"The great battle, I always thought with Wolverine, is the battle within himself." - Hugh Jackman, aka Wolverine _____________________________________________________________________________ Since the disastrous events at the end of the last X-Men film, Logan (aka Wolverine) has retreated into the woods, living a life of solitude among the another animals. His past haunts him … [Read more...]
The Raven Boys
"You're looking for a god...watch for the devil. When there's a god, there's always a legion of devils." Blue, her mother Marua, and her aunt Neeve have a strong affinity for the supernatural, an awareness of the darker forces lurking behind the veil, and a pretty keen desire to explore realms best left hidden. As part of her magical heritage, Blue is under something of a … [Read more...]
Warm Bodies: Exhuming Ourselves
“Once you’ve arrived at the end of the world, it hardly matters which route you took.” Isaac Marion's Warm Bodies has been a surprise hit. Though this zombie romance book (?) was originally written for an adult audience, the recent movie targets a YA crowd. If you are tempted to dismiss the story as yet another sign that we are staggering toward cultural annihilation, you … [Read more...]
Are Natural Disasters a Judgment from God?
“If a kid asks where rain comes from, I think a cute thing to tell him is, ‘God is crying,’ And if he asks why God is crying, another cute thing to tell him is, ‘Probably because of something you did.’” (Jack Handy, Deep Thoughts, 1992) Whenever America recovers from yet another massive natural disaster – or “act of God,” in insurance company lingo - the inevitablequestion … [Read more...]
World War Z
"The monsters that rose from the dead, they are nothing compared to the ones we carry in our hearts.” Patient Zero, a 12-year-old Chinese boy, was bitten by an animal. That much is pretty clear. The how and why of the spread of the virus that reanimated the dead is a story of human ineptitude, greed, misinformation, and tragedy. In the aftermath of the war, the UN … [Read more...]
Incarceron and Sapphique: Escape Is Not Enough
“I spent centuries longing to escape, but who can escape themselves?” When Catherine Fisher's Incarceron begins (and continues in Sapphique), one hundred and fifty years have passed since the Years of Rage, after which all the criminals, undesirables, extremists, degenerates, and lunatics of the Realm were banished to Incarceron, a prison the size of a world. Seventy of the … [Read more...]
The Mortal Instruments
“The road to Hell is easy.” Cassandra Clare’s Young Adult bestseller City of Bones (coming to a theater near you on August 23) introduces us to Clary, a child of Shadowhunters. Shadowhunters trace their lineage back to the Nephilim of Genesis – well, if Genesis included humans drinking angel blood from the Mortal Cup so they could fight demons. And fight demons they do, as … [Read more...]
Desperate Human Beings: The Walking Dead and Ethics
“Horror is not a glimpse into someone’s dark imagination, but a bridge into corners of everyday life most of us would rather not think about.” - Tauriq Moosa ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The Walking Dead and Philosophy brings together a number of philosophers and ethicists to analyze … [Read more...]
Deconstructing Isaiah: Jonathan Cahn's Harbinger
According to amazon.com, Jonathan Cahn's Harbinger is currently #5 in Religion/Mystery, #7 in Theology, and #30 in Religion/Spirituality. If you have not read it, think of The Bible Code or The Da Vinci Code without any cool Hebrew language grids, chase scenes or exotic locations. The narrator meets a mysterious guy who walks him through “harbingers,’ impending signs of doom … [Read more...]
Life of Pi: Believing in Everything
"Why not believe in whatever?" - Yann Martel Life of Pi recounts the story of Piscine Molitor Patel, mercifully known as Pi. As a boy, Pi’s mother raises him as a Hindu. When he is fourteen, he begins to follow the teachings of Christianity and then of Islam, believing them all capable of teaching him something important about God. So, Hindu/Christian/Muslim. His father, a … [Read more...]