The Mark of Zorro – Johnston McCulley

Rating: 5/5

Lost References:

Saywer calls Paulo “Zorro.”

Thoughts:

This novella, first serialized in a pulp fiction magazine as The Curse of Capistrano, was the first work to feature the character Zorro. There are a couple differences from today’s iconic image – his mask covers his whole face, he wears a purple cloak, and he’s smart enough to use a gun when it’s called for. Most notably, though, he unmasks himself at the end to family, friends, and enemies, which doesn’t leave much room for all these sequels and spinoff works. This is all just food for thought – not necessarily good or bad. It’s remarkably similar in most ways, right down to the Z’s he enjoys carving.

I found the story a fine adventure, even though the unmasking wasn’t a huge twist or surprise. Everyone knows Don Diego is Zorro, just like everyone knows Bruce Wayne is Batman and Sir Percy Blakeney is the Scarlet Pimpernel. If you are not part of “everyone” and I just spoiled something for you, my apologies. These three characters are all classic clueless rich guys by day and roguish vigilantes by night. Regardless, the story was the usual swashbuckling fun that embodies Zorro.

Above: Left is an illustration from The Curse of Capistrano, and right is a still shot of Antonio Banderas as Zorro (a sucessor of Don Diego’s).

Jurassic Park – Michael Crichton

Rating: 4/5

Lost References:

When Paulo worries about the (noisy) Smoke Monster, Nikki tells him the Island’s not like Jurassic Park.

Thoughts:

Two things that surprised me about this book: Some of the scenes from the book that hadn’t made it into the movie I still recognized from the sequels, and there was a whole lot of faux-science. The second one I didn’t mind; it made me appreciate the movies more (I’ll admit to liking the dinosaur action and Malcolm’s wit). The second point, I wasn’t crazy about. I could stomach the chaos theory quotes at the section openings, but all the fake genetics sections bored me. Apparently, Crichton’s famous for fake, topical science, but this was my first of his books, so I didn’t know that then. I’ve read some more since, and I’m learning to tune him out when he gets into his spiels. If you can do that, you’re in for an exciting read. And another good Crichton book is Timeline.

Above: the Crichtonsaurus bohlini – a new species of ankylosaurus named for Crichton and Swedish paleontologist Birger Bohlin.