Reviews by brooks33603

brooks33603 says "Excellent Quality Anime, Increadible story!" about Howl's Moving Castle

brooks33603 — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 18:15:42 GMT

Howl's Moving Castle is one of the best anime movies I've ever seen. I have recently discovered it was based on a book by Diana Wynne Jones, and even has two sequels, which you can be sure I will be reading soon--Castle in the Sky, and House of Many Ways.

The story begins with Sophie Hatter, an eldest daughter, who is bored with running her family's hat shop. After accidently offending the Witch of the Waste, she is turned into an old woman. Ashamed of her appearence she runs away, and finds herself working as a cleaning maid for the the Wizard Howl. She discovers that Howl's spirit servant, Calcifer, is under contract to the wizard. He tells her if she can find a way to break the wizards hold on him, he can changer her back to her own young self.

The story goes on, and tells of many great adventures and tales of friendship, leading to love. I highly recommend this to anyone, young or old, who enjoys a good movie.

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brooks33603 says "Takes my breath away..." about Spirited Away - 2001

brooks33603 — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 17:58:37 GMT

I loved this movie. The visual art is stunning, and the stoyline is so refreshing, so full, that I want to go buy this movie. I ordered it via netflix on a whim, and am so happy I did! If you are wondering if this movie would be enjoyable, ask yourself, "Do I want to be entertained? Do I want to fall in love with imaginary characters? Am I willing to put off doing anything else for the next two hours?" Then get it.

Spirited Away (Sen and Chihiro's Spiriting Away) is a 2001 Japanese anime film written and directed by famed animator Hayao Miyazaki. It starts with a 10 year old girl, Chihiro, who is having to move with her family to the suburbs. On the way they encounter a passage into a realm where the spirits of our reality go to be refreshed.

Her adventurs there are exciting to watch, and once you start it's almost impossible to stop. I highly recomend this feature film.

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brooks33603 says "Amazing in concept, deep in history!" about Robert Silverberg - Roma Eterna

brooks33603 — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 17:40:05 GMT

What if the ancient religions of the world were still with us? What if the Roman Empire had come across North America? What if the Romans had been able to send a rocket into space? What if... This series of short stories tells a very possible other history, from the earliest days of a collapsing empire to the triumph of a victorious fleet, and it's subsequent aftermath of failure.

Disaster, adventure, fallen pride, fierce determination, and a glimpse of possibility take you on a pillgramage to the past, and up a new vine to taste fruit from the world of ancient Rome. Roma Eterna is in some ways more compelling than our modern metropolis, and more deadly than the old west. I would recommend Silverburg's story to anyone who ever asked, "What if?"

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brooks33603 says "Enthalling!!!" about Brandon Sanderson - Mistborn

brooks33603 — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 17:29:25 GMT

Ever since discovering Brandon Sanderson I have simply devoured his books. Mistborn is set in a contemporary fantasy world that has seen disaster on a scale we can scarcly imagine. The sun is red, the stars are hidden even by night, and somthing dark and ancient stalks the mists. Ruling over this is a hard and dark ruler, maintaining a status quo for his own dark and mysterious purposes.

Into this world comes the Mistborn, people who, after drinking certain metals, become super-human. They can fly through the night, effect emotions, and stir a rebellion that has been a thousand years overdue...

I highly recommend this book, and the two sequals, which continue the future history of this lost world.

More can be read at his website, brandonsanderson dot com.

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brooks33603 says "This book is proof that new ideas still exist!" about The Name of the Wind

brooks33603 — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:18:17 GMT

Patrick Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind is simply the best first book I have ever read by a new writer. I bought it on a whim, the story described on the back sounded good, and I'm one of those people who feel naked without somthing to read. So I bought it, went home, had dinner, and ended up devouring this amazing book, all 722 pages, over the course of that weekend.

The main character, Kvothe, pulls you into his past, leaving an enigmatic mystery around his present situation. How did this fighter, thief, wizard, this deep and wonderous character end up tending bar in a lonly little village in the middle of nowhere? I'm eagerly awaiting it's sequal, The Wise Man's Fear, which is still in development. You can read more about that on his official web site.

Overall this book is a gem of a find, and I'm glad I took the time to give a new author a chance, I'm sure in years to come he'll dazzle us and enjoy keeping us mystified.

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