IT Chapter Two - Film Review

IT Chapter Two returns audiences to the small town of Derry, where the terrifying entity Pennywise has awakened from his decades of slumber ready to kill more children, and to get revenge against the Losers Club.

The choice to split IT into two films is probably the best thing that the filmmakers could have done. Whilst the shifting narrative settings within the book worked for that particular format (though I did have a few issues with it on occasion when reading it), it worked less so in film, as the 1990 miniseries showed. Here, the adult actors get their chance to shine without having to compete with the teenagers who played the younger versions of the characters. Even though there are some scenes in IT Chapter Two that return audiences to the 1980's, this is still very much about the adult cast, and these flashbacks play important parts in their journeys.

The adult cast are very good, and for a number of them it's almost eerie how much they look like the younger versions of the characters from the first film. Andy Bean who plays Stanley Uris is only in the film for a short amount of time, but I was immediately stunned by how much he looked like an older version of Wyatt Oleff; likewise, Nicholas Hamilton had a similar impact as an older Henry Bowers. And whilst Bill Hader did resemble Finn Wolfhard to a certain degree, it was his portrayal that really sold it being the same character.

I actually found him to be the most interesting member of the Losers Club in this film, and think that the new subplot about him being a closeted gay man was actually really interesting, and at times his performance was very moving.

The gay plots that happened in the film were handled well, especially the opening scene of the film that depicted the brutal homophobic attack of Adrian Melon. A scene that was cut from the 90's miniseries, it was used here to great effect. It took an incredibly disturbing and violent act, a very real kind of act, and used to it return Pennywise in a truly shocking way. For much of the scene you could be forgiven to forget that this is a film about an evil clown as we see that everyday people can be capable of such incredible evil themselves. Whilst some people complained about the tone and the violent nature of the scene it was an incredibly important scene from the book and I for one am very glad to see it included.

Unfortunately, the one area that I felt let this film down was that it just wasn't as scary as the first film. Perhaps this is because during the first film we were still discovering this version of Pennywise, and that slow unfolding of the threat was very scary. Maybe it's because I knew how the character acted now that I was somewhat prepared a second time round. Whatever the reason, he just didn't scare me as much. And I'm someone with coulrophobia, so this film should have really messed me up.

But this complaint is in no way a complaint about Bill Skarsgard, who is absolutely phenomenal in the role. I understand that a lot of people have a very real connection to Tim Curry as Pennywise, and whilst I do love Tim Curry he's nowhere near as good in the role as Skarsgard. He exudes menace whenever he's on screen, even when he's being sweet to children to lure them in. He's able to convey huge shifts with the tiniest facial expression, and can go from creepy to downright horrifying with the flip of a switch. So much of what makes Pennywise scary in these two films is down to his acting ability, not any kind of effects, and he should be lauded with praise for his work here.

In some ways it's sad that IT has come to a close, as it feels like there is a lot more to this story and this world left to tell. I know that there is supposed to be a 'super-cut' version of the film coming, and that Andy Muschietti wants to add in deleted scenes, and even film new pieces, so I have that to look forward to, but for now I feel a little down that it's done.


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Shatter War by Dana Fredsti and David Fitzgerald – Book Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

Shatter War is the second volume in the Time Shards series, and returns readers to the future where time itself has been broken into pieces, and multiple time periods share the same world.

Whilst Shatter War is a second volume it actually managed to catch me up very quickly with what had come before. During an experiment to harness faster than light travel the timeline was broken, splitting the world into various different shards, places where different times exist. As a result, pre-historic animals, modern day cities, and medieval knights can all exist beside each other.

As the people across this broken world try to figure out what has happened, and in many cases struggle to survive, a small group has come together to try to repair this damage, before powerful aftershocks destroy the world completely. This group of heroes includes Dr Jonathan Meta, the 23rd century scientist who caused the event; Amber Richardson, from modern day, first century Celt Cam; world war two veteran Sergeant Blake; Victorian conman Professor Winston Harcourt; and nineteenth century journalist Nellie Bly.

This mismatched team have a plan: get to the lab where things went wrong and fix stuff; but this doesn’t last particularly long into the book. Unfortunately for them they run afoul of Meta’s evil counterpart, Dr Colonel Janos Mehta. Now, it’s not really clear who this person is, except that he looks and sounds exactly like Meta, including his strange eyes, but comes from a different time where he’s an insane mass murder. What’s the most unclear, however, is if this is an ancestor of his from Meta’s past, or if he’s from an alternate timeline.

The book sets Mehta up to be the big villain in this book, and makes him the cause for everything that goes wrong for the group, with no explanation or reasoning for his being. This is made even worse within the last pages of the book. I won’t say exactly why, as it’s a big spoiler, but things get even more confusing.

Sadly, this Mehta/Meta confusion isn’t the only thing that makes the conclusion of the book a little disappointing. A few hundred pages of the weighty 500 page book are spent in establishing just how many warring factions are making a few of the time shards in Egypt their home, and is building the way towards a conflict. But the book doesn’t deliver on this. It’s coming, but apparently not in this book. I understand that this is a part of a series, but it really felt like the conflict between these time-displaced armies would be the conclusion for this book. It felt like the war in the title is missing.

Whilst we are on the matter of the length of the book, there’s a lot in Shatter War that adds to the world; whole sections of the book where we leave the main characters behind to follow the inhabitants of the various shards. These can range from just a few pages to thirty or more. These sections create some background for the places and people that the heroes will encounter later on, but often the information presented here and the context given is stuff that comes up later on anyway. For example, we spend a while following a ship captain from ancient Egypt as he travels down the Nile for days, lost as he sails from shard to shard, before finally being discovered and captured by soldiers a thousand years from their future. Whilst there’s nothing wrong with this, we see this information relayed to the heroes later on, meaning there was no need to really see it.

This isn’t something that happens just the once, but several times across the book. We see events, then we see our heroes told about these events. This happens so often that it comes to feel that 100 or more pages are given over to these tangents. Whilst I didn’t mind one or two, it happens so often and adds so much to the length of the book that I couldn’t help but get bored by them, and even began to feel like it was being done for padding to add length to the book.

Whilst there was a lot about Shatter War that I enjoyed, especially the inclusion of the real life Nellie Bly (a totally amazing woman who should be taught about in schools!), there’s so much that’s left unexplained, and so much build-up for so small a pay off that it feels like nothing really happens for 500 pages. There may be another book coming that will answer these mysteries and give the reader a resolution, but I can’t see this being a popular middle part, as so much of this story could have been told in half the page count. Thankfully, I hadn’t read the first book, because after waiting a year and a half for another entry in the series I would have been disappointed that this is what I was given.

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Gears of War: Ascendance by Jason M. Hough - Book Review

'Following Reyna Diaz's death at the hands of the Swarm, Kait seals her mother's tomb, swearing revenge. With her allies, including JD Fenix and Del Walker, she returns to New Ephyra to warn the Coalition of Ordered Governments: THE SWARM IS COMING.

'However, First Minister Jinn requires proof of the threat. She also demands their utter loyalty, driving a wedge between the allies. Joined by Marcus Fenix, Kait strikes out on her own while JD and Del embark on a sanctioned mission to prove that the threat is real. With the fate of humankind hanging in the balance, it's a race against time.'

The Gears of War series returns to consoles with the release of Gears of War 5, which continues the story of Kait Diaz and her mysterious connection to the Locust Horde and their Swarm descendants. However, before you dive into the game (or after, I can't tell you what to do), you might want to check out Titan Book's new release Gear of War: Ascendance, which fills in the gap between the fourth and fifth games.

Picking up straight were Gears of War 4 left off, readers rejoin the band of heroes on the mountainside where they found the mutated Reyna. Having killed her mother in order to save her, Kait and her friends bury her before being forced to flee to a safe location thanks to the Swarm still trying to hunt them down.

The group are eventually able to send a message to the COG, and are brought to the city of New Ephyra, where they brief First Minister Jinn on the new threat. A good portion of the start of the book is given over to these meetings and how the group interacts with the somewhat confrontational First Minister. Considering that Jinn has more of a presence in the fifth game, and that her relationship with them is a bigger thing it's great to see these early steps. We get to see her try to bring JD and Del onto her side, we understand a little more of her working relationship with Baird, and we see first hand how frosty her and Kait are towards each other.

Readers also get to see New Ephyra before the Swarm turn up too, and it's interesting to see how a COG city works in a time of peace. Getting to see how the government is using Baird's DB's as police, patrolling the streets and enforcing rules, with surveillance feeds going straight to the COG, it actually makes it a little more understandable why some humans chose to live as Outsiders. The allure of living in nature, away from an oppressive regime is one that I think most people would be able to identify with.

Sadly for the heroes of the story they don't get to spend much time in relative peace, and and thrust back into the action once again. JD and Del are sent to investigate a Locust burial site that the COG have lost contact with, whilst Kait and Marcus head to South Village, an outcast settlement near Kait's home where they hope to find survivors.

The two story-lines are both exciting, and could have easily been the focus of a book each, however, here readers jump between the two are the heroes are put into more and more dangerous situations. Whilst we know that none of them are going to die during these events (they are in the game that follows this book after all) there's still a shed load of tension as they're forced into more and more impossible seeming circumstances, and you're left wondering how they're going to get out alive. These stories are also intercut with scenes of Baird in New Ephyra, where he's not only trying to help both groups, but also trying to upgrade the DB's for the upcoming war with the Swarm.

Gears of War: Ascendance has taken a time frame between the games, where nothing big or important needed to happen, and threw a load of action and character moments into it. It helps to enrich the world of Sera, and really adds to Kait's growth from an Outsider to a member of the COG. Hopefully we'll get more books like this that will continue to fill in these small gaps. I'm hoping that we'll get some books that fills in the four month gap where Kait and Del went out saving Outsider colonies, and JD and Fahz go on missions together. More books like this will only help to improve the Gears of War universe.

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Rambo: Last Blood – 5 Older Films That Need A Sequel

Originally published on Set The Tape

Rambo: Last Blood sees Sylvester Stallone reprising one of his most iconic roles: that of the Vietnam War veteran John Rambo. This isn’t the first time that he’s brought an older character back, however, having previously returned to the screen as Rocky Balboa in the Creed movies. With these returns proving popular with fans we’ve taken a look to see if there are any other older films that could get a sequel decades later.

Commando (1985)

Commando is easily one of Arnie’s best movies. It’s fun, full of action, and hugely re-watchable. Here Arnold plays a retired special forces soldier, John Matrix, who has to come out of retirement to rescue his kidnapped daughter from a former South American dictator. The action that follows is one of the best revenge stories around.

More than 30 years later, could this work again? Yes. It definitely could. Have Arnold play Matrix once again, this time having to come out of retirement to help his daughter rescue her own child. You could even have Alyssa Milano reprise her role as his daughter Jenny. There are a whole wealth of areas that this film could explore, you could have the bad guys be somehow connected to Matrix’s past, or just completely unconnected. Plus, if it goes well you could even go for a John Rambo vs John Matrix crossover too.

Waterworld (1995)

Okay, I know this is considered one of the biggest movie failures of all time, but I think that there’s a lot in this universe that can still be tapped. Add into that the fact that the film has taken on an almost cult status with people (largely in thanks to how it is that bad that it’s kind of fun) and there could be a decent sized audience.

With global warming being such a big issue now a film that focuses a little on the devastating affects of climate change might be a good thing. Instead of being as kooky and weird as the original, a sequel could take on a more serious tone, looking at how humanity has been struggling to survive. Thanks to how small a focus the original film had the narrative could easily shift to focus on completely new characters and places if they can’t get Kevin Costner to return.

Demolition Man (1993)

Another Stallone film that would be great to see come back. In the original Demolition Man Stallone played a cop out of time in a future that doesn’t need a grizzled action hero. Why not return to this peaceful and idyllic future to see how John Spartan got on once he’d beaten his arch foe. Does he get used to this new world, or is he still a fish out of water?

With the first film having already set up the idea that dangerous criminals have been cryogenically frozen, it would be easy to bring some new threats into this future. Stallone could be eager to come out of retirement in order to fight this threat. This threat could be similar to the first film, a criminal or group of criminals that come out of prison without having been subject to the subliminal rehab, or it could be past criminals whose rehab starts to degrade, bringing out their former criminal tendencies. It could also be fun to see the return of other actors in the franchise such as Sandra Bullock, and Billy Cobbs.

Flash Gordon (1980)

Everyone loves a bit of Flash Gordon, whether it’s the cheesy action, the brightly coloured sets, or the kick arse soundtrack, there’s something about Flash Gordon that’s a little bit special. The fact that the film has been celebrated on multiple different anniversaries and given special re-releases means that there’s a huge audience for it, even close to 40 years later.

There have been attempts to reboot Flash Gordon more than once, with none of them really gaining the recognition or love that the 1980 version did. So instead of trying to revamp the film, just make a sequel instead. Let’s have Flash, still played by Sam Jones, being called back to Mongo to help stop a returned Ming. With so many of the cast still around you could have Max von Sydow reprise the role, or have Ming return in a younger, newer body. Timothy Dalton and Brian Blessed could return too. Instead of trying to make a more ‘realistic’ updated Flash Gordon, return to the world of the old one, embrace the over the top 80’s aesthetic and be cheesy as hell.

Lethal Weapon (1987)

It’s been a long time since the last Lethal Weapon film came out – more than 20 years – so I’d be interested in seeing how Riggs, Murtaugh, and the rest of the gang, are doing. Did Murtaugh finally get to retire? Part of the fun of the Lethal Weapon films is the family bond that built between the two lead characters over the years. Having gone from unwilling partners to friends, and eventually like brothers, their relationship was one of the highlights. How would that friendship continue on? Would Riggs have retired too, or is he having to work with a new partner? Does Riggs have to deal with new issues now that his son is a young man? All of these things would be loads of fun to see regardless of whatever the big bad they’d have to go up against would be.


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Thornhill by Pam Smy - Book Review

'As she unpacks in her new bedroom, Ella is irresistibly drawn to the big old house that she can see out of her window. Surrounded by overgrown gardens, barbed wire fences and 'keep out' signs, it looks derelict. But that night, a light goes on in one of the windows. And the next day she sees a girl in the grounds. Ella is hooked. The house has a story to tell. She is sure of it. Enter Thornhill, Institute for Children, and discover the dark secrets that lie within.But once inside, will you ever leave?'

Thornhill isn't a standard book. It doesn't just follow a single narrative, and it isn't limited to a singular medium either. The book tells two interconnected stories, one is about an orphan girl named Mary who is living in the Thornhill children's home in the 1980's, whose story is told in the form of diary entries; the other is about Ella, a girl who moves into a house behind the remains of Thornhill thirty years later, whose story is told entirely with artwork. Together, these stories make one interesting and haunting narrative tale.

Mary is a girl that's been at Thornhill for a number of years, and is struggling to make friends. She suffers from selective mutism, a complex anxiety disorder. As such, she finds it difficult to talk to any of the other girls in the home, and struggles to communicate well with the staff. Her only real escape from the difficulties she faces when around other people is shutting herself away in her attic room and crafting intricate puppet dolls. Unfortunately, Mary's life is thrown into further chaos when one of her tormentors returns to Thronhill after failing to fit in at her foster home. As Thornhill begins to shut down and the girls are found other places to move to Mary and her bully become more and more isolated with each other, which causes the situation to escalate to dangerous levels.

Ella is a teenage girl who has recently moved into one of the houses behind Thornhill, more than 30 years after Mary's story. As there is no dialogue during these sections the reader is left to piece together her story from the small pieces of information given, but it appears that Ella recently lost her mother, and moved with her father to the new home. Her father is having to work increasingly long hours, which results in Ella alone for long periods. When Ella sees a mysterious girl around the rundown Thornhill she tries to find out more about her, discovering more and more clues as to her identity, and her story.

It's pretty obvious from early on in the book that the mysterious girl that Ella is seeing is Mary, and that there must be something unusual going on here. Despite the obvious answer being that Ella is seeing Mary's ghost Pam Smy manages to create a few interesting curves throughout Mary's story that I began to doubt this conclusion. I started to think that perhaps the girl Ella was seeing wasn't actually Mary, but possibly Mary's bully. Thanks to Mary becoming more and more isolated in her narrative, and building towards a breaking point I began to think perhaps the story would have a twist, and that the bully would turn out to be called Mary too (her name is never given to us), and the reader was being intentionally mislead.

Alas, this is not the case, and it is indeed Mary who is some kind of spirit, but as this was one of the very first things that I thought when reading the book I'm not considering that to really be a spoiler. There are a few twists and turns in the narrative that I'm not going to talk about as then it would spoil the story, but the one thing I will say was that the last few pages actually gave me a little chill; thanks in large part to the artwork.

The art in Thornhill is perhaps one of it's most interesting features, and helps to really make the book stand out. Presented in black and white, these pages help to build upon the gloomy and depressing atmosphere that Mary's narrative creates. The artwork, whilst very beautiful, feels oppressive. It's also amazing just how much Pam Smy is able to convey in these wordless pages, just by the small details that she puts into the background and the way she chooses to depict events. It's not surprising to learn in the back of the book that she's a Senior Lecturer in Illustration, and has a number of qualifications in the subject. She doesn't use illustration to add to the written narrative, but to tell its own story. I've seen a few comics try the same trick, of presenting wordless narratives, and whilst some of these worked most of them didn't feel like anything that was particularly stand out or deserving of high praise. Thornhill, on the other-hand, shows how this technique can really be used to its full.

Thornhill is a hefty book, at more than 500 pages. The hardback copy I read also lent to the book feeling like a weighty, almost intimidating read, especially for the younger reader. However, Mary's diary entries aren't hugely long, and a good percentage of the book is given over to illustrations, meaning that it's not really a long book to read. I managed it in one sitting. But whilst I read it quickly I found myself thinking about it long afterwards. There's something about it that stuck with me way longer than it should have. It told an interesting story, with characters that felt a lot more real and grounded than most young fiction. The artwork elevated the book and made it stand out as something special. Whether you're the intended audience or not, the book is so well crafted that I'm sure that it will grip you and draw you in as well as it did me.

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Beloved Star Trek Actor Aron Eisenberg Passes Away

Aron Eisenberg, an actor best known for his role as Nog on Star Trek Deep Space Nine has passed away suddenly at age 50.

It was announced via the social media page for his podcast, 7th Rule, that he had been rushed into hospital. A few hours later his wife, Marissa Longo, announced that he had passed away on her Facebook page.

'It is with extreme regret and sadness to announce that my love and best friend, Aron Eisenberg, passed away earlier today. He was an intelligent, humble, funny, emphatic soul. He sought to live his life with integrity and truth. He was so driven to put the best he had into whatever work was put before him. He lived his life with such vigor and passion. He was like a breath of fresh air, because I knew I would always hear the truth from him. Even if I didn't want to hear it and even if the truth was inconvenient. He made me (and still makes me) want to be the best human I can possibly be, because he always strove to be the best human he could be. His resilience and willingness to learn was and is an inspiration. We didn't officially announce that we had eloped on December 28th, 2018. We were hoping to have a big shindig in celebration of our nuptials, but had to wait to save up the money.
While, our marriage, on paper, was a short one. Our hearts had been married for far longer. I will be forever thankful for the time we had to love each other. Five years felt like a lifetime, in the best possible ways. There will never be another light like Aron's. The beauty that he was and the legacy he leaves behind is beyond words. I love him dearly and will miss him eternally. At the moment I'm not sure how to do life without him... He is and always will be My California.'

Aron was rushed into hospital on September 21st in critical condition due to kidney failure, and passed away soon after. He had suffered with kidney difficulties throughout his life, and was only born with one. He received a kidney transplant at the age of 17, but these difficulties limited his growth to 5 feet. In August 2015 he was once again diagnosed with kidney failure. Thankfully, he was only on the waiting list for a transplant for just four months as a friend of his, Beth Bernstein, offered him one of her kidneys.

'She is just so incredibly selfless to give to me like this,' he told StarTrek.com following his recovery, 'that words cannot express my gratitude to her.'

Aron will be best remembered for his role as Nog, a young Ferengi that lived on Deep Space 9. Originally introduced as as the son of recurring character Rom, and nephew of regular character Quark, he was originally treated as a comic relief character; as many Ferengi were. Due to his chemistry with Cirroc Lofton, who played Jake Sisko, he was asked back multiple times.

Nog eventually went on to become a Starfleet officer, the first Ferengi to do so. During the course of the Dominion War story line he was shown battling on the front-lines, and lost a leg in combat. This led to a story line that dealt with him having to live with PTSD following his injury, one of the few Star Trek episodes that explored the emotional damage that combat can have upon veterans.

'It's Only A Paper Moon', the episode in which he had to deal with his loss is regularly featured in lists of the best ever Star Trek episodes, and Aron received praise from a number of real life veterans for his portrayal in the episode.

"Compared to you, I'm hollow as a snare drum." #StarTrek #AronEisenberg pic.twitter.com/Cuy2IR8JOP

— TrekCore.com 🖖 (@TrekCore) September 22, 2019

 Members of the Star Trek community, and Arons friends and colleagues have begun to express their sadness online at his passing.

I remember watching Star Trek Deep Space Nine when it first aired, and falling in love with the character of Nog even then. Nog went from a throwaway character to having one of the best story arcs of any Star Trek character. He was a thief and a liar, but ended up becoming a loyal, brave, and kind man. He took what the writers and fans thought a Ferengi was and threw it on its head, showing that it doesn't matter who you are or where you come from, you can strive to become something greater than what you are. Aron brought so much strength and compassion to the role that no one else could have played it half as well.

I recently introduced my wife to the series, and she, like me, has gone on to fall in love with his character. We woke up to the news of Aron's passing this morning and the two of us cried at the news. Star Trek has lost one of its brightest stars, and the world has lost a kind and loving actor and human being.

My thoughts are with his family and friends, and all of his fans during this difficult time. Rest in peace Aron. You'll always be Captain Nog in our hearts.


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Doctor Sleep by Stephen King - Book Review

'On highways across America, a tribe of people called The True Knot travel in search of sustenance. They look harmless - mostly old, lots of polyester, and married to their RVs. But as Dan Torrance knows, and tween Abra Stone learns, The True Knot are quasi-immortal, living off the 'steam' that children with the 'shining' produce when they are slowly tortured to death.

'Haunted by the inhabitants of the Overlook Hotel where he spent one horrific childhood year, Dan has been drifting for decades, desperate to shed his father's legacy of despair, alcoholism and violence. Finally, he settles in a New Hampshire town, an AA community that sustains him and a job at a nursing home where his remnant 'shining' power provides the crucial final comfort to the dying. Aided by a prescient cat, he becomes 'Doctor Sleep.'

'Then Dan meets the evanescent Abra Stone, and it is her spectacular gift, the brightest shining ever seen, that reignites Dan's own demons and summons him to a battle for Abra's soul and survival.'

The Shining was the first Stephen King book that I read, and probably one of the first film adaptation of his work that I saw (I'm not including the time I saw IT when I was way too young and ran out of the room the first time Pennywise killed a kid). I found the tale of the magic boy at the mercy of evil spirits to be both terrifying and gripping, and read through the book really fast. As such, I was hugely excited when it was announced that a sequel story was coming out. I began reading Doctor Sleep when it first came out, but never finished it thanks to life issues interrupting.

It wasn't until I went to see IT Chapter Two in the cinema last week that I even remembered the book existed, reminded thanks to an awesome trailer for the film adaptation. Having found the trailer to be really good, and knowing that I'd probably see it I thought that it was well past time that I gave the book another try. This time I found the book drew me in, and I read through it in a couple of days.

Doctor Sleep is something of a bold sequel, casting aside a lot of what made-up the original and doing its own thing. This isn't a story about ghosts, or of Danny Torrance being a victim. Instead, it focuses on the nature of the powers that Danny had in the first book, and showed readers that not only were there others that had these abilities, but they could do things that even Danny couldn't.

The book is spread out over a number of years, close to two decades, and shows the affect that the events of The Shining had on Danny. We discover that not only did the events leave him somewhat traumatised, understandably, but that the ghosts of the Overlook Hotel continued to haunt him even after the destruction of the hotel itself. Despite learning how to deal with these spirits Danny falls into a spiral of depression thanks to his abilities, and uses spirits of another kind to block out his visions.

Danny becoming an alcoholic was something of a shock to me, but it made some degree of sense. Not only did it help him to deal with his powers and to stop his nightmares, but it connected him more with his father Jack, who was an alcoholic too. Thankfully, over the course of the early stages of the book Danny hits his rock bottom and comes across people that are willing to help him, and we get to see him put his life back together, eventually becoming an upstanding member of the community and beloved citizen.

This alone would have made for an interesting narrative, as I enjoyed seeing how Danny dealt with the horrors of the Overlook and how he put his life back together, but King had other plans in mind, and introduces a whole new mythology. We learn that Danny is far from the only person with abilities, and learn that not only are there people all over the US with varying degrees of the shining, but a group that are preying upon them.

This group, the True Knot, are people that have the shining, but have transformed themselves into things that are no longer human. Using their abilities, they locate and kidnap children with the shine, before torturing and killing them in order to harvest their life essence. This essence, or steam as they call it, keeps them young and allows them to live for centuries. When Danny is contacted by a little girl with a powerful shine, Abra, he gets drawn into a fight to save her from the True Knot and defeat the killers.

The True Knot make for an interesting group of adversaries for the heroes of the book, and leads to a number of confrontations. The book is good at building them up, and by the time Danny and his friends come up against them you're aware of how formidable they are. Whilst some early wins show that they're not unbeatable, there's still a huge amount of tension for the final conflict on the site of the old Overlook Hotel.

The fact that the book doesn't just use The Shining to establish its universe, but revisits it really helps Doctor Sleep. The book easily stands on its own, but the inclusion of these elements helps it to feel like a bigger world. I know that it already is, as many Stephen King books exist in the same universe, and The Shining has already been established in the same universe as Misery and IT, but getting to go back to the Overlook, and seeing some of those same ghosts again adds a whole lot more.

Doctor Sleep left me pleasantly surprised, and I think it might be one of the Stephen King books that I enjoyed the most. Hopefully the new adaptation will be able to capture a lot of this magic and will also prove to be a good sequel.

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Alien Isolation by Keith R. A. Decandido - Book Review

'From birth, Amanda Ripley's life is riddled with hardship. Her parents live on the edge of poverty, so her mother - Ellen Ripley - seeks off-world contracts that lead to a position aboard the commercial hauler Nostromo. Then when the deep-space vessel disappears, Amanda passes into adulthood focused on discovering one thing. What happened to Ellen Ripley?

'Amanda's quest pulls her into the underbelly of society, where few can be trusted. On Luna she meets someone who seems the exception - Private Zula Hendricks of the Colonial Marines - but their relationship is short-lived. Just as Amanda appears to hit rock bottom… a lead appears.

'To follow it, she must travel to the remote Sevastopol Station. There she hopes to find the answers she seeks. But the station is in ruins, and death stalks the corridors in the form of a deadly alien the likes of which she never could have imagined.'

I have a little confession to make, I've never been able to finish playing Alien Isolation. I've had it since it was released in 2014, and have tried finishing it at least once a year since, but it's just way too scary for me. As such, when it was announced that Titan were releasing a novelisation I was over the moon, as I'd finally get to find out how the story of Amanda Ripley would end.

Whilst this is an adaptation of the game, Keith R.A. Decandido adds a lot more to the story, exploring Amanda's past and filling in a lot of the gaps to her story. Not only do we get to see her having to face off against the killer alien, but we see how the loss of her mother affected her life growing up.

Ripley having a daughter was a major character beat that was cut out of Aliens, and it was a shame as it gave a lot more context to her relationship with Newt. Since the release of the special edition fans have been wanting to know more about Ripley and her daughter, and this novelisation gives us the most insight to date.

We get to see Ripley and Amanda before the events of the original movie, where she's a mother trying her best to support her daughter despite her long distance job that takes her away from home for months at a time. We discover that despite the rocky relationship with Amanda's step-father, Ripley always tries to do the best she can by her daughter, and loves her deeply.

Once Ripley and the Nostromo disappear we learn the affect this had on Amanda. We discover that her whole adolescence was shaped by this disaster, and that the pain of her loss never left her. Whilst this is included to a small degree in the game here it becomes a focal point. It's not just the motivation for Amanda travelling to Sevastopol station, but something that shaped her entire life.

Amanda was left in a less than ideal home situation, living with an alcoholic step-father who can't get his shit together. This leads to her being unable to finish her education and becoming a full engineer, which limited her employment options and effectively left her poor her entire life. Ripley's disappearance began a cascade of events that led Amanda to coming face to face with the same creatures that took her mother away from her.

Decandido doesn't just build this new backstory, but has the difficult job of condensing down the whole game-play scenario into a story that wont leave readers bored. Whilst walking through countless corridors for hours on end worked for the game, thanks in large part to the massive levels of tension the game built, it wasn't going to make an entertaining read. Thankfully, the books narrative is able to capture a lot of this atmosphere, and hits all of the major beats of the game.

This doesn't just include the big story moments, which of course would be included, but little things like the scrawled graffiti players find on the walls, Amanda making smoke-bombs out of scrap materials, and having to collect tools to progress through the station. Sometimes game adaptations can feel like poor novels as the writers work hard to include as much of the game-play experience as they can. I found this to be true in the Resident Evil novel series, where the game adaptations were not quite as good as the stories that the writer was able to craft themselves. Thankfully, this kind of thing didn't happen here, largely thanks to the inclusion of all of the backstory segments.

Whether you're like me, and haven't been able to complete the game, or someone who has experienced the whole thing there's something for everyone in this adaptation. The book takes the source material and doesn't just adapt it, but expands upon it to give an even bigger experience. An ideal read for Alien fans and those that enjoy horror.

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Trans Woman Attacked In Portland

Atlas Marshall, a trans woman from Portland, USA, has reported being attacked last week. Three people, including Atlas, were attacked by a group of people in what is being described as a 'bias crime'.

At around 2:30 a.m. on Thursday September 12th, Atlas and her friends were returning home following a meal when they were approached by a group. They described the group as singling them out and abusing them based on Atlas being transgender.

'He saw me, visibly could tell I was trans, I was queer, and he started throwing homophobic and transphobic slurs at me.' Atlas told NBC reporters.

'Very quickly you could tell that he had noticed that I am trans. He started calling me all kind of slurs and homophobic and transphobic things. He just got more and more escalated and continued to say more and more things that were very much like hate speech. Then he started to approach me. Then he and his friend attacked me.'

Atlas said that she tried to defend herself, but was held down by two of the attackers and beaten. One of her friends, Austin Schuchard, tried to stop them, but had his nose broken. Atlas suffered from wounds to her knees and the side of her head.

The attackers fled before police could arrive at the scene. However, as two of the victims are members of the LGBTQ+ community police identified the incident as a potential bias crime and are requesting any information that could help them to identify the culprits.

Both Atlas and Austin have reported that the police involved in the investigation have made the case their primary focus. Police are asking any witnesses or anyone with video evidence of the attack to come forward to help with the investigation.

This is the second time in just a month that members of the LGBTQ+ community have reported experiencing a hate crime.


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Marvel Action: Spider-Man #8 – Comic Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

Marvel Action: Spider-Man #8 continues the tale of the spider-heroes having to face off against the cat burglar Black Cat, as her luck-based powers begin to bring the heroes a whole host of bad luck in their private lives.

Still reeling from the disastrous fight in the last issue, Peter, Miles, and Gwen are struggling to figure out their places within the team. None of them feel like things are working well. Peter feels that he should be in a position of leadership and teaching, where he can use his experience as a hero to help the others. Gwen is struggling to work with the guys as she feels like they’re both holding her back and preventing her from achieving her best. And Miles feels like the odd one out: a second Spider-Man who isn’t sure how to handle things.

Whilst these feelings and issues are definitely real, they’ve been exacerbated thanks to Black Cat, and their bad luck is feeding into their feelings that they’re not working well as a team. Unfortunately, this bad luck is also preventing them from being a team in more ways than one. Miles accidentally breaks his best friend’s arm and spends the night taking him to hospital, whilst Gwen almost burns down her apartment and is grounded by her father, meaning that Peter has to go it alone when Black Cat releases a group of leopards in the zoo.

Watching Peter have to deal with these furry troublemakers is actually a lot of fun. At first he’s falling foul of the bad luck, but once he figures out that he can’t take on the animals physically because of this he just starts treating them like actual cats, which is actually really cute. The panels of the leopards playing with their tails, or chasing balls of webbing are really fun, and the panel where Spidey is trying to shove one back into its enclosure is instantly recognisable to any cat owner who has tried to get their cat into a pet carrier.

Fico Ossio’s artwork is brilliant in the scenes in the zoo, and they’re able to bring a lot of character and energy to the animals. Even though not much really happens in that scene it might be one of my favourites in the series so far, thanks to the energy and humour that’s brought to it.

By the end of the issue the team are able to figure out that they’re falling foul of bad luck and not just sucking as a team, and are able to track down Black Cat’s location thanks to some investigating. This sets the stage for what is sure to be an interesting conclusion as the three of them are going to have to take down the bad guy without everything going wrong around them. It’s a confrontation that I’m certainly looking forward to seeing.


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