Withered Leaves by SilvanElf

So for this entry I wanted to start a new category. I have decided to entitle it E Literature. This is where I will review things like books only available as ebooks and fanfiction. This category will be a little more sporadic than my other categories because I don't really read many of these, but I still enjoy them.

            So to get started, Withered Leaves by SilvanElf is a story about Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn after the events of The Lord of the Rings. It begins with a great drought that has swept through Middle Earth and destroyed everything in its path. The great forest of Mirkwood is dying because there is not enough water for the trees. Add this the issue of pirate raid who knows that the elves are stretched thin enough already, and it makes for an enjoyable romp through the world of Middle Earth.

            I know the writer of this story and I can tell that she has a great respect for Tolkien and his work. Although she has told me that had she read more of the history of Middle Earth before writing this story, she would never have even attempted to write a story taking place there. I for one am glad she did, because I enjoyed reading the story.

If you're also interested in reading it you can find it at: https://www.fanfiction.net/u/515471/silvanelf.  

The Scottish Play by William Shakespeare

Did you know that it is considered bad luck in theater circles to utter the name of this play aloud if you're not performing it? That is why it has been affectionately dubbed "The Scottish Play." The first rule of Macbeth? Don't talk about Macbeth :).

                Anyway this is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, even though it is a tragedy where everyone dies. I guess because it has a bit of fantastical elements going on with the three witches giving Macbeth bad life advice. The comic at the beginning kind of sums up the story. Macbeth kills a lot of people to become king on advice of the Weird Sisters and ends up getting killed himself by Macduff who was born by C Section and therefore was not born of a woman. 

Tolkien was also influenced by the play himself. His Ents are the answer to Great Birnam Wood coming to High Dunsinane Hill.  

He also places Eowyn in the place of Macduff because no man may kill the witch king, but she is no man.

A fun play even if it does get a little dark.

Knight of Shadows

Most shows have generally one premise; a premise they establish in the pilot episode of their show. They're either a mystery show, a science fiction show, a fantasy show, and if there is some sort of crossover they let you know. But once in a while a show will momentarily break away from their established pattern and give you something completely different. That is the case with the episode Knight of Shadows from the television show SeaQuest.

                SeaQuest is a science fiction show that ran 1993-1996. The first season, of which Knight of Shadows is a part, takes place in 2018. According to the SeaQuest universe, the seas have now been colonized and the SeaQuest is sort of the Enterprise of this universe.

                In Knight of Shadows, Captain Bridger and the SeaQuest find a haunted ship, the King George, that sunk over a hundred years ago. Bridger and his crew need to figure out the reasoning behind the haunting and see if they can somehow help the ghosts to move on. The show is truly freaky in parts and an enjoyable departure from the science fiction aspect of the show. If you're interested it is Season 1 Episode 8 and is on instant streaming on Netflix. And since this episode premiered on October 31, 1993 it is a perfect Halloween episode!

Sherwood Ring by Elizabeth Marie Pope

The Sherwood Ring is an interesting book. In it, newly orphaned Peggy Graham arrives at the ancestral estate of her eccentric uncle Enos. The house is peopled by ghosts of her ancestors that show her the past of the estate from the time of the Revolutionary War. She also meets a handsome British scholar who also seems to be a descendant of the ghosts that frequent the house. The ghosts help Peggy to find love and acceptance in her new home and give  a unique view of the American Revolution. If you like ghostly romances, I highly suggest it. It is available for $7.99 on Amazon.