The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

Have you ever met someone who mistakes their beliefs for truths?  Someone who doesn't understand that just saying something doesn't make it true?

But, what if?  What if such a person's beliefs and words, however improbable, are actually an accurate perception and account of an 'objective' reality? 

The challenge for any reader of The Turn of the Screw is to work out whether the main narrator's tale is one of delusion or verisimilitude. 

For one reason or another, a group of friends meet to hear a ghastly-but-true tale read to them by Douglas, one of their number.  The author of the tale, a now deceased friend of Douglas, claims the events described happened to her.  Twenty year earlier she had obtained work as the governess of two young orphan children, Miles and Flora.  Their uncle, who has custody of them, hands care for the children over to the governess and then promptly steps out of the picture.  Then the ghosts turn up.

So now we have the bones of a gothic horror story:  a big rambling house on a large, remote country estate, inhabited only by a handful of characters - the governess, the children and the housekeeper Mrs Grose. Oh, and the ghosts.   And there are dark secrets aplenty.

What is then left to discern is whether the events described can be attributed to a supernatural cause or to a more mundane one.  Henry James has been quite skillful in the weaving of this tale.  There are enough clues and enough loose threads to keep the reader guessing right up until the end. 

The Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson

The Black Arrow is not in the league of other Stevenson classics like Treasure Island or Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde, but it is an enjoyable and exciting tale set in mediaeval England, and it kinda makes you want to be a kid again.

I had four blak arrows under my belt, 

Four for the greefs that I have felt, 

Four for the nomber of ill menne 

That have opressid me now and then.

Thus runs the opening stanza from a poem of warning written by one John Amend-all of the Greenwood.  

It is May 1460, and the conflict between the Houses of York and Lancaster that we now call the War of the Roses has been raging for five years.  Young Richard Shelton finds himself caught up first in the feud between John Amend-all and his oppressors, and later in the broader war.  Richard is a callow teenager beginning to make his way in the world, not sure who he should trust and who he should doubt.  He finds both loyalty and treachery in the most unexpected places.  Richard has to grow up - and grow up fast - if he is to survive and flourish in an uncertain and dangerous world.  Will Richard's pragmatism and natural charm be enough for him to overcome the obstacles that lie between him, his patrimony and his true love?

Robert Louis Stevenson stated that The Black Arrow was the only one of his novels that he could not bring himself to read.  It was first published in serial form in 1883 in a monthly publication for boys and girls called Young Folks.  Stevenson was under pressure to have two chapters ready for publication every month, and had to write to a formula.  

These circumstances no doubt contributed to the uneven quality of the structure of the novel, which is probably what Stevenson disliked about it; however, the high quality of the style of writing cannot be doubted.  Stevenson has given us a fast-paced tale of intrigue and derring-do.  The hero is likeable, his colleagues steadfast and entertaining, and his enemies subtle and underhanded. What more could you want from an adventure story?

Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett

Yea, the king will come bringing Law and Justice, and know nothing but the Truth, and Protect and Serve the People with his Sword. - Old Discworld Prophecy

Be careful what you wish for.

The eighth installment of the Discworld series is set in the ancient city of Ankh-Morpork.  It has been centuries since the city had a monarch, being ruled currently by a Patrician, Lord Vetinari, a tyrant in all but name.  A certain secret society is unhappy with this state of affairs and they hatch a plan to take control of the city by setting up a puppet king.  But they get much more than they bargained for.

Taking riffs from the film noir and noir literature genres, plod-police shows and combining it with Discworld magic, Pratchett provides us with a gumshoe/police mystery.  In doing so, and in the first of the Night Watch novels, he introduces the utterly memorable characters of Sam Vimes, Fred Colon, Nobby Nobbs, Carrot, Lady Sybil Ramkin and C.M.O.T Dibbler.

Thematically, Guards! Guards! is about human nature and the tendency of ordinary folk to allow evil to flourish through inaction and fear, rather than through intrinsic malice.  It also explores the phenomenon of humans abdicating their moral responsibility en masse to those in supposed positions of authority.

Of course, Pratchett's genius (apart from character creation) lies in his ability to take a serious theme and leaven it with sparkling humour - and there is a lot of humour in this novel - to make it more palatable, provoking thought and laughter at the same time.  A rare talent, indeed, and one to be all the more relished for both its rarity and its acuity.

Ant-Man (2015)

Take one action hero movie, make it family-friendly, stir in a good ensemble cast with a liberal splash of humour, watch for two hours.  Result: a satisfying and enjoyable experience.

I was wondering how Marvel was going to pull this one off, with Ant-man being one of their more, um, tangential superheroes - you know, a guy who can make himself really small.  Doesn't sound great compared to a god of thunder or a man in a flying suit of armor, but I think Marvel did a great job in making this movie one where the suspension of disbelief was a pleasure rather than a duty.

Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) has just served three years in prison for a white collar crime.  His estranged wife tells him: no access to their daughter until he gets a job and an apartment.  This is no easy task for an ex-jailbird.  And then fate dangles an illicit job in front of his nose.  It could be the solution to all his problems.  Instead, it back-fires and Scott winds up on the run from the law.  His only assets: a super costume that allows him to become really small, and a dubious new relationship with Dr Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), the suit's creator.  And then the fun begins.

The movie starts by showcasing the best special effect to date: they made Michael Douglas look thirty years old again.  We're not talking about some Photoshopped snaps in a family album.  No, we're talking about the man walking about and acting.  Uncanny.  You would swear the guy had just come from the set of The Streets of San Francisco.  This is not to say that this movie is a special effects one-trick pony.  No, the fight sequences involve some pretty impressive work, too.  And then there are the ants.  Lots of them.  Great work all round.

The movie casting was spot-on.  Paul Rudd is suited perfectly [pun-intended] to his dad-down-on-his-luck-cum-accidental-superhero role.  Corey Stoll is impressive and imposing as the deranged bad-guy.  Evangeline Lilly is a thwarted but still kick-ass female lead.  Michael Douglas plays a pivotal but nicely understated role throughout the proceedings.  But keep your eye on Michael Peña in the role of best-friend Luis: his is a wonderful comic performance.

There really is a lot in this movie to be pleased about: visual and verbal gags abound, the action is pacy and never weighed down by the mandatory passages of exposition, the performances are fine and the special effects are WOW!

Go see it.  Worth the price of admission.