Review: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

The Picture of Dorian Gray 

Written by: Oscar Wilde

Published: 1890

Synopsis: Written in his distinctively dazzling manner, Oscar Wilde’s story of a fashionable young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty is the author’s most popular work.
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You know how you might have tried to read a book  100 different times and a bunch of different ages but for some reason it never resonated, and then the 101st time you take a look at it and *click* suddenly the language and style and characters just...work?

Well that's what The Picture of Dorian Gray has been for me. I first tried to read it at 16 and got about 2 sentences in and had to put it down, the next time I was a little bit more successful but after putting it down one night 2 chapters in I was never motivated to keep reading. I can't say I have a reason why I could never get into it, but something stonewalled every attempt I made and I was mostly resigned to the fact that me and Dorian were never going to get to know each other. As luck might have it, this was one of the reads for the "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Challenge" and when I decided to start it for the 101st time I somehow got straight into it. Weird right?  For whatever reason, this time around I had no issue with the language or connecting with the story. I never really got far enough into it to make any judgements, but this time around I found myself loving everything about it, the language, the characters, the jokes and cynicism, the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) homo-eroticism that Oscar Wilde weaves into the story.

The premise of this book is one all of you probably know already. A young and impressionable dude decides he likes his face and the fact that the youth get all the fun, and when he sees an exceptionally good painting of himself, wishes that he could stay as he is and stain the picture with his age and disgrace and anger. As supernatural and borderline horror as this seems, it really makes up a small part of the story. Even after the deal has been made (to which Dorian is somewhat unaware) and he notices some imperceptible differences to the portrait, the book remains attentive to Dorian and his crazy ego and the crazy ego of his best friend Lord Henry. The why and how of the painting is never explored, and instead is used as a literal marker to demonstrate the deplorable nature of Dorian Gray and how much his actions tarnish his soul and his character.

Dorian Gray, to me, is a pretty boring character. He's snooty and upper-class-y and seems to be in a perpetual funk. He also has an obnoxious habit of making the fault of his actions the fault of someone else. Like when he decides he no longer loves Sybil because he realises she's an actual person and not a constant parade of sad and desperate Shakespearean heroines, he blasts at her that she's destroyed his love and that it is unfair to him for her to do such a thing etc etc. That's one of the mildest of examples, but without spoiling the events of the novels I can't unpack the true extent of his jackassery. Jackassery aside, he's a pretty vanilla character. What makes him interesting, other than owning a painting that does the ageing for him, is how easily shaped he is by the people around him. He's like a sponge or a lump of clay, just bending easily to the thoughts and opinions of whomever his number 1 friend is at the time. It happens that Lord Henry is this friend most of the time and, in some ways, responsible for the entire crap-fest that follows Dorian's regrettable deal with the devil/painting gods.

Lord Henry is amazing. Like, I actively hated him after hearing the first sentence out of his mouth, but he's so god damn entertaining and completely makes the book. He obnoxiously has an opinion on absolutely everything and ALWAYS has to deviate from whatever the popular opinion is. Madame Whats-it thinks love is for losers? Lord Henry thinks love is what makes the world go round. Young Lady Hoo-ha thinks love is lovely, and suddenly Lord Henry thinks it's demonstrative of her youth and naivete and femininity and one day she'll realise there is no such thing as love. His greatest opinion, and the one that sways Dorian the most, is about the importance of beauty over intelligence. Over and over through the story, and you should know this spans about 20 years (maybe a little under), Henry waffles on and on about how unlucky you are if you're intelligent, why it's such a bummer and how lucky Dorian is for being such a pretty faced boy. He champions vanity as truth, and intelligence as the cowardly disregard for what is true and honest in life. Actually, the way he champions this dichotomy in conversation after conversation with Dorian made it feel as though Dorian was a project that Henry had taken up to see how far he could drive a person to think his way. I can practically imagine the young scholar that Henry visits after stopping by Dorian's to spin the same argument but in reverse. This isn't to say Dorian is a victim in this book, he certainly isn't, but I can't help but wonder what would have happened if Basil the painter had had his way and kept Lord Henry from Dorian.

The story is pretty slow-going to start, and there were probably about three conversations between Dorian and Henry in the first section of the book that could have been done away with, but after Dorian falls in (and out of) love Sybil and notices the first difference in the painting it begins to pick up the pace and once it get going it's much easier to stay engaged. Oscar Wilde is a delightful writer, verbose at times, but he manages to be both lyrical and poetic while also very acerbic and sharp prose. The dialogue is where he truly shines, which, you know, for a playwright is to be expected, but seriously, there are zingers and potshots in just about every single conversation line. It makes it much more bearable to read conversations between rich old white dudes, and also makes me think Oscar Wilde and I could have been good friends.

And on that note, here are a few excerpts to demonstrate Mr Wilde's awesomeness;

"A man can be happy with any woman, as long as he does not love her"

(on the painting) "The very sharpness of the contrast used to quicken his sense of pleasure. He grew more and more enamoured of his own beauty, more and more interested in the corruption of his own soul"

"We live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities"

"I felt that this monstrous London of ours, with its myriads of people, its sordid sinners, and its splendid sins, as you once phrased it, must have something in store with me"

"The basis for optimism is sheer terror. We hink that we are generous because we credit our neighbour with the possession of those virtues that are likely to be a benefit to us. We praise the banker that we may overdraw our account, and find good qualities in the highwayman in the hope that he may spare our pockets. I mean everything that I have said. I have the greatest contempt for optimism. As for a spoiled life, no life is spoiled but one whose growth is arrested. If you want to mar nature, you have merely to reform it"

"Women are a decorative sex. They never have anything to say, but they say it charmingly. Women represent the triumph of matter over mind, just as men represent the triumph of mind over morals"

So yeah as that last quote hints, It's very male-centric, and women get a pretty bad run in it, but aside from that (which was hard to bear from time to time) and a few pacing issues it was an interesting, humorous and provocative story which has some real parallels with life in our modern society.  If, like me, you've had trouble reading this one, maybe pick it up and give it another go and you might find yourself, for some reason, plowing straight through it and thoroughly enjoying it this time around.

Sherlock Holmes: The Final Problem

Sherlock Holmes: The Final Problem
Written by: Arthur Conan Doyle

Published: 1893

Synopsis: Sherlock Holmes strives to destroy Professor Moriarty who is at the bottom of half the evil in London while the criminal genius vows the same for the detective.


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OMG I FINALLY GOT THE CHANCE TO READ ANOTHER BOOK FOR THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN CHALLENGE!!!! I know right! And it took me like 20 minutes to read because I had no idea this one was only a wee teeny tiny baby of a story and all of a sudden my kindle phone app was like "yo Kayleigh you're 78% complete" and I was like "but I'm only halfway to uni, what the hell Arthur Conan Doyle?!"

It's going to be really hard to review this story, and not only because of the teensy size. This is the one and only Sherlock Holmes/Arthur Conan Doyle story I've read. All of my wisdom on the subject comes from the fantastic Steven Moffat series Sherlock and all the old films that used to play at midday on a Sunday. So there are certain parts of this book that I especially liked because I could completely visualise Benedict Cumberbatch saying the lines in that droll voice of his. Case in point;

"My dear Watson, you evidently did not realise my meaning when I said that this man may be taken as being quite on the same intellectual plane as myself. You do not imagine that if I were the pursuer I should allow myself to be baffled by so slight an obstacle. Why, then, should you think so meanly of him?"

So maybe my man B.C would have a slightly more modern line reading, but because I have his characterisation still so fresh in my head I read those lines with all of the the annoyance and peevishness that are so characteristic of his incarnation of the character, where, perhaps, you guys (if you haven't seen Sherlock or are more familiar with the original Conan Doyle series) see none of that stuff and I'm just projecting.

That aside, this really is a thoroughly good story. It's short, to the point and rather emotional. Writing two years after the events that take place, Watson (who I was visualising more as Jude Law than Martin Freeman surprisingly) finally decides to recount the events that transpired between Sherlock and Moriarty, because people are trying to paint Moriarty as a good guy and not the criminal mastermind he actually was. In the short story Watson describes how on edge and aware of looming danger that Sherlock was, and his decision to leave the country for three days until the police would be able to arrest Moriarty and the rest of his criminal crew. Tagging along because, well, because he's Watson, he heads off with Sherlock in what will be their final trip together.

Because he's writing from the perspective of knowing what happens, and being devastated by the events (this is all in the first few pages, so no spoiler warning needed!) Watson's account is rather melancholy and depressing. He recalls moments when Sherlock displayed signs of fear or apprehension which he then pieces together to demonstrate that Sherlock was always aware how this adventure was going to end. It has the advantage of not only showing Watson's tender affection for the world's greatest detective (and at times the story reads like a long eulogy) but also showcasing Sherlock's talent as the world's greatest detective AND his level-headed acceptance of how things will/could be. He does his best to avoid death, but he accepts this reality and doesn't let it stop him from spending three more days with Watson, see the world and crush Moriarty's crime syndicate. That's a dude I can respect.

To me this story was all about Watson and Sherlock and the enduring bond between these two men, but for most (especially if I take into account the film/TV versions of this story) it's all about the rivalry that's set up between Moriarty and Sherlock. And for good reason. They're two sides of the same coin, brilliant, determined, intuitive, commanding and a little mad (although maybe in Moriarty it's more than a little). In the early pages of the story Sherlock recounts their brief meeting to Watson, and it's this fantastic intellectual game of chess, where each plays on the other's move and tries to take command of the situation. The back and forth between them is dynamic yet civil - building the tension required for the rest of the story. It's like a meeting between two muzzled lions, if the two lions went to Oxford and wore neckties.The interesting thing that this story sets up is the respect that they have for one another, they clearly disrespect one another's line of work, but they respect the mental prowess of one another and the thrill that this hunt (for want of a better word) will entail. They're two of the most intelligent men alive, and finally they've each found their match. In other circumstances they could be wonderful friends (and you know that fan-fic has been written).

I'm sad this was quite a short read, because that would be the only fault I have about it. Because it's so short,  there isn't a huge amount of detail about the events - especially since Watson isn't present at the infamous Reichenbach Falls when the two men have their final face off. However because of the tone of the book, and the reason for Watson finally putting pen to paper, it doesn't diminish the quality of the story, it just leaves me wishing for more.

Review: The Invisible Man by H.G Wells

The Invisible Man
by H.G. Wells

Published in: 1897

Synopsis:This masterpiece of science fiction is the fascinating story of Griffin, a scientist who creates a serum to render himself invisible, and his descent into madness that follows.


Before I begin my review I just want to point how awesome this cover art is! I always admire it when I see it in a book store and I'd love to get a print of this to hang in my future library room (haha, like I'm ever going to have a single room to dedicate to all my books!) but unfortunately I haven't managed to get my hands on one of these editions just yet.

But enough fluff about the cover, let's get into the meat of it shall we? The Invisible Man is actually my first H.G Wells read, and I'm so glad I finally got around to reading his work. I didn't go into this with any expectations, because while I've always been aware of who Wells is, he's always been just off my radar. This was probably to my benefit because I came into the book with clear eyes (other than the character's role in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) and was impressed with the pacing and level of humour in this novella.

The story begins with Griffin's arrival at a small village inn, where he makes a splash with his weird bulky get-up and face full of bandages. After a couple of days of muffled yells, breaking glass and mysterious late night walks the jig is up, and Griffin's secret is revealed. Under all of his layers and bandages is...nothing. After managing to successfully formulate a process to render him invisible, Griffin is now stuck in that see-through state and it's beginning to take a toll on his mind. After making a dicey escape the invisible scientist/madman stumbles across an old friend, rehashes the events that lead to his transformation, and descends deeper into a murderous insanity.Given the shortness of the novel I don't want to provide too many details, but I will say that the book was chock full of action scenes with the potential to start your heart racing, even considering the lengthy dialogue scenes that take place (it was written in the late 1800s after all).

I really enjoyed the book, but I did find myself having to reread sections from time to time. On occasion the action was moving so fast and there were so many new characters introduced, that when you added "old timey" language and vernacular I was stuck going round and round in circles. However, I was juggling reading this book with reading a tonne of uni textbooks, so I didn't really have time to dedicate to length periods reading and getting used to the language, so it may have just been me.

Overall I found this book an enjoyable read and surprisingly funny (at least in the first quarter). The story did feel rushed at times, and it could have been clearer, but for one of the first science fiction stories it did a great job of combining science with intrigue, action and issues of sanity. My edition comes combined with The Time Machine, and Griffin and his invisible mischievousness has done more than enough to whet my appetite for some more of H.G Wells' science fiction!

Film Review: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Released: 2003

Starring: Sean Connery
Stuart Townsend
Richard Roxburgh

Synopsis: In an alternate Victorian Age world, a group of famous contemporary fantasy, SF and adventure characters team up on a secret mission





OK guys, this is going to be a short review because I have been staring at a blank screen for three weeks now, absolutely unable to write anything about this film! I watched this film for the 'League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' 2012 challenge and I really did enjoy it, I just (weirdly) have nothing to say!

The film differs greatly from the graphic novel. it's more of an 'inspired by' film than an adaptation, which is actually probably better in the long run. This way they had more creative freedom and didn't need to worry about fans getting cranky that they changed small aspects here and there. Is it better than the graphic novel? Probably not, but I still enjoyed the film and the direction they decided to take.

There are a heap of new characters added to the movie, branching off from the original team made up of Mina Harker, Alan Quartermain, Jekyll/Hyde, Captain Nemo and the Invisible man, Rodney Skinner (known as Hawley Griffen in the graphic novel). Joining the ranks are Tom Sawyer, a brash American working for a government agency (I can't remember which), and Dorian Gray (played by the handsome Stuart Townsend), while the Phantom now accompanies Moriarty as a bad guy. I actually really liked the addition of these extra characters, it isn't always the case, but in this instance a larger cast worked well for the tension and story build-up.  Unlike the graphic novel, everyone in the film is much more civil with one another and there doesn't seem to be as much distrust or animosity swirling around them...at least at first.  As kind as everyone is in the beginning, none of them really want to be there; they were coerced, in their own ways, into participating in this hodge podge of a group and the greater number swells the animosity and highlights their differences.

The team are united under the watchful eye of 'M' who informs them that the dastardly Phantom wants to sink Venice, and that it is their job to foil his plan. There are obvious complications along the way, both involving the Phantom's group of lackeys and within the group itself, but the pacing is fairly quick and the action scenes are exciting and well done. The story is a little silly, but I felt like the real interest in the film was of seeing the literary characters placed into situations that were removed from their traditional settings. Perhaps that has something to do with me being a reader, but I could forgive the film-makers deciding the story needed to be more 'Hollywood' than the original graphic novel because I felt like the characters were fleshed out enough. Although,it kind of sucked that they removed the love interest between Mina and Quartermain and replaced it with the younger, hotter couple of Mina and Gray, but I understand why they did that (I just hate it!).

Visually the film was fantastic. This was one of the earliest  mainstream films to utilise the Steampunk aesthetic, and it was really gorgeous. This was probably the film's real strength, the locations, props and costumes were all done to perfection. Similarly, the actors were all top-notch, it's just a pity the story was so unnecessarily extravagant in parts. Fun fact, did you know this was the film that made Sean Connery decide to retire? Apparently life on set was a nightmare, although it seems more to do with the director (Stephen Norrington) and less about anything else.

So a pretty decent film all in all. It wasn't the greatest ever, but it flowed well and it definitely wasn't hard to watch. I think most literary fans can find something in this film to enjoy.

Review: Dracula by Bram Stoker

Dracula
Written by Bram Stoker

Published: 1897

Synopsis: Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to relocate from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor Abraham van Helsing.





I'm a little embarressed to say that I haven't read Dracula before. I've seen most of the film adaptations, and I've always been aware of its notoriety as a classic horror text but for some reason I've never gotten around to reading it before. I'm so glad that 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' challenge rolled around, because it's an absolute crime that I've missed out on the magic of this book for so long!

Dracula is a phenomenal book. Contemporary authors really should take the time to study this book, regardless of whether they write horror or not, because it truly is amazing in every possible way. The quality of writing, the ingenuity of the story, the vitality of the characters, the use of journals and letters, the combination of so many delcious genres into one great book...seriously, why hadn't I read this before?!

So the book begins as Jonathan Harker heads out to meet Count Dracula, an elderly client who is intent on moving to England and needed legal help to organise it all. Once in the huge castle it doesn't take long for the easy and enjoyable conversations late into the night to turn to something far more sinister. Harker soon realises that his freedom in the castle is being severely curtailed, and after several late night explorations it is removed completely. At the same time things around the castle starts to get really weird, he witnesses the Count crawling down the castle's steep walls, and he comes across three women who appear out of thin air and encircle him eagerly clawing for his throat. As much as I loved the rest of the book, I think it was this first portion that I loved the most. The action takes place amongst such a wild and mysterious part of the world and the capacity for the supernatural seems all the more likely.  From the early descriptions of the changing landscape to the growing unease of the locals who risk their lives to help Harker avoid the castle to the scene with the Count asleep in his coffin, the pacing and foreshadowing is done spectacularly well and completely had me within its grasp. Then there are the three women/vampires, va va voom! Take note Stephenie Meyer, that's how you write some disturbingly sexy scenes! For example;

"There was a deliberate voluptuousness that was both thrilling and repulsive. And as she arched her neck she actually licked her lips like an animal till I could see in the moonlight the moisture Then lapped the white, sharp teeth. Lower and lower went her head. I closed my eyes in a languorous ecstasy and waited. ”

The visual capacity for this writing is extraordinary (a word I seem to be overusing, alas!), it's not hard to see how this book led to so many film adaptations and copy-cat writers. As Jonathan struggles to survive in the castle amidst the three women and the wolves, Dracula makes his way across the sea to England and Jonathan's fiancée, Mina, happens to be in the small seaside town he lands in. After Mina's friend Lucy succumbs to a mystery illness, we're introduced to the rest of the cast, Lucy's Fiancée, Arthur, his friends Dr Seward and Quincey Morris, and the absolutely delightful Van Helsing. Because I hadn't read this book before, I'd always imagined Van Helsing as a young BAMF who dominates vamps and other mythological creatures (I think you can blame the Hugh Jackman movie for that) but he's so different! He's definitely still a BAMF, but he's old and sweet and anunbelieveably gorgeous character. I just wanted to take him home and keep him in my pocket! He definitely falls under the Gandalf/Dumbledore awesome old guy banner. One of my favourite lines of his is this one he says to Mina;

"There are darknesses in life and there are lights, and you are one of the lights, the light of all lights"

See! See! So the book is told through a series of diary, journal, letter, telegram accounts which have been collected by Mina in order to help the group in their attempt to destroy Dracula once and for all.  I'm not sure how many books at the time this was published would have used this format, and even though it's fairly common now, it's exceptionally well done and I loved that it added perfectly to "this happened but we don't believe anyone would ever believe us" theme that runs through the book. I guess in a way it's the precursor to all the found footage horror films around now, except given the time the book takes place, it actually makes sense for all of this to be documented in a diary or in long letters to one another.

So yes, I enjoyed the crap out of this book. It's intelligent, funny, heart-warming, spooky, unique and well worth the attention it's received for over 100 years! Given it's age, it does take a while to get into the rhythm of the dialogue patterns if you don't often read books from that time, but it's not impossible nor difficult once you get into it. There was one character, an old man in the seaside town Lucy and Mina stayed in, that I couldn't understand a word of. His dialogue is written verbatim in a very thick Northern (?) accent and full of idioms and speech patterns unique to that area. It was only about a page in total, but I just couldn't work out more than 1 in 5 words and I simply gave up. It had no real bearing on the story (a touch of foreshadowing if anything) so it wasn't the end of the world, but thank god it wasn't all like that! Anyway, that one blip aside, everyone should read this book asap! Do it! NOW!

review: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (volume 1 and 2)

Written by Alan Moore
Illustrated by Kevin O'Neill

Published: 2001

Synopsis:(Volume one) Captain Nemo! The Invisible Man! Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde! Intrepid explorer Allan Quatermain! These and other amazing heroes of the Victorian age unite to save the world in Alan Moore's legendary tale, the inspiration for the 2003 Sean Connery film.

(Volume two) When alien invaders from Mars mercilessly attack London, the British throne quickly calls upon the League to protect the empire. When one of the members dies a horrific death, the members must call upon Dr. Moreau as their last desperate hope.


For 2012 I decded I'd only take part in two challenges alongside the general Goodreads reading challenge. The one I've been most excited about though is the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen challenge. Not only is it a unique and clever idea for a challenge but it's the push I need to read some of those classic texts that I constantly overlook.

I decided that before I read original source materials I waned to get an idea of how the characters are portrayed in the original graphic novel. Now, while I haven't read the books, I haven't been living under a rock, so I have seen other literary/tv/film incarnations of them. At the end of the year I'm going to revisit this graphic novel and the film and see if any of my perceptions have changed.

Now, on to the graphic novel! The copy I bought is the omnibus edition which includes volumes one and two as well as two short story/novellas and a series of art pages featuring the various cover art. It's a beautiful hard cover book that I'm more than happy to add to my collection. I mean, seriously, how sexy is a book with some weight to it?!

So! The basic story is, Mr Bond, working for Mr M ropes the divorced and disgraced Wilhelmina (Mina) Harker into finding a group of disgraced/old/villainous men for Mr M. The group, when assembled, will be a specialised group that will have all the necessary requirements to fight the good fight for England, protect the country, the people etc etc. Of course, it isn't quite as described, but that's the basic line fed to them as reason for working together. The graphic novel assembles Mina Harker with the Opium-sot Mr Quartermain, dastardly pirate Captain Nemo, infamous Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde and the devious invisible man, Hawley Griffin. They're a ragamuffin group of not-so-nice dudes (and lady) with very little going for themselves, but together they actually manage to get some things right. They never truly trust each other, and their insults for one another rarely subside, but together they seem to regain some of their previous glory, and they prove that they're perhaps not so dispensable after all.

The two volumes see them pitted against a new foe, with the added mystery of exactly who they're working for included in volume one. I won't go into much detail about either plot here, but I felt like volume two strayed just a little too far into the ridiculous. The attacking aliens was just... a little too bad Star Trek-y? Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Star Trek fan, but every now and then there was an episode that was just a little too outrageous and silly that didn't have a strong story or message at it's core to help it succeed. Plus, there's a love story and a couple of other side-stories that just didn't really mesh coherently for my taste. It definitely succumbed to sequelitis, which was a shame since I enjoyed the first volume so, so much.

A lot of reliance is placed on the reader knowing these characters, at least to some degree. It takes it for granted that you know that Mina is from Dracula, because if you don't, you may not understand what the disgrace that is mentioned is, and you'd probably miss the subtle hints regarding her always keeping a scarf wound round her neck. And even when the scarf is removed towards the end of the volume two you still possibly wouldn't make the connection regarding the marks on her neck with the cryptic comments she makes. This reliance on the reader is both one of the novels finest points, but also one of its slipping points. On the one hand, the novel is rich with characters that have decades (and in some cases centuries) of emotions, subtext and characteristics imbued into them, meaning that every action, every line of dialogue, every reaction can be studied at close quarters to gain nuanced meaning that would otherwise be impossible in a story of this size. On the other hand, if you don't know these character's pasts then you miss out on much of the subtle story that threads between the lines (or within the pictures), and the characters and story may appear simple or even under-developed. Alan Moore took a real risk with this approach, and while I certainly enjoyed it, I can imagine the confusion some readers may face. It's sort of like watching the Harry Potter films without having read the books, there are certain characteristics or issues that were downplayed in the film, but were crucial to the understanding of the series as a whole.

While I'm sure I missed some of the more subtle hints and references with these characters, it was fun locating the other literary clues dotted through the stories. In volume two they stay at "Bleak House" and Gulliver (edit: of the moon not the travels) and Dr Moreau (amongst others) make cameos. Some are more obvious than others, but all are deftly included into the story, rather than just thrown in as though exclaiming "YEAH! I read books,I'm smart, me" like a certain author who writes about glittery vampires... Plus, because it's a graphic novel it's kind of a Where's Wally literary edition, how many can you find?!

So the characters were the driving force of the story, and depending on who you are, and your reading history, that may be a positive or a negative thing. I think that's probably a fair way of describing how I feel about this book. While I really enjoyed volume one, I felt like volume two was a let down. I can completely understand how someone could finish this book and love it, but I can completely understand someone who comes out disappointed, or disliking it. It ran out of steam, it shot up with such energy, creativity and uniqueness that there was nowhere for it to go but back down. A really interesting concept though, worth at least taking a look at in your library.

2012 Challenge: The League of Extraordinary Gentleman

Although I'm currently racing through my books to try and get my 2011 challenges completed I couldn't refrain from looking forward and signing up to this particular challenge. Not only does it look like a lot of fun, but it'll give me the push I need to finally start some of my TBR books.

So what is it exactly? Booking in Heels has created an entire challenge around the 2003 film The League of Extraordinary Gentleman. Based on the graphic novel of the same name by Alan Moore, this fantastic story includes some of literatures best known characters. The focus of this challenge is to read the books that the characters first appeared in, so that means between January 1st and December 31st I'll be reading...

*King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard (Allan Quatermain)
*Dracula by Bram Stoker (Mina Harker)
*20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (Captain Nemo)
*The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (Tom Sawyer)
*The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (Dorian Gray)
*The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde)
*The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells (Rodney Skinner - kind of*)
*The Final Problem by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (James Moriarty)
*The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux (The Phantom)

I'm also going to take a leaf out of Gabe's (of Gabriel Reads) book and read the original graphic novel. I've read a couple of other Alan Moore books and I've always enjoyed them, so I don't expect this to be any different.

If you want to take part in this great new challenge head over to the Booking In Heels blog and sign up. I can't wait to see everyone's reviews on these classic texts!


*Due to open copyright the characters from The Invisible Man couldn't be used directly, so instead they had to get a little creative with it.