Welcome back, Lanzothians!
This week I was determined to finish Wuthering Heights, even after five days of not finishing anything else. I also read two others this week, but finished them a little bit after. I have also been slowing working through this month’s behemoth classic, The Count of Monte Cristo. I need to get better at making time for my own writing. I’ve been reading so much this year that I haven’t really done any substantial writing for my book. I keep telling myself to make time, and then it slips away, or I end up reading instead. That’s all I’ve been wanting to do lately. But, after another Gothic novel, I need to make the time to write my own. I’ll continue reading and exploring Gothic literature while this book is under construction, but I can’t wait until I’ve read ten Gothic stories to do so, I just need to write. I can edit it later. Sorry, this is just me attempting to hold myself accountable.
For now, enjoy the book reviews of the three books I’ve completed so far this month!
Of Writing
It’s coming, I promise…
Of Reading
#16 Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
No, I didn’t start reading this because of the movie. In fact, I didn’t even know there was a movie being released until after I started this book. I began it back in January, but as you can see, I’ve finished 15 other books before this one, so naturally, it was put off till February. Actually, I’m on a classic literature kick this year, and in addition to science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, and the like, many of the books I’m reading will be classics from the 19th and 20th centuries. I’m also interested in reading many more Gothic novels so I could emulate the Gothic style in my own writing. I’m really enjoying writing the book, Mortimer, in this style and I feel the more of this style I read, the better my own story will be.
Wuthering Heights features themes of cruelty, abuse, and obsession between an interconnected family who lives in the Moors in England. Heathcliff is presented as an antagonist throughout the story as he is cruel to Catherine, Hindley, Mr. Linton, Linton, Cathy, and his servant Hareton. Our unreliable narrator is Ellen (Nelly) Dean, who is a maid at Thrushcross Grange, then subsequently, at Wuthering Heights, our two primary settings of the story. Unlike the presentation of the movie, at least from the trailer, this is not a hot, steamy romance. I suppose one could loosely interpret this as an obsessive love story – loosely. But it is so much more than that. Yes, the character are obsessive over their love of other characters, but these same characters are also verbally abusive to each other, creating tension and making you despise the very people you were rooting for earlier on.
It’s less of a steamy romance, and more of a mild Gothic horror. I really enjoyed this book, and felt like I needed to keep turning the page to know what was going to happen next. I am definitely going to refer to this book on more than one occasion while writing Mortimer. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë absolutely deserves a 10/10 rating from me. I don’t think I’m going to be generous with my 10/10 ratings, and only award them to the stories that really keep me on edge and stay up all night thinking about them.
#17 Star Wars: The Courtship of Princess Leia by Dave Woverton
Another Star Wars book down. So many more to go. This was not what I was expecting at all. I tend to not read book descriptions before reading them. Sometimes, I do. For Star Wars books, you’d be lucky if I read the blurb on the back of the book. From the cover to the title, genuinely thought this was going to be about Han and Leia getting married, which, spoilers, they do. But the story was about the courtship of Leia, not the marriage of Leia. She was being “courted”, if that’s what you want to call it, by Han and this chad, Isolder, who is the son of a queen of an entire star cluster. So, very rich, very pretty, very alluring.
Han obviously is overcome by manic jealousy, as Leia is seeming to fall for this other dude, and kidnaps her. To Dathomir. If you’ve watched Clone Wars, read Dark Disciple, or played Jedi: Fallen Order, you know that Dathomir is a wicked planet, home to the Nightsisters – witches with misty green magic. I did know that there was a book in Legends that featured Dathomir and the Nightsisters, but I’ve never known which one. This was probably their introduction to the Star Wars universe. I was pleasantly surprised. Han just wanted a seven-day vacay to get Leia to fall back in love with him so she wouldn’t run off with Isolder. Neither of them expected to meet Warlord Zsinj’s fleet (this takes place right after Solo Command, see last week’s issue), nor meet a darkening planet filled with witches and Rancors. Luke hears of Leia’s “kidnapping” through the Holonet, and travels with Isolder to free her. Then they all go on this lovely adventure through the planet fighting the Empire and Gethzerion, the bad guy witch leader.
I thoroughly enjoyed visiting Dathomir again and seeing it from another writer’s point of view. I also loved witnessing Luke getting stronger in the Force and honing it like a true Jedi. I’ve always had reservations about Luke being portrayed as this overly powerful Jedi, despite the fact that he didn’t grow up in a temple and didn’t even know the Force existed until he was 19. Now, 8 years later, having studied and searching and done everything on his own, he is still learning, and sometimes still uncertain in his abilities. He’s presented as a very different character from the hot-headed, impulsive 20 year-old we see in Empire Strikes Back. He’s calm, meditative, and humble. Simply put, he’s grown up. I’m going to offer this book an 8/10 for its fun adventure though the witch planet and the character progression we get with Han, Luke, and Leia. Next up, Tatooine Ghost.
#18 Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Another classic checked off the list. Somehow, I’ve never gotten around to reading any of Stevenson’s work, and I’m glad I decided to read this little adventure book. Have you ever enjoyed stories of pirates and treasure maps? Well, here’s where it all started. Actually, I’m not sure about that, but it is a story from nearly 140 years ago, so it very well could be. Also, I need to watch Disney’s Treasure Planet again. I absolutely love this film, and didn’t realize how closely the movie matched the 1883 story. Even many of the character names are the same.
Jim Hawkin’s finds the treasure map of Captain Flint, recently deceased by Black Spot and alcohol poisoning. He then goes on a voyage to find the island where the treasure is said to be buried. Along the way, he is thrust in the midst of simmering mutiny about to take place, led by Long John Silver, who was posing as the ship’s cook. John Silver later takes Jim as a hostage to lead him and his crew to the treasure via the map. Lots of skirmishes happen throughout the story, and many buccaneers are killed in the process.
This is all to say that Treasure Island is a happy, coming-of-age story where a young boy becomes a man by embarking on a seemingly harmless adventure, only to be kidnapped and forced to witness the deaths of fellow pirates, just to find a bit o’ gold. This was a fun, little story and I’m going to rate it an 8.5/10 for its use of pirate-y language, coming-of-age themes, and it’s face-paced writing that still holds your attention.
If you’d like to read any of my reviews from this year so far, I have them all linked below:
Science Fiction: Saturn’s Monsters; The Time Machine; Starship Troopers; The Martian Chronicles
Dystopian: Anthem
Fantasy: Prince Caspian; Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (full-cast production)
Star Wars: The Mask of Fear; X-Wing: Wraith Squadron; X-Wing: Iron Fist; Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter; X-Wing: Solo Command; The Courtship of Princess Leia
Contemporary: They Both Die at the End
Literary Classic: The Metamorphosis; Moby-Dick; Wuthering Heights; Treasure Island
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Thank you for reading along. My hope is to inspire more and more readers across various genres. Farewell, and see you again next weekend!
T.P. Lanzarotto
8 February 2026
T.P. Lanzarotto 
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