Show Loqw Book Review LibuARy ‘Redwall’ provokes thought the abbey's strong walls while Cluny lays seige The advantage is with the mice as least as long as their food ana supplies hold out and the abbey defenders are able to withstand numerous attacks They know however that they will not be able to defeat Cluny in the end without the sword of Martin the legendary warrior who founded Redwall Abbey A young novice Matthias has to put aside his peaceful ideals and embark on a quest for the sword with the help of old Methusalen the Matthias unravels a key riddle and manages to recover the lost sword amid a lively senes of adventures pitched battles (with many casualties) and espionage on both sides In alternating chapters we follow first the fortunes of the mice and other peaceful animals then the plottings and the almost invincible battle strategies of evil Cluny and his army This allows us to compare the lifestyles of the two groups with much better perspective than is usually found in children's books: the mice help one another admirably: they care for others while the rat Cluny rules by treachery and By Becky Smith Reading about goodness can sometimes by awfully boring unless of course the goodness is threatened by tremendous evil and has to fight its way through great troubles and perils in order to survive and perhaps to win the day This basically is the story in Brian Jacques' first book "RedwalL” While on the surface “Redwall” appears to be just another medieval fantasy peopled with animals enacting the classic fight to the death between good and evil it is actually a rich and thought-provoki- gate-keep- ng Redwall is an ancient abbey belonging to a society of peace-lovin- g mice healers who are “deeply honored and highly respectable” Their peaceful life is d rat shattered by the onslaught of the vicious Cluny the Scourge and nis army of rats weasels and other vermin who vow to make Redwall’s orchards fields and larders their own The mice and other peaceful animals take refuge in one-eye- well-stock- er terror and destroys everything in his path The goodness andor villany of the characters is shown through the story’s events rather than stated flatly The book entertains rather than preaches — but even ” sort of child will be roofing the most for the good guys The story abounds with exciting vividly described action and both heroic and frightening characters who are not simple personifications of good or evil The defenders even Matthias have faults while even Cluny has characteristics which while not making him likeable deserve a small measure of admiration This is a violent sometimes down-riggruesome story but the quality of the writing the detailed accounts of medieval warfare and the rich cast of characters make it impossible not to recommend Although “Redwall” falls somewhat short of the great fantasies such as “Watership Down” it is a good story that will rivet the attention of young readers and listeners (and older ones as well) “Redwall” by Brian Jacques is available to check out at the Logan Library “shoot-’em-up- ht Hollywood has new Public Ear master of horror Tracking worldwide news From Beirut the latest on American hostagFrom London an analysis of European political trends From El Salvador a report on rebel warfare From South Africa an account of a dissident's funeral On any given day National Public Radio’s foreign reporters track events and issues all over the world from populous urban centers to the most remote outposts of the globe NPR’s foreign desk covers world news anticipates potential international developments and attempts to explain current ones The job takes a worldwide network of reporters a bureau in London and the work of senior editor John McChesney and editors John By Vernon Scott UPI Hollywood reporter HOLLYWOOD THE DAY AT A GLANCE es Weekdays -S- horror novel has foreseen the future of horror films “and his name is Clive Barker” King's statement suggests Barker might be some kind of monster himself with a face that would shatter the nerves of Conan the Barbarian and slimy oozing limbs that would turn Rambo's knees to jelly But in fact Barker is a mild-manner- ed pleasant-face- d Englishman of 34 who writes horror stories (six volumes of novellas and two novels) that make King's books read like nursery rhymes Barker’s books have sold millions of copies in 11 languages fists They have made in the United States as well as England Like King Barker became Dinges and Cadi Simon “Foreign coverage is often about policy and diplomacy contests of ideas” says McChesney “Covering breaking news is the first priority But we also try to explore those ideas to go beyond what happened to ask why it happened what significance it has for the United States and what might happen next” “Foreign stories are often fueled by wars or disasters for example" he explains “But wars are really only interesting and relevant if you have an understanding of what's behind them” coverage of the world is Providing as McChesney puts it “an awesome task” on NPR's budget The technical obstacles alone “can be a nightmare” he says “The worst phone lines in the world are in Chad There are 24 outside lines for the entire nation and you have to shout at the top of your lungs for the most rudimentary conversation “On the other hand oil money buys great telephone systems” he continues “In Arab countries there are excellent phone lines and the satellite feeds are clear as a bell" In the constant struggle to get tape back quickly to Washington reports often resort to "bicycling" or “piggybacking” which means they use personal and professional contacts as couriers You can hear an example of the excellent news coverage of NPR when you listen to KUSU— FM’s broadcast of NPR New programming “All Things Considered” is on weekdays from (UPI) tephen King master of the best-sell- er disillusioned with movie treatment of his stories And like King he has directed his first movie based on his own th work — “Hellraiser" Disquietingly King's direction of “Maximum Overdrive” proved heavy handed The results were more horrifying than anything in the picture Barker hopes the same terror doesn’t befall him “I had the same instinct as Stephen to bring my work to the screen the way I wanted it seen” said Barker on a trip to Hollywood "The first two films — 'Underworld' and ‘Rawhead Rex' — corrupted my books beyond recognition “Neither got any kind of box-offi- ce 4:30 to 6:30 pm “Morning Edition” is on weekdays from 5 to 9 “Weekend Edition” is on weekends from 7 to 9 am am “Weekend All Things Considered” Saturday at 4 pm and Sunday at 5 pm KUSU-F915 MHZ on the radio dial M is on release and didn’t deserve any They were unrecognizable from my screenplays I hope I've reversed this with 'Hellraiser'" So far the critics have raved about “Hellraiser” calling it brilliant and a classic But of course it will be audiences who determine whether it is a success or a failure and Barker knows it He is quick to say that "Hellraiser ” based on a mysterious Chinese box that is supposed to bring pleasure but which releases unspeakable horrors when opened is not to be compared with most of today's macabre thrillers Barker contends that the currently popular series of scary movies are largely copycat including “Friday the 13th” “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" “Halloween” and “Nightmare on Elm Street” “They have no motivation for he said “They are horror based on the same format: stalk and slash have sex and die The moment a cast member takes off her clothes she has 30 seconds of screen time left There's more to horror than watching people die” Barker is a student of horror He has seen virtually hundreds of them going back to silent versions of “Frankenstein” and “The Phantom of the films Opera” His list of the five most chilling movies of all time: “The Bride of Frankenstein" "Psycho” "Videodrome” Without “Canrie" and “Eyes Faces” (French) “The content of horror films has changed dramatically” he said |