Dungeons and Dragons: A Darkened Wish - Book Review

'An all-new tale of epic scope and flair that combines the elements of story telling and action that make every adventure so fun!

'When war threatens the Moonshae Isles, legendary heroes return to defeat the forces of an unthinkable foe. The Forgotten Realms are changed forever as young wizard Helene and her friends grow from raw recruits on the streets of Mintarn into powerful warriors.'

Dungeons and Dragons is a franchise that's existed for decades, and is beloved across the world. With how long the franchise has been around you'd thin that there would be more books, shows, and films, set within its universe. But the problem is, the very nature of the game means that there aren't really characters or stories that you follow; you make your own. And whilst that makes for a lot of fun when playing, it makes it harder for people to create fiction for fans to consume.

Dungeons and Dragons: A Darkened Wish tries to create a story that spans decades and builds towards an epic conclusion, but because I'd never come across these characters or there world before I found it hard to be really drawn into the story.

This isn't the fault of the creators, writer B. Dave Walters manages to create some interesting scenarios and characters that were intriguing, but it felt like the story was trying to draw upon emotions that just weren't there. I didn't really care that one of the heroes got turned to darkness, because I didn't know him, or care about the relationships he had with the other heroes. I didn't care when one of the good guys died horribly, because other than them having 'levelled up' between issues I didn't really have a sense of who they were or why I should be bothered by their demise.

The story jumps around in time a lot too, and each issue takes place in a different time across decades. Whilst this means that we get to see some highlights from the lives of this group of heroes, we don't get to spend any down time with them getting to know who they are, what they think of each other, and why we should care about them. When each issue focuses on action over characterisation it leaves the whole thing feeling a little lacking.

I don't want this to sound too negative, as there was a lot of good in the book too; Solivigant the Kenku was pretty awesome throughout. The artwork by Tess Fowler is also great, and she manages to craft a very lived in world, with lots of details and small parts that make the world feel real and old. She also does some great work with the character designs, and the team of heroes aren't just distinct from each other, but their younger versions and older versions all go through some great visual changes.

Dungeons and Dragons: A Darkened Wish isn't the best fantasy book I've ever read, but it's far from the worst. It has some interesting ideas and tries to tell a bold and epic story, which is braver than most limited series runs.

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Day 21 by Kass Morgan - Book Review

'No one has set foot on Earth in centuries -- until now. It's been 21 days since the hundred landed on Earth. They're the only humans to set foot on the planet in centuries...or so they thought. Facing an unknown enemy, Wells attempts to keep the group together. Clarke strikes out for Mount Weather, in search of other Colonists, while Bellamy is determined to rescue his sister, no matter the cost. And back on the ship, Glass faces an unthinkable choice between the love of her life and life itself.'


The second book in The 100 continues on much like the first, splitting events between the teens on Earth and the rest of the survivors on the ailing space station, whilst also jumping between the present and flashbacks. To be fair, so much of this book felt like the first one that it doesn't really feel like a sequel at all. If you were to tell me that Kass Morgan wrote the two together, as one book, and was made to split it in half for easier marketing or something like that I wouldn't be shocked at all. It feels like one story; but I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Like with the first book there isn't a huge amount of pace to Day 21. Events seem to unfold at a fairly lesisurely rate, and whilst there should feel like there's more tension and drive to the story it's kind of absent. This lack of speed was also present in the first book, and made it surprising to learn that twenty days had passed in that volume. I'm not even sure how much time passes during this book, and that bugs me a little.

Bellamy should be looking for his missing sister, trying to find her trail in the woods, or questioning their prisoner, Sasha, to get information. Instead, he waits around for a few days, moping at the camp, going hunting, and occasionally trying to get a few answers. He should be desperate to get his only family member back, but seems a little relaxed about the whole thing. Equally, the 100 don't seem too determined to find out from Sasha about her people, or those attacking and killing them. Instead she keeps getting tied up, untied, taking trips into the woods, tied up again, kisses Wells, then finally escapes and goes home. Whilst her introduction is definitely an interesting and welcome addition, it's a little like the characters and the author aren't too sure what to do with her.

The story on board the colony doesn't help with the pacing much either. Since the last book Glass has been trapped in one of the sections of the station with Luke, waiting for the air to run out and everyone die. The two of them hatch a plan to get her back in the 'rich' part of the station and unlock the doors so that everyone can get air again, and possibly escape. Okay, so this is definitely a tense story line, and has some great moments in it, like Glass spacewalking, but the pace is completely at odds with the rest of the book. Once Glass unlocks the doors people start pouring into the previously secure section of the station and it becomes a mad dash to the drop ships. This should be happening quickly, with it being a race for survival, but these chapters are inter spaced with the ones on Earth, and it really slows the pace of these sections down a lot.

Despite these issues with pacing, the second book in the series definitely builds more on the world, and introduces new elements and plot points that are sure to be big things going forward. We learn that there are two factions of people on Earth, one friendly, the other hostile. We discover how these people survived the apocalypse and see their underground facility. Clarke learns of another expedition to Earth that included her parents, who might still be alive. And we get hints that there might be a killer within the 100's camp.

These are all great moments that move the plot forwards and make it feel like a bigger world, but most of these come towards the end of the book, so don't expect to learn more until volume three at least.

Whilst the flashbacks in the first book were a great way of us learning more about the characters and getting a good sense of the kinds of people they are, as well as giving us a lot of information about the colony itself, this time they feel a little more redundant. This time round the information that they're giving the reader aren't as important, and some of them make vague hints to things the characters learn later in the book anyway, and all their inclusion does is tip the read off to things that would have otherwise been a surprise.

I'm hoping that these flashbacks will become more relevant in the next book, or will simply not be used. I'm a little worried that what was a great narrative device in the first book will be kept around and become overused, much like the increasingly harder to justify flashbacks in Lost.

Overall Day 21 was an improvement on the first book, simply because it moved the plot forward and introduced some interesting new elements. It still, however, felt like a smaller part of a much bigger narrative, and as such left me a bit dejected come the end. I'm glad I'm reading it now, when all the books are already out and waiting for me, rather than having to wait on long periods between books for their release.

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Darkness Shifting by Sarah L. Blair - Book Review

'Paranormal Investigator, Sidney Lake doesn’t jump at shadows. The weird stuff is her jurisdiction. When the mangled body of a supposedly extinct creature turns up in New York City’s subway system, she’s number one on the Medical Examiner’s speed dial.

'But this case hits too close to home when clues point her toward the truth about her parents’ brutal murder twelve years ago. Her boss Mitchell Harris, questions whether she should continue to investigate. However, Sidney insists on facing her greatest fears and putting her parents’ memory to rest once and for all.

'What she uncovers sheds a light on secrets that reach further into the darkness than she ever wanted to go… and leads her to a future she never imagined.'

I love a good bit of urban fantasy. A secret world of monsters and magics hidden beneath the real world is a set up for so many good stories and popular television shows. Whether it's Harry Potter, or Buffy The Vampire Slayer, or even The X-Files, the idea that there's more to the world than you can actually see is such an alluring concept that it's one people keep coming back to time and time again. Because of this there's a lot of books that fit into the genre, and sometimes it can be hard to stand out amongst the competition. Sarah L. Blair's Darkness Shifting is a book that I don't think a huge amount of people have heard of, but deserves to stand out amongst books in its genre.

The story follows Sidney Lake, a woman in her mid-twenties who works for a special organisation that investigates and polices paranormal beings and incidents around New York City. It's kind of like The X-Files, but without being seen as a fringe group that's made fun of. Whilst we don't get to see a huge amount of how the organisation works, we get to see Sidney and her colleagues called into police and federal incidents and be treated with respect. In some ways it made me think of S.H.I.E.L.D. during the early stages of the MCU, where you didn't quite know who they were, but they were walking in with special ID's and knew what they were doing so you made way for them because you're way out of your depth.

Joining Sidney is her partner Williams, who might be one of the nicest sidekick characters in one of these books. Sidney is definitely the lead here, it's not Mulder and Scully or Sam and Dean, so don't expect Williams to come into the spotlight too much. But when he is around he's the best kind of support for Sidney there is. He's kind and caring, sweet and funny, and loyal to a fault. And the fact that there isn't any kind of romance or sexual tension between a male and female partnership makes it so much better too. He's the sweet and goofy older brother that everyone would want. Plus his willingness to crack a joke at the most inappropriate moment, and being a wonderful father, made him a character that I not only wanted to see make it out alive, but would actively want to spend some time with.

The previously mentioned sexual tension is instead given over to Sidney's boss, Mitch. A man almost twice her age who recruited her into the organisation years before, he proves to be a good romantic foil. I have to be honest, I'm usually not comfortable with relationships with large age gaps, particularly with much older men. I think that they can sometimes seem slightly predatory, with older men preying on younger and less experienced women. This was not the case here, however. Sidney is such a strong and capable character that I never once got the indication that Mitch might be one of those creepy older guys. Sidney just wouldn't stand for that kind of thing. Instead he's the rock for her to lean on when things get tough.

There are a number of times during the book where Sidney goes through some serious physical and emotional trauma, and each time Mitch is there for her. He doesn't do this to make himself look like the good guy, or use it a pretence to get into her pants. He's doing it because he's a good person. He understands that Sidney is younger than him, and that she might not want to lock herself into a relationship with a man twice her age, so he gives her the space to be who she wants to be and do what she wants to do whilst being there for her the instant she needs him.

The relationship between the two of them is one of the more enjoyable aspects of the book, mainly because it was treated in a very adult way. Often times books that involve romance will put me off a little, particularly if it's too over done. I don't like stories where people are soulmates three days after meeting each other and initially hating each other. This kind of relationship though, one that's evolved over years, where each person in it has thought long and hard about the kind of person they are and what they want out of life feels so much more grounded that I was able to get on board with it much easier.

I won't go into the story too much, as the twisting narrative that packs in the surprises and subverts expectations is one of the best things about the book. That being said, I will talk a little bit about the way that Blair presents the world that she's made.

Going into the book we know nothing about the kinds of creatures that inhabit it, or what the rules are regarding the supernatural. Instead of bombarding the reader with these kinds of facts they're given to us slowly, revealed if and when they become pertinent to the story. We learn werewolves exist when Sidney is called into a crime scene with one. Demons get mentioned when one causes some havoc, and we learn ghosts exist when it comes up in casual conversation.

When you're introducing readers to a new world there's really a few main ways to get them up to speed on how things work. One is to have a completely brand new character who's learning everything fresh and can act as the eyes of the audience. This is similar to Harry learning he's a wizard in the Harry Potter books, where we discover the word alongside him and every new experience for him is one for us. Another way of doing it is to have experienced characters who are used to the world, and the information is given to the readers outside of conversations. Whilst this method can mean that readers get a lot of useful information and background world building it can sometimes feel like an info dump and comes across very stale.

Then there's the approach that Blair took, where we're dropped into the middle of things. When this is done badly readers can feel lost, but in cases like this we're given enough respect to be able to keep up with things and to learn as we go. The characters don't explain the stuff they already know, and we're not given masses of encyclopedia entries on monsters, instead the story presents things to us. That's all. The story provides us with the world in such a way that we don't need the explanations and info dumps because the world just works. This not only speaks volumes for how well crafted the narrative is, but for Blair's ability as an author.

I read the book in one night. I picked it up in the afternoon, put it down once to eat, then kept reading through to the early hours of the morning to finish it. I probably shouldn't have done that, and was actively keeping myself awake to finish it; but the story was so good that I didn't want to wait even those few hours through sleep to find out what happened next.

I don't often use phrases like 'page turner' or 'impossible to put down' because often books aren't like that, even when they're some of the best you've read. But on this occasion I do have to use those words. I stormed through the book because I found it engrossing. I loved the world that Blair was building and the characters she was inhabiting it with. Part of me wishes I had taken longer, just so the experience wouldn't have ended so fast, but there was no way I was going to make myself stop reading and end the fun.

Darkness Shifting is not only a great entry into the Urban Fantasy genre, but an example of how to do the genre right. It excels in every area and left me wanting to read more the moment it was done. I really hope that the next book in the series comes soon, but more than that I really hope that more people discover this absolute gem. So if you've never read this but it sounds like something you'd like please pick it up and give it a chance. Then tell others about it. I'm sure that if hordes of eager fans come to Sarah Blair asking for the next instalment it'll help encourage her to write it, which means I get to read the next book even quicker.

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The 100 by Kass Morgan - Book Review

'Ever since a devastating nuclear war, humanity has lived on spaceships far above Earth's radioactive surface. Now, one hundred juvenile delinquents—considered expendable by society—are being sent on a dangerous mission: to recolonise the planet. It could be their second chance at life...or it could be a suicide mission.

'CLARKE was arrested for treason, though she's haunted by the memory of what she really did. WELLS, the chancellor's son, came to Earth for the girl he loves—but will she ever forgive him? Reckless BELLAMY fought his way onto the transport pod to protect his sister, the other half of the only pair of siblings in the universe. And GLASS managed to escape back onto the ship, only to find that life there is just as dangerous as she feared it would be on Earth.

'Confronted with a savage land and haunted by secrets from their pasts, the hundred must fight to survive. They were never meant to be heroes, but they may be mankind's last hope.'

The only experience I'd had of The 100 before reading the book was briefly watching parts of the first season of the television series when it first started airing several years ago, so I was aware of the basic premise, but that was about it. I didn't really remember much from the show, and knew that they'd have changed things anyway, so had no real expectations about what to expect when I sat down to read the book.

The main narrative of The 100 follows a society of humans that have survived the nuclear apocalypse by escaping to space. The ships that took them to safety now float in obit, connected together into a mismatched colony. The people on these three ships have spent centuries trying to maintain their technology and conserve their resources as best they can, sometimes to murderous ends, but now their resources are running low and the technology is failing, leaving returning to Earth as their only choice.

One hundred teenage delinquents are chosen to be sent to the potentially deadly planet below to see if it's safe for the rest of the survivors to return. Kind of like canaries in a coal mine. Now, if this sounds somewhat cruel to you, you're right. One of the first things that you learn about the society of survivors in The 100 is that its not a place you'd want to live. The ships have a big difference in social status and resources, with the citizens of one ship still acting like they're the upper class of society, engaging in fancy balls and classy events with gowns and wine, whilst others are living in abject poverty.

Even with this skewing of resources to favour one group over others there's still a shortage on supplies, meaning that intense measures are in place to keep the population under control. Death seems to be the main punishment within this society, with almost any adult stepping out of line seeming to end in execution. The teens that are in prison are only alive because they're waiting to reach eighteen, at which point the rulers seem to feel more comfortable in having them killed. With such tyrannical rule being sent to a potentially dangerous Earth almost seems like a nice escape from the horrors of their daily reality.

Over the course of the book we get to know a core cast of a few of these teens, not only following them during their attempts to survive, but getting to see flashbacks to their life before. We get to see a little more of how this society functioned, and the 'crimes' that led them to getting their death sentences at the same time. These sections were some of the most interesting in the book. They not only helped to build the characters, and show their motivations and personality in ways that their current circumstances couldn't, but also seemed to raise an interesting point; not everyone in prison deserves to be there.

This isn't a new idea in fiction, and a lot of stories have a hero falsely imprisoned. But whilst some of these stories involved characters framed for crimes they didn't commit The 100 takes a slightly different approach (though there is one character who does fall into that category as she was framed for something she didn't do), The 100 asks you the question of what if the crime isn't worthy of punishment?

The character of Glass, we learn, was sent to prison to await execution because she fell pregnant. This wasn't something that she planned. It just happened. Just like in the real world, sometimes you get pregnant when you never planned it. Even when she loses the baby she's condemned to death. Is that fair? Is it also fair that they want her to give up the father so that he can die too? They haven't added to the population, haven's put strain on these resources because the baby didn't survive, so is it still right to kill two people? The fact that some people are living in relative luxury when others are barely getting by highlights the hypocrisy of this sentence even more. There could be enough resources if they were distributed fairly, but instead people are being killed for relatively little just to maintain the status quo.

I don't know if Kass Morgan intended to create a work that demonised the prison system, but it certainly ended up that way. You come to hate the society that the survivors have created, and the heroes are 'criminals' that are death row inmates. Sadly there's not too much time to really think on this in the book, as events move so fast that we're not really allowed to focus on it. I do hope that this will be explored more later in the series, that perhaps when the other survivors come to Earth those who were victims of this awful regime rise up and get some kind of restitution.

What surprised me most about The 100 was the pace of the story. Kass Morgan manages to pack so much into the book, yet also does so little, that the book felt unfinished. Now, this isn't a criticism, so let me explain. By the end of the book the reader has been given a lot of information about the characters, shown so much of their backstories and gained such a sense of what they're like, that you feel like you've got to know them really well, yet so little has happened since the 100 arrived on Earth that it feels like there's so much more to happen. When I reached the end of the book I knew there was more to come, that this first book had barely touched upon the story, that I wanted to jump straight into the second book to read more. Very clever Kass, you hooked me.

The events on Earth don't cover a huge amount of time, and I think we only get to see a few days of the one hundred on the planet before the book ends on a dramatic moment that promises more to come. Whilst I hope that the story continues to use this exciting pace going forward I don't want to see the author keep using cliffhanger endings to ensure that readers come back for more. It works here, but more than once would get tiring. The story and characters are strong enough to maintain my interest.

The 100 was an interesting and engaging sci-fi story that had a lot more depth to it than I was expecting, and made me consider topics that I didn't really think it would. On the surface it's a story about teenagers being thrust into an exciting and dangerous adventure, but underneath that it raises some scary questions about the penal system and corruption that are still relevant to society even now.

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Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order - Game Review

I find that Star Wars is a series with a lot of ups and downs. People argue about which films are best and which is the superior trilogy, when they all have dud moments and are a bit silly. The shows are amazing, but have the occasional bad episode (we're looking at you all of the Clone Wars Jar-Jar Binks episodes). And the games have either been awesome, or duds. For every Knights of the Old Republic and Jedi Knight 2 there's a Masters of Teras Kasi or Super Bombad Racing.

Because of this somewhat shaky history I held off on buying Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order for a while. I heard a lot of good things about the game, however, so decided it was time to actually get it (especially as it was on sale) and give it a go. I was not disappointing.

First thing I'm going to talk about is the story. Thanks to Star Wars Rebels I have come to really like the era between the prequel and original trilogies, and think that its got some amazing stories to tell. Thanks to recent creations such as the Inquisitors, the new formation of the Rebel Alliance, and the hunting down of Jedi survivors its a time that has a lot of fun things to be payed with. The writers of the game seem to understand this, and very early on begin to throw some awesome story at the player.

The story begins on Bracca, a planet that's being used as a junk yard to scrap a lot of the ships that were used during the Clone Wars, providing the Empire with resources to help build their new fleet. We meet Cal Kestis, a junker trying to meek out a living on the planet. When an accident almost results in his friend being killed Cal uses his force powers to save him, revealing himself as a former Jedi. Before Cal can even find a safe way off Bracca a pair of Inquisitors arrive, forcing Cal on a journey that will result in him reconnecting with the force, and becoming a Jedi.

I loved how the threat of Inquisitors was set up so early on in the game. I was surprised that one of the first things you see in relation to a threat from the Empire is two of these deadly Jedi killers. Star Wars Rebels used the Inquisitors really well during the first two seasons of the show, and they proved to be great antagonists for Jedi heroes. They prove to be a perfect antagonist as they allow Cal, and by extension the player, to engage in exciting lightsaber fights that would otherwise be impossible. There's no way that you can go up against force wielders such as Vader or Palpatine and survive without it being a little unbelievable.

I also liked how the game made mention of other Inquisitors, like the Grand Inquisitor, but used brand new ones. Not only did this mean that you're able to fight and kill the bad guys, but in the case of the Second Sister the game is able to craft engaging backstories and narratives that tie into the main characters and their quest.

The story also introduced some interesting new concepts in the form of the Zeffo, a ancient species that once wielded the Force. The Zeffo add more depth to the universe, exploring how other cultures and races interact with the Force, something that has been done a lot in the new Star Wars media in things such as The Clone Wars and Rebels. This is also built on with the inclusion of Dathomir and the Night Sisters, who use the Force with magics and spells.

Game-play wise, I actually found the game to game to be quite challenging. I'd seen the game described as the Star Wars version of Dark Souls, and I can kind of see that. The combat is very tough, and at times unforgiving. Unlike other games where you play a Jedi you can't just go rushing in swinging your lightsabre wildly. You have to think carefully about how you're going to take on each enemy, and you have to learn the different moves that you have access to.

The game makes the combat one of the harder parts of the game, and whilst at first this is a little frustrating, especially when standard Storm Troopers are killing you, by the end, when you're battling through hordes of soldiers and Purge Troopers to engage in a duel with an Inquisitor, you feel like you're unstoppable, and that you've earned the fights you're having.

Despite having some tough combat, the game also presented a lot of exploration opportunities across its large levels. Whilst some are more linear than others levels such as Zeffo feel like vast, interconnected areas of a world. There are winding pathways that connect to areas in ways you don't expect, and at times you'll be consulting with your map just to make sure you're on the right path because they feel so big.

These levels employ a lot of climbing and platforming sections to interrupt the action, and this was often fun. However, on occasion I found that there were sections where the margin for error on some of the jumps or sliding sections was so small that you'd find yourself falling to your death more than once. One part of the game where you're hurtling through the air and have to land on the back of a huge creature was particularly frustrating as it was very difficult to see where you were going to fall, and landing on a moving target was incredibly tricky. I found these kind of sections more frustrating than dying in battle. If I died in a fight it was usually because I did something wrong and I could ix that next time, if I died falling out of the air it was usually because I couldn't tell where I was supposed to go and I'd die another dozen times before getting the timing just right.

The game isn't perfect, there are some sections that were frustrating, and game-play mechanics that I think could have been changed to make a more enjoyable experience. However, I had a great time playing the game. I went and explored all of the worlds to find every hidden nook and cranny, and loved trying to track down all the collectables and hidden lore that added to the story and universe. I hope that that game did well enough financially to warrant a sequel, and would be more than happy to see more games like this added to the Star Wars catalogue.

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A Change To Schedule

Wednesday is normally where I'd be posting a review of the 90's television series Space Precinct, however, going forward this will be changing. I've felt uncomfortable with posting the show the last couple of weeks, and have decided that now is not the time to be talking about a series that glorifies the police force.

Space Precinct is set in the future, on a world that has humans working alongside other species. The police captain is an alien, and the majority of the police aren't human. Despite being set in a place that should be celebrating inclusion there is not a single Black character in the main cast. Having watched the first four episodes of the series there was a single Black person on the show. Not only was this person a criminal, but their voice was literally silenced, with all of there lines being dubbed over by a white actor.

I understand that this is a series that's almost 30 years old, that it is a product of its time, but it's supposed to be representing a better future. There are works of art from this time and earlier that manage to promote equality and inclusion despite those things not being a product of the time they were made. The original Star Trek series is a prime example of this. This has not been the case with what I've seen of Space Precinct.

I would hope that there is no maliciousness involved in the show, but I also feel now is not the time to be highlighting a series that not only glorifies the police as a force for good, but has also silenced the only Black voice to appear in the series.

I might come back to this show in the future, but not now.

Some people might not be happy with this choice, they might feel like I'm trying to be PC or something like that. Whilst that is a part of it, as I completely stand by the Black Lives Matter movement, it's also because the series is making me feel a little uncomfortable; and I'm not going to go out of my way to watch a series that I'm not fully enjoying.

I'm not sure if another series is going to replace Space Precinct, or even if something else regular will replace it. We'll have to see what happens.

In the meantime, let's all remember to stand by each other, to support those voices being silenced, and to push for fairness and equality for all.

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The Wall by John Lanchester - Book Review

'Ravaged by the Change, an island nation in a time very like our own has built the Wall―an enormous concrete barrier around its entire coastline. Joseph Kavanagh, a new Defender, has one task: to protect his section of the Wall from the Others, the desperate souls who are trapped amid the rising seas outside and are a constant threat. Failure will result in death or a fate perhaps worse: being put to sea and made an Other himself. Beset by cold, loneliness, and fear, Kavanagh tries to fulfil his duties to his demanding Captain and Sergeant, even as he grows closer to his fellow Defenders. A dark part of him wonders whether it would be interesting if something did happen, if they came, if he had to fight for his life.'

I'd seen some mixed reviews for The Wall before I started reading it, with some people saying that they found it to be dull because nothing much happened for large portions of the book. Once I really got into the story, I kind of had to agree, not a whole lot happened for a long while. But rather than this being boring John Lanchester managed to give these sections of the book a strange sort of beauty and quality to these large sections of nothing that I couldn't help but be drawn into the world he was creating.

The long sections where Kavanagh spends weeks on the wall, staring out at a vast expanse of sea, waiting for the Others to do something, are dull. It's a character sitting on a bench for hours at a time watching the sea. When he's not doing this he's either sleeping, training, or going back home for short breaks where he does nothing. It shouldn't be exciting. It shouldn't be hugely entertaining. But like Kavanagh staring out at the vast waters, after a while you begin to enjoy the routine. You start to see the small beauty in things because you've got no choice but to find them just to have something to do.

These quieter moments of the book should be some of the worst in the book, especially compared to later parts of the story where big events happen, but they might be some of the moments that I enjoyed the most. The story has to fill these quiet times with something, so instead of story it's character that takes centre stage here.

We get to know Kavanagh through his boredom, through the strange poems he makes to describe the vast nothingness of his daily routine. We get to see how his mind works, and what makes him tick. We get to see him develop these friendships with his fellow Defenders, discovering more and more about them in those brief moments of downtime.

I came to know these characters so much better than I would have if there was a frenetic story going on that by the time something does happen to drive the narrative forward I was fully invested in them. I cared if they got hurt, I wanted them to succeed. John Lanchester spent so long building these characters, slowly adding more and more to them during these long moments of nothing that I didn't even realise how much I cared about them until some of them began to leave the story.

The second half of the book shifts things, however, and begins to explore the wider world of The Wall, and puts the characters in moments of danger and peril. It takes on a more action oriented approach, and begins to feel a little more like the dystopia survival you'd expect from the premise; and this makes the book even better.

These sections were hugely entertaining, and I think a lot of people would really enjoy them, but am worried that some might not make it to this point, having given up during the 'boring' sections of the book. If that's you, I think you've done both yourself and the author a disservice. These long sections of nothing at the beginning of the book make the more frenetic parts in the second half mean so much more. You've come to care for the characters, and you kind of feel like you've earned the excitement you get given.

I don't think The Wall is for everyone, and from some of the divisive reviews I've seen that's pretty evident. But, if you're willing to hold on a little bit, to sit through things you think you might not be enjoying you'll soon find that actually, these parts of the book are good, that they have a purpose.

The Wall is a very different kind of dystopia novel. It's a very personal story. It's not about the world the story is set in. It's not about the events that led to this awful new world. And it's not about someone rising up to challenge society and make it a better place. It's a story about a regular person, someone who's just trying to survive in the harsh reality. We all like to think we'd be the hero in a story, that we'd be the one rising up against the awful regime and fighting for change, but the odds are we'd probably just be a regular person, trying to just get through life, and this is who Kavanagh is. Despite how dramatic some of the moments in the story are its a human story, about a regular person just trying to live. And that makes it so much more real and meaningful than another story about a revolutionary hero.

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Daniel Radcliffe Responds To JK Rowling Transphobia

Following harmful statements made by the world famous Harry Potter author JK Rowling, read more here, titular star of the movies Daniel Radcliffe has responded, coming out in support of the trans community.

Radcliffe made the statement through the LGBTQ+ suicide prevention charity The Trevor Project.

I realize that certain press outlets will probably want to paint this as in-fighting between J.K. Rowling and myself, but that is really not what this is about, nor is it what’s important right now. While Jo is unquestionably responsible for the course my life has taken, as someone who has been honored to work with and continues to contribute to The Trevor Project for the last decade, and just as a human being, I feel compelled to say something at this moment.

Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I. According to The Trevor Project, 78% of transgender and nonbinary youth reported being the subject of discrimination due to their gender identity. It’s clear that we need to do more to support transgender and nonbinary people, not invalidate their identities, and not cause further harm.

I am still learning how to be a better ally, so if you want to join me in learning more about transgender and nonbinary identities check out The Trevor Project’s Guide to Being an Ally to Transgender and Nonbinary Youth. It’s an introductory educational resource that covers a wide range of topics, including the differences between sex and gender, and shares best practices on how to support transgender and nonbinary people.

To all the people who now feel that their experience of the books has been tarnished or diminished, I am deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you. I really hope that you don’t entirely lose what was valuable in these stories to you. If these books taught you that love is the strongest force in the universe, capable of overcoming anything; if they taught you that strength is found in diversity, and that dogmatic ideas of pureness lead to the oppression of vulnerable groups; if you believe that a particular character is trans, nonbinary, or gender fluid, or that they are gay or bisexual; if you found anything in these stories that resonated with you and helped you at any time in your life — then that is between you and the book that you read, and it is sacred. And in my opinion nobody can touch that. It means to you what it means to you and I hope that these comments will not taint that too much.

Love always,

Dan

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Hope Island by Tim Major - Book Review

'Workaholic TV news producer Nina Scaife is determined to fight for her daughter, Laurie, after her partner Rob walks out on her. She takes Laurie to visit Rob's parents on the beautiful but remote Hope Island, to prove to her that they are still a family. But Rob's parents are wary of Nina, and the islanders are acting strangely. And as Nina struggles to reconnect with Laurie, the silent island children begin to lure her daughter away.

'Meanwhile, Nina tries to resist the scoop as she is drawn to a local artists' commune, the recently unearthed archaeological site on their land, and the dead body on the beach... '

I really enjoyed Tim Major's debut work Snakeskins, which came out last year. The mixture of  interesting science fiction, political conspiracy, and coming of age drama was wonderful to read, and made me very excited for Hope Island.

Hope Island was a much smaller story than I was expecting, in the sense that it was really the story of one family, and one woman in particular. Where Snakeskins had crafted a whole different world, this time Major focuses on a more personal level, as we see what happens when someone's world ends.

Nina Scaife has left her home and her all consuming job in the UK to travel to the US, visiting the parents of her partner Rob for the first time. Whilst she's never been to the remote Hope Island herself, her daughter Laurie has visited before, and Nina's hoping that her love of the island and her grandparents will make the news she has to break easier on them both. She plans to tell her teenage daughter, and Rob's parents, that Rob has walked out on them, leaving them for another woman that he's been seeing for years secretly.

We spend a good while with Nina as she struggles to find the right time to break this news. We see how much Rob leaving her has shaken a woman who seems to normally be a very strong and confident person. She's doubting herself, she' hurting. Add to that the fact that she's never really got on with her in-laws, and the fact that the island is remote and filled with strange people, it's a wonder Nina holds herself together so well.

Her whole life has been turned upside down, and she's having to face the possibility that she might not have been the best mother she could have, having put her career before her family for so many years. She's close to breaking.

I really enjoyed the switch from such a large scale story in Major's last book to this incredibly personal story, and so much of the first half of the book is given over to seeing Nina's reactions to these recent changes. She begins to lose herself a little, and it's a little like watching someone slip closer and closer to madness as you begin to realise she might be having something of an emotional breakdown.

Dotted throughout these early parts of the novel, however, are hints that something strange, and even sinister, might be happening on Hope Island. The children are weird. I don't just mean that they're into odd things or anything like that, you want to think Midwich Cuckoos type weird.

Whilst I did enjoy the personal drama that was happening in Hope Island that wasn't the thing I turned up for, I wanted the creepy horror that the blurb described. And whilst the book did get very creepy towards the end I couldn't help but feel that maybe we should have had some more stuff happen before to tease it out a little. Other than the kids acting very quite and a little off there wasn't much to remind me that this was supposed to be something of a horror, to the point where when things did become overtly horror I was almost taken by surprise as I was just reading a very real story about a woman whose relationship had just ended.

By the time things really started to happen we'd spent so long with Nina and her slipping emotions that there were a few things that happened where I was expecting it to be some kind of dream or hallucination. For some of these moments it was the case, but there was one particularly long and important sequence where I kept expecting Nina to wake up, so was thrown when she didn't. These kinds of feelings were exacerbated towards the end where the narrative kept flicking between the rel world and some kind of dreamscape.

I imagine this sense of confusion and paranoia were intentional on Major's part, to really put us in Nina's shoes, where you could never quite be sure if what was happening was real or not. It added to the sense of unease that permeated the book, but it also meant that I had to find myself concentrating hard on the narrative to keep track of things in my head; which did sadly take away a little of the enjoyment for me.

Overall, however, the book was very good, and Major was able to craft a slowly unfolding, creepy story that never gave you a moment to relax or feel at ease. The 'thing' that is behind the events (I won't really describe it in any way as to avoid spoiler) was something that I'd genuinely not seen before. It felt new and unique, something that almost couldn't work in any other format other than a written story. I was hugely impressed with the strange direction the book took towards the end, and how suddenly some of the weird little moments from earlier in the book all clicked into place and made perfect sense.

Hope Island subverted my expectations not only from the description, but also from what I was expecting based on Tim Major's other work. He's proven that he can craft a layered and intriguing personal story that will test the mind and push readers into bold new directions. A slow building and strange horror that's sure to stick out from the crowd.

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Author JK Rowling Engages In Open Transphobia On Social Media

Globally beloved author of the Harry Potter series JK Rowling has come under well deserved criticism online following a series of tweets where she openly engaged in hostile attacks on the transgender community.

Rowling has been suspected of holding transphobic views for a while now. She's been seen liking tweets from open transphobes that have been bigoted towards the trans community, and has even said some things that have set alarm bells ringing within the trans community. These previous times, however, have been 'explained' away as being innocent mistakes, or trans people trying to find fault in what she's said and drawing the wrong conclusion.

Last month, whilst responding to children about her new story The Ikabog Rowling sent a tweet to a child that included a copy and paste from a transphobic article. She apologised for doing so, and she and her defenders claimed that there was nothing transphobic in her actions as she was simply reading about an incident involving a trans person. Whilst reading about things is of course not transphobic, the fact that she was reading an article that refused to acknowledge that trans person's identity, and seemed to be copying it to her clipboard for later use, did make some uncomfortable.

That same day Rowling used her position of power and wealth to threaten a trans journalist with legal action to make them remove their article that criticised her.

All of what she has previously done has been defended and justified by her supporters, and the idea that she's a transphobe has continued to be pushed as some kind of conspiracy theory. All this changed last night, however, as the author engaged in several tweets that cannot be seen as anything as transphobic, and a hostile attack on the transgender community.

Rowling seems to have been spurred into this attack on the trans community after she saw an article that used the term 'people who menstruate'. The author felt that this was wrong as she believes the only people who can have periods are women. This invalidates a huge number of people, such as transgender men, non-binary people, and intersex people. It seems to push the idea that in order to be a woman one needs to have a period, something that trans women don't have, as well as some cis women for a number of reasons.

People justifiably called her out on these views and tried to inform her that her understanding of sex and gender was not only incorrect, but that sharing it the way she was was also confrontational and rude. Rowling defended her position by claiming that she had spoken to her 'butch lesbian friend', and that they had said it was okay. Yes, she used the 'I've got a black friend so aren't racist' excuse. Please, no one point out to her that queer people aren't one collective intelligence represented by her one friend, and that some lesbians are transphobes too.

Rowling has also tried to make herself the victim in this situation by claiming that people calling her a TERF (Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist) is somehow attacking her and her womanhood, equating the word to mean the same as 'bitch' and 'witch'. It's a shame that as one of the most famous authors on the planet she fails to understand what words are, and uses them completely wrong. But then you don't need to dig too deep into her books to see that her writing isn't the best. Perhaps understanding of language, like science, escapes her.

Rowling has tried to backpedal some of her comments, by claiming to be an ally to the trans people, saying that she would stand beside us if we were discriminated against. If we were discriminated against. If. In this one tweet Rowling has told the world that she doesn't think that trans people face discrimination. Despite engaging in it herself.

The level of disconnect that Rowling is displaying, to claim to have read masses of scientific texts on the subject, yet still denying the science, of saying she stands by the trans community, but then says we don't experience discrimination whilst engaging in it herself are absolutely staggering.

We all know (I hope) that Rowling has had a history of troubling things in her work. From goblins in Harry Potter that play on anti-simetic caricatures, to minimal representation for people of colour, to racist tropes and names, to making a transphobic character in one of her mystery books. She has repeatedly said and done things that are harmful to marginalised groups and has never apologised for them.

It's also worth noting that Rowling is friends with, and began a charity with, Baroness Nicholson, a member of the House of Lords who has not only openly attacked trans rights and legislation, but called a trans child a sexual predator.

Rowling has tweeted nothing about the Black Lives Matter movement. She hasn't given her solidarity or support to people fighting for their rights and their lives across the world right now. With all of her influence and power she's done nothing to help that cause. But she found time to make several tweets that target the trans community. During Pride Month no less.

JK Rowling is not a good person. The mask she wears to present herself as such has had cracks in it for a long while now, but it seems to have finally fallen away to show the bigot beneath. She engages in actions that are harmful and nasty. JK Rowling is a bigot, who is sharing bigoted views to attack a minority. It's time people stopped supporting her and giving her money. There are plenty of better people in the world, and charities that would make better use of the cash.

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