Short Story Review: Half-Hours in Hades

Hello hello!
It is my great pleasure to introduce not only one but two new elements to this blog!

First, the short story review. Short stories have great power and take great skill to write. While not as talked about as other forms of writing, it does have great value, especially in class rooms due to time restrictions and the ability to narrow in on specific elements. So, enter the short story reviews!

Second, and far more exciting, student authors! I have offered my students the opportunity to write reviews for class, which can be posted here if they like, as an entrance to the world of academics and critics, as well as many other great learning opportunities. And I'm very very excited to say that they have taken me up on this offer! All posts will be preread by myself before being shared, and I trust this group to be thorough in their analysis of the content of the media they review. Feel free to leave feedback--I will be sure to pass it on to the student authors.

Title: Half-Hours in Hades: An Elementary Handbook of Demonology
[Due to loopholes in copyright laws when it comes to death and time, the full text (and hilarious illustrations) can be found by clicking on the title]
Author: G. K. Chesterton
Release Date: 1890ish
Genre: fiction, short story
My Rating: *****
Official Rating: children's/young adult fiction
Age Group: 11+ (make-believe characters that might be concerning to younger children) [Maria Gianna here. I might advise a little older so the reader can appreciate the intertextual references. If there's one thing G. K. Chesterton loves, it's a good name drop.]

Summary
The wonderful author, G. K. Chesterton, again shows his brilliance in his work "Half-Hours in Hades." He gives a hilarious and interesting account on the different types of demons. He goes over the different types of demons, explains them to you, and tells where one could find them. This is a good essay to read if you are studying G. K. Chesterton.

Word of Warning

• Non-existent characters
• Topics on demons or devils [and how they operate]

My Thoughts
I think this is a very funny essay to read. It gives an interesting view on demons in a good way, even though they are generally bad. It might be a little confusing for young readers. I enjoyed reading it very much.


Author Bio
Hello! I am a budding writer that has taken numerous writing and literature classes throughout my life. I my spare time, I enjoy reading, playing chess and card games, diving, swimming, skiing, acting in plays, and hanging out with friends. When I grow older, I Want to be an actor or an airplane pilot! Thank you for reading my Text Review on Half-Hours in Hades!

Book Review: The Prisoner of Zenda

This book, like Peter Pan, is one of the books I have included in the British Literature course I am teaching. I hope that, even if I do not have much time to review books I have read in my free time, I can always turn to the literature courses I am teaching for material.

Title: The Prisoner of Zenda
Author: Anthony Hope Hawkins (commonly just "Anthony Hope")
Release Date: 1894
Genre: action, adventure, drama, fiction, Ruritanian Romance (like The Princess Bride!), politics, romance
My Rating: *****
Students'* Rating: Unanimous "Awesome!"
Official Rating: fiction
Age Group: 12+

Summary
Rudolf Rassendyll has never done anything productive with his life, and his sister-in-law can't take it anymore. Go see the crowning of the king of Ruritania, she says. Go rub elbows with the big shots. Have fun.
Fine. To keep his sister-in-law happy, Rudolf wisely heads off to Ruritania. However, on the way, he finds himself caught up in a political war and impersonating someone, the threat of death always upon him.
Best (worst?) of all? He falls in love with the woman he is courting--while impersonating her real betrothed.
Will Rudolf be caught in his impersonation? And how to rescue the man he is impersonating?
And what is he to do about Princess Flavia?

Word of Warning

• Characters get drunk. We don't see them acting drunk, they just are drunk.
• A character is drugged and kidnapped.
• People get hurt, but nothing graphic and usually not serious.
• A few chaste kisses.
• Sword fights. Guns. Excitement!
• A character impersonates another.
• Someone dies.

My Thoughts
This is possibly one of my favorite books of all time, so you can imagine how thrilled I was when my students liked it too. Maybe I wasn't biased after all!
No, in all seriousness, this is a fantastic tale. It's so good that it established the Ruritanian Romance genre (courtly romance in a fantasy setting). There is danger, impersonation, sword fighting, break-ins, and very interesting moral musings about what is right and what is not.
It's not the easy-going style of more contemporary writing, but it is intriguing enough and not too complex, making it readable, just a bit of work for younger readers less experienced in the classics.
The main character is fun, witty, and a great adventurer. And while he might start of careless and fun, he develops into a self-sacrificing man who ultimately does the right thing, no matter how heartbreaking that ends up being.

Fun Fact(s)
In addition to establishing a whole new literary genre, Hope/Hawkins earned the praise of Robert Louis Stevenson, author of Treasure Island.
Anthony Hope Hawkins is much better known as simply Anthony Hope, it is fun to note that he has the same last name as Stevenson's protagonist Jim Hawkins.
Though he wrote 32 works of fiction in addition to plays, Hope/Hawkins is best known for The Prisoner of Zenda and its sequel Rupert of Hentzau.


*Students in this particular case range from grades 8-12, class contains nearly even number of boys and girls.