The Last Legacy by Adrienne Young - Book Review

 

'When a letter from her uncle Henrik arrives on Bryn Roth's eighteenth birthday, summoning her back to Bastian, Bryn is eager to prove herself and finally take her place in her long-lost family.

'Henrik has plans for Bryn, but she must win everyone’s trust if she wants to hold any power in the delicate architecture of the family. It doesn’t take long for her to see that the Roths are entangled in shadows. Despite their growing influence in upscale Bastian, their hands are still in the kind of dirty business that got Bryn’s parents killed years ago. With a forbidden romance to contend with and dangerous work ahead, the cost of being accepted into the Roths may be more than Bryn can pay.'

When the Fable duology came to a close it felt like perhaps it would be the last time that we return to the world that Adrienne Young had created, that we'd say goodbye and move on to the next story. Whilst we might not be meeting up with Fable and her friends again, I was happy to learn that we would be going back to this setting with The Last Legacy, and that we'd be exploring some of the more interesting characters that made a brief appearance in Namesake.

The Last Legacy follows Bryn, a young woman who has grown up away from the port city of Bastian, where the rest of her family live, learning how to be the perfect young woman in high society. Once she reaches her eighteenth birthday her uncle, Henrick Roth, calls her back home to take her place as one of the Roths, a family of traders who aren't afraid to commit crimes and get their hands dirty.

Upon returning home Bryn is shocked to find a family unlike any she's ever experienced before. They don't stand on ceremony or put much stock in the ways of high society, and they all seem to live in fear of angering Henrick and incurring his wrath. Bryn is unsure how to operate in such a family, or even what her roles is going to be as all Roth need to be of use to the family if they're going to survive. 

However, Bryn soon learns why she's been summoned home. Her uncle is close to getting the merchant ring that will allow him to expand the family business, making them even more rich and powerful than they already are. The only problem is, they need to impress the right people in high society. To that end, Henrick wants to use Bryn to help they make the right impression. But that's not all, she will also have to start getting her hands dirty and helping in ways she's not used to. This sets Bryn down a path of double dealings, plots, and betrayals that will put her future at risk if she should fail to come out on top.

If Fable was the high seas adventure book this is definitely the crime thriller story. Where Fable spent its time at sea, exploring the world and the various port cities The Last Legacy focuses exclusively on one family, the Roths, and their bid for power. Because of this, I felt like I got a better sense of one of the more specific parts of the world that Young had crafted, by taking the time to explore how the various merchants operate, and how much political movement goes on behind the scenes. The story has much more in common with something like The Godfather than it does anything else; and I love that.

Bryn coming into things afresh, as someone raised away from this family and their business schemes is the perfect entry vehicle for the audience. We get to learn alongside her, seeing the strange things that her family does, getting hints of their criminal ways, and learning just how dark their past is. At first there are just hints that the Roths, and Henrick in particular, aren't great people as we see them engaging in things like corporate espionage and dealing in fake goods; but there's a sense that this isn't just them, but something that the other main families in Bastian would also be doing. However, as Bryn gets deeper and deeper into things we begin to see that Henrick is also willing to hurt, and even kill people.

Rather than being something that would distress her, or take her out of the picture all together, as you might expect from someone who was raised to e the perfect high society woman, Bryn discovers a strength within her as she begins to adapt to her family. She doesn't stoop to their level, she never physically hurts anyone, but there is the sense that she's probably a lot smarter than them, knowing how to manipulate people and twist a scenario to get what she wants without having to resort to having someone beaten.

Because of how clever Bryn is, of how quickly she adapts to a world she's never been exposed to before, and how well she manages to do things I actually think I prefer her in a lot of way to Fable. Fable always seemed capable, and she continued to prove herself over the course of her books, so it was never a surprise to see her coming out on top, espcially as she had friends around her helping her out. Bryn, on the other hand, begins feeling like the kind of character you expect to see outmanoeuvred and outsmarted. So when she rises to the challenge and becomes the smartest person in the room, all on her own, it feels a lot more impressive.

Like with the previous books set in this world there is some romance to be found in The Last Legacy, as Bryn finds herself falling for Ezra, the young man who lives with the Roths. A skilled silversmith, Ezra is seen by Henrick as an asset to be used as much as he is a person, and there's a strong sense of him being desperate to break free of the Roths and escape. The romance that forms between him and Bryn is not an easy one, and there are times where you're left wondering if they're going to kiss or take shots at each other as their passion leads to some explosive moments. But overall, I found their relationship to be rather enjoyable, and probably because they didn't end up together too quickly, and it felt like the two of them really had to earn being together.

The Last Legacy ends feeling like a complete story, and this feels like it could be the conclusion for both the Roth family as a whole, and Bryn in particular. That being said, I found myself wanting more when it was done, and would love to see Young return to these characters in the future. Even if it was another stand-alone sequel that explored other aspects of this world. I hope that this is the kind of series where we'll keep coming back to things, exploring new places and new people. But if that doesn't happen, this feels like a great conclusion to things.

Support Amy on Patreon

Buy Amy A Coffee

Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Twitter

Add Amy on Instagram

AKKAD Volume One by Clarke - Book Review

 

'An alien invasion wreaks havoc on Earth. Conventional weapons seem harmless. In a desperate attempt, the US government experiments with chemical treatment on five teenagers. The objective: to increase their intelligence to a superhuman level. Then they can invent the weapon that will save us all. Unless they get out of control themselves...'

AKKAD is the story about a world where humanity has been left on the back-foot thanks to the appearance of strange, alien lifeforms that appear seemingly at random across the globe. These huge, insect-like creatures don't seem to really do much when they appear; they don't destroy buildings or kill anyone even though they carry huge weapons. their real weapons, however, are the force-fields that they erect, blocking off huge areas that become impassable, stealing territory from the human population.

Humanity have been fighting these invaders for years, but their weapons have been proving ineffective, and more and more land has been lost to these strange creatures; with almost the entire east coast of the US lost. It seems like nothing can be done to kill the creatures, and any attempts to reenter the locked off parts of the world meet with failure. Because of this, a desperate plan is put into motion. Knowing that no one alive is smart enough to come up with a solution the US government finances an experiment to use cutting edge science to turn five teens into geniuses, hoping that their increased intelligence will help find a solution. However, it appears that the people they have chosen may not be the perfect candidates, and soon the five of them plan to escape those keeping them locked away.

There was a lot about AKKAD that I really enjoyed. For a book that's about an alien invasion of Earth it didn't feel like your average alien invasion story. There was no real occupation force, no masses of alien troops keeping humanity under their heel. There's no spaceships or laser guns firing down from orbit. It felt very small in scale in a lot of ways, and it had more of a post-apocalypse tone at times thanks to the vast ruined cities left abandoned by the survivors.

I think the fact that even by the end of this first volume I knew nothing about these alien creatures helped a lot with this. They don't really have a name, with the only time they're called by a nickname the person being told not to do that. They're simply 'the invaders' or 'the aliens'. Their goals seem kind of nebulous, with no real endgame evident. They feel more like a force of nature, albeit one we don't understand, than monsters attacking us for our resources.

The book also stays pretty minimal on the exposition in other areas, allowing the reader to try and pick up information as we go along. We don't get any info dumps on the state of the world, nor do we know much about the five teens chosen to become super smart heroes. We're given small insight as the story progresses, but it's stuff that we have to try and make sense of for the large part. It's small hints and snippets of dialogue that give us insight. Clarke doesn't seem to want to hold your hand and walk you through things, instead letting you figure it out as you go.

Clarke doesn't just provide the writing on the book, but also produces the art; another strong point of the book. I really liked the artwork on AKKAD, the nice, neat line work was great, and the people looked nice and distinct from each other. The art style also worked well for the ruined locations, with the wrecked cities looking stark, with debris everywhere. The alien creatures also looked fantastic, and I love their insect-like design. They reminded me of giant ticks or fleas in the brief moments we get to see them, and I'm super interested to learn more about them and to see what other things Clarke can do with the design.

Overall this is an interesting start to the series, and Clarke crafts a solid base upon which to build the story. The characters have only just begun to be explored, and whilst there are one or two that intrigue me already most still feel like I haven't had the chance to know them yet; this is something that I'm hoping will be explored further in the upcoming volumes. If you're into interesting new sci-fi and want to something a bit different this book is definitely worth a go.

Support Amy on Patreon

Buy Amy A Coffee

Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Twitter

Add Amy on Instagram

Temple of No God by H.M. Long - Book Review

 

'After a brutal war between the gods, Hessa – High Priestess of the Eangen – has brokered a fragile peace. Through great sacrifice, she has forged an alliance between warring tribes and introduced her people to the true god.

'But a new threat is growing across the southern border. In the remnants of the once-great Arpa Empire, three factions are vying for the imperial throne, and the vast well of raw magical power only accessible to the Arpa Emperor. Already beating back former Arpa legionaries at her borders, Hessa knows she cannot let this chance slip by. She must intervene, for the safety of her people.

'With the peace she has sacrificed so much for at stake, Hessa must venture into the heart of enemy territory, where warring Arpa factions are not the only danger she must face. A sinister new cult is on the rise, one with the power to suck the life from everything it touches. With enemies on every side and her fragile alliance beginning to waver, Hessa must decide who to trust – no matter what it may cost her…'

Temple of No God is the the continuation of last year's Hall of Smoke, a fantasy book that I really enjoyed. Picking up several years after the events of the first book Hessa, once a priestess of the war god Eang, she has now become the high priestess of Thvynder, an ancient god that came from a time before Eang. With the last book ending with the destruction of almost all of the gods at the hands of Thvynder, and Hessa's old life gone, there was always a sense that more could be told with these characters, that we could one day return to this world and find out what happens next. Temple of No God delivers on those hopes.

The book begins with Hessa leading her people into battle against the Arpa, the empire to the south of her homeland who have threatened her nation for years. During the fight we, and Hessa, learn that despite losing their pantheon of gods when Thvynder returned some of the Arpa warriors have powers, powers that none of them have ever seen before.

Years later, Hessa is approached by an Arpa faction. It turns out that there is a power struggle going on for the throne, with three factions all fighting to put their own Emperor in power. The catch is, to be crowned as an Emperor they will need someone able to enter the realm of the gods to perform the ceremony; someone like Hessa. Hessa is offered a deal, bring her people into Arpa territory, have them raid and pillage in the places where the other two factions hold sway as Hessa travels to the capital and crowns the new Emperor. In return, the Eangen people will be left alone, and their territory will never again come under threat from the Empire.

Knowing that this is the best way to secure a future for her nation, and curious to find out more about the strange new warrior priests allied with one of the rival factions, Hessa agrees to the terms, taking her people into war.

One of the things that I really enjoyed about Temple of No God is how different it feels from Hall of Smoke due in large part to how different the lead character is now. In the first book she was a fierce warrior priestess, but one who felt a little short sighted in some ways. She seemed like the kind of person who didn't think too far ahead, who concentrated on herself, and thought of the world in ways in which it directly effected her. Here, having been the leader of her people for almost a decade, Hessa has grown, becoming almost the opposite of who she was. She carefully weighs her decisions, she thinks about the larger impact, and she puts others before herself. And none of it feels unexpected or out of character, rather, it feels like the natural progression of what we've already seen.

The book also opens up in the sense of scope too, even though it also feels like a smaller scale story in some ways. There isn't the huge, world changing revelations of the first book, there's no huge battle with multiple gods at the end, but it still manages to feel like a bigger book because we explore more of the world H.M. Long has created, as well as getting to know more of the people who inhabit it. Much of the first book centred on Hessa, and the journey that she took. For most of that she was on her own, though occasionally joined by another person. As such, the story felt very focused on her; but here there's a much larger group around Hessa, and I came away from the book feeling like I'd gotten to know a lot more characters than I did in the first volume. So even if the events of the book didn't have as big an impact as the first it felt broader in scope thanks to the places we're taken to and the people we get to know along the way.

Temple of No God also felt like it could be read on its own too, as something of a stand-alone sequel; due in large part to the time gap between the two books and the changes in Hessa. Whilst there were times where I felt a little left behind because I'd forgotten small elements from the first book, I was never lost, and Long was able to catch up new and forgetful readers really well. Obviously, it would be best reading both books, and preferably both books together, but I'm sure that if you came to this book completely new without any previous knowledge you'd find a lot to enjoy here.

Temple of No God is the kind of sequel that I really love, one that takes what the first book did and does something that feels connected, but doesn't retread the same ground. It has allowed the characters to grow in believable ways, it's changed the world and had things evolve, and it's introduced a lot of new elements, yet it's still that world that I enjoyed in the first book. If Long continues to revisit this world and these characters I hope that they do so in the same way, popping in every decade or so to see how things have changed, and giving us unexpected new adventures.

Support Amy on Patreon

Buy Amy A Coffee

Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Twitter

Add Amy on Instagram

Amy - Throwback 10

 

Survival horror games have become big business over the years. Whilst they may have originally been games that were talked about in hushed whispers so that parents didn't take the 'nasty zombie games' away from you, thanks to some big hits like Resident Evil and Silent Hill more and more publishers have wanted to get a piece of the survival horror pie. 

Whilst not every survival horror game ends up being an amazing hit many still have something to them that makes them enjoyable; they become like a b-movie horror film where you know its not great, but you have a lot of fun with it anyway. But there are a few games that fail to even be that, and just end up being clunky, un-enjoyable messes. Games like 2012's Amy.

Amy puts players in control of Lana, a young woman who has to protect Amy, a little girl with strange powers. The game begins with the two of them travelling together on a train, which is soon caught in an explosion that causes it to crash. When the two of them recover they find themselves in a city overrun with an infection that turns people into zombies. Whilst Lana is susceptible to this infection, and can become a zombie, Amy's evolving powers enable her to cure Lana and restore her to health. But, because of this, the two of them are also being hunted by the shadowy Phoenix Foundation, who want to harness Amy's powers for themselves.

One of the biggest drawbacks to Amy is that essentially the entire game is one big escort quest. Now, I'm sure that there will be some who will turn around and tell me that there have been some good games that involve this mechanic, and are sometimes even built around it; but games like Ico and A Plague Tale: Innocence are few and far between. Most gamers will hear the phrase escort mission and will have flashbacks to the most boring and frustrating parts of some of their favourite games. And that's basically the entirety of Amy.

To begin with the game does present something of a fun challenge, trying to figure out the best way to balance keeping Amy safe from the things that only Lana can fight against, whilst also keeping Lana from turning into one of the infected herself. However, it soon becomes clear that it's almost impossible to find this balance between the two characters, as the game is just too poorly constructed to enable any real success, or enjoyment.

Unfortunately it's not just in the escort mechanic, the main part of the game, where Amy falls apart, as the basic controls are....clunky would be generous I guess. The game will tell you that you can do certain things, but whether these mechanics work will be anyone's guess. The game only allows you to dodge about ten percent of the time, meaning that you'll frequently find yourself getting hit by enemies, and even if you're standing right on top of items you want to pick up your character will stand there doing nothing as you tell them to grab it over and over again. 

The division between the two characters and what each of them needs to do also feels very off in places, as you'll be sending the defenceless Amy into dangerous places because the game tells you Lana can't fit when the crawlspaces are more than large enough for her to get through. I know why they want players to have to do things from a storytelling point of view, but if the level design doesn't fit with this it just ends up feeling silly and broken in a lot of places. And when you add in how easy it is to end up being killed, and how sporadic the checkpoints are, you'll often find yourself playing through the same frustrating parts of the game again and again as you try desperately to have the game actually do what you're telling it to do. A lot of these issues ended up being corrected via a patch a few months later that would add more checkpoints, tweak the controls, and correct errors in the subtitles; though by then many people who bought the game upon release would have already been bored of it.

Graphically the game is also something of a letdown. I know that this is a smaller budget game, made by an independent studio, but often Amy looks like a game that should have been released on the generation of consoles that came before it. It's messy, dirty, and drab; and whilst you could hand wave that away as being part of the survival horror aesthetic, it often comes across as cheap-looking. When you consider some of the more visually interesting independent games coming out at the time it's a shame that the developers didn't take a more unique approach to the graphics, taking the chance to release a game that would look visually distinct even if it didn't play too well.

Upon it's release onto digital marketplaces Amy was met with unfavourable reviews from the vast majority of outlets. Whilst it was given some degree of leeway for being a download game there were still enough issues with the game that people felt unable to give it high scores. The shoddy controls, poor game design, and a story that failed to really do anything new or impress led it to becoming a critical failure, with one reviewer calling it 'one of the worst games ever made'.

As it stands, Amy is probably going to remain as one of those games that people will have largely forgotten, a game they picked up cheap to see what it was like and put down fairly soon into playing it because of how frustrating and dull it is. I myself gave up on Amy not long into playing it when it first came out a decade ago, and I can't ever really see myself ever going back to it.

Support Amy on Patreon

Buy Amy A Coffee

Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Twitter

Add Amy on Instagram

Gears of War: Ephyra Rising by Michael A. Stackpole - Book Review

 

'The Locust War has ended with an energy weapon that pulsed across the land, destroying Locust and Lambent alike. The world is in shambles and the few survivors are isolated from one another. Humanity must begin anew. This novel reveals the canonical, never-before-seen events set in the time immediately following the game Gears of War 3.

'With most of Sera's civilisation destroyed, Sergeant Marcus Fenix and Lieutenant Anya Stroud must somehow rebuild on the ruins. For Marcus, his purpose is impossible to grasp. With no clear enemy to fight, there may be no place left for him in this postwar world. Some call him hero, others view him with resentment.

'As Anya struggles to create alliances to re-form the Coalition of Ordered Governments, she quickly discovers how impossible it is to tell friend from foe. Then whispers of Locust still stalking the land begin to spread. Fearing the worst, Marcus forms a team to assess the potential threat. As he and the other Gears search for Locust survivors, however, they quickly discover that the new enemy may be all-too-human, and utterly ruthless.'

When I discovered Gears of War when it first came out I, like most people, were drawn to the inventive action, the over-the-top characters, and the stark, ruined beauty of the world that had been created. However, whilst I soon saw other fans moving from the main story into the multi-player and Horde modes as each successive iteration of the franchise came out I was instead drawn to the story, the setting, and the characters. I enjoyed picking up the books, reading the comics, and replaying the campaign over and over again. And when the series made a jump forward in time by decades with Gears of War 4 I was super intrigued by what had gone on in that time gap, and the world building that had happened.

Whilst we get some of this information in the games with files that can be found and snippets of dialogue it's been the novels where we've really had the chance to find out what happened after the defeat of the Locust and the Lambent, before the rise of the Swarm. And Gears of War: Ephyra Rising might give us the best insight into this period yet.

Picking up several weeks after the end of the third game the book begins with Marcus Fenix and Anya Stroud having finished their time in the COG and trying to make a new life together in the remains of Anya's family estate. Whilst the house has been damaged over the years there's still enough of it there to be repaired and rebuilt, providing Marcus with a distraction to keep him mind busy whilst he begins to process the trauma of everything that he's been through during the war.

Whilst Marcus deals with the estate Anya finds herself being approached to help rebuild in another way, as Jamila Shin, a woman with a lot of political connections, tries to bring together influential and powerful people in a bid to build a new form of government that can try and help everyone. Not wanting a career in politics, but knowing that her skills would prove useful and that she could do some genuine good, Anya agrees to help, and begins to form a new Ministry. As Anya begins to learn the ins and outs of political power, as well as finding innovative ways to try and rebuild society, Marcus is approached by Brandon Turrall, a survivor of the war with connections to many small settlements, who has heard stories of surviving Locust. With Anya using her skills to help the world Marcus feels he can finally use his to do some good, and agrees to head out into the wilds with Brandon to make sure that the Locust are finished once and for all.

One of the things that I really enjoyed about Gears of War: Ephyra Rising is how little of the book is given over to action and firefights. Now, that doesn't mean that there aren't any, or that fans of those things will come away disappointed, but for the longest time reading this I didn't even think about those things. I was so engrossed in the story of this world and these people that I'd come to care about that it didn't even occur to me that a book based on an action game would involve action. Michael A. Stackpole had done such a good job in breathing life into Marcus, Anya, and the others that I didn't need monsters and explosions to enjoy things, I simply needed more time with them.

One of the prime examples of how well Stackpole deals with these characters in a setting none of them have ever really been in before, a time of peace, is what's done with Marcus. When Marcus and Anya first arrive at the Storud estate he's full of hope. He's got hope for building a life with the woman he loves, of starting a family together, and spending his time rebuilding the house and growing tomatoes. But slow things begin to turn for him. It begins with how he feels naked when not wearing his armour, how he unconsciously scans his environment for escape route, cover, and places where the enemy could be hiding. He slowly comes to the realisation that the world around him is at peace, but part of him is still at war.

It's not just that Marcus is always on edge though, but the grief that he also has to work through. Early on in his time at the estate he finds the bodies of a young woman and her baby on the land, both having died some time before. This is far from the first body he's seen, even the first dead civilian; but something about it causes him more pain than he's used to. He sees these two bodies as a symbol for all the death during the war, all of the pain and the loss, and sees how close they were to making it through the war alive before dying. Then there's the memories of Dom, the thoughts that sneak up on him when he's least expecting it but leaving him spiralling into depression.

This book takes a figure who has always been portrayed as this big, macho figure, a hero larger than life who's the first to run into danger and can do incredible things, and it shows the real man underneath it all. We see that the scars from the war run a lot deeper than they appear, and how even the bravest, most idolised soldiers come back from that hell as changed, hurt people. And this is why it makes perfect sense for him to go back out into the world to face more danger. He doesn't feel that the war has really finished with him, that even though the fighting might be done it still has his claws in him. He might be going out there to make sure the Locust have gone, and to save some people, but he's also out there to put a lot of his own demons to rest.

Whilst Anya doesn't have as much emotional trauma to work through as Marcus she does get ample things to do in this book, with an almost equal amount of the book given over to her and her story. Having played the later gears games I know that Anya will become the First Minister, and that she helped to shape the society that would rise from the ashes, so it's interesting to see her here as a person who wants nothing to do with politics and needs to be convinced to get involved. Over the course of the book we see her discovering parts of herself she never knew that she had, of her ability to not only manage people, but to see through their exterior and figure out what they're really after and the deceptions underneath. Anya doesn't end the book being First Minister, or even wanting the job, but the Anya from the beginning of the novel isn't the one there at the end, and it's easier to see how she would go on to become one of the most important political figures on Serra.

Outside of Anya and Marcus there are several returning faces throughout the book. We get a brief appearance from Colonel Hoffman, whose relationship with Marcus has definitely changed since these stories began, as well as the surviving members of Delta Squad. The one who gets the most time and development is Baird, and we get to see not only the formation of DB Industries, but also how he becomes one of the most important people in humanity's survival, helping to innovate new technologies and strategies to keep people alive. We also get to catch up with Cole, who's always a delight, as well as having appearances from Samantha Byrne and Clayton Carmine.

The book also introduces several new figures to the Gears of War mythos. There are a number of important political and industrial figures who play large parts in Anya's story, but the best new character is easily Brandon Turrall. Having grown up surviving out in the world during the Locust War Brandon is one of the few non-Gears who seems to be able to earn Marcus' respect, and the friendship that forms between the two of them feels very genuine, and well earned. He doesn't hold Marcus on a pedestal like some do, nor does he look down upon him for being a soldier. The two of them understand that the other did what they had to do to survive, and that their skills are useful and important. He's one of the few characters introduced in the book who I'm genuinely sad isn't in the games, as I'd love to see where he went after this, and if his friendship with Marcus got to carry on.

Fans of Gears of War who, like myself, love the characters and the world and want to see more of it and learn about the gaps between the games are definitely going to enjoy this book. It answers some very important questions about how society began to rebuild itself after the Locust War, and how the members of Delta Squad began their journey to where we find them in Gears of War 4. It takes its time to examine how the war effected these people, how it changed them, and how the hopes for a better world afterwards shape them too. As much a character piece as an action story, this was an absolute delight from start to finish.

Support Amy on Patreon

Buy Amy A Coffee

Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Twitter

Add Amy on Instagram

Top 10 Books of 2021

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

With the pandemic still going on, and leaving home still incredibly dangerous for some folk, 2021 has been a good year for finding a decent book or two. Having been unable to leave the house for much of the year I’ve found myself reading a lot more than normal (which was already a lot), so have been wracking my brain to create a list of the 10 books that stood out the most. After a lot of thought, and a changed mind or two, I can present you with ten books from 2021 that you absolutely need to check out.

The Forever Sea by Joshua Phillip Johnson - Titan Books

The first book in a new fantasy series, The Forever Sea is one of the more imaginative and beautiful fantasy stories in years.

Set in a world where vast seas of grass and plants thousands of feet deep are explored by floating ships, the story follows Kindred, a young woman who finds her life forever changing when her grandmother steps off her ship to disappear into to grass below.

What follows is an adventure that sees the crew of Kindred’s ship fleeing from pirates, fighting strange creatures that lurk beneath the grass, and searching for a fabled floating city that might be able to give them refuge. Along the way Kindred will discover ancient mysteries, and terrifying magic, that will push her to her limits. Full Review

Litany of Dreams: An Arkham Horror Novel by Ari Marmell - Aconyte Books

One of the new novels set within the Arkham Horror game universe, this creeping horror story is inspired by the works of Lovecraft, and sets out to unsettle it’s reader with its twisted and disturbing imagery.

Following the disappearance of a student at the Miskatonic University his roommate, Elliot Raslo, sets out to find out what happened to him. Unfortunately for Elliot, he’s being haunted by some strange chanting that only he can hear; a chanting that his friend heard before he vanished.

His investigation leads him to a small community deep in the swamp, a community that is under siege by strange terrors. Along the way he teams up with a Greenland’s Inuk warrior in Arkham searching for a stolen artefact that might be connected to the strange events. Full Review

The Book of the Baku by R.L. Boyle - Titan Books

The Book of the Baku is one of the more affecting horror books that I’ve read in a long time.

Thanks to its disturbing, creepy nightmare-like imagery it really gets under the skin; but it’s the emotional story we get along the way that really hits the hardest.

The story follows Sean, a young teen who’s had to move in with his grandfather following some tragic event. As Sean hasn’t spoken a word in month, we watch as his grandfather tries to get him to open up, forming a relationship with him as best he can.

Searching through his grandfather’s book collection one day Sean finds a book written by his grandfather, The Book of the Baku, a collection of terrifying short stories. As Sean reads the book his reality begins to twist, his grandfather seems to change, and the nightmares from the book begin to stalk him. Full Review

The Final Child by Fran Dorricott - Titan Books

A new psychological thriller set in the heart of England The Final Child sees Harriet, a young aspiring writer, looking into the case of a child kidnapper and serial killer from almost twenty years prior.

Her cousins being two of the victims of ‘The Father’, Harriet wants to try and tell the stories of his victims. This leads her to trying to speak to Erin, the only person to ever escape ‘The Father’.

Whilst their relationship fails to start on the best note, the two of them are soon drawn together as Erin begins to receive strange messages and sinister presents. She’s sure she’s being watched, and begins to suspect that perhaps ‘The Father’ isn’t gone as everyone thought. Together, the two of them have to try and get to the bottom of this dangerous mystery; all whilst exploring their growing romantic feelings for each other. Full Review 

Horseman: A Tale of Sleepy Hollow by Christina Henry - Titan Books

Decades after the stories of Sleepy Hollow began with the tales of the Headless Horseman and Ichabod Crane, the townspeople of Sleepy Hollow find their town coming under siege from some dark force within the surrounding woodlands once again.

When Ben, the fourteen-year-old grandson of Brom Bones, finds the headless body of a boy in the woods it begins a new mystery, one that has Ben questioning everything he thinks he knew about his family and the legends of the Horseman.

With dark forces seeming to have an eye on Ben, he also has to contend with his grandmother, who seems intent on forcing Ben to act like the girl he was born as; but he knows in his heart he’s a boy, and will do whatever it takes to make his family see it too. Full Review

Sherlock Holmes & The Three Winter Terrors by James Lovegrove - Titan Books

James Lovegrove returns to write another wintery Sherlock Holmes treat in Sherlock Holmes & The Three Winter Terrors, a book that brings together three cases from across the career of the legendary detective, that test his abilities, and push his disbelief in the supernatural to its limits.

A tragic accident in a private prep school in 1889; a wealthy business owner frightened to death by a ghost in his own home in 1890; and a scientist found killed and gnawed on by a suspected cannibal on his country manor in 1894.

What brings these cases together? Why is the same family seemingly followed by tragedy? And can Holmes get to the bottom of it all? Full Review

Truth of the Divine by Lindsay Ellis - Titan Books

Following on from last year’s Axiom’s End, Ellis’ second book continues the story of Cora, a young woman whose life was forever changed when an alien life-form, Ampersand, entered her life.

Following the traumatic events of the last book, the entire world now knows that alien life exists, and this knowledge seems to be close to causing a dangerous revolution.

Whilst the world argues about the existence of aliens and if these newly discovered beings deserve to receive rights, Cora fights the demons that have been haunting her since she almost died.

Her and Ampersand are doing their best to put their lives back together and survive the best they can when a new threat arrives; a threat that could completely break them both. Full Review

Beyond: The Founding of Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey - Titan Books

Author Mercedes Lackey returns to her long running Valdemar series, going back in time to show readers how this kingdom came into being.

Set within the Eastern Empire, readers follow Kords, the Duke of Valdemar, as he tries to protect the people of his land from the machinations of the Emperor; a man who cares nothing for the common people and is happy to see people die for his own ambitions.

Having hidden illegal mages within his Dutchy for years, Kordas has long been searching for a way to save his people. And thanks to a breakthrough, he may have discovered a means to transport his people to a distant land far from the Emperor’s reach. Working in secret, the people of Valdemar put the pieces of their escape together; but when Kordas is summoned to the capital their entire plan might come crashing down. Full Review

Cult of the Spider Queen: An Arkham Horror Novel by S.A. Sidor - Aconyte Books

Cult of the Spider Queen takes the Arkham Horror series in a new direction as the action shifts away from Massachusetts to the deep jungles of the Amazon.

When a reporter at the Arkham Advisor, Andy van Nortwick, receives a package in the post with a roll of film and the cryptic message ‘Maude Brion is very much alive!’ it leads him to learn of a film crew going missing in the Amazon a year ago.

Putting together a team to try and find the missing people, Andy travels deep into the foreboding rainforest. But even with experts in the field, nothing could prepare them for what they find waiting for them. Strange ships crewed by unearthly beings, spirits that haunt their dreams, distortions in time and space, and the Spider Queen herself; a huge, monstrous creature that hunts her way through the jungle, searching for her next meal. With elements from classic adventure movies, and a set-up that begins like a found footage movie, Cult of the Spider Queen is a heart pounding read. Full Review

The Rebels of Vanaheim: A Marvel Legends of Asgard Novel by Richard Lee Byers - Aconyte Books

Set within the world of Marvel’s Thor, the latest entry in the Legends of Asgard series follows the heroic warrior Heimdall and the Valkyrie Uschi as they travel home to the land of Vanaheim in order to take a rest and visit their families. However, once they arrive in their homeland they find their people under siege from the vicious draugr, powerful undead creatures.

Working alongside their families, and the god Frey, the two warriors find themselves having to fight for their lives against a foe that refuses to die and spreads across the land like a deadly infection, turning the people of Vanaheim into the creatures.

However, the draugr aren’t the only threat the two of them find; as they uncover a mystery that could plunge the realms of Vanaheim and Asgard into vicious war with each other. With a tight focus on characters, some tense and spooky horror, and an intricate plot, The Rebels of Vanaheim is the best entry in the series yet. Full Review

Support Amy on Patreon

Buy Amy A Coffee

Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Twitter

Add Amy on Instagram

Encanto - Film Review

 

The latest Disney animated film, Encanto, takes viewers to a small, magical village in Columbia where we get the chance to meet the Madrigal family, three generations of people who have brought safety and happiness to the land thanks to the magical candle that graces them all with powers.

The film begins with a rather heartbreaking flashback to a young Alma Madrigal, who was forced to flee from her home with her husband, Pedro, and their three infant children, Julieta, Pepa, and Bruno thanks to a violent revolution. Unfortunately, when they're pursued by violent attackers Pedro loses his life in order to buy his family time to get away. This selfless act created a 'miracle', changing the candle Alma holds into a magical candle. This candle created a safe haven around Alma, providing her with a sentient house to help her and her children, as well as a safe valley around them for all who need it.

Over the next fifty years more people have moved to this hidden Encanto, and a community has formed. And, Alma's children, and their children have all been given amazing gifts from the magical candle. As the Encanto prepares for the ceremony in which Pepa's youngest son, Antonio, will receive his gift, it's revealed to us that Mirabel, Julieta's youngest daughter, never received a gift during her ceremony. With the family worried that perhaps Antonio won't receive a gift wither, that perhaps the magic is fading, they're relieved when the magic works.

Whilst the rest of the family are busy celebrating Antonio's new powers they fail to recognise how hard this has been for Mirabel, and she's let to wander the house alone. It's then that she begins to notice cracks forming around the house, heading towards the magical candle. When the candle almost goes out she becomes convinced that the miracle, and their home, is at risk. Despite the rest of her family failing to believe her Mirabel sets out to find a solution and save the people she loves.

Even going into Encanto knowing the basic set-up the film does a great job at bringing people up to speed in the first ten minutes, providing the audience with both a handy primer on the history of the Madrigal family, as well as breaking down who everyone is and what their special gifts are. Having grown up with a family who'd often be asking me who people are and why they're doing certain things whenever we'd be watching films this kind of concise opening is the kind of thing that I wish more films had. 

I think another thing that really helps with this film towards the beginning is that at first it kind of feels very familiar. A magical place where the magic is beginning to fade and one person sets out to make things right is a staple of fantasy stories; and we've all seen the kind of interpersonal drama and conflict that the Madrigals engage in across all kind of media, and quite possibly in real life too. But where Encanto really starts to move away from the familiar and feels like its own film is when it starts to address themes of inter-generational trauma, as well as the migrant experience.

As someone who's never lived that life I can't speak to how true these elements of the story are; but having spent even a little time on social media I've been able to see people talk about these aspects, and how the film captures these pains and journeys well and presents them in a way that films often never even tries. It gives viewers a whole new way of seeing this kind of story; one that makes it feel so special and different even if you can't relate to it yourself.

There have been so many amazing things written about this film already by people with important connections to it, people who have had to flee their homes to make new lives for themselves, people who have grown up the children of immigrants, people who have grown up with strong family expectations placed upon them. These are the important themes of Encanto, ones that could be missed on a shallow, cursory viewing of the film, but need to be acknowledged. As such, I'd encourage you to stop listening to some white woman talk about the film and go out to find the people whose opinions really matter.

Encanto isn't just a wonderfully fun and movie film, its an important movie that is going to mean a lot to people. It's continuing Disney's approach of moving away from 'traditional' white stories and embracing the peoples and cultures of the world to tell stories that everyone can enjoy, but that also finally let some people feel seen and represented in important ways.

Support Amy on Patreon

Buy Amy A Coffee

Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Twitter

Add Amy on Instagram

Ron's Gone Wrong - Film Review

 

When the vast majority of the time when we get stories about robots and artificial intelligence they're breaking free of their human creators and turning on mankind it's nice whenever we get these kids movies that frame machines as not only something that can make life better, but things that can become our friends. 

Ron's Gone Wrong tells the story of Barney, a twelve-year-old boy in a Bulgarian-American home struggling to get by with an overworked and unsuccessful widowed father, and well meaning but wonderfully weird grandmother. To make things worse, Barney's struggling to find friends at school too, and ends up isolated and alone. There is a solution to this problem, however, thanks to the tech giants at Bubble Corp, who've created the B-bot; cute little robots that are designed to help bring children together and help them to make friends.

Unfortunately, Barney's family can't afford a B-bot for him, and when his birthday comes round and he still doesn't have one he slips into despair. This encourages his father to go out and do whatever he can to get Barney a B-bot; even going so far as to buy a damaged one off the back of a van. Barney is over-the-moon to finally have his own B-bot; but soon discovers that not everything about it is right. The robot can't connect to networks, it gets his name wrong, and it doesn't act like a regular B-bot. Determined to get a 'regular' one, Barney sets out to take the robot back to Bubble, but when his new robotic friend beats up some bullies in order to defend him Barney realises that whilst his B-bot, now named Ron, isn't working how he's programmed to maybe he's exactly what Barney needs.

The world of Ron's Gone Wrong is a hopeful one; a place where not only are there people who genuinely want to do good and to help heading up tech companies, but the things that they put out into the world are actually designed to make lives better. This isn't the world of billionaire CEO's who work their underpaid staff to death to provide people with sub-par phones that'll wear out after a few years; as the head of Buble, Marc Weidell, makes helping children his ultimate goal.

Whilst this isn't the most believable part of the film it does go a long way to explaining why it seems like Barney is the only child in the world who doesn't have a B-bot; as these things must be ridiculously cheap for how advanced they are. These robots are able to access social media, change their appearance, turn into vehicles, organise and run every aspect of a child's life, and all whilst being absolutely adorable too. The designs of these things are pretty simple thanks to their pill-like shape, but thanks to their changing skins and limbs that can pop in and out they all take on a unique look and you're never left confused over whose robot is whose; which is helpful as Ron himself is very much an important character that you don't want blending into the background.

Ron is an absolutely wonderful little robot, and his 'quirks' and faults make him instantly likeable and charming as a viewer; even if they give Barney a headache to begin with. The simple face display he has, which sometimes fails to hold together, the confusion that often sounds in his voice, and the strange dial-up sounds he makes made his first few scenes brilliant, and I very quickly ended up rooting for the little robot.

Obviously, a film like this doesn't have the two friends getting on to begin with, and it follows some very recognisable patterns in the way the story unfolds. But only up to a point. There was a part of the movie that I honestly assumed was going to be the end; Ron and Barney had become real friends, they'd proven that Ron wasn't a bad or faulty robot, and thanks to him saving Barney's life it looked like things were going to be okay. I was ready for things to wrap up and the two leads to go off to have a happy ending. But then I noticed that there was still half hour left. It's at this point the film takes a swerve and suddenly it becomes a story of Barney and his family setting out to get Ron's programming back into his body in order to save his friend.

This was a wonderful twist on what felt like a fairly predictable story, and I think was perhaps deliberately done. The film had followed an established formula, it has done the things I was expecting it to, and then it gave me more; and it even went on to break my heart by the end. My partner and I saw things slightly different when it came to the end. She saw it as a happy ending with a little bit of sadness to it, whilst I was trying not to cry as I saw it as a sad ending with a sliver of happiness. But however you come to see the film come the conclusion I think that you, like I was, would be suddenly surprised how much this malfunctioning little robot had worked its way into your heart. I'd come to care about Ron, and I was genuinely sad that this story had to end.

I hadn't heard much about the film before it came out, I knew nothing about the plot, I'd not seen any images or trailers, and I had no idea who was in it. As such, I was so pleasantly surprised by it. The film looks really pretty, and the animation style works wonderfully for this kind of story; with Ron and the B-bots looking like amazing little creations. The cast were also perfectly picked, and whilst I thought their acting was great it wasn't until the end credits rolled around that I realised I'd been listening to actors I knew. Ed Helms is great as the tired dad trying his best, Justice Smith is perfect as the tech guy trying to make the world better, and Jack Dylan Grazer continues to impress as a good young actor. The two most surprising performances were hands-down Olivia Coleman as the wacky grandmother, and Zach Galifanakis as Ron. Even knowing now who they are I still can't picture those voices coming out of them, and their performances, especially Galifanakis as Ron, were superb.

Ron's Gone Wrong might not have got much attention in the same year as films like Dune, Spider-Man No Way Home, and Encanto, but it's a wonderful, enjoyable film that I'm sure all of the family will enjoy, even if the end does break your heart.

Support Amy on Patreon

Buy Amy A Coffee

Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Twitter

Add Amy on Instagram

Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City - Film Review

 

I like the Resident Evil series, ever since I first loaded up the original game, something my uncle owned, to see what it was like, and stumbled across that first zombie in the Spencer mansion I was hooked. It became a series that was janky and hell, with some serious weirdness at times, and not every entry was good, but it still had enough charm to become something wonderful. And whilst the CGI movies seem to be able to translate some of that at times the live action movies really seem to struggle to make Resident Evil work.

This latest reboot of the series takes a different approach to the Paul Anderson movies, which pretty much did its own thing whilst cherry picking certain characters and moments from the games to include. This time round we're getting a new adaptation of the games, bringing together Resident Evil and Resident Evil 2 into the same narrative. Now, if you're thinking that it might be too bold of an idea, that a single film wouldn't be able to accurately or effectively adapt both those stories together you'd be right. Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City is, at best a cluster-fuck, and at worst boring as hell.

The film begins in the past, where we see a young Chris and Claire Redfield who, following the death of their parents, live in the Raccoon City Orphanage, ran by William Birkin. One night Claire sees something creepy watching her sleep, and after some investigating discovers an odd, monstrous looking woman named Lisa Trevor. 

Jumping forward a number of years, we rejoin Claire in September of 1998, where she's returning to Raccoon City after years away. Travelling to the city in a truck she's hitchhiked a ride in, the driver accidentally hits a woman, but when they stop to check if she's okay her body mysteriously vanishes. Once Claire arrives in town she breaks her way into Chris' home and the two of them have a heated discussion as Claire tries to let him in on a conspiracy about Umbrella, before Chris has to report to duty when a city wide warning alarm goes off.

Meanwhile, we also get to meet a number of other cops hanging out in one of the town's diners. Though as only one is wearing a uniform you'd be hard pressed to know they were police if you're not a fan. There's Leon Kennedy, a rookie cop who is nervous, accident prone, and may or may not have narcolepsy. There's also Albert Wesker, a lovely nice guy who is actually not evil and secretly working for Umbrella (no sarcasm, he's not evil and working for Umbrella), and Jill Valentine, a gun nut with an itchy trigger finger who will whip her weapon out at any opportunity.

As chaos begin to overtake the city Chris, Jill, Wesker, and a handful of others are sent to find some missing officers up at the Spencer Mansion whilst Leon is left watching the front desk. When the team arrive at the mansion they're attacked by hordes of the undead, which also happens back in town too as Leon and Claire meet and work together to try and find a way out of town. 

My biggest issues with Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City are twofold. The first is that the film does not have the room to tell the stories that it's trying to tell. By combining the stories of the first two games the film effectively fails to tell either of them with any clarity or sense of worth, reducing the events of those games to tiny set pieces that occasionally appear in this new, mangled together story that even on its own fails to stand up as a coherent and entertaining piece of fiction. The film spends the first half of its runtime telling a slow set up, establishing its characters and the setting, which is fine to do if you have the time to spare; unfortunately, this film doesn't, and by the time anything of much note even happens, such as zombies appearing and running amok, it feels like there's only twenty minutes left and its a mad dash to the end.

I understand that it's important to have characters that you care about, that you've had a chance to get to know, but when the main draw of a film like Resident Evil is the zombies and monsters and action I don't want that part of the film rushed because the first half of the film was spent showing Alpha Team hanging out in a diner making bets, or Chris and Claire arguing over their past. These are things that add little to the experience, and giving part of the runtime over to them instead of scenes where the horror of the undead hunting you as you desperately try to survive feels like a wasted opportunity.

As for the characters, not a single character from Resident Evil appears in this film. I know I've already named several who are in the film, but honestly, it's name only. None of the characters here feel at all like their video game counterparts, and if you'd have given them other names it would have actually helped the story as I'd have been less annoyed that they failed to get any of the characters right. Crhis Redfield is probably the closest to being done right. Whilst they've introduced this whole new backstory of him growing up in an Umbrella orphanage and seeing Birkin as a father figure (which adds nothing to the film and makes things worse) he's still the highly skilled cop from the first game; but then when you're not given anything to do other than shoot you guns and be tough you can't really go too wrong.

Jill Valentine is nothing like her source material. In the games she's cool headed, will only draw her weapon when she needs to, is quiet and reserved, and is great at picking locks. Here she's a hot head who engages in banter, is the first to shoot, and never once unlocks anything (they actually gave the lock picking to Claire for some reason). Claire is also very out of character, being much more confrontational than any version of her I've seen, as well as quick to action and overly familiar with weapons. Whilst the Claire from the games always knew how to handle herself she was never eager to pick up a gun and start shooting, but here's she more competent than some of the cops.

Speaking of competence, Leon, poor Leon. Leon Kennedy has become one of the most beloved characters in the franchise, going from an unlucky rookie cop to a secret service agent sent in to extreme situations thanks to his skills here he's a bumbling fool. The first time we see Leon he's just waking up, which soon becomes him asleep in a diner less than an hour later as people balance objects on his head. Once he arrives at work he gets yelled at for leaving the front desk unmanned, and once he is on the desk he literally sleeps through a truck crashing into the front of the building. So yeah, he might actually be narcoleptic in this film. On top of this we learn he shot someone in the arse during training, gets his gun stolen by a prisoner, and can't work a shotgun. He's a walking joke, in what I can only assume is a deliberate attempt to take one of the most popular characters in the series and subvert expectations. I don't know what led to these decisions, but it's an absolute joke; just not a funny one.

Outside of these gripes the film does strange things with the zombies, having them talk at times, makes references to things from the game that feel really forced like conversations about what would be the worst way to die, eaten by a snake or a shark. It takes ideas from the novelisation book, like one of the characters being given a pda with info on how to get around the mansion by a shadowy figure, but does nothing much with it. It includes Lisa Trevor but does nothing with her, nor explains who she is or how she's there. Its like darts were thrown at a wall filled with Resident Evil trivia and ephemera and they just included whatever was hit without making it work.

The most galling thing is, there are hints that some of the people making this know Resident Evil, and that they care about the source material. The ammo boxes in the RPD building are straight out of the game, a bunch of keys are the card suit keys fro Resident Evil 2, the artwork hanging in the Spencer mansion matches what was in the game, and there are music and audio moments that are from the series. Yet these nods and winks to the longtime fans who recognise such things mean little when the rest of the film feels like they put the first two games in a blender and threw whatever came out on the screen without any creativity or care. It's like the film is simultaneously made by a super fan and someone who has only ever experienced the series by reading a Wikipedia entry.

As a fan of Resident Evil I honestly cannot advise watching this film. If you like zombie movies and have no investment in the series in any way you might find this mildly entertaining, though the flimsy story and ill defined characters might not be enough to keep you invested. If you do like the series just stay away. It's a horrible mangling of the source material that fails to entertain in any way. Resident Evil Apocalypse was a better adaptation of the fall of Raccoon City than this film, and is infinitely more entertaining than this drab affair.

Support Amy on Patreon

Buy Amy A Coffee

Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Twitter

Add Amy on Instagram

A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle – Throwback 60

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

A lot of people think that Young Adult fiction (also known as YA) is something that came about in the ’90s and early 2000s, and whilst these might have been the decades where the genre had some big, well known hits, it’s by no means a genre that came into being at this time. YA has existed for decades, even if it wasn’t called YA. One of the books that really showed how well received teen fiction could be was A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle, first published in 1962.

The book follows thirteen-year-old Meg Murray, the daughter of astrophysicist Alexander Murray, and microbiologist and Nobel laureate Katherine Murray. When the story begins, Meg meets her new neighbour, Mrs Whatsit, who questions her about her missing father, and something called the tesseract, a scientific concept that her father was working on. The next day Meg, her genius brother Charles, and their friend Calvin, visit Mrs Whatsit, meeting her friends Mrs Who and Mrs Which.

The children learn that the three women are actually inter-dimensional beings of immense age and power, and they transport the kids across space to another planet using the power of the tesseract. On another world the children learn that the universe is under threat from a being of immense power called The Black Thing; a huge cloud of darkness that’s spreading across the universe. To stop this personification of all evil the children must travel to a world under its control to try and find Meg’s father before he becomes corrupted.

Despite being a book that seems to be set in a world of science, with some big science fiction themes and the inclusion of references to scientific theories such as Planck’s quantum theory (thanks in part to L’Engle’s interest in science), A Wrinkle In Time is has a lot of spiritual and religious themes to it. There are many references to divine intervention and numerous passages that are reminiscent of Christianity and the love of God and Jesus. The book has been compared to C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia in that regard. L’Engle doesn’t just use Christian mythology to craft her story and setting, however, as she uses several names from Mayan religion, and at one point the children directly name Buddha.

As with many popular books though, there are some who disagree with such interpretations, and the book has been accused of promoting science over religion, as well as encouraging witchcraft over the decades since it was released; although some of this could also come from the fact that L’Engle chose to make her central character a young woman, something which was looked down upon at the time. The book has received praise for being a feminist novel, and some have even said that without Meg Murray we wouldn’t have had some of the other big female leads in fiction that came after.

Despite receiving high praise on its release, as well as having record sales figures, it wasn’t easy for the book to even get published. L’Engle has spoken many times over the years about the difficulty she faced. The novel was rejected twenty six times, with L’Engle being told that it was ‘too different’, and that because of some of the themes and ideas that it deals with publishers were unsure if it would appeal to children or not. She also said that having a young, capable, female lead led to a number of rejections.

Thankfully, once the book finally hit the shelves these doubts were put to rest. A Wrinkle In Time has been republished many times over the years, with special editions and anniversary releases. It was awarded the 1963 Newbery Medal, won the Sequoyah Book Award, and the Lewis Caroll Shelf Award. Over the years the book has been featured in a number of studies that found that it’s one of the most read school books in the US, and the School Library Journal named it one of the top 100 chapter books of all time. It also received two film adaptations in 2003 and 2018, as well as a stage play in 1990, an opera in 1992, and a graphic novel adaptation in 2010.

Whilst YA books like Twilight and The Maze Runner might get more recognition, and young heroines like Katniss Everdeen might be household names, it’s worth remembering that in a lot of ways A Wrinkle In Time helped to lay the groundwork for what came after.

Support Amy on Patreon

Buy Amy A Coffee

Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Twitter

Add Amy on Instagram