DVD Review: Spider-Man: No Way Home

Spider-Man: No Way Home
(DVD Spider-Man)

It is not hyperbole when I say that this 2021 release may very well be the best film in the interconnected Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is filled with over 30 films already. It is also a film that could only have existed after a lengthy and complicated series of previous cinematic interpretations of the Spider-Man mythology. Tom Holland returns as teenager Peter Parker, our web-slinging superhero. But he’s got a problem – at the end of the previous film in his series, Spider-Man: Far From Home, he — *SPOILER ALERT* — managed to defeat the bad guy Mysterio, but Mysterio revealed to the world that Spider-Man’s secret identity was Parker. This has wreaked havoc on Peter’s life. So, as Spider-Man: No Way Home begins, Peter turns to fellow superhero, Stephen “Doctor” Strange, master of the mystic arts, to ask if Doctor Strange can do something mystically that will cause everyone to forget that Peter is Spider-Man. However, when Peter’s neuroses cause him to interrupt the complicated spell with caveats, the results turn chaotic.

 

Soon, Peter’s reality is visited by villains from other, parallel timelines – villains faced by other versions of Spider-Man (in previous films starring Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield) – Doctor Octopus, The Green Goblin, Sandman, Electro. Then the other two Spider-Men also show up. Strange’s interrupted spell has fractured reality – causing the “multiverse” of parallel universe/timelines to start crossing over or overlapping with each other.

 

This storytelling device allows the series Marvel Cinematic Universe films to absorb the continuity of the earlier Sony films that told varying different “origin” stories for Spider-Man. And for long-time fans, seeing Holland, Maguire and Andrews’ versions of Peter Parker all interacting and working to solve a major problem together is sheer nerdvana. But this film doesn’t simply pay fannish lip-service in crossing over these various iterations – Spider-Man: No Way Home tells a very serious life-and-death story, that in many ways reboots the entire Spider-Man cinematic storytelling universe from this point onwards.

 

The performances are all excellent, the effects work is superb (though I didn’t think the “Sandman” effects were as good as everything else). And the music and sound effects are incredible. Fans who have been following Spider-Man for decades (he first appeared in the comic books in 1962) will appreciate all the “Easter Eggs” and in-jokes, and those who’ve only started with this character in his latest film incarnation should find the dip into his history to be fascinating. My only big complaint is that one major version of Spider-Man was ignored – from 1978 to 1979 Nicholas Hammond starred as Peter Parker on CBS TV in 14 episodes of the live-action “The Amazing Spider-Man”. I really would have liked to have seen some acknowledgment of that series, the only live-action Spider-Man not acknowledged, in the appearance of multiple Spider-Mans in Spider-Man: No Way Home. But then I’m just a geek at heart. At least my favorite Spidey villain, Alfred Molina as “Doc Ock”, has a major role to play, and even gets a redemption arc following his earlier perfidy.

 

Highly recommended – and this film really kick-starts a series of Marvel Multiverse films and TV shows, including 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try all the previous versions of Spider-Man in feature films and television, including those starring Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield or the 1970s TV series “The Amazing Spider-Man” starring Nicholas Hammond — which can be tracked down online.)

 

( Internet Movie Database entry for this film ) | ( official Spider-Man: No Way Home web site )

 

See where the Spider-Man: No Way Home film falls in the continuity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the If You Like…Superheroes in Film and TV booklist here on BookGuide!
See Kim J.’s review of the 2002 Tobey Maguire film Spider-Man in the October 2020 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!
See Kim J’s Review of the 2002 Tom Holland film Spider-Man: Far From Home in the September 2020 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

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Book Review: The York Series by Laura Ruby

The York Series

by Laura Ruby (j Ruby – as downloadable audios)

 

(A trilogy comprised of The Shadow Cipher, The Clockwork Ghost, and The Map of Stars.)

 

If you are a sucker for a good puzzle, you will get sucked into the York series by Laura Ruby. But don’t pick up the first in the series, The Shadow Cipher, unless you are ready to tuck in for all three novels. The first two books just open up new puzzles and questions that lead you no other option but to delve into the next book.

 

Twins Tess and Theo Biedermann live in an alternative New York City to the one we know. In the late 1700s to mid-1800s another set of twins — the Morningstarr twins — used their incredible intelligence and wit to improve the city with machines and robots that care for the citizens and town, along with amazing buildings and transport systems with astonishing features. But the Morningstarr twins disappeared suddenly, leaving behind a mystery of riddles, puzzles, and clues that may lead to an incredible treasure. Many have tried to solve the cipher over the years, but most people have given up, believing that the idea of the cipher’s conclusion and treasure is just a myth.

 

In the Biedermann twin’s modern time, the apartment building they love, as well as a number of other Morningstarr buildings and landmarks, are threatened by real estate developer Darnell Slant, who wants to own and possibly replace all of the things the Morningstarr’s created. He claims it’s all in the name of progress. But as the series goes on, the teen twins and their good friend Jaime find out that Slant may have something else in mind. He may be buying up all the Morningstarr holdings because they hold another secret, one that holds incredible power that he wants for himself. In fact, he may not even be the true bad guy of the series. Darker forces may be at work. So the twins and Jaime have to race to decipher the cipher before Slant, or anyone else, so they can save the world as they know it.

 

The series is full of amazing, incredibly imaginative creatures and places. Elevators that go up, down, sideways or whichever way they need to go to get you to your destination. Robots that look like centipedes that clean the transport systems. Giggling spiders that care for plants. Eagle monuments that turn into real eagles at the chime of a clock. A gang of identical blond bombshells who do Slant’s bidding. A grey cloaked woman hundreds of years’ old with phenomenal fighting skills who shows up just at the right time to save the day. A cute little robot they call Oh no, whose only words are “Land of Kings” and “Oh no.”

 

I listened to the entire series on audiobook through Hoopla. I really enjoyed the narrator’s rendition. His voices and sound effects perfectly portrayed the witty hijinks of the kids and the friends they make along the way that kept me laughing.

 

If I had any complaint about the series, it’s that you have to read the entire series to find a conclusion. And that conclusion is still pretty open-ended. In the first book, The Shadow Cipher, the twins and Jaime follow the clues left behind by the Morningstarrs to find the treasure and save their apartment building from Slant. But the book ends without a resolution to the cipher. Just a jeweled trinket, a doorway to a new location, and more clues. The second book, The Clockwork Ghost, ends with a suitcase filled with memorabilia and a shocking photo that can tear up the trio’s friendship. The final book, The Map of Stars, ends with the idea that time is tricky and we may all be living in alternative world’s depending on the choices we make. What world is the best or true world? Isn’t that just the question. That being said, I still recommend the series for students in 4th-8th grade as a great fantasy trilogy.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau, or Unwanteds by Lisa McMann.)

 

( official York series page on the official Laura Ruby web site )

 

Recommended by Cindy K.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Services

 

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Book Review: Outlawed by Anna North

Outlawed
by Anna North (North)

Outlawed is a western set in the 1890s, but not exactly the one in our history books. A flu epidemic several generations before killed 90% of Americans (or at least that many white Americans). The United States government dissolved. Much of white American Christianity shifted focus from Jesus’ death and resurrection to the baby Jesus as a fertility god, with a new manifest destiny to repopulate.

 

Ada is the daughter of a revered midwife, but she turns out to be infertile herself. Everyone knows infertile women are likely to turn into witches and curse other women with infertility, kill babies, and bring general disaster to their community. Ada is forced to flee into hiding to escape execution. She still wants to learn what causes infertility, but she finds a community of other outcasts making their own way in the world with guns in their hands.

 

This was a delightful read for me, especially when it came to Ada learning how to be an outlaw. It’s a violent adventure with broad racial and queer representation. I’d recommend it to western fans and to people who have never read a western novel in their lives.

 

A book club selection by Reese Witherspoon.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey or The Grace Year by Kim Liggett.)

 

( official Outlawed page on the official Anna North web site )

 

Recommended by Garren H.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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Book Review: The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

The Calculating Stars
by Mary Robinette Kowal [Kowal]

The Calculating Stars is an alternate history where Earth’s need to make it into space is hastened by the meteorite strike that changes Earth’s atmosphere. Elsa York had been a member of the Women’s Air Service Project during the Second World War and is now a computer for the space program where her husband is an engineer. I loved the fact that the author combined real things like the WASPs and the computers but also argued for women in space sooner than we actually made it.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Lucifer’s Hammer, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, Hidden Figures, by Margot Shetterly, The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion, by Fannie Flagg or Flygirl, by Sherri Smith.]

[ publisher’s official The Calculating Stars web page ] | [ official Mary Robinette Kowal web site ]

Recommended by Susan S.
Eiseley Branch Library

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

New Booktalk Booklist: Some History, Real and Otherwise

The Gere BooksTalk reading group had a guest presenter on March 4, 2019 - Scott Childers of the Southeast Library System. Scott presented a talk featuring history -- both historical fiction and some non-fiction volumes, not to mention a couple of Alternate History titles.

Check out his list of recommended reading at the following link:

Some History, Real and Otherwise

William Gibson's Archangel

William Gibson’s Archangel
written by William Gibson and Michael St. John Smith, with art by Butch Guice, Alejandro Barrionuevo and Wagner Reis [741.5 Gib]

I’ve been a fan of William Gibson ever since reading his Hugo- and Nebula-award winning 1984 novel Neuromancer. When I saw that he had authored a graphic novel, I knew I had to give it a shot. William Gibson’s Archangel, co-written with Michael St. John Smith, and with art from Butch Guice, Alejandro Barrionuevo and Wagner Reis, is a fascinating amalgamation of science fiction, World War II adventure, time travel, alternate history, and dystopian fiction.

There are not just one, but rather several central characters, whose storylines all intersect and interweave. Naomi Givens is a WWII-era British intelligence officer, and U.S. soldier Captain Vine Matthews is her ex-lover. When an unexplained event occurs involving the crash of a U.S. bomber, they find themselves at odds, as Naomi tries to locate and interrogate a mysterious pilot who survived the plane crash. That unnamed pilot is the other central character — a soldier on a mission from the future, sent back in time to try to prevent his own future from happening — a future in which the U.S. made a pre-emptive strike against the Soviets at the end of World War II, which led to a dark, dystopian political tyranny in the United States. With the pilot, Naomi and Vince all ending up working together to try to stop a fellow time-traveler from enacting that dystopian future, the other side of the story is set _in_ that very future, with a gritty female military tech leading the rebellion against the corrupt government and trying to still lend assistance to her time-traveling pilot.
The story of this complex five-issue comic book was compelling, and much of the graphics was well done. Unfortunately, the quality of the art overall was quite mixed, even to the point of not being able to recognize some characters during fight and action sequences. I would have given this graphic novel a “9” overall, but the irregular quality of the art drops it to an overall “7” from me.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Neuromancer, or any of the other novels by William Gibson.]

[ publisher’s official Archangel web page ] | [ official William Gibson web site – Archangel not listed on this site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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Spider-Man Noir

Spider-Man Noir
by David Hine, Fabrice Sapolsky and Carmine DiGiandomenico

I haven't been following contemporary comics too closely in recent years -- too many reboots of long-standing continuity to allow me to enjoy yet another rehashing of the same old origin story for favorite old characters. But, when I saw Spider-Man Noir, a small graphic novel, on the new books display recently, I was captured by its unique take on the Spider-Man mythos. Instead of simply retelling the story of how Peter Parker got bit by a radioactive spider, lost his Uncle Ben, and took up the life of a web-slinging vigilante in a contemporary setting, Spider-Man Noir throws the action back to the late 1920s/early 1930s era of prohibition, speak-easies, corrupt cops, and reporters out to make names for themselves. Peter's spider abilities are attributed to a mystic curse, and many of his familiar enemies (The Green Goblin, Kraven the Hunter, the Vulture, etc.) are given completely new spins. This multi-issue comic book was compiled into a smaller-than-usual trade graphic novel, with gorgeous illustrations. I loved how the artists managed to capture the visual essence of some of comicdom's most recognizeable characters, but cloaked them in early 20th century clothes and dialog. This title really makes me to read Marvel's other "Noir"-set storylines, but I do wish to complain about the size at which they reproduced this comic-book story. The pages are crammed with lots of details, and lots of lines of dialog, and reproducing it at a smaller-than-expected size makes it much harder to read. None-the-less, I really enjoyed this alternate-history title and recommend it, especially to longtime Spider-Man fans! -- recommended by Scott C. - Bennett Martin Public Library [If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the other Marvel "Noir" comics/graphic-novels.]

[ Marvel's official Spider-Man Noir database page ] | [ Wikipedia page for the Marvel Noir saga ]

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!

The Bookman

The Bookman
by Lavie Tidhar

Lavie Tidhar's The Bookman, first in a trilogy from this author, falls squarely in the hot current fiction category of Steampunk -- a fusion of science fiction, fantasy, adventure and romance. In The Bookman, the hero is a young poet named Orphan, living in an alternative Victorian-era England that's dystopian in nature...with alien lizards sitting on the throne. A rebellious terrorist, the Bookman, is striking fear into the populace with boobytrapped books, hoping to disrupt a major project to launch a satellite into space. Orphan, with friends and allies he meets along the way, is sucked into a wild and bizarre adventure, involving self-aware automatons, pirates at sea, a drunken Jules Verne and a secret Caribbean island where the descendants of the British Royal family are being kept prisoner. The pacing of the story is fast and exciting. The crazy technological devices at play are inventive. And the supporting cast is engaging and colorful. The only drawback is that Orphan himself is rather bland as a hero. Fortunately, the subsequent volumes in this series, though set in the same world and same time period, feature different casts of characters. [If you enjoy this, you may also wish to check out the Thrilling Airship Adventures: The World of Steampunk booklist from my Nov/Dec 2012 booktalk at Bethany and Gere branches.] -- recommended by Scott C. - Bennett Martin Public Library [Subscribe to Scott's monthly booklist newsletter It's All Geek to Me! - on the Books, Movies & More newsletter sign-up page].

[Also available in combined anthology with the other two books in the trilogy.]

[ official Lavie Tidhar blog ] | [ Publisher's official The Bookman web page ]

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!

Read...Discuss...Repeat! for June - The Yiddish Policemen's Union

The June selection for BookGuide's Read...Discuss...Repeat! has been posted.

This month's title is speculative fiction novel "The Yiddish Policemen's Union", by Michael Chabon. It was recently awarded the Nebula Award for best science fiction or fantasy novel by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, but should also prove to be an enjoyable read for non-genre fans.

Stop by the Read...Discuss...Repeat! page on BookGuide for background information about the book, a list of "readalikes", and links to web sites related to the book and author. Then, if you've read the novel, stop by and fill out our on-line comment form to share your thoughts and opinions about the book!

Sideways Awards announced

The latest winners of the Sideways Awards, for alternate history fiction writing, were announced at TuckerCon/NASFic this past weekend. The award for novel-length writing went to the first three volumes of Charles Stross' "Clan Corporate" series: The Family Trade, The Hidden Family, and The Clan Corporate. The winner in the short-form category was Gardner Dozois, for the story "Counterfactual" in the June 2006 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.

[Book links take you into the library's catalog.]