Journal of a UFO Investigator

I personally think the title of this book should be Journal of a UFO Investigator (But It's Not Really About UFOs). I am a big fan of the scifi genre, hence why I grabbed this book at a library used book sale, and was semi-pleasantly surprised to find that although aliens and UFOs play a big role in Journal of a UFO Investigator, it's not science fiction.

The story follows our hero, Danny Shapiro, from ages thirteen to nineteen. His mother is very ill, and could have a heart attack at any moment. His father barely tolerates him, and he has almost no friends. As a coping mechanism, Danny starts a journal about an alternate life where he is a UFO investigator and goes on all sorts of weird and wild adventures, which parallel his terrible home life.

I don't think I've ever read a book like this before. The author does a great job at blurring reality and fiction, and it's very difficult to see if Danny actually believes what he's writing in his journal, or if he's actually experiencing what he's writing in his journal. Oftentimes, reality seems like it's intruding on Danny's fantasy. To be quite honest, I'm not entirely sure which parts of the book were truly Danny's life, and which parts were just his imagination. I'd have to read it again to find out.

Journal of a UFO Investigator does a good job at hooking you right at the beginning. UFOs are flying everywhere, mysterious phone calls about the moon appear, and lower levels in libraries are decidedly creepy. However, towards the end of the book, it gets very confusing, and hard to keep reading. I pressed on, mostly because I couldn't wait to finish the book so I could read something else, but I was pleasantly surprised by the ending. Most things get sorted out, and it has a generally promising ending to it. Although things get slow in the third quarter of the book, if you stick it out, it gets better.

Overall, I did enjoy Journal of a UFO Investigator, and I think I'd like to read it again, mostly to go back and sort out parallels and symbols now that I have a general idea of what's going on. This book does a good job at dealing with subjects like depression and suicide in an original way (set in an alternate reality with aliens), and it's interesting and hopeful. I would not recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun scifi read, but if you're ready to think (a lot) and if you're ready for a little bit of teen angst, go for it.

Transformers: Age of Extinction

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I am nowhere close to being a Transformers fan. I thought the first movie was pretty decent, the second was laughably terrible, and didn't bother to watch the third. But I bothered with Age of Extinction, and for the most part, I'm glad I did. Critics are slamming it (and I agree with most of them), but if you put aside the shaky plot, stereotyped characters, and Transformer dino fights that last almost an hour, you've got a fairly enjoyable movie. If nothing else, Transformers: Age of Extinction is fun to watch.

After the gigantic fight in Chicago, the government is cracking down on Transformers, killing any they can find. Cade Yeager, a broke inventor with the coolest name on the planet, happens to find an injured Optimus Prime and semi-nurses him back to health, earning the Autobot's eternal gratitude and the government's eternal hatred. Meanwhile, the government has discovered the secret to the Transformers' transforming ability and has created an entire army of Transformers. Unbeknownst to them, Megatron has infected the army with Decepticon metal.

From there, you can kind of guess how things go down. Cade, his teenage daughter, and his teenage daughter's boyfriend round up the Autobots, and much giant robotic fighting ensues. And man, is it fun to watch. It's like you've died and gone to sound-effects heaven.

It's also like you've died and gone to plot-hole hell. The plot isn't set up very well. The human characters are saved again and again by convenient and unoriginal plot devices. Most of the time, I felt like it was just too much for a Transformers movie. No one wants an elaborate, intricate plot. We just want to see giant robots and cool cars, please. Without crazy, barely-believeable, and time-sucking story points, Age of Extinction could have nicely wrapped up every subplot and still had time for special effects overload, instead of leaving gaping holes in the plot everywhere and devoting a third of the movie to the final showdown.

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Despite the cast being much better than previous Transformers installments (I'd take Mark Wahlberg over Shia Lebeouf any day), they're given stereotypical roles to play that don't do the film any favors. My biggest bone to pick is Tessa Yeager, Cade's daughter, and her boyfriend. I wish some movie would feature a teenage girl who's biggest problem isn't that her dad doesn't allow her to date. Tessa does a gigantic disservice to teenage girl-dom and feminism in general as she spends the entire film hiding behind her boyfriend, wearing tiny shorts, and getting trapped in all sorts of places and needing rescue. However, the film slightly redeems itself with all two other remaining female characters; one a brilliant scientist, the other a lawyer/businessperson/ninja.

I definitely enjoyed Age of Extinction more than I've ever enjoyed a Transformers film (although that doesn't say much), and it's a fun ride, if you're willing to overlook some things. It certainly seems like Michael Bay has created something bigger than himself. Age of Extinction has already made about $600 million, and now holds the record for biggest opening in China of all time. Despite negative reviews, you just can't ignore the lure of fighting robot alien car things.