Book #67

"The Delta Anomaly (Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (2010 series) #1)" by Rick Barba

Rating: ♣ ♣ ♣

I loved reading an official Star Trek tie-in book set during the characters' academy days. And I also loved the description of the cadets' life at the academy, their rivalry, fun and pranks - "Schiller!" - the tests Kirk had to pass... That part was awesome.

The alien entity that was the antagonist in this book was interesting too, a very unusual being. But after a while, I started losing myself in all the tests they conducted and in all the results they came to, but especially in Uhura's translating methods. Most of the time, I had no idea what she was talking about. So, that was a downer.

One thing I was ambivalent about was Kirk's relationship with Hannah. She felt too much like a Mary-Sue, I guess? The way he kept talking about her being the sole inspiration for his future research methods and so on... That just rang false to me. I mean, it was great that she made him think outside the box, but his infatuation with her was way too sudden.

Overall, a good book with some hiccups that needed smoothing out.

MMM: #19 Stay

Gosh, this was one weird-ass movie! Ewan McGregor and Ryan Gosling were fantastic in it, don't get me wrong, and even Naomi Watts wasn't her usual bland self, yet it was still SO WEIRD!

I know that some "smart" viewers figured out early on what was going on but it wasn't until the last five minutes or so that I finally got it! It became obvious why Henry made Sam the star in his vision and why people kept saying to Sam that he - Henry - was watching him, them. Because he literally was. Though why did the bits and pieces from Henry's vision flash through Sam's head at the very end? Or did the scene where Sam invited Lila out for a cup of coffee still take place in Henry's head? Was it his very last thought and that's why we saw the Sam/Lila scenes flash through Henry's mind? Does it mean it didn't really happen? Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh! *tears her hair out*

Sheesh on a pogo stick what a completely whacko film! It reminded me of Dream House - which is another movie that starred Naomi Watts, go figure. Hm.