Three Swords: A Marvel Legends of Asgard Novel by C.L. Werner - Book Review

 

'The Warriors Three must traverse space and time to save their realm from magical villainy, in this swashbuckling fantasy adventure from Marvel’s Legends of Asgard

'During a fierce battle to free the people of Skornheim, the valiant Warriors Three – Fandral, Volstagg, and Hogun – encounter an ancient mystic who bears ominous tidings for Asgard. Three sorcerous brothers who call themselves the Enchanters have wrought evil across the realms, and are building armies with which to conquer the Realm Eternal. It has been foreseen that only one heroic trio can end their wicked plot… But the Enchanters are scattered through time and space, each fortified by their magical Living Talisman. The Warriors Three must be cast across the cosmos, to explore strange worlds, and risk life and limb against unimaginable odds to stop these sorcerers before they can overthrow Odin’s rule.'

The Marvel Legends of Asgard novel series has felt like it's had a pretty consistent style since it began. It's been telling stories about the early days of warriors who would go on to become great heroes, some of them even becoming gods as they grow older. As such, I was surprised when the latest entry, Three Swords took a slightly different approach, instead telling a story about the brave Warriors Three after they've been heroes for a while; and its a fun break to the formula.

The story begins with the Warriors Three, Fandral, Volstagg, and Hogun, helping a rebel movement in Skornheim to overthrow their new, corrupt leaders. Working from underground locations, the three legendary heroes are helping to transform the brave folks of Skorheim into warriors who can fight back for their very freedoms. When one of these bases comes under attack the Warriors Three stay behind to buy everyone else time, taking on the soldiers in a desperate fight.

Fleeing the area, hoping to meet back up with the rest of the resistance, the three of them are given shelter by an old man. The three of them soon discover, however, that he's no ordinary villager, and find themselves in the company of an old mystic. With Hogun having no love for magic users the three of them are prepared to fight, but the old wizard informs them that he's there for their help; and that all of Asgard and beyond are at stake. The Warriors Three learn that there are three brothers scattered across the nine realms, in different times and places, who have in their control artefacts that would make them a powerful threat to all life. The old wizard begs the Warriors Three to travel to these places, to fight these magic users, and to secure the artefacts in order to save every realm. Never ones to back down from a noble cause, the three of them set out to save the universe.

The Warriors Three are characters that I've encountered a few times, but usually in supporting roles for heroes such as Thor, Valkyrie, or Loki; and as such I hadn't really spent any great deal of time with these three iconic figures. Three Swords really allows the reader to do this, as not only are there no other Asgardian heroes in the book, I'm struggling to remember if they're even mentioned; as this is very much a story about these three saving the day.

The main plot of the book sees the three heroes having to travel across space and time in order to combat these evil sorcerers, and this leads to some interesting settings, and chances for the three of them to show how capable they are in vary ways. The first location is a futuristic world where alien lizard creatures have taken over, which mirrors nicely with the beginning of the book with the new regime in Skorheim, especially as the three of them have to hook up with the local resistance in order to achieve their goals. 

As with any time you combine together fantasy and science fiction this is an interesting part of the book. We have three warriors armed with swords and ancient weaponry fighting aliens flying around on hover bikes, shooting lazers. It's a big tonal whiplash; but it really works. There's something about these characters being thrown into a completely alien environment, surrounded by things they don't understand that's really entertaining.

The second place they go to couldn't be more different, however, and might be my favourite part of the book. The trio find themselves in Nottingham somewhere around the 1640's, as we learn that the British Civil War is either taking place or soon to break out. Its here where we get to explore more of Fandral's time on Earth as Robin Hood (something I knew nothing about until this book!). The pace of the adventure slows down a little here, and we have some quiet moments as Fandral spends time thinking about his past life here, the people he lost, and how much it still pains him. He gets to mourn for his wife, and this shows a side of him we don't often get to see; a more vulnerable man beneath the brave exterior. It was also delightful to have part of this huge fantasy epic take place just up the road from me; as well as in the home of Aconyte Books too!

The final location takes the three heroes to a primordial world filled with dinosaurs that have been twisted by dark magic into vicious monsters. If the Warriors Three fighting aliens and strange plant monsters wasn't cool enough we get them flying around on Pterodactyls; which is a hell of an image for sure. This part of the book might be one of the most unusual, and boldest things that we've had in a Marvel Legends of Asgard book that it might feel too over the top and ridiculous, but you'll be having so much fun with it that you'll not even care.

Over the course of this adventure we spend some time with each member of the Warriors Three, getting to see how they think, their motivations, and what drives them as heroes. Each of them also gets multiple chances to shine, proving that the three of them really are a team, and that if you didn't have all of them together the others simply wouldn't be able to survive. The only one I really felt got any significant development was Fandral, thanks in large part to the section of the book taking place in Nottingham and the exploration of his loss, and I think in some ways it's a shame I didn't feel that greater connection with the other two. 

Perhaps this is in part down to the fast paced nature of the story, as things move very quickly across the book, with the characters and readers never really being given a chance to rest and collect their thoughts before being plunged into the next challenge. Whilst I really did enjoy the book I do find myself wishing it had been longer, so that we could have gotten a few more slower paced moments where we could have connected with the characters more. 

Three Swords is a fast paced, action packed, fantasy epic that mixes in the science fiction, historical locations, and ridiculously cool concepts into one huge story that shouldn't work, but lands perfectly. It's a real testament to the writing talent of C.L. Werner that they were able to pull it off; and I think their experience in writing both fantasy and science fiction in the past really shows here, as they're able to craft the two together flawlessly. Whether you're a long time fan of the Warriors Three, or just discovering them now, Three Swords will make them a trio that you'll be keeping an eye on in the future.

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Rainbow Girls: Let's Save Lulu by Carbone - Book Review

 

'When middle school friends Mel, Lisa, and Gwen, along with a pet rat named Razzie, go looking for Gwen’s missing older sister, they find themselves in a greenhouse with giant carnivorous plants, a mad scientist with an evil plan, menacing thugs, and… newly developed superpowers that they mysteriously develop just in time to save the day (and their own butts)!'

Super hero comics are a big business; they're what a lot of people think about when you say the word comics. But with decades long histories and characters that have long and complex worlds around them it can be hard for some people to know where to begin; and some younger readers might not want to delve into dark and gritty super hero worlds and could want something lighter instead. Rainbow Girls seems to be the kind of book that's an ideal introduction to super hero stories for younger readers.

The story begins with three young girls, Lisa, Melanie, and Gwen having to work together on a school project. Whilst Gwen and Lisa are already friends, the two of them are unsure about working with Melanie, a girl who's obsessed with shopping and fashion. The three of them head over to Gwen's house, ready to get their homework out of the way, but when Gwen is unable to find her older sister, Lulu, she begins to get worried.

When there's no sign of Lulu, and she seems to have simply vanished without a trace, the three girls try to figure out what might have happened to her. Their investigation leads the three of them to a dodgy building where they find that someone has been stalking Lulu, and learn that she was kidnapped and taken to an abandoned greenhouse that has a secret lab beneath it. Heading to the green house, the three of them are determined to find Lulu; but none of them are ready for the strange things that happen once they get there, or the odd powers that they will end up developing because of it.

Rainbow Girls: Let's Save Lulu is very much a superhero origin story, and because of this most of the book is spent not with three powerful heroes, but some ordinary schoolgirls. This isn't a bad thing though, as even without powers and abilities Gwen, Mel and Lisa prove to be a competent and clever trio. After learning that Lulu is gone and that it doesn't seem like she left home of her own free will they start trying to put the pieces together, and make some good deductions to do so. They manage to find the clue that will lead them to Lulu's kidnapper, they track down his location, and they manage to sneak in and get the next important piece of information that will lead to her location.

These are not easy things, especially for a group of pre-teens who have never had to think like this before, let alone breaking into scary buildings searching for clues to a kidnapping. These moments also allow the three girls to show off how different they are to each other too, and it allows Mel the chance to win the other two girls over to seeing that despite her love of fashion and shopping she isn't just an empty-headed bimbo as they first thought.

Once the three of them arrive at the hidden lab they find themselves developing strange powers thanks to a combination of hiding in drums filled with chemical waste, as well as being bitten by mutant plants. Mel gains the ability to change her size, shrinking or growing at will. Lisa is able to project force-fields and protective bubbles around her and her friends. And Gwen gains the ability to talk to her sisters pet rat. Okay, so Gwen definitely gets the really short end of the deal with her powers as the others get things that are good in a fight, or useful to helping them escape the facility; whilst Gwen gets to talk to a rat who already seemed to be able to understand people anyway.

If I were Gwen I would feel really, really annoyed with my powers. There isn't really any time during the book that she's able to talk to Razzie the rat where it seemed to actually do much to help. She tells him to attack the plant monster, which he probably would have done anyway, and she listens to him when he tells her Lulu is close, but they'd also interpreted his messages pretty well up to that point anyway. If I were Gwen I'd be hoping I could talk to other animals too, as I'd be super annoyed and jealous of my friends powers right now as she's kind of useless as a hero.

That's probably my biggest complaint about the book, that one of this trio of super heroes kind of seems a bit like a joke. Her powers do nothing to help, she can't get involved in combat, she isn't useful when trying to escape. She's like the useless kid mascot of the team, except she shouldn't be. Perhaps this is something that will change as the series goes on, and she will discover that she can do more with her powers; but for now she's pretty rubbish.

The book has some nice art, provided by Helene Canac. The style is very simple, with a cartoonish and bold look to it that makes it easy to understand; and probably makes it an easy style for children reading the book to emulate, allowing them to draw the Rainbow Girls fairly easily. There are times where I think older readers might find the style too simplistic and stylised; but this is a book for younger readers, and the style works perfectly for that.

With hints that there is more to come at the end Rainbow Girls: Let's Save Lulu is definitely laying the groundwork for things to come. It's the origin story for this trio of heroes, and as such it's not full of bright costumes and super powers; but it does a good job at setting everything up for future instalments.  If you've got a young reader who's into super heroes, especially young girls, this is a great book to try them on.

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Pupperazzi - Game Review

 

There are times where you find yourself wanting to play something that doesn't require too much commitment. Whether that's a game that you don't need to sink fifty plus hours into, one that doesn't have too difficult game play, or simply one where you can relax and enjoy things without having to worry about timers, health bars, or objectives. Pupperazzi is one of these kinds of games.

Set in a world seemingly mostly inhabited by dogs, with a smattering of 'humanorphs' wandering around a few of the environments helping to keep the world running for their furry, happy pups. You're cast in the role of a living camera robot, something I discovered with a shock when I was able to unlock selfie mode and discovered I wasn't a humanorph myself. The game begins at a lovely cove, where you meet a cute little dog in a yellow raincoat and hat who asks you to take a photo of her. From here you begin to receive new missions that involve wandering through your environment, finding doggies to take photos of.

Some of these missions are quite simple, such as 'take a photo of a happy dog', some require a bit of skill, like taking a photo of a dog with a lighthouse in the background whilst crouching', and others will see you having to jump around your environment searching for a way to the next area so that you can grab a snapshot and open it up for future photo opportunities. No matter how complex these tasks at first seem they never take too much thought to figure out, and it tends to be about finding the right angle to get the shot you need.

There are a handful of areas to unlock explore, starting at the cove, and including the boardwalk and beach, the town centre and park, the great outdoors, a space centre, and the moon. Each area is fairly contained, some being larger than others, and you'll soon have figured out where everything is and where you need to go to complete your missions. A system whereby you can unlock the locations at different times of the day, which comes with new missions and new doggies doing new activities, stops the game from getting too boring.

The dogs that inhabit the world are a lot of fun too, and there were a number of times when I found myself stopping to just watch the little guys and girls to see what they would do. The various toys that they play with, activities they perform, and costumes that they wear also mean that its never dull; and even provide a number of laughs and moments of going 'awwwww' out loud. And yes, of course, you can pet the dogs, which leads to situations where you find yourself wandering around the levels trying to pet everyone you can find to make sure that they're all your friends.

Over the course of the game you earn currency to purchase different types of film and new lenses. These are often used to complete certain missions, such as needing to take a 'classic' portrait so needing black and white film, or a doggy video game designer wanting you to use a lens that pixelates everything to take photos of dogs riding mine carts to help with their new games. Currency is earned by completing missions, as well as being round throughout the environments, and whilst there's enough for everything you're never rolling in cash; meaning that you will occasionally be having to think about what you want at the moment, and planning your purchases ahead.

I'd had a bad week this week, and had been dealing with something personal and traumatic; and when I wanted a nice, distracting video game to help me cope through that Pupperazzi proved to be the perfect game for that. It helped me to feel better, if helped to distract me, and it made me feel good because it's just a genuinely nice, sweet game that I think a lot of people will enjoy. And as it's currently free to play if you have the Xbox Game Pass it's the perfect time to give it a try.

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Shock - Blu-Ray Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

Shock, the final film from acclaimed Italian Giallo director Mario Bava, gets a brand new Blu-ray presentation thanks to Arrow Video, a release that offers fans the perfect opportunity to experience this dark and disturbing horror mystery.

Shock tells the story of Dora Baldini (Daria Nicolodi), a woman who has just moved back into her old home with her son Marco (David Colin Jr), and her new husband Bruno (John Steiner). Whilst Marco is excited to move into this new house, Dora feels trepidation, and it’s revealed that she lived here several years ago with her first husband, Marco’s father, before his suicide at sea. Despite these feelings the family begins to settle into their new life together in the house.

Soon after they’ve moved in, however, Marco begins acting strangely; speaking to some unseen presence, acting violently towards his mother, and destroying his toys. Over time the strangeness begins to affect Dora too, and she begins losing sleep, having mood swings, and starts to believe that there might be a ghostly presence inside the house; one that’s using Marco against her in its attempt to harm her.

Mario Bava is a director who has produced some of the more popular Italian horror films; films that have stood the test of time as creepy, gory films that deal with some strange subjects. As such, I was kind of surprised by how subtle Shock turned out to be. This isn’t a film that pushes horror in any bold new directions, nor does it test the viewers sense of reality; instead it’s a small scale story of one woman’s journey into despair and madness thanks to trauma and the ghostly presence in her home.

Daria Nicolodi is an actor that Giallo fans will recognise, a woman who’s had parts in hits such as Deep Red, Tenebrae, and Phenomena, and whilst she’s great in all of those films Shock is possibly one of her best roles. Daria is the focus for much of the film, often being the only character on screen, and she carries this story. To begin with she’s a normal, happy woman with a young son and a husband who loves her, but by the end she’s left unable to tell reality from the hauntings around her, forced to drag up trauma and face her own demons. Daria is phenomenal in these scenes, and her portrayal of  a person barely holding on, close to the point of breaking is so wonderfully done that it becomes a genuine highlight of the movie.

Outside of Daria’s central performance much of the film feels kind of safe in a lot of ways. There aren’t many weird camera tricks going on, the home they live in doesn’t feel particularly odd or Gothic, and the soundtrack is intense, but not what you’d expect from a horror film. That being said, it all really works. Mario Bava, and his son Lamberto who also directed on this film, clearly know how to turn the ordinary into the unsettling, and do it well with Shock.

Sadly, there are times where the story feels predictable thanks to how safe it plays it with the script, and I was predicting a lot of the events before they were happening. But this never really took away my enjoyment of the film, because whilst I may have known what some of the destinations were going to be the journey to get there was still entertaining. That being said, there are a couple of odd twists and turns in the tale that I don’t think you’d be able to see coming, and the film has one of the more surprising and effectively executed jump scares I’ve ever seen.

Alongside the new 2k restoration of the film, the disc is packed with extra features. The movie comes in both its original Italian audio and its English dub, in which some of the cast provide their English dialogue, both of which are worth watching. There’s also a new audio commentary for the film from author Tim Lucas, an expert on Mario Bava who’s able to go into great detail on the making of the film, the stars, and Bava himself.

As well as this, Arrow Video have put together some other new features, including a video essay by author and critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, and new half hour long interviews with co-director and co-writer Lamberto Bava, and co-writer Dardano Sacchetti. All this, and more, makes this an in-depth and detailed resource for those wanting to learn more about Shock.

Shock is an interesting addition to the ever expanding collection of Italian horror films on offer from Arrow, and the last film by one of the more noted directors of the era. It’s a movie that might not push many boundaries, but manages to be engaging and entertaining throughout. Plus, with the host of extra features and the new restoration, this may be one of the best ways to experience the final film from Mario Bava.

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Magic: The Girl With The Purple Hair by Lylian K. - Book Review

 

'A baby girl born with purple hair is promptly handed over to a convent by her horrified father, who fears she bears the sign of the witch. And indeed, little Evelyn seems to have strange powers and to attract supernatural manifestations as she grows up among the nuns, who patiently put up with it as best they can. But after one scary “trick” too many, she is entrusted to the care of a hat-maker, who whisks her off to London, where she will learn about much more than making hats! For as Evelyn and her talking cat Benedict will soon find out, Master Neil Farfadet has a few tricks up his sleeve, too, and his hat shop might not be exactly what it seems…'

Magic: The Girl With The Purple Hair is the first volume in a new series of children's graphic novels from Europe Comics that follows the adventures of Evelyn, a young girl raised in a convent to hide her magical abilities from the outside world, and what happens to her as she discovers more of what her powers hold.

The story begins quite dramatically, with men watching as a large estate burns in the distance. These men, it is revealed, are the 'law' of the land, and that they're burning this home, with its owner inside, because they're a witch. This version of Victorian era England, it seems, is home to many a witch; and that there are also still people around who will go out of their way to hunt them down.

Inside the burning building Melinda, the witch who lives there, is trying to perform one last spell; one that will allow her to leave this world before the fires kill her. As her cat companion, Benedict, watches, imploring her to try and escape instead, Melinda tells him to watch out for a new witch who will take her place as his mistress. Melinda leaves our world in a flash of magic, leaving Benedict alone.

Nearby, at the home of one of the men who helped to burn Melinda's home to the ground, a pregnant woman watches on, fearful for her friend who used her magic to help her and her husband conceive. A few months later, on a rainy night, the baby is born. The father is horrified to learn that he doesn't have the son he was hoping for, but instead has a purple haired daughter. Knowing that purple hair is the sign of magic, he takes the child away from her mother, and sends her away to a convent to be raised away from them, never to be seen again.

From here we skip forward several years to see the baby, now a mischievous young girl named Evelyn, and her best friend Benedict living amongst the kindly nuns. Evelyn is, as her father feared, a magical child, and causes trouble across the convent because of this; though not always on purpose. Despite trying her best, the magics begin to make issues for the nuns, and so they send for Mr Farfadet, a hat maker from London, to take Evelyn under his wing. Leaving the only home she has ever known, Evelyn faces an uncertain future.

This book was a genuine delight to read. The story is, despite its dark subject matter at times, a lot of fun; packed with humour and good natured characters who are mostly trying to do their best in the world. And as such, the moments where the story isn't really being moved forwards, where we're just spending time with the characters and seeing the weird things they get up to makes for some of the more delightful parts of the book.

Evelyn herself is a wonderful protagonist. She's full of energy and excitement, desperate to learn more about the world and to experience new things; even if she's not quite ready for that. She's naughty, but never malicious; getting up to small little pranks that don't really harm anyone. She is, in all honestly, a kid; and it's refreshing to have a child lead character who acts like a little kid.

Benedict proves to be a pretty good foil to Evelyn, being her opposite in a lot of ways. Where she's excitable he's grumpy, where she's eager to do new things he wants a quite life, and together they make for a pretty fun pair who spend much of their time bouncing off each other. There are hints that there may be more to Benedict than simply being a cat that Evelyn can understand, and this makes for an exciting prospect for future instalments of the series.

The book very much feels like a beginning, and much of the time is given over to setting up for future things. It's pretty clear even before opening the book, thanks to the wonderful front cover, that Evelyn is a little witch; so when the book takes its time building up to this revelation for her it's not a big shock for the reader; in fact it's something I was waiting for. But, the book isn't trying to do too much too quickly. Instead, it's happy to spend time letting the reader get to know the characters and build a sense of this world. As such, not a huge amount has happened by the time the book comes to an end; but it does leave us in an excellent position going forward into future instalments.

I can't talk about this book without talking about the absolutely gorgeous art. Audrey Molinatti provides the artwork for the book, and her work is stunning. I don't know how to go about describing the art other than cute, fun, beautiful, and just perfect for this story. The book has a style to it that feels its own, and it doesn't look like what most people will think of when they think of comics. The closest I can equate it to is that it sometimes made me think of a video game. There are a lot of fantastic independent video games that have this wonderful, animated look and feel to them; and this book feels like it could be one of them a lot of the time. The characters feel like they could suddenly start moving around like characters on a screen, and the small, fairly simply shaped bodies and overly large heads are definitely a part of this feeling. I doubt I'm doing the work justice in any real way; but I absolutely loved it.

Magic: The Girl With The Purple Hair is a great start to this new series; a book that takes its time setting up the world and the characters, letting the reader take their time with things before beginning the main story. The artwork and story work perfectly together, and the book has a look and feel to it that's so uniquely its own. I honestly believe readers of all ages will find a lot to enjoy with this one.

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All The White Spaces - Ally Wilkes Interview

 

After reading through the latest chilling horror novel from Titan Books, All The White Spaces I had a chat with author Ally Wilkes about what it was like creating this terrifying tome of a book. My review for the book can be found here.

This is your first published novel, was it a daunting process to create this book?

I think creating any book is daunting, but All the White Spaces was in many ways an absolute labour of love. They always say to ‘write what you know’, but I set about writing a historical novel (taking place 100 years ago) set in Antarctica (a place I’ve never been) from the perspective of a trans man, which added a whole new challenge: it was really important to me to portray Jonathan’s identity sensitively and accurately, and some of the most creatively fruitful – and interesting! – parts of the process were working with my wonderful sensitivity readers to try to make that happen. 

It was also my first ‘finished’ novel – by which I mean the first one I’d taken through the painstaking, tear-your-hair-out processes of rewriting, restructuring, editing, line editing, going back to square one… I think it taught me everything I now know about writing, to be honest. Daunting certainly, but also wildly educational, and I wouldn’t have changed any of it!

What inspired the story behind All The White Spaces?

This book really combines a lot of the things I love: survival horror, Antarctic exploration, and supernatural chills. In that respect it was simply a matter of taking my favourite things and putting them in a blender! But more seriously, I’ve always been fascinated by the Heroic Age of Antarctic exploration, in which small teams of woefully under-prepared men pitted themselves against the unforgiving forces of nature for the sake of abstract ideas such as ‘discovery’, ‘sacrifice’ or ‘England’. It’s a fantastic setting to really dig into some of the tropes of the adventure novel, and a very atmospheric one as well: reading some of the accounts of early expeditions, I was always struck by off-hand remarks about how creepy the place was! For example, here’s Apsley Cherry-Garrard (from Scott’s doomed expedition) talking about spending the night in some abandoned huts: “The whole place is very eerie… not only do I feel it but the others do also. Last night after I turned in, I could have sworn that I heard people shouting to each other…”

What really brought All The White Spaces’s story into focus, however, was the idea of a post-WW1 setting. This came to me from a remark by Francis Spufford in the introduction to my much-loved copy of Shackleton’s South: “the concept of heroism evaporated in the trenches”. Immediately I knew I wanted to take all those Edwardian certainties and fracture them with the horror of the Great War, creating a narrative propelled by grief and loss – and that this was where the supernatural element would come in. 

The horror of All The White Spaces is very much a slow build, with the tension growing over time as things get worse for the characters, rather than some kind of monster running around causing chaos. Do you prefer that kind of horror over monster stories?

I think both types of horror absolutely have their place! Some of my favourite novels place the ‘monster’ up-front and centre, like The Terror by Dan Simmons, by using framing devices such as a split timeline to allow for both a slow build and to put the characters in danger from day one. But I’m very much drawn to books which take a little bit longer to spin out the atmosphere and dread, particularly the sort where you start to fall in love with the characters and don’t want anything bad to happen to them… I think Dark Matter by Michelle Paver is a great example of this, or anything by Andrew Michael Hurley.

With All the White Spaces, I found that it demanded a slower build as a function of the type of story it was telling: a historical coming-of-age story with seafaring elements rather like C.S. Forester’s Hornblower novels. It felt natural to want to take the readers on a journey, as Jonathan goes on his journey, and since the horror they meet is very particular to Antarctica itself, it couldn’t show up immediately! I had a lot of fun leaning into that.

Whilst the book has a horror focus it’s very much a story of people, especially Jonathan. What made you choose Jonathan to tell this story, and did you always want to tell a trans story?

Thank you! I think my favourite part of this book has turned out to be the characters – they were such a joy to write, and I learnt so much about each one as I went along. 

The choice of Jonathan as a narrator was integral to the story I wanted to tell, which was about the very stereotypically ‘masculine’ worlds of the trenches and Antarctic expeditions, often viewed through similar lenses: bravery, sacrifice, glory, teamwork, and so on. But at the same time both worlds had some fascinating things to say about gender, I thought: there was a lot of nuance in how those men interacted, showed emotions (Scott, for example, ‘cried more easily than any man I have ever known’ according to Apsley Cherry-Garrard), and expressed qualities which at the time might have had ‘feminine’ connotations. For anyone who’s interested in this area, may I recommend Francis Spufford’s I May Be Some Time: Ice and the English Imagination, and Men of War: Masculinity and the First World War in Britain by Jessica Meyer?

Coming back to the question, I wanted a protagonist who was an ‘outsider’ to both those worlds, but not through choice: someone who’d been held back from taking their rightful place. While I played around with the idea of a character disguising their gender (yes, I grew up reading Tamora Pierce’s Alanna books), once I started writing All the White Spaces it became very clear to me that Jonathan was a trans man, although he wouldn’t necessarily have the language to express that clearly. I thought this opened up some fascinating avenues to explore within the story, not least in his relationships with the other men, and was excited to write the book from this – hopefully – quite fresh perspective. 

The book features some queer elements, and not just Jonathan being a trans man, was it important to you to include queer voices in a historical setting where they often get overlooked?

Absolutely. I think that sometimes readers can (consciously or unconsciously) put a lot of pressure on a sole character to encapsulate the whole range of queer experience, which is both reductive and impossible. It was very important to me that Jonathan didn’t stand alone as the only queer voice in the book. And I’m fascinated by the hidden histories of queer people and how they coped in historical settings which might have been less accepting or understanding of diverse identities – although it’s important not to take that as a given! One of the things I was delighted to discover in my research was how some queer people were able to live more or less openly in settings we wouldn’t necessarily expect. I wanted – in some small way – to emphasise that queer people have always been here, living their lives. 

I understand if you’re not willing to reveal, but the entity or force behind the frightening events is never definitely revealed in the book; do you know what it is, and can you reveal anything about it?

I don’t want to spoil anything for readers, as the exact nature of the supernatural force is an open question throughout much of the book, but yes: I do know what it is, and it was inspired by some of those very haunting, eerie descriptions of Antarctica in the writings of famous explorers. 

You managed to really capture the harshness of survival in such an extreme place, and you included some pretty horrific moments. What kind of research did you have to do to make the book historically accurate, or did you take some creative freedom with what you did?

Thank you! I feel with any book like this there’ll be a necessary blend of research and creative licence: I think it’s best summed up by the approach of Stuart Turton to his fantastic historical thriller The Devil and the Dark Water, as per his Afterword: “This is historical fiction where the history is the fiction.” I wanted to create a world which felt real and immersive by using as much detail as possible without weighing the reader down. This started with reading some of the fantastic accounts by Polar greats such as Shackleton and Apsley Cherry-Garrard, and expanding out to more modern books which weave together the journals, diaries and letters of the explorers with a factual account, such as The Lost Men by Kelly Tyler-Lewis. 

Of course, there was also the War to consider – I read a lot of first-hand sources from soldiers at the Front as well as books about things like the Casualty Clearing Stations, shell-shock, underage soldiers, and conscientious objectors. I did some physical research, too – visiting Scott’s Discovery in its dry dock in Dundee (which became the base model for the Fortitude, with some notable tweaks), going on a vintage sailing ship in the Baltic Sea in vintage costume (brr!), and learning to climb ropes to help me understand Jonathan’s love of the rigging. But my overarching intention was always to create an enjoyable reading experience, and you can’t research anything and everything, so yes – there was definitely some creative licence used!

There have been some great horror stories set in isolated, frozen locations. Are you a fan of any of these stories in particular?

I don’t think there’s a better ghost story than Michelle Paver’s Dark Matter. The isolation, the desolate location, and the absolute spine-chilling horror – it’s a masterpiece. I’m also a fan of her Thin Air, which has some similar themes (the fallen hero, brotherly rivalry and affection) to All the White Spaces. For a totally immersive experience it’s very hard to beat The Terror by Dan Simmons, which makes the most of those tantalising gaps in our knowledge of the Franklin expedition while being utterly grounded in reality at the same time. And my other favourite from recent years is The White Road by Sarah Lotz, which ticks off two of my morbid fascinations: horrible caving disasters and the rising death roll on Everest. 

Is the character of Macready a nod to Macready from The Thing? And if so, is that a particular favourite of yours?

The name must have stuck in my head for some reason – I love coincidences like that – because I didn’t actually see The Thing until I’d already finished the first draft! Rather stubbornly, I refused to watch a film about ‘a shape-shifting thing in Antarctica’ because I worried it’d be too similar to All the White Spaces – whereas in fact they couldn’t be more different in most respects... And yes, now it’s a favourite of mine. It’s such a paranoid, atmospheric film, and the practical effects are genuinely unnerving.

This is your debut book, but are you working on anything else at the moment, can we expect to see more from you soon?

I’m happy to say that I’m working on my second novel, tentatively entitled What Passes Through. It’s set in the 1800s Arctic – because I simply had to go there! – and will combine my love of spookiness and my morbid fascination with survival cannibalism. 

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All The White Spaces by Ally Wilkes - Book Review

 

'In the wake of the First World War, Jonathan Morgan stows away on an Antarctic expedition, determined to find his rightful place in the world of men. Aboard the expeditionary ship of his hero, the world-famous explorer James “Australis” Randall, Jonathan may live as his true self—and true gender—and have the adventures he has always been denied. But not all is smooth sailing: the war casts its long shadow over them all, and grief, guilt, and mistrust skulk among the explorers.

'When disaster strikes in Antarctica’s frozen Weddell Sea, the men must take to the land and overwinter somewhere which immediately seems both eerie and wrong; a place not marked on any of their part-drawn maps of the vast white continent. Now completely isolated, Randall’s expedition has no ability to contact the outside world. And no one is coming to rescue them.

'In the freezing darkness of the Polar night, where the aurora creeps across the sky, something terrible has been waiting to lure them out into its deadly landscape…

'As the harsh Antarctic winter descends, this supernatural force will prey on their deepest desires and deepest fears to pick them off one by one. It is up to Jonathan to overcome his own ghosts before he and the expedition are utterly destroyed.'

There are certain places that get used as settings for horror a lot that feel overused, the old abandoned house, the spooky cemetery, the lifeless asylum. Whilst these kinds of places have become a staple of the genre they can often feel difficult to use as there's often a very obvious solution to getting away from the horrors found within; just run away somewhere safe. This is why the places where you can't just run away, for me at least, make for the scarier stories. The depths of the ocean, the vastness of the jungle, and the cold isolation of the Antarctica. When there's nowhere for you to go to get away from the horror, the story becomes so much scarier.

All The White Spaces seems to understand this, as it has all but a handful of scenes at the beginning of the book set in the cold, desolate frozen south, isolating our cast of characters in a place where even the weather is out to kill them.

The story follows Jonathan Morgan, a young trans man whose life is forever changed when he and his parents get the news that his two older brothers, currently away fighting in World War One, aren't coming home ever again. Still forced to hide who he really is, and facing the prospect of being sent to a finishing school to teach him to become a 'proper' young lady, Jonathan reaches out to his friend, and friend of his lost brothers, Harry Cooper to help him.

Together Jonathan and Harry make their way across the world, aiming to meet up with and join the latest Antarctic expedition of the legendary explorer James 'Australis' Randall. Jonathan grew up watching his brothers idolise Randall, always dreaming of joining him on one of his journeys south. Feeling lost in the world, desperate to become his true self, and wanting to feel closer to his brothers, Jonathan decides that sneaking onto the expedition will help him.

Several days into the journey Jonathan is discovered hiding on the ship, and thanks to an impassioned defence, gets the chance to prove himself to the crew. Now he has to show them that he's a capable young man, ready to face the harsh reality of a trip into the darkness of an Antarctic winter. And whilst he does well, winning over the crew and feeling like he's who he's always meant to be, strange things begin to happen on the ship as they journey ever southward. When disaster strikes and the crew is forced to abandon their ship, heading out into the frozen wilderness, things get even worse. 

Finding shelter from the oncoming darkness and the bitter cold, the men of the expedition begin to experience strange things; seeing odd figures in the darkness, and hearing the whispers of the dead. Now it's not just the cold and dark of Antarctica that they have to worry about as they desperately try to last out the months of blackness ahead of them.

I'm going to say this straight away, as it's pretty relevant to the review; All The White Spaces is creepy as hell. The atmosphere and slow burn building of tension really make this a scary read. Ally Wilkes does and amazing job at making everything feel like it could be leading to something horrific and haunting; even the most mundane scenes take on a sinister edge. I don't know how they do it, but their ability to make me afraid even when nothing is happening is wonderful. This is a book that's just shy of 600 pages long, one that I thought was going to take me several days to read; but because of how frightening it was, because of how I desperately wanted to find out what was coming next, I ended up devouring in two days.

I think one of the things that kept me reading long after I should have gone to bed was just how well Wilkes crafted their characters. Jonathan is our lead, and the person we spend the most time with, and I very quickly felt that I understood who he was and what was driving him. When we first meet him he's a young man having to hide who he is because he knows that his family wouldn't approve or understand. He hates the way people treat him, the life that's expected of him, and how his entire future is out of his control.

His plan to travel across the world and join a dangerous expedition into the harshness of the Antarctic might seem like a bold, even dangerous decision, but I get it. I completely understand it. He wants to prove to himself, and the world, that he really does know who he is. He's witnessed young men going off to war, proving themselves in the harshest and most awful circumstances; yet he's been unable to do so. So when he finally gets the chance to be himself of course he'd feel like he needs to prove he's just as strong, brave, and capable as everyone else; and this expedition is just the way to do so. The fact that he also feels like it'll help him get closer to his dead brothers is a bonus for him; and whilst he might tell people it's the main reason for his decision I don't think it's the only one.

Harry, Jonathan's only real friend when the book begins, is a complex figure. He lied about his age to go off to war, and has come back a very different person. He wrote to Jonathan whilst he was away, sharing the true horrors and the awful reality of what happened. Whilst Jonathan has still to some degree romanticised what it must have been like Harry has definitely had his life changed by it; having seen some of the worst humanity has to offer. He's been through hell once before, he doesn't really want to have to do so again; yet is willing to do so in order to help and protect Jonathan. Because of this, their friendship is really put to the test, and Harry's sanity is sorely tested when horrors begin to surround them.

Another character who's given a great deal of focus is James Tarlington, the chief science officer on the expedition. For someone with such a lofty title, Tarlington is not the kind of person you'd expect to find in that position. Not only is he fairly young and inexperienced, he's also fresh out of prison for being a conscientious observer. Being on a ship filled with people who fought in the war makes Tarlington a figure fit for derision, hatred, and open hostility. He's bullied by many on the expedition, and made to feel like less of a man. Because of this, and thanks to people automatically blaming him whenever stuff starts to go wrong for the journey, he becomes a character who you're never quite sure if you should trust or not. You begin to wonder if he might actually be out to ruin the expedition, to harm the crew, or perhaps because of the way everyone sees him you've begun to buy into the same hostility and irrational hatred that the crew are spreading. Over the course of the book I found my opinion of Tarlington shifting a lot, and he quickly became one of my favourite characters because of how much he challenged me, and because of the complex nature of my feelings towards him.

Whilst the rest of the expedition don't get the same degree of focus as these characters there is a lot of time to get to know a lot of them, and several characters have moments where they really get to shine. Randall is quickly established as something of a force of nature, a man who's become something of a myth. he uses this status, as well as his years of experience to command respect amongst his men; something that begins to fall apart once the horrors waiting for them begin their manipulations. Liam Clarke, Randall's second in command, is a more level headed man than Randall, one who's been out on the ice countless times before and knows how to keep things together. But his relationship with Randall, and his position within the expedition get pushed to breaking point over the course of the book. I also really liked Robert Macready, the cook, who proved to be a warmhearted man with a lot of wisdom and care to give out. I was also left wondering if his name was a nod to the character from The Thing, one of the best Antarctic horror stories.

With a strong and interesting cast of characters to play with Wilkes could have easily crafted a compelling story or survival and adversity with them. They could have told the story of these people and their struggle to survive the winter and it would have been engrossing enough. However, they also decided to add horror into the mix, and the quiet way that they did this was so much better than what I was expecting. In other horror stories set in frozen locations there tend to be physical threats for the heroes to contend with. There's the titular creature in The Thing, Tuunbaq the spirit bear in The Terror, and In The Mountains of Madness have the Elder Things. As such, I was waiting for some kind of creature to turn up in All The White Spaces.

Whilst I can't for certain tell you what is behind the horrific events that take place in this book (something that I love) I'm pretty sure I can say that it's not a monster. Ghosts, a force of evil, the spirit of Antarctica itself? I don't know what it is, but it's not something that our heroes can physically fight, and that, along with how it haunts and torments people, make it all the more frightening.

There are some moments of overt horror, shadowy figures standing watch, as well as some truly awful moments of body horror thanks to the harsh reality of surviving in such an environment, but for the most part the real terror of All The White Spaces is built up in nothing happening. It's the slow accumulation of unease, of the mounting tension of waiting for something terrible to appear that makes the book so effecting. It gets under your skin and keeps you on edge as Jonathan and the others keep a wary watch on the darkness around them, knowing that something's out there, watching them, but that they're unable to do anything about that makes this such a scary read.

There's one thing I want to talk about, but as it's something of a spoiler I'm going to give a warning here. So, if you've not read the book yet and don't want to know please skip on to the next paragraph. One of the things that I was expecting to happen in this story was for Jonathan's status as a trans man to come up at some point. I was waiting for some scene to happen where someone on the expedition discovered the truth of who Jonathan is and for things to suddenly go wrong for him. I thought that he'd be challenged in his identity, for all of the hard work he'd done to prove himself would go out the window, and he'd suddenly be having to defend himself from a group of desperate men who suddenly see him as a woman. But this never happened. Ally Wilkes didn't craft a story around Jonathan's trans status, and I absolutely loved that. I loved that he never had to face the awfulness of being outed, that he never had his validity of a man denied to him. It would have been easy to go down that route, to use the horror of that situation to make things even worse for him, but it would have felt too awful. As such, the scene where Jonathan does try to explain who he is to one of the members of the expedition that person doesn't seem to care. He doesn't want to know more, and doesn't want Jonathan to tell him anything he's not comfortable revealing. And most importantly, he doesn't see Jonathan as any less of a man after it. For me, that's the perfect way to tell a trans story in this kind of scenario.

All The White Spaces is a huge book, filled with tension, adventure, and horror. It conveys both the wonder and the terror that come with a place as isolated and dangerous as Antarctica. It has a wonderful cast of engaging and interesting characters who you come to care for and want to see make it to the end. This is the kind of smart and frightening story that I want to see more of. It deserves to be given the same kind of praise and adoration as the other big horror stories I've mentioned in this article. It should be a book that gets adapted to screens. Hopefully one day, when people are talking about their favourite horror stories set in cold, frozen environments it'll be included alongside the greats like The Thing, The Terror, and In The Mountains of Madness.

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Star Wars Adventures: Tales of Villainy #13 – Comic Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

The latest issue of IDW Publishing‘s Star Wars Adventures: Tales of Villainy opens with the first part of a story set within the sequel trilogy time period, as Rey, Finn and Chewbacca transport a smuggler through First Order patrolled space on the Millennium Falcon.

‘Repair Stop’, written by George Mann, sees the Togruta people-smuggler, Moebin, working alongside the Falcon crew, who have agreed to take him to the planet Prahvin in exchange for information that will allow the Resistance to use secure routes through First Order territory. Unfortunately, the Falcon isn’t in the best condition, and mid-flight the ship’s static charge dissipator breaks, forcing the crew to make an emergency landing on Choss, where they hope to be able to find some replacement parts. Unfortunately, a bounty hunter has been following them, and the quick pit stop soon turns into a fight to get away.

Whilst this is the first part of the story, despite the title page not having the normal ‘part one’ attached to the name, it proves to be a pretty entertaining short story; one that I should have expected to be a first part thanks to how differently it’s paced from other one-off tales. We get to spend some time with the characters before things go wrong, getting to know Moebin and understanding the stakes before things really kick off; which is a nice change for these short stories.

It’s after landing on Choss that the story really opens up, as the artist, Charlie Kirchoff, really seems to be having some fun, filling the alien market with all kinds of background gags and familiar species. There’s also a great two page spread where Moebin and Rey dash through the market that really shows off the creativity and talent of Kirchoff. Overall, it’s a fun first part, and one where I’m interested to see what happens next because it ends in a way where you’re not quite sure how its going to be resolved, and I’m interested to find out how.

The second story of the issue, ‘The Last Chapter’ by Danny Lore, is a completely standalone story, and possibly one of the best we’ve had in the series. The tale begins on ‘a planet rarely thought about and barely named’, and sees an Imperial shuttle landing in the middle of a marketplace. When the ramp descends and Vader leads a group of stormtroopers out things erupt into chaos as they begin ransacking the place, taking prisoners, and destroying things.

Watching this chaos is a young human woman, one who quickly flees to an old Jedi temple where two of her colleagues are cataloguing artefacts. It turns out that she’s one of the people who protect and preserve the contents of the temple, and as such knows that this is Vader’s ultimate destination. Now she has to try to find a way of saving what she can before the Sith Lord comes to destroy it all.

I absolutely loved this story. It featured one of the most iconic characters in Star Wars canon, but it wasn’t focused on them, instead being about these nameless people who we’ve never seen before. Vader was less a character, and more of a force of nature, this looming threat moving ever closer. But then we didn’t really get to know anyone else either, as no one got to have a name, and not a single line of dialogue got spoken. Instead, we get these small snippets of context via the narration that allows the reader to know what’s going on.

This might seem like an odd choice, but it works really well. The people here don’t matter. This world doesn’t matter. It’s not a story about the caretakers of this temple, or even of Vader. It’s a story about what the Empire is, about the campaign of destruction the Emperor has been waging against the Jedi where even the preservation of their artefacts must be treated with total destruction. I don’t think the people or the place matter because this more of an insight into what the Empire does on countless worlds, and as such that story can’t be told on a personal level.

The art for the story is provided by Simone D’Armini, and their style is wonderful. There’s a lot of attention to detail in every panel of the book, and the planet feels incredibly lived in because of this. The marketplace is filled with people and things, junk that’s recognisable, creatures that are familiar; it feels like a working place and not just empty shops and stalls. There’s not a single blank background either, and every panel feels like its filled to the brim, even if it’s just moss and lichen covering the walls behind the characters. It’s a level of care that can sometimes feel lacking in these quick, one-off stories that, along with the great script, make this a superb short story.

Thanks to the wonderful one-off Vader story, and the interesting potential for what could happen next in the first story, this is a pretty damn good issue of Star Wars Adventures: Tales of Villainy, and a great way to start Star Wars comics in 2022.

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School of Love: Secrets of the Heart by Beka - Book Review

 

'Linon and Garance are best friends with very different ideas about love. To get to the bottom of what all this romance stuff is really about, they decide to conduct an investigation into some of the older students at their middle school. Why are certain kids more popular than others? Why do some already have a “bad reputation” by the 8th grade? Why is everyone so obsessed with appearances? Along the way, the pair discover that, for best friends who are supposed to share everything, they’ve both been keeping some pretty big secrets of their own.'

Love is a complex thing, it can be the best thing in the world, and it can be absolutely soul crushing. It's fun, its messy, its the thing people strive for, it can be the cause of and solution to problems. It's big and complex; and I think quite a lot of adults would struggle to rightly put into words all of the explanations about what love is. So imagine how hard it must be for kids.

School of Love shines a light onto how it can be for kids coming into their teens, discovering that they have all these messy feelings for other people, and how often it can be hugely confusing for them. This story is explored through two best friends, Linon and Garance; two girls who look at their lovesick classmates around them and think 'huh?'.

Over the course of the book the two of them decide that they want to try and figure out love, to work out what it is, how it effects people, and to pin down its complexities. Easier said than done. Luckily for the two girls, the school is absolutely rife with couples for them to study. This begins a series of investigations that see the pair hiding in bushes, sneaking around buildings, and getting lovesick teens to reveal their darkest secrets.

The events of the book are actually quite funny and at times even delightful. By trying to figure out what love is all about from a bunch of kids Linon and Garance get a very skewed view of the topic. They see couples who fall in and out of love fast; with the longest couple in the school holding the record at twelve days! Things get heated at times, and there's even a case of two best friends literally trying to tear each others hair out over a boy they both like who neither of them have even spoken to.

But it's not all weird and wonderful displays of love, as the book at times takes a much more grounded and serious approach. They talk to the most popular girl in their year, the girl that all the boys think is the prettiest, who they all want to date. It turns out that she actually hates the fact that people go mushy over her looks and have no interest in her as a person, thinking that she's some pretty airhead. This is something she uses to her advantage, however, as she allows people to underestimate her so that she can secretly study physics, and improve her brain. The two of them also talk to the goth girl, a girl with a reputation for being sexy and easy to sleep with, discovering that she was essentially sexually assaulted, and because the boy who did it boasted about it she got a reputation as a slut; something she rages against with her alternative appearance and reluctance to make friends.

Part of the reason the two girls want to make their study into love is due to the secrets that they two of them are holding; and I thought that I'd figured out what that was, but ended up being completely wrong. I was thinking that it was going to be revealed that they were trying to figure out love because they both had a crush on the other, and that they'd figure out how to express those feelings. It turns out I was completely off the mark, as Linon ends up hooking up with a boy whilst Garance is dealing with the loss of love between her parents and their looming divorce.

The lack of queer representation is actually my biggest gripe with the book. There's only ever one line where it's hinted at that anyone might be anything other than straight, but other than that there's nothing. With a book set in modern times, where being LGBTQ+ in school is much more open and accepted, and with the story being about love I was honestly shocked that there wasn't a single queer character, or discussion about same sex attraction. It left it feeling like we only actually explored one time, heterosexual avenue of love and relationships.

Outside of the story the book looks absolutely beautiful. The artist on the book, Maya, is phenomenal. Every single panel of the book is a work of art. The detail is great, and you can spend ages looking through all the backgrounds and picking out tiny bits and pieces. The characters are all well designed and look unique enough that you're instantly able to recognise who people are. And the colours are wonderful, working perfectly with the line work to make this bright, vibrant art that leaps off the page. This is easily some of the best art I've seen in a comic in a long while; and I'd happily read anything that Maya works on.

School of Love: Secrets of the Heart is a fun, engaging read with some interesting characters, some fun moments, some deep introspection, and some wonderful art. Whether you're a youngster trying to figure out love, or simply looking for a fun book to spend the day with, I'm sure that this is one that will entertain.

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Cinema 7 by Michael J. Moore - Book Review & Blog Tour

 

'Something has taken a liking to the children of Mount Vernon, Washington. Its eyes are orange, and glow like fire. Its hissing voice is the autumn wind. It hovers over them at night, casting snake-like shadows that dance on the walls. It laughs and taunts as they cry in their beds. It says it wants to take them trick-or-treating. Halloween is in a week.

'Kyle McIntosh is hardly aware when the first four kids are abducted, their families slaughtered. Though news-vans litter the streets, his 16-year-old heart has just been broken. Night-after-night, more children are taken. More bodies are left behind. When Kyle’s little brother claims an orange-eyed monster has been visiting him at night, ignorance ceases to be an option - because their family might just be next.'

I feel it might be slightly controversial to say this, but kids are damn creepy. I don't mean on a whole, generally they're fine little folks even if they're not for me. But as soon as kids start taking part in horror they turn the creep factor right up, and Cinema 7 is no exception; and if anything, it pushes the use of kids in horror into some disturbing directions.

The story follows the residents of the town of Mount Vernon, and the terror that comes to their peaceful lives one October. We begin with a little girl trying her best to stay in her room and sleep whilst her mother entertains her new boyfriend. The girl knows that she can't go and ask her mother for help, nor can she go and find shelter in her bed even though she desperately wants to; because there's a monster in her room. Stuck in her bed, alone and afraid, the girl listens as the monster tells her frightening things, before killing her.

Whilst this would be awful enough, the girl doesn't stay dead. She wakes back up, her body dead, and her eyes glowing with an orange light. Driven by dark urges and evil desires the girl kills her mother before leaving the home. This is a terrible and tragic event in itself, but it's far from the only one. Other children have suffered the same fate across the town, resulting in dead parents and missing children.

We then meet Kyle, a sixteen-year-old boy who's mostly just coasting through his life. He's not excelling in school, his love life has taken a recent hit, and he's spending his time smoking weed with his friend group. He's not a bad kid by any means, he's simply a little lost at the moment. When Kyle spots a group of dead children walking around town, covered in blood and with glowing eyes he tells the police what he's seen. Whilst the cops seem to believe him, they don't treat him too favourably, and it leaves a bitter taste in his mouth; especially as it gets him in trouble with his parents for skipping school to score some weed.

Kyle feels like there's something awful happening in his town, something that might be targeting his own little brother, who he hears crying at night. Determined to find out more Kyle ends up getting help from new girl, Marie, who believes Kyle's story, and thinks that something evil is out to destroy the town's children.

Cinema 7 feels like two books in one a lot of the time. There are two main narratives, which are of course connected. The first is the story of the possessed, dead children. These sections are scattered throughout the book, and are definitely some of the darker and most disturbing moments by a big margin. Michael J. Moore doesn't hold back in these parts of the book, and provides graphic descriptions of violence done both to and by children. 

These parts of the book reminded me a lot of the books by James Herbert, things like The Fog and The Dark, where people are driven to awful, evil acts of mutilation and murder. The children in this book go after their parents and their extended families with a viciousness that is honestly quite shocking. They don't just kill their family outright, which they easily could as some of them do have guns. Instead, they torture their parents, they take their time with their killings, and they revel in the harm that they cause. It takes a lot to make me feel squeamish whilst reading, but this book managed it a few times with some of the things that were happening here. So if you're adverse to graphic violence, or scary children, this is a book that will test your resolve for sure.

The other story is that of Kyle and Marie. As said earlier, Kyle is a very average kind of kid, just trying to get through life. When he meets Marie he's not too sure about her, she's attractive and fun to be around, but he's just been through a break-up and doesn't want to rush into anything. But through the course of their investigation into the strange events around Mount Vernon the two of them grow closer, and a genuine friendship begins to form between them; and it's no surprise when things turn romantic.

Their story feels like a nice mix of a mystery investigation and a teen romance story, and whilst their entire story and character arcs are connected to the greater events some of the best moments with the two of them were the quite times when they weren't running for their lives and just got to connect and bond. I also appreciated how the book didn't shy away from showing both of them as vulnerable, and that Kyle was allowed to be something more than the 'masculine' teen boy, and actually had times where things got too much for him and he needed to grieve. And I appreciated that Marie was there for him in these moments and was able to comfort him.

Cinema 7 is an intense read at times, one that has some dark and disturbing moments and some violent imagery; but it's also a book with a lot more going on in it than you'd first think. It has some interesting characters, and the themes of how abuse leads to more abuse are pretty out in the open. If you look at this book and just see a violent gore-soaked mess you're probably missing something. Definitely one worth reading, though probably not if your kid is sleeping in their room at the time.

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The Mangler – Blu-ray Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

There are a lot of Stephen King stories, and many of them have ended up being adapted for film and television over the years. There are certain stories that were so big and popular that they’ve become films that are equally as well known. Everyone knows that King’s work is behind films like The Shining, The Green Mile, and Carrie. But if I were to tell you that there was a film based on a short story of his about a laundry mangler that was possessed and was killing people you might not believe me. But it’s very real, and it’s actually rather good.

The Mangler comes from a short story in the anthology collection Night Shift, and tells the story of a machine in the Gartley’s Blue Ribbon Laundry service that causes an accident one shift, that sees one of the workers crushed to death. This in itself isn’t too unusual. Whilst accidents are rare, they do happen, and the site is quickly signed off as being safe, much to the joy of the boss, Bill Gartley, played by Robert Englund in full leg braces, age make-up, and with a performance that has him chewing the scenery.

However, local cop John Hunton (Ted Levine) feels like something isn’t right, and when more accidents begin to happen he suspects that there’s more going on that people want to admit. With the help of his demonologist brother-in-law Mark (Daniel Matmor) Hunton comes to believe that the mangler might have been used for dark rituals to bring Gartley long life and wealth, and that the machine has now become possessed by evil spirits that will stop at nothing to cause more death and mutilation.

On the surface, The Mangler sounds like a very silly movie. A possessed laundry mangler killing people isn’t something that you’d think could carry a film, and it’s not really that big of a threat; just don’t go near the mangler. However, the film is surprisingly good, and I think a large part of that is down to the cast and crew.

First of all, as already stated, the film is based on a King story, so it’s got pedigree there. Its been adapted and directed by Tobe Hooper, a name that horror fans will instantly recognise as the creator and director of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a film that’s widely regarded as one of the best horror films of all time. The cast has Robert Englund, an actor with instant recognition thanks to playing horror icon Freddy Krueger, who he would play across eight films, as well as Ted Levine, who is probably most famous for playing Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs, but has an extensive career of great roles. The film has pedigree, and thanks to the fact that the people making it clearly know what they’re doing, it elevates the film well beyond the schlocky concept and makes it genuinely enjoyable.

Levine is an absolute delight to watch as he stumbles from scene to scene as a tired and weary cop who just wants a quiet day but ends up seeing mangled bodies, and listening to people telling him the supernatural is involved. Quite reasonably, he sees much of what’s going on as being complete bullshit. He thinks demons and spirits are ridiculous, and watching him slowly come round, until he fully believes there’s a conspiracy to use dark magic to make certain people in the town rich, is quite enjoyable. Speaking about making people rich, the fact that the film has a wonderfully anti-capitalist message is a delightful surprise too. It literally tells a story about how the machines of industry are being fed the blood and flesh of the workers to make the bosses money – which is not something you’d expect to find in a film like this.

Thanks to the new release from Arrow Video these are themes that get explored in some of the extensive extras that come along with the new 2K restoration. The film comes with three audio commentaries. One by co-writer Stephen David Brooks offers insight into the creation of the film, and how you go from a King short story to a full film; alongside two brand new commentaries from film critics and historians such as Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Josh Nelson, Matty Budrewicz and Dave Wain. The disc also comes with behind the scenes footage, an interview with Robert Englund, and a couple of video essays that cover Tobe Hooper’s work, as well as the work of Stephen King. All that and more, and you also get a collector’s booklet filled with new writing.

The Mangler is very much a film with hidden depths; a film that takes the ridiculous and makes it feel plausible and engaging, if only for a couple of hours. It’s the kind of film that people looking for something a bit different should definitely take the time to check out. Like Rubber or Maximum Overdrive, its a film that you kind of need to see to believe.

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