Movie: The Final Countdown (1980) Starring Martin Sheen, Kirk Douglas
This movie showed alot of promise. If you could get past the really corny special effects as the Nimitz travelled back in time that is.
The premise for this movie is very similar to the books written by John Birmingham, where a US ship is transported back in time to a point in WW2. In this case, the day before Japan attacks Pearl Harbor. And it was at this point that things went pear shaped.
It could have been an amazing study of what happens when you mess with time. But sadly, just as things looked to get interesting, the "storm" reappeared, chased down the Nimitz & sucked them back to the present.
I think they should make a movie version of the John Birmingham books, because now, I just want to see what it would look like with all those awesome CGI special effects. Not to mention it may offest some of the disappointment I felt at the end of this movie!!
Showing posts with label Historical Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Historical Fiction. Show all posts
Wednesday, 28 November 2012
Wednesday, 7 November 2012
Book Bloggin' 7th November 2012
Finished: Down to a Sunless Sea by David Graham
Written in the years of the oil crisis of the 1970's/early 80's this book paints a stark picture on just how fast things can fall apart. America is out of oil & with a completely worthless dollar. Yet the giant conglomerates refuse to see that it is their greed & short sightedness which is driving the collapse ever faster. America is left with no power, no food & starving populations just trying to get out. Cue that old Cold War foe USSR deciding now is the time to get revenge & 4 hours later, the earth is a radioactive wasteland. With the excepetion of one british plane carryng expat Americans & one Antinov carrying Russian woman & children.
I love that the author shows that rather then death mayhem & hatred between the 2 planes, there is a spirit of love & humanity. After all, after the end of the world, we are all just humans, not "British" or "Armenian" or wherever you had the good (or bad) luck to be born. The sooner people realise this fundamental truth, that we are all the same when you strip away nationality & religion & stop using these as an excuse to hate people well, the happier this world will be. Although, one point in this book which I think would be a great way to deal with criminals is to brand their foreheads. If they are multiple reoffenders, why not brand them set them free under rules of permanent exclusion from all amenities - jobs & food & dole and everything else, with stiff penalties for those who aid them. See how long they last then. Sometimes a deterent has to be harsh to help.
Started: King of Bombs by Sheldon Filger
Written in the years of the oil crisis of the 1970's/early 80's this book paints a stark picture on just how fast things can fall apart. America is out of oil & with a completely worthless dollar. Yet the giant conglomerates refuse to see that it is their greed & short sightedness which is driving the collapse ever faster. America is left with no power, no food & starving populations just trying to get out. Cue that old Cold War foe USSR deciding now is the time to get revenge & 4 hours later, the earth is a radioactive wasteland. With the excepetion of one british plane carryng expat Americans & one Antinov carrying Russian woman & children.
I love that the author shows that rather then death mayhem & hatred between the 2 planes, there is a spirit of love & humanity. After all, after the end of the world, we are all just humans, not "British" or "Armenian" or wherever you had the good (or bad) luck to be born. The sooner people realise this fundamental truth, that we are all the same when you strip away nationality & religion & stop using these as an excuse to hate people well, the happier this world will be. Although, one point in this book which I think would be a great way to deal with criminals is to brand their foreheads. If they are multiple reoffenders, why not brand them set them free under rules of permanent exclusion from all amenities - jobs & food & dole and everything else, with stiff penalties for those who aid them. See how long they last then. Sometimes a deterent has to be harsh to help.
Started: King of Bombs by Sheldon Filger
Monday, 5 November 2012
Book Bloggin' 5th November 2012
Finished: Underground by Andrew McGahan
Where to start? This is a brilliantly written book. And the reality is, it could so easily become fact. A world where Muslim ghettos abound, where America conspires to create a city so that the powermongers can meet & plot the fate of humanity in peace. All helped by a megalomaniac Prime Minister.
The reality is, instability creates jobs. What would all those soldiers be doing if there were no wars to fight? What would all the arms manufacturers, the secondary suppliers of the war machine do? It's a sad fact that wars are a profitable business. And if people die, well, thats just an unfortunate side effect.
Andrew McGahan has created a world that is truely scary to behold, but all too easy to imagine being real. But it is one where the main character is well rendered & the satirical way in which he deals with events makes this a really great read.
Started: Down to a Sunless Sea by David Graham
OK, so by now you can tell I am on a post apocalyptic run at the moment. This is a classic. And could still happen so easily today!
Where to start? This is a brilliantly written book. And the reality is, it could so easily become fact. A world where Muslim ghettos abound, where America conspires to create a city so that the powermongers can meet & plot the fate of humanity in peace. All helped by a megalomaniac Prime Minister.
The reality is, instability creates jobs. What would all those soldiers be doing if there were no wars to fight? What would all the arms manufacturers, the secondary suppliers of the war machine do? It's a sad fact that wars are a profitable business. And if people die, well, thats just an unfortunate side effect.
Andrew McGahan has created a world that is truely scary to behold, but all too easy to imagine being real. But it is one where the main character is well rendered & the satirical way in which he deals with events makes this a really great read.
Started: Down to a Sunless Sea by David Graham
OK, so by now you can tell I am on a post apocalyptic run at the moment. This is a classic. And could still happen so easily today!
Wednesday, 29 August 2012
Book Bloggin' 28th August 2012
Finished: Beneath the Southern Cross by Judy Nunn
Unfortunately this book was ruined by crap editing. Nothing irks me more then when print books are captured by visual recognition software & then not edited to make sure words haven't become joined thereby turning into a giant soup of letters. And to make things even worse, they charge $10 for the book on Kindle!!!
I really enjoy Judy Nunn books & this was the last currently published one I had to read. As always it was a sweeping historical saga that left me crying at the end. Pity about the editing(or lack thereof).
Started & Finished: The Wardrobe by Judy Nunn
A short story which had a little resembelance to the previous book I read. However, I loved it, it was a sweet tale that actually made me wish it was just a bit longer!
Started & Finished: The House on the Hill by Judy Nunn
Another short story & one which was a complete departure from her usual stories in that it had more of a horror theme. And the ending left you guessing. Great read!
Started: The Bunker Book 1 by EJ Comancho
A post apocalyptic thriller set after a giant corporation has tried to take over the world via the guise of humanitarian assistance. A bit terminator-esque in that the corporation is heavily involved in robotics, however, the robots haven't taken over, there are humans in control.
Unfortunately this book was ruined by crap editing. Nothing irks me more then when print books are captured by visual recognition software & then not edited to make sure words haven't become joined thereby turning into a giant soup of letters. And to make things even worse, they charge $10 for the book on Kindle!!!
I really enjoy Judy Nunn books & this was the last currently published one I had to read. As always it was a sweeping historical saga that left me crying at the end. Pity about the editing(or lack thereof).
Started & Finished: The Wardrobe by Judy Nunn
A short story which had a little resembelance to the previous book I read. However, I loved it, it was a sweet tale that actually made me wish it was just a bit longer!
Started & Finished: The House on the Hill by Judy Nunn
Another short story & one which was a complete departure from her usual stories in that it had more of a horror theme. And the ending left you guessing. Great read!
Started: The Bunker Book 1 by EJ Comancho
A post apocalyptic thriller set after a giant corporation has tried to take over the world via the guise of humanitarian assistance. A bit terminator-esque in that the corporation is heavily involved in robotics, however, the robots haven't taken over, there are humans in control.
Wednesday, 22 August 2012
Book Bloggin' 22nd August 2012
Started: Beneath the Southern Cross by Judy Nunn
I love Judy Nunn. I love her style & the way that you can instantly relate & identify with characters. And I love the history that she weaves through her books. Judy grew up in Perth (my home town) and some of her previous books have been based here (such as Floodtide & Kal). And the way she weaves what is fact with her fiction is amazing. I actually asked my dad about various things in Floodtide and he said yep, that happened and yep, I went there. It brings an extra level of believabilty to the text and adds to the overall richness of the story.
I love Judy Nunn. I love her style & the way that you can instantly relate & identify with characters. And I love the history that she weaves through her books. Judy grew up in Perth (my home town) and some of her previous books have been based here (such as Floodtide & Kal). And the way she weaves what is fact with her fiction is amazing. I actually asked my dad about various things in Floodtide and he said yep, that happened and yep, I went there. It brings an extra level of believabilty to the text and adds to the overall richness of the story.
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