Tragedy at Sea: The Sinking of the Titanic by David Long - Book Review

 

'On 10 April 1912, RMS Titanic set sail from Southampton on her Maiden voyage to New York. This 'ship of dreams' was the largest and most luxurious ocean liner in the world. It was claimed she was unsinkable. But four days later, when the ship struck an iceberg, the loss of the Titanic and 1,500 passengers would become one of the most infamous maritime disasters in history.

'In this fact-filled retelling of its construction and doomed maiden voyage, David Long brings Titanic's tragic past to life.'

The award winning children's non-fiction author David Long turns his sights onto the most famous (perhaps infamous) ship in history, the Titanic. The odds are even if you don't know a great deal about the ship or what happened to it you'll recognise the name Titanic. It's a story that it seems will never be forgotten, one of the worst disasters at sea, and a true tale about man's hubris and the power of nature.

David Long aims to make the subject accessible for younger readers with this book, which is no easy feat. There have been hundreds of books written on the subject, and just as many documentaries filmed. It's an area that's been poured over so many times it can be hard to know where to start looking into it, what's the best source of information. Long does an incredibly good job at taking all of this information and condensing it down into a quick eighty page read.

Whilst the book is designed for younger readers, and makes things nice and simple to get to grips with, it doesn't dumb things down in any ways. It doesn't seem to feel the need to oversimplify things to the point of being patronising, and just presents the basic information in its simplest terms; which makes it accessible to people of all ages, not just children.

The book goes over the general history of trans-Atlantic travel at the time, explaining how various companies would try to compete with each other for prizes for the fastest crossings, and how the creators of the Titanic chose to go for size and luxury over speed in order to buck this trend. Long outlines how the ship was designed, and the amazing amount of work that went into its creation. With so many stories I'd previously seen around the topic being focused on the actual voyage of the Titanic it was really good to learn about it's construction, and the book included information that I'd never encountered before.

Once the book has gone over the construction of the ship it moves onto the voyage itself, outing the near miss the ship had at the very start of its journey, the stops it made along the way, and the things on board that passengers were able to spend their time doing. Eventually, however, it comes to the point where it has to talk about the terrible event itself. Long does this in a way that doesn't shy away from how awful things were, yet doesn't linger on the horrible details. It makes a point of telling it's young audience that people died, even children, and that this was all avoidable, yet makes sure that we know some good things came from it; hopefully ending the book on a tone that's kind of bittersweet, one that will hopefully not leave younger readers feeling too distressed.

Despite being designed for younger children, as a first port of call for information about the Titanic, the book was really informative for me too, and I found it to have a lot of information that I never learnt when I was being taught this as a kid. This means that whilst it's designed for the younger reader I think it's going to be something that people of every age will enjoy, and will act as a good starting point for those who want to learn more about the Titanic, or just want a brief overview of the event. With so many books available on the topic already this is one that is the perfect starting place to discover more about this tragedy, and is an ideal starter for any child.

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Radiant Black #2 - Comic Review

 

Second issues can be tricky things. First issues have a lot of work to do, of course, but once the world and the characters have been established the second issue has to carry on the hype of the first book, build on the introduction, and keep people engaged. This seems to be something that comes pretty easy to Radiant Black.

The first issue introduced us to our lead characters, Nathan Burnett, a man in his early thirties, struggling to make it as a writer, who's working a side gig as a driver to try and stay afloat, yet has to move back in with his parents because his debts get too much for him. It's a character that I think a lot more comic readers will be able to identify with over Pulitzer winning journalists or billionaire playboys. Despite these issues, Nathan has been trying to put his life back together, and after going out for some drinks with his friend Marshall he discovers some strange, miniature black hole; which when it goes into him transforms him into a super powered person.

Now it's the next day and Nathan is trying to figure out what to do, both with his new powers and with his personal life. Over the course of the book we get to see Nathan have some conversations with his family, where they help him plan how to get back on his feet; as well as him being approached by the two police officers he had a run in with the night before. Having seen his amazing new powers the two cops encourage him to use his abilities to help people, especially as a similarly powered being, albeit red and black instead of white and black, has been robbing banks.

This spurs Nathan into action to try and do something about this other powered person, even if it's only approaching them to find out answers about his own new abilities. But how does the average person track down a costumed villain? Well, Nathan has a pretty good way of doing it actually. Picking up fares around town and asking them about what they've heard about the situation not only nets him a probably location, but also earns him some good money at the same time.Who said being a superhero doesn't pay?

Sadly, the man in red doesn't seem open to talking with Nathan, and after a brief scuffle, manages to get away. Despite this, Nathan is able to retrieve the stolen money, learns some more about his new powers, and finally feels like he's getting his life together. It feels like the perfect follow-up to the first issue, where he had no idea how to get his life back on track, but has now found something he believes in, and something that will get him back on his feet.

These personal issues are one of the things that I really love about Radiant Black. It's not a series that just focuses on the super heroics, that relies on spectacle to keep the readers interested. It's a bout a regular person, someone going through recognisable struggles and doing their best. This part of the story doesn't just make a good grounding point to the weirdness and the action, but is entertaining and well written enough that it could carry the book itself.

But that's not all that Radiant Black is about, and we get a lot of hints at the scale of things to come. We've got another person with powers like Nathan, but could there be more? We also get hints at a strange language, which could imply a possible alien origin for the powers; and we get the tiniest hint at something that was revealed on one of the variant covers (giant Mecha!). There's a lot of mystery in this book, a lot of things that we don't know yet, and I'm glad that the answers are coming slowly over time.

Kyle Higgins has shown before that he's a writer who can balance the regular everyday life with people having to be heroes, but I think this issue might be one of the best examples of it yet. You really do get the feel that Nathan is a regular person, the kind of guy you might go grab a beer with. Artist Marcelo Costa also does a phenomenal job, and every part of this book looks beautiful. Whether it's the two powered people battling each other whilst covered in glowy powers, or Nathan sitting down to eat breakfast with his dad, every single panel of this book looks amazing. There's a level of attention and care given to this book that can sometimes feel like it's missing from even some of the biggest titles. 

If Radiant Black continues to produce this level of writing and art it's very quickly going to become one of my favourite comics of all time; and it's one that you should definitely be getting in on early before it becomes the next big thing.

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Featherlight by Peter Bunzl - Book Review

 

'Deryn’s father is the lighthouse keeper on Featherstone Island, keeping the lantern lit to protect passing boats from the treacherous rocky coastline. But when an emergency arises and her parents have to travel to the mainland for help, Deryn is left alone to keep watch over the lighthouse, and she finds herself in a terrible situation when the lamp runs out of oil during a wild storm. With a fishing boa t in peril on the sea, and time running out to rescue those on board, Deryn seeks help from an unusual source.'

Featherlight is the latest children's book from publisher Barrington Stoke, and combines an interesting historical setting with a story from magical myth to create an enjoyable standalone adventure.

The book follows Deryn, a young girl living on the remote Featherstone Island, a small, rocky piece of land near the coast. Her father is the lighthouse keeper for the island, and Deryn spends her days helping her mother around their cottage, learning to keep the lighthouse from her father, and exploring the confines of the island and watching the animals that live there.

Deryn's routine is completely turned upside-down when her mother goes into labour, and her father has to take her to the mainland to give birth. This leaves Deryn alone on the island to tend to the lighthouse. Knowing that lives might depend on her, Deryn settles into a new routine of keeping the lighthouse light at night, and making sure that everything stays safe.

When Deryn encounters a strange bird, however, things begin to take an odd turn, and she soon discovers that their might be more to this bird than she first suspected. And when a fishing boat gets in trouble off the coast of Featherstone one stormy night Deryn is forced into action.

The story of Featherlight was inspired by the real lives of both Grace Darling and Ida Lewis, two female lighthouse keepers from history, and the book not only shows young readers what life was like on such places day to day, with things such as the daily maintenance of the equipment, but also what could happen if things went wrong at sea. Yet it also throws in some elements from myths and legends to create something that feels both true to life, yet kind of magical too.

We spend most of the time with Deryn, and with her being the only person on the island for good portions of the book we really get a chance to get into her head and get to know her. Whilst this was a lot of fun it also left me feeling a little disappointed that we only got 100 pages with her, as she was such an interesting and engaging protagonist that I'd have been more than happy to spend even longer with her. And I think the younger readers will feel this way too, that they'll like Deryn and enjoy the time they spend with her on Featherstone.

Featherlight is an enjoyable book, one that's easy to read and manages to pack a lot into its shorter length. Whilst it is designed for younger readers I think people of any age will find something to enjoy here, as they learn about the running of old lighthouses, and get to know what life was like for the people who made protecting and saving others their lives.

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Trans Day of Visibility - A Bit of My Story.

So today is the Trans Day of Visibility. I'm already expecting some people are rolling their eyes and preparing nasty comments about how trans is evil or whatnot. I'm not really going to engage in any arguments with transphobes, I'll just block you. But I do want to share a little about my own journey, and whilst it's not going to be something that's true for every trans person it's true to me.

I never knew I was trans when I was a kid. There are some people that do, and there are some that don't figure it out until later in life. Both are valid, there's no set rules to things like that. That being said, looking back at it now I really should have know, because the signs were all there. I guess I just thought it was stuff that everyone felt or thought about.

When I was a kid I wanted to be a girl. I hated that I was a boy. I'd go to sleep at night hoping that somehow I'd magically wake up as a girl the next day, that some kind of fairy godmother would make it happen. I didn't know why I wanted this, I just knew that it would make me really happy.

I wanted it so bad I'd do those things like wish upon a falling star, or wish upon the first start you see that night, and it would always, 100% of the time be that wish. Some nights I even cried myself to sleep wishing it.

When my teen years came part of me hated that I had to hang out with boys. Don't get me wrong, a lot of close friends have been male, and I know that there's no rules that say you have to only have certain types of friends, but this was late 90's Britain, we weren't great at breaking gender stereotypes and norms. Hell, section 28 wasn't repealed until my mid teens, and we're still dealing with the effect that's had 20 years later.

Puberty was the worst for me too. I hated the changes that were happening to me. As my body became more and more 'male' I despised it. This was when my depression really started. I used to want to die. I literally didn't care if I lived anymore. I'd not want to take care of myself. I'd hurt myself. I'd have to stop myself from stepping into traffic because I hated who I was and wanted it to end.

These feelings continued into my twenties, and it was only through medication, self harm, and repression that I was able to keep going; but even then I was absolutely miserable. This misery and these explainable feelings made some friendships hard for me, and romantic relationships were just impossible. I feel so utterly alone.

Then one day I suddenly knew what was wrong with me. It wasn't a gradual realisation, it was like a switch going off in my head. I knew what trans people were, I'd looked into it as a 'just curious to learn' thing, and never thought it was related to me.

I was doing something completely normal, packing away some laundry, when a voice in my head suddenly said 'your trans'. It stopped me in my tracks. I suddenly knew why I'd been suffering for so long. I knew why I was miserable. I knew why I wanted to die. I knew it was right.

I fell to the floor and wept, for hours. I knew what was going on, but I had no idea what that meant. I didn't know what I was supposed to do next, how knowing this helped me. I was convinced that there was going to be nothing that I could do, no way that I'd be able to actually transition. And I felt in my heart that even if I tried I'd never be seen as anything more than an ugly freak, worthy of ridicule and scorn, because that's what society had told me trans people deserved.

But, I knew I had to do something, so I started to do some research online. I found some forums hosted by trans people, where I was able to go through and read what others had gone through and learn more. I made some friends, so incredibly kind and patient women who didn't mind taking me under their wing and helping me out. But ultimately I knew that this was something that I was going to have to one day do something about, and that meant telling the people in my life.

So one day I made up my mind to tell a friend of mine. I picked him because I trusted him, because he'd trusted me with the information that be was bi, something he'd never told any of his friends before (don't worry, he's open about it now so I'm not outing anyone by saying this). We were just hanging out one night, watching Alien, when I told him. I don't know how long it went on for, how long I was fighting through the tears to get the words out, but I started telling him at the opening credits and when I was done the facehugger was on John Hurt, so it was at least an hour.

But in that hour he listened. He was patient. He showed me a kindness I never thought I'd get from saying those words. And when I was done we just carried on hanging out and restarted the movie. He was the first person in my life to make me feel normal, that this thing inside me wasn't something that was going to destroy my life.

After that I knew that I had to tell my family. I chose to tell my mother first. I'm close with her, and I thought that she would be the most understanding. She was surprised by the news, but she was supportive. She asked me to go see my doctor, to make sure that I was right, and if so, get whatever help I needed.

This started a long process of actually getting treatment, something that I thought was never going to happen. My doctor, as good as he was, wasn't really sure how to help me, but sent me to a counsellor to talk through what I was going through. I knew that you had to get evaluated by mental health professionals before you got sent to the Gender Clinic, so was prepared for something like this. Over the next year I went to meetings and spoke to a woman with no experience of trans people about what I was going through. After that year she told me that I didn't need to see her anymore. I asked her if this meant I was moving on to the Gender Clinic she had no idea what I meant. You see, she wasn't part of that process, I'd just been sent to her to talk through my feelings in hopes that they would just go away.

I went back to my doctor and asked him to please send me to the Gender Clinic, and he informed me that I would have to go for a mental health evaluation first, and that the whole thing could take a few years still. This was the point where I felt at my lowest.

I knew what I needed to do, what needed to happen to make myself better, to actually be me and be happy, and it wasn't happening. Knowing that I was trans didn't make the mystery depression go away, if anything knowing I was trans and being unable to anything about it made it worse. I went into the deepest depression I'd ever had. That's when I tried to kill myself. Twice. Thankfully, I never managed it, and somehow kept going; and a year later I finally got that appointment and eventually my referral to the Gender Clinic.

Another year later and I'd convinced the staff at the Gender Clinic I was actually trans, and got prescribed my hormones. I was on my way to actually being me. It was also in this time that I began to tell others, that other friends found out what was happening. I knew that as I was starting treatment I couldn't keep it secret forever, and that I wanted my friends to know the real me. For the most part this went well, and the people I actually lost from my life weren't real friends anyway. I even made new friends through hose that stuck around, and even though these people met me when I was presenting as male, before I'd begun my treatment, they accepted me as female. They still called me Amy.

Things started to get better. The HRT saw me go through changes, and I started to feel more like who I was meant to be. I was happy. But, things still weren't perfect. I'd still get nasty comments. I'd get spat on in the street, threatened with physical violence, rape, and even death. People saw me and thought that it gave them free reign to be vile towards me.

This was the worst at my job. I'd been there for a few years, knowing that eventually I was going to socially transition and that it was going to be something I'd have to bring up eventually; but it wasn't something I was rushing to tell them. This was in part thanks to having seen the management team mercilessly mock a trans customer one day, and seeing the rampant homophobia they exhibited towards some of the staff.

One day I came into work and one of the girls there told me that one of the other managers had told her something about me, that I 'like to call myself Amy and dress as a woman at night for sexual thrills'. It turns out the guy who told her this was a friend of one of those people who walked away from me for being trans, and was busy spreading rumours around the workplace about me. This put me in a position I wasn't ready for. After a discussion with the manager, who didn't think he could actually do anything about it as my colleague was 'just gossiping', I made the choice to have to out myself to the rest of the staff. This guy was spreading rumours, and god knows who knew what, so I thought making it clear to everyone what was happening was the best thing.

I prepared a statement, but I couldn't do it. It was just too frightening. Luckily, a friend there, who knew what was going on, stepped in and read it out for me whilst I had a panic attack in the office. It would have been better if I'd done it myself, but I couldn't face that; and the management team who said they would support me had just not turned up, so I was left with little choice. Thankfully, this seemed to put things to bed for a while and stuff got better, and the majority of people were supportive, even if the manager wasn't. I was told the company were concerned with what customers would think them having a trans person in a leadership position, and how they were prepared to go against the Equality Act because they didn't agree that I should be permitted certain rights.

When the manager changed and a new one came in thing got even worse. All the staff were called in to work extra after hours one Sunday. I was away from home that weekend, visiting my new partners, so was presenting as the real me. This meant when I had to go in to work I wasn't going to be able to change first, and that most of the people there would be seeing the real me for the first time. This was fine with most of the people there, and no one made a thing of it; but the new manager was furious about it.

A week later I arrived to work and was immediately dragged into the office, where I was presented with three charges of gross misconduct and suspended. I was completely shocked, and I was afraid for my job. Without my job I wouldn't be able to keep my home. Luckily my partners had me come and stay with them, and I prepared to argue my case.

I managed to get two of the charges dropped, but the third stuck; so I lost my job. Despite it being conducted by another manager my store manager was interfering with proceedings, and told the man in charge to fire me. So I was fired. No more job.

This event broke me. I felt like I was losing everything to a manager who was being openly hateful because I was trans. But, like I said, I had some good support, and my partners took care of me. They helped me find a temporary job in another town where they lived, and I went to stay with them. This was when I began a long legal battle against my former employer. I collected information from their records that showed I was systematically abused and discriminated against, and it was only when they finally got their court summons that they finally stopped going on the attack and listened to me. The head of HR for the company (a very large company) met with me and admitted that I was discriminated again, that my life had been smashed to pieces because one man hated what I was. I could have taken things further at that point, pushed for more legal action, but I was so ill because of it I just wanted it over.

From that day things got better for me. In moving out of my old place into a new town I realised that my small hometown had some very small town minds, and that the amount of transphobia I was experiencing there wasn't right. I moved to a place that was more diverse, and the level of abuse I went through dropped.

That being said, I still receive almost constant harassment online, abuse and threats, simply for being trans. I normally block these people and try to ignore it, but it's a struggle all the time. And that's just those I can block out. You can't block out people screaming at you in the street, the constant anti-trans press coverage, or the government 'debating' your rights to exist.

In the almost a decade of being trans I've lost friends. I've received abuse. I've had nasty comments from medical professionals. I've lost jobs. I've had to fight for my rights. I've been close to ending my life because of how awful things have been. But despite all of this, I know that my journey, my experiences have been far from the worst. I've been incredibly lucky to have the amount of support and love I do from those around me.

Other people aren't as lucky. They don't have friends and family to stand by them. They don't have a secure home. They don't get to have treatment because the waiting lists are so long. 

I'm not entirely sure why I've told you all this, why my story even matters. I don't expect it to change any minds or win over any bigots. But I hope that it shows some people how difficult it is for trans people, and how every single difficulty I've been through, all the challenges and pain, comes from the fact that society has been taught to hate trans people; that our suffering is fine. Things are getting better for trans people generally, there's more understanding for us, and more people are getting support; but there's also more open hate now too.

So please, stand up for the trans people in your lives. For your friends and family. Even if you don't think you have trans people in your life the chances are good that you do know one, that someone you care about is trans, or cares for someone who is. You could have a child that turns out to be trans. I know that you don't want the people that you care about to suffer, you don't want them to experience hate, to feel that the only way to escape the constant pain is to take their own life. So please, even if you don't think you have trans people in your lives, challenge transphobia, call out hate, and push for trans equality because believe me, it will help save lives. 

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The Banishing – Film Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Director Christopher Smith returns to horror to deliver the tense and unusual haunted house movie The Banishing.

The Banishing begins in a small English town in the 1930s, where a local priest is working away in his home one evening before being drawn to one of the bedrooms by a strange noise. Once there he’s confronted by an awful vision of himself killing his wife. When no one hears from the priest for a few days, Bishop Malachi (John Lynch) is called in, and discovers the priest and his wife dead. He orders the town doctor to cover this up, and then the house sits empty for three years.

We then get to meet Linus (John Heffernan), the new priest for the town, and his new wife Marianne (Jessica Brown Findlay), along with her daughter Adelaide (Anya McKenna-Bruce). Linus has been sent there by Malachi to return the locals to the church. However, when Marianne and Adelaide begin to have strange visions inside the house, of odd things in the mirrors and ghostly monks, Marianne soon begins to suspect that something evil is happening inside her home and turns to a local occultist, Harry (Sean Harris) for help.

From its very first scenes The Banishing seems to want to disturb its viewers, with the awful vision of a priest butchering his wife a striking image to open the film on. It’s so shocking that it took me a second to realise that the man was actually seeing himself do it, that the actor was in two places at once on screen. This feeling of unease, in making the viewer question what they’re seeing, is something that viewers will come to know quite well throughout the film, as events take on an almost dream-like quality at times.

This is one of the things that makes The Banishing so unnerving, that you’re often unsure at what you’re seeing, whether events are real, hallucinations, or premonitions. This is the chief way that the film tries to frighten you, with atmosphere, with a constant feeling of unease where you’re not sure whether or not you can trust what’s happening. Though, as my partner can attest, there are a couple of jump scare moments that could cause you to yell out loud whilst watching it (I’m not ashamed the film made me scream like a child).

Another thing that makes the film really strong is the casting, with the lead actors being really well suited to their roles. John Heffernan is great as Linus, a priest who seems constantly on edge, always nervous and unsure of himself, yet has an underlying anger within him. Heffernan is able to make him feel incredibly flawed, yet a little sympathetic too, and you can see why Marianne would love such a distant man despite his flaws. Marianne herself is played brilliantly by Jessica Brown Findlay, who instead of being a meek and subservient priest’s wife has a fire and passion to her. She’s outspoken and isn’t one to sugarcoat how she thinks and feels, and whilst she in some ways feels ahead of the time she lives in you kind of love her no nonsense attitude and willingness to get on and do what needs to be doing.

The two best performances, however come from John Lynch and Sean Harris, whose characters seem to be constantly at war with each other. There’s a good sense of history between the two of them, and the scenes where they’re together are a particular highlight. But what’s best about them is how they kind of subvert expectations, and how you’re never quite sure what side they fall on. Bishop Malachi should be a ‘good guy’, someone on the side of the family, whilst you’d expect the occultist to be somewhat sinister, and the two of them are presented this way at first. However, as the film goes on the two shift and move around so much that it’s not clear which is the good guy and which is the villain until the very end of the film.

The Banishing tries to be a little different; it’s a film that’s adding its own spin on the normal haunted house story and trying out a new direction. It doesn’t always work, and perhaps a slightly longer run-time to flesh things out a bit more would have helped. But what it does do it does pretty well, and it’s got some creepy visuals, some good scares, and a damn fine cast, all of which adds up to a pretty good British horror film.

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Star Wars Bounty Hunters #10 - Comic Review

 

I have to be honest, when it first started I wasn't sure if I really liked Star Wars Bounty Hunters or not. The lead was a character I'd never come across before, over some of the better known and popular bounty hunters that make up the Star Wars universe, and the story seemed a little slow. However, now that the Terminus Gauntlet story-line is coming to a close I really do enjoy this title, and getting to see Valance go through the captured Rebel ship taking out pirates from the shadows was a ton of fun.

Picking up where the last issue left off, we rejoin the captured Rebels as the New Ohnaka Gang have managed to board their ship and take it over. With the lives of the crew hanging in the balance, and their former commander having betrayed them to the pirates, all hope seems lost until a mysterious figure starts taking the pirates down one by one, vanishing into the shadows before they've had a chance to react.

With so many of the bounty hunters in Star Wars either having strong individual looks or specialist skills there didn't seem to be much to set Valance apart from most regular people in Star Wars. Even his extensive cybernetic parts didn't do much other than make him look like a Terminator, but, a bounty hunter who's like a ninja, who comes out of nowhere, takes his target down, and disappears just as quick? I think that's a Valance that I can not only get on board with, but one that I think makes him a pretty stand out addition to the large host of bounty hunter characters.

Ethan Sacks manages to make Valance into a fierce opponent in this issue, one who is using his smarts and his skills to tackle a group of opponents that they might not have been able to in a straight fight. This also plays into the backstory that we're learning about over the course of the last few issues, of Valance being a former Imperial cadet, someone who's been taught strategy and to think outside the box.

The flashbacks also seem to have been building towards something too. Whilst they've been giving us great insight into the character they've also been providing a connection between Valance and Han Solo, who was not only a fellow cadet, but someone who saved Valance's life. This seems to be building towards the upcoming cross-over event 'War of the Bounty Hunters' when Valance learns from Dengar that Boba Fett has Han prisoner, and is taking him to Jabba. It seems like the debt Valance feels he could owe Solo is going to be something that could spur him on into conflict with Fett, and lead to his inclusion in the upcoming event.

This issue of Star Wars Bounty Hunters is a fast paced and fun one, it manages to balance some interesting character developments, as well as some great action sequences. We also get to see even more of the fun things that Valance's cybernetics allow him to do. Overall this might be one of the best issues of the series yet, and sets our lead onto a path that will take him into conflict with Boba Fett himself.

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Dark Lullaby by Polly Ho-Yen - Book Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

'For fans of Black Mirror and The Handmaid's Tale, in Dark Lullaby a mother desperately tries to keep her family together in a society where parenting standards are strictly monitored.

'When Kit decides to have a child, she thinks she's prepared. She knows how demanding Induction is. She's seen children Extracted. But in a society where parenting is strictly monitored under the watchful gaze of OSIP (The Office of Standards in Parenting), she is forced to ask herself how far she will go to keep her family together.'

Dark Lullaby is the latest release from Titan Books, one that presents a grim future for Britain, but one that seems so plausible it’s absolutely frightening.

The book follows the life of Kit, a woman who’s struggling to keep her family together in a world where the slightest deviation from what those in authority see as good parenting can cause your child to be taken away from you forever. Set in a future where the vast majority of humanity has become infertile, new technology has been developed to enable people to become pregnant, though it’s not without significant risks.

We follow Kit through two different periods of her life, with chapters alternating between her as a young single woman and her as a mother who’s trying to prevent her daughter daughter from being taken away. Through these intertwining narratives we start to unravel why Kit goes from someone who never wants to go through the dangers of having a child, to someone willing to go on the run to protect her daughter.

One of the things that makes Dark Lullaby so engrossing, that really makes you want to keep on reading even though it’s a pretty depressing book at times, is how much it feels like what you’re reading here could actually come to pass. The Britain presented in Polly Ho-Yen’s story isn’t too far removed from what we have now, but for a few differences.

There’s an almost constant state presence in public and people homes, as government approved films and broadcasts are streamed out over devices, and not allowed to be turned off. We also learn that through some sly political manoeuvring there’s only a one party system now, and that those in charge are pretty misogynistic, and unforgiving towards people. I’m sure some will argue that that doesn’t seem realistic, but given some of the violence against women in the UK these last few weeks, and the government trying to make protest illegal, it strikes me as very plausible that a government could reach that stage, especially if something like world wide infertility became an issue.

Despite setting up this new version of the United Kingdom the story isn’t really about this future, but about one family, and the trials they go through. Over the course of the two time periods we learn a lot about Kit, and her sister, and the struggles they go through with their family. When Kit is at the point in her life that she doesn’t want to be a parent her sister is going through the lengthy process of becoming a mother, followed by the frightening trials of keeping her child from being taken away. Kit is able to show her sister support, and can try to be there for her, but as she gets closer and closer to losing her son their relationship strains and the two sisters drift further apart, to the point where when Kit herself is a mother and finds herself in a similar situation to her sister she’s suddenly alone and without her support.

The book examines family relationships, and how extreme stress and trauma can shape and change those dynamics. We see people who openly fall apart as the government breathes down their necks, and others who put on a brave public face. We see some marriages flourish, with partners coming together stronger than ever, whilst others fall to pieces thanks to the pressure of the loss of their child looms on the horizon. And this is what I think makes the book so engaging and affecting. It puts you in these people’s worlds at the most awful times in their lives, at times when they risk losing the thing they love the most.

I’m not a parent, and I have no intention of ever becoming one. Parenting isn’t for me for a number of reasons. However, even as someone who never wants a child, Polly Ho-Yen managed to make me feel something whilst reading this book. She got me to feel like I was in these people’s shoes, experiencing the stress and trauma that they were living with; the desperation to hold onto their children as the world around them turned against them. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to feel like you’re having to be constantly on the lookout, to not be able to trust anyone because you believe they could try to take your child from you, but I feel like I’ve had a little glimpse into that thanks to this book.

Dark Lullaby isn’t a light read; the ‘dark’ in the title really gives that away. There aren’t many moments of happiness, there’s a constant fear and dread that permeates the book, yet despite that I wasn’t able to stop reading it. I couldn’t help but be drawn into this world and these characters, and I feel like it’s a book I’m going to be remembering and recommending for a long time.

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The Hazards of Love Volume One by Stan Stanley - Book Review

 

'Collected and in color for the first time, The Hazards of Love follows the story of a queer teen from Queens who makes some mistakes, gets dragged into a fantastical place, and tries to hustle their way back home.

'Amparo's deal with the talking cat was simple: a drop of blood and Amparo's name to become a better person. Their mother and abuela would never worry about them again, and they'd finally be worthy of dating straight-A student Iolanthe. But when the cat steals their body, becoming the better person they were promised, Amparo's spirit is imprisoned in a land of terrifying, flesh-hungry creatures known as Bright World.

'With cruel and manipulative masters and a society that feeds on memories, Amparo must use their cleverness to escape, without turning into a monster like the rest. On "the other side," Iolanthe begins to suspect the new Amparo has a secret, and after the cat in disguise vanishes, she's left searching for answers with a no-nonsense medium from the lesbian mafia and the only person who might know the truth about Bright World.'

The Hazards of Love is a popular web comic that's been brought to print for the first time, now in bright colour. The book follows the non-binary teen Amparo, a kid who's something of a troublemaker, but doesn't want to be a 'bad' kid. When a strange talking cat climbs into their bedroom one night and offers them a magic wish Amparo thinks that this might be their chance to finally change their life. I mean, why work on yourself and put the effort in when a talking cat can just magic you into a better person right?

Unfortunately for Amparo, this cat's a bit of a liar, and after making the deal the cat takes on Amparos form and steals their name. Amparo now finds themselves unable to speak their own name, and unable to affect anything in the world. Worse still, they're suddenly drawn into the strange Bright World, a place outside of regular reality filled with monsters and bizarre creatures. Here Amparo has to find life as an indentured servant to avoid getting eaten by some of the more nefarious denizens of Bright World, whilst trying to figure out if they can break free from this strange place and get back home. 

Meanwhile, the cat that's now posing as Amparo seems to be holding up their end of the bargain, in a sense, and is being a better version of Amparo; it's even managed to win over the smart and pretty Iolanthe, starting a relationship with her. But Iolanthe senses that there's something not quite right about Amparo, and wants to get to the bottom of it.

At first I wasn't sure what to make of the story, The introduction to Bright World was a bit confusing, with talk about licenses and sponsors for humans, the whole thing felt a bit clustered, but after a while, a few issues in, the book became a lot more enjoyable and easier to read. I think this was because Stanley stopped trying to give the reader all of the information, like the previously mentioned scene where the laws for humans were being explained, and just allowed the story to unfold naturally. Things flowed better allowing the reader to discover things with Amparo, and making the quest to get these answers part of the journey.

I think that it also took me a while to get to the point where I liked Amparo, and sound them a bit off-putting to begin with. They're very full of themselves, and they definitely think they're smarter than they are, which leads to them getting knocked down a few pegs during the book. They seem to assume they're the smartest in the room, and think that their plots and plans to get back home are going to work, and them learning to fail a few times definitely makes them a more relatable and enjoyable protagonist.

One of the biggest of these learning mistakes comes in the form of Amparo thinking they're being clever by getting themselves employed by El Ciervo, something that backfires for them quite a but. I especially enjoyed the book once El Ciervo entered the narrative. One of the more frightening inhabitants of Bright World, this creature takes the form of a black skinned human with the head of a deer. They're deeply unsettling due in part to the reader often being unable to discern their emotions or their intentions just by looking at them, but also because of his quiet calm and calculating nature. They seem like one of the more human, more relatable creatures from Bright World at times, whilst at others they're so predatory and evil that they're the stuff of nightmares.

The relationship that forms between Amparo and El Ciervo is fascinating, with the creature seeming to show genuine consideration to the teen at times, correcting their use of pronouns when they first meet, and seeming to care about Amparo's gender expression and comfort; yet other times he'll be brutal to them, doing completely inhumane things. Despite the book being about Amparo and their journey to get back home, this relationship is what grabbed me the most, and became the thing I loved best about the book.

The overall plot, of Amparo finding a way back to their normal life, doesn't get to move forward too much in this volume, but that never felt like a bad thing, as Stanley did so much world building and character development that the book was still packed with content. I'm eager to read more, to find out what happens next, the only question is do I wait for the second volume, or do I go and start reading the web-comic so that I can find out quicker?

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Teen Titans Academy #1 - Comic Review

 

Over the decades since they first appeared the Teen Titans have been through a lot, with the original line-up, and many of the second generation members moving out of their adolescence and into adulthood, even taking on different personas. It's a book that sees a lot of change as the characters move on and the universe around them alters, so making a big change like having the Titans open a school for young heroes feel like not only a logical step, but a brilliant new energy to the series.

One of the things that makes this title so good is that it's essentially DC creating their own version of the X-Men. It's a school for young powered individuals to come and learn the craft of being a hero, whilst some core members of the institute go out in bright costumes and save the day. It might not be the most original thing, but it's a dynamic I like, and one that the X-Men aren't even doing anymore, so it's filling a void really.

Here the people in charge of the academy are the original members of the team, Starfire, Nightwng, Donna Troy, Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg. These former teens, now just Titans are the teachers, the ones who are making it their mission to help the new generation of heroes; whilst the previous incarnation of the Teen Titans, with characters like Crush, Red Arrow, and Kid Flash are upper class-men, and still go out on missions between lessons.

Coming in fresh is a new batch of young heroes, and they're an interesting bunch. There's Gorilla Gregg, Tooby, and Stitch to name just a few. The new group are mostly unknowns, and gives writer Tim Sheridan a lot of room to do new and interesting things, and take the series in new directions. And these kids seem like a nice bunch for the most part, even from the brief time we get with them here. As much as I'm looking forward to seeing how the Red X mystery unfolds I'm just as excited to get to know these kids more. Especially Stitch, something about them has really grabbed me.

The one thing in the book that doesn't seem to work for me at the moment, and might not even after a while, is how the faculty staff have their titles before their super hero names. There's Miss Starfire, Mr Nightwing, and Mister Beast Boy; all of which just sounds really, really weird. I understand that these heroes probably don't want to just out their identities to these kids, and want a degree of respect shown to them, but Mr Beast Boy just sounds bad. I'm hoping this is something that won't last for long, and the kids will just call them by their hero names instead.

The first issue of Teen Titans Academy has a lot of work to do, it introduces a new status quo for the team, brings in a host of new characters, and tries to give us a taste of how this school will be going forward, all whilst setting up a mystery that's going to be an important part of the first story arc. Despite juggling all these balls it manages to make it a really interesting and entertaining issue, and that's not an easy thing with so much stuff going on.

I've always liked the Teen Titans and the Titans, and love this concept of turning them into teachers for the next generation. The series seems to be wanting to try new things, whilst also acknowledging things from the history of these characters. It's fresh and familiar at the same time, and has a lot of charm. Plus, any book that has non-binary characters in it, and calls out JK Rowling for being 'problematic' is always going to get extra points too.

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Alien #1 - Comic Review

 

With the Disney Corporation buying Fox it was only a matter of time that the decades long partnerships between the Alien and Predator franchises came to an end with Dark Horse Comics, a company who have been producing successful and popular entries to both worlds (and their shared cross-overs) for as long as I can remember. Not only does Marvel face the daunting prospect of producing a well made and well received Alien comic, they have to compete with what came before and win over the fans of Dark Horse's works. Not an easy feat by any means.

The comic follows Gabriel Cruz, a Weyland-Yutani security chief who's retiring from company life following a career that has caused him damage to his family relationships, the loss of friends, and some pretty deep and dark trauma. We see brief flashes of Gabriel's past scattered throughout the issue, of a time where he seems to have been on a failed mission where most, if not all, of his team were killed by Xenomorphs. The details on this are still very light on the ground, and I expect that the slow revelation of this information will be an important point for this story.

The information we do get is fairly interesting, however, as it seems Weyland-Yutani sent their team to capture a Xenomorph in their continued effort to weaponize the creatures. There's also hints that there was something inside the hive that we've never seen before, some kind of bio-mechanoid like woman who bears a striking resemblance to H.R. Giger's Li 1 painting. It's not clear if this is some kind of new Xenomorph variation that we've never encountered, or a strange kind of hybrid, or even possibly an hallucination, but it does look like Wey-Yu are experimenting with Xenomorph hybrids later in the issue so it could all very well be related.

What I really liked about this mystery back story, however, was that it was being explored in a way where we could see how it was affecting Gabriel, how it all still haunts him. Through conversations he has with his psychologist, a Bishop model android, we get to get inside his head and see that inner workings of a man who I'd imagine doesn't normally open up much.

The issue isn't all about Gabriel though, as we also meet his now grown up son Danny. Danny visits his father once he's back on Earth, and we see the very strained and damaged relationship between the two of them. Danny also uses this as an opportunity to steal his fathers access to the orbiting research station Epislon. We discover that he and his girlfriend are opposed to Wey-Yu, and are something like activists and corporate terrorists, and that they believe the company is up to no good (spoiler alert, they always are).

Once on board the station Danny and his friends expect to find a server farm, but instead find a lab filled with bizarre Xenomorph experiments and hybrids, and as you should expect from a story like this, things go wrong and the creatures begin to escape. 

I'm very much expecting that the relationship between Gabriel and Danny will be a big part of this story, and that Gabriel will either have to go to Epsilon to save his son, or ends up joining with the anti-Wey-Yu faction if Danny ends up dying on the station. Either way, I think this relationship is going to be a major catalyst for bringing Gabriel into conflict with the Xenomorphs, and probably the company too.

I liked that the book put Weyland-Yutani front and centre in things, that it wasn't just a shadowy group pulling strings in the far background like in the original trilogy of films, but an active participant in events. Decades after the events of the films they've finally managed to get their hands on the creatures they've wanted, and seem to be getting away with their dangerous experiments. Fans of the series have always been told how bad it would be if they ever got hold of an alien, but now we're actually going to see it unfold, and I'm definitely okay with that kind of story.

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