to everyone. It is filmed to have the look of a comic book and has a lot of over-the-top violence. I call it a follow-up to the original movie because it is not a straight sequel. Similar to the original film it is made up of several shorter stories involving different characters. Some of those stories occurred before the events of the original movie and some occurred after. One of the earlier stories involved Micky Rourke's Marv, and you definitely have to suspend your disbelief because even under the makeup, Rourke looks a lot older than he did in the first movie (and he did not exactly look young then). The story that involved Nancy, Jessica Alba's character, is a sequel to the events of the original film. The titular Dame is Ava, played by Eva Green, who is involved in one of the prequel stories. She gives a wonderful performance and again shows off her acting range.
The Blu-Ray's A/V quality is outstanding. The movie looks and sounds great in the HD format, and even though a lot of it was shot against a green screen (the movie uses a mix of practical effects and CGI) and a mix of black and white and color, everything pops in HD. And it is hard to tell what is CGI and what was done practically. The Blu-Ray is definitely light on extras as there are just a handful. Those include a 15-minute high-speed edition of the movie, which basically shows the movie against the green screen background (and with the nudity removed), a 14-minute character profile feature, a couple of short features on the makeup/effects and the stunts, and then the trailers. So, not a lot, but what was included is good.
Overall, the movie is very good. Chances are, if you are not a fan of the original movie, nothing about this one is likely going to appeal to you. It does have a lot of violence, that as I said above, is very over-the-top and almost cartoonish. There is also some nudity (mostly from the stunningly gorgeous Green), and a lot of skimpy outfits on most of the other women including Jessica Alba and Rosario Dawson who reprise their roles from the first movie. The movie is well-written and acted. There are a couple of cast replacements with Dennis Haysbert replacing the late Michael Clarke Duncan and Jamie Chung replacing Devon Aoki. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Powers Boothe do a great job in their roles, as does Green and Alba (whose role is expanded from the first movie). So, if you are a fan of the first movie, this is definitely worth picking up.
Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Nurse
Nurse is a B-Level, maybe even C-Level thriller that, instead of embracing its awfulness, tries way too hard to be serious. It stars Paz de la Huerta as Abby Russell/Sarah Price, a nurse who is also a serial killer who kills unfaithful men. It also stars Katrina Bowden as Danni Rodgers, a new nurse whom Abby becomes obsessed with. The problem is that the movie takes itself way too seriously instead of embracing what it is and going over the top with campiness, which would have worked a lot better. Another issue is that while Paz de la Huerta definitely has the looks to pull off the role, she does not have the acting range to give the kind of performance that would have made her character better. It should be noted that she unsuccessfully sued the movie producers after it came out, alleging that they had overdubbed her performance after she was criticized for giving a monotonic performance, which was an apt description. Of course, the suit was thrown out of court and went absolutely nowhere. If you have seen any of her social media posts, you know she has a history of saying crazy, off-the-wall shit, and a claim that they overdubbed her with someone who sounds exactly like her was pretty preposterous.
For those who get the Blu-Ray, the movie's A/V quality is great. There are a handful of extras, including a director's commentary track, a short (about 8-minute) making-of featurette, and a 6-minute collection of video diaries with Bowden and Corbin Bleu.
Overall, the movie is okay but not great. It is a standard campy serial killer movie (I would not call it a traditional horror movie), more like a combination thriller-suspense movie with a lot of blood. Paz de la Huerta can definitely play a crazy obsessive and she is not shy about taking off her clothes. There is almost as much nudity in the movie as there is violence, so be aware of that if it is something that would bug you. You must be a fan of B-movies to even entertain watching this, but if you are, it is worth a look, but not a must-see.
For those who get the Blu-Ray, the movie's A/V quality is great. There are a handful of extras, including a director's commentary track, a short (about 8-minute) making-of featurette, and a 6-minute collection of video diaries with Bowden and Corbin Bleu.
Overall, the movie is okay but not great. It is a standard campy serial killer movie (I would not call it a traditional horror movie), more like a combination thriller-suspense movie with a lot of blood. Paz de la Huerta can definitely play a crazy obsessive and she is not shy about taking off her clothes. There is almost as much nudity in the movie as there is violence, so be aware of that if it is something that would bug you. You must be a fan of B-movies to even entertain watching this, but if you are, it is worth a look, but not a must-see.
Video Game Review: Batman: Arkham Knight
This is, at least for now, the final entry into the Arkham series of games. It brings back Kevin Conroy to voice Bruce/Batman and is a great gaming experience, expanding on what each of the prior games has done. It is very challenging, even in the easiest setting, and has enough side quests (including allowing you to play as Harley Quinn for a portion of the game) that you will not get bored with the story. It also incorporates the use of the Batmobile a lot more, with some points in the game in which you have to use it to get through a portion of the game. It is not just used to get you from place to place as in the prior games. The graphics look wonderful on the PS4 and (at least with the disc) the gameplay is very smooth. If you are a fan of the other Arkham games, this is definitely worth the pickup.
Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 77
Day 77 was the first sculpt 3-4 workout since throwing my back out. I made sure to do a much longer warmup (basically the CE warmup versus the Power-90 stretching) and made sure to be very careful with form, especially when using the heaviest weights. So far, my back feels just fine. I can tell I lost a bit of strength in the week off, but not too much. I was glad to be back at it.
TV Series Recap: Breaking-Bad/Better Call Saul (Spoilers)
Between the two shows, none of the main characters had what you call a happily ever after. The closest (at least as we know so far) was Jesse, which to me is actually the best outcome since he was the least "bad" of the worst people in Breaking Bad, never turned into the monster that Walter did, and was ready to let go of that life but was constantly pulled back in by Walter's manipulation. Of course, Walter ended up dying, and as we find definitively out in BCS, Skylar made a deal to avoid prison, and Gus and Mike were dead by the end of Breaking Bad so even if the authorities found out about their roles, they were not around to be punished either. So, ultimately, that left Saul/Jimmy to face the consequences of what happened during Breaking Bad.
Jimmy was kind of a sad-sack character, at least initially in BCS, who had genuinely tried to move on from his small-time crime life to become a lawyer and follow in his brother's footsteps. Ironically, had his brother not torpedoed him, Jimmy probably would not have made the transition to Saul. But, that betrayal wounded him so much he would always give in to greed and would always get revenge on his perceived enemies, which inadvertently led to the deaths of his brother Chuck and to Howard Hamlin. And, his greed led to him running scams in Omaha instead of getting out when he could have and then taking risks that ended up with him getting arrested in a dumpster.
Ultimately, Saul was never as evil as Gus or Walter, but he was responsible for Walter becoming as successful as he did and thus had culpability for the things Walter did. For the first time in a long time Saul, having negotiated himself a seven-year prison sentence when he was offered 30 years and facing life plus 180 years if he went to trial, did something against his own interests when he admitted to everything to save Kim, the only person he cared about as much as he cared about himself. So, Jesse ending up in Alaska living free and Saul in prison for 86 years seems to be where the last surviving characters from Breaking Bad should have ended up. Personally, I do not think there is any reason to revisit the Breaking Bad universe and I hope Vice Gilligan and Peter Gould leave it alone. I am not sure that a Kim-centric show is needed, or would be as good as either BB or BCS. I am fine with it just being where it is with everyone living the rest of their lives. If they did want to revive the universe again, a movie in the vein of El Camino with Jesse being caught and extradited to New Mexico with Kim representing him would be a good way to do it. But, I do not think another series is needed and I doubt that they could catch lightning in a bottle a third time and make a series as good as either BB or BCS.
Monday, August 15, 2022
Book Review: Dragons of Deceit: Dragonlance Destinies: Volume 1
+++Warning, this review contains spoilers from the Chronicles and Legends series of novels. If you have not read those books yet, proceed at your own risk.+++
Dragons of Deceit is the latest novel that Weiss and Hickman have written in the Dragonlance universe and the first since 2009 with the final entry of the Lost Chronicles trilogy. Of course, the Dragonlance universe started with their first novel published in 1984, Dragons of the Autumn Twilight, the events of which tie heavily into this book, which was a part of the Chronicles trilogy of novels and then followed up with the Legends trilogy. From there, a couple hundred or so novels set in the Dragonlance universe have been written over the years, with Weiss and Hickman returning every so often to pen new novels and/or trilogies.
This book spans multiple years, with the story beginning during the War of the Lance and the bulk of it happening after the events of the Legends Trilogy. The main crux of the story is that the daughter of a Solmanic knight named Destina Rosethorn loses everything when her father is killed in the battle of the High Clerist Tower. She is desperate for a way to prevent his death and finds a magic user who convinces her that there is a way she can save her father. She first has to find two artifacts, one that will require her to travel to the dwarven kingdom of Thorbidan and one that will require her to track down a Kender named Taselhoff Burrfoot. I will not spoil the exact plot, but there are ties into the other novels, especially Dragons of the Autumn Twilight and Dragons of the Winter Night, as well as loose tie-ins to the Chaos War novels. Several characters from the original Dragonlance novels appear in this book to varying degrees. Obviously, Taselhoff is one of the main characters, but Tika and Carmen are prominently featured, as is Dalamar. There is a larger end-of-the-world threat that only some of the characters are aware of, and more characters from the original series of books will be appearing in the later novels, including those who died during the Chronicles and Legends books. The book ends on a cliffhanger that points to where the story is going.
If you are a fan of Dragonlance, this is a must-read (as I would classify all of the Weiss-Hickman novels). They do a great job returning to the beloved characters without missing a beat. They also do a great job developing Destina as a character and providing her motivation before leaning heavily on the legacy characters. Therefore, it does not feel like she was just shoehorned into an existing story. Hers is an extension of the prior stories. The authors do a great job of setting up the larger story that will be told in the two remaining books of the new trilogy without giving too much away. It is a moderate length (just under 400 pages) but reads fairly quickly. So, if you are a fan of the Dragonlance universe of novels, definitely pick this one up.
Dragons of Deceit is the latest novel that Weiss and Hickman have written in the Dragonlance universe and the first since 2009 with the final entry of the Lost Chronicles trilogy. Of course, the Dragonlance universe started with their first novel published in 1984, Dragons of the Autumn Twilight, the events of which tie heavily into this book, which was a part of the Chronicles trilogy of novels and then followed up with the Legends trilogy. From there, a couple hundred or so novels set in the Dragonlance universe have been written over the years, with Weiss and Hickman returning every so often to pen new novels and/or trilogies.
This book spans multiple years, with the story beginning during the War of the Lance and the bulk of it happening after the events of the Legends Trilogy. The main crux of the story is that the daughter of a Solmanic knight named Destina Rosethorn loses everything when her father is killed in the battle of the High Clerist Tower. She is desperate for a way to prevent his death and finds a magic user who convinces her that there is a way she can save her father. She first has to find two artifacts, one that will require her to travel to the dwarven kingdom of Thorbidan and one that will require her to track down a Kender named Taselhoff Burrfoot. I will not spoil the exact plot, but there are ties into the other novels, especially Dragons of the Autumn Twilight and Dragons of the Winter Night, as well as loose tie-ins to the Chaos War novels. Several characters from the original Dragonlance novels appear in this book to varying degrees. Obviously, Taselhoff is one of the main characters, but Tika and Carmen are prominently featured, as is Dalamar. There is a larger end-of-the-world threat that only some of the characters are aware of, and more characters from the original series of books will be appearing in the later novels, including those who died during the Chronicles and Legends books. The book ends on a cliffhanger that points to where the story is going.
If you are a fan of Dragonlance, this is a must-read (as I would classify all of the Weiss-Hickman novels). They do a great job returning to the beloved characters without missing a beat. They also do a great job developing Destina as a character and providing her motivation before leaning heavily on the legacy characters. Therefore, it does not feel like she was just shoehorned into an existing story. Hers is an extension of the prior stories. The authors do a great job of setting up the larger story that will be told in the two remaining books of the new trilogy without giving too much away. It is a moderate length (just under 400 pages) but reads fairly quickly. So, if you are a fan of the Dragonlance universe of novels, definitely pick this one up.
Textbook Review: Signal Processing First 1st Edition
This book is used as a part of some electrical engineering curriculums for classes such as signals and systems or signal processing. Generally, it gives decent explanations of the introductory material, but it is very light on helpful examples, and thus, the problem sets can be very hard (if your professor assigns them versus making up his or her own problems). It does a bit of the review of the math you should already have been exposed to many times over in the first couple of chapters and then gets into the new material. Several of the exercises in the book are keyed to MATLAB, which some professors use more extensively than others. In terms of doing actual problems, the MATLAB material in the book is probably the most helpful. But, the book does follow the pattern that far too many math, science, and engineering textbooks do, in that they explain and give examples for the very basic material and then have problem sets with material that is much harder and sometimes impossible to figure out based on what you have read. Personally, I think that is fine if you are in a Master's level class as those should prepare you for real-world engineering problems that you have to figure out and will not have the ability to look up. However, at the undergraduate level, when you are learning the introductory concepts, the problem sets should be representative of the explanatory material so that if you have read the chapter text, you should be able to figure out the vast majority of the problems. So, overall, it is not the worst textbook out there, but it could be a lot better.
Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Game of Thrones: The Complete Fourth Season
Season Four of GoT combines storylines from three different books in George R.R. Martin's series of novels, specifically the second half of A Storm of Swords, along with elements of A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons. As has been the case in prior seasons, this season has a series of parallel story arcs that sometimes intertwine with each other. Daenerys Targaryen captures Meereen and decides to rule as queen of Slaver's Bay until she can permanently defeat the slavers while trying to consolidate enough power to return to King's Landing and retake the throne. At The Wall, the Night's Watch prepares for an invasion by the Wildlings, and in King's Landing a murder scandal plays out throughout the season. Arya is traveling across Westeros with the Hound trying to take out people on her "list".
There are a ton of extras for those who get the Blu-Ray set. There are 11 total commentary tracks (a couple of episodes get two commentary tracks and the third episode does not have any commentary). The commentaries generally rotate cast and crew/showrunner members and are all usually informative and/or entertaining. Then there are a couple of hours (give or take) of making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes, some deleted scenes, a blooper reel, and some interactive material. And, the A/V quality is again top-notch. So, there is a lot there for people who prefer physical discs.
Overall, the season is very good. This season included several new characters played by The season introduced a number of new cast members, including Pedro Pascal, Indira Varma, Michiel Huisman, and Dean-Charles Chapman. Some of them would be around for a short time and others would remain past this season. As has always been the case, no character is safe on this show and there are definitely major deaths this season. The series continues to be very compelling and is very well written and acted (with definite kudos going to Alfie Allen this season). Even though there are fewer characters in the show than in the books (and even some of the major storylines from the books removed from the show) it is sometimes hard to keep everything straight, but overall I do think the show does a good job balancing the large ensemble cast and the multiple story arcs. There is still a lot of violence and sex in the show, but if you have stuck with the show through the first three seasons that should not be an issue for you. This season is definitely worth watching.
There are a ton of extras for those who get the Blu-Ray set. There are 11 total commentary tracks (a couple of episodes get two commentary tracks and the third episode does not have any commentary). The commentaries generally rotate cast and crew/showrunner members and are all usually informative and/or entertaining. Then there are a couple of hours (give or take) of making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes, some deleted scenes, a blooper reel, and some interactive material. And, the A/V quality is again top-notch. So, there is a lot there for people who prefer physical discs.
Overall, the season is very good. This season included several new characters played by The season introduced a number of new cast members, including Pedro Pascal, Indira Varma, Michiel Huisman, and Dean-Charles Chapman. Some of them would be around for a short time and others would remain past this season. As has always been the case, no character is safe on this show and there are definitely major deaths this season. The series continues to be very compelling and is very well written and acted (with definite kudos going to Alfie Allen this season). Even though there are fewer characters in the show than in the books (and even some of the major storylines from the books removed from the show) it is sometimes hard to keep everything straight, but overall I do think the show does a good job balancing the large ensemble cast and the multiple story arcs. There is still a lot of violence and sex in the show, but if you have stuck with the show through the first three seasons that should not be an issue for you. This season is definitely worth watching.
Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 76
Day 76 was the return to the Power 90 workouts. I did sweat 3-4 again, but skipped the yoga portion since I had done a week of yoga exclusively, and was pretty sick of it. I did find myself getting a bit winded in a couple of spots in the cardio portion, so I did have to pause a couple of times. But, I got through it and did ab ripper 100 instead of 200 because I was kind of gassed by the end. So, not the best workout, but it was better than doing Recharge day after day.
Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 75
Day 75 was the last day of my recovery week. I had planned on doing something other than Recharge, but I was not able to work out until later in the evening so I just stuck with the short workout. Thankfully nothing tweaked in my back so I will be good to go picking back up with the Power-90 workouts.
Saturday, August 13, 2022
Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Banshee Season 2
+++Warning, this contains spoilers from season one, but no major spoilers from season two+++
The 10-episode second season of Banshee aired during the winter and spring of 2014. The season picks up after the events that ended season 1 (the shootout with Rabbit and his gunman). In the first episode, the FBI comes in to investigate the sheriff's department, and the head agent, played by Željko Ivanek, basically slaps everyone on the wrist except for Carrie, whom he threatens with criminal charges unless she provides the whereabouts of her father. The uneasy truce between Proctor and Hood is tenuous at best, and the post-credits scene from season one pays off with the real Lucas Hood's son, Jason, coming to town to figure out what happened to his father. The storyline with Alex Longshadow is resolved, with Nola (Odette Annabelle) getting a larger role this season and Rebecca (Lilly Simmons) going even farther into the dark side. We also see more of Lucas and Carrie's backstories as we see the events that resulted in him going to prison. There is also a post-credits scene in the season finale which sets up the season three storyline.
The Blu-Ray set is a four-disc set. As was the case with the season 1 Blu-Ray release, the show looks and sounds great in HD, and includes quite a few extras. Those include commentary tracks on five of the ten episodes, deleted scenes, trailers, and about an hour's worth of Banshee Origin webisodes that give the various characters' backstories. There is "Lucas" post-arrest negotiation for testimony when he was arrested after allowing "Carrie" to escape. We also see Carrie meeting Gordon and see Sugar and Protor's history with one another. Some of the webisode material was integrated into the regular episodes, but there is also a lot of extra material there.
Overall, the season is very good and continues to tell a compelling story. We still do not learn Lucas' real name and only get snippets of information about who he is. Antony Starr does a good job playing him as a cross between a straight-up lawman who cares about protecting the town's people (even if he uses highly illegal measures to do so) and a crook still committing crimes. The series continues to have a lot of violence, sometimes over-the-top violence, and a lot of sex and nudity. So, if those things turn you off, you definitely want to avoid this. But, if you are looking for a good adult drama, this is a great series, and the season continues with a strong storyline. It is a serial storyline, so you must watch season one first to follow what is happening.
The 10-episode second season of Banshee aired during the winter and spring of 2014. The season picks up after the events that ended season 1 (the shootout with Rabbit and his gunman). In the first episode, the FBI comes in to investigate the sheriff's department, and the head agent, played by Željko Ivanek, basically slaps everyone on the wrist except for Carrie, whom he threatens with criminal charges unless she provides the whereabouts of her father. The uneasy truce between Proctor and Hood is tenuous at best, and the post-credits scene from season one pays off with the real Lucas Hood's son, Jason, coming to town to figure out what happened to his father. The storyline with Alex Longshadow is resolved, with Nola (Odette Annabelle) getting a larger role this season and Rebecca (Lilly Simmons) going even farther into the dark side. We also see more of Lucas and Carrie's backstories as we see the events that resulted in him going to prison. There is also a post-credits scene in the season finale which sets up the season three storyline.
The Blu-Ray set is a four-disc set. As was the case with the season 1 Blu-Ray release, the show looks and sounds great in HD, and includes quite a few extras. Those include commentary tracks on five of the ten episodes, deleted scenes, trailers, and about an hour's worth of Banshee Origin webisodes that give the various characters' backstories. There is "Lucas" post-arrest negotiation for testimony when he was arrested after allowing "Carrie" to escape. We also see Carrie meeting Gordon and see Sugar and Protor's history with one another. Some of the webisode material was integrated into the regular episodes, but there is also a lot of extra material there.
Overall, the season is very good and continues to tell a compelling story. We still do not learn Lucas' real name and only get snippets of information about who he is. Antony Starr does a good job playing him as a cross between a straight-up lawman who cares about protecting the town's people (even if he uses highly illegal measures to do so) and a crook still committing crimes. The series continues to have a lot of violence, sometimes over-the-top violence, and a lot of sex and nudity. So, if those things turn you off, you definitely want to avoid this. But, if you are looking for a good adult drama, this is a great series, and the season continues with a strong storyline. It is a serial storyline, so you must watch season one first to follow what is happening.
Supplement Review: 5-Day Fast & Cleanse by Nature's Secret | 5 Day, 5 Part Program
This is basically a group of supplements to take while doing a five-day fast. If you have not tried fasting before jumping into a five-day fast, with or without supplements is not an easy feat. So, you may want to try a couple of smaller fasts first to ease you into this. Or, you can do what I did, and eat a very small dinner (basically just soup) each night. As others have said, the fiber supplement is kind of like chalk. If you mix it with juice and slam it, it is not too bad, but there are better fiber supplements out there. How well the liver and colon cleanse worked is hard to tell. I did have regular bowel movements throughout despite not eating much food so in that sense, I guess the colon cleanse worked. The one thing that was measurable is that the first night I slept like a rock for nine hours. I do not remember waking up or even moving much.
I do agree that day thee is the hardest one to get through. Once you get past that, the worst part is over. Also, I would strongly advise against working out beyond just a light stretching workout. I would not do any kind of weight lifting or intense cardio because you are probably not going to have the energy for it.
I do agree that day thee is the hardest one to get through. Once you get past that, the worst part is over. Also, I would strongly advise against working out beyond just a light stretching workout. I would not do any kind of weight lifting or intense cardio because you are probably not going to have the energy for it.
Textbook Review: Engineering Economic Analysis 11th Edition
This is a book for an engineering economics class, which you will be stuck taking regardless of what branch of engineering you major in. It basically covers how to value property, determine the life of assets, make business decisions based on an economic analysis of one choice over another, or inaction version taking some action, etc. I found the class mind-numbingly boring, which skewed my opinion of the book. Overall, I think the book does a decent job explaining the concepts but falls into the trap that many math and engineering books do (although there are some things that it does gloss over a bit). Namely, the examples in the chapter text show you how to do the most basic problems but give little or no help when solving the more advanced problems. And, of course, the answer key in the back only gives you the answers for some of the problems, so it is hard to check yourself.
So, I would say it is a pretty standard textbook in what it does and does not give you. It is not the best textbook I have used, but it is not the worst. Realistically, you will be stuck with it if your teacher assigns it, but you will likely not be able to learn everything you need to know for the class just by reading the book.
So, I would say it is a pretty standard textbook in what it does and does not give you. It is not the best textbook I have used, but it is not the worst. Realistically, you will be stuck with it if your teacher assigns it, but you will likely not be able to learn everything you need to know for the class just by reading the book.
Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 74
For day 74 I did Recharge again. Not because I really felt I needed to for my back, but I was working a bit longer into the day than I had anticipated, so I wanted to do a short workout and did not have a ton of energy. I am not sure which workout I will do tomorrow, but I am going to try and get it done in the morning.
Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 73
Day 73 was the Recharge workout again. I can say that my back is at 100% again, so thankfully, whatever was causing it to spasm has passed. Doing nothing but the Recharge workout this week has helped a lot both with my back and overall flexibility.
Thursday, August 11, 2022
Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: House of Cards: Season 2
+++Warning, this contains spoilers from season one, but no major season two giveaways+++
The second season of House of Cards picks up shortly after the events that ended season three, with Frank having maneuvered his way into the vice presidency, from where, unsurprisingly he keeps up the effort to take down President Walker, all while acting as an ally. Yet, he has his own loose ends from the setup and murder of Peter Russo while Zoe, with whom he was having an affair starts to piece together how crooked he is. The season has episodes that hit on several real-life themes, including entitlement reform, state-sponsored cyberespionage, money laundering in campaign finance, anthrax scares, sexual assault in the United States military, abortion, and Federal government shutdowns. Some of those would end up actually being prophetic a few years after the season aired (in 2013). But, the main plot throughout the season continued to be Frank's power grab and just how ruthlessly he would execute it.
For those who get the Blu-Ray set, this season actually does have extras. There are five featurettes that range in length from four minutes to just under twenty. The longest one is basically a making-of documentary that goes through the process of producing an episode and how the series gets plotted out. The A/V quality of the Blu-Ray set is very good, with a lot of great visuals of the Washington DC area. The only negative to the set is again the horrible way in which the discs are stored in the case (in very tightly packed slip pockets). It is very hard to get the discs out without either tearing the pocket or risking scratching one of the discs.
Overall, the season is great. It is a mixed bag given the allegations that have come out against Kevin Spacey since he was fired from the series. Even so, his is not the only contribution to the series. This season, Robin Wright, Michael Kelly, and Rachel Brosnahan all turned in wonderful performances, as did Sebastian Arcelus, who plays Zoe's coworker at the Washington Herald. It was absolutely one of the best dramas of its time and is still worth watching.
The second season of House of Cards picks up shortly after the events that ended season three, with Frank having maneuvered his way into the vice presidency, from where, unsurprisingly he keeps up the effort to take down President Walker, all while acting as an ally. Yet, he has his own loose ends from the setup and murder of Peter Russo while Zoe, with whom he was having an affair starts to piece together how crooked he is. The season has episodes that hit on several real-life themes, including entitlement reform, state-sponsored cyberespionage, money laundering in campaign finance, anthrax scares, sexual assault in the United States military, abortion, and Federal government shutdowns. Some of those would end up actually being prophetic a few years after the season aired (in 2013). But, the main plot throughout the season continued to be Frank's power grab and just how ruthlessly he would execute it.
For those who get the Blu-Ray set, this season actually does have extras. There are five featurettes that range in length from four minutes to just under twenty. The longest one is basically a making-of documentary that goes through the process of producing an episode and how the series gets plotted out. The A/V quality of the Blu-Ray set is very good, with a lot of great visuals of the Washington DC area. The only negative to the set is again the horrible way in which the discs are stored in the case (in very tightly packed slip pockets). It is very hard to get the discs out without either tearing the pocket or risking scratching one of the discs.
Overall, the season is great. It is a mixed bag given the allegations that have come out against Kevin Spacey since he was fired from the series. Even so, his is not the only contribution to the series. This season, Robin Wright, Michael Kelly, and Rachel Brosnahan all turned in wonderful performances, as did Sebastian Arcelus, who plays Zoe's coworker at the Washington Herald. It was absolutely one of the best dramas of its time and is still worth watching.
Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Lucy
Lucy is a movie from 2014 written and directed by Luc Besson and starring Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman. The movie plays on the myth that humans only use 10% of their overall brain power (which, despite some humans trying to prove it, is actually untrue) and bases the story on what would happen if we could harness all of our brain power. This includes developing ninja-like assassin skills, the ability to link with computers, etc. Needless to say, the story requires a lot of suspension of disbelief. Lucy is also a nod to the member of the extinct Australopithecus afarensis species whose remains were found in the mid-1970s in Africa nicknamed "Lucy" and whose species was one of the first groups of apes to walk upright.
The basic plot is that Lucy (played by Scarlett Johansson) is a student studying in Taiwan. She is forced to become a drug mule to smuggle a synthetic drug that enhances cognitive function, and when some of it gets into her system, she becomes an unstoppable killing machine bent on revenge. Freeman plays Professor Samuel Norman, a professor who helps Lucy understand what is happening to her. Throughout the movie, she can harness more and more of her brain powers, and with each increase, she becomes more unstoppable.
The Blu-Ray's A/V quality is wonderful. The movie looks and sounds great and has great visuals that pop in HD, especially if you have a large screen. The extras include a 16-minute making-of documentary and a featurette on the "real" science behind the movie. While there is some real scientific material out there on increasing cognitive ability, it is nothing like what is seen in the movie. If you can accept that and then just enjoy that it is a very good, fun action movie with a ridiculously attractive star (who has also proven that she does have acting chops and does not just rely on her looks), then the movie is enjoyable. If you are not a fan of movies whose plotlines overreach too much and go way beyond what is realistic, then you will probably hate this movie.
The basic plot is that Lucy (played by Scarlett Johansson) is a student studying in Taiwan. She is forced to become a drug mule to smuggle a synthetic drug that enhances cognitive function, and when some of it gets into her system, she becomes an unstoppable killing machine bent on revenge. Freeman plays Professor Samuel Norman, a professor who helps Lucy understand what is happening to her. Throughout the movie, she can harness more and more of her brain powers, and with each increase, she becomes more unstoppable.
The Blu-Ray's A/V quality is wonderful. The movie looks and sounds great and has great visuals that pop in HD, especially if you have a large screen. The extras include a 16-minute making-of documentary and a featurette on the "real" science behind the movie. While there is some real scientific material out there on increasing cognitive ability, it is nothing like what is seen in the movie. If you can accept that and then just enjoy that it is a very good, fun action movie with a ridiculously attractive star (who has also proven that she does have acting chops and does not just rely on her looks), then the movie is enjoyable. If you are not a fan of movies whose plotlines overreach too much and go way beyond what is realistic, then you will probably hate this movie.
Book Review: Star Wars: Shadow of the Sith
+++Warning, this contains spoilers from the movies The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. +++
This is one of the newest canon novels in the Star Wars universe. Most of the book is set between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens and serves a dual role. The first is to provide a proper origin story for Rey and her family, and the second is to provide a much better story for Luke and Lando than either of them received in The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker movies. The novel starts out on Exegol and introduces "the abomination," who would later take the name Dathan and eventually become Rey's father. It reveals that he was made from the genetic material of his father (who is not revealed in the book) but is a failure because he cannot feel the force. It also reveals how he got off Exegol (involving a cameo by a major legacy character). Then the book jumps to the present, in which Lando's daughter has been kidnapped, and Luke is balancing his time between retrieving artifacts with the help of Lor San Tekka (the character played by Max Von Sydow in The Force Awakens) and his Jedi Academy and training Ben Solo as his Padawan. Lando learns of a family being hunted by the Sith (Dathan, his wife Miramir, and Rey), and Luke, who has been having visions of Exegol, agrees to help him try to find the family and figure out what the Sith threat is.
The novel intertwines the two storylines very well. Of course, we know how Dathan, Miramir, and Rey's story turns out, but this gives us the actual backstory and shows all the events (including being hunted by Ochi of Bestoon) who is trying to capture Rey and bring her to Exegol. Dathan and Miramir are trying to find Lando and Luke (who they only know as The Jedi) and Luke and Lando are trying to find them, and they keep missing each other. We learn about the decision to leave Rey with Unkar Plutt on Jakuu (and why Rey was convicted they were coming back for her) and learn exactly how they died.
Whether this novel redeems the sequel trilogy will really depend on your point of view. If you are one who hates the sequel trilogy, then I do not think anything will help redeem it. While I strongly disagreed with Lucasfilm's original plan to have three different writers and directors for the sequel movies, I never thought that any of the movies were as bad as some make them out to be. That said, I think they would have been much better off having a single writer or set of writers write each movie, so what happened with The Last Jedi, basically discarding what was set up in The Force Awakens, would not have happened. I do think that The Rise of Skywalker would have been better if it had told more of this story (obviously, the book was not around at the time, so they could not do so), but had they fleshed out this story and jumped between it and the plot in the movie, it would have worked a lot better.
Overall, the book is very good. Even though most reading it knows even before reading it basically where the characters will end up, the book does a great job telling a suspenseful story to get there. It makes much better use of Luke than any of the sequel trilogy movies did and gives more depth to Lando than he arguably had in any of the prior movies, including Empire and Return of the Jedi. So, if you are one who only reads some of the novels, I would definitely consider this one a must-read.
This is one of the newest canon novels in the Star Wars universe. Most of the book is set between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens and serves a dual role. The first is to provide a proper origin story for Rey and her family, and the second is to provide a much better story for Luke and Lando than either of them received in The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker movies. The novel starts out on Exegol and introduces "the abomination," who would later take the name Dathan and eventually become Rey's father. It reveals that he was made from the genetic material of his father (who is not revealed in the book) but is a failure because he cannot feel the force. It also reveals how he got off Exegol (involving a cameo by a major legacy character). Then the book jumps to the present, in which Lando's daughter has been kidnapped, and Luke is balancing his time between retrieving artifacts with the help of Lor San Tekka (the character played by Max Von Sydow in The Force Awakens) and his Jedi Academy and training Ben Solo as his Padawan. Lando learns of a family being hunted by the Sith (Dathan, his wife Miramir, and Rey), and Luke, who has been having visions of Exegol, agrees to help him try to find the family and figure out what the Sith threat is.
The novel intertwines the two storylines very well. Of course, we know how Dathan, Miramir, and Rey's story turns out, but this gives us the actual backstory and shows all the events (including being hunted by Ochi of Bestoon) who is trying to capture Rey and bring her to Exegol. Dathan and Miramir are trying to find Lando and Luke (who they only know as The Jedi) and Luke and Lando are trying to find them, and they keep missing each other. We learn about the decision to leave Rey with Unkar Plutt on Jakuu (and why Rey was convicted they were coming back for her) and learn exactly how they died.
Whether this novel redeems the sequel trilogy will really depend on your point of view. If you are one who hates the sequel trilogy, then I do not think anything will help redeem it. While I strongly disagreed with Lucasfilm's original plan to have three different writers and directors for the sequel movies, I never thought that any of the movies were as bad as some make them out to be. That said, I think they would have been much better off having a single writer or set of writers write each movie, so what happened with The Last Jedi, basically discarding what was set up in The Force Awakens, would not have happened. I do think that The Rise of Skywalker would have been better if it had told more of this story (obviously, the book was not around at the time, so they could not do so), but had they fleshed out this story and jumped between it and the plot in the movie, it would have worked a lot better.
Overall, the book is very good. Even though most reading it knows even before reading it basically where the characters will end up, the book does a great job telling a suspenseful story to get there. It makes much better use of Luke than any of the sequel trilogy movies did and gives more depth to Lando than he arguably had in any of the prior movies, including Empire and Return of the Jedi. So, if you are one who only reads some of the novels, I would definitely consider this one a must-read.
DVD/TV Series Review: The Office: The Complete Series
The Office was one of the best sitcoms to ever air, especially during the Steve Carell years. Chances are, most people looking to get this already know what the series is like, so I will not spend a ton of time reviewing the show itself. In a nutshell, it is a sitcom that follows the day-to-day operations of the Scranton, PA, office of the Dunder-Mifflin paper company headed by Michael Scott (Carell), the manager of the Scranton branch. It is a Mockumentary in which the various characters are "interviewed" although we never see an interviewer, so they are essentially just talking to a camera. It is a very character-driven show and the plots were a mix of self-contained stories and then arcs, usually dealing with various character relationships. It ran for nine seasons (although season one was very short, just six episodes) and was adapted from a British show of the same name that starred Ricky Gervais and Martin Freeman. The first season mirrors the BBC version sometimes slightly and sometimes a lot, and then it becomes its own thing after that.
This DVD set is just the individual season sets packaged together. So, if you purchased the seasons separately, you are not getting anything different besides a box to hold all the individual season cases. All of the extras (and there are a lot of them) are exactly the same, and nothing (at least in the DVD version) was added. I cannot say what they did with the Blu-Ray complete series set, although from what I have read, it has the same extras as the DVD set. The extras include audio commentaries on many episodes, which rotate various cast members, crew members, and writing staff. There are many commentary tracks in the early seasons and fewer as the seasons continue. Then there are many deleted scenes (the best of which involve Creed and "Schrute Bucks," blooper reels, webisodes, promo material, and more. If you love watching bonus content, there are hours worth (apart from the commentary tracks) to keep you busy.
Overall, the series is very good. Like many shows that last nine seasons, it was not as good at the end as it was in the beginning, especially after Steve Carell left. It had a large ensemble cast that included Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, Mindy Kaling, John Krasinski (who, other than Carell, has probably had the biggest post-office career), and Craig Robinson. Many very recognizable comedy actors and actresses also appeared in the series in both large and small roles. The show definitely lives up to the hype, and even though the last couple of seasons are not as good as the early seasons, they are not as bad as some people make them out to be. So, if you are a show fan, this is a great pickup.
This DVD set is just the individual season sets packaged together. So, if you purchased the seasons separately, you are not getting anything different besides a box to hold all the individual season cases. All of the extras (and there are a lot of them) are exactly the same, and nothing (at least in the DVD version) was added. I cannot say what they did with the Blu-Ray complete series set, although from what I have read, it has the same extras as the DVD set. The extras include audio commentaries on many episodes, which rotate various cast members, crew members, and writing staff. There are many commentary tracks in the early seasons and fewer as the seasons continue. Then there are many deleted scenes (the best of which involve Creed and "Schrute Bucks," blooper reels, webisodes, promo material, and more. If you love watching bonus content, there are hours worth (apart from the commentary tracks) to keep you busy.
Overall, the series is very good. Like many shows that last nine seasons, it was not as good at the end as it was in the beginning, especially after Steve Carell left. It had a large ensemble cast that included Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, Mindy Kaling, John Krasinski (who, other than Carell, has probably had the biggest post-office career), and Craig Robinson. Many very recognizable comedy actors and actresses also appeared in the series in both large and small roles. The show definitely lives up to the hype, and even though the last couple of seasons are not as good as the early seasons, they are not as bad as some people make them out to be. So, if you are a show fan, this is a great pickup.
Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 72
For Day 72 I did the Recharge workout again. Thankfully, my back stiffness and spasms have subsided, so it was much easier tonight than it was Sunday or even last night. I have all of my range of motion back so I think tomorrow I am just going to do some kind of lower-impact cardio, then start back up with the Power-90 3-4 workouts on Monday.
Wednesday, August 10, 2022
DVD/TV Series Review: House of Cards: Season 1
House of Cards is an American Adaptation of a British series of the same name that aired in the late 1980s/early 1990s. The American version aired on Netflix from 2013 to 2018. Throughout the series' run, it starred Kevin Spacy, Robin Wright, and Michael Kelley in the leading roles and included many great stars in main and recurring roles from season to season. The 13-episode first season was released on Netflix in February 2013.
In the show, Kevin Spacy plays Francis ("Frank") Underwood, who is the Democratic whip in the US House of Representatives. When a promise by the newly elected President to make Frank Secretary of State is reneged on, Frank decides (along with his wife Claire, played by Robin Wright) to get revenge and maneuver his way into gaining more power. Michael Kelly as Doug Stamper, Frank's Chief of Staff who does much of Frank's dirty work. The series had a wonderful supporting cast in the first season (some of whom have gone on to become A-listers themselves), including Kate Mara as Zoe Barnes, an ambitious young journalist working for the Washington Herald, Corey Stoll as Peter Russo, a U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania, Rachel Brosnahan as Rachel Posner, a DC prostitute, and Mahershala Ali as Remy Danton, a powerful lobbyist.
The series is definitely rooted in some reality (probably even more than it should be), detailing the kinds of back-room dealing and phoniness that have become a staple of how things operate in Washington. Spacey, who, of course, has now pretty much been blacklisted because of his behavior, including on the House of Cards set, did a great job with the character of Frank, playing him as both ruthless and willing to do anything to get ahead, yet also vulnerable at times. Wright does a great job as the equally ruthless Claire Underwood, who is basically in a marriage of convenience with Frank.
There are no extras for those who get the DVD or Blu-Ray set, just the episodes spread over three discs. The packaging is god-awful, with each disc jammed very tightly into a slipcase, so you definitely risk scratching the discs as you take them out.
Overall, the series is very good. For those who have even a little inside inkling of congressional politics, it is a little too eerily accurate, even if it is fictional. If you have seen the BBC series, this does borrow heavily from the first season of that series but adapts them a lot to fit not only the US political system but to just draw out some of the story arcs. It is a very dark series that is mostly a drama but does have some dark comedy included here and there. Even though many of the characters have little or no redeeming values, you still get invested in them, if nothing else to see how their arcs will turn out, and the writers do a great job weaving the various plot threads together in a limited number of episodes.
There are no extras for those who get the DVD or Blu-Ray set, just the episodes spread over three discs. The packaging is god-awful, with each disc jammed very tightly into a slipcase, so you definitely risk scratching the discs as you take them out.
Overall, the series is very good. For those who have even a little inside inkling of congressional politics, it is a little too eerily accurate, even if it is fictional. If you have seen the BBC series, this does borrow heavily from the first season of that series but adapts them a lot to fit not only the US political system but to just draw out some of the story arcs. It is a very dark series that is mostly a drama but does have some dark comedy included here and there. Even though many of the characters have little or no redeeming values, you still get invested in them, if nothing else to see how their arcs will turn out, and the writers do a great job weaving the various plot threads together in a limited number of episodes.
Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Batman: The Complete Television Series (Limited Edition)
This review is for the limited edition Blu-Ray box set of the 1966 Batman TV Series starring Adam West as Bruce Wayne/Batman and Burt Ward as Dick Grayson/Robin. The series ran for three seasons from 1966 to 1968, airing a total of 120 episodes and a TV movie (which is not included in this set). Along with West and Ward, the series starred Alan Napier as Alfred, Neil Hamilton as Commissioner Gordon, Stafford Repp as Chief O'Hara, and Madge Blake as Harriet Cooper, Dick Grayson's aunt. Later in the series, Yvonne Craig would join the cast as Barbara Gordon/Batgirl. The series did have a ton of great guest stars (mostly as the villains), including Cesar Romero (who hilariously refused to shave his mustache to play The Joker), Julie Newmar/Lee Merriweather/Ertha Kitt, who all played Catwoman in different episodes, Burges Merideth as Penguin, Frank Gorshin as The Riddler, Vincent Price as Egghead, to name just a few. The show even had Bruce Lee in a guest starring role when he and Van Willimas crossed over from the Green Hornet TV series.
Chances are most people reading this have seen at least some of the series either because they are old enough to have watched its original run on TV or, like me, watched it in re-runs back when it aired in syndication regularly. If you do not fall into one of those categories, this classic show is pretty much the antithesis of what Batman has become in the more recent animated series and movies. It is not remotely dark, either visually or in tone, and is, at times, very, very silly. But, it was a product of its time and worked in the mid-1960s. The episodes were very repetitive. Pretty much every episode was a two-parter. At the end of the first part, Batman and Robin are usually in some life-threatening situation, and in the second part, they catch the bad guy (only for said bad guy to be released (or escape) from prison a few episodes down the line and return to do the whole thing over again). And, of course, nobody figured out who Batman and Robin were even though they went out in broad daylight and never did anything to disguise their voices. So, it is something that you just have to go with and accept that it will not make a ton of sense or be even remotely realistic.
The Blu-Ray set is a 13-disc set. The discs for each individual season are packaged in their own flip case inside a decorative outer box. The A/V quality is very good. The episodes were completely remastered with upgraded video and sound. The show looks wonderful in HD and is much improved from what it looked like when it was on the air. Where the set really shines is the bonus content. There are some physical collectibles like a hot-wheels version of the Batmobile, some replica trading cards, and a booklet that serves as an episode guide. As far as the Blu-Ray extras go, they are pretty much all included on the last disc and include about three hours worth of featurettes that range from focusing on Adam West's life and career to featurette in which various celebrities discuss their love of the series. Unfortunately, there are no episode commentary tracks, which would have been nice because I am sure Adam West and Burt Ward would have recorded them if they had been asked to.
Overall, this is a great set. The Blu-Ray remaster looks great. All of the colors (and there are a lot of them) really pop, and the audio track, while they are not in the category of Dolby Atmos, sounds fine. There is an issue with a couple of the discs missing content from episodes, but Warners did a disc replacement program to allow you to swap out those discs. The show was one of the more successful superhero shows, getting a decent series run on a major network (of course, the CW and the WB did not exist when the series aired). It is not as good as the Nolan movie trilogy, Tim Burton's movies, or even Snyder's movies (assuming you like the darker, brooding version of Batman). But, for what it is, it is a fun series and is definitely worth the pickup.
The Blu-Ray set is a 13-disc set. The discs for each individual season are packaged in their own flip case inside a decorative outer box. The A/V quality is very good. The episodes were completely remastered with upgraded video and sound. The show looks wonderful in HD and is much improved from what it looked like when it was on the air. Where the set really shines is the bonus content. There are some physical collectibles like a hot-wheels version of the Batmobile, some replica trading cards, and a booklet that serves as an episode guide. As far as the Blu-Ray extras go, they are pretty much all included on the last disc and include about three hours worth of featurettes that range from focusing on Adam West's life and career to featurette in which various celebrities discuss their love of the series. Unfortunately, there are no episode commentary tracks, which would have been nice because I am sure Adam West and Burt Ward would have recorded them if they had been asked to.
Overall, this is a great set. The Blu-Ray remaster looks great. All of the colors (and there are a lot of them) really pop, and the audio track, while they are not in the category of Dolby Atmos, sounds fine. There is an issue with a couple of the discs missing content from episodes, but Warners did a disc replacement program to allow you to swap out those discs. The show was one of the more successful superhero shows, getting a decent series run on a major network (of course, the CW and the WB did not exist when the series aired). It is not as good as the Nolan movie trilogy, Tim Burton's movies, or even Snyder's movies (assuming you like the darker, brooding version of Batman). But, for what it is, it is a fun series and is definitely worth the pickup.
Book Review: DragonLance Chronicles Volume 1: Dragons of the Autumn Twilight
Dragons of the Autumn Twilight is the start of a trilogy (Chronicles) of fantasy novels authored by Margret Weiss and Tracy Hickman based on a series of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) game modules. This is the first novel released in 1984 and would eventually spawn two more novels released in 1985 and a follow-up trilogy (legends) in 1986, and then a ton of spin-off novels. If you walked into any bookstore in the 1980s through to probably the late 1990s, you would see an entire section in the Sci-Fi fantasy section devoted to Dragonlance. Weiss and Hickman have come back over the years to pen novels in the series (sometimes together, sometimes on their own, or with different co-authors). The ones they write together are generally considered to be the "main" novels in the Dragonlance saga.
This book introduces readers to the world of Krynn which inhabits humans, dwarves, elves, kender, goblins, and other races of creatures. A group of friends had separated five years earlier and made a pact to return to their hometown (Solace) after five years. They discover that the world is on the brink of war and find that Solace has been taken over by a religious cult (called seekers) who are in league with an autocratic group known as dragon highlords who are preparing to unleash their might on the world of Krynn. The members of the group get in the middle of a skirmish that leads them to discover that the war is between the gods of good versus the gods of evil being fought by proxy on Kryn by the followers of each.
The Dragonlance series of novels were to those of us who were kids (or young adults) in the 1980s our generation's Lord of The Rings (which D&D and Dragonlance were clearly inspired by) and served as a bridge to series like Game of Thrones. It has a similar quest/adventure theme that Tolkien's novels had, but (at least for me) had a lot more action and less period of inactivity than Hobbit and LOTR had. And, there were far fewer "core" characters so it was easier to keep all the characters straight (something that plagued both Tolkien's novels and GoT). This is also something that, unlike GoT, kids can read without it being too adult. There are some violent action sequences, death, and some sexual content (mostly innuendo, not the graphic detail that GoT gets into).
Overall, I would say this is somewhere in between what you get in the later Harry Potter novels (Books 4-7) and what you would see in the more adult series. I first read this when I was in middle school (when I was about 12 or 13) and I think that the book (and the series overall) is fine for someone that age. It is also something that adults can easily enjoy. The storyline does have themes like gods and magic, but the gods are more like those from Greek mythology and are not heavily modeled after any contemporary religion. So, if you are a fan of the sci-fi/fantasy genre, and have not yet read these novels, this is definitely something you should check out.
This book introduces readers to the world of Krynn which inhabits humans, dwarves, elves, kender, goblins, and other races of creatures. A group of friends had separated five years earlier and made a pact to return to their hometown (Solace) after five years. They discover that the world is on the brink of war and find that Solace has been taken over by a religious cult (called seekers) who are in league with an autocratic group known as dragon highlords who are preparing to unleash their might on the world of Krynn. The members of the group get in the middle of a skirmish that leads them to discover that the war is between the gods of good versus the gods of evil being fought by proxy on Kryn by the followers of each.
The Dragonlance series of novels were to those of us who were kids (or young adults) in the 1980s our generation's Lord of The Rings (which D&D and Dragonlance were clearly inspired by) and served as a bridge to series like Game of Thrones. It has a similar quest/adventure theme that Tolkien's novels had, but (at least for me) had a lot more action and less period of inactivity than Hobbit and LOTR had. And, there were far fewer "core" characters so it was easier to keep all the characters straight (something that plagued both Tolkien's novels and GoT). This is also something that, unlike GoT, kids can read without it being too adult. There are some violent action sequences, death, and some sexual content (mostly innuendo, not the graphic detail that GoT gets into).
Overall, I would say this is somewhere in between what you get in the later Harry Potter novels (Books 4-7) and what you would see in the more adult series. I first read this when I was in middle school (when I was about 12 or 13) and I think that the book (and the series overall) is fine for someone that age. It is also something that adults can easily enjoy. The storyline does have themes like gods and magic, but the gods are more like those from Greek mythology and are not heavily modeled after any contemporary religion. So, if you are a fan of the sci-fi/fantasy genre, and have not yet read these novels, this is definitely something you should check out.
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