As dense as Mirkwood in some places, but shafts of sunlight do break through.
The creator of languages for Game of Thrones and alien languages for sci-fi shows reveals the deeply intricate secrets behind his “conlanging” (constructed language-making).
Peterson, who holds a master’s degree in linguistics and has published Living Language Dothraki, a book about a Game of Thrones language, tries to appeal to several audiences—from general readers (who will need a machete for some of the thick textual foliage) to Throne devotees (who will love learning more about the show but may suffer from glazed-eye syndrome at some of the linguistic theory he explains) to other conlangers (who will leap upon his charts and terms, rapidly consuming them). This is no Dick-and-Jane text. The more readers know about grammar, usage, orthography, linguistics, foreign languages, fonts, and phonology (and so much more), the better for them. Peterson deals with several large subjects—sounds, words, evolution of language, writing—explaining the complexities of each and providing examples from his own work. The author inserts humor where he can, suggesting in one place a list of possible conlang words for very specific uses—e.g., the word nipak to mean “the piece you need to finish a puzzle that you are actively putting together.” For the most part, this is a nuts-and-bolts text about how a language works, about the differences among languages, and about the vast array of things conlangers must know before they embark upon a voyage of creation. It’s not—as the author makes abundantly clear—a simple matter of making a list of weird words and calling it a language. Peterson ends with some mildly hopeful words for aspiring conlangers, recognizing that the gigs he’s managed to obtain are not all that prevalent. He suggests that writers of fantasy and sci-fi novels employ conlangers to help them with their work.
As dense as Mirkwood in some places, but shafts of sunlight do break through.Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-14-312646-1
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Penguin
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
An autobiography as toxic and addictive as any drug its author has ever ingested.
The legendary booze-addled metal rocker turned reality-TV star comes clean in his tell-all autobiography.
Although brought up in the bleak British factory town of Aston, John “Ozzy” Osbourne’s tragicomic rags-to-riches tale is somehow quintessentially American. It’s an epic dream/nightmare that takes him from Winson Green prison in 1966 to a presidential dinner with George W. Bush in 2004. Tracing his adult life from petty thief and slaughterhouse worker to rock star, Osbourne’s first-person slang-and-expletive-driven style comes off like he’s casually relating his story while knocking back pints at the pub. “What you read here,” he writes, “is what dribbled out of the jelly I call my brain when I asked it for my life story.” During the late 1960s his transformation from inept shoplifter to notorious Black Sabbath frontman was unlikely enough. In fact, the band got its first paying gigs by waiting outside concert venues hoping the regularly scheduled act wouldn’t show. After a few years, Osbourne and his bandmates were touring America and becoming millionaires from their riff-heavy doom music. As expected, with success came personal excess and inevitable alienation from the other members of the group. But as a solo performer, Osbourne’s predilection for guns, drink, drugs, near-death experiences, cruelty to animals and relieving himself in public soon became the stuff of legend. His most infamous exploits—biting the head off a bat and accidentally urinating on the Alamo—are addressed, but they seem tame compared to other dark moments of his checkered past: nearly killing his wife Sharon during an alcohol-induced blackout, waking up after a bender in the middle of a busy highway, burning down his backyard, etc. Osbourne is confessional to a fault, jeopardizing his demonic-rocker reputation with glib remarks about his love for Paul McCartney and Robin Williams. The most distinguishing feature of the book is the staggering chapter-by-chapter accumulation of drunken mishaps, bodily dysfunctions and drug-induced mayhem over a 40-plus-year career—a résumé of anti-social atrocities comparable to any of rock ’n’ roll’s most reckless outlaws.
An autobiography as toxic and addictive as any drug its author has ever ingested.Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-446-56989-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
IN THE NEWS
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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