science fiction – Page 8

Caramel reviews Star Trek: Ships of the Line by Doug Drexler, Margaret Clark, and Michael Okuda

Caramel and the rest of the book bunnies household have been watching Star Trek Voyager during these months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Voyager is the third Star Trek series Caramel has watched, after The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. In other words, he is a little Trekkie. One of his favorite things about the whole series is the star ships. As a result it was natural that he would fall in love with the book Star Trek: Ships of the Line, edited by Doug Drexler and Margaret Clark, with text from Michael Okuda. Below he shares his enthusiasm about this book, as Sprinkles takes notes and asks followup questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, what do you want to tell us about this book?

Caramel: It’s a good book if you like space ships and that kind of stuff.

S: Do you also need to like Star Trek?

C: Not exactly. As long as you like star ships, you are in luck. The book is packed with pictures of star ships.

S: All ships are from Star Trek, right?

C: No, not quite. There are some real ships too. There is a picture of the United States space shuttle Enterprise.

S: I see. I think that also fits in the Star Trek universe narrative though, right?

C: I guess.

S: Are the pictures photos or hand-drawn?

C: I think there are both kinds of pictures.

Caramel's favorite page of Star Trek: Ships of the Line, by Doug Drexler, Margaret Clark, and Michael Okuda, is the front cover, because it has all the ships all together all in one place. — Caramel’s favorite page of *Star Trek: Ships of the Line*, by Doug Drexler, Margaret Clark, and Michael Okuda, is the front cover, because it has all the ships all together all in one place.

S: What else can you tell us?

C: So on each two-page spread, there is a whole-page picture of a ship, and some writing.

S: What kind of writing?

C: There is a name for the photo or drawing and who it is by. Then there is a paragraph about the picture.

Caramel is checking out USS Voyager and the Delta Flyer in Star Trek: Ships of the Line, by Doug Drexler, Margaret Clark, and Michael Okuda. — Caramel is checking out USS Voyager and the Delta Flyer in *Star Trek: Ships of the Line*, by Doug Drexler, Margaret Clark, and Michael Okuda.

S: The content seems to be arranged in eight chapters (altogether in over 350 pages). Can you tell me a bit about that?

C: The chapter names are: “In the Beginning”, “The Creation of a Legend”, “Rebirth”, “The Finest in the Fleet”, “Of Gods and Men”, “There Will Always Be An Enterprise”, “Delta Voyager”, “Semper Exploro”.

S: Hmm, so I can guess that “Delta Voyager” is about the ships in Star Trek Voyager.

C: Yes, and “Of Gods and Men” is about Deep Space Nine.

S: And “In the Beginning” seems to be about the more recent Star Trek Enterprise. We have not yet watched that show. But so it seems that the book is telling us the stories of the star ships in the Star Trek universe in their chronological order.

C: Yes. Exactly.

S: Do you know who the people who put together this book are?

C: No, not really.

S: Apparently Drexler and Okuda both worked for the Star Trek shows, and Clark wrote many Star Trek books and novels.

C: Oh, I didn’t know that! But that is good. They must know what they are talking about!

S: Right! So Caramel, let us wrap up this review, but first give me your three words to describe this book:

C: Awesome star ships!

S: That works!

C: And stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

It is clear that Caramel is not done with Star Trek: Ships of the Line, by Doug Drexler, Margaret Clark, and Michael Okuda. He expects that he will read and reread it many more times in the coming weeks and months. — It is clear that Caramel is not done with *Star Trek: Ships of the Line*, by Doug Drexler, Margaret Clark, and Michael Okuda. He expects that he will read and reread it many more times in the coming weeks and months.

Marshmallow reviews A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L’Engle

Marshmallow reviewed A Wrinkle in Time, the first book in Madeleine L’Engle’s Time Quintet, a few weeks ago. Today, for her first post after the book bunnies’ 2020 summer break, she reviews the second book in this collection: A Wind in the Door.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like science fiction, or if you have enjoyed reading books by Madeleine L’Engle, then this might be the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with spoilers): One day when Meg Murry comes home from school, her brother Charles Wallace tells her that there are dragons in their garden. (This is not the first time that something unusual happens to the Murrys. In A Wrinkle in Time, the children rescued their father from an evil entity.) When Meg goes outside she sees her old school principal Mr. Jenkins is there. Then the pet snake of her twin brothers hisses at him, and Mr. Jenkins turns into a winged monster and rips the sky.

The Murry family discusses the fact that there is a strange sound that scientists are hearing and things in space are disappearing. They are vanishing, becoming nothingness. When Meg, Charles Wallace, and their friend, Calvin O’Keefe, see the “dragons” that Charles Wallace had mentioned, they see that it is a Cherubim, an extraterrestrial creature made up of wings and eyes. If not observed up closely, the Cherubim would look like a drive of dragons.

This also leads the three friends to learn that the Cherubim, Proginoskes, whom Meg nicknames Progo, is a Namer, a creature who names things, as opposed to an Echthroi, a creature that would unname things. Proginoskes apparently learned the names of all of the stars once.

Before all of this started, Meg and Charles Wallace’s mother started researching mitochondria and the mitochondria’s farandolae. (Mitochondria are real things: they are organelles in found in many cells. According to Wikipedia, the farandolae are “micro-organelles inside mitochondria that exist in the Time Quintet fantasy universe.”)

Meg eventually starts to notice that her brother has been tired and exhausted for a long time and that she had been ignoring his strange signs because she didn’t want to believe that he was sick. Meg gathers from her mother and from her brother, that their mother thinks that something is wrong with Charles Wallace’s mitochondria and his mitochondria’s farandolae. If his farandolae and mitochondria die, then Charles Wallace is in big danger.

Marshmallow is reading A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L’Engle. — Marshmallow is reading *A Wind in the Door* by Madeleine L’Engle.

Marshmallow’s Review: This is a good book that shows the bond between Meg and Charles Wallace. Meg is willing to risk her life for her little brother. To save him she even goes into one of his mitochondria and meets one of his mitochondria’s farandolae to save him.

It is very interesting that Madeliene L’Engle’s fantasy universe has some real parts and some created parts. I didn’t know what mitochondria were before I read this book. It is so cool that there are mitochondria in everyone, even in bunnies like me!

I think that this is a good book for all ages of bunnies, but it is on the longer side, and so younger bunnies might want to read it with older ones or have an older bunny read it to then. It might be scary for younger bunnies in some parts, so maybe older bunnies reading it with younger bunnies is a good idea.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 95%.

Marshmallow rates A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L’Engle 95%. — Marshmallow rates *A Wind in the Door* by Madeleine L’Engle 95%.

Marshmallow reviews A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Today Marshmallow reviews a classic: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle, first published in 1962 and awarded the Newberry Medal in 1963. This is the first book of L’Engle’s Time Quintet.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like classic science fiction or just like some of Madeleine L’Engle’s books, then this might be the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary: Meg Murry wakes up on a stormy night and finds a mysterious guest in the kitchen. Soon Meg, her brother Charles Wallace, and her friend Calvin O’Keefe set off to find Meg and Charles’s father who was sent on a dangerous and secret mission. The Murry family stopped receiving letters from him and they had not seen him since.

The children set out to find Mr. Murry and the mysterious guest, Mrs. Whatsit, helps them with her friends, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which. Meg and her companions learn that there is an evil entity, the Black Thing, that is taking over the universe and that their father is in danger. They travel to the world in which he is captive and try to rescue their father. They face a man with red eyes, who can control the people who look into his eyes. Charles Wallace looks in his eyes intentionally and they manage to rescue Meg’s father, but Charles Wallace gets stuck on the planet. They have saved Meg’s father, but now they have to save Charles Wallace.

Marshmallow is reading A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. — Marshmallow is reading *A Wrinkle in Time* by Madeleine L’Engle.

Marshmallow’s Review: This is a very intriguing book because there are very interesting characters and the plot is very well written. My favorite character is Charles Wallace. He is very logical. He is also different from everyone else but he is ok with that.

I think that A Wrinkle in Time makes a great read for bunnies of all ages, but if the bunny is very young then there probably should be an older bunny reading the book to them because it is on the longer side. (It has 232 pages.) I think that A Wrinkle in Time is probably best for bunnies ages 8 and up because it may not be an easy read for younger bunnies.

A Wrinkle in Time starts with a very famous sentence, Snoopy‘s favorite:

“It was a dark and stormy night.”

The sentence even has its own Wikipedia page! Apparently L’Engle used the sentence intentionally, even though it is seen by many as a cliche.

Madeleine L’Engle’s book has been made into a movie, twice. The first one was made in 2003. The second one was made in 2018. Caramel, Sprinkles, and I saw the movie in the theatre and we enjoyed it. Here is the trailer:

This is the trailer to the second movie. It was made in 2018, and was directed by Ava DuVernay.

Madeleine L’Engle’s book is a classic and a great read for all ages. It is an entertaining read for all bunnies but also gets scary or sad at some points (more scary than sad). I really enjoyed reading it.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle 100%. — Marshmallow rates *A Wrinkle in Time* by Madeleine L’Engle 100%.

Marshmallow reviews Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee

This week Marshmallow reviews a recent book by Yoon Ha Lee: Dragon Pearl, published in January 2019.

Marshmallow’s Overview: If you like books about mythology and space, then this might be the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with spoilers): 13-year-old Min learns that her brother, Jun, is accused of deserting the Space Force in search of the Dragon Pearl. Min knows that her brother would never leave the Space Force, the organization that he always wanted to be a part of ever since he was a little boy. Even if he knew where the Dragon Pearl was. (The Dragon Pearl is a legendary object that can transform a whole planet in a day. In this story world, dragons exist and they have “Terraforming powers”, but they take year to terraform a planet.) So Min decides that something must have gone wrong. To prove that her brother did not desert the Space Force she leaves her home planet, Jinju, and goes in search of her brother.

Min is eventually able to find the ship that her brother was on when he “deserted”. She also finds her brother, but it is not how she wanted or expected to find him.

Marshmallow is reading Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee. — Marshmallow is reading *Dragon Pearl* by Yoon Ha Lee.

Marshmallow’s Review: This is a good book that is a mix of Korean mythology, science fiction, and fantasy. There are fox spirits, dragons, and interesting theories about how machines run in the story universe. (Apparently, they run on an energy that is called “gi” that is like the blood of their machines and ships.)

In the first page, we learn that Min is a “fox spirit”. In Korean mythology, a fox spirit is a magical being that has the ability to transform into anything they want to transform into. They are also able to “Charm” others which is to make others trust them or feel angry, sad, or happy and other feelings. So, basically they can “Charm” others to feel certain feelings.

The School Library Journal praised the book with the following words, which summarize the book well:

Lee skillfully weaves Korean folklore into this space opera narrative, creating dynamics and relatable characters. VERDICT: With ghosts, pirates, and a rollicking space adventure, there’s a little something for everyone here.
The School Library Journal, https://www.slj.com/?reviewDetail=dragon-pearl

Reading Dragon Pearl may encourage you to learn more about Korean Mythology because we read about many interesting creatures. Min’s friends who are helping her find the Dragon Pearl so it does not fall into the wrong hands are, like her, magical creatures. (Hanuel is a dragon who can transform into a human but she is in human form most of the time. Sujin is a goblin.)

This book might be better for readers that are 10 and older because there are gamblers and guns. There are also ghosts in the story, which might scare some readers, too. It also might be a little confusing for younger readers but overall this is a very interesting and entertaining book.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 90%.

Marshmallow rates Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee 90%. — Marshmallow rates *Dragon Pearl* by Yoon Ha Lee 90%.