It a place created by J.R.R.Tolkien and immortalized by the way by Peter Jackson. No. Its not a place, its a hellhole. The realm of lord Sauron, the epitome of evil and power gluttony. I remember reading Lord of the Rings the first time and shuddering as I read the descriptions of the dark, dark…

If there was ever a character whose looks defies any stereotype of a protagonist, it's Lisbeth Salander. She's a short, skinny, tattooed, pale girl with pierced nose and eyebrows. Yes. She is the weird looking girl that kicks butt. When I started reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, I thought it was a strange…

Kalgan, which was the Las Vegas of the Galactic Empire appeared in Foundation and empire and Second foundation by the Sci-Fi master, Isaac Asimov. The planet, also dubbed the pleasure world of the Galaxy, had made an industry out of amusement. When the rest of the world spiraled into an economic and intellectual ruin, Kalgan…

Jeeves. The suave, gentleman's gentleman, the Inimitable Jeeves. Wodehouse's primary character about whom several books revolve is Bertie Wooster, whose comical misadventures would reach a uncharacteristically sad endings if it were not for his butler Jeeves. In this case, the phrase 'the butler did it' takes on a different meaning. The decorous man is always pulling…

If there is one character whose shoes I would love to step into, it would be Isabel Dalhousie, the literary sleuth conjured by Alexander McCall Smith. Isabel is a philosopher and prone to introspection that I find unequivocally delightful. She is the editor of the Review of Applied Ethics, loves Auden and her hometown of…

This post is my first on a place this April. A fantastic one I encountered in Terry Pratchett's books. Hogswatchnight is a place. Its a place, not in space but in time. On DiscWorld, the world that Terry Pratchett created, its the festival in midwinter. It is associated with pig slaughter which makes me believe…

"There is a Dr. Leakey there. He is a very famous doctor of bones." "Doctor of bones?" Mma Ramotwe was puzzled. ... ... "Yes," said Mma Makutsi. "He knows all about very old bones. She held up a picture, printed across two pages.  ... ... "Is that Dr. Leakey?" Mma Makutsi nodded. "Yes, Mma,"she said,…

Farai is the character in my novel that I most enjoyed writing. His role rises slowly from being a distinguished warrior to the ultimate mentor of the Healer. He was Ariana's contemporary at the Temple of Learning where they honed the talents they were born with and taught a few more. The difference was that…

The elegant and powerful high priestess of Zym is a strange mixture of power and compassion. When she materialized in my mind, it was as an antithesis to my villain. However the more I got to know the more real she became to me. Like most mothers, while her love for her near and dear…

When Lucas made his first trilogy, I don't believe he had the entire story with two trilogies in mind. But by the time the story was told in its complete grandeur Star Wars turned out to be the story of Darth Vader. From the birth of his Jedi beginnings through his journey of turning evil…