Hi, Jormis! Thank you so much for agreeing to participate in Quick Questions with a Cannonballer. You’ve been participating for several years. While paging through your reviews, I realized that you have an extremely diverse collection of books that you’ve reviewed – everything from Maeve Binchy to pretty hardcore sci-fi. Do you have an absolute favorite genre? What do you consider to be the best representation of that genre?
My absolute favourite genre is fantasy, followed closely by science fiction. In some of the best books, such as The Steerswoman series by Rosemary Kirstein (I am not the only one anxiously waiting for the next book), I think that fantasy fits by setting very nicely into the blueprint of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey as it deals with myths and legends. (To be clear, Hero’s Journey is universal; for example, in romantic novels we expect reluctant characters grow and make a grand gesture in the end–thus completing the journey.) My pet peeve is if the actual and literal journey–ever wrought with peril–just is written there because there has to be one (Illearth War, a purgatory for Thomas Covenant and the reader). Use teleporting stones or dangerous shortcuts! However, two of my favourite book series are all about the journey: Lord of The Rings and Gene Wolfe’s The Book of the New Sun. The journeys happen for a reason, they are exciting and well-written. In the latter, Severian the Journeyman of the Seekers for Truth and Penitence (a torturer, actually) is such a delectable character travelling in the dying Earth. Despite or because of his eidetic memory, he is unreliable.
But my favourite fantasy book is Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock. It has a contemporary setting–just after WWII–it handles the myth creation in a smart and engaging way, and there is a love story (or a story of obsession, if you will). It is also a compact book.
Speaking of reviews, do you have one that you feel really proud of? What makes this one special? We’d love to share the link here so everyone can read and enjoy it.
I think all my reviews are more or less clumsy and cringeworthy. And I can never ever seem to be able put to writing what I am really feeling about the book. Nonetheless, my review of The Plague Dogs is the one I think I got out more or less how I wanted. The Plague Dogs is a hard read. When the two tortured (let’s not mince words here) dogs, Rowf and Snitter escape the research centre, we the readers maybe were expecting a trip in the country, smell the fresh air, eat well, travel, meet new friends. And all of it does happen. But The Plague Dogs is not Watership Down, rather, it’s The Divine Comedy.
How do you feel about book to TV or movie adaptations? If your favorite is being/has been adapted, would you rather it be a series or a movie? Do you have a favorite adaptation even if it isn’t necessarily your favorite book?
On average I watch a movie a day, so I do watch a lot of adaptations as well. In adaptations the book has to be simplified, and characters dropped or amalgamated. The Plague Dogs does all that (leaving out much of the lighter or funny stuff), and IT COMMITS TO THE ONLY PROPER ENDING.
A series or a movie? Pride and Prejudice has been adapted numerous times. (I have reviewed all Jane Austen’s novels here.) The 1995 BBC series is the definite version that follows more closely the book, has Jennifer Ehle (I had a minicrush on her back in the day) as Liz Bennet and Colin Firth (ditto) as Fitzwilliam Darcy. The series allows for the viewers to see the transformation of the pair, such as the ever more longing and loving gazes Darcy throws at Liz. The 2005 movie has better visuals and music, and Brenda Blethyn (the crush is ongoing), but is rushed. Yet both versions have their place. Finally, add The Bridget Jones’s Diary in the mix and there’s my favourite adaptation triptych.
Editor’s note: Obviously this section is incomplete, with Jormis having left out that 90s era classic and best Austen adaptation, Clueless. Yes, I realize that it’s an Emma adaptation, not P&P, but I don’t care. I’m going to include that gif myself.
While poking around your reviews, the biography you shared, and even your Bluesky profile, I found a Pet Shop Boys reference. When I tell you that West End Girls immediately got stuck on a loop in my head… WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME, JORMIS? Seriously, though, do you have a favorite song and/or album of theirs that you treasure above all others? What makes that one special?
I am a moderate completionist when it comes to Pet Shop Boys records and merchandise. I don’t need to collect Japanese CD versions (they have extra tracks) but in effect I have all the records.
For a long time my no. 1 Pet Shop Boys song has been ‘Love Comes Quickly’ (UK no. 19 ’86) because it is sincere and I am ever a romantic. ‘Bilingual’ (1996) is an underrated album, but I love it dearly. And my no. 1 Pet Shop Boys B-side is ‘Hit and Miss’ from ‘Bilingual’ era.
Furthermore, I recommend the latest album, ‘Nonetheless’ (2024).
Thank you so much for taking the time to share a little bit about yourself! It has been a pleasure getting to know you. We’ve now reached that terrifying part of the interview where we play Kiss Marry Kill with the cast of The Expanse. Whom would you select for each category? And, you can only use Shohreh Aghdashloo once. Because I’d want to use her for everything.
I would kiss Frankie Adams, marry Shohreh Aghdashloo (she reminds me of my missus), and kill Steven Strait. See, had Jim Holden the character died in a crucial moment, then how would the rest of the gang have regrouped to be able continue the fight? Who would have taken Jim’s role as the moral compass? And where does the recalibrated compass point to?
Now that you’ve learned all about jormis, head over and see what else he’s been reading. Or meet other Cannonballers we’ve interviewed recently.
