tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18084563003592497632024-03-18T13:07:36.031+00:00TRANS-SCRIBEBook and comic reviews, and more from Amy Walker, a trans, disabled writer and reviewer from the UK.Amy Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402476300192259841noreply@blogger.comBlogger2881125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1808456300359249763.post-23186371024490600422024-03-18T09:00:00.147+00:002024-03-18T09:00:00.238+00:00Green Room - Limited Edition 4K Ultra-HD Review<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjblnRYr6WHQ7uRfyOoW2uhPeEG98Gm3ifWkKSxYpN3CwVj-TpLT3UQqO1GMrOBv6ZyQbI8E-ADQAqzFn69EK0mI3DsFYA3B7Ig4gQ7GoXEqYEqiskRT9zK4eB21e3YuK42nno0tLrwNGpvzmtpOmIfxETcVYVcJUIWJAXQ1CwiHdF5CV5UlZcjrtjhnyU/s640/Green%20Room%2001.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjblnRYr6WHQ7uRfyOoW2uhPeEG98Gm3ifWkKSxYpN3CwVj-TpLT3UQqO1GMrOBv6ZyQbI8E-ADQAqzFn69EK0mI3DsFYA3B7Ig4gQ7GoXEqYEqiskRT9zK4eB21e3YuK42nno0tLrwNGpvzmtpOmIfxETcVYVcJUIWJAXQ1CwiHdF5CV5UlZcjrtjhnyU/w320-h320/Green%20Room%2001.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p>Like many, I was shocked to hear of the passing of Anton Yelchin in 2016, him having died at only twenty seven years old. Having seen him in a number of projects I found him to be a very good actor, and wanted to see more of the work that he'd left behind. I'm a little ashamed to say that it took me until this month to finally watch one of his more notable films, 2015's <i>Green Room</i>. I'd heard amazing things about it, particularly both his and Patrick Stewarts acting, but had never brought myself to watch it; perhaps in part to the subject matter of the film. With the new 4k Ultra-HD release from Second Sight Films I've finally corrected that oversight, and found myself wishing I'd watched it years before. <br /></p><p><i>Green Room </i>follows the journey of a young punk band, the Ain't Rights, as they travel around the country, barely able to keep fuel in their van, playing one crappy gig after another. After an interview with a small town radio host they're offered to play in a remote bar in Portland, but upon arrival they discover that they're in a neo-Nazi skinhead bar, and are opening for a Nazi band. They decide to go ahead with the gig anyway, needing the money, and decide to get out of there as soon as they're off stage. However, when Pat, played by Yelchin, returns to the green room to grab his bandmates phone he walks into a murder. </p><p>The Nazis running the bar shove the rest of the band into the green room and take them hostage as they deal with the police in order to cover up the stabbing. Knowing that there's no way that they're going to be let go the band overpower the man left watching them and barricade themselves in the green room. Thus begins a tense fight for survival between the band and a bar full of neo-Nazi's who want them dead. </p><p>To say that <i>Green Room </i>is a tense film is something of an understatement. From the moment the Ain't Rights enter the remote bar the film becomes nerve-wracking. The only thing that I knew before watching the film was that Patrick Stewart played the leader of a gang of neo-Nazi's, I didn't know that the band were going to see a murder, or that it would become a room under siege type of story, and as such I was waiting for something bad to happen almost immediately. But even when something terrible did happen it didn't help to lessen the tension of the film. The scenes with the band trapped inside their small room, trying to figure out how they're going to escape whilst the Nazi's are outside, preparing weapons and bringing in attack dogs were almost as disturbing as any violence that happens in the film. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTd2cOf1pXKECU4sb4WTeRwykyccilSeYrpVQ2KOqHDM5q-tbqaePhuF-2uJ-9FRORgM4F9nSUVjfeQEJK4D8wgHqdiLZuHHGQaKtWOsUsi2ydYIPv8KPvNvU8Gw-JsX8ZCaUsJmUT-OTN4dpKZqxbnECGEEg-aaZceXQycB5tt74WS9jq_NGMdW-8GsI/s1000/Green%20Room%2003.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTd2cOf1pXKECU4sb4WTeRwykyccilSeYrpVQ2KOqHDM5q-tbqaePhuF-2uJ-9FRORgM4F9nSUVjfeQEJK4D8wgHqdiLZuHHGQaKtWOsUsi2ydYIPv8KPvNvU8Gw-JsX8ZCaUsJmUT-OTN4dpKZqxbnECGEEg-aaZceXQycB5tt74WS9jq_NGMdW-8GsI/s320/Green%20Room%2003.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>Part of the reason why the film is so terrifying is that it's very frighteningly real. <i>Green Room </i>deals with a very real horror. It doesn't rely on ghosts or monsters, things that you will never actually encounter in real life, but instead it thrusts you into a situation that you could realistically find yourself in. Bigotry is a very real thing, and it's a very real danger. There are open and proud Nazi's in the world, people who embrace hatred and revel in the harm that they can bring to others. And as someone who is in one of the groups that they would happily kill in an instant the fear of Nazi violence is a very real one. </p><p>And just like in real life, the antagonists of this film cannot be reasoned with. They won't back down, they won't show mercy, because they're staunch in their beliefs. They believe that they're in the right and that their violence is justified. And that is horrifying. Perhaps it's because I'm a person that has been the target of hate crimes more than once, who's in a group that the people in <i>Green Room </i>would brutalise, but this quickly became one of the most disturbing and frightening films I've ever seen. </p><p>It helps that the actors sell the film so amazingly too. Yelchin and his bandmates, played by Alia Shawkat, Joe Cole, and Callum Turner, run through a gamut of emotions, from terror, to defiance, to despair. Each actor delivers a powerful performance as their characters are trapped inside the green room, realising that there's no way out that doesn't involve horrific violence, and that if they don't kill they'll die themselves. Imogen Poots joins them as Amber, the girlfriend of one of the neo-Nazi's who saw the murder and is also a target. More weary and resigned to her fate than the others, she understands the violence that's going to come, accepts that blood will be spilled and that not all of them will make it out alive. Her performance is one of the more interesting in the film, for as the others begin to lose hope she has the opposite journey, and begins to believe that maybe she might survive. </p><p>The neo-Nazi's, on the other hand, are a fascinating part of the film. There are several in the film who take important roles, each of which shows a different side to this kind of group. The film has a few named characters that are what people would think of as neo-Nazis. Big Justin, played by Eric Edelstein, is a bruiser, a brute of a man who holds the band and Amber hostage, using hostility and fear as his main weapons. He's violent and vile. Kai Lennox plays Clark, a man who trains attack dogs for the group. He's a quiet, more insidiously sinister man, a man who loves his dogs and cares for their safety, but thinks nothing of commanding them to rip a persons throat out if told to do so. Gabe, played by Macon Blair, is the most unusual of the Nazis in the film, as over the course of the movie you begin to see him not as a raging bigot like the others, someone willing to kill and die for the cause. He's more of a person who was radicalised by a cult, but isn't truly evil himself. Whilst this doesn't erase his crimes or his actions his story does show that the villains of the film aren't all just cartoonish parodies of cruelty, but complex and realistic people. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj5Zb0F_LyEqXqd7yq8CtMYv-9DkPlMuieGzCy8guI6GbbkoxVoPtPlV4fiKIGJGtcgy6AG8pxAuzgnZ6_oNnOvvCikeDxduETHpoStOf1WSjLSjQ9JRcftP3ymWZrlDNj1qSQ98qu2sVsgLdbq_YTffR6bzPH1Scrqywyuht9bphyphenhyphenWIBy64Brc3Mvyzo/s2048/Green%20Room%2002.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj5Zb0F_LyEqXqd7yq8CtMYv-9DkPlMuieGzCy8guI6GbbkoxVoPtPlV4fiKIGJGtcgy6AG8pxAuzgnZ6_oNnOvvCikeDxduETHpoStOf1WSjLSjQ9JRcftP3ymWZrlDNj1qSQ98qu2sVsgLdbq_YTffR6bzPH1Scrqywyuht9bphyphenhyphenWIBy64Brc3Mvyzo/s320/Green%20Room%2002.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Darcy, played by Stewart, is the bar owner, and the overall leader of the group. He's the most outwardly normal, the most charming. He's been a Nazi most of his life and knows how to project a front of normalcy to hide his hate. There are moments in the film where his appeals to end things peacefully, a ruse, almost wins the protagonists over thanks to his eloquence and tone. However, this is masking a cruel and terrifying man who's willing and determined to do whatever it takes to protect his people and his ideological movement. This makes him the most terrifying character in the film, as he's what a lot of bigots are like, the ones who are able to blend in, working in the background, pushing to destroy lives all whilst being seen as decent people.</p><p><i>Green Room </i>was a film that I watched in the middle of the day, yet felt more disturbed than by than when I'd watched horror films alone at night. It got under my skin and made me feel sick. It didn't matter that it was a beautiful looking film, that director Jeremy Saulnier had captured some beautiful locations or written a deep and complex study on the kinds of people that end up in a hate movement, even if he never makes them sympathetic. During that first moment all I could focus on was the way the film made me feel. I felt dirty. I felt despair. I felt afraid. The world is becoming an ever increasingly scary place for a lot of people, and as a trans person I feel that fear. I've started to be the victim of hate crimes once again after years of none. Politicians are pushing for removals of rights and healthcare. Trans people are being murdered and people are openly celebrating it on social media. Nazis are openly going to anti-trans hate rallies. A very famous children's author just this last week engaged in holocaust revisionism in order to attack trans people. I'm becoming more and more frightened by the world, and <i>Green Room </i>tapped into that fear. I don't know if it will do the same for others, I can't say it will have the same effect if you're say a cis white straight person, but I think this film will still disturb, even if you're not the target of Nazi hate.</p><p>The new release comes with a number of extra features, including a pair of audio commentaries. The first is one from previous releases featuring writer/director Jeremy Saulnier, whilst the second is a brand new one featuring movie and genre experts. The other extras include the making-of featurette that was included on older versions, along with a host of new features. New interviews with cast and crew add some much needed and interesting behind the scenes looks at the film, and the passage of time between the movie and these new extras give them an interesting angle as those being interviewed seem to be talking more candidly and with the space of years in which to have thought about the film, rather than just promoting it as seems to sometimes happen with extras filmed closer to release times. The limited edition also comes with a slipcase featuring some new artwork, six art cards, and a 120 page book filled with essays on the film (sadly I did not have access to the book).</p><p><i>Green Room </i>was a film that I'd heard about a lot, yet knew little of. It was always recommended, almost spoken about in hushed whispers. It was talked about as this almost mythic film. And I get that now. I understand why people can't say much about the film other than 'it's amazing' or 'you need to see it'. A film filled with powerhouse performances, it would be a terrifying film to watch at any time, but with the ever increasing spread of far right beliefs and a resurgence of Nazism it may be more relevant now than ever. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdOcs2_c5_67H6Bzg4Q-cVLMMZE9SzQASfE3aZwa5TDFw3Hq1YJIGXr-idTCLvL7WVgfVwbwQXAZQFtAci_RF_TspjKkMFDzJIApQl-DhxxSxA6ckcjLprOoeCJs7o18084L3E5kf0_qyS4xm8XtGwpDDfPyRAMnnQqeKyRIZvh3jb3tKgIWRZoSYTokY/s1456/05.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="1456" height="60" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdOcs2_c5_67H6Bzg4Q-cVLMMZE9SzQASfE3aZwa5TDFw3Hq1YJIGXr-idTCLvL7WVgfVwbwQXAZQFtAci_RF_TspjKkMFDzJIApQl-DhxxSxA6ckcjLprOoeCJs7o18084L3E5kf0_qyS4xm8XtGwpDDfPyRAMnnQqeKyRIZvh3jb3tKgIWRZoSYTokY/s320/05.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3532269" target="_blank">S<u>upport Amy on Patreon</u></a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://ko-fi.com/F1F1TMRM">Buy Amy A Coffee</a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit"><a data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="http://www.trans--scribe.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: inherit;">Go to Amy's Blog</a></font></p><div data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: "times new roman";" style="font-family: "times new roman";"><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Amazing_Amy_W"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit">Follow Amy on Twitter</font></a></p></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amazing_amy_w/" target="_blank">Add Amy on Instagram</a></p></div></div>Amy Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402476300192259841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1808456300359249763.post-57447717951096872982024-03-16T09:00:00.036+00:002024-03-16T09:00:00.134+00:00South Park: The Stick of Truth – Throwback 10<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxOuDCRAs4JtJ9PvHobVvYSlMpb_-r03mr_A6FTB2AYpAT1B-W6pii4GVdTBFrfqYlGAmyjTZ96oIbL-PFiA233j1bUk24Y11Ktp-JShWXtivK9gITKOtZsuZBkgtb0RjMLSdcAdKPxJSDWt4AynhO6JUvxdeDi0vJaT9mwbtfwNLI-oEx-55ScrFCa-g/s1920/Stick%20of%20Truth.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxOuDCRAs4JtJ9PvHobVvYSlMpb_-r03mr_A6FTB2AYpAT1B-W6pii4GVdTBFrfqYlGAmyjTZ96oIbL-PFiA233j1bUk24Y11Ktp-JShWXtivK9gITKOtZsuZBkgtb0RjMLSdcAdKPxJSDWt4AynhO6JUvxdeDi0vJaT9mwbtfwNLI-oEx-55ScrFCa-g/w400-h225/Stick%20of%20Truth.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">Originally published on <b><u><a href="https://setthetape.com/2024/03/01/south-park-the-stick-of-truth-throwback-10/" target="_blank">Set The Tape</a></u></b></p><p><br /></p><p><i>South Park</i> very quickly became an international hit when it first began, and there was a time where you could easily find merchandise for the show in the local high street; from posters to plushies, <i>South Park</i> was everywhere. One area where the series tried to make inroads pretty early on was the world of gaming, with their first game releasing on the Nintendo 64 within the first two years of the show’s release. Despite how popular <i>South Park</i> was the game didn’t do too well, and subsequent games like <i>South Park: Chef’s Love Shack</i> and <i>South Park Rally</i>, released over the next two years would get even worse reviews. Things didn’t look good for <i>South Park </i>gaming, and it wouldn’t be until more than a decade later that things would change for them.</p><p><i>South Park: The Stick of Truth </i>may have released in 2014, but began life five years earlier as development began in 2009 after series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone approached development studio Obsidian Entertainment to adapt the series to the video game medium. Obsidian was chosen as Parker and Stone wanted to create a roleplaying game, and Obsidian’s previous releases in this genre made them the main choice to develop the game. It’s been reported that the original aim of the game was to make a ‘<i>South Park</i> version of <i>Skyrim</i>‘ with the original script weighing it at 500 pages in length; an ambition that would need to be reigned in, as the game would face a number of difficulties during development.</p><p>Despite Parker and Stone pushing for the game’s development, and going through numerous hours long meetings with the creative team at Obsidian to help develop the look and feel of the game, things didn’t go smoothly. Due to the adult and often controversial nature of <i>South Park</i>, finding funding for the game was a difficulty, but eventually THQ agreed to back the development. However, when Microsoft cancelled a deal with Obsidian it resulted in job losses at the company, losses that would affect <i>South Park</i>’s development. This was compounded when THQ went into bankruptcy, which resulted in the rights to the game being auctioned off; eventually being bought by Ubisoft. Despite these difficulties, difficulties that have in the past cancelled games completely, <i>South Park: The Stick of Truth</i> somehow managed to reach release.</p><p>Taking on the role of a new kid in town, the player is able to create their own character, customising them throughout the game with equipment and cosmetic changes. The game plays like a fantasy RPG, and as such the player is asked to choose a class at the start of the game, picking from Fighter, Thief, Mage, and Jew. Each class has their own combat styles and abilities that will evolve and unlock as the game progresses. You’re picking one of these classes as the children of South Park are playing a fantasy LARP game, and your character finds themselves in the middle of it. But, this being <i>South Park</i>, things are never that simple. As the game progresses, more factions become involved as they battle for the titular Stick of Truth.</p><p>Played as a side scrolling 2.5D game, <i>South Park: The Stick of Truth </i>allows players to explore locations from the series, including parts of the town, and other locations that a normal person would likely not be able to predict. These locations have areas that can only be accessible at later points in the game once the player has unlocked new skills and abilities. There are also collectable items to be found that can increase character perks and abilities, as well as several mini games scattered throughout. The game, surprisingly, offers a decent level of variety and challenge that was lacking in previous<i> South Park</i> game titles.</p><p>Unlike previous games, <i>South Park: The Stick of Truth</i> received high praise from critics. Thanks to the technology being able to so seamlessly recreate the look and feel of the show it was called one of the most faithful gaming adaptations; something that was only helped by episodes of the show leading into the plot of the game. Filled with references and jokes from across the series, the game offered fans a deep dive into the <i>South Park</i> universe like never before, and it ended up being much loved because of that. During its first week of release it became the best selling game on all formats, and would go on to sell more than 1.6 million copies.</p><p>Thanks to the success, <i>South Park </i>would continue to create video games that would tie into the series, featuring heavy involvement from the series creators, with <i>South Park: The Fractured But Whole </i>being released in 2017, and <i>South Park: Snow Day!</i> set for a release on 26th March 2024. It may have taken them a while, but it would seem that <i>South Park</i> had finally cracked their formula, and have become a successful part of the gaming landscape.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3532269" target="_blank">S<u>upport Amy on Patreon</u></a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://ko-fi.com/F1F1TMRM">Buy Amy A Coffee</a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit"><a data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="http://www.trans--scribe.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: inherit;">Go to Amy's Blog</a></font></p><div data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: "times new roman";" style="font-family: "times new roman";"><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Amazing_Amy_W"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit">Follow Amy on Twitter</font></a></p></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amazing_amy_w/" target="_blank">Add Amy on Instagram</a></p></div></div>Amy Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402476300192259841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1808456300359249763.post-81851521630904011422024-03-15T09:00:00.056+00:002024-03-15T09:00:00.142+00:00Welcome to Forever by Nathan Tavares - Book Review<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiCzwFXgDnJraaGEgrbkNIweIo-Tcjs_yuoDKwHJaQRsoxNsQlEcwM78053BiFqVQStUqMCaPxszcC94cKyUhrzWEFiBPEfjUyJPUauy_TawvHrZcwcNmJ17fIrFNXc-o1VDka0k4i_YULdM_YWdl9144iBl9z7dtT-_u8pXkXzV2__DhCkcqefquDjWU/s1914/431286944_380371071615310_8563329259783215920_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1436" data-original-width="1914" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiCzwFXgDnJraaGEgrbkNIweIo-Tcjs_yuoDKwHJaQRsoxNsQlEcwM78053BiFqVQStUqMCaPxszcC94cKyUhrzWEFiBPEfjUyJPUauy_TawvHrZcwcNmJ17fIrFNXc-o1VDka0k4i_YULdM_YWdl9144iBl9z7dtT-_u8pXkXzV2__DhCkcqefquDjWU/w400-h300/431286944_380371071615310_8563329259783215920_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><i>'Fox is a memory editor – one of the best – gifted with the skill to create real life in the digital world. When he wakes up in Field of Reeds Centre for Memory Reconstruction with no idea how he got there, the therapists tell him he was a victim in a terrorist bombing by Khadija Banks, the pioneer of memory editing technology turned revolutionary. A bombing which shredded the memory archives of all its victims, including his husband Gabe. </i></p><p><i>'Thrust into reconstructions of his memories exploded from the fragments that survived the blast, Fox tries to rebuild his life, his marriage and himself. But he quickly realises his world is changing, unreliable, and echoing around itself over and over. As he unearths endless cycles of meeting Gabe, falling in love and breaking up, Fox digs deep into his past, his time in the refugee nation of Aaru, and the exact nature of his relationship with Khadija. Because, in a world tearing itself apart to forget all its sadness, saving the man he loves might be the key to saving us all.'</i></p><p>Memories are some of the most important things that people have. We only really exist in the moment, with our memories allowing us to look back into our past and shape who we are right now. But memories are also incredibly flawed. Two people can remember very different versions of the same events, sometimes to the point of contradiction. So how do you know if your memories are real, where does the line between memory and fiction begin? In his latest novel Nathan Tavares plays around with memory, what it means, how it shapes someone, and what happens when you lose those memories.</p><p><i>Welcome to Forever </i>tells the story of Fox, a man who begins the story with little to no memory of his life. Like an amnesiac, he still understands the world, he can talk, he can function within society, but he has no idea about his past. He's staying in the Fields of Reeds medical centre, where the staff are trying to help him to regain his memories following a deadly terrorist attack that destroyed Fox's identity. As he begins to dig into his fragmented and missing memories he starts to learn more about the man who he lost in the attack, of the life they used to have together; but also stumbles across something much more sinister too.</p><p>It's hard to talk about the plot of <i>Welcome to Forever </i>for a couple of reasons. The first is that it's the kind of story that you don't want to reveal too much of. The amount of information given on the back of the book is the absolute most that you want (and going in with no foreknowledge would be even better) as I found that letting the story unfold at its own pace, revealing more character, world building, and plot piece by piece at the right time was as big a part of the experience of reading this book as anything else. And that brings me to the second reason why I can't really say much about the plot; because Tavares isn't just telling a single, straight narrative here.</p><p>The book doesn't play out linearly, things happen out of order, some things don't quite make sense to begin with, you jump around different times and places, experiencing different memories and different versions of events. Whilst this means that if you were to try and explain the book fully you'd probably need a cork board full of notes and red string, it does lead to a unique reading experience. You almost feel like Fox yourself, with your mind being pulled from one place to another, with your expectations forever changing and your interpretation on events coming into question more than one. Sometimes a narrative is simply a narrative, but sometime how a narrative is constructed can be much more than just a story; it transcends into a work of art itself, and <i>Welcome to Forever </i>is very much a carefully constructed work of art. </p><p>I'd love to be able to describe the book more, but I don't want to spoil the experience for readers. So all I'll say is that if you're looking for an interesting sci-fi concept, a layered love story, and a narrative that feels like it was years in the making, <i>Welcome to Forever </i>should be top of your reading pile.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFvvdIygP4H-5nPqyt99qjk17Ws6L1kKYKJwUARa8OLMFWeoVvzYoQTQv06emGJpv-E8nvaoaLJ5dpM8L8095tHQ3O6mL3TH4SLm-OJEguk0iQm5BC53CnEA1LL7cbkxkVvdV3gO_UOwypvhflu0uZMonlFooTBEvkpBiKVaITWewc3k6RNZ95yNTxK8s/s1491/04.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="247" data-original-width="1491" height="53" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFvvdIygP4H-5nPqyt99qjk17Ws6L1kKYKJwUARa8OLMFWeoVvzYoQTQv06emGJpv-E8nvaoaLJ5dpM8L8095tHQ3O6mL3TH4SLm-OJEguk0iQm5BC53CnEA1LL7cbkxkVvdV3gO_UOwypvhflu0uZMonlFooTBEvkpBiKVaITWewc3k6RNZ95yNTxK8s/s320/04.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3532269" target="_blank">S<u>upport Amy on Patreon</u></a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://ko-fi.com/F1F1TMRM">Buy Amy A Coffee</a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit"><a data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="http://www.trans--scribe.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: inherit;">Go to Amy's Blog</a></font></p><div data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: "times new roman";" style="font-family: "times new roman";"><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Amazing_Amy_W"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit">Follow Amy on Twitter</font></a></p></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amazing_amy_w/" target="_blank">Add Amy on Instagram</a></p></div></div>Amy Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402476300192259841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1808456300359249763.post-28166453595607519752024-03-13T09:00:00.039+00:002024-03-13T09:00:00.147+00:00V/H/S/85 & V/H/S/94 – Blu-ray Review<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-qSO71AcjccJEI19tp_E5zw3-90fb9q8bsf29jC_HC6HywUIUuo12ZXxtbmSGNg7M3IwD1cM-Ue-49FbRYVtqer7it9I_PwKPaZF4zGzG8z0W5MdIUs3sruz2ghyphenhyphenJQEgcGPOxqA_A9D3uIVARjfLV_2EK3mPcRFKE1AJVEDjHMMfZcuKITicUdujT850/s1440/VHS%2001.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-qSO71AcjccJEI19tp_E5zw3-90fb9q8bsf29jC_HC6HywUIUuo12ZXxtbmSGNg7M3IwD1cM-Ue-49FbRYVtqer7it9I_PwKPaZF4zGzG8z0W5MdIUs3sruz2ghyphenhyphenJQEgcGPOxqA_A9D3uIVARjfLV_2EK3mPcRFKE1AJVEDjHMMfZcuKITicUdujT850/w400-h300/VHS%2001.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">Originally published on <b><u><a href="https://setthetape.com/2024/02/28/v-h-s-85-v-h-s-94-blu-ray-review/" target="_blank">Set The Tape</a></u></b></p><p><br /></p><p>The found footage horror genre has been around for a long while, and whilst some people lay the creation of the genre at the feet of 1999’s <i>The Blair Witch Project</i> it began much earlier with the first released found footage movie <i>Cannibal Holocaust</i> in 1980, and Orson Welles created the found footage film <i>The Other Side of the Wind</i> almost a decade before that (though it wouldn’t be released until 2018).</p><p>Whilst you can argue as to when it actually started, the genre has definitely expanded over the last couple of decades, thanks in part to this type of film being much cheaper and easier to produce thanks to advances in camera technology. The anthology series <i>V/H/S</i> has taken advantage of that since day one, and has released several films in the series. Now, the latest two releases, <i>V/H/S/85</i> and <i>V/H/S/94</i> are available on Blu-ray for those that don’t have access to the Shudder streaming service.</p><p><i>V/H/S/85</i>, as the title suggests, is set during the 1980s, when home cameras first started making the switch from film to VHS tapes. Whilst previous <i>V/H/S</i> films have featured fairly obvious framing devices, such as people finding a collection of evil video tapes, this film is instead structured as a single tape, one that has been used over and over again, with different recordings coming in at different points. Sometimes you get snippets of TV shows and adverts, but for the most part the framing device is one of the five stories on offer, with the other four stories interrupting a documentary programme recorded off the television.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-fPZbUTcLiyvpESr1qUCv_OYElMbKfwXdw-_mL-GZ9FK-ehewBqOUXiz4bbeyNUVCU_SHORhhB4nfHKiMuQmbJkIECu0HVnsZV2p36N_TCcrkpnRvO7pHnaByAER4YfUPeuFQm2iOyvftaeWP16wwnPo_Jy7YP0Lv9dmvonvKV7k4fTs-RZnushIwbzQ/s780/VHS%2002.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="439" data-original-width="780" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-fPZbUTcLiyvpESr1qUCv_OYElMbKfwXdw-_mL-GZ9FK-ehewBqOUXiz4bbeyNUVCU_SHORhhB4nfHKiMuQmbJkIECu0HVnsZV2p36N_TCcrkpnRvO7pHnaByAER4YfUPeuFQm2iOyvftaeWP16wwnPo_Jy7YP0Lv9dmvonvKV7k4fTs-RZnushIwbzQ/s320/VHS%2002.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>The five stories include the already mentioned documentary ‘Total Copy’, that takes a look at a university experiment around a shapeshifting alien entity; ‘No Wake’ which sees some young holiday makers stumble across a holiday camp they shouldn’t enter; ‘God of Death’ which follows an earthquake in Mexico that hits a TV news studio; the performance art segment ‘TKNOGD’ which sees a woman trying to contact the God of VR; and ‘Dreamkill’ which sees the police receiving tapes of grisly murders before they happen.</p><p>As with every other <i>V/H/S</i> release, the film is something of a mixed bag in terms of quality of story. ‘Total Copy’ is perhaps the most frustrating of the segments, in part due to the fact that it’s spread across the almost two hour run time. The story is broken up by the other stories, meaning that there’s often twenty minutes or more before we come back to it, and it often feels like you only get around five minutes of it at a time. ‘TKNOGD’ is also pretty weak, as if you’re not into odd performance art it drags a lot, and much of it will leave you waiting for something actually interesting to happen; though when it does it takes up so little time and feels so obvious and predictable that you’re left wondering if it was worth it.</p><p>‘No Wake’ is fun, with some decent moments spread throughout, and it comes with a little surprise along the way that made it one of the more fun stories in the mix. ‘God of Death’ is the one story in the film that I’d have happily seen translated into an entire movie. Following a group of rescue workers, we discover that the earthquake has released something ancient and evil, and it makes for a delightful experience. It’s also really delightful to see a non American segment, presented with subtitles, that brings something a bit different to the table. ‘Dreamkill’ has shades of <i>V/H/S </i>by way of Sinister, and the films within the film are well done and creepy enough that they unsettle the viewer thanks to the direction, effects work, and music. Sadly, the main part of the story does drop in quality by the end, but is still a really good journey along the way.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwBqEB-ON2jKptNwCSYzyvr1nnPWVxkIdi6YsuNfpxjB9Insb_Qkh6lISrWJa9WPvhQfSbSubHsvwW7bdgLNU_eBkNaIrGTCOF0V6azPuVukoVPsG_MRgT63QATw99lMSF353TAtMBgMfS1H0AfbCEQtb9Sv5dCxpnH8qcrN5dQzGi5NBcjctDW7C7wCs/s3840/VHS%2003.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="3840" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwBqEB-ON2jKptNwCSYzyvr1nnPWVxkIdi6YsuNfpxjB9Insb_Qkh6lISrWJa9WPvhQfSbSubHsvwW7bdgLNU_eBkNaIrGTCOF0V6azPuVukoVPsG_MRgT63QATw99lMSF353TAtMBgMfS1H0AfbCEQtb9Sv5dCxpnH8qcrN5dQzGi5NBcjctDW7C7wCs/s320/VHS%2003.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p><i>V/H/S/94</i> does things a little differently, and uses the kind of framing device that will feel more familiar to those that have watched the original <i>V/H/S</i> movie. Following a group of cops who raid a warehouse, we discover a strange cult/experiment where people are being made to watch awful tapes that lead them to their deaths. The SWAT team find disturbing videos such as ‘Storm Drain’, which follows a news reporter as she searches for information on the urban legend Ratman; ‘The Empty Wake’ which sees a young funeral home worker alone with a coffin that keeps making noises; the dark and twisted ‘The Subject’ follows the experiments of a mad scientist; and ‘Terror’ sees a group of military militiamen preparing to storm and kill a government building when something horrific happens to them all.</p><p>The framing segment for the film is easily the weakest thing on offer here, and its vagueness doesn’t help it much. Due to the action cutting back between each other segment you begin to forget that it’s a thing until you’re thrust back into it, which is usually at a point when some other twist or turn of the story occurs. Perhaps it would feel better if presented as single piece, but as it is you kind of don’t care about it.</p><p>‘Storm Drain’ is a very traditional use of the found footage genre, with it being filmmakers searching for the truth. The interviews with local residents at the start is quite fun, and the dark sewer locations they explore feel creepy before anything even happens. ‘The Empty Wake’ does things a little differently, being set all in one location, with all of the cameras being static. Having been set up to record a wake, the main character moves around the location separate from the cameras, only ever controlling them at one point in the film. It also manages to build tension nicely throughout.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEx5yRYexVLZ8onsTDHzibwpyO03xIuevH-WB7dqhLXUeplckRFcK4KNGCAf2eHSPmbePZegvz6Ij8yI4lCRwamYwyFjbLITVDQMAb6X78_PMmL9DZkq2TH8mDBNxw5heb76220GUG9ykKRP1Zgo59m2nbyEeY31wExP7u6sWNW0rbr1PB9ZUE6j_-dYw/s500/VHS%2004.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEx5yRYexVLZ8onsTDHzibwpyO03xIuevH-WB7dqhLXUeplckRFcK4KNGCAf2eHSPmbePZegvz6Ij8yI4lCRwamYwyFjbLITVDQMAb6X78_PMmL9DZkq2TH8mDBNxw5heb76220GUG9ykKRP1Zgo59m2nbyEeY31wExP7u6sWNW0rbr1PB9ZUE6j_-dYw/s320/VHS%2004.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>‘The Subject’ will feel incredibly familiar to someone who has played horror video games. Much of it is recorded from the POV of one of the victims of a mad scientist, and plays out on screen like a first person shooter, complete with a battery bar that acts as the health for the character. It’s very over the top, with some ridiculous designs and silly, gory action, but it will definitely appeal to gamers. The final segment, ‘Terror’, feels the most creative and left me fascinated throughout. The story gives you enough hints that you can figure out what’s happening just before it spells it out for you, but it never feels like it’s made obvious or that you’ve outsmarted the film. It seems like there’s one segment in each <i>V/H/S </i>release that I’d like to see expanded on, and this is the one for V/H/S/94.</p><p>Both releases come with audio commentaries that offer some insight into the films and each of the segments, and offers a good reason to watch through the films a second time to learn a little more about them. Apart from that, the <i>V/H/S/85</i> release is a bit lacking in terms of extras, only coming with the uninterrupted version of the framing story, and some silent footage from another. <i>V/H/S/94</i> offers a little more, coming with a behind the scenes feature, a comic con panel interview, and some deleted and extended scenes. Overall, both films are enjoyable enough, though don’t really set your world on fire. They’re a decent way to spend a couple of hours for horror fans who might not have Shudder access.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaaICf3PIq2O7_2KZqTqhKmuwbB3_73fuYH0fa_n2paeQKM9oX-SVazkyPBeAmm2pjhvz6NH2Z4-hJdoWDWh-jIftq5h9ScN9pbzw5_kY9KJxINC5NTnf30RkebGFMFdIxQmzwvDvKuQVfnGce4xC8aSPRYqrQSbUSI5NsmKvu81PbfSaIK2MCYsD4ivg/s1512/03.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="264" data-original-width="1512" height="56" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaaICf3PIq2O7_2KZqTqhKmuwbB3_73fuYH0fa_n2paeQKM9oX-SVazkyPBeAmm2pjhvz6NH2Z4-hJdoWDWh-jIftq5h9ScN9pbzw5_kY9KJxINC5NTnf30RkebGFMFdIxQmzwvDvKuQVfnGce4xC8aSPRYqrQSbUSI5NsmKvu81PbfSaIK2MCYsD4ivg/s320/03.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3532269" target="_blank">S<u>upport Amy on Patreon</u></a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://ko-fi.com/F1F1TMRM">Buy Amy A Coffee</a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit"><a data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="http://www.trans--scribe.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: inherit;">Go to Amy's Blog</a></font></p><div data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: "times new roman";" style="font-family: "times new roman";"><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Amazing_Amy_W"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit">Follow Amy on Twitter</font></a></p></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amazing_amy_w/" target="_blank">Add Amy on Instagram</a></p></div></div>Amy Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402476300192259841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1808456300359249763.post-51547036182046186922024-03-12T09:00:00.052+00:002024-03-12T09:00:00.136+00:00The Classified Dossier - Sherlock Holmes and Dorian Gray by Christian Klaver - Book Review<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjdA-fqjr-no3rKXfW0FsjZKt_Oj2m-B7tyeudL-xyrPJXJ8jK7TkxEsIlJCORLIuf9qEFC_e6w9lMP0CrASTSWtAGFze8s8jVaKg_HnXBx6-_fhp3inAi-4uxgAyMfkRMeI8PyjzO4I71MMMuEan5cpOeLQbjQvycf7WYzcMIjqT3ZurFf5Csbl8UYNE/s1770/429802008_925350405796764_3761026646017459407_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1328" data-original-width="1770" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjdA-fqjr-no3rKXfW0FsjZKt_Oj2m-B7tyeudL-xyrPJXJ8jK7TkxEsIlJCORLIuf9qEFC_e6w9lMP0CrASTSWtAGFze8s8jVaKg_HnXBx6-_fhp3inAi-4uxgAyMfkRMeI8PyjzO4I71MMMuEan5cpOeLQbjQvycf7WYzcMIjqT3ZurFf5Csbl8UYNE/w400-h300/429802008_925350405796764_3761026646017459407_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><i>'Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson have tickets to the newly arrived Egyptian Circus. Holmes is puzzled by his brother Mycroft's cryptic gift but is intrigued enough to attend the next production.</i></p><p><i>'The performers, dressed as wondrous half-animal, half-human gods from Egyptian mythology, display superhuman agility and stunts. But they speak no Arabic, sequester themselves in the stables after each show and take orders from a mysterious ring master who is yet to be seen. And then one of the performers is murdered.</i></p><p><i>'Holmes's enquires lead him to Montebank Manor, the home of the beautiful and secretive socialite Dorian Gray. As Holmes digs deeper, he learns Gray is hiding much more than his involvement in a murder. It's a darkly fantastical tale of lies, experimentation, hypnosis and wicked ambition.'</i></p><p><i>The Classified Dossier </i>series has quickly become one of my favourite Sherlock Holmes series to date. Christian Klaver does a fantastic job at not just introducing the world of the supernatural to the Sherlock Holmes universe, but draws upon inspiration and characters from other classic novels to do so; creating a fantastic and ever increasingly large shared universe. </p><p>This volume begins with Sherlock Holmes receiving a mysterious letter containing tickets to the circus. However, it doesn't take Holmes long to figure out that his brother, Mycroft, had someone send the tickets to him and wishes for him to investigate the circus. Unfortunately, with Mycroft mysteriously out of the country, he has no way of finding out what it is his brother wants him to see. As such, Holmes and Watson head off to the new Egyptian Circus in Hyde Park and watch a truly spectacular show. But some things don't quite add up, especially as Watson is able to smell animals around the circus, yet none were used in the show itself. </p><p>Further investigation leads to a startling discovery about the true nature of performers, one that shows the two of them that they're dealing with things outside of the realm of the natural. Their investigation leads them across London, to the home of the unusual socialite Dorian Gray, who has been acting as the ringleader for the unusual circus. The further the two of them dig the more unusual evidence they begin to collect, and they soon realise that they may have discovered something truly dangerous. </p><p>As the title of this particular volume of the series gives away, the character of Dorian Gray is introduced into Klaver's world. However, if you read the title and think that you know what kind of story you're going to be reading you're going to be very much mistaken. Just as with the previous volume, <i>Sherlock Holmes and MR Hyde</i>, this is not simply a re-telling of the original story with Holmes and Watson injected into events. There are times that this book bares almost no resemblance to <i>The Picture of Dorian Gray</i>, especially as Klaver sneakily includes another novel from around this era too that derails the Dorian Gray expectations in the most wonderful way.</p><p>Klaver draws from multiple other works for his plot here, and it adds some superb twists and turns into things. There's a reveal early on in the book that may give it away to some readers, but it wasn't until a particularly distinct line of dialogue was spoken that the connection was made in my head and I realised what other works were being folded in. It was an incredibly fun moment, and one that increased my excitement and enjoyment of the book. And the fact that that too was twisted and changed in new ways, brought into the extended narrative that Klaver had been working on for two other volumes, led to some wonderful pay offs further down the line. </p><p>As with previous volumes the writing here is great, things are very faced pace, with Klaver packing a lot of story and action into the books pages that ends up feeling like you've had a lot of bang for your buck. Luckily, the focus on action and story doesn't mean that the characters don't get focus as a trade-off. Holmes, Watson, some new friends, and some returning ones, all get a chance to shine and to do something important that helps to drive the narrative forward and highlights why the ever expanding cast of characters being added to Holmes' little group of paranormal investigators and fighters just adds further richness to things. </p><p>Whenever I come to the end of one of the books in this series I find myself hoping for more, and trying to guess what other stories and characters might be drawn into the next entry. And this time is no different. I was disappointed that it was over, and was thinking eagerly to the next. Hopefully this volume won't be the last, as I really want to see what Klaver does next.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGkTjGXzBD_WsojjqBYpeAL1mOv1mHY6XW2ISJ5Aaq2L_CDlfbIGYSlNFxfxBRFf138EahOBDRec77R5BnZ5X2UcjPoxgGnZMd5t6X_Qg9YgAyMeosAwSuN3Rb1e18Z-Hq4zOqtEsILLRtxl1A3lh5N9a_DMzjI7Dc4maAC0dB19d9oTM-OtOFUJGsLgQ/s1456/05.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="1456" height="60" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGkTjGXzBD_WsojjqBYpeAL1mOv1mHY6XW2ISJ5Aaq2L_CDlfbIGYSlNFxfxBRFf138EahOBDRec77R5BnZ5X2UcjPoxgGnZMd5t6X_Qg9YgAyMeosAwSuN3Rb1e18Z-Hq4zOqtEsILLRtxl1A3lh5N9a_DMzjI7Dc4maAC0dB19d9oTM-OtOFUJGsLgQ/s320/05.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3532269" target="_blank">S<u>upport Amy on Patreon</u></a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://ko-fi.com/F1F1TMRM">Buy Amy A Coffee</a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit"><a data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="http://www.trans--scribe.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: inherit;">Go to Amy's Blog</a></font></p><div data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: "times new roman";" style="font-family: "times new roman";"><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Amazing_Amy_W"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit">Follow Amy on Twitter</font></a></p></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amazing_amy_w/" target="_blank">Add Amy on Instagram</a></p></div></div>Amy Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402476300192259841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1808456300359249763.post-14177060795365574352024-03-07T09:00:00.017+00:002024-03-07T09:00:00.141+00:00My Throat An Open Grave by Tori Bovalino – Book Review<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe9AIqX71_xBaNHHTRepULjCEYSutrHMEu_L4nA_3Lxhw7nGa1TzTfF9u1qlZVszxncq0Dd_uFgGv1RUQEqfYjgnj9mI5xvvyzA1HYGfqhm2P0ppV4cGUwjB84lNht8A-odoCzlsnqQ0j6M5a03wVaRTSRdiOmkjDN2CipIu_wquklH_lO60v2NYYfyNI/s1857/429933898_813774787433833_3771730982327048721_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1393" data-original-width="1857" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe9AIqX71_xBaNHHTRepULjCEYSutrHMEu_L4nA_3Lxhw7nGa1TzTfF9u1qlZVszxncq0Dd_uFgGv1RUQEqfYjgnj9mI5xvvyzA1HYGfqhm2P0ppV4cGUwjB84lNht8A-odoCzlsnqQ0j6M5a03wVaRTSRdiOmkjDN2CipIu_wquklH_lO60v2NYYfyNI/w400-h300/429933898_813774787433833_3771730982327048721_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><i>'Growing up in the small town of Winston, Pennsylvania feels like drowning. Leah goes to church every Sunday, works when she isn’t at school, and takes care of her baby brother, Owen. Like every girl in Winston, she tries to be right and good and holy. If she isn’t the Lord of the Wood will take her, and she’ll disappear like so many other girls before her.</i></p><p><i>'But living up to the rigorous standards of the town takes its toll. One night, when Owen won’t stop screaming, Leah wishes him away, and the Lord listens. The screaming stops, and all that’s left in the crib is a small bundle of sticks tied with a ribbon.</i></p><p><i>'Filled with shame and the weight of the town’s judgment, Leah is forced to cross the river into the Lord of the Wood’s domain to bring Owen back. But the devilish figure who has haunted Winston for generations isn’t what she expects. He tells her she can have her brother back―for the price of a song. A song that Leah will have one month to write.</i></p><p><i>'It’s a bargain that will uncover secrets her hometown has tried to keep buried for decades. And what she unearths will have her questioning everything she’s been taught to fear.'</i></p><p>Small towns are often portrayed as good, homely, and decent communities where everyone knows each other, neighbours help neighbours, and things are like the ‘good old days’. But small communities tend to hold secrets and darkness, especially when ruled by religion and fear. Tori Bovalino’s latest book is a look at the darkness that such communities contain, of the hate bubbling just beneath the surface, and how old fashioned values can lead to cruelty and bloodshed.</p><p><i>My Throat An Open Grave</i> tells the story of Leah, a teenage girl who’s spent her entire life in the small, hyper-religious town of Winston. Leah has grown up under the teachings of the church, where she and other teenage girls have been taught that sex, or even lustful feelings are a terrible sin. Made to take abstinence pledges, and to wear rings that show that they’re still ‘pure’, the girls of Winston are treated as objects rather than people. Leah is growing more and more resentful of her small town, a town where she’s treated as an outsider, where she doesn’t have many friends, and where her parents treat her with disdain. Forced to look after her younger brother, Owen, Leah is treated as little more than a servant in her own home.</p><p>But religion isn’t the only thing that the people of Winston have grown up believing in. There’s also the Lord of the Wood. A mysterious, shadowy figure said to rule the woods on the other side of the river just outside of town, everyone in Winston knows that he’s real, that every few decades he appears and takes a child away. But the Lord of the Wood can only take what he’s offered. When Leah has finally had enough of her life, when she’s fed up with everything, she makes an offer to the Lord of the Wood, and Owen is taken. Now, forced into the wood to retrieve him by the angry leaders of the town, Leah must find a way to save Owen and bring him back safely.</p><p><i>My Throat An Open Grave</i> is advertised as being like the film Labyrinth, and whilst that did pique my interest at first, I quickly found that that comparison falls apart very quickly. There is a deal made with an almost fairy-tale-like figure who steals away a younger brother, which spurs on a quest to save him, but the tone and the content of the story that comes after is completely different. <i>My Throat An Open Grave</i> isn’t some colourful, wondrous adventure filled with magical characters, it’s a story about a hurt, abused young woman learning to understand the trauma that she’s been through and moving through it.</p><p>Tori Bovalino has written some dark work before, and I’d say that Not Good For Maidens is much closer in tone to Labyrinth than this book, but it also feels like <i>My Throat An Open Grave</i> is her darkest work yet. There are parts of the book that are genuinely chilling, not because they’re fantastical but because they’re the parts that are very much grounded in reality. There are parts of Leah’s story that are heart-breaking to read, but they’re parts that will feel familiar because they’re stories that we’ve all heard before.</p><p>We’ve heard of the kind of familial abuse Leah deals with, with the abusive religious upbringing, because people who’ve lived through that have told their stories. There are times where the book is hard to read, and even though there are parts of the story that I saw coming pretty early on, their full reveal was impactful not because it was a surprising twist but because Bovalino filled the moments with such pathos that it was hard not to feel moved by them.</p><p>Whilst <i>My Throat An Open Grave</i> never feels completely original, with many of the story beats being predictable, or the world building having moments that feel borrowed from other stories, the way in which Bovalino puts the very human story at its centre, and the life that she puts into Leah makes the book worth reading. It was this emotional story that kept me hooked, and the way in which it is brought to a conclusion in the final chapters elevates the book. So even if you feel like you’ve read this kind of book before, pick it up and give it a try, because there are some truly spectacular moments to be found in here.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLDDaLgIaqqyyrNqbOL8kVtJaN6TzzYe1hcp6hkRXK632Cl7BT-A_xOL_q2ZQTbmOu-cs-0XijoCT9jkkH7K-qRL4cOWlnFUueOSEiptskNPogAkDm8rUAqlXe2A0g6_1Xv51fM0Y1HbRHUuFGptNLzzSim7k7Xt2gIUa3l9s6xkEXd_6K4t_w4k65hCA/s1456/05.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="1456" height="60" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLDDaLgIaqqyyrNqbOL8kVtJaN6TzzYe1hcp6hkRXK632Cl7BT-A_xOL_q2ZQTbmOu-cs-0XijoCT9jkkH7K-qRL4cOWlnFUueOSEiptskNPogAkDm8rUAqlXe2A0g6_1Xv51fM0Y1HbRHUuFGptNLzzSim7k7Xt2gIUa3l9s6xkEXd_6K4t_w4k65hCA/s320/05.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3532269" target="_blank">S<u>upport Amy on Patreon</u></a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://ko-fi.com/F1F1TMRM">Buy Amy A Coffee</a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit"><a data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="http://www.trans--scribe.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: inherit;">Go to Amy's Blog</a></font></p><div data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: "times new roman";" style="font-family: "times new roman";"><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Amazing_Amy_W"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit">Follow Amy on Twitter</font></a></p></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amazing_amy_w/" target="_blank">Add Amy on Instagram</a></p></div></div>Amy Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402476300192259841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1808456300359249763.post-87749505717201739642024-03-06T09:00:00.026+00:002024-03-12T12:29:12.770+00:00Marvel Studios’ The Infinity Saga – Iron Man 2: The Art of the Movie – Book Review<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicHnLU0NLNUY0R1lVGnBMAYL3zkDykEiBR-qZhsrcbO9NYoO7X_nousPiz07ymYvGwm0AtLoU0FTw3w2yv0eoSxUpY6jkkGpeICO2rOQHTrhmnoBrqfBb3GiGFUgJQrxpBt7m07y1Vzkn7b7vlukmpXcU9YtQ1uMqI4ULgWzpAzByVPiu_qciy-ivliZg/s2000/429118677_371461895835080_6307733950039884803_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicHnLU0NLNUY0R1lVGnBMAYL3zkDykEiBR-qZhsrcbO9NYoO7X_nousPiz07ymYvGwm0AtLoU0FTw3w2yv0eoSxUpY6jkkGpeICO2rOQHTrhmnoBrqfBb3GiGFUgJQrxpBt7m07y1Vzkn7b7vlukmpXcU9YtQ1uMqI4ULgWzpAzByVPiu_qciy-ivliZg/w400-h300/429118677_371461895835080_6307733950039884803_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><i>'The 2nd of the 24 Marvel Cinematic Universe Infinity Saga film titles being published as a complete set. Behind every great Iron Man stands a dedicated group of artists – and now, their secrets are revealed. In The Art of Iron Man 2, you’ll find everything from preliminary sketches to fully rendered 3-D images; storyboards to intricate set designs; and all the heroes, villains and technology you’ve ever imagined! All of Iron Man’s new armors, all of Whiplash’s weapons, Tony Stark’s lab and more are profiled with art and commentary from creators (including comic book fan-favorite Adi Granov).'</i></p><p>Titan Books have been delving into the world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the most ambitious film universe ever put to screen, going behind the scenes to look at the art of each of the twenty odd films of the firs three phases that make up the ‘Infinity Saga’. The series began with the first film to be released, <i>Iron Man</i>, but rather than moving onto the next film in the series, <i>The Incredible Hulk</i>, the next release in this stunning set of art books is <i>Iron Man 2</i>.</p><p>The book opens talking about the first film and the success that it brought with it. It makes a very good point that a lot of people who grew up watching the MCU, or gained their knowledge of Marvel Comics from the films, often forget: there was a time where no one knew who Iron Man was.</p><p>Yes, he’s been in comics since the 1960s, and was a founding member of <i>The Avenger</i>s, but he was always something of a B-list hero at best. He was a character who did some cool stuff every now and then, but most comic fans didn’t think much of him. Iron Man changed that, it made the character a global icon, and the second film suddenly found itself in the spotlight, having to prove that the first movie wasn’t just a one off, but that the MCU and <i>Iron Man </i>could make a sequel actually work.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidxvLiCdi6F42YiAqoK5cu8meW7iioIUjsYVNmWINdUYgVsiI2KzYEkDbAP4DbIJS4RK0iMPELMsgEQp-8SwcfYIWrgiQ4eT9bPQIfSJBLRANKzqx7X5lxHj2QVdPH5xKex4juvnheaIxFbnwij1_MOSrY6EWfpePvCvO-MTXsb4pgNodmtdzW3por6KY/s9119/58-59.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3736" data-original-width="9119" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidxvLiCdi6F42YiAqoK5cu8meW7iioIUjsYVNmWINdUYgVsiI2KzYEkDbAP4DbIJS4RK0iMPELMsgEQp-8SwcfYIWrgiQ4eT9bPQIfSJBLRANKzqx7X5lxHj2QVdPH5xKex4juvnheaIxFbnwij1_MOSrY6EWfpePvCvO-MTXsb4pgNodmtdzW3por6KY/s320/58-59.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; text-align: start;">©2024 MARVEL</b></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p>As with the film, the book opens on Stark’s latest armour, the Mark IV, and shows off the opening scene of the movie where he drops out of a plane into the middle of the Stark Expo in a stunt designed to showcase how cool the man inside the suit is. But no good <i>Iron Man</i> movie relies only on the one armour, and the first chapter quickly delves into the new looks for the movie, including the fantastically realised Briefcase Armour.</p><p>Just like in the first volume, the book features stunning design work that shows off the amazing talent behind the scenes of the film who spent hours crafting and adapting the comics to the big screen. A good portion of the first chapter is given over to this one design, one of the most complicated Iron Man ever wears, and seeing the various options the filmmakers had, and the inner workings that had to be figured out before it hit the screen is eye opening and informative.</p><p>One of the things that you notice about the new armour designs is that it stays true to what the first film established, and the wild designs of the first book aren’t really found here, at least not for Iron Man. The second chapter dives into the film’s newest hero, War Machine, and it’s clear that the design team had a lot of fun taking the existing Iron Man look and adding to it, especially in developing the various weapons and gadgets that the suit would contain. But, Rhodey isn’t the only new hero in the film, and we also get designs for the debut of Black Widow, including a belt that was made up that matched her iconic comic look that is so gorgeous I’m frankly angry it never made it into the film.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjInhAxySVFxSloCYBVf5Wzfb_VlnZOeEeSqpCDyXAado8iW_nxZhi9TjaNaTOOK8H7_idSeDvPXVXqHkhphkbmpyjGzGPSYZI6oURaLBrOi1xO8Gg2B3ufGHxamAwHqUJEozZyM8SEWOfu6b3J6IHs43-cJOdS-JKjNEbNs4pNpxypIbjJuz9CfS172ow/s9119/68-69.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3736" data-original-width="9119" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjInhAxySVFxSloCYBVf5Wzfb_VlnZOeEeSqpCDyXAado8iW_nxZhi9TjaNaTOOK8H7_idSeDvPXVXqHkhphkbmpyjGzGPSYZI6oURaLBrOi1xO8Gg2B3ufGHxamAwHqUJEozZyM8SEWOfu6b3J6IHs43-cJOdS-JKjNEbNs4pNpxypIbjJuz9CfS172ow/s320/68-69.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; text-align: start;">©2024 MARVEL</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>The best designs in the book have to go to the film’s enemies, however. Whiplash is interesting, but the amount of artwork for the other mech suits being made around the world, and the Hammer Drones are fantastic to look at, and will appeal to any mecha fans out there. The film featured a variety of drones, most of which end up flying around the screen pretty fast, so getting the chance to just sit and pore over the designs is a genuine delight, and ended up with me really wanting to go back and watch the film again.</p><p>As with the first volume, the book doesn’t just cover character designs, but goes into the sets and locations of the film. The most impressive here are the parts that deal with the Stark Expo and its creation, including model work and mock-ups for both versions set in the past and the modern day. There’s also a segment of the book that takes a look at the storyboard work for some of the action set pieces that film fans will enjoy.</p><p>Two volumes into the series it’s clear that this art book set is going to be amazing to read through, and whether the next volume continues its dive into the world of Iron Man, or takes a look at another corner of the MCU, it’s going to be a book that I eagerly await getting hold of.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtPZTi0zM7zWUbfPHbEs_WHCxE5pn0Yk_Te1KwFkUCCIwW68Jgc8WkT1NlFJxyjaRwZcw0fAZIMqK7DtyPKhUU4hyhGfTMplTcJ-VvqDGDDjQNtHgwouCRr-u5trVNt1QhmDkvtz7hYoawXCCAJ3P2sTvRx7IUAlAod3U3WkIcKci_znZ9crxgu6Z7Xcg/s1456/05.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="1456" height="60" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtPZTi0zM7zWUbfPHbEs_WHCxE5pn0Yk_Te1KwFkUCCIwW68Jgc8WkT1NlFJxyjaRwZcw0fAZIMqK7DtyPKhUU4hyhGfTMplTcJ-VvqDGDDjQNtHgwouCRr-u5trVNt1QhmDkvtz7hYoawXCCAJ3P2sTvRx7IUAlAod3U3WkIcKci_znZ9crxgu6Z7Xcg/s320/05.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><a href="https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3532269" target="_blank">S<u>upport Amy on Patreon</u></a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://ko-fi.com/F1F1TMRM">Buy Amy A Coffee</a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit"><a data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="http://www.trans--scribe.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: inherit;">Go to Amy's Blog</a></font></p><div data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: "times new roman";" style="font-family: "times new roman";"><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Amazing_Amy_W"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit">Follow Amy on Twitter</font></a></p></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amazing_amy_w/" target="_blank">Add Amy on Instagram</a></p></div></div>Amy Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402476300192259841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1808456300359249763.post-68170328176727127182024-03-05T09:00:00.047+00:002024-03-05T09:00:00.135+00:00Song of Carcosa: An Arkham Horror Novel by Josh Reynolds - Book Review<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPBAUQ1HtMiR8gFhx02UWPh6y5r1n0Hw9KbjogsTh7F8CAebFq_n8E3engNORwt-gFxEx5ea9MoSvXUpK663up6i8bSK191y9wDASYyOgfr_yWjHzXJ-57w0g4Fwl8cMlb9qvsv-ycwP5kHYy9nA-OyZ0cvBnn0Mcr7ZwRYRl0O2KtBXxMOETOQZalgC8/s1705/429615422_1734627527059551_1957973063616517971_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1279" data-original-width="1705" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPBAUQ1HtMiR8gFhx02UWPh6y5r1n0Hw9KbjogsTh7F8CAebFq_n8E3engNORwt-gFxEx5ea9MoSvXUpK663up6i8bSK191y9wDASYyOgfr_yWjHzXJ-57w0g4Fwl8cMlb9qvsv-ycwP5kHYy9nA-OyZ0cvBnn0Mcr7ZwRYRl0O2KtBXxMOETOQZalgC8/w400-h300/429615422_1734627527059551_1957973063616517971_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><i>'An occult thief takes on a sinister society threatening to tear the fabric of this world apart, in this daring noir-thriller from the bestselling world of Arkham Horror. Countess Alessandra Zorzi, reformed thief and acquirer of occult artifacts, faces her greatest challenge yet as she searches for an elusive artist in possession of the powerful Zanthu Tablet; the only thing that can stop the strange psychic malaise afflicting Alessandra’s assistant, Pepper. The countess’s quest takes her to the crooked heart of Venice, where an eerie organization is planning a grand performance that will engulf the city in chaos. As Pepper slips into an inescapable alien world, Alessandra must defeat powerful forces to save her friend. One wrong move could bring the curtain down on them all.'</i></p><p>Having previously read Josh Reynolds Akrham Horror novel <i><a href="https://trans--scribe.blogspot.com/2021/08/arkham-horror-wrath-of-nkai-by-josh.html" target="_blank">The Wrath of N'Kai</a></i> I was already somewhat familiar with the character of Countess Alessandra Zorzi, a femme fatale thief who has a history of stealing magical and mystical artefacts for the small community of rich and powerful people who have an obsession with the occult. It was in that book that Alessandra learned that her old life wasn't the safest, for her or others, and that led her to changing her ways somewhat, going after occult artefacts to keep them away from her old clients instead of supplying them to them. It was also that book that saw her teaming up with her protégé, Pepper. </p><p>However, that's not the only book that paves the way for <i>Song of Carcosa</i>, as the anthology novel <i><a href="https://trans--scribe.blogspot.com/2022/10/secrets-in-scarlet-arkham-horror.html" target="_blank">Secrets in Scarlet</a> </i>is also somewhat required reading too. This book contains several stories that introduces readers to the Red Coterie, a group of powerful, and impossibly old, individuals who go after artefacts and power in order to make themselves stronger. Whilst they're a group, they're not completely unified, and most act on their own towards their own ends; and as such they prove to be an unpredictable lot, whose actions you can never really count on knowing. Whilst you don't need to read either of these books to be able to enjoy <i>Song of Carcosa</i> if you have you'll be going into the novel with a solid foundation for the things to come. </p><p>The book focuses on Alessandra and Pepper as they arrive in the city of Venice, a location that's tied to the Red Coterie . Pepper has been plagued by strange dreams, dreams of an impossible city that doesn't exist. Fearing for the young woman's sanity, and life, Alessandra is hoping to find a way of helping her in Venice. Unfortunately, them arriving in the city also brings them into the attention of powerful individuals who aren't afraid to exploit the two women for their own ends. </p><p>Much like with <i>The Wrath of N'Kai, </i>this entry in the Arkham Horror series is putting strong women front and centre, and Alessandra is the determined, strong willed, and capable woman readers will remember. Set in a time where women were not given the chances and opportunities they are now, and in a place that touches on the rising fascism in Italy at the time, Alessandra is often having to put herself in danger in order to prove she's worthy of the respect of the men around her. Thankfully, Reynolds is always able to have her rise to the occasion, and even when things are getting to their worst Alessandra is a wonderfully powerful protagonist. </p><p>Venice has been used in some previous stories in the Arkham Horror line, and it's been hinted at that there's more to this city on the water than first appears. Water, and the things that hide beneath the surface, have been a big part of the mythology that Lovecraft developed, and thus Venice feels like the perfect location to bring into this world. The idea that there's something dark and terrible beneath the city, that it's a magnet for the horrors of the world, takes an already interesting place and dials that up to eleven. I really wanted the book to spend more time exploring this new corner of the Arkham Horror world, and whilst it does do this I would have loved to have even more of it, and would be more than happy to see Reynolds return readers here again in the future. Just the fact that we've ventured so far outside of the traditional New England setting marks this as an interesting read, as some of the best entries in the franchise so far have done so.</p><p>If you were a fan of Alessandra in her previous stories and want more from her this book is definitely going to appeal to you. And if you're looking for interesting new expansions on the universe, and the exploration of a place that's very different to the titular Arkham and its surroundings then <i>Song of Carcosa </i>is not a book that you're going to want to sleep on. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-a621FRzBJ6pwwBhTuEK_Bseh_IhhQ4I_GD3qEtLeXJghc2OJ6hhr0QztliJaOVov9Bn_vsUAY0Y8Z6JBwRTKFwcGZYsT2iAZO5nma1nPZOInuE4BmPJo6gyBuck-9EuuKGLz4McjOg1pfgFuVcB4LQwqpCuKap3_Xagntz8RK8shFWEKGpRNO0FqJE0/s1491/04.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="247" data-original-width="1491" height="53" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-a621FRzBJ6pwwBhTuEK_Bseh_IhhQ4I_GD3qEtLeXJghc2OJ6hhr0QztliJaOVov9Bn_vsUAY0Y8Z6JBwRTKFwcGZYsT2iAZO5nma1nPZOInuE4BmPJo6gyBuck-9EuuKGLz4McjOg1pfgFuVcB4LQwqpCuKap3_Xagntz8RK8shFWEKGpRNO0FqJE0/s320/04.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3532269" target="_blank">S<u>upport Amy on Patreon</u></a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://ko-fi.com/F1F1TMRM">Buy Amy A Coffee</a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit"><a data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="http://www.trans--scribe.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: inherit;">Go to Amy's Blog</a></font></p><div data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: "times new roman";" style="font-family: "times new roman";"><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Amazing_Amy_W"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit">Follow Amy on Twitter</font></a></p></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amazing_amy_w/" target="_blank">Add Amy on Instagram</a></p></div></div>Amy Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402476300192259841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1808456300359249763.post-11996998757574186832024-03-04T09:00:00.018+00:002024-03-04T09:00:00.140+00:00Golgotha Motor Mountain #1 – Comic Review<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2eSOMrEpNy4O_ZKVzcD9x641zh8P79_5y3zOUV2uRxhrmOOM2sMhcZ-x_7OtRDqUUYpKXFofWHMko5tiVNIIPHHBZxSAVUrmnQ7Cn38FhUDmGupfRlDnH5Tq8S85oW2dRWT9EAMS0qqgjE4mSpzB8qJUzPn-GhismL9D290O95D55JUz8Vz8UmGx70f4/s1500/Golgotha%2001.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="971" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2eSOMrEpNy4O_ZKVzcD9x641zh8P79_5y3zOUV2uRxhrmOOM2sMhcZ-x_7OtRDqUUYpKXFofWHMko5tiVNIIPHHBZxSAVUrmnQ7Cn38FhUDmGupfRlDnH5Tq8S85oW2dRWT9EAMS0qqgjE4mSpzB8qJUzPn-GhismL9D290O95D55JUz8Vz8UmGx70f4/w259-h400/Golgotha%2001.png" width="259" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">Originally published on <b><u><a href="https://setthetape.com/2024/02/19/golgotha-motor-mountain-1-comic-review/" target="_blank">Set The Tape</a></u></b></p><p><br /></p><p><i>Golgotha Motor Mountain</i> is a new sci-fi/horror comic series from IDW Publishing that follows a pair of meth-cooking brothers, from a small town where everyone’s trying to escape and no one wants to acknowledge it exists, on the day a rock from space crashes into their meth lab and changes everything forever.</p><p>The opening line of the book sets out a mission statement, a promise of things to come, “This ‘ere is a story of an old rock.” And whilst that is certainly true, by the end of the opening issue of the mini series it’s clear that this is much more than that. It’s also possible that perhaps that simple, almost vague way of describing the story is perhaps the easiest way to do so, as there’s a lot in this first issue that feels dense, and almost incomprehensible. There’s an underlying layer of psychodelia, a narrative and dialogue that don’t quite make perfect sense to begin with, and it quickly becomes apparent that this is going to be a series that requires more than one reading, and may even be better read in one single sitting when all of the issues are out.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFqSE4Fni3hKIx35lhyphenhyphenLziqLGWoX8rLNEYXOZxFiv95yZlBi8DXAlMNPo-Ie2aBmq8CRaigIVP-gE7lpb6_UtYoTlBGEvllkGEWZMOEUg9983VgEvjpJ81go37KxLr0vR-1rr_jVeF7oZlR0yqA2UQQ9ZPlVlP395sUpFl_LVGR6ktX7GpnWhg-Pm4Gns/s3056/Golgotha%2002.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3056" data-original-width="1988" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFqSE4Fni3hKIx35lhyphenhyphenLziqLGWoX8rLNEYXOZxFiv95yZlBi8DXAlMNPo-Ie2aBmq8CRaigIVP-gE7lpb6_UtYoTlBGEvllkGEWZMOEUg9983VgEvjpJ81go37KxLr0vR-1rr_jVeF7oZlR0yqA2UQQ9ZPlVlP395sUpFl_LVGR6ktX7GpnWhg-Pm4Gns/s320/Golgotha%2002.png" width="208" /></a></div>The book opens with a pair of brothers, Vern and Elwood, killing time in their barn turned meth lab, where Elwood, the younger of the two, does card tricks to entertain his older sibling. They’re waiting for their latest batch of meth to be ready so that they can make a big score and move out of the hated town of Golgotha and move to Cincinnati.<p></p><p>Elwood dreams of a place where he can live with bright skies, clean rooms, and a space where he can have a little indoor plant room, and Vern is determined that the two of them are going to get it. However, when a rock from space rips the roof off the barn as it comes crashing to Earth just outside, it ruins everything for them. With the meth ruined, Elwood is ready to give up on their dream. Vern has another plan in mind, deciding to break pieces off of the strange, purple rock, grind it up and sell it as drugs.</p><p>There’s not a huge amount more that can really be said about the first issue of <i>Golgotha Motor Mountain</i> both because the stuff that happens in the latter half of the issue should be kept as a surprise, but also because not a huge amount actually happens either. As said earlier, this book feels like it’s going to be better read in a single sitting, and part of that comes down to the pacing. This first issue doesn’t feel like an issue of a comic, not in the traditional sense. You’re barely getting a grasp on the characters and the setting when the book ends.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2XzBo50ecyxz9rHYVZ-AQX0JSZoAPJlBdbBjCoXzXgaIdlotnY2uUxt3NymR021iUcIlxRN9bVKYM8fY_xLu7os22JL9J1evSwpbLXZQeWZ89lQ2XlIN2z4CNC6GuKcBaek2lRP_XAc3M6QxlwqSLr3yQjra1pbzuf3FAuwFx111Lve-Xlky7ouycMpk/s3056/Golgotha%2003.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3056" data-original-width="1988" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2XzBo50ecyxz9rHYVZ-AQX0JSZoAPJlBdbBjCoXzXgaIdlotnY2uUxt3NymR021iUcIlxRN9bVKYM8fY_xLu7os22JL9J1evSwpbLXZQeWZ89lQ2XlIN2z4CNC6GuKcBaek2lRP_XAc3M6QxlwqSLr3yQjra1pbzuf3FAuwFx111Lve-Xlky7ouycMpk/s320/Golgotha%2003.png" width="208" /></a></div>I can easily sum up what happens in this issue in a sentence or two, but if you were to ask me if it was good, and what bits stood out, I’m not sure I could do that. It has ‘slow first chapter syndrome’, where a story can be fine when the next chapter is sitting there waiting for you, but when you have to wait a month for the next part there’s very little here making me want to come back to it for the second issue.<p></p><p>Part of the problems for me also comes down to Matthew Erman and Lonnie Nadler’s dialogue. There’s a point in the book were Elwood describes Vern’s talking as “Why are you talking like you got a drill put in your skull?”, and this kind of sums up a lot of the dialogue in the book. Characters say whatever comes into their heads, whether it actually helps or not. Vern talks and talks, but doesn’t really feel like he’s saying anything. I don’t learn more about him as a character, nor do I understand more of this world, and half of what he says feels like gibberish. This feeling is further compounded by a gang of militant types who have their own slang and way of talking that makes Vern feel normal by comparison.</p><p>Whilst the dialogue made the book hard to get through, Robbi Rodriguez and Marissa Louise do well on the art duties, with Rodriguez providing the art and Louise the colours. The book is interesting to look at, and Vern and Elwood have some exaggerated and unusual features that make them feel distinct from most other comic leads in the horror genre. The book has a messy, moody colour scheme to it too, where the backgrounds will often be bathed in single colours that indicate a change in scene or tone. Plus, there are some moments of body horror here that are truly gross to look at.</p><p><i>Golgotha Motor Mountain</i> might be trying something different, but it still feels too early to really know. Whilst there are some interesting ideas here they feel like they’re buried under a lot of excess, and it makes the prospect of coming back to read the second issue a bit of a tough one.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMBzHzTyFkUEANcdsAyYeGALE-xu-8o8sMJFz-R0WPtTPes8DAW9qQwUeh4a_fVu3_hoPum5JwA8GEm0XKixLThMyhj1wvzsncduwm5XhxBGmkEajaLU4iURilADS9Cx79qFf1de1BTBbcaVzN3Eq4vp7u-Y-coYvRssthF8RFYBwX_gwlsTCv4y2mVWY/s1524/02.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="1524" height="55" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMBzHzTyFkUEANcdsAyYeGALE-xu-8o8sMJFz-R0WPtTPes8DAW9qQwUeh4a_fVu3_hoPum5JwA8GEm0XKixLThMyhj1wvzsncduwm5XhxBGmkEajaLU4iURilADS9Cx79qFf1de1BTBbcaVzN3Eq4vp7u-Y-coYvRssthF8RFYBwX_gwlsTCv4y2mVWY/s320/02.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3532269" target="_blank">S<u>upport Amy on Patreon</u></a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://ko-fi.com/F1F1TMRM">Buy Amy A Coffee</a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit"><a data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="http://www.trans--scribe.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: inherit;">Go to Amy's Blog</a></font></p><div data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: "times new roman";" style="font-family: "times new roman";"><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Amazing_Amy_W"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit">Follow Amy on Twitter</font></a></p></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amazing_amy_w/" target="_blank">Add Amy on Instagram</a></p></div></div>Amy Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402476300192259841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1808456300359249763.post-49029128846164676852024-02-29T09:00:00.047+00:002024-02-29T09:00:00.140+00:00What Kind of Mother by Clay McLeod Chapman - Book Review<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm6rnJ7W02O_fiPxUSlV7QexiZa7ctaiXbpcwi1dgZrP83otCw9XdQmmVrm2yOJsJqzj5oyqVCeQZ8Qtk5NkIo7icQ2xT4rCBKCja1UI12vVwtKSr3HRBTbuNByNnoEf3RcU8vlhpYG4PDqKUkTUJgzJpEjplCe8eQP-44SPaRMnQOS-9lJDsWEcWzZzs/s1622/429881479_953982908948500_1497280766834390618_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1216" data-original-width="1622" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm6rnJ7W02O_fiPxUSlV7QexiZa7ctaiXbpcwi1dgZrP83otCw9XdQmmVrm2yOJsJqzj5oyqVCeQZ8Qtk5NkIo7icQ2xT4rCBKCja1UI12vVwtKSr3HRBTbuNByNnoEf3RcU8vlhpYG4PDqKUkTUJgzJpEjplCe8eQP-44SPaRMnQOS-9lJDsWEcWzZzs/w400-h300/429881479_953982908948500_1497280766834390618_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><i>'After striking out on her own as a teen mom, Madi Price is forced to return to her hometown of Brandywine, Virginia, with her seventeen-year-old daughter. With nothing to her name, she scrapes together a living as a palm reader at the local farmers market.</i></p><p><i>'It’s there that she connects with old high school flame Henry McCabe, now a reclusive local fisherman whose infant son, Skyler, went missing five years ago. Everyone in town is sure Skyler is dead, but when Madi reads Henry’s palm, she’s haunted by strange and disturbing visions that suggest otherwise. As she follows the thread of these visions, Madi discovers a terrifying nightmare waiting at the centre of the labyrinth—and it’s coming for everyone she holds dear.'</i></p><p><i>What Kind of Mother </i>tells the story of Madi, a single mother who's been doing her best for her now teenage daughter, but has to return to her hometown due to circumstances outside of her control. Brandywine is a small, sleepy place where nothing much really happens and people have hardly changed in the years that Madi has been gone. It's slow and dull, and Madi hates it. Having to find a way of supporting herself and her daughter, Madi decides to open up a palm reading stall in the town's market, faking her 'psychic' abilities for any who're willing to pay for a reading.</p><p>However, when Madi reconnects with her high school sweetheart, Henry, she learns that she does actually possess powers when she gives him a reading and has visions of his son Skylar, who went missing several years previous. Determined to find out what these visions mean, Madi discovers dark secrets lurking just beneath the surface of Brandywine.</p><p><i>What Kind of Mother </i>does well in its early chapters, and the set-up that Clay McLeod Chapman creates is an interesting one with some decent, engaging characters. Madi is a struggling single mother with a lot of issues, most of them stemming back to her time in Brandywine; and as such when she returns to her old town those issues come racing back to the surface. Some of the personal struggles that Madi has, the relationships with people who used to be in her life and how she reconnects with people are the best parts of the book, and I can't help but feel that if this was just a story about that I'd have liked it much better.</p><p>However, once the supernatural and horror elements are introduced to the book things kind of fall apart bit for me, whereas that's the stuff I'm normally excited to get to. The book has a lot of body horror in it, which is one of the areas that can be a bit hit and miss with me, either being absolutely fine or too gross. Sadly, more than once <i>What Kind of Mother </i>strayed into the second category, and left me feeling sick more than anything else. Perhaps I just wasn't in the right mood for it, but it led me to wanting to put the book down and not come back to it; forcing me to have to power through.</p><p>The end of the book has what I've seen others refer to as a 'twist', and I'd agree with that to a certain extent. It's not the kind of twist where it feels like the book played a clever reveal that was carefully hinted at chapters before, but a twist in logic. The characters make some unusual choices in the latter half of the book, choices that seem to be made with little reasoning or explanation given. Again, perhaps I wasn't in the right mind to enjoy these twists. I just didn't like the ending. I wasn't a fan of where the story went or what the characters did, and I've seen a few reviews online that share that sentiment.</p><p><i>What Kind of Mother </i>is an unusual read, one that I think will divide audiences very clearly into those who loved it and hated it. This is the kind of book that some will even put down and not finish. Trying it out might be something of a gamble, but I think that if you do like it you're going to get a lot out of it.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY3El4fjlHFYnZk-YqbeRdB4uWyMWvCrihbCLF9ixKCySjLFdCUIO1CuUOjX4hbAtSC-OINywVBzWTvBWQYK9ASx4-j_VzcDTMRVBDuKUCm8yzIeAowUpYRi2HEf1705SLdm_vam2AfEcQxhtF1cloTir5822_AKXdWNo0SpIwdQIfdquQrgNaSAqeXVE/s1524/02.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="1524" height="55" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY3El4fjlHFYnZk-YqbeRdB4uWyMWvCrihbCLF9ixKCySjLFdCUIO1CuUOjX4hbAtSC-OINywVBzWTvBWQYK9ASx4-j_VzcDTMRVBDuKUCm8yzIeAowUpYRi2HEf1705SLdm_vam2AfEcQxhtF1cloTir5822_AKXdWNo0SpIwdQIfdquQrgNaSAqeXVE/s320/02.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3532269" target="_blank">S<u>upport Amy on Patreon</u></a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://ko-fi.com/F1F1TMRM">Buy Amy A Coffee</a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit"><a data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="http://www.trans--scribe.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: inherit;">Go to Amy's Blog</a></font></p><div data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: "times new roman";" style="font-family: "times new roman";"><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Amazing_Amy_W"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit">Follow Amy on Twitter</font></a></p></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amazing_amy_w/" target="_blank">Add Amy on Instagram</a></p></div></div>Amy Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402476300192259841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1808456300359249763.post-82509308239866158662024-02-28T09:00:00.075+00:002024-02-28T09:00:00.141+00:00Thief - Throwback 10<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijqUuEtx0lVsxe-yIKFI0sCtQ7kpEqNKLsW2bLXj5vHt0ocNfnp8at1SzL-mzBsdab7PJSCHz1DIyoyd8jxIZAGQ8nTEZ6B-ruuhz61ZjrBsoViBDmlzfcP2v5XGssmOi6XR6kZQ8alMg2zwkPfSnuKqUi714feelJqBx2_5J4bjnzXQ-iplQbt0AhLC8/s937/Thief%2001.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="625" data-original-width="937" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijqUuEtx0lVsxe-yIKFI0sCtQ7kpEqNKLsW2bLXj5vHt0ocNfnp8at1SzL-mzBsdab7PJSCHz1DIyoyd8jxIZAGQ8nTEZ6B-ruuhz61ZjrBsoViBDmlzfcP2v5XGssmOi6XR6kZQ8alMg2zwkPfSnuKqUi714feelJqBx2_5J4bjnzXQ-iplQbt0AhLC8/w400-h266/Thief%2001.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p>When I was growing up there were two series that people would talk about as the main stealth games, <i>Metal Gear Solid</i>, and <i>Thief. </i>Having been more of a console player I ended up missing the original <i>Thief </i>games, but even then I was excited to see the series make a brief return in 2014.</p><p>Created by Eidos-Montreal and Square Enix, the game saw the return of master thief Garrett, who has been away from his homeland for a long time. Upon his return he finds his home, simply called The City, is now under the rule of a tyrannical and cruel new leader, Baron Northcrest. When Garrett is hired to steal from the Baron's home, along with an inexperienced thief called Erin, the job will end up changing his life, and The City, forever. When the mission goes wrong thanks to Erin, and a magic ritual being performed by the Baron and his men, Garrett falls into a coma.</p><p>Waking a year later, Garrett learns that The City is in the grips of a plague called The Gloom, with entire parts of the city in quarantine. As Garrett recovers he goes on a few missions to steal special items from across the city, and learns of a conspiracy to overthrow the Baron. Working with the resistance, Garrett finds himself caught up in a larger plot than he first thought; one with the fate of The City on the line.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMvB8nLYtIbX_ZkyOgRXfbKrwzfeRh13yhZB-Tc8OmRdgur1qAq2YYTpZ9wXDCFz6gqOW6-4_rY0wOILW3T_c-v_UCN6IyvzQpQSHYy-Bg3wR56CmAg486q0WonKkrHoRf6w0tyhdnykArtGkZVjmwpWef1t4JiKlPC7apURamdAwXr7hWE3ISEH2_2nk/s1920/Thief%2002.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMvB8nLYtIbX_ZkyOgRXfbKrwzfeRh13yhZB-Tc8OmRdgur1qAq2YYTpZ9wXDCFz6gqOW6-4_rY0wOILW3T_c-v_UCN6IyvzQpQSHYy-Bg3wR56CmAg486q0WonKkrHoRf6w0tyhdnykArtGkZVjmwpWef1t4JiKlPC7apURamdAwXr7hWE3ISEH2_2nk/s320/Thief%2002.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Originally announced in 2009 as <i>Thief 4</i>, or <i>Thi4f, </i>the game went through a great deal of changes during its early development, including having a third person perspective at one time, and also having a completely new protagonist. Following the release of <i>Deus Ex: Human Revolution </i>in 2012 the team for <i>Thief </i>was expanded significantly, and work began on the game in earnest. </p><p>The final game ended up being more in line with the original trilogy, though a number of newer gameplay elements that had become popular over recent years had been included. Despite that, stealth was still the order of the day. Whilst the game does include elements such as melee combat for those times when you get into trouble it's not the best implemented, and sneaking without being seen remains the best course of action throughout; even if it does take longer. Skulking in the shadows, learning guards patrol routes, and moving slowly are the keys to success, leading you to your objective.</p><p>Whilst Garrett is tasked with stealing specific items it doesn't mean that that is all you can take, and practically anything that isn't nailed down can be grabbed and thrown into Garrett's swag bag to trade on later. The only problem with this is that it does ruin the illusion that Garrett is a master thief, who gets in, grabs what he's been hired to steal, and gets out, and he becomes a petty looter at best. But, I can understand why the developers would include the ability to take anything the player wanted so as to avoid accusations of railroading or restricting gameplay.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePVKLYONMJh-WM2NQgVTwpDhmS0Rk8-Z4vBpUlRjy692DD4LtoaNj57cqhHdHf4qsb-Yj5CfkPOVsegUYNhtIE7jKOujL53o5z9qtRaymI-hhRMQRLnhs9fw1xWvGjovMSvBBM4tgeBmmBQJzPzsy2nWVInexzV0vq78fwgJywFCTLztDm_7eutFUVX4/s1920/Thief%2003.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePVKLYONMJh-WM2NQgVTwpDhmS0Rk8-Z4vBpUlRjy692DD4LtoaNj57cqhHdHf4qsb-Yj5CfkPOVsegUYNhtIE7jKOujL53o5z9qtRaymI-hhRMQRLnhs9fw1xWvGjovMSvBBM4tgeBmmBQJzPzsy2nWVInexzV0vq78fwgJywFCTLztDm_7eutFUVX4/s320/Thief%2003.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>One of the areas in which <i>Thief </i>excels is in it's lighting system. There have been many, many games where the stealth system is little more than crouching turning you invisible, with enemy AI having no way of looking down. There have been countless games where I've questioned the abilities of enemy guards as I walk two steps behind them in the bright light whilst they're oblivious to my presence. But thanks to the way that light and darkness work in <i>Thief </i>it does feel that you're actually using the darkness as a tool, rather than relying on guards being near sighted.</p><p>Upon its release <i>Thief </i>was received fairly well, with decent scores from many publications. Reviews criticised small issues with the gameplay, but rated it as a fun and enjoyable experience that fans of the originals would enjoy. One area in which it was called out a lot, however, was in the voice acting. Original voice actor Stephen Russell had been replaced by Romano Orzari, who was described as 'flat'; it also didn't help that the lip synching in the game's cut scenes was pretty poor, which further brought attention to lacklustre acting. </p><p>Whilst the game was criticised on some points <i>Thief </i>received decent review scores, and was an enjoyable enough experience whilst playing it, there has been no further games in the series, making the time since <i>Thief's </i>release as long as the gap between it and the previous game in the series. With no news of another game coming, however, it looks like 2014's outing might be the last mission for Garrett. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3532269" target="_blank">S<u>upport Amy on Patreon</u></a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://ko-fi.com/F1F1TMRM">Buy Amy A Coffee</a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit"><a data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="http://www.trans--scribe.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: inherit;">Go to Amy's Blog</a></font></p><div data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: "times new roman";" style="font-family: "times new roman";"><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Amazing_Amy_W"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit">Follow Amy on Twitter</font></a></p></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amazing_amy_w/" target="_blank">Add Amy on Instagram</a></p></div></div>Amy Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402476300192259841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1808456300359249763.post-82520937095192075992024-02-27T09:00:00.036+00:002024-02-27T09:00:00.144+00:00The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed - Book Reivew<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8pOfS0V6WNEO4ORYp2qAXLpm4VFtbp7la0BSifZ9ZcgAa0AL_wHRQn7Mq-RlJR9yZFvFBIRSkWvG_wpG590m6Xu_Vr4nCMWQxEcfUCpJdTCywiNGf2LRD-LhJNxtOCA4wpn-G5Y2PkfNk6UBRaVriP-j_xGPMJ9GV1149gvvRs-SNZrJmzI-e2CGE2dU/s1797/429105276_1052934109142482_6234822485416978944_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1348" data-original-width="1797" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8pOfS0V6WNEO4ORYp2qAXLpm4VFtbp7la0BSifZ9ZcgAa0AL_wHRQn7Mq-RlJR9yZFvFBIRSkWvG_wpG590m6Xu_Vr4nCMWQxEcfUCpJdTCywiNGf2LRD-LhJNxtOCA4wpn-G5Y2PkfNk6UBRaVriP-j_xGPMJ9GV1149gvvRs-SNZrJmzI-e2CGE2dU/w400-h300/429105276_1052934109142482_6234822485416978944_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><i>'A world-weary woman races against the clock to rescue the children of a wrathful tyrant from a dangerous, otherworldly forest. At the northern edge of a land ruled by a monstrous, foreign tyrant lies the wild forest known as the Elmever. The villagers know better than to let their children go near—once someone goes in, they never come back out.</i></p><p><i>'No one knows the strange and terrifying traps of the Elmever better than Veris Thorn, the only person to ever rescue a child from the forest many years ago. When the Tyrant’s two young children go missing, Veris is commanded to enter the forest once more and bring them home safe. If Veris fails, the Tyrant will kill her; if she remains in the forest for longer than a day, she will be trapped forevermore. So Veris will travel deep into the Elmever to face traps, riddles, and monsters at the behest of another monster. One misstep will cost everything.'</i></p><p>Forests can be frightening places, especially as most people nowadays tend to never really have reason to go into them other than for personal enjoyment. They've evolved over our history from places that people would know well to things we tend to see from a distance, things we don't really know anymore. And, once we don't know much about something it becomes frightening. Stories are told that make it darker, more mysterious, and it begins to feel like some kind of primal horror. Premee Mohamed leans into this a lot in their new short novella, <i>The Butcher of the Forest</i>, which makes the woods a truly unsettling place.</p><p>The story follows Veris, a woman in her 40's, who is the only person to have ever entered the mysterious and frightening Elmever forest and returned. Many before her have gone into it, but no others have ever come out, lost to the dark and twisted forest and the monsters that call it home. However, when the children of the cruel Tyrant enter the forest Veris is recruited, without much choice, to go in and to bring them home. Not only will Veris have to contend with the horrors of the forest, but she will have only a day in which to succeed or she'll be lost forever too.</p><p><i>The Butcher of the Forest </i>is not a long book, only 160 pages, and as such it jumps into the narrative very quickly, dropping the reader right into the middle of things. Despite there not being much time spent setting up this world or the characters, and much of the book being given over to what happens when Veris enters Elmever, Premee Mohamed somehow manages to make the book feel like that time is being taken. Mohamed uses long sentences, and beautifully flowing language to make the book feel longer than it actually is, and you come away from reading it surprised at the actual length of it as it feels like it should have been a lot more than 160 pages. </p><p>The book draws from fairy tale stories, but there are times that it also feels like you're slipping into cosmic horror, and the sense of unease that flows through the majority of the book plays wonderfully into these themes. It's violent and gruesome at times, and there are points that almost makes you want to put the book down because it goes to places you'd never have expected nor predicted. </p><p>I can see the ending dividing some readers, as it kind of divided me too. On the one hand I was very happy with how things ended, and was more than prepared to let things lie and never return to this character or world; but on the other hand I would devour an entire series if Mohamed decided to venture more into their creation. It's one of those dilemmas where you can say 'that ended perfectly, no more please' yet would also be first in line to get the next one. The perils of being a reader.</p><p><i>The Butcher of the Forest </i>is a wonderful dark horror fairy tale with a beautiful writing style that is going to draw readers in very quickly, and make a lot more fans of Premee Mohamed by the time things are done.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEh8KmctSzZi6-uxiflp0A8HGhuNMJvPQGPAyVaT1OuufddeIdGB-p9QgZYi-1m64dSoUFi66pKbzmzqStEAY0-eIyoSECg6hH1HMWMqnJNJcrLj-Z1vEiHpnOOzzawNRxipMkoI9oy46f6t4716JLaiEgsDJumvcWCWtPD6-jTruesInIghAcFXU-15U/s1491/04.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="247" data-original-width="1491" height="53" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEh8KmctSzZi6-uxiflp0A8HGhuNMJvPQGPAyVaT1OuufddeIdGB-p9QgZYi-1m64dSoUFi66pKbzmzqStEAY0-eIyoSECg6hH1HMWMqnJNJcrLj-Z1vEiHpnOOzzawNRxipMkoI9oy46f6t4716JLaiEgsDJumvcWCWtPD6-jTruesInIghAcFXU-15U/s320/04.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3532269" target="_blank">S<u>upport Amy on Patreon</u></a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://ko-fi.com/F1F1TMRM">Buy Amy A Coffee</a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit"><a data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="http://www.trans--scribe.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: inherit;">Go to Amy's Blog</a></font></p><div data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: "times new roman";" style="font-family: "times new roman";"><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Amazing_Amy_W"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit">Follow Amy on Twitter</font></a></p></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amazing_amy_w/" target="_blank">Add Amy on Instagram</a></p></div></div>Amy Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402476300192259841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1808456300359249763.post-11241995882538713072024-02-26T09:00:00.078+00:002024-02-26T09:00:00.240+00:00Nightmares in a Damaged Brain - Blu-ray Review<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5X1xJMNT8JrB_OyPGEGrwrENqQvX2yLV0TBeU1kEPrTLGmCdyHz3Dv864bwRVwRA48Fd3G-Eo_zfCyamDk3GkqFcZEgXF9HuS0XPXj1gX2nrA_uBhbDBvj0YGdvN-OtKUOJmPhkYqWRBRZOoMsOIqisAJ4PicVHCO2G8iqsSjfOJFaJ1-E2Hp4EyRCDs/s878/Nightmares%2001.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="604" data-original-width="878" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5X1xJMNT8JrB_OyPGEGrwrENqQvX2yLV0TBeU1kEPrTLGmCdyHz3Dv864bwRVwRA48Fd3G-Eo_zfCyamDk3GkqFcZEgXF9HuS0XPXj1gX2nrA_uBhbDBvj0YGdvN-OtKUOJmPhkYqWRBRZOoMsOIqisAJ4PicVHCO2G8iqsSjfOJFaJ1-E2Hp4EyRCDs/w400-h275/Nightmares%2001.png" width="400" /></a><br /><br /></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p>There are a few horror films from the 70's and 80's that I've heard of that I've never seen, films whose names instantly jump out at me for one particular reason; they were all Video Nasties. For those either not in the know, or not from the backwards United Kingdom, there was a time in Britain where censorship demanded that certain films be banned, that their distribution became a crime that would land people with fines or prison time (and older people complain about trigger warnings when they were literally throwing people in prison for certain films). <i>Nightmare</i>, or <i>Nightmare in a Damaged Brain</i>, was one of these films; and was the film that got two of its UK distributors sent to prison. But now horror fans, and those with an interest in this bizarre era of UK film culture, get the chance to experience the film in a brand new Blu-ray release thanks to Severin Films. </p><p><i>Nightmares in a Damaged Brain </i>tells the story of George Tatum, played by Baird Stafford, an incarcerated mental patient suffering from nightmares of murders, who had been locked up after mutilating and murdering a family in Brooklyn. Despite being diagnosed with a series of disorders, including schizophrenia, George is released following an experimental drug procedure designed to cure him of his violent urges. The doctor in charge is certain that George has been turned into an upstanding citizen. However, when he goes missing, the authorities are worried that he may have returned to his murderous ways.</p><p>George journeys away from New York, heading down the coast towards Florida; killing a woman along the way in order to get hold of a new car. Arriving in Myrtle Beach, he begins following a single mother and her three children, watching them from afar. As the family deal with their complicated life, the youngest son CJ pulling horrible pranks on people that leads to problems with the police, and mother Susan trying to fit her new relationship into her home life, George closes in on the family, killing more people along the way.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvaLLscQPoqJQAXt7qTCGtKOR8SOGdvXxn93iBAfZU4hGaYd-1cmEUCqCRAPAZ1FXAmxW53X5nR8N5c6-aoMKeCyttDhmhiMP-vjqmJ5gOvI0jUBHffo1Uy-JD7VOyMilNCMn0V27eow9QCumR7G31Gb1AyktiQc1tgvEKR7F0hCsXv7PZhsDahDSVyTc/s1114/Nightmares%2002.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="624" data-original-width="1114" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvaLLscQPoqJQAXt7qTCGtKOR8SOGdvXxn93iBAfZU4hGaYd-1cmEUCqCRAPAZ1FXAmxW53X5nR8N5c6-aoMKeCyttDhmhiMP-vjqmJ5gOvI0jUBHffo1Uy-JD7VOyMilNCMn0V27eow9QCumR7G31Gb1AyktiQc1tgvEKR7F0hCsXv7PZhsDahDSVyTc/s320/Nightmares%2002.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>The trailer for <i>Nightmares in a Damaged Brain</i>, and the film's title, doesn't really help to sell the kind of film this is. The trailer is somewhat disjointed, jumping around a lot, and shows pieces from all across the film with little indication of what the narrative might be. As the film starts things are also somewhat hard to follow, with scenes of murders cutting to George asleep at home having nightmares, to him then waking up screaming in a mental hospital. The film starts confusingly, presenting things in a disjointed manner that made me start to think that I was going to be watching a somewhat surreal and bizarre horror film.</p><p>However, the film then soon settles into what is a fairly standard 80's slasher structure. We follow a family, watching their everyday lives, getting to know them. Meanwhile, George stalks them from a distance, hiding in the neighbourhood, occasionally killing someone who gets too close to him, whilst the authorities try to figure out where he might be. It's a lot closer to the structure of a film like <i>Halloween </i>than the trailer or start of the film makes you think, and once it does settle into this structure it becomes a much more enjoyable and engaging watch.</p><p>The acting is about what you'd expect for a small budget horror film of the era, as in middling at best. Despite that, there are some genuinely enjoyable moments, some where the acting becomes so bad you can't help but laugh at it. There's a moment in the film where CJ, who's just seen George outside the house, stumbles inside, clutching his stomach and covered in blood saying that the man attacked him. And the acting isn't the best, so I ended up questioning if this was one of CJ's tricks, or if it was just bad child acting. It made the scene a lot of fun as I hunted for more clues to try and reveal the truth.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqYkUiDkYXFg-mhz89X5p4wDWwysEtCc9Xx_2-9msS9hp79fR4yvZDwm-8bn-1OF73P9hdLxLfdTfQetyRFXziW1Ls2Fu0k8fB4UdC_kcrle3KBPnBSCIEpZjHBejlFdf6bUp_pvpPoZYlpTlqf0lGK4Vd4kZuKYlVCC3v8fqZMqRjq5mrH4vZYErqRG0/s1280/Nightmares%2003.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqYkUiDkYXFg-mhz89X5p4wDWwysEtCc9Xx_2-9msS9hp79fR4yvZDwm-8bn-1OF73P9hdLxLfdTfQetyRFXziW1Ls2Fu0k8fB4UdC_kcrle3KBPnBSCIEpZjHBejlFdf6bUp_pvpPoZYlpTlqf0lGK4Vd4kZuKYlVCC3v8fqZMqRjq5mrH4vZYErqRG0/s320/Nightmares%2003.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Where the film does well, and something it's known for, is the special effects. <i>Nightmares in a Damaged Brain </i>was advertised as having the special effects done by screen legend Tom Savini. Savini, however, did not work on the film, and even threatened to sue the makers if they didn't remove his name. Savini did, however, advise for the effects on the film, and visited the set, and it's easy to see why some could think it's a Savini film as there are some great 80's gore effects on offer in the film, particularly a spectacular beheading scene that gets shown a few times across the movie. One of the extras on the disc is a fun little interview with Savini where he talks about the miscredit on the film.</p><p>Speaking about extras, the new set has some great special features including two audio commentaries packed with behind the scenes info on the movie, and the impact that the films had, as well as trailers, deleted scenes, and a feature length documentary about British censorship laws that led to the video nasty era that's almost worth the price of admission alone. </p><p>For those trying to seek out a little known horror film that's an enjoyable and entertaining experience this latest release is one worth having a look at. However, if you've an interest in the video nasty craze, censorship, and films of the 1980's this new blu-ray is one that will appeal all the more. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCY_sSWuJaejB7RD2um0Fir67r7iwfEaBixMUWUy95qXHzRmdZBZy1jNAOxpNf2xuj7IjJbUzdxBKlqNq6YQi8Mw-a-VWKU3J_FpFQ3J8M8o-PaWNhiJlWs2Kj5s1S_tWQzx2wAIhcmNUCMIv7WrrI6mDOfyhcM5BM3RqA3dHvqryV2Epu-ZL_ztH08l8/s1491/04.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="247" data-original-width="1491" height="53" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCY_sSWuJaejB7RD2um0Fir67r7iwfEaBixMUWUy95qXHzRmdZBZy1jNAOxpNf2xuj7IjJbUzdxBKlqNq6YQi8Mw-a-VWKU3J_FpFQ3J8M8o-PaWNhiJlWs2Kj5s1S_tWQzx2wAIhcmNUCMIv7WrrI6mDOfyhcM5BM3RqA3dHvqryV2Epu-ZL_ztH08l8/s320/04.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3532269" target="_blank">S<u>upport Amy on Patreon</u></a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://ko-fi.com/F1F1TMRM">Buy Amy A Coffee</a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit"><a data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="http://www.trans--scribe.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: inherit;">Go to Amy's Blog</a></font></p><div data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: "times new roman";" style="font-family: "times new roman";"><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Amazing_Amy_W"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit">Follow Amy on Twitter</font></a></p></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amazing_amy_w/" target="_blank">Add Amy on Instagram</a></p></div></div>Amy Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402476300192259841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1808456300359249763.post-60560813782337211142024-02-24T09:00:00.062+00:002024-02-24T09:00:00.140+00:00Death System: A Zombicide Invader Novel by S.A. Sidor - Book Review<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcs4DHg07aB7F04bsz8wVp8IuYlxslmhnTIdn9py1BnF2WBS5YPN1cm2agaRGSVwry8lTrGUMeP4Qf9_VVlRyP8VIYDsi48Sn4Wb80eARlMaY3VPE1GLUJ_bu8ldwEn0BoQyUgpE-oyr468yWJL-RAfIJBJ47eySlHIZfj6ix30Jx9wgzYf9FgZTcKFBs/s1684/421294100_912041296998765_4720300296970891795_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1263" data-original-width="1684" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcs4DHg07aB7F04bsz8wVp8IuYlxslmhnTIdn9py1BnF2WBS5YPN1cm2agaRGSVwry8lTrGUMeP4Qf9_VVlRyP8VIYDsi48Sn4Wb80eARlMaY3VPE1GLUJ_bu8ldwEn0BoQyUgpE-oyr468yWJL-RAfIJBJ47eySlHIZfj6ix30Jx9wgzYf9FgZTcKFBs/w400-h300/421294100_912041296998765_4720300296970891795_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><i>'Cybernetically enhanced zombie-aliens want to devour the universe and only a crack team of murderous misfits can stop them, in this non-stop action-adventure from InvaderWhen decorated military pilot Shawna Bright is convicted of a heinous crime and incarcerated, she is determined to prove her innocence. However, flying the getaway ship during a prison break wrecks that hope. Forced to land on the terrifying Xeno-ridden planet, PK-L7, Shawna must survive both ravenous alien-zombies and a crew of dangerous criminals. When they discover Xenos with cybernetic implants, Shawna uncovers a deadly plan to wreak havoc across the universe. She must do everything in her power to stop it… even if she goes down in history as one of the bad guys.'</i></p><p>Despite having not played any of the <i>Zombicide </i>games I've come to really love the franchise due completely to the work of the novels. Aconyte Books have produced some fantastic books in these settings, and whilst the regular <i>Zombicide </i>books, and the <i>Black Plague </i>series all follow the same group of survivors and their stories, the <i>Zombicide Invader </i>series gives us something almost completely new each time. This time readers are treated to a daring prison escape from some of the worst of the worst in the galaxy; an escape that leads our colourful cast of characters to an even bigger nightmare. </p><p><i>Death System </i>begins in prison, in one of the worst maximum security prisons in the galaxy. Here we meet a number of the most high profile prisoners, such as Bak-Irp, the bounty hunter turned killer, Nero Lupaster IV, the super rich head of a criminal guild, Shawna Bright, the military pilot who shot down and killed her own unit, and Dr Lemora Pick, a scientist who created a weapon that killed a planet. Nero, who still has a lot of very powerful friends, has been carefully paying off one of the guards, getting him on side, and arranges for a very special package to be snuck into the prison and given to Lemora, another of his people. A package containing a deadly, infectious mould. </p><p>During a prisoner transfer that sees a few dozen of the prisons worst placed onto an old and beaten-up ship, Lemora uses the mould in a small explosive she's made, detonating it in the cabin. The mould begins to infect the non-humans on board, transforming them into ravenous zombies. It's in this chaos that Nero and his group stage their escape; an escape in which Shawna finds herself having to fight to survive. However, when the ship lands on a planet filled with more of the deadly zombie creatures the survivors will have to work together to try and make it out alive.</p><p>One of the fun things about <i>Death System </i>is that very early on there's almost no one you want to root for. Shawna is made to be sympathetic from the start, as Sidor makes it clear that she believes that she was framed for her crimes, and that she did not murder her team, but other than that there's no one in our group of survivors that deserve to get out alive. This group are some of the worst of the worst characters, mass murderers, psychopaths, and worse, yet as the story progresses you start to like the characters more and more, to the point where you start to feel bad when these very terrible people begin to die.</p><p>There are a lot of stories out there that try to make criminals sympathetic, and most of the time I find that they tend to fail. These stories often come across as romanticising crime and brutality, with the creators having to try to make despicable characters into victims of circumstance rather than out and out bad people in order to make them sympathetic. Sidor doesn't try this though, most of the characters are unrepentant, they don't have tragic backstories that justify their heinous acts, and most of them don't even care that they've done bad. Despite this, their personalities are what make them so likable. Lemora is uncaring, she has killed countless people and thought nothing of it, yet I couldn't help but come to like her because of her relationships with the other survivors and they small ways in which she was made quite charming. </p><p>Because of the work that Sidor puts into making these characters likable when the killing starts you do actually care when they die, and there are moments that had me letting out audible groans as someone who I was enjoying in a scene just a moment ago is brutally ripped to pieces by the hordes of undead storming the facility our characters are holding up in. </p><p>I can't really talk too much more about the story without spoiling too much, as there are so many twists and turns in the book that I wouldn't want to spoil anything for anyone, but if you like sci-fi horror, and have enjoyed the other books in the series this will definitely appeal to you. I had a great time reading it, and by the time the end came I was annoyed that it was over and wanted more. S.A. Sidor has written some of my favourite books with Aconyte, and this absolutely enters that category. Absolutely great fun. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj43vMNvDXyAc_5-w-ZARZZWnSkQILjIwUOpsYT55d3-PILYYyD3Ha34-wCP9DYMKgDtWybVeGvO2paAsf_VvTBxFPP4cYKl6K2ZNzLUL5xUdl3n2FbnV28cMC4IxhDSRH8Z59pobUnHzx2Po4Od8OkIIOPpUZ8pYGcXGDGOhIy_FtEBXCWfHv92P4Xgts/s1491/04.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="247" data-original-width="1491" height="53" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj43vMNvDXyAc_5-w-ZARZZWnSkQILjIwUOpsYT55d3-PILYYyD3Ha34-wCP9DYMKgDtWybVeGvO2paAsf_VvTBxFPP4cYKl6K2ZNzLUL5xUdl3n2FbnV28cMC4IxhDSRH8Z59pobUnHzx2Po4Od8OkIIOPpUZ8pYGcXGDGOhIy_FtEBXCWfHv92P4Xgts/s320/04.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3532269" target="_blank">S<u>upport Amy on Patreon</u></a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://ko-fi.com/F1F1TMRM">Buy Amy A Coffee</a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit"><a data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="http://www.trans--scribe.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: inherit;">Go to Amy's Blog</a></font></p><div data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: "times new roman";" style="font-family: "times new roman";"><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Amazing_Amy_W"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit">Follow Amy on Twitter</font></a></p></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amazing_amy_w/" target="_blank">Add Amy on Instagram</a></p></div></div>Amy Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402476300192259841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1808456300359249763.post-9850979076038263632024-02-23T09:00:00.021+00:002024-02-23T09:00:00.240+00:00Chronique des Silencieux – Game Review<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB9NZDO0jVQ62tIdJ1di8COyKPpfszcjjgz9NRMQXwIeyWGoeptSzspTJTOW3VggjMPdox_U9Jf8hAtROdi-G4pNUdM0yF_QmfXmjZCsQPttZlaW7_RnNVQgH6YEELvjJyvT4Mv6DeZeJ5rMfo-2wZ5WhnW113NcuwdfOgw5nXZWoQzxTRHosuumWcp8U/s1164/Chronique%2001.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="655" data-original-width="1164" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB9NZDO0jVQ62tIdJ1di8COyKPpfszcjjgz9NRMQXwIeyWGoeptSzspTJTOW3VggjMPdox_U9Jf8hAtROdi-G4pNUdM0yF_QmfXmjZCsQPttZlaW7_RnNVQgH6YEELvjJyvT4Mv6DeZeJ5rMfo-2wZ5WhnW113NcuwdfOgw5nXZWoQzxTRHosuumWcp8U/w400-h225/Chronique%2001.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">Originally published on <b><u><a href="https://setthetape.com/2024/02/09/chronique-des-silencieux-game-review/" target="_blank">Set The Tape</a></u></b></p><p><br /></p><p>Point and click adventure games are some of the oldest that have existed on the PC. Their simple interface of clicking on things with your mouse, trying to figure out the next part of the story and searching for things in the environment that will help get you to that point make them feel timeless, and whilst technology and graphics have changed over the decades the general gameplay hasn’t. The latest game to dip its toes into this much loved genre is Pierre Feuille Studios’ very first game, the historical mystery adventure <i>Chronique des Silencieux</i>.</p><p>Set during the 1970s, in the French town of Bordeaux, <i>Chronique des Silencieux</i> puts players in control of Eugene, a fifteen-year-old boy who travels to Brodeaux to find his uncle, following the recent passing of his mother. Arriving at the train station, alone and with not even a single piece of luggage, he finds no one waiting for him. Stepping out into the rain soaked streets, Eugene eventually finds the old antique shop where his uncle works and lives, only to be met by an angry Madame Solange, who tells him that his uncle has gone away. We soon learn that Uncle Flavio has been telling some lies about his life, and that he’s actually the security/pimp for Madam Solange’s brothel, and that he’s recently been arrested for fighting with One Armed Herve. Heading to the local police station, Eugene is recruited by an inspector to help look into the events.</p><p>Thus begins Eugene’s adventure into the seedy, criminal underbelly of Bordeaux, and a story that involves sex work, secret drug trades, organised crime, and murder. Whilst this sounds exciting, the actual execution of the game leads to it being anything but, and I was ready to pull my hair out and quit before I was even through the segment of the game quite unfairly called the ‘tutorial’.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZMSD0TfmhBpsaR6VRCZNmrYWDhGPKcO8HtyP-Yhg4izZGeBeAT3LAMUj50T7kij4YF05Y4jkYQ-Ux_FZGuMyyjoEFsrgtN8Q1S7_umyP9U37n_s-bZ0GpsM2G4q7pxGDTUggAq7yrOfm8gboTLtdSY64dIdBlqMyRHJ4f_voUBqglIXGtHrLlLgIUtCs/s1280/Chronique%2002.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZMSD0TfmhBpsaR6VRCZNmrYWDhGPKcO8HtyP-Yhg4izZGeBeAT3LAMUj50T7kij4YF05Y4jkYQ-Ux_FZGuMyyjoEFsrgtN8Q1S7_umyP9U37n_s-bZ0GpsM2G4q7pxGDTUggAq7yrOfm8gboTLtdSY64dIdBlqMyRHJ4f_voUBqglIXGtHrLlLgIUtCs/s320/Chronique%2002.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>The main thrust of <i>Chronique des Silencieux </i>is finding connections between discovered documents and witness testimonies. This is done by exploring environments in order to collect items such as police reports, stock certificates, and letters hidden in the backs of drawers that require you to shift around junk in order to find them, and by engaging in long conversations with multiple people. Connections are made in your inventory screen, where you can select a document you want to check out, and one of the testimonies you’ve collected. Then selecting a sentence in one it will generate a red string that you then connect to a sentence in the other to make a connection. In theory, this works absolutely fine, but in practice it’s one of the most frustrating aspects of the entire game.</p><p>The ‘tutorial’ segment tells you to find a connection between Uncle Flavio’s testimonies and the police report that you’ve got on the fight. Whilst this sounds simple enough, the game doesn’t make it clear if you are searching for something that confirmed his story, or something that proved a lie, and it took an incredible amount of trial and error to find the connection it wanted.</p><p>The fact that all of the various dialogue testimonies from Uncle Flavio gave me a few dozen sentences to pick from, and that each of them could connect to another dozen parts of the police report made finding the right connection something of a nightmare. Even some of the clues I found within both that proved a lie, such as how the fight started, or what One Arm Herve’s connection to one of the sex workers was. These turned out to not be the connections the game wanted, and kept flagging them up as wrong. The simple act of connecting the right two pieces of info ended up taking almost 20 minutes of examination and guess work that ended with me hating the main gameplay premise of the entire game.</p><p>From the long and obtuse tutorial the game opens up into the main mystery, and gets even more difficult. You’re let out into a small corner of the town to try and figure out why this fight with your uncle started, which is only further complicated when One Arm Herve turns up dead. You have to search through drawers in the brothel, talk to everyone there, and even go out into the streets to talk to people there. When you get enough information, new avenues of investigation open up, allowing you to talk to more people on more topics and collect more testimonies. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t tell you when these points happen, and there are multiple times where you feel like you’ve hit a brick wall with no way to progress things forward.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFYqkPWJvY_V4aec1AdSS0J_JilKSOpDIUm8KO2_w9alsiXLutMq-g2MRzIb2KjRxOXZYz38v0T6CQv34fXIpB87Np8-I1BcXuWUZpB5oQMY_4qs88MdcwioH1U1o_mh4R4D21XwUJKcJbHzZdAQjYVvI5yCC2e4rcXw-9EHO17-QPJLw-cf2zmXHGpwg/s1920/Chronique%2003.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFYqkPWJvY_V4aec1AdSS0J_JilKSOpDIUm8KO2_w9alsiXLutMq-g2MRzIb2KjRxOXZYz38v0T6CQv34fXIpB87Np8-I1BcXuWUZpB5oQMY_4qs88MdcwioH1U1o_mh4R4D21XwUJKcJbHzZdAQjYVvI5yCC2e4rcXw-9EHO17-QPJLw-cf2zmXHGpwg/s320/Chronique%2003.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>If you’re able to collect enough testimonies and clues and make the right wildly difficult to guess connections you can try to open locks in your inventory that lead to Eugene coming up with theories that he can then confront suspects with. During these confrontations you’ll have to challenge the suspect on what they’re saying based on the evidence you’ve collected, but if you get these wrong by failing to pick out the exact sentence needed you’ll end up ruining the investigation, which goes on to affect your eventual score. Difficult, frustrating, and obtuse are the main descriptors for the gameplay, unfortunately.</p><p>Graphically, the game looks good, and has a nice animated look to it that’s reminiscent of French comic art. The characters all have a distinct style, and stand out in the environments. The characters and the art style really comes to life in the animated cut scenes, where you get to see them in much more action than the rest of the game. However, as these parts are voiced in French with English subtitles, half of your attention will be on reading the text before it vanishes, meaning you won’t really be able to give the cut scene the attention it deserves. Speaking of the translation, with the game having been adapted from French to English you’d hope that attention would have been given to this in order to make sure the story and the mystery elements were translated correctly. However, the text is riddled with typos, broken English, and weird turns of phrase that make evaluating long passages of text to find connections even more difficult.</p><p><i>Chronique des Silencieux</i> is Pierre Feuille Studios first game, and it was partly funded through a Kickstarter campaign. It’s clear that the people behind the game had a passion to create it, but I can’t help but feel some more development time would have helped. The game has some great ideas, and it could have worked well, but as it is in its current state, it’s about as far from being enjoyable as any game I’ve ever played and I simply can’t recommend it, even to hardcore point and click adventure fans.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_P-j1tdNy_k6hjomq8BnnG8A0kXwBJVPWi8qgvnBeM5tStfd5JlX6eglvzCPSBweK1AiZcO_YselBQmGy7DWWbBmHIK8V-vpHgjHYUpDYBtpGY-7BSaw4sQ5fchz6CFl8Ut3nk7rEySnNFVZ16UPtckhlfT29CsK72fIiIMalgSqb8dvirIBPnz0j2QM/s1503/01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="283" data-original-width="1503" height="60" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_P-j1tdNy_k6hjomq8BnnG8A0kXwBJVPWi8qgvnBeM5tStfd5JlX6eglvzCPSBweK1AiZcO_YselBQmGy7DWWbBmHIK8V-vpHgjHYUpDYBtpGY-7BSaw4sQ5fchz6CFl8Ut3nk7rEySnNFVZ16UPtckhlfT29CsK72fIiIMalgSqb8dvirIBPnz0j2QM/s320/01.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3532269" target="_blank">S<u>upport Amy on Patreon</u></a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://ko-fi.com/F1F1TMRM">Buy Amy A Coffee</a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit"><a data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="http://www.trans--scribe.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: inherit;">Go to Amy's Blog</a></font></p><div data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: "times new roman";" style="font-family: "times new roman";"><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Amazing_Amy_W"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit">Follow Amy on Twitter</font></a></p></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amazing_amy_w/" target="_blank">Add Amy on Instagram</a></p></div></div>Amy Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402476300192259841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1808456300359249763.post-85910954195670764572024-02-22T09:00:00.084+00:002024-02-23T12:10:24.721+00:00The Briar Book of the Dead by A.G. Slatter - Book Review<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYUk2KIh6viSHl3zLMu_4YFBfEiWSu3spOr1Wtt06XvOgxWFRluOJxZW_RT9LeqJdqFoMuFz7mIjosQRiznGKT0Y1hh4A5j69_PNHFuj7wqBqzLdTJPYYCYOadQgUBOWztiupCVDMUzq6PmaH3j-oAsKTpRMpPWX8BNW-LAN6UYGUFgjauxDrAAnbSLZ4/s1892/426720409_924951652268349_3227333746387536723_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1419" data-original-width="1892" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYUk2KIh6viSHl3zLMu_4YFBfEiWSu3spOr1Wtt06XvOgxWFRluOJxZW_RT9LeqJdqFoMuFz7mIjosQRiznGKT0Y1hh4A5j69_PNHFuj7wqBqzLdTJPYYCYOadQgUBOWztiupCVDMUzq6PmaH3j-oAsKTpRMpPWX8BNW-LAN6UYGUFgjauxDrAAnbSLZ4/w400-h300/426720409_924951652268349_3227333746387536723_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><i>'Ellie Briar is the first non-witch to be born into her family for generations. The Briar family of witches run the town of Silverton, caring for its inhabitants with their skills and magic. In the usual scheme of things, they would be burnt for their sorcery, but the church has given them dispensation in return for their protection of the borders of the Darklands, where the much feared Leech Lords hold sway.</i></p><p><i>'Ellie is being trained as a steward, administering for the town, and warding off the insistent interest of the church. When her grandmother dies suddenly, Ellie's cousin Audra rises to the position of Briar Witch, propelling Ellie into her new role. As she navigates fresh challenges, an unexpected new ability to see and speak to the dead leads her to uncover sinister family secrets, stories of burnings, lost grimoires and evil spells. Reeling from one revelation to the next, she seeks answers from the long dead and is forced to decide who to trust, as a devastating plot threatens to destroy everything the Briar witches have sacrificed so much to build.'</i></p><p>Having discovered Angela Slatter's S<i>ourdough </i>universe a few years ago (well into its existence) I quickly fell in love with the setting. Slatter has created some of my favourite dark fantasy novels of the last few years, and as such I was excited to dive back into that setting with her latest novel, <i>The Briar Book of the Dead</i>.</p><p>The story takes readers to the town of Silverton, where a family of witches, the Briars, watch over the town and help those that live there, despite their kind being hated by the church. The main reason why the Briars are allowed to continue existing is that Silverton is close to the border with the Darklands, an evil place inhabited by the evil Leechlords, and the Briars keep the border protected. Ellie Briar is one of the granddaughters of the two head witches of the family, but was born without any magic, something that sets her apart from the other women in her family. Because of her lack of magic Ellie struggles to be taken seriously, and is sometimes looked down on. However, when her grandmother dies, Ellie finds herself thrust into a new position, one that leads her to discover some shocking secrets of her family that have been carefully buried.</p><p>Compared to the last two books from Slatter, <i><a href="https://trans--scribe.blogspot.com/2021/03/all-murmuring-bones-by-ag-slatter-blog.html" target="_blank">All the Murmuring Bones</a> </i>and <i><a href="https://trans--scribe.blogspot.com/2022/07/the-path-of-thorns-by-ag-slatter-book.html" target="_blank">The Path of Thorns</a></i>, <i>The Briar Book of the Dead </i>felt like a much slower burn of a read. At least towards the beginning of the book. Things start kind of slowly, and it takes a good way into the main bulk of the book before the plot begins in full. However, this doesn't mean that the start of the book is bad by any means, as readers get to spend a lot of time with Ellie, seeing what her life if like, her relationships, and the town of Silverton itself. It helps to build this small corner of this world, and adds to the overall richness of the narrative, even if it does feel a bit like you're waiting around for things to start to begin with. </p><p>Once things begin in earnest, however, the book becomes very hard to put down. By that point you've become quite invested in Ellie and her story, and as such when the main plot ramps up you find yourself unable to stop reading. You've come to really care for Ellie and want to see her come out okay by the end. This is one of the things that I love about Slatter's books, she's able to writer incredibly engaging and realistic female protagonists that you keep wanting to read more of. </p><p>But, this is a book set within the <i>Sourdough </i>universe, and so despite the wonderful protagonist it's a book filled with dark subject matter, some that might test readers at times, especially when dealing with topics like miscarriage, suicide, and psychosis. Slatter doesn't shy away from making her world a cruel one, but never revels in that cruelty like some writers. Instead, it makes for a layered reading experience that will mean different things to different readers.</p><p>Overall, I had a wonderful time with <i>The Briar Book of the Dead</i>, and much like the other books in this world I'd happily recommend it to fans of the genre. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisXs6AAt1O3Vzgk0KN7j5_udn472KZbYwBOEzgVGad9WtKGXDUwU3U6dRg8xsomwazXE_BHOibTjGqjTa9iZo57NcpN0l4oujJPDVqgJ8PhtQjz2Bhpb5VEk9ps9ymVoyNTfFgd0kTtsA9X-xmZsQvlaVeyGF5hghagmT7c4TBXMhVPcRJcdgbgh9joZk/s1491/04.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="247" data-original-width="1491" height="53" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisXs6AAt1O3Vzgk0KN7j5_udn472KZbYwBOEzgVGad9WtKGXDUwU3U6dRg8xsomwazXE_BHOibTjGqjTa9iZo57NcpN0l4oujJPDVqgJ8PhtQjz2Bhpb5VEk9ps9ymVoyNTfFgd0kTtsA9X-xmZsQvlaVeyGF5hghagmT7c4TBXMhVPcRJcdgbgh9joZk/s320/04.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3532269" target="_blank">S<u>upport Amy on Patreon</u></a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://ko-fi.com/F1F1TMRM">Buy Amy A Coffee</a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit"><a data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="http://www.trans--scribe.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: inherit;">Go to Amy's Blog</a></font></p><div data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: "times new roman";" style="font-family: "times new roman";"><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Amazing_Amy_W"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit">Follow Amy on Twitter</font></a></p></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amazing_amy_w/" target="_blank">Add Amy on Instagram</a></p></div></div>Amy Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402476300192259841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1808456300359249763.post-58245347109151705372024-02-21T09:00:00.043+00:002024-02-21T09:00:00.288+00:00Nobody's Angel by Jack Clark - Book Review<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXNQ3Ky84ne3xyc_m_v5CGWTF2Cn6xikpWXgqz5jjGfFCkma2uu4OJc-4QPoAvSPruq06yW2PmKDdb_IqVhJ4ESsRbpDc-rIGovHC3_DolyrW5JABIN1ecK2wh295tc5NEmhhDgcuwV5s2JuL4Jrc0qhIkUEeYYzsTPXTqHMn6LBUY0pco-5e67xePudE/s1725/426552512_7189035107846866_2422266414460143608_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1294" data-original-width="1725" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXNQ3Ky84ne3xyc_m_v5CGWTF2Cn6xikpWXgqz5jjGfFCkma2uu4OJc-4QPoAvSPruq06yW2PmKDdb_IqVhJ4ESsRbpDc-rIGovHC3_DolyrW5JABIN1ecK2wh295tc5NEmhhDgcuwV5s2JuL4Jrc0qhIkUEeYYzsTPXTqHMn6LBUY0pco-5e67xePudE/w400-h300/426552512_7189035107846866_2422266414460143608_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><i>'Eddie Miles is one of a dying breed: a Windy City hack who knows every street and back alley of his beloved city and takes its recent descent into violence personally. But what can one driver do about a killer targeting streetwalkers or another terrorizing cabbies? Precious little - until the night he witnesses one of them in action...'</i></p><p>There tends to be three types of crime stories, those that follow cops, those that follow private detectives, and those that showcase amateur sleuths, which can cover anything from priests, to writers, or even gardeners who keep finding dead bodies. Eddie Miles, the protagonist of <i>Nobody's Angel </i>would have to fit into the third category, yet feels very far removed from most of those kinds of stories. Eddie is less a man out to solve a murder because he's got that crime busting itch, and more a man trapped in a terrible situation.</p><p><i>Nobody's Angel </i>follows Eddie, a Chicago cab driver who hates what's happening to the city he loves. There are parts of the city where gentrification has changed it to a place he doesn't even recognise anymore, and others where cab drivers just can't go anymore due to fear of violence. He's feeling lost in his home city, and a couple of recent murder sprees does little to help. Having one killer stalking the streets would be bad enough, but Chicago is dealing with two; one who targets sex workers, and another that's killing cab drivers.</p><p>Despite the dangers, Eddie continues his work as a driver, and then one night when he stops down a back alley to pee he discovers the near dead, mutilated form of a sex worker, the latest victim of one of the killers. This draws Eddie into a world he was trying to avoid; but when his old friend and mentor, another cabbie, becomes the latest murder victim of the cabbie killer Eddie becomes determined to try to find some answers.</p><p>One of the things that sets <i>Nobody's Angel </i>aside from most crime stories is that for the most part it feels like the crime solving takes a back seat, and instead we spend much of the book driving around the city with Eddie, picking up fares and hearing stories. The book has a big quote on the front from Quentin Tarantino calling it his 'favourite novel this year', and it's clear to see why it'd appeal to him. The stories that Eddie tells, the way he goes into what kind of people make for good fares, who tips and who doesn't, and his musings about the changing nature of Chicago feel very Tarantino-esque. It feels relaxed, conversational, and whilst not everything is an important part of the mystery, or helps to solve it, it all helps to build the world we're inhabiting and the people who are part of it.</p><p>Part of the reason a lot of the book feels so real, so effortlessly crafted, is that Jack Clark knows this world. An actual cab driver from Chicago, this is the world that Clark knows, he's putting a lot of his own experiences onto the page and it absolutely bleeds through into the work and makes for a very grounded, very real kind of mystery story that a lot of writers in the genre never manage to create. I also love the fact that Clark self published 500 copies of <i>Nobody's Angel </i>and sold them to people riding in his cab for $5 a copy before he got picked up by a publisher; that's the kind of person who has a passion for what they're doing and won't take no for an answer.</p><p><i>Nobody's Angel </i>is a short read, barely more than two hundred pages in all, but it's one that's thoroughly enjoyable. Clark clearly knows this world, and has a passion for his home city that makes its way onto the page. Whether you're into the book for the mystery story, or just want to lose yourself into a side of Chicago that never really gets shown, this book will steer you right. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB7HXptO5KKw_DcgozVCeK0ZDBeSosy-F8wUFfkN8uVYERF5IudPs7F8r7Rv-O9VJ9FkxLXH42XdZRM5qlkPPpLWMQpFl-6VxhG2mBhTLFAJprS8CrvDNnESJ5qEfnYlBEFp9lIrDAxCSWASp_Yffhc6mLuVUs5QqnUaXMWaIRxL_gF0daYJ3917y9ino/s1491/04.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="247" data-original-width="1491" height="53" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB7HXptO5KKw_DcgozVCeK0ZDBeSosy-F8wUFfkN8uVYERF5IudPs7F8r7Rv-O9VJ9FkxLXH42XdZRM5qlkPPpLWMQpFl-6VxhG2mBhTLFAJprS8CrvDNnESJ5qEfnYlBEFp9lIrDAxCSWASp_Yffhc6mLuVUs5QqnUaXMWaIRxL_gF0daYJ3917y9ino/s320/04.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3532269" target="_blank">S<u>upport Amy on Patreon</u></a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://ko-fi.com/F1F1TMRM">Buy Amy A Coffee</a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit"><a data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="http://www.trans--scribe.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: inherit;">Go to Amy's Blog</a></font></p><div data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: "times new roman";" style="font-family: "times new roman";"><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Amazing_Amy_W"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit">Follow Amy on Twitter</font></a></p></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amazing_amy_w/" target="_blank">Add Amy on Instagram</a></p></div></div>Amy Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402476300192259841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1808456300359249763.post-91328187913573969172024-02-20T09:00:00.058+00:002024-02-20T09:00:00.250+00:00What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher - Book Review<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbmCpAs17cWSqqG-2eBi2M48Sscf64bFH6oMC-QxYpiJMMTsJpc1w2kKR27K7rdpxvdoywggDtf7BXmIXxW1tk4fWiS3evbo12tq84AbqoYmHnV4LcYJ7lbyCX3ALtbf5YC7riG1won2Ntc3IQ0N-N0XwK6Yl8oBffUK7pc7TrzIpOR715ikLnXJ5q6qU/s2048/429118709_1330550154239291_1185493481358835004_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbmCpAs17cWSqqG-2eBi2M48Sscf64bFH6oMC-QxYpiJMMTsJpc1w2kKR27K7rdpxvdoywggDtf7BXmIXxW1tk4fWiS3evbo12tq84AbqoYmHnV4LcYJ7lbyCX3ALtbf5YC7riG1won2Ntc3IQ0N-N0XwK6Yl8oBffUK7pc7TrzIpOR715ikLnXJ5q6qU/w400-h300/429118709_1330550154239291_1185493481358835004_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><i>'The follow-up to T. Kingfisher’s bestselling gothic novella, What Moves the Dead. Retired soldier Alex Easton returns in a horrifying new adventure.</i></p><p><i>'After their terrifying ordeal at the Usher manor, Alex Easton feels as if they just survived another war. All they crave is rest, routine, and sunshine, but instead, as a favour to Angus and Miss Potter, they find themself heading to their family hunting lodge, deep in the cold, damp forests of their home country, Gallacia.</i></p><p><i>'In theory, one can find relaxation in even the coldest and dampest of Gallacian autumns, but when Easton arrives, they find the caretaker dead, the lodge in disarray, and the grounds troubled by a strange, uncanny silence. The villagers whisper that a breath-stealing monster from folklore has taken up residence in Easton’s home. Easton knows better than to put too much stock in local superstitions, but they can tell that something is not quite right in their home... or in their dreams.'</i></p><p>T. Kingfisher is one of those authors who when I see their name on a book I pick it up without even reading what the book is about. I've found their writing to be incredibly intricate and unsettling, and they've created some of my favourite horror novels of the last few years. When I began reading <i>What Feasts At Night </i>I was a bit surprised, as it was a sequel to their previous book, <i>What Moves the Dead</i>. Having not really been used to Kingfisher making follow-ups, and with that book having felt like a definitive ending I was surprised to see a sequel to it; but it was absolutely a pleasant surprise.</p><p>Alex Easton, the lead character from the previous volume, returns for another creepy tale, as they return to their homeland following the disturbing events at the House of Usher. Having decided that some down time is much needed, they, along with a group of side characters that we met previously, head to a remote hunting lodge in the woods for some rest and relaxation. However, when the group arrive the lodge is found in a state of disarray, and the caretaker dead. </p><p>Much like the first book, the setting of <i>What Feasts at Night </i>is a big part of the story, and almost a character unto itself. Kingfisher crafts some truly creepy and vividly imagined places for Alex and the other characters, including Miss Potter, Angus, and Hob, find themselves in. Even when nothing much is really happening the settings worm their way under your skin and put you ill at ease, and Kingfisher is perhaps at her best when taking an ordinary location and making it into something horrific.</p><p>Kingfisher takes some elements from folklore for the book, and manages to create a truly unsettling adversary for Alex to deal with in the form of the moroi, a ghostly, frightening woman who can come in the night and sucks your breath away from you when you're sleeping. The fact that Alex is so against believing this at the start of the book, considering what they went through in the first one, is a bit surprising, but I guess an infectious fungus is a bit of a jump away from a ghostly woman from legend, but eventually the group have to face the lurking horrors and bring it to a stop. </p><p>But, the book isn't just horror all the time, and there's some genuine moments of humour and joy to be found scattered throughout, especially when it comes to Alex interacting with the other characters. Alex and Angus make for a great double act, and Miss Potter injects some sublime moments that make it clear why these characters were chosen to make a return alongside Alex.</p><p>Whilst <i>What Feasts at Night </i>is only a short book it's a very good one. Kingfisher knows how best to use the relatively short page count and really packs things with character moments, story, and sublime atmosphere. The biggest problem with the book being so short is that it's over a lot quicker than you'd want, and if you're like me you'll probably end up reading the entire thing in a single sitting. However, with both of the entries in the series so far being shorter books it hopefully means that we won't have to wait long for the next one. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwgc-oauDqqIzQFmjNljznYMdsbNYo0TQ6Vp2eULPymdTaOPB26KPNI24gYmt11p2lCXempq-XZRmRg1EyD4-naP805-StOzLNLfucrjp9JBeA-kqBWzjodcYX9rBr2H5cxQ1z-fKZLcY49_E16IT41V0075HfhEJ3H3dhAID84sto1dEaBAO4B18Jftw/s1491/04.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="247" data-original-width="1491" height="53" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwgc-oauDqqIzQFmjNljznYMdsbNYo0TQ6Vp2eULPymdTaOPB26KPNI24gYmt11p2lCXempq-XZRmRg1EyD4-naP805-StOzLNLfucrjp9JBeA-kqBWzjodcYX9rBr2H5cxQ1z-fKZLcY49_E16IT41V0075HfhEJ3H3dhAID84sto1dEaBAO4B18Jftw/s320/04.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3532269" target="_blank">S<u>upport Amy on Patreon</u></a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://ko-fi.com/F1F1TMRM">Buy Amy A Coffee</a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit"><a data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="http://www.trans--scribe.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: inherit;">Go to Amy's Blog</a></font></p><div data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: "times new roman";" style="font-family: "times new roman";"><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Amazing_Amy_W"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit">Follow Amy on Twitter</font></a></p></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amazing_amy_w/" target="_blank">Add Amy on Instagram</a></p></div></div>Amy Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402476300192259841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1808456300359249763.post-64539587996695805262024-02-19T09:00:00.021+00:002024-02-19T09:00:00.133+00:00Carrie (1976) – Limited Edition 4K UHD Review<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Rg1velQDPSrEEX-BpAq3EfsPMgkWGxoEYb0UETnN9vV6HYnFJ9j52cpBDPDCf6OfCFhzujC8RL_HnOoGYgpFT49t98fVB91kfcWNSe8QinFUXgFu-Wyp04_JtAeryaDON4YnF5MoyINq7nyxiPYtUROIOj00JVo9FfHVxoAmmt6XjSp4OXLANYi2deY/s1500/Carrie%2001.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1058" data-original-width="1500" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Rg1velQDPSrEEX-BpAq3EfsPMgkWGxoEYb0UETnN9vV6HYnFJ9j52cpBDPDCf6OfCFhzujC8RL_HnOoGYgpFT49t98fVB91kfcWNSe8QinFUXgFu-Wyp04_JtAeryaDON4YnF5MoyINq7nyxiPYtUROIOj00JVo9FfHVxoAmmt6XjSp4OXLANYi2deY/w400-h283/Carrie%2001.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">Originally published on <b><u><a href="https://setthetape.com/2024/02/05/carrie-1976-limited-edition-4kuhd-review/" target="_blank">Set The Tape</a></u></b></p><p><br /></p><p>Stephen King is often cited as the biggest selling horror writer alive, and whilst that title may have been misplaced (it’s actually R.L. Stine) he’s by far the most adapted. There have been more film and television shows made from King’s work than perhaps any other living writer, and now Arrow Video are offering fans of the horror genre a chance to experience the very first Stephen King adaptation in never before seen 4K Ultra HD glory as <i>Carrie </i>gets a fantastic new home release.</p><p>Adapted from the novel of the same name, <i>Carrie </i>tells the story of a young girl who has been living with trauma for most of her life. She lives with her single mother, a fierce Christian who preaches about the sins of the world, and who abuses Carrie (Sissy Spacek) to the point where the girl finds herself locked in a small cupboard, forced to pay whenever her mother deems her to have done something ‘sinful’.</p><p>Unfortunately, her school life isn’t much different, and she has no friends, and the popular girls treat her like dirt. Things become worse for her as the film begins, with what has now become an infamous scene, in which Carrie has her first period whilst in the locker-room showers. As Carrie panics, going through something she’s not been prepared for, the other girls laugh at her, throw sanitary products at her, and abuse her in her moment of terror.</p><p>This begins a series of events that will see Carrie learning that she has psychic powers, and ends in tragedy as revenge and petty hate ruins multiple lives in what’s become one of the most defining coming of age stories and revenge tales ever crafted. And despite the age of the film, one that’s very much steeped in its 1970s setting, much of it still feels very relevant, and anyone who has been on the receiving end of school bullying will immediately recognise what Carrie is going through.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYkgM_r3o_SmK_hQz3iSkpiJKPhgzk8abQJ0h0o9w4K7T118pahgbspx5WjpKP9YeVpOnq9dM_kKSO1B5we92xNwpOsuyTtX14iFLJpaFbhyphenhyphenxWnVwr7vVf1Vnt4zkbe_QoJXwuPINrrN0t6hsiywI82aTsxKE4PbFuX2Tedng12zvND4B9yWiMls2p7Ww/s780/Carrie%2002.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="421" data-original-width="780" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYkgM_r3o_SmK_hQz3iSkpiJKPhgzk8abQJ0h0o9w4K7T118pahgbspx5WjpKP9YeVpOnq9dM_kKSO1B5we92xNwpOsuyTtX14iFLJpaFbhyphenhyphenxWnVwr7vVf1Vnt4zkbe_QoJXwuPINrrN0t6hsiywI82aTsxKE4PbFuX2Tedng12zvND4B9yWiMls2p7Ww/s320/Carrie%2002.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>It’s been said that in horror stories there are only victims and monsters, and Carrie is one of those cases where that can be said of everyone in the story. Carrie herself is very much a victim; it’s clear from the very first moments of the film, even before the famous shower scene. Carrie is seen being abused in her first seconds on screen. She’s a victim through and through, and even when she’s trying not to be, when she’s trusting in some actual good people and taking a risk, it’s all ruined for her as she’s made a victim in the worst, most public way possible. And she’s also the monster of the film. She causes death and destruction on a scale that even scaled back for the film still results in hundreds dead. She’s one of the more unusual figures in a horror film, as she’s both our protagonist, the person we’re rooting for, and the monster at the end of the story.</p><p>And Spacek plays this dual role wonderfully. Much of the film has her as a meek, shy girl who seems to want to just curl up into herself and remain unseen by all around her because she’s used to any interaction ending in pain. But when the time comes for her to get her revenge she becomes a terrifying figure, with a look on her face that’s genuinely chilling. With just a change of expression and body language Spacek goes from victim to monster in a second. It’s not hard to see why she was nominated for a Oscar for her performance here, and why the film became such a success.</p><p>Her bullies, played chiefly by Nancy Allen and John Travolta, are more monster than victim, spending much of the film as figures that you can’t help but hate. Allen is the typical girl bully, managing to perfectly capture the kind of teen that most of us will have known at some point or other. She’s cruel, manipulative, and uses her popularity and beauty as weapons in her arsenal. Whilst Travolta plays a cruel character, an abusive and cruel boyfriend, there’s still a sense that he’s a follower to Allen’s Chris, ready to go along with her plans to hurt other people without hesitation. And you’re right to hate them throughout the film, but come the end the punishment for their crimes feels harsh, as their actions not only result in them being punished, but cause the deaths of others. They’re forced to watch as people are brutally killed, the weight of their actions brought down upon them, a punishment worse than their crimes.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgNxJmTWuMwemKu9JdctRdTUbLyGqOlJ1Lx-mPKy-udIiR4FDERBDiTbLdd5dngG4nU7V-PXSTWgI9zUgnfzuWWYV3UKrbeBDWGqkNTrqxq4nG3TdZic0TUS1nJpMdqPtM4XWdsVmXnUBglgvf4q5ApqtskiPigff8aNcYomxQAdhYMvvOJgNimnwE2qo/s780/Carrie%2003.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="421" data-original-width="780" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgNxJmTWuMwemKu9JdctRdTUbLyGqOlJ1Lx-mPKy-udIiR4FDERBDiTbLdd5dngG4nU7V-PXSTWgI9zUgnfzuWWYV3UKrbeBDWGqkNTrqxq4nG3TdZic0TUS1nJpMdqPtM4XWdsVmXnUBglgvf4q5ApqtskiPigff8aNcYomxQAdhYMvvOJgNimnwE2qo/s320/Carrie%2003.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>The film is often held up as a revenge story, but perfectly illustrates why revenge is often empty, and causes more harm than good. The scene in which Carrie sees the whole school laughing at her is filmed in such a way that it’s not clear whether it’s just in her mind, and that most people might actually be shocked and appalled by what happened to her. And once she’s gotten her brutal and bloody revenge she returns home, saddened, simply wanting to be held by her mother. <i>Carrie </i>is less a story about revenge being good and cathartic, but more of a warning about how it simply destroys everyone involved. And because of these themes it’s clear why this film is still so well respected and relevant almost five decades later.</p><p>The new 4K restoration of the film on this release looks absolutely fantastic, and crisp and clear as never before. Details that before would have simply been lost in background noise are now sharp on the screen, and there are times when it feels like discovering the film all over again as you take in all of the content that the film has to offer. The new release also comes with a host of special features, including an audio commentary from some experts on Stephen King who are clearly big fans of the film, and whose discussion has an infectious energy to it that will make you smile more than once.</p><p>Along with this are a series of interviews with members of the cast and crew collected from previous releases that total more time than the film itself, and offer some delightful insights into the making of the movie. Outside of the disc there’s also a 40 page bound book with writing on the film, a poster, and a series of postcards.</p><p>For the very first Stephen King adaptation, of one of the writer’s early books, <i>Carrie </i>is still one of the best examples of King’s work put to screen. It helped to make the career of director Brian De Palma, and launched a number of small actors into big roles that would follow. And it’s just a damn good film that will likely remain popular for a long, long time to come.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFjJriEiuBfe_op__l1gr2m4kHozK2Top12n5h31ggUKlFD0B1km29QfABhukiTTxmT5wkQBGXltkWMb3HFLCyB88qqAvaYPR2oRWUR3Mx9jMRUHLMIbtV0GJGGgKb899vNSO1ssIbPWk3ALzNcDub4XVnqV4w6pruG3KdPRb6EP-ykjVfvE7xLb8ybSg/s1456/05.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="1456" height="60" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFjJriEiuBfe_op__l1gr2m4kHozK2Top12n5h31ggUKlFD0B1km29QfABhukiTTxmT5wkQBGXltkWMb3HFLCyB88qqAvaYPR2oRWUR3Mx9jMRUHLMIbtV0GJGGgKb899vNSO1ssIbPWk3ALzNcDub4XVnqV4w6pruG3KdPRb6EP-ykjVfvE7xLb8ybSg/s320/05.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3532269" target="_blank">S<u>upport Amy on Patreon</u></a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://ko-fi.com/F1F1TMRM">Buy Amy A Coffee</a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit"><a data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="http://www.trans--scribe.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: inherit;">Go to Amy's Blog</a></font></p><div data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: "times new roman";" style="font-family: "times new roman";"><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Amazing_Amy_W"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit">Follow Amy on Twitter</font></a></p></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amazing_amy_w/" target="_blank">Add Amy on Instagram</a></p></div></div>Amy Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402476300192259841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1808456300359249763.post-26722761914855961892024-02-17T09:00:00.084+00:002024-02-17T09:00:00.158+00:00Quentin by Tarantino - Graphic Novel Review <p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKfZOQ6lysMdV53QEt3l8pHqPwsS7lMfcF_Q2Qr7acSGY0Wxo3ndw8T7NPsNpmEN-wiHpQp2wkbhoLkY_ZJXI7wh1u-jYh6RA07Pjg-ci_M1-mEuU7Dcw4gcqXrZszsqapC17ybUZAnWVjnK0BqlRtvUjbgyZT2li88fUHnRSM4_x2eatyDEqPLelcZsU/s2000/423903834_305320419228836_1457011213466554180_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKfZOQ6lysMdV53QEt3l8pHqPwsS7lMfcF_Q2Qr7acSGY0Wxo3ndw8T7NPsNpmEN-wiHpQp2wkbhoLkY_ZJXI7wh1u-jYh6RA07Pjg-ci_M1-mEuU7Dcw4gcqXrZszsqapC17ybUZAnWVjnK0BqlRtvUjbgyZT2li88fUHnRSM4_x2eatyDEqPLelcZsU/w400-h300/423903834_305320419228836_1457011213466554180_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><i>'Take a dive into the brain of master auteur, Quentin Tarantino, writer and director of multiple award-winning films such as Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill. In this sensational graphic novel, the author imagines an interview with Tarantino himself, revealing the history of his ostentatious career and illuminating insights into the icon's life.</i></p><p><i>'In a first-person account, Amazing Améziane leads us through the life story of this iconic auteur, from his humble beginnings as a video shop clerk, to his rise through iconic indie blockbusters, all the way to global superstar. Discover the influences, opinions, and history of one of the world’s most acclaimed filmmakers, unmistakable in his style and talent.'</i></p><p>Growing up in the 90's, entering my 'adulthood' in the early 2000's, Quentin Tarantino was one of those names that I feel film fans of my generation couldn't avoid hearing. I had a friend who was very much into the work of Tarantino, and his enthusiasm of him definitely helped to put the writer/director onto my radar too. We were also the perfect age that when <i>Kill Bill </i>hit the cinemas we were there to watch it, having a blast at how ridiculous and fun it was. </p><p>Whilst my 'devotion' to Tarantino may have dipped somewhat over the years (having still not watched a couple of his movies) I've always tried to watch what I can when given the opportunity. But in my current life I don't get as much time for films as I'd like, and often the only time I make to watch movies is when I've been asked to review them. Books are where I find most of my time going. As such, when I was given the opportunity to read one of the more unique sounding biographies about Tarantino I knew that I didn't want to miss out on that chance.</p><p><i>Quentin by Tarantino </i>is unlike any other graphic novel that I've ever read. Whilst most of my comic reading tends to be in the traditional capes and tights genre I'm not adverse to more indie books, but even with that I'm not sure I've ever seen one structured this way before. Presented as an interview with Tarantino across different points of his life, writer and artist Amazing Améziane 'chats' with Tarantino, sometimes presenting his words as a talking head in the space where he's being interviewed, and other times filling the page with images from across his life and career.</p><p>The opening pages of the book makes it clear that this isn't your average graphic novel. Beginning with a recreation of the iconic Claremont and Miller <i>Wolverine </i>#1 cover, but with Tarantino in his place, the first scene then takes us to a weird back alley bar where QT tries to tempt his visitor with a bottle of booze that has a living snake inside. He launches into a speech about world building, on gaining the trust of the audience, all wrapped up in iconic Tarantino weirdness. It sets the tone well for what is to come with the rest of the book.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_YoXsxGquSfUP31GAQU860o0wUjmgl-CM-5yDsOCndyzShIqP8w4ol_J_Xboib031vjEC8L7WLsyw47BdJVDqhunuvJ3LvTCfIK_3tUfzKzh_Kz2m44mRq89x1uoUrcFFVyFd5f8Mr5ml7Ni1Gz2trdmdma41kMzmsV3neKf1SGiBCg8bNevAGg4a5RE/s2048/426963761_1078466466798806_2821438398688530127_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_YoXsxGquSfUP31GAQU860o0wUjmgl-CM-5yDsOCndyzShIqP8w4ol_J_Xboib031vjEC8L7WLsyw47BdJVDqhunuvJ3LvTCfIK_3tUfzKzh_Kz2m44mRq89x1uoUrcFFVyFd5f8Mr5ml7Ni1Gz2trdmdma41kMzmsV3neKf1SGiBCg8bNevAGg4a5RE/s320/426963761_1078466466798806_2821438398688530127_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>From here we go back to the beginning, to QT's early years of him growing up with his mother and step father, presented as newspaper strip style comics, akin to things like <i>Calvin and Hobbes</i>, which is completely different to everything else in the book yet works perfectly for reinforcing the part of Tarantino's life we're currently reading about. Style shifts as we move into his teenage years, things getting messier and less stylised as he moves away from childhood. But, Quentin has yet to discover who he is, so the style isn't fully formed yet, just as he isn't a fully formed adult. </p><p>It's as he's talking about making his first movie, a project that would be lost in a fire, that a style begins to solidify, and once things move on to him selling the script for <i>True Romance</i>, and he enters the world of filmmaking for real, that the style of the book finally settles onto something that we'll see from here on out. It's a very clever technique from Amazing Améziane, one that doesn't even really register when reading through the book the first time, but becomes so much clearer when looking back on it. Yes, there are some further refinements to come, some further tweaks to the look of the book, but this is pretty much it from here on out, as Quentin Tarantino has finally found his feet as the man we all know him to be. </p><p>Much of the book is dedicated to Tarantino's career, and very little time is given over to his personal life. Could this be because the people coming to read about one of the worlds most famous directors are more interested in his work than his personal life? Possibly. It could also be possible that for the most part he didn't have much of a personal life. The book very much presents Tarantino as a man lost in his work, who gave himself fully over to writing, directing, or even just experiencing movies. It's clear from the mans work that he knows film well, and the idea of him just spending his time watching old movies when not making his own doesn't feel too far removed from reality. </p><p>And that love of stories and film is very much felt throughout <i>Quentin by Tarantino</i>, as the book is filled with small stories, tangents, and asides that help to flesh out the world around the director. You might think that you're only going to be learning about Quentin Tarantino when you pick up this book, but you'll also come away knowing a little bit more about people like Danny Trejo, Robert Rodrigues, and John Travolta, along with films like <i>The Virgin Springs </i>and <i>Inglorious Bastards</i>, a film for which QT would take an inspiration for a title (though with some spelling mistakes thrown in).</p><p><i>Quentin by Tarantino </i>is a biography, but unlike any other biography you've read before. It goes into the life and work of one of the worlds most popular filmmakers in a way that keeps the entire thing feeling fun and entertaining, and the quality never dips once. The book looks fantastic, and Amazing Améziane has done a fantastic job at presenting things in a wonderfully imaginative and engaging way visually. But, he's also managed to nail it in the writing too. It really does feel like the reader is talking directly to Tarantino here, and his manner of speech is captured perfectly. I don't know if this is because Amazing Améziane actually sat down with QT and got a ton of dialogue from him, or if he's just able to replicate it, either way, this new book is perfect for Tarantino fans, and something you're not going to want to miss out on. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgynz8eB0wc3F7YYS7Y_c7OHRF9vmoJNBAnWIshWjhW474aK6bNHKM36uQcO2IWL4mWRkNqYbSesXrSVPePwgFNIFi2JSQSpO9Ff4tH3L1_3Qb90THjRF_omNcD0Nm9pFcotooKamOVhdaqV0yaLUFitzU5F5b7_sDoUh5udnqpox5ZKnSDIs2ZUXROKrc/s1456/05.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="1456" height="60" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgynz8eB0wc3F7YYS7Y_c7OHRF9vmoJNBAnWIshWjhW474aK6bNHKM36uQcO2IWL4mWRkNqYbSesXrSVPePwgFNIFi2JSQSpO9Ff4tH3L1_3Qb90THjRF_omNcD0Nm9pFcotooKamOVhdaqV0yaLUFitzU5F5b7_sDoUh5udnqpox5ZKnSDIs2ZUXROKrc/s320/05.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3532269" target="_blank">S<u>upport Amy on Patreon</u></a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://ko-fi.com/F1F1TMRM">Buy Amy A Coffee</a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit"><a data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="http://www.trans--scribe.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: inherit;">Go to Amy's Blog</a></font></p><div data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: "times new roman";" style="font-family: "times new roman";"><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Amazing_Amy_W"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit">Follow Amy on Twitter</font></a></p></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amazing_amy_w/" target="_blank">Add Amy on Instagram</a></p></div></div>Amy Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402476300192259841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1808456300359249763.post-27480387365224268242024-02-14T09:00:00.037+00:002024-02-14T09:00:00.148+00:00Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison - Book Review <p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg62wlc83w0q_Mp_weoj1ienF4lXFs98uRaU11YnspJmRuRUHCfADfDsn1Qmayxx0UM9p-VZIh-gXDfbhr2oC9kr2_RbckXGl3gJSRwg43JOpXvlj6yU-k8IvxcoaJmMhfw8LHhbK6zC3yF4Z7jojS1DpXchTVzCqxuvrdoZQ72Wse4ptNNrcf0jNGFoDo/s1731/422134564_1052860762647897_9009363125863632209_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1298" data-original-width="1731" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg62wlc83w0q_Mp_weoj1ienF4lXFs98uRaU11YnspJmRuRUHCfADfDsn1Qmayxx0UM9p-VZIh-gXDfbhr2oC9kr2_RbckXGl3gJSRwg43JOpXvlj6yU-k8IvxcoaJmMhfw8LHhbK6zC3yF4Z7jojS1DpXchTVzCqxuvrdoZQ72Wse4ptNNrcf0jNGFoDo/w400-h300/422134564_1052860762647897_9009363125863632209_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><i>'A cynical twentysomething must confront her unconventional family’s dark secrets in this fiery, irreverent horror novel from the author of Such Sharp Teeth and Cackle. Nobody has a “normal” family, but Vesper Wright’s is truly...something else. Vesper left home at eighteen and never looked back—mostly because she was told that leaving the staunchly religious community she grew up in meant she couldn’t return. But then an envelope arrives on her doorstep.</i></p><p><i>'Inside is an invitation to the wedding of Vesper’s beloved cousin Rosie. It’s to be hosted at the family farm. Have they made an exception to the rule? It wouldn’t be the first time Vesper’s been given special treatment. Is the invite a sweet gesture? An olive branch? A trap? Doesn’t matter. Something inside her insists she go to the wedding. Even if it means returning to the toxic environment she escaped. Even if it means reuniting with her mother, Constance, a former horror film star and forever ice queen.</i></p><p><i>'When Vesper’s homecoming exhumes a terrifying secret, she’s forced to reckon with her family’s beliefs and her own crisis of faith in this deliciously sinister novel that explores the way family ties can bind us as we struggle to find our place in the world.'</i></p><p>Rachel Harrison is quickly becoming a name to keep an eye on. Thanks to her work on <i>Cackle </i>and <i>Such Sharp Teeth </i>it's clear that she is a wonderful new voice in the world of feminist horror, and her third book is no exception to this. </p><p><i>Black Sheep </i>follows Vesper, a woman in her twenties who fled from her deeply religious cult upbringing as soon as she turned eighteen. Moving to the big city, she's been stuck working a crappy waitressing job that she hates, dealing with shitty customers, and an atmosphere that is slowly wearing her down (don't make her do the birthday song anymore please). However, when she receives an invitation to a wedding back home it makes her think that perhaps she might be able to return, to face her family, and deal with some of the ghosts of her past. </p><p>With Vesper's cousin Rose marrying Vesper's ex on the family farm things are perhaps too tempting for her to pass up, and Vesper heads home for the first time in years. Unfortunately, she soon discovers the toxic world she left behind still exists, and has been waiting for her. Whether it's her former horror films star mother, Constance, or the rest of her family, she struggles to find much in her former life to like. However, soon secrets begin to emerge, secrets that could change things for Vesper forever.</p><p>Can you ever really go home again? <i>Black Sheep </i>asks that question in a delightfully engrossing and subtly creepy way, and its use of slowly unfolding mystery and character study makes for a deeply engrossing read that you'll find hard to put down.</p><p>Vesper herself is a prime example of the kind of great protagonists that Harrison is great at writing. She's delightfully complex, and often something of a messy person that I think a lot of readers will find things to identify with. She's not perfect, she's got failings, and she feels brutally honest in a lot of ways, and that honesty will draw people to her story. No matter how horrific, or even bizarre, things get things feel grounded in large part due to Vesper, and readers connection to her will have you reading longer than you intended, devouring the book as quickly as you can.</p><p>Unfortunately, <i>Black Sheep </i>is also the kind of book where I can't say too much about it for fear of accidentally giving away too much or spoiling things. It's a book that you're going to have to pick up and try out yourself if you want to learn more. What I can say though, is that the things that have made Harrison's other novels a success can be found here, and that there are some delightfully dark and cinematic moments that leap off the page and will stick with you long after you've put the book down.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Ik9k7A1x4ERFFpS_wK0RqAwhPGXRUECDLVZTzYqZhS5MAFxwlRiFsNsOzPUSQs6XoECr3CU2DKF6Mf4PrYf8wSlmV2z0OoNzDBRw6n3vnQmUlWimIHg3YF9kFhalyBUXZavpLBPou7QYt1IbxEMydPmEAZry0eb-PcVk1-wlUNw1KivaCUx_G-EcmTo/s1491/04.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="247" data-original-width="1491" height="53" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Ik9k7A1x4ERFFpS_wK0RqAwhPGXRUECDLVZTzYqZhS5MAFxwlRiFsNsOzPUSQs6XoECr3CU2DKF6Mf4PrYf8wSlmV2z0OoNzDBRw6n3vnQmUlWimIHg3YF9kFhalyBUXZavpLBPou7QYt1IbxEMydPmEAZry0eb-PcVk1-wlUNw1KivaCUx_G-EcmTo/s320/04.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3532269" target="_blank">S<u>upport Amy on Patreon</u></a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://ko-fi.com/F1F1TMRM">Buy Amy A Coffee</a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit"><a data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="http://www.trans--scribe.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: inherit;">Go to Amy's Blog</a></font></p><div data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: "times new roman";" style="font-family: "times new roman";"><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Amazing_Amy_W"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit">Follow Amy on Twitter</font></a></p></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amazing_amy_w/" target="_blank">Add Amy on Instagram</a></p></div></div>Amy Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402476300192259841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1808456300359249763.post-41183709590292194862024-02-13T09:00:00.001+00:002024-02-13T09:00:00.191+00:00Conan the Barbarian: Bound in Black Stone Vol 1 - Graphic Novel Review<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQSaPtUWnBT6EQy810Wr8ZczDuArz6tKm64AnuKO-xB_RdIM9ahkerW5dQ52vrgrSBx3qN7e_4GR2c_U5WSM_1TdVgB-hyiJ6UDW3jek8-K4Qup8eFUtBQDydyCdXXhlKVBlEwDQ7WIsK_nOQPcToMeVboTUMd6Vu3UsynN34_UEGjaoZjoMqkXkqZjvw/s1626/422386216_402941365595836_2306124423282349767_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1220" data-original-width="1626" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQSaPtUWnBT6EQy810Wr8ZczDuArz6tKm64AnuKO-xB_RdIM9ahkerW5dQ52vrgrSBx3qN7e_4GR2c_U5WSM_1TdVgB-hyiJ6UDW3jek8-K4Qup8eFUtBQDydyCdXXhlKVBlEwDQ7WIsK_nOQPcToMeVboTUMd6Vu3UsynN34_UEGjaoZjoMqkXkqZjvw/w400-h300/422386216_402941365595836_2306124423282349767_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><i>'He is CONAN THE BARBARIAN - THE GREATEST WARRIOR OF ALL TIME and he's back in this all-new fantasy graphic novel, heralding a new era of savage, sword-slashing, brooding action, in search of high adventure and blood-soaked battle! BY CROM!</i></p><p><i>'Often copied, but never bettered, this is the welcome return of the first and mightiest hero ever to stride and slash his way across the world. Featuring an action-packed script written by Jim Zub that would make Robert E. Howard proud, and Buscema-inspired dynamic artwork by Roberto De La Torre! Together these two titans of the comic world have breathed new life into one of the most recognizable characters in fiction and in doing so, have unleashed a fantastic new era!</i></p><p><i>'On the eve of his first major battle, young Conan of Cimmeria pictures a life beyond the borders of his homeland and yearns for a life of adventure undreamt of in his small village. Visions of future allies and unspeakable evils he will eventually encounter throughout his fabled life fill his mind, as he makes the choice to take his first fateful step into the Hyborian Age in search of blood-soaked glory.'</i></p><p>I grew up with the character of Conan in my life, thanks in part to the two Arnold Schwarzenegger movies that I had access to as a kid (way before they were appropriate), and the wonderfully fun animated series <i>Conan the Adventurer</i>. I had Conan toys, I watched the show and films, but I never encountered any of the books or the comics, and even to this day I was yet to pick up a Conan comic. Luckily for me, Titan Comics had recently taken over the licence from Marvel, and had started a whole new series; with the first four issue being collected together into a brand new graphic novel.</p><p><i>Conan the Barbarian: Bound in Black Stone Vol 1 </i>begins with a brief history lesson, for those who might be unfamiliar with, or only have a passing knowledge of. This introduction to the character is short, and fairly basic, but it doesn't try to do too much or muddy the waters. We find out who Conan is, what his people are like, and what has driven him to leave his homelands and see the rest of the world, things that will prove to all be important points in the story that is to come.</p><p>As the story begins in earnest, we find Conan in a small settlement on the side of the road, a waystation for travellers, adventurers, and those out to discover themselves. He's just been through an adventure with a group of warriors, and come to blows with one of the group having disagreed with them on a moral stance. We instantly see that despite being a barbarian warrior Conan is a decent man, one driven by a sense of honour and a drive to do some good in the world. This comes into play shortly after when a woman comes riding into the place under a dark sky, shouting a warning for them all to flee as an army of the dead is on its way.</p><p>Due to the woman, Brissa, is a Pict, and as such is met with doubt and suspicion; but the army of the dead is hot on her heels and soon overwhelms the warriors and residents of the waypoint. During the chaos of the combat Conan and Brissa end up fighting side by side, and the two of them come to an alliance, knowing that they will need each other's help to survive. Following the attack, Conan and Brissa set out to discover the sinister origin of the undead scourge that's sweeping across the landscape; a scourge that has also found its way to Conan's homeland.</p><p>Whilst I've not had much experience with Conan comics, this story is very much the kind of fantasy story that feels at home in any fantasy setting. Warriors brought together by a common foe, a deadly, magical enemy that is set to destroy everything, and a journey into danger in order to discover answers. Because of this there's a sense of familiarity and comfort to the book for me, where even though I've not read a Conan comic before it ends up feeling natural to do so. I'm no worried about the world its set in, in keeping track of everything, or even caring about if other stuff came before this that I need to know about. The book instead flows quite naturally and almost leisurely, with me happy to go along on the journey to see where it leads.</p><p>It's clear that Jim Zub, the author of the series, knows his fantasy well, and the book very much has a kind of timeless quality, and this story feels like it could have been written decades ago. The book has the feel of those old 70's sword and sorcery tales you can find in battered paperbacks with amazing painted art on the cover. </p><p>The art also kind of reflects this, with a style that you could have found in a comic from decades past. Artist Roberto De La Torre and colourists Dean White and Jose Villarrubia give the book an older feel. The art is nicely detailed, with attention paid to things like characters and important action, but with blank, empty backgrounds employed a lot, which sometimes leads the page to look like it has art spilling out of panels as there can at times be no borders to the art, with the action spilling out into the spaces between panels. The colours that are used also have a more muted look than you'd expect to find in modern books, almost looking hand coloured rather than digital art. This all comes together to create a book that I could believe was first printed in the 80's. </p><p>In many ways it feels like <i>Conan the Barbarian: Bound in Black Stone Vol 1 </i>is the perfect first step into this world. It's a universe full of rich history and deep lore, but it ignores much of that (or at least uses it subtly enough that it's not overwhelming) that anyone unfamiliar with the setting can read this first volume with relative ease. Fans of the fantasy genre will feel right at home here, and whilst I can't talk for long time Conan fans I can at least say that it was an enjoyable experience throughout, and one that I'd happily recommend to others. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicIqtgPQyZ1R02kiQmvSkdY6Vpl0sfFydTytQghRLgyW-GvQFjt32Er6I3j4F2AGUPAQKw4gNSX3sRG0GU6OBEGqBYB2C1eKBvGCPjp9scW42S5_TsZJqjgdtE4wM9KEHHZCV6lfRj26Sa3XGeRkZShdqiA6ui0_WApcxuEMRlCqIzLY4bH0TEvAr-T-o/s1491/04.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="247" data-original-width="1491" height="53" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicIqtgPQyZ1R02kiQmvSkdY6Vpl0sfFydTytQghRLgyW-GvQFjt32Er6I3j4F2AGUPAQKw4gNSX3sRG0GU6OBEGqBYB2C1eKBvGCPjp9scW42S5_TsZJqjgdtE4wM9KEHHZCV6lfRj26Sa3XGeRkZShdqiA6ui0_WApcxuEMRlCqIzLY4bH0TEvAr-T-o/s320/04.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3532269" target="_blank">S<u>upport Amy on Patreon</u></a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://ko-fi.com/F1F1TMRM">Buy Amy A Coffee</a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit"><a data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="http://www.trans--scribe.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: inherit;">Go to Amy's Blog</a></font></p><div data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: "times new roman";" style="font-family: "times new roman";"><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Amazing_Amy_W"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit">Follow Amy on Twitter</font></a></p></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amazing_amy_w/" target="_blank">Add Amy on Instagram</a></p></div></div>Amy Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402476300192259841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1808456300359249763.post-2478326915345886762024-02-12T09:00:00.179+00:002024-02-12T09:00:00.125+00:00Inside - Limited Edition Blu-ray Review<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhth2YYtfaoook6D0doqGcIcglUAIq4MPQ1howRitvZsQBmoRqbrxFB935gQpLtABc2-FvWw1ArkSF5Pj4QozD50_GMRUdwvsvy5scQGGLqcd4VskVdR5i1CqtQvO7f95EVctcCJhHuliOeO3v-R58l12YJ_MGFS4jVyEDuDLWtbbpnvJcx8thG2ruKRlw/s1963/Inside%2001.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1575" data-original-width="1963" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhth2YYtfaoook6D0doqGcIcglUAIq4MPQ1howRitvZsQBmoRqbrxFB935gQpLtABc2-FvWw1ArkSF5Pj4QozD50_GMRUdwvsvy5scQGGLqcd4VskVdR5i1CqtQvO7f95EVctcCJhHuliOeO3v-R58l12YJ_MGFS4jVyEDuDLWtbbpnvJcx8thG2ruKRlw/w400-h321/Inside%2001.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p>Having recently experienced my first film in the French New Extremity with 2003's <i><a href="https://trans--scribe.blogspot.com/2024/01/high-tension-2003-limited-edition-4k.html" target="_blank">High Tension</a></i>, I was interested in seeing other films in the genre. With Second Sight's new Limited Edition release of <i>Inside</i>, I was excited to dive into this dark and grizzly tale.</p><p>Often featured on lists of 'most extreme' horror films, I'd heard of <i>Inside </i>for a while, but knew relatively little about it other than how people felt after watching it. Upon learning about the main premise of the film, I could see how this scenario is ripe for a frightening tale, and how the movie could get under your skin.</p><p>The film opens on tragedy, and sets the stage for more to come. Before the credits have even begun we witness one of the worst scenarios that people may ever have to live with, as pregnant Sarah (Alysson Paradis) sits wounded and bloody in her crashed car, her husband dead beside her. A young family has been ripped to pieces before it's even had a chance; yet this is perhaps one of the least awful things that happens in the film, and with the movie opening this way it's making it clear to the audience that what's coming is going to be a lot darker still.</p><p>Jumping forward in time a short while, we meet up with Sarah on Christmas Eve as she readies to have her baby. Now heavily pregnant, ready to be taken into hospital and induced if the baby doesn't come naturally, she walks through her meetings with hospital staff almost a zombie. Still reeling from the loss of her husband, she's facing the future as a single mother, forced by tragedy to go into what should be a wonderful stage of her life wounded and alone. Though she is alone in that sense, she has the support of her mother and co-workers, and we see some of them trying their best to help her through this time.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ2_x0BthXgmQTn6-MKZsWqOKlek62ocIjj2VQSsnQjbwkddHzMRya2EPos7QlFsDZQde7DKRdA6jFAwzp-D2W01ssuO7sl7EwRzuutQCXqqFvBtYBkNkkSAcHmz6jhJdovih7SBrSOIc5LZA9GInNRkMhinmZYEOdZX2cBvEOBI-c7_akGu6D7VsMYUc/s600/Inside%2002.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="387" data-original-width="600" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ2_x0BthXgmQTn6-MKZsWqOKlek62ocIjj2VQSsnQjbwkddHzMRya2EPos7QlFsDZQde7DKRdA6jFAwzp-D2W01ssuO7sl7EwRzuutQCXqqFvBtYBkNkkSAcHmz6jhJdovih7SBrSOIc5LZA9GInNRkMhinmZYEOdZX2cBvEOBI-c7_akGu6D7VsMYUc/s320/Inside%2002.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Sarah returns to her remote home, ready to spend Christmas Eve alone until her boss can take her into the hospital the next morning. When she's awoken by a woman banging frantically on her door, however, her night takes a sinister turn. The woman reveals to Sarah, who refuses to let her in, that she knows she's alone, that her husband is dead, and even calls her by name. Sure that she's in danger, Sarah begins a fight to protect both herself, and the life of her unborn child.</p><p><i>Inside </i>is not for the feint of heart, and might be one of the bloodiest, most brutal, and downright nasty films that I've ever seen. The movie is filled with a sense of dread and unease from the very beginning. Sarah is presented as a woman deeply in mourning, of having almost given up on life. There's the sense that if it weren't for the baby that she is expecting she may have even given up completely. But that's not to say the baby is even really presented as anything hopeful for her. Early on in the film Sarah has a nightmare where she's choking, coughing up a stream of breast milk before the ghastly form of her baby rips out of her mouth like a scene from <i>Alien</i>.</p><p>The beginning of the film makes you wonder if Sarah even really wants this child or not. She seems to treat her pregnancy as an inconvenience, something that she hates, and shows no excitement towards holding her child in her arms. There's a moment where she is attempting to knit for the baby, but her work is broken and full of holes. This feels like both a representation for her life in that moment, broken and missing pieces since the loss of her husband, but also shows a lack of wanting to make it right from her too. She's not undone the knitting and started afresh, nor has she repaired the holes. Instead, she's left them there, moving on even though the entire project has become a failure.</p><p>Even when La Femme (Béatrice Dalle ), the films antagonist, arrives on the scene and begins threatening Sarah it's not completely clear if Sarah is being motivated to save her child, or simply just to save herself. Sarah's motherhood feels quite removed from her throughout the film, and the disconnect of seeing a heavily pregnant person on screen who isn't putting her pregnancy and baby first with joy is an unusual enough a sight to feel off.</p><p>Once La Femme enters Sarah's home, the film becomes a more traditional killer style narrative. La Femme wants the baby, and she's going to gut Sarah in order to get it. This begins a cat and mouse scenario where a bloody and wounded Sarah has to find a way to escape from her home and the woman, whilst others who come to the house are picked off one by one. The amount of other characters that arrive, steadily filling the house with victims for La Femme, does feel a bit excessive, and some of them seem to only be there in order for more blood and gore to be thrown around. Three cops turning up along with a guy they've arrested, doesn't really add anything more than a single cop would; other than a chance for more brutal killings.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6yjuy3zi2Ygr7lecMk1kOJPSQijsggYyh3I7IkJ8bm1n6KNpoglYcaHBxojOUNAGzKqYqIkPW7pr1UiHQJ-PuxrjVXs1GlBzNaVmMoQAXyW1lwF5-0WeNML0sAroc9_8pHaLZKLEDzCf2vCCzOEkAgYtmw9UApU3fv_sanjSU1ztCyH1ksAc7ppmju5k/s600/Inside%2003.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6yjuy3zi2Ygr7lecMk1kOJPSQijsggYyh3I7IkJ8bm1n6KNpoglYcaHBxojOUNAGzKqYqIkPW7pr1UiHQJ-PuxrjVXs1GlBzNaVmMoQAXyW1lwF5-0WeNML0sAroc9_8pHaLZKLEDzCf2vCCzOEkAgYtmw9UApU3fv_sanjSU1ztCyH1ksAc7ppmju5k/s320/Inside%2003.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>And brutality is the main thing on the menu here. The violence in <i>Inside </i>is brutal and bloody, with an eye for making the audience uncomfortable. And whilst there are some fans of horror who love that, who say the bloodier the better, I myself see no inherent horror in blood and gore, and can often find it off putting. Gore is an easy go to, a quick and cheap way of getting under the audiences skin. And the over use of it in <i>Inside </i>feels somewhat disappointing. The film had some interesting ideas, and was ripe for a thought provoking character study, but most of the film had a blood covered Sarah hiding in her bathroom as others were killed, or fighting off La Femme in almost sadistic fashion. It honestly left me feeling kind of uninterested in large portions of the film, as characters rolling around in blood was much less interesting that Sarah as a character.</p><p>But, this is a film that's brought up in terms of the more brutal, gory, and uncomfortable horror films you can find, and for that it absolutely delivers. There are parts of the film that are downright disgusting, and others that left me wincing as what I saw on screen made my stomach turn and the hairs on my neck stand up. I'm also very much aware that I'm both someone who is unable to have a child, and doesn't want one, so the horror of Sarah's situation likely hits different to me than someone who can have kids, or already has them. And I'd certainly never want someone to watch this film whilst actually pregnant.</p><p>The new Limited Edition release comes with a lot of extra features, including two audio commentaries; one by Anna Bogutskaya, with another by Elena Lazic. Both of these go into the film in depth, discussing the movies themes, how it was made, and the impact that it had on French cinema and horror at the time. If you're interested in film these commentaries are well worth a listen, and I found them perhaps more interesting than the film itself at times. There are also a series of new interviews made just for this release, featuring the cowriters and directors, the lead actress, producer, cinematographer, and stunt coordinator, all of whom go into different aspects of the films production. There is also a small documentary piece by Jenn Adams to round out the disc. The set also comes with a slipcase featuring new artwork, a 70 page book filled with essays by film experts, and a series of collectors art cards. </p><p>For fans of extreme horror <i>Inside </i>is probably a film you're already familiar with, but even if you are this new set offers enough extras and new features to be worthy of consideration. For those who have never seen it before, but have maybe heard whispers and want to test their mettle against the horrors that the film contains there's never been a better time to pick up a copy.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO03wHmEAPNBZXy1AMBP268qBHQyUr2P8HQraiMeVx9PqD5I6Pg8tko2ptM0qvGvf6VH5uvwrLEXMFeSpUqJO2pGAmt3w5O-fYAPQ0JcrYXQbydcFlTGEnhIRwtwMbAK0PsWa6v_GTZtmkAlxvLA5xKIT6BCMIcNeBj5wRsjhBiiv94CxRKO6AbLa1W5U/s1512/03.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="264" data-original-width="1512" height="56" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO03wHmEAPNBZXy1AMBP268qBHQyUr2P8HQraiMeVx9PqD5I6Pg8tko2ptM0qvGvf6VH5uvwrLEXMFeSpUqJO2pGAmt3w5O-fYAPQ0JcrYXQbydcFlTGEnhIRwtwMbAK0PsWa6v_GTZtmkAlxvLA5xKIT6BCMIcNeBj5wRsjhBiiv94CxRKO6AbLa1W5U/s320/03.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3532269" target="_blank">S<u>upport Amy on Patreon</u></a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://ko-fi.com/F1F1TMRM">Buy Amy A Coffee</a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit"><a data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="http://www.trans--scribe.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: inherit;">Go to Amy's Blog</a></font></p><div data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: "times new roman";" style="font-family: "times new roman";"><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Amazing_Amy_W"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit">Follow Amy on Twitter</font></a></p></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amazing_amy_w/" target="_blank">Add Amy on Instagram</a></p></div></div>Amy Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402476300192259841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1808456300359249763.post-28530619450950904102024-02-05T09:00:00.055+00:002024-02-05T09:00:00.252+00:00The Missing Bunny by Holly Webb - Book Review<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj0PdqX-fercNGNDWlKVej04BMxa392X2WLwST1eXsnplsp5CDUVRTiVkhzQC0_r7YCFaDjcayKfYjH8PWBp0orAaK582PdUhLOFZOwxU1rPsSp3JIoGlCYrVKysWT6kvYWvGgY8rDZAQF82oZJ45YmZOh-rThxq9NpaGESMcqJADlvujv-fm_rN1ED_g/s1801/422560036_1449638739099254_8122798284281696948_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1801" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj0PdqX-fercNGNDWlKVej04BMxa392X2WLwST1eXsnplsp5CDUVRTiVkhzQC0_r7YCFaDjcayKfYjH8PWBp0orAaK582PdUhLOFZOwxU1rPsSp3JIoGlCYrVKysWT6kvYWvGgY8rDZAQF82oZJ45YmZOh-rThxq9NpaGESMcqJADlvujv-fm_rN1ED_g/w400-h300/422560036_1449638739099254_8122798284281696948_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><i>'Can Annie find her missing bunny before it’s caught by the neighbourhood fox? A gentle and heart-warming animal story from worldwide bestseller Holly Webb. Annie is really excited about her new pet rabbits and can’t wait to welcome them into the amazing new home her dad has built for them.</i></p><p><i>'But when Annie is in a rush to get to school the next morning, she doesn’t check that the door to the hutch is shut properly, and one of the rabbits, Humbug, escapes. Can Annie find Humbug in time to save her from the neighbourhood fox …?'</i></p><p>Getting to review children's books is great, even though I don't have a child of my own to read them to. Getting to see how children's literature has evolved since I was a kid, the kinds of stories they have on offer, the things that these stories are teaching them always has me coming away with a smile on my face. As someone who has rabbits running through my house <i>The Missing Bunny </i>was a book that interested me immediately. I was looking forward to seeing what Holly Webb would be teaching young readers about rabbits; and I was so happy with the results.</p><p><i>The Missing Bunny </i>tells the story of Annie, a young girl who desperately wants a pet rabbit of her own. When the book begins her parents have finally told her that she can have a rabbit, but she still doesn't have one as they need to make sure that the house is ready for their new friend. And this is where I found my first thing with the book that made me super happy, it understood that the way people have been taught to keep rabbits is wrong, and that a lot more work is needed. The book even says that rabbits don't belong in small hutches; something more people should be aware of.</p><p>So, Annie and her parents prepare a space for the rabbits in the garage, where they can be kept warm and safe, away from the outdoors. A house of them is built so that at night they've got somewhere to sleep. And a special run is built for them in the garden so that they can play outside safely. Even before we've seen our first rabbit the book is teaching children better rabbit care than I was shown at that age.</p><p>Once they're ready, the family go to find a bunny, and come back with two. Again, another good lesson that the book is teaching; that you should never have a lone rabbit. Annie gets two, a black and white bunny called Humbug, and a ginger one named Toffee. Toffee and Humbug come come, and settle into their new life. Annie brings them food, plays with them, snuggles them, and when her dad is home from work they get to free roam on their lawn. Everything is going well for them.</p><p>However, when Annie is in a rush one morning and accidentally leaves their house door open Humbug begins to explore, and slips out into the garage; and then out to the wider world. Realising her precious rabbit is missing, Annie sets out to try and find her and bring her home. </p><p>There is a certain degree of peril to <i>The Missing Bunny</i>, and some younger readers might feel a bit worried for Humbug, especially when night sets in and it starts to get cold. As a bunny parent this part of the book even got me, and I found myself imagining the worry I'd go through if one of my rabbits got loose. Thankfully, things end well, and Humbug gets to come home safely.</p><p><i>The Missing Bunny </i>is a really good read for showing children how much work goes into having a rabbit, how much prep work is needed before you even get one, and how delicate they can be. And, it shows how bad things can get if you're not careful with them. Hopefully it will make kids who want a pet rabbit understand that they're big commitments, and that a lot of care and attention is required. </p><p>The book is filled with illustrations by Antonia Woodward, whose are you can see on the cover. As this is a Little Gems title, the interior art comes in full colour, and is wonderful throughout. Woodward's art is delightful to look at, and their depictions of Toffee and Humbug are too adorable. The rabbits are depicted with a ton of life and character to them, and once Humbug goes missing the illustrations really help to push the relevant feelings in the moment (the drawing of Humbug snuggling into Annie when she found her way home hits perfectly).</p><p><i>The Missing Bunny </i>is a delightful read. It's a book that I can very much see myself recommending to others, especially if I know someone with a young child wanting a pet rabbit. It's a great little read that was a pleasure from start to finish. And my bunnies approved of it too!</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV8YvHXBxswHjPHiW_IQ0PJadxUw9v3jahShrsvkUVT0YawyN6gtNeTSCPeB1-ksUMmfN6RYK9JAHrZZKoJymQZOgdjeKy-IGVqonNfnmPfveVhyphenhyphenz5_K4t0UtncL56gE9ZaYTCbI1vECFETp6Kjm6fZjBbfT597vrBBylSrFz-yK8yDtHI7AzlAm6TJU4/s2051/Bunnies.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1883" data-original-width="2051" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV8YvHXBxswHjPHiW_IQ0PJadxUw9v3jahShrsvkUVT0YawyN6gtNeTSCPeB1-ksUMmfN6RYK9JAHrZZKoJymQZOgdjeKy-IGVqonNfnmPfveVhyphenhyphenz5_K4t0UtncL56gE9ZaYTCbI1vECFETp6Kjm6fZjBbfT597vrBBylSrFz-yK8yDtHI7AzlAm6TJU4/s320/Bunnies.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gowron, Kira, Ronan, and Daisy (sadly recently passed away).</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii-0UAfiL7uwXVJIcOPTEc0FnlUntVnpaT85Ymx30G8zz5SsfIYO1c8J3vn-_tqUjnvYaKV_MIbEATuZJ2JrK3O2quf3bc5_K6amBPlGNZF9evaTwViqV4WofW_OFoicjN0JloCxWxp3A1mpZSfBp5KMIcbsqPw87MQg2grZXt4qIAH4tLNr_9NhOGMq4/s1456/05.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="1456" height="60" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii-0UAfiL7uwXVJIcOPTEc0FnlUntVnpaT85Ymx30G8zz5SsfIYO1c8J3vn-_tqUjnvYaKV_MIbEATuZJ2JrK3O2quf3bc5_K6amBPlGNZF9evaTwViqV4WofW_OFoicjN0JloCxWxp3A1mpZSfBp5KMIcbsqPw87MQg2grZXt4qIAH4tLNr_9NhOGMq4/s320/05.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3532269" target="_blank">S<u>upport Amy on Patreon</u></a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://ko-fi.com/F1F1TMRM">Buy Amy A Coffee</a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit"><a data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="http://www.trans--scribe.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: inherit;">Go to Amy's Blog</a></font></p><div data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: "times new roman";" style="font-family: "times new roman";"><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Amazing_Amy_W"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit">Follow Amy on Twitter</font></a></p></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amazing_amy_w/" target="_blank">Add Amy on Instagram</a></p></div></div>Amy Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402476300192259841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1808456300359249763.post-37041123132481859952024-02-01T09:00:00.043+00:002024-02-01T09:00:00.249+00:00The Division: Hunted by Thomas Parrott - Book Review<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgZTO6GfTzTsapGAp8lJKUQiZRQR9xdB3SJeA2mqfxGWod1kmczsK21XL1rwLVJgZPYCeW8NS_pVBJODBiaTWTu99fUIm6csUPG6KKMIuhmjjfpg0wQAz7Ze-oFVgWWWBcZw88VU5VTngiWTe3vWznAKPyArYJhKaFHVAeclNqVTwKdQc1pQOqa4FLsZw/s1656/422115746_1266556850932054_2067471834434308548_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1242" data-original-width="1656" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgZTO6GfTzTsapGAp8lJKUQiZRQR9xdB3SJeA2mqfxGWod1kmczsK21XL1rwLVJgZPYCeW8NS_pVBJODBiaTWTu99fUIm6csUPG6KKMIuhmjjfpg0wQAz7Ze-oFVgWWWBcZw88VU5VTngiWTe3vWznAKPyArYJhKaFHVAeclNqVTwKdQc1pQOqa4FLsZw/w400-h300/422115746_1266556850932054_2067471834434308548_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><i>'An Agent turned rogue poses an apocalyptic threat to the Division, unless her former friends can eliminate her first, in this rip-roaring instalment of the Operation Crossroads series. Division agent Maira Kanhai is alive. Maira Kanhai has gone rogue. When Brenda Wells learns that her old recruit’s – and close friend’s – watch has turned red, she refuses to believe it. Yet the agents sent to track Maira down have irrefutable evidence saying otherwise. With the threads holding the Division together fraying under heavy assault, Brenda desperately assembles a specialized Division cell and heads out to learn the truth. In the blistering heat of the American Southwest, they face grave danger at every turn. There they learn that other deadly parties are stalking Maira too, hoping to use her to destroy the Division once and for all.'</i></p><p>The second instalment of Thomas Parrott's <i>The Division </i>series ended on something of a shocking note. Series lead Maira Kanhai appeared to be killed in the final confrontation, but in the final pages of the book we learned that she was in fact still alive, taken prisoner by a mysterious new faction. The third book picks up where that story left off, with the surviving members of Maira's team, and Brenda, the woman who brought her into the Division, learning that she's still alive and trying to bring her home. Unfortunately, Some within the Division believe that Maira has gone rogue, and it becomes a race against time for her team not just to rescue her, but to clear her name too.</p><p>Each of the books in this series have told a single, cohesive story, yet manage to feel like they have their own tone and focus, and this book is very much more character driven, with the team having to come together to save one of their own, rather than having to deal with some huge looming threat (though of course there is that too).</p><p>Because of this, a good portion of the start of the book is focused on Maira, on both where she is and what she's doing in the present, but also her past. We've gotten a decent idea of who the character is up to now, especially in the first book in the series, but this feels like the first time in a while we've had this deep a dive on the character; and it's done really well. Parrott makes Maira feel like a more conflicted and complex character than would first appear, and for what you'd expect for a character who's essentially an action game star. </p><p>One of the things that surprised me during the focus on her, though it has features in small ways in previous books, is Maira's sexuality. Of course, her being attracted to a woman will cause certain fans of the series to cry in outrage, and I've already seen a review that calls her sexuality 'forced' and decided to use a slur to describe her. This is what happens when something that 'gamers' latch onto in any way includes a minority group or representation. The same week that I'm writing this review I've seen people playing the new <i>Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League </i>complain about a progress flag being in the game; a game where you can play as a canonically bisexual character, and Batman is voiced by his most famous actor who is himself a gay man who based his portrayal of Batman on his own experiences as a gay man. Despite what these people will say, Maira's queerness isn't forced, isn't being done for 'PC points' or any such rubbish, but is simply a realistic inclusion of people from different backgrounds, and it's handled really well.</p><p>As with any book in this series <i>The Division: Hunted </i>includes a good deal of action and gunfights, and there are parts of the book that are so well done. Parrott is able to write action with such attention to detail and well crafted descriptions that it feels like you've been dropped right into the middle of things. You don't have any trouble picturing the flying bullets and the explosions, and it almost feels like you're watching an action movie over simply reading the descriptions. Parrott is so good at immersive action that whenever you know an action scene is coming up you can't help but get excited for it.</p><p>With <i>The Division </i>being such a popular game series with fans who've put hundreds of hours into them it could be hard to bring that to life in book form in a way that doesn't feel like it's missing out on something, but this book manages to be an almost perfect addition to that universe. It slips into what's come before without disrupting things, and eagle eyed fans will notice connections to the games that are sure to delight. Whether you're someone who loves the franchise, or are simply looking for some cool Tom Clancy inspired reading, this book has you covered.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZndWs1AkTkp2K3f79tYRPnBIHISY7zTEHGDPKmkqlfiCyjTzYn0_lH2bJSiSAEpt-PIXXkfnYsV8fYVzITK9k7sS3Xl8iYisAj2uo5nEjVo_nHjTxleqRIl5FV2C8zhgPx1ieqZ8qvkOaHOmEny8kCfG_3YnySgH9w1QxqnOOmCCmS3Aa-c2Px8dNLfc/s1491/04.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="247" data-original-width="1491" height="53" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZndWs1AkTkp2K3f79tYRPnBIHISY7zTEHGDPKmkqlfiCyjTzYn0_lH2bJSiSAEpt-PIXXkfnYsV8fYVzITK9k7sS3Xl8iYisAj2uo5nEjVo_nHjTxleqRIl5FV2C8zhgPx1ieqZ8qvkOaHOmEny8kCfG_3YnySgH9w1QxqnOOmCCmS3Aa-c2Px8dNLfc/s320/04.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3532269" target="_blank">S<u>upport Amy on Patreon</u></a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://ko-fi.com/F1F1TMRM">Buy Amy A Coffee</a></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit"><a data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="http://www.trans--scribe.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: inherit;">Go to Amy's Blog</a></font></p><div data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: "times new roman";" style="font-family: "times new roman";"><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a data-blogger-escaped-target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Amazing_Amy_W"><font data-blogger-escaped-style="font-family: inherit;" face="inherit">Follow Amy on Twitter</font></a></p></div><div data-blogger-escaped-style="margin: 0px;" style="margin: 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/amazing_amy_w/" target="_blank">Add Amy on Instagram</a></p></div></div>Amy Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16402476300192259841noreply@blogger.com0