Silver Blaze & other stories001

Book Title : Silver Blase and Other Stories Stories

I like mystery story and I enjoyed reading this book. There were three stories in this book and all of them had a unexpected ending. Especially the third story " The six Napoleons" did. The speedy pace of change and unforeseen development pull me in to this story. In the last scene which shows how Holmes had solved the mystery, I had delightful surprise by his brilliant deduction.

Yukari

Rendezvous with Rama

Rendezvous with Rama

This book is pure science fiction story. I enjoyed this better than the other which I read before this book, because I like to see science fiction movies and I've been interested in science.

This book was written by Arthur C. Clarke who is the most famous science fiction writers of the twentieth centuries. I think his most popular story is 2001: A Space Odyssey written in 1968. The story was written for a movie directed by Stanley Kubrick. I was impressed to see the movie when I was in high school. The movie has been one of my favorite movies even now. I think this story should become movie too. If it is possible, I would like to see the movie, Rendezvous with Rama, directed by Stanley Kubrick. But Arthur and Stanley were already dead. My hope is impossible.

I found a common point between Rendezvous with Rama and 2001: A Space Odyssey. A huge geometrical shape is used for the most important object in each story. A cylinder is used for the shape of big space ship called Rama in Rendezvous with Rama. Then a rectangular box is used for the shape of mysterious huge object called Monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey. I think that these primitive geometrical shapes are effective in expressing mysteriousness and symbolizing wonder. The purposes of these huge objects aren't written actually.

Points for Understanding

3-1. 'The number three must be important to the Ramans,' Norton tells himself. What things, described in this chapter and in chapter two, have made him think this?

There were three upright cylinders standing on the ends of Rama. There were three airlocks into Rama. There were three ladders leading away from Hub, the centre of a wheel and the ladders are 120 degrees apart. There were three very long stairways lead on from the ladders, our towards the cylinder wall.

3-2. Norton and his crew have used flares to photograph the interior of Rama. They have photographed something that looks like an island in a sea. They have named this place New York. Why?

Because the shapes look like the buildings that people used to call skyscrapers in New York.

3-3. Doctor Perera says that Rama has been travelling for at least 200,000 years. How does he know this?

He know this from tracking path back through space and he know its speed.

Dangerous Game

Q)

William says that he is not an interesting person. Do you agree? Why (not)?

A)

Of course I agree that William is not an interesting person, because the story doesn't describe what he is interesting.

As he wrote, he doesn't go out muh, he doesn't dance, He hasn't got many friends. He has a talk with only 2 persons (his wife Julie and his old friend Louis). He is always jealous about Julie because she is very sociable type.

At last William killed Julie, but He was killed by Poldy (probably Julie's mind).

Anyway, I think he is not interesting but terrible.

Yoichi

The Perfect Storm

Before reading the book, I know what "The Perfect Storm" is and, I expected that it is exciting, buddy, cheesy and happy-end panic story. Like, fishermen were caught up in the storm and stood against the storm, and they eventually returned the their homeport Glouster. However, Contrary to my expectations, The fishing vessel Andrea Gail had been sunken and all crew member were dead.

After reading the book, I watch the film version of this story. It is peculiarly focused on the Andrea Gail more than the book. Geroge Clooney was performing the role of Billy who was Captain of the Andrea Gail. He performed well and advanced CG technology made the film exciting and alive. I can recommend the film as entertaining movie, however you should to read the book if you would like to know more. The book has more detail and it tells us more information linking The Perfect Storm.

Silver Blaze and Other Stories

This book is Sherlock Holmes's short collection.

I read Sherlock Holmes's stories when I was a child, but there is no story that I read before. Therefore, all stories were able to be read being interested. I think the mystery is trivial when a reader knows the trick before reading. I think the third story "The Six Napoleons" is the most interesting. A mysterious event in the first half of the story and the end from which the mystery is beautifully solved is wonderful.

By the way, the Sherlock Holmes series are made into films many times. The famous actor who performed Holmes posts was Buster Keaton, Basil Rathbone, Peter Cushing, Jeremy Brett and Roger Moore. I hardly saw those films, but I think Roger Moore matches unexpectedly to the image of Holms. James Bond and Sherlock Holmes were good at combative sports and gun, actives, and heavy smoker.

[Points for Understanding]
THE BLUE CARBUNCLE
2-1 Inside the goose.
2-2 The Countess of Morcar.
2-3 At the Hotel Cosmopolitan.
2-4 Mr. James Ryder, he was under-manager of the hotel.
2-5 Someone had broke into the Countess's room.
2-6 He thought Henry Baker knows anything about Blue Carbuncle.
2-7 He advertised in the newspaper.

King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table

I have known the title of this book since my childhood, but this is the first time for me to read the book. This is the kind of a heroic story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. I think the story were lasting to the present for generations.
You can see about King Arthur, Click here.

Q12-1: Why did Morgana Le Fey put a spell on the secret garden in the forest?
A12-1: She put a spell to fill King Arthur up the rumours of his wife, Guinever and Lancelot’s affair.

Q12-2: Where did Arthur fight his last battle?
A12-2: On the plain of sand

Q12-3: How did Morgana die?
A12-3: Arthur drove his sward Excalibur into Morgana’s body and killed him.

Koa

The Promise

This book was interesting for me.

Pedro and Maria live in Brazil. They were very poor. When son (Paulo) was born, a old woman said to them. "This boy will grow up and become famous." "He will give happiness to many countries all over the world." "He will help poor people." Paulo becames the excellent footballer. What the old woman said comes true afterwards.

Paulo fails once, but recovers from a failure. I want to imitate the shape he made an effort.

The eye of the Tiger

This story is a kind of suspense. If you like Hollywood's action movies, you would like it.

I was interested in reading about searching treasure under water. For example, they did wreck diving in the beautiful water. In chapter 11, Harry used a explosives to enter the wreck, but for the explosions, a lot of fish died and a shark appeared to eat them. It might be horrible, but I keep my mind to watch a shark such as whale sharks under the water.

About 6 to 10 years ago, I used to dive, because I developed dive computers for my job, so I had to check them by myself. I often went to Osezaki in Izu or Lake Motosu around Mt. Fuji for testing. This story reminded me that Lake Motosu has monument at the bottom of the lake. We hired a professional diver who was a owner of diving shop named GIGI. He used to collect some items from monument. He said those would be Yayoi-Period items.

I like diving in Lake Motosu, because the water transparency is so high that you can see everything well. Plus the water is not sea water, but fresh water, I feel comfortable after diving. Sea water is usually a little bit sticky. And I like watching fish such as eels, carps and crucian carps(Funa in Japanese). There were a lot of findings. For example, an eel escaped backward from the tail fin or carps were swimming in a couple. The best thing I liked was that the world was monotone and very quiet. It's so mysterious that it would be called Wabi-Sabi diving.

15-1. Harry Bruce was Harry’s real name, and Lorna Page was the blonde girl’s name.
15-2. Harry knew Manny well and his eyes were cold and hard.
15-3. She hits Sherry’s face.
15-4. This was the signal Harry planned with Chubby
15-5. They want to escape from Manny.
15-6. There was an enormous explosion.
15-7. He was shot by Resnick’s men in the motor boat.
15-8. Manny Resnick was killed by explosion.

Masao Kuroda

BRAVE HEART

Q.32 Think of an important person from your country's history. Find out about her or him. Write about her or his life.

Tadataka Inou. He was a man who made very exact map of Japan. He was born in 1745. He worked at sake brewing about 30 years. When he was 50 years old, he had started to survey the shape of Japan. He was very interested in astronomy. He was very good at astronomy.
He surveyed the shape of Japan by his foot. It was very very difficulty work. At last, he walked about 40000 km. It was as long as about circumference of the earth.
He finished surveying the shape of Japan in 1815. Then he started to make a map from his surveyed data. He died in 1818.His companion completed the map in 1821. The map was very very exact. It is really surprize that the map made by him was a little difference by satellite photograph.
I think he was an important person of our country.

L.A. Winners

This story begins with a man meets a woman. A man is private detective in L.A. A woman is client.
That woman want to find her horse. And she hired private detective.Her horse has missed when she lend her horse to another man. They didn't come back. The horse was retired horse racing.
The detective looked for her horse. But there were a lot of riddle and had relation to the horse.

This story is described detailedly well. I understand very well. Several scene changed dramatically was interesting to me with had unimaginable next.
I recommend to read this book.