Book Review: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone written by J. K. Rowling, illustrated by Jim Kay

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Illustrated by Jim Kay
by J. K. Rowling

Last February my wife let me know she had found a great deal on Facebook Marketplace.  We'd wanted to pick up the illustrated editions of Harry Potter books ever since we saw them, but they were a bit expensive so we'd decided to wait.  She found a listing for The Sorcerer's Stone along with a couple regular Harry Potter books for only $5.  I told her to grab it.  The book is a bit battered, but still held together.

For the first time, J.K. Rowling's beloved Harry Potter books will be presented in lavishly illustrated full-color editions. Kate Greenaway-award-winning artist Jim Kay has created over 100 stunning illustrations, making this deluxe format a perfect gift as much for a child being introduced to the series, as for the dedicated fan.
--from Amazon.com description

I just finished reading the story to our two oldest kids (four and six) recently and have since moved on to The Chamber of Secrets (a library book that we don't have to return for a while due to the library closure).  The kids really enjoyed the read--always begging for me to keep reading when I would quit in the middle of a long chapter or at the end of a chapter.

Obviously as this is an illustrated volume it includes quite a number of illustrations.  There are a decent number of two-page spreads illustrating key points in the story.  You'll also find extra images like the dragon eggs above that provide extra details you wouldn't otherwise see.  Even pages without large artwork often have background textures and other small elements that add to the look of each and every page.  The chapter headings are also lavishly illustrated.  Jim Kay's website includes a number of the book images and descriptions for each featured photo.  I also found a detailed list of Easter Eggs hidden in the book's illustrations that I plan to read through.

I greatly enjoyed reading through this book.  Not only had it been several years since I'd read the story, but the illustrations added to the experience.  If you're looking for a read-aloud edition of the book then you will definitely not go wrong picking up this volume.

Rating: 5 out of 5
Summary: A lavishly illustrated large format edition of the first Harry Potter book.
Technical: 248 pages, dust jacket, frequent illustrations, bookmark ribbon affixed to spine.

~Matt

Book Review: Tolkien Maker of Middle-earth by Catherine McIlwaine

Tolkien

Maker of Middle-earth
by Catherine McIlwaine

Last year I heard about the new exhibit Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth coming to The Morgan Library & Museum in New York in the exhibit's only appearance outside of Oxford.  It sounded like something amazing to experience, and I tried to figure out how to make a trip to New York work so that I could see it.  I looked into flights, babysitters, time off, workload, and many other factors but sadly I just couldn't make the logistics work.

Even though I had to give up on the idea of seeing the exhibit in person I was still fascinated by the topic.  I've enjoyed the world of Middle-earth since I first cracked open the books in my childhood and recently I've started picking up more of Tolkien's books and books related to Tolkien.  Fortunately I discovered that there was an exhibit book that had been produced and so I decided that buying the book and reading through it would be my consolation prize.

The author is Catherine McIlwaine, Tolkien Archivist at the Bodleian Libraries for more than fifteen years, who also curated the exhibit.  The book is a massive collection that takes some time to peruse.  It opens with a series of essays by Catherine and other Tolkien experts, the titles of which I've listed below.  Even if you're already familiar with Tolkien's life you'll find some interesting nuggets and details in these passages.

• J. R. R Tolkien: A Biographical Sketch Catherine McIlwaine
• Tolkien and the Inklings John Garth
• Faërie: Tolkien's Perilous Land Verlyn Flieger
• Inventing Elvish Carl F. Hostetter
• Tolkien and 'that noble northern spirit' Tom Shippey
• Tolkien's Visual Art Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull

After the essays the meat of the book begins, the catalogue section that covers the artifacts in the exhibit.  There are nine different sections covering different aspects of Tolkien's work and his life.  Included are a number of photographs of Tolkien, his family, and other important people in his life.  The photograph below is of Tolkien and his brother Hilary in 1905.  On the right is Father Francis Morgan, the man who took over responsibility for the boys after their mother died and took care of their upbringing.

Many of the pages also show examples of Tolkien's own artwork.  While I enjoy many other artist's versions of Middle-earth, it is especially wonderful to experience Tolkien's direct visions of his masterpiece of secondary creation.  While he apparently didn't always think much of his talents I would argue that he was a decent artist.  I found his drawings on newspapers and other materials especially fascinating.  These are a series of Númenórean patterns that he doodled over the years.

In addition to these patterns Tolkien also made quite a number of paintings.  Here you can see his vision of Bilbo talking with Smaug on his hoard and the dragon dying after he is pierced by the arrow of Bard the Bowman.

By far my favorite section of the book was the last section, on maps.  As you may or may not know I'm a bit of a geography buff and really enjoy maps.  I especially enjoy novels with maps in them and have ever since I read the Lord of the Rings and pored over the map of the third age of Middle-earth.  This map is annotated by Tolkien and the artist Pauline Baynes.  You can see a larger version of the map itself at this link.  Apparently the map was only discovered in 2015, so amazingly it appears as though items may still be uncovered in the archives.

I bought the book in May of 2019, but took my time reading it, letting it stretch out over many months so that I didn't finish it all at once.  I did take a break of a couple months in the middle of that time as it sat beneath another stack of books.  I finally finished it last month in January 2020.  I enjoyed the entire time going through the book and was sad to see it come to an end.

Rating: 5.5 out of 5*
Summary: A fascinating exploration of the life of J. R. R. Tolkien through manuscripts, photographs, artwork, and other exhibit materials.
Technical: Hardcover, 416 pages, £40.00, $65.00§.  Includes select bibliography and detailed index. 180 catalogue items and many other additional images included.

*Yes, I'm cheating slightly on the rating.  This book is simply too enjoyable to just give a rating of 5 stars.
§I bought it for $41 something on Amazon, but see that it is currently listed for just over $32 as I post this.

~Matt

Book Review: A Night of Blacker Darkness by Dan Wells

A Night of Blacker Darkness: being the memoir of Frederick Whithers as edited by Cecil G. Bagsworth III

By Dan Wells


I first learned about Dan Wells through Brandon Sanderson, who has been one of my favorite authors for several years.  I've read a few of his books and also listened to several of his works on Audible (Zero G and its sequel are both pretty good).

So far as I can tell A Night of Blacker Darkness seems to be exclusive to audible, though the listing says "for a limited time" so it may come out in print eventually or on audio elsewhere.  Regardless, you should definitely check out this volume if you enjoy fantasy and/or historical fiction and have a good sense of humour.  The Audible description actually does a great job of summarizing the book.

"The book is Extremely Silly: imagine a horror story, as written by Monty Python, in the style of the old screwball comedies like The Producers, What's Up Doc?, and Some Like it Hot, and then imagine that for some reason it's also in the style of a Victorian frame story starring John Keats and presented by a fake historian. A delightfully funny novel full of witty dialogue brought to life by the narrative voice talents of Sean Barrett."

I was definitely laughing out loud quite a number of times as I listened to the story unfold.  It started out pretty crazy with the narrator (Frederick Whithers) faking his death to get out of prison.  He wakes up as the coffin he'd been smuggled out in is about to be buried.  However, as he pounds on the lid the gravedigger remembers his promise and opens the coffin, only to run away a short time later as the grave is surrounded by vampires.  These rather inept creatures keep turning up as they follow Frederick and his companions all around town convincing themselves and others that because Frederick isn't susceptible to any of the normal vampire failings (garlic, crosses, holy water, sunlight) he must be the prophesied "great one" who can control all of the undead armies of darkness!

Do yourself a favor and check out this delightful short audio tale and give your funny bone a good workout.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Summary: A delightfully comic Victorian fantasy of a con artist who must chase a madcap cast of characters (some of whom are also chasing him) across southern England in an effort to con a bank into giving him a £90,000 inheritance.
Technical: 6 hours 18 minutes in length, narrated by Sean Barrett.  Available via Audible.

~Matt