Skein Island by Aliya Whiteley - Book Review

'Skein Island, since 1945 a private refuge for women, lies in turbulent waters twelve miles off the coast of Devon. Visitors are only allowed by invitation from the reclusive Lady Amelia Worthington. Women stay for one week, paying for their stay with a story from their past; a Declaration for the Island's vast library.

'Marianne's invitation arrives shortly before her quiet life at the library is violently interrupted, the aftermath leaving her husband David feeling helpless. Now, just like her mother did seventeen years ago, she must discover what her story is.'

I have to be a little honest, at first glance I didn't think that Skein Island was going to be the kind of book that I enjoy. I don't usually like books that are more grounded in reality; I want some escapism in my fiction, something fantastical that I could never actually experience in real life. So when I read the description for Skein Island it sounded like the king of thing I normally avoided, the story of a woman going away to discover herself. But, this was Titan Books, a company that specialises in horror, fantasy, and science fiction; I knew that there had to be more to the book than it first appears.

It's hard to talk about the book and not give anything away, the story takes something of a shift about a third of the way through and you realise that there's a lot more going on in the narrative than you first suspect. Up to that point, however, the book is an interesting an engaging story about a very real and very well written woman.

Marianne is a woman with an unexceptional life. She has a job she loves at her local library, a happy marriage with her husband David, and something of a strained relationship with her father. She doesn't seem to be anything special, and a lot of people will find that they can identify with Marianne because of how normal she is. She's just an average person. Don't think that I'm saying this negatively, however, as sometimes protagonists are made to be so exceptional from the very start of a book, or live in a world so different from our own, that it can be hard to find something to relate to; but this isn't something readers have to worry about here. We all know someone like Marianne.

Unfortunately, her life is thrown into disarray when she becomes the victim of an assault, an event that pushes her to make her choice to get away from her everyday life for a week and travel to Skein Island. On the island she begins to make friends with a few of her fellow visitors, and one of the members of staff, and starts to get some of the clarity that she's hoping for. But, knowing that her mother visited the island decades ago, shortly before leaving Marianne's life for good, she's desperate to know what he mother wrote in her own Declaration, a decision that sets Marianne, and readers, on a course that will change the entire narrative.

I'm going to have to talk about the story with some spoilers now, so if you don't want to know anymore I suggest you leave the review (and that you go and pick up a copy of the book); if, however, you want to know more please stick around, because things start to get weird here.

Whilst searching for the answers that she needs Marianne discovers that not only is her mother actually alive and well on the island, but there's some kind of strange, dark presence there too. It turns out that during the 1940's the islands owner, Lady Worthington, discovered something extraordinary on an island in Greece. The last living Fate. This creature controlled the destinies of men, assigning them each one of four roles in life. Unfortunately, any man in her presence would go insane, and Lady Worthington had to watch as the rest of the expedition killed themselves, including her lover. Lady Worthington discovered that telling the Fate her story turned the creature into stone, and so she brought this living statue to Skein Island, where she keeps it stuck in rock by reading it the stories of the women who visit.

Now this was more like what I'm normally interested in. The sudden, surprising shift to the supernatural comes out of nowhere, but is done in such a way that it kind of feels like a natural progression to the narrative. It's not a tonal or genre shift that disrupts the story, but actually makes Marianne's narrative all the more interesting.

When the creature ends up being freed from Skein Island, and her powers begin to affect men once again, we really get to see how strong of a woman Marianne is. The Fate wants men to fulfil their roles, to take on the mantle of either a Hero, a Villain, a Sage, or a Sidekick, and this influence sends the world spiralling out of control. Men give into these strange new roles, violence erupts onto the streets, vigilante's take the law into their own hands, and women become props in their stories.

This is what Skein Island becomes about. It takes a long, hard look at the role of women in fiction, examining the fact that for a very long time (and even still a lot today) women are things to motivate men rather than being real characters themselves. They're the things that villains target, the motivation for the heroes.

Marianne's husband David tries to do this with her. He discovers that she didn't quite get the lucky escape he thought she did during her assault, and makes the traumatic events that she went through about him. It's the thing that spurs him on to find the person who hurt her and make him pay. It's the motivation to make him the hero of the story. He even goes on to think that he's the one destined to stop the Fate and return the creature to Skein Island. Fortunately, we have such a wonderful protagonist in Marianne that she doesn't go for any of that.

Marianne isn't prepared to be someone's motivation to be a hero, or his reward for stopping the villain. She knows that that kind of storytelling is, frankly, crap. Instead, she forges her own path, and not only becomes the hero of the story, but doesn't let David think that he was the hero at all.

In a lot of ways it feels like Skein Island is sticking its middle finger up at old fashioned storytelling tropes and saying that women don't have to just be props in men's stories, but have the power to tell their own powerful narratives themselves. Skein Island goes a little bit meta, and gets the reader thinking about the nature of stories and storytelling, and how they have evolved over time. Just like the real world stories need to change to reflect their times. The world is becoming more and more equal to people of all genders, and women shouldn't just be objects. The book challenges people to break away from that kind of storytelling and to expect more not just from their fiction, but their real lives too.

A wonderfully written and clever book that draws you in before dropping the floor out from beneath you. With unexpected twists and turns, a narrative driven by interesting and realistic characters, and a story that will get you thinking about the very art of storytelling itself, Skein Island is a book that's hard to compare with others, and is sure to keep you thinking long after you've finished reading.


Buy Amy A Coffee
Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Twitter

Add Amy on Tumblr

Connect with Amy on LinkedIn

Snakeskins by Tim Major - Book Review

It's been six months to the day that Tim Major's sci-fi thriller Snakeskins hit shelves. This is the perfect opportunity for anyone who missed out on this great release to check it out.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

‘Caitlin Hext’s first shedding ceremony is imminent, but she’s far from prepared to produce a Snakeskin clone. When her Skin fails to turn to dust as expected, she must decide whether she wishes the newcomer alive or dead. Worse still, it transpires that the Hext family may be of central importance to the survival of Charmers, a group of people with the inexplicable power to produce duplicates every seven years and, in the process, rejuvenate. In parallel with reporter Gerry Chafik and government aide Russell Handler, Caitlin must prevent the Great British Prosperity Party from establishing a corrupt new world order.’


Snakeskins tells three intertwining stories within a version of Britain where the country has closed itself off to the outside world, and where society is run and shaped by an elite few. Whilst this scenario may seem very, very familiar and has obvious connotations to what the country is going through at the moment, Snakeskins adds a sci-fi twist to the tale.

The world of Snakeskins differs from our own due to The Fall: an event that caused a branching history. A phenomena that resulted in a small group of people, called Charmers, gaining the ability to ‘shed’ every seven years, to create a duplicate of themselves that would allow them to rejuvenate. Whilst these copies, Snakeskins as they become known, usually only last a few moments we discover over the course of the book that this is not always the case.

One of the main characters, Caitlin Hext, is drawn into a dark world of corrupt government and secret history when her Snakeskin doesn’t fade away. At the same time a journalist, Gerry Chafik, begins to look deeper into Charmer society, whilst a low level government aide called Russell Handler is recruited to investigate a possible conspiracy.

The three stories in Snakeskins are all incredibly well told, and could easily be the sole focus of the book, yet by combining all three of them into one bigger, more diverse narrative Tim Major not only tells very personal, human stories, but crafts a deeper world. This is a United Kingdom that is somewhat recognisable, yet has taken its own path, and for the most part feels like something from the past, rather than being set a year from now.

Whilst the world of Snakeskins is incredibly interesting, and there’s still enough left untold here that Major could easily write more books within this universe to expand upon these concepts, it’s the personal stories that really make the book stand out.

Russell’s journey over the course of the story is an enjoyable one, as he goes from a timid personal assistant to a government minister, to discovering that he has depths of bravery that he didn’t know existed. However, he never feels too brave, managing to avoid falling into the category of ‘hero’. He is more like a man who was doing what he was doing from a sense of duty and honour, despite being terrified the whole time. He manages to remain grounded and real throughout.

The strongest character, however, is Caitlin. For Caitlin her first shedding ceremony isn’t just a milestone into becoming a Charmer, but acts as a gateway into her adulthood. Her shedding is the second one we see in the book, but it has an impact because of how emotional and heartfelt a moment it is. We ignore the spectacle of the Snakeskin coming into being and focus on the emotion it holds for Caitlin. Despite how big her story gets, and how it will go on to shape the world, we never leave this emotional journey, we follow the effects that her shedding has upon her, how coming to accept her Snakeskin changes her as a person, and how she grows and matures from this. Snakeskins might be a great sci-fi story with a conspiracy mystery at its heart, but it’s also an amazing coming of age story about a wonderfully written young woman.

Snakeskins has so much more in it than you might first imagine. It’s packed full of slowly revealed alternate history, it has mystery that unfolds at a great pace, and characters who aren’t superheroes but real people with believable motivations and personal stories. I read Snakeskins in one day because I couldn’t put it down, but the story, the world, and those who inhabit it will stay with me much, much longer.


Buy Amy A Coffee
Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Twitter

Add Amy on Tumblr

Connect with Amy on LinkedIn

Marvel Action: Spider-Man #10 – Comic Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

There’s a definite Venom movie vibe here in issue ten of Marvel Action: Spider-Man, as the iconic Spider-Man villain is introduced to this new continuity.

When a mysterious new, black clad Spider-Man begins to appear around New York, attacking criminals and leaving destruction in his wake, Peter begins to suspect that Miles might be behind things. Miles wears a black suit, and the new Spider-Man appears to have web-shooters too, so it must be Miles behind things, right?

If that seems to be something of a big leap in logic you’re not alone in thinking that, as Miles is understandably upset that Peter would begin to suspect him of going around the city assaulting people. Unfortunately, we don’t get to see much of how this new wrinkle in the team’s relationship affects Miles as he’s not actually around for a great deal, having stormed off when Peter makes his suspicions known.

It’s something of a shame that the team is still having interpersonal conflict, especially after they seemed to put things to bed following their run in with Black Cat, but I’m hopeful that this won’t become a major issue between the three of them and that things can be resolved fairly soon. Perhaps this will even become something of a catalyst for Miles to finally come up with a name for himself that isn’t Spider-Man 2, wanting to break away from Peter’s shadow somewhat after this argument.

Before the team are able to track down the person responsible for these attacks they come across one of his victims, the Lizard. This is actually a really nice conclusion to the hanging thread left in the first story arc, where the Lizard managed to escape the heroes and was still out in the world. The heroes come across an unconscious Lizard, administer a serum to change him back into Kurt Connors, and hand him over to the police. Delilah Dawson didn’t have to include this call-back to the earlier story, but it is a great moment that makes the story feel like part of a bigger whole and a connected narrative, rather than standalone adventures.

Following the capture of the Lizard, Gwen does some investigating and discovers that all of the stories about the black clad Spider-Man come from the same source, a disgraced journalist called Eddie Brock. Deciding to go and talk to Eddie to find out what he knows she gets drawn to a local bodega, where Vemon is attacking a man who tried to rob the place.

This is where it begins to feel like Dawson has taken some inspiration from the recent Venom movie. This is Eddie’s local bodega, and he doesn’t like that a criminal has come into it and tried to hurt the owner, so he and Venom are taking matters into their own hands. I don’t know if this choice was Dawson’s, or if it was direction from above, but I kind of like it. The Venom movie was pretty good, and the character has straddled the line between villain and anti-hero so often in the comics over the decades that having him follow a similar anti-hero route here feels like a good choice. Saying that, even if he is something of a hero, there is conflict between him and Gwen in this issue, so it’s not clear how hero this anti-hero is going to be just yet.

Issue ten doesn’t just introduce a new villain in Venom, it also sees a change in artist from Fico Ossio to Davide Tinto. This isn’t the first change in artist on the title, but it’s the first one that really stood out to me. The other artists on the book have seemed to work with a very similar style that makes them flow into each other nicely; here, however, things feel a little different. This may also be down to the colourist, Valentina Pinto. Despite being different to what has gone before it still fits the tone of the book nicely, and looks very, very beautiful throughout. A great start to a new story arc featuring one of Spidey’s most iconic villains.


Buy Amy A Coffee
Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Twitter

Add Amy on Tumblr

Connect with Amy on LinkedIn

Terminator: Dark Fate – 5 Terminator Stories To Check Out

Originally published on Set The Tape

The Terminator franchise has had some rocky moments, with some films that really tested people’s love for the series (we’re looking at you Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines). However, there is more to the franchise than just the films. Here’s a short list of other Terminator content that’s definitely worth checking out.

Terminator 2: Cybernetic Dawn (Comic Book – Dan Abnett & Rod Whigham)

Set immediately after the events of the second movie, Terminator 2: Cybernetic Dawn picks up after the destruction of the T-1000 and T-800, and sees John and Sarah Connor nursing their wounds following their long battle against the machines. Unfortunately, it turns out that they may not have actually prevented Judgement Day as not one, but three new Terminators arrive in the past to kill them both, two T-800’s, and a T-1000.

Terminator 2: Cybernetic Dawn is a pretty bold book, doing something that hasn’t even really been done in the films and having more than one Terminator sent back in time to kill a single target. Add in the fact that no one has been sent back to protect the Connors and this makes for a pretty stand out story. It also expanded upon the world created in the first two films, by revealing that the government already has pieces of several other Terminators in their possession, dating back further than Sarah Connor, teasing the idea that the machines have been manipulating time for much longer than initially thought.

Terminator 3: Redemption (Video Game – Xbox, PS2, GameCube)

Released shortly after the abysmal movie tie in game, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, this game tried to make up for some of the awfulness that players had to put up with. This game shifted the action away from the film, and instead of making gamers play through the events of the film, actually told a story. The game expanded upon the film, having players take control of the T-800 before he’s sent back in time to protect John.

The game managed to be a lot more fun than the film it ties into, and featured a variety of missions, including vehicle based combat, on rails shooting sections, and standard combat through a variety of future settings. Possibly the best thing to come out of the third film, the game knew that it had to do something different to try and win over fans, and succeeded for the most part, receiving some generous reviews.

Terminator Salvation: From The Ashes (Novel – Timothy Zahn)

Written by award winning author Timothy Zahn, (best known for his work on Star Wars and for creating the character of Grand Admiral Thrawn), this novel tells a tale of John Connor set in the apocalyptic future of the war against the machines, and helps to set up for the Terminator: Salvation movie. Set during a period where John Connor is still seen as nothing more than an average resistance fighter by the larger resistance movement, Terminator Salvation: From The Ashes sees John leading his resistance cell in a daring mission to capture a Terminator facility in an attempt to not just hurt the machines, but to prove himself to Command.

Whilst most stories focus on John Connor as either a young man before the war with Skynet, or as the leader of the resistance, it’s good to see him at an in-between stage. He’s proven himself to his group of fighters, and commands their respect, but is still seen as just a small cog in a larger machine. He has to prove that he’s the leader he’s been training to be his entire life.

Zahn is a great author, and is able to craft an engaging and dynamic story filled with interesting character moments, as well as intense action sequences, giving readers one of the better Terminator novels to date.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Television – 2008-2009)

A lot of people looked down on the Terminator television series and didn’t give it much of a chance. And that’s somewhat understandable, as the first season was a touch slow to begin with. However, once the series entered its second season it really began to find its feet and started to tell a very good, and different Terminator story.

The series showed a John (Thomas Dekker) and Sarah (Lena Headey) who had jumped forward in time from the 1990s to 2008 to escape a new Terminator, this time protected by the female terminator Cameron (Summer Glau). The series explored new ideas: that Terminators have been sent back to secure important materials and tech and protect them from Judgment Day, that resistance cells have been sent back to hinder Skynet’s creation, and that there’s even a faction of Terminators that want to stop Skynet too.

The series took bold moves with the franchise, and had some absolutely amazing moments before it was cancelled on a stunning cliffhanger ending. With the ability now to be able to binge watch, it would likely be much better received, especially thanks to how popular Lena Headey has since become.

Robocop vs Terminator (Comic – Frank Miller and Walt Simonson)

Though probably best known as a video game, the comic began this fan favourite crossover. When a resistance fighter is sent back in time to kill Robocop, he is rescued by a group of Terminators who were sent to protect him. Learning that some of his technology would go on to be used to create Skynet, and ultimately destroy humanity, Robocop begins a mission to stop Skynet from coming into existence.

Written by Frank Miller, who wrote the second film, the book manages to capture a lot of the gritty and grimy feel of both universes, whilst telling an interesting story. It takes the character of Robocop, who already deals with issues of identity and what makes you human, and examines it in detail by making him a main part of the rise of the machines.


Buy Amy A Coffee
Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Twitter

Add Amy on Tumblr

Connect with Amy on LinkedIn

Marvel Action: Black Panther #4 – Comic Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

The fourth issue of Marvel Action: Black Panther takes a break from the established pattern of the Marvel Action series, and instead of starting a new story line that will go across three issues, acts as a stand alone piece.

The main plot for issue four centres around T’Challa taking part in Exchange Day, an event that comes around every 10 years in which the king of Wakanda secretly trades places with an average worker so that they can get a feel for what life is like within the nation. It’s basically Black Panther Undercover Boss.

T’Challa goes to work in the vibranium refinery, one of the more important industries in the whole country. Unfortunately, his visit there takes a turn for the worse when he discovers that one of the foremen is corrupt, and abusing his position to both torment the workers, and to steal vibranium.

There isn’t a huge amount of action in this issue, and the one fight that does ensue when T’Challa confronts the corrupt refinery workers is over pretty quickly. But then this isn’t really a story about a superhero. Instead, issue four focuses on the fact that T’Challa is first and foremost the ruler of a nation, and as such has bigger things to focus on than costumed crime-fighting.

However, the issue also makes T’Challa seem like something of a foolish king. He assumes that because he is living well then the rest of the country is. Yes, he knows that not everyone is living in a palace surrounded by wealth the way he and his family are, but he still believes that everyone has a good life. The refinery visit acts as something of a wake-up call for him, and makes him realise that there’s actually a lot more for him to learn and to be aware of.

There’s not much more that can really be said about the issue, as there’s nothing here that feels like it’s going to be playing into any kind of larger story, or be part of any kind of long term character growth. The end of the issue seems to neatly wrap a bow around T’Challa having learnt from his experience, so it doesn’t seem that his continued change as a king will really come up again. It could be that the next story line will deal with social upheaval and the poorer classes rising up in protest against their ruler – but it just doesn’t feel like that’s the route the writer is going down.

This is the first issue to feature a new creative team, with Vita Ayala replacing Kyle Baker as writer, and Ariana Florean taking over art duties. Ayala has written for the character of Shuri in the past, so has some experience in the Black Panther toy box. And even though this issue didn’t excite me greatly, I’m very eager to see a black woman getting the chance to write these amazing black characters.


Buy Amy A Coffee
Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Twitter

Add Amy on Tumblr

Connect with Amy on LinkedIn

Alien: Prototype by Tim Waggoner - Book Review

'When an industrial spy steals a Xenomorph egg, former Colonial Marine Zula Hendricks must prevent an alien from killing everyone on an isolated colony planet. Venture, a direct rival to the Weyland-Yutani corporation, will accept any risk to crush the competition. Thus, when a corporate spy "acquires" a bizarre, leathery egg from a hijacked vessel, she takes it directly to the Venture testing facility on Jericho 3.

'Though unaware of the danger it poses, the scientists there recognize their prize's immeasurable value. Early tests reveal little, however, and they come to an inevitable conclusion. They need a human test subject...

'ENTER ZULA HENDRICKS. A member of the Jericho 3 security staff, Colonial Marines veteran Zula Hendricks has been tasked with training personnel to deal with anything the treacherous planet can throw their way. Yet nothing can prepare them for the horror that appears--a creature more hideous than any Zula has encountered before. Unless stopped, it will kill every human being on the planet.'

Alien: Prototype is the latest entry in the ever expanding Titan Books Alien universe, and much like those that has come before it, it brings an excellent level of quality and creativity to the story. I imagine it can sometimes be hard to come up with an Alien story that would manage to feel new and interesting, after-all, the nature of the titular monsters means that it's hard to add agency or character to the antagonists, and a lot of Alien stories are variations on monster loose on a ship/station/colony. Tim Waggoner, however, has managed to create one of the most interesting and uniquely creative variations of the Xenomorph I've ever seen.

Tying in to Dark Horse Comic stories such as Aliens: Defiance and Aliens:Resistance, as well as previous Titan Books novel Alien: Isolation, the story here follows the character of Zula Hendricks, a former Colonial Marine who has made it her mission to destroy every Xenomorph in existence.

Set between the events of the Dark Horse Comics, before Zula eventually reunites with Amanda Ripley, Alien: Prototype sees Zula taking a break from her mission to kill aliens, having taken a job with Venture, a rival company to Weyland-Yutani. She's taken on the job of training up the security personnel at The Lodge, a research and development facility on the planet Jericho 3. Chiefly designed to develop new colonisation tech, the The Lodge also has a biological research facility, where one of their scientists has just received an alien egg.

The initial set up of the story, of a shady corporation having received an alien specimen to study is fairly standard fare in the Alien universe, but it's what happens to the Xenomorph from that point that makes this story truly stand out. The scientist in charge of studying the Xenomorph uses a colonist that's had a history of agreeing to medical trials to play host to the creature. This is a slight difference already, as these kinds of stories usually involve the corporations kidnapping people and implanting them against their will, so the idea of having someone agree to a 'medical trial' without knowing what that means for them is actually kind of a fun twist. However, it also adds a wrinkle to the alien's development.

The man who signs up to the experiment has previously been infected with cellular necrosis, a highly infectious disease that eats away at the victims body. Thankfully, the trial led to a cure for the disease and the man survived. But, this means that the virus is still in his system, and this ends up incorporated into the Xenomorphs biology. We've seen that the hosts can affect how the Xenomorph develops in the past, the dog/ox alien in Alien 3 being a prime example, but this might be one of the most unique and creative variations. The Xenomorph has the cellular necrosis as a major part of its biology, giving it a diseased look, and covering it in large barnacle like pustules that are able to shoot out acidic black goo that infect people with the disease. The alien is also able to cough out clouds of spoors from its inner mouth that are able to transmit the necrosis in an airborne manner. This alteration of the Xenomorph leads to the characters dubbing it the Necromorph.

As I said earlier, it can be hard to make the alien stand out as different in these stories, and it's often the setting or human characters that add variation, but that's not the case here. Here, Waggoner has created one of the most stand out aliens I can think of. This isn't the same kind of creature but with a funny shaped head, or that runs around on all fours instead of two legs; this is a Xenomorph that has entirely new instincts, that struggles between its desire to create more of itself and use humans as hosts, and its desire to spread the virus. It's one of the most daring and creative changes to the alien I think I've ever seen. And I absolutely love it.

It's not just the new Necromorph that's great, however, as the human cast of the book is brilliant too. Zula is, as always, a great lead character. A former Colonial Marine who ended up severely wounded on her first mission, she's a woman that has had to not only fight the Xenomorphs, but her own disability too. As someone who is disabled, and lives in near constant pain, I really appreciated having a character who has to deal with similar issues as the main focus. Yes, Zula has had operations to help repair the trauma she suffered, and gone through physiotherapy, but she's still living with the pain left over from her injuries, as well as the psychological scars it left her. Add onto that that she's also a woman of colour and she might be one of the best protagonists in the entire Alien universe.

Of course, not everyone in the Alien universe can be as good and noble as Zula, otherwise there'd be no evil corporations looking to exploit the Xenomorphs. Here we get three characters that really capture the despicable and self centred nature of the mega corporations in the Alien universe. Tamar Prather is a corporate spy who's responsible for getting Venture the alien egg to begin with, but her own greed leads her to get herself killed. Aleta Fuentes is the woman who runs The Lodge, agreeing to allow illegal and unethical experimentation, and tries to lie and manipulate her way out of any blame that could come from higher up in the company. And Millard Gagnon is the scientist who is willing to do anything it takes to get the results he wants, even if it means sacrificing innocent people in the name of 'science'. All three of them are horrible people, though for different reasons, and you'll find yourself routing for them to end up getting killed during the course of the book.

Alien: Prototype is not only a great addition to the Titan Books Alien series, but a bold and unique addition to the whole Alien franchise. It does something with the alien creature that hasn't been done before, and is brilliantly creative. It has great human characters at the centre of the story that you'll be rooting to see live, and some who you'll be eager to see meet a horrible end. This is the perfect novel for any Alien fans.

Buy Now On Amazon

Buy Amy A Coffee
Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Twitter

Add Amy on Tumblr

Connect with Amy on LinkedIn

Terminator: Dark Fate – Ranking the Terminator films

Originally published on Set The Tape

The latest Terminator film is hitting cinemas soon, bringing series veterans Arnold Schwarzeneggar and Linda Hamilton together once again to fight a whole new host of robotic baddies. But before jumping into this new entry, we thought that we’d go back and rank the rest of the series!

5. Terminator Genisys (2015)

Terminator Genisys was supposed to be the start of a whole new trilogy of films, but thanks to some awful reviews it failed to be what it wanted to be, despite being the second highest grossing entry in the franchise.

It sees the Terminator timeline that fans are familiar with get messed up when more Terminators travel back in time and alter Sarah Connor’s (Emilia Clarke) past. Instead of having a normal life she was raised by a T-800, and is already being hunted by a T-1000 when Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) travels back to help her.

Thanks to messing with the preexisting mythology of the series, some casting that fans didn’t find particularly great, and major plot twists being shown in trailers, fans found very little to enjoy about the film.

4. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)

Following the events of the second film, John Connor (Nick Stahl) has been living off the grid in Los Angeles following his mother’s death. Because he’s left no trace of his whereabouts for Skynet to be able to trace. the machines send a new, female Terminator (Kristana Loken) back in time to eliminate people key to his future resistance cell. John ends up getting dragged back into the fight and must find a way to survive the coming Judgement Day.

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines had a hard time being seen to be a good film thanks to trying to appeal to a broader audience, incorporating comedic moments into the narrative and going for splashy spectacle over horror. The result is a Terminator film that feels like it’s aimed more towards a teen audience than adults, where it struggles to create an identity for itself. Though not a bad film it does feel like a distinct drop in quality when compared to others in the franchise.

3. Terminator: Salvation (2009)

Terminator: Salvation has its good points, even though a lot of people seem to hate on it. It took the bold step of setting the story within the apocalyptic future of the Terminator-dominated world – the only film in the franchise to do so. It showed a John Connor (Christian Bale) who was still rising up the ranks of the Resistance to become the leader we know he’s destined to become. And it made the Terminators scary again.

Other than the first film in the series the Terminators had become less frightening over the course of the films, thanks in large part to having good Terminators standing up against them. This film showed audiences how scary the machines could be. We had bigger, bulkier Terminators stalking the wasteland, covered in bad rubber skin. They made loud mechanical noises when they moved, and they were really, really hard to kill. This made them so scary.

The film also gave us the scene when John Connor had to go up against a T-800 that looked like a young Arnold Schwarzenegger, a fight that reinforced how bad the humans in the future have it when a single Terminator is so difficult to combat. Unfortunately, there are some plot elements that let the film down a little, and prevent it from being higher on this list.

2. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a hell of a movie. It flipped things on their head by making Arnie a good guy (something people really didn’t see coming), upped the ante in both action and special effects, and gave us an amazing female action lead in Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor.

The story explored the future war with the machines in ways that the original film didn’t, and introduced some new elements to the mythology – the most obvious being the liquid metal Terminators. The T-1000’s would become a firm fan favourite, and a staple enemy that the franchise would come back to again and again, as well as pushing the technology available at the time to its limits and helping to pioneer new special effects.

1. The Terminator (1984)

The original, and still the best in the franchise for one simple reason: horror. Where the other films in the series became sci-fi action films, the first film was very much entrenched in the realms of horror. The unstoppable killing machine that will always be hunting you and can’t be hurt is absolutely terrifying. The film manages to capture this tone and keeps the pressure on throughout, giving audiences an intense and suspenseful movie that doesn’t let up.

The film also helped to make Arnold Schwarzenegger a star, and to establish James Cameron as a director to watch out for. Without The Terminator, not only would we not have the entire franchise, but we might have missed out on James Cameron’s other movies, Arnie might have struggled further to become a star, and special effects technology mightn’t have been pushed. Not only the best film in the series, but a hugely important piece of cinema.


Buy Amy A Coffee
Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Twitter

Add Amy on Tumblr

Connect with Amy on LinkedIn

Titans Season One – 5 Teen Titans Stories To Check Out

Originally published on Set The Tape

The first season of Warner Bros television series Titans has just been released on DVD and Blu-ray, meaning a whole host of new fans get to experience the exciting live action version of the Teen Titans. The series has some great stories, but the characters have been around for decades in the comics, and there are loads more stories that fans can experience. Here are five of the best.

Teen Titans: A Kid’s Game

Geoff Johns is a legend in comic books, and one of his stand out series was his 2003 Teen Titans run. The first big relaunch of the book since the Wolfman and Perez run, the book brought back series mainstays such as Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, and Cyborg in new modernised versions, as well as bringing new additions like Tim Drake’s Robin, Cassie Sandmark’s Wonder Girl, Super Boy, and Bart Allen’s Kid Flash.

The first volume of the Johns run, Teen Titans: A Kid’s Game, tells how the team comes together for the first time, the dissolution of the Young Justice team, and how the older Titans fit in with their new teammates. A brilliant introduction to a run that would last for years, with Johns working on more than 50 issues.

Teen Titans: Titans of Tomorrow

Another great entry from the Johns era Teen Titans: Titans of Tomorrow pits the young heroes against older versions of themselves. After travelling to the distant future to help the Legion of Super Heroes the Titans accidentally end up 10 years in their future, where they encounter more violent versions of themselves. In this timeline Connor has become Super Man, Tim is the new gun-wielding Batman, Cassie is Wonder Woman, and Bart has become Reverse Flash, just to name a few of the changes.

It’s always fun to pit heroes against different versions of themselves, and ‘what if’ futures are great scenarios that let writers explore strange new territory, and Teen Titans: Titans of Tomorrow is a great example of both. The characters get to see where their actions could lead them in the future, and it moves their story forward in important and meaningful ways. Plus, the future versions of our heroes are brilliantly entertaining.

Teen Titans: The Judas Contract

Taken from the classic Marv Wolfman and George Perez run on the book Teen Titans: The Judas Contract was a four part story that was extremely significant for a number of reasons. The book revealed the secret origins of the Titans villain Deathstroke, a villain that would go on to become an icon of the DC Universe. The Judas Contract also revealed the shocking revelation that the teams new member, Terra was actually working for Deathstroke to bring down the team from within. It also marked the first appearance of Dick Grayson as Nightwing.

Teen Titans: The Judas Contract was a huge turning point for the series. It was full of content that was considerably more adult in tone than things that had come before, and made big changes to the book going forward. Adapted a number of times over the years in both tv and film animation, and revisited in future comic stories, it remains on of the most important Teen Titans stories of all times.

The New Titans: Who Is Donna Troy?

The original Wonder Girl, Donna Troy was a founding member of the original Teen Titans line-up in the 1960’s, and originally Wonder Woman’s younger sister. Over the years, thanks to various revisions and new writers Donna’s origins became less defined. Who Is Donna Troy? sought to shed some answers on her past.

A sci-fi epic that’s full of world building, noir detective stories, and interpersonal conflict all designed to bring Donna to the fore and make her a character with a solid back story. With Donna Troy proving to be on of DC’s more popular recurring characters, and her character’s inclusion in the series, Who Is Donna Troy? may be one of the more important Teen Titans stories around.

Teen Titans: Earth One

A standalone graphic novel, Teen Titans: Earth One takes readers to a world where there are no super heroes. No Batman, no Superman, no Wonder Woman, and no Teen Titans. In this world a group of teens suddenly develop strange new powers, and are drawn together to help save a strange alien princess. Featuring brand new versions of Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy, Terra, Jericho, and Starfire, writer Jeff Lemire creates a Teen Titans that couldn’t exist in the regular DC Universe.

With a second volume that expanded upon this initial concept, and introduced even more re-imagined Titans, Teen Titans: Earth One is a bold new direction for the super hero team. Fans who liked the television series revamp of the team will love this other reinterpretation.


Buy Amy A Coffee
Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Twitter

Add Amy on Tumblr

Connect with Amy on LinkedIn

Shades of Magic: The Steel Prince – Night of Knives by V. E. Schwab – Book Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

Shades of Magic: The Steel Prince – Night of Knives returns readers to the amazing world of the Shades of Magic series, once again exploring the past of King Maxim, and shedding light upon some of his greatest exploits.

Having already defeated the Pirate Queen of the Blood Coast in the previous volume of the series, Maxim is trying to turn the royal guard of Verose into a group of ‘real’ soldiers. He’s fed up with their lax attitudes and wants to further prove himself to his father, King Nokil, by making them into a guard worthy of honour and recognition.

Unfortunately, many of the royal guard in the city still don’t feel like Maxim belongs there. They see him as something of a spoiled brat, given his position because of his birth, not because he’s actually earned it. Whilst Maxim believed that slaying the Pirate Queen would have won him some respect with his men it seems like it’s not enough to make him the leader he wants to be.

When Maxim learns about the mysterious Night of Knives, a series of trials that prove the bravery and power of those who survive, he believes that he’s found his way of gaining the respect of his men and earning his place as their leader.

The Night of Knives is a great concept. Pitting Maxim against a series of trials that are designed to test him to his limits is a brilliant way of putting the character on a path of self discovery, which seems to ultimately be what the series is about. Yes, we’re learning more about the character and how he became a legend, but ultimately it seems to be about him learning to become a real leader, discovering the qualities that he’ll need in order to be a good king one day.

The trials themselves are pretty fun and inventive. The first trial requires Maxim to use his magic to navigate a death trap, whilst the second is purely about survival whilst stripped of powers. The third trial is something of a classic story trope, the hero having to face a manifestation of their own fears. Schwab herself acknowledges it’s a trope in the included interview, but she’s managed to avoid making it feel too cliched or done before, instead making it feel like a natural progression of the trials rather than something thrown in because it’s expected.

The final trial is something that’s a little unexpected, and in all honesty is a slight twist in the story. I’m not going to say much about it as I don’t want to ruin the ending, but I will say that it was really good and set up possible things to come in the future. I’m also a little angry at myself for not seeing part of it coming. If you know the rules of the Shades of Magic universe then there’s something that happens you can pick up on if you’re paying enough attention; but then V.E. Schwab is clever enough to not make it too obvious and telegraph what’s going to come.

There’s been a change of artists between volume one and this book, with Budi Setiawan joining in the art duties with Andrea Olimpieri. Honestly, even with the book telling you which artist worked on which issue it’s hard to notice much of a difference between the two of them. Sometimes when a comic changes artists mid-story it can be a really jarring art style shift, and it can draw you out of the narrative, but here the two artists work brilliantly together to produce a book that feels like one cohesive whole.

The designs they make for the new characters introduced in the book, such as the ‘psychotic magic blade for hire’ Rio, are great, and fit into the already established aesthetic whilst managing to look fresh and distinct. The trials also have brilliant designs and whilst the notion of magical trials isn’t a new one they’re presented here in a way that feels unique.

Shades of Magic: The Steel Prince – Night of Knives is the perfect continuation of the story of the Steel Prince, and manages to not just be as entertaining as the first volume, but ups the ante on character development, universe building, and interesting antagonists. Fans of the Shades of Magic universe will of course love the book, and even those new to the story will be able to entertained throughout.

Buy Now On Amazon

Buy Amy A Coffee
Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Twitter

Add Amy on Tumblr

Connect with Amy on LinkedIn

October Faction: Open Season – Book Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

October Faction is a new series coming to Netflix, that follows the adventures of a globetrotting family of monster hunters. The series is based on a comic book written by Steve Niles, and drawn by Damien Worm. With the series on the way IDW have put together a new bumper book containing the first twelve issues of the series, October Faction: Open Season.

October Faction: Open Season introduces readers to the Allen family. There’s the college professor Fred, his wife Deloris, and their teenage kids Geoff and Viv. Fred used to be a monster hunter, but has since left that life behind for his family, but this has led to a less than perfect family life. His wife has become somewhat distant from him and the two of them hardly speak, and his children want desperately to follow in his footsteps and become monster hunters; something that he is dead set against.

This boring life gets thrown out of balance, however, when an old enemy of Fred’s, Merle Cope, arrives in town and meets with Deloris. This sets off a series of events that makes Fred and his family the target of a number of supernatural threats, brings them closer together as a family, and even brings some strange new additions into their ‘October Faction’.

Despite being a hefty twelve issues long the book is really an introduction to the world and the Allen family. It’s not until the end of the 12th issue that it actually feels like they’ve all finally come together as a team and descided to make hunting monsters their mission. And you know what? It’s actually really good.

A lot of comics, especially ones that have a team, tend to have the set-up happen quite quickly. Normally by the end of issue six a team comes together and has set out on their mission to do good. October Faction: Open Season takes its time with setting up the characters and the world. It knows that this isn’t an established universe that fans already know, with recognisable characters, so it doesn’t rush laying the groundwork. We get to know the characters, their motivations, their back stories, and the narrative is better for it.

The characters are a varied and interesting group, and the members that come from outside the family to join them are actually some of the more interesting; though I don’t want to say much about them as I wouldn’t want to spoil any of the surprises. The story also touches upon a much larger world, making it bigger than just Gristlewood, and giving hints to readers about the kind of creatures and adventures the heroes might have to face in further volumes.

The artwork helps a lot with this too, with Damien Worm taking on a much more muted look through many of these early parts of the book. He doesn’t go for big splashy backgrounds that the characters get lost in, instead making the people the focus of panels. He creates artwork that captures the look and feel of the world, often full of atmosphere, but a lot of the time there’s actually nothing in the panel except the characters. But, unlike some artists this doesn’t stand out in a bad way.

October Faction: Open Season is a great introduction to the comic series, and I’m certainly going to be checking out more of it now. Plus, I’m really interested to see what the Netflix adaptation is going to be like and what things they change. A great horror comic chock full of interesting characters, fun creatures, and some great writing and artwork.

Buy Now On Amazon

Buy Amy A Coffee
Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Twitter

Add Amy on Tumblr

Connect with Amy on LinkedIn