Review of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay" by J.K. Rowling

This screenplay for the film "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" (a prequel to the Harry Potter books) is humorous and entertaining. The story: It's 1926 and Newt Scamander, a magizoologist, arrives in New York City with a case full of magical creatures. Inadvertently, Newt steps into a sea of trouble. The notorious dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald has been causing havoc all over the world, raising fears that 'no-mags' (muggles) will learn there are witches and wizards in their midst. Thus New York based MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America)* is working day and night to keep magical occurrences below the radar. To this end, Tina Goldstein (a demoted Auror) is scouring the city for sorcerous miscreants. Several creatures escape from Newt's case and his 'Niffler' goes on a spree, stealing shiny objects and gold coins all over the place. While trying to catch the Niffler, Newt accidentally exchanges cases with Jacob Kowalski - a no-mag, would-be bakery shop owner - who's drawn into Newt's hijinks. Newt and Jacob attract the attention of Tina, who promptly arrests the duo and brings them to MACUSA headquarters. However, Newt has a deft hand with a wand - and needs to capture his escaped beasties - so the wizard soon engineers a 'prison break.' Meanwhile, no-mag 'preacher' Mary Lou Barebone is sure there are witches and wizards around, and wants to expose and exterminate them. To this end she founds an organization called the 'New Salem Philanthropic Society' and proceeds to makes speeches and hold demonstrations around the city. Add a mysterious black whirlwind that's destroying parts of New York and killing people.....and all the elements are in place for an exciting magical adventure. Other interesting characters in the story include: Newt's array of supernatural creatures. Tina Goldstein's sister Queenie - who's a legilimens (mind reader). Mary Lou Barebone's three adopted children, Credence, Chastity, and Modesty - who (supposedly) help with her witch-eradication campaign. Langdon Shaw, who's seen supernatural things and wants to tell the world; Langdon's brother, Senator Henry Shaw - a politically ambitious man who wants Langdon to go away and shut up; and more. I'm a big fan of Harry Potter and I completely enjoyed this screenplay. Highly recommended to fans of the boy wizard. *The term MACUSA (which I assume is a take-off on Yakusa) really cracked me up.

This screenplay for the film "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" (a prequel to the Harry Potter books) is humorous and entertaining.

The story: It's 1926 and Newt Scamander, a magizoologist, arrives in New York City with a case full of magical creatures. Inadvertently, Newt steps into a sea of trouble.







The notorious dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald has been causing havoc all over the world, raising fears that 'no-mags' (muggles) will learn there are witches and wizards in their midst.



Thus New York based MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America)* is working day and night to keep magical occurrences below the radar. To this end, Tina Goldstein (a demoted Auror) is scouring the city for sorcerous miscreants.



Several creatures escape from Newt's case and his 'Niffler' goes on a spree, stealing shiny objects and gold coins all over the place.



While trying to catch the Niffler, Newt accidentally exchanges cases with Jacob Kowalski - a no-mag, would-be bakery shop owner - who's drawn into Newt's hijinks.



Newt and Jacob attract the attention of Tina, who promptly arrests the duo and brings them to MACUSA headquarters. However, Newt has a deft hand with a wand - and needs to capture his escaped beasties - so the wizard soon engineers a 'prison break.'



Meanwhile, no-mag 'preacher' Mary Lou Barebone is sure there are witches and wizards around, and wants to expose and exterminate them. To this end she founds an organization called the 'New Salem Philanthropic Society' and proceeds to makes speeches and hold demonstrations around the city.



Add a mysterious black whirlwind that's destroying parts of New York and killing people.....and all the elements are in place for an exciting magical adventure.



Other interesting characters in the story include: Newt's array of supernatural creatures.







Tina Goldstein's sister Queenie - who's a legilimens (mind reader).



Mary Lou Barebone's three adopted children, Credence, Chastity, and Modesty - who (supposedly) help with her witch-eradication campaign.







Langdon Shaw, who's seen supernatural things and wants to tell the world; Langdon's brother, Senator Henry Shaw - a politically ambitious man who wants Langdon to go away and shut up; and more.





I'm a big fan of Harry Potter and I completely enjoyed this screenplay. Highly recommended to fans of the boy wizard.

*The term MACUSA (which I assume is a take-off on Yakusa) really cracked me up.

Rating: 4 stars

Review of "Gray Mountain: A Novel" by John Grisham

Samantha Kofer is a third-year-associate at the Scully & Pershing law firm in New York when she's 'furloughed' because of the economy. Advised that she might be rehired after a stint as an unpaid intern Samantha takes a position with Mountain Aid Legal Clinic in Brady, Virginia, an all-women firm.



Brady is in coal country, where coal mining provides numerous jobs as well as plenty of work for the free legal clinic.



Within days Samantha - a real estate attorney who never litigated a case - is dealing with spousal abuse, check garnishment, and black lung disease - a horrible affliction associated with coal mining.



Samantha becomes friendly with a local attorney, Donovan Gray, whose family owns 'Gray Mountain', a site that's been destroyed by strip mining.



As Samantha learns, strip mining - besides devastating the environment - produces cancer-causing sludge and leads to additional deaths from careless practices and reckless driving of coal trucks.



One of Donovan's current cases concerns the death of two children when a boulder, pushed off the mountain by miners, rolled down and destroyed their trailer home.

It's almost impossible to win lawsuits against the mining companies because they employ powerful law firms that fight dirty. They also have politicians and judges in their pockets. Donovan does manage to win sometimes, though, because he's willing to fight as dirty as the coal companies.



As the story proceeds Donovan plans to file a couple of huge lawsuits against mining companies that would embarrass them and potentially net millions of dollars in damages - and he wants Samantha to help him. The coal companies fight back hard, even pulling in the FBI to assist them. But, as it turns out, Samantha has some useful contacts of her own.



The book has a large array of interesting and entertaining characters, including Samantha's parents (both lawyers), her co-workers, and her clients. There's even a spot of romance.



The book makes it clear that the author is appalled by coal company practices. I enjoyed the story and learned a lot about corporate dirty tricks. My biggest criticism is that the book leaves a couple of story lines unresolved and seems unfinished. Still, it's a good story as far as it goes. Grisham fans would probably enjoy the book.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "Wayfaring Stranger: A Novel" by James Lee Burke

This Holland Family Saga is a fine addition to James Lee Burke's impressive oeuvre.

At the age of 16 Weldon Holland meets the infamous bank robbers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow when their gang hides out on the outskirts of his grandfather's Texas ranch.



Weldon and his grandfather - former Texas Ranger Hackberry Holland - are lucky to come out of the encounter alive, and Weldon shoots a bullet into the bandits' 1932 Chevy as the thieves drive off.



Jump ahead to 1944 and Second Lieutenant Weldon Holland's army unit is massacred by the German army during the Battle of the Bulge. Weldon survives and manages to dig his Sergeant, Hershel Pine, out of a crushed foxhole.



The two men, on the run from the enemy, come across an abandoned Nazi death camp where they liberate a young woman, Rosita Lowenstein, from a pile of corpses. After additional harrowing experiences Weldon, Hershel, and Rosita are rescued by American troops.

In time Weldon marries Rosita, a Spanish Jew whose family were communists. Weldon also goes into business with Hershel Pine, who's developed a revolutionary way to weld pipes for the oil industry.



Weldon and Hershel form the Dixie Belle Pipeline Company, which becomes enormously successful and lucrative.....and attracts the attention of oil barons who want its technology.



To this end Roy Wiseheart, the son of a billionaire Texas oil tycoon, proposes a joint venture with Dixie Belle, but is roundly rejected. Wiseheart - a war hero who won a flying ace under questionable circumstances - tries to convince Weldon to change his mind, to no avail.



Roy Wiseheart is a complicated character: he's handsome, charming, avaricious, and repeatedly unfaithful to his (admittedly horrible) wife - but harbors wisps of conscience and heart. Roy's father though, is a take-no-prisoners businessman who's a vicious anti-communist and anti-Semite.



Thus the senior Wiseheart makes it his business to destroy the two couples associated with Dixe Belle: Weldon and Rosita; and Hershel and his wife Linda Gail.

To achieve this goal the elder Wiseheart hires a corrupt Houston detective who employs every trick in the book to harass the Hollands and Pines.



He engineers a traffic stop for Rosita that results in an arrest - and ultimately escalates to an intolerable situation; he sends Weldon painful films of Rosita in a Nazi concentration camp; he distributes compromising photos of Linda Gail after she becomes a Hollywood starlet; he steals into the bedroom of Weldon's grandfather and tries to humiliate him....but the tough old coot pulls a gun and scares the crap out of the rotten cop (ha ha ha). 😊

Weldon and Hershel's families seem helpless in the face of Wiseheart's power and influence, but Weldon is a rugged, crafty fellow. Moreover, he's assisted by 'visions' of the old Chevy that once belonged to Bonnie and Clyde.



This book has elements common to many of Burke's novels: men on the side of law and justice (Weldon and his grandfather); a devoted married couple (Weldon and Rosita); an evil wealthy family (some of the Wisehearts); a grasping female (Linda Gail); and supernatural elements (the Chevy).

As always, Burke's writing is excellent, with evocative descriptions of scenery, ranging from Texas;



to the Ardennes;



to Louisiana;



to the Rocky Mountains;



Burke also excels in his descriptions of people, though some of the book's characters are well-rounded and complex while others are two-dimensional 'types' (a white supremacist woman; a Hollywood lothario, a grasping insurance company executive; a crooked cop, etc.).

I'd love to see James Lee Burke write a book that goes in a different direction but - whether he does or not - I'll keep reading his excellent stories. This book would appeal to a wide variety of readers and I highly recommend it.

Rating: 4 stars

Review of "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho

The book tells the story of Santiago, a Spanish shepherd who has a recurring dream about finding a treasure near the Pyramids of Egypt.



Advised by a gypsy woman to seek the treasure, Santiago sells his sheep and takes off.



Along the way Santiago meets several people who have a profound effect on his life. The first, who calls himself 'the King of Salem', advises the boy to pursue his 'personal legend' (deepest desire). The King tells Santiago that when a person undertakes such a quest the universe conspires to assist him/her.



The King's philosophy reminded me of the 2006 book 'The Secret' by Rhonda Byrne, which suggests that when a person really wants something the universe gives it to them - an idea that's hard (for me) to believe in either book.

In any case, Santiago pursues his dream, but it's not easy or straightforward. He travels to Africa to start his journey across the desert to Egypt and is promptly robbed of all his money. Santiago finds work with a crystal merchant, where he does a superb job, but he realizes the merchant didn't fulfill his own personal legend - and the shepherd sets off for Egypt once more. Santiago joins a caravan to cross the desert, where he eventually meets an alchemist who imbues the boy with his own philosophy of life and encourages Santiago to continue his journey.



During all this Santiago falls in love with a girl, has several run-ins with tribal chiefs, and gets robbed a couple more times. In some ways the story brought to mind a fairy tale with supernatural elements since Santiago has conversations with the wind and sun - who assist him in a time of trouble.



There are some spiritual elements in the story and a lot of talk about love being the most important thing in the world - a theme which also occurs in other Coelho books.

Santiago is never diverted from his quest and eventually discovers his treasure and presumably lives happily ever after. This book didn't really resonate with me as I don't seem to share Coelho's philosophy but I think the right audience would find this a very uplifting story.

Rating: 3 stars