The Crying Child by Barbara Michaels

The Crying Child by Barbara Michaels is a truly delightful ghost story with just the right amount of terror and mystery in a pleasant mix. The story follows Joanne as she comes to Maine to comfort her sister Mary after her miscarriage. But Mary insists that she hears a child, her child, crying in the night and she must go to him. Joanne and those around her soon realize that Mary is not as crazy as she sounds and that they must save her from the terror that threatens to overwhelm her by figuring out the mystery behind the haunting. Such a great book with beautiful descriptions. Take this one for example, "It might have been the weeping of the night itself, if the night had a human voice." One of her best novels.

Lara Croft

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)
In this first installment based on the poplar video game Lady Lara Croft goes against the Illuminati to recover the mystical Triangle of Light that has the ability to control time. Lara learned about the triangle from her late father who at the beginning of the movie has been dead for many years. It is an interesting and fun adventure/fantastical movie in the spirit of Indiana Jones. A fun fact about this movie is that while Lara is played by Angelia Jolie, flashbacks of her father are played by Jon Voight, who is Jolie’s real life father.

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Light (2003)
In this next installment of the film series, Lara goes after what is essentially Pandora’s Box. In this case the box contains a deadly plague that our villain wishes to use as a biological weapon that he will sell to the highest bidder. Of course you know that Lara saves the day.
There is also rumors of a third movie coming out sometime in the near future. A prequel to these movies. Since I enjoy them and am wanting a good old fashioned adventure movie, I am curious about what they will do.

Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer

Sorcery and Cecelia started out as a letter game between Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer. What results is a charming delightful fantasy romp through Regency England. Wrede’s character is Cecelia, a young woman writing to her cousin Kate who is currently having her season in London (she is still in the country). Together the two young ladies foil a dastardly magical plot and manage to find true love in the process. An atypical regency romance with a little magic and mystery thrown in for good measure. There are two other books in the series The Grand Tour and the Mislaid Magician, but I do not find them to have the charm of this first book. Mostly because I feel they were trying too hard with the next two :).

Masters of the Universe (1987)

Masters of the Universe is one of those movies that is so incredibly stupid it’s actually kind of fun. It tells the story of He-Man who has come to earth in order to retrieve a magic “portal key” that was lost in a hasty retreat from the evil Skeletor. They happen upon two earthlings Julie and Kevin who help them in their epic quest. Of course everything turns out all right in the end. By the Power of Grayscull!
A fun fact is that Kevin goes onto play Tom Paris on Star Trek Voyager.