Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

I guess I have a Cannonball – even though most of my reviews are of short stories.

The Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle

Harrison Squared by Daryl Gregory

Apt Pupil by Stephen King

Morality by Stephen King

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Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle (3.5 stars) Pierre Boulle published two dozen novels in his lifetime – but he is most famous for the semi-autobiographical The Bridge over the River Kwai and this franchise creating science fiction story from 1963. We’re all familiar with the basic story, right? A group of scientists board a ship bound for Betelgeuse (the second brightest star in the constellation of Orion, after Rigel). Due to traveling near the speed of light, centuries pass on Earth. When they […]

The insuperable gap between east and west that exists in some eyes is perhaps nothing more than an optical illusion.

The Bridge on the River Kwai by Pierre Boulle

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CBR12Bingo – No Money – Library Book The Bridge on the River Kwai So this book is the book the movie is based on, though the book is relatively small in scope compared to the grandness and sheer size of the movie. It most reminds me of the differences between the intimate spaces of CS Forrester’s The African Queen and the John Huston movie of the same. The book is a slim 200 pages and is almost entirely realistic narration and pretty straight forward characterization as […]

James and Phyllis were spending a wonderful holiday in space.

Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle

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The oddest thing about this book is that it’s by the same writer as The Bridge on the River Kwai and that he’s French. My American chauvinism scoffs at the idea that French-speaking astronauts would land on the Planet of the Apes and teach them French! But alas, what makes this book much more interesting than the movie, although the movie’s plot is not all that different, is that it takes its time. Our narrator is the first-person account of who would be Charlton Heston in […]

A World War II story that did not impress

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For years, I’ve heard a lot about the film adaptation of The Bridge over the River Kwai, and I was interested in reading the book before seeing the film. I found an old paperback copy at a yard sale and decided to give it a go, I don’t know how many years ago. Thankfully, now is its time. And I have made an indent in my stack of unread books. Read my full review for my assessment.



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