Disclosure: Trans Lives On Screen – Film Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

The subject of representation is an interesting one. For those who don’t understand it, it can seem like a forcing of certain groups or minorities into narratives or roles. I’m sure we’ve all seen arguments made before along the lines of ‘these characters are only included to tick a box’, or ‘why make a character gay if it adds nothing to a story’. It’s easy to jump on the offensive when people say things like this, to condemn those kinds of views as homophobic, or racist, or transphobic. It’s easy to see condemnation of inclusion as hatred of minorities.

What might not immediately come to people’s minds is that to some this inclusion seems forced because they’ve never experienced it before. They’ve never has someone in their shows, films, or comics who wasn’t white, or straight, or cis, or able bodied. But the thing that might make them see inclusiveness as tokenism is that they’ve never had to look for people like themselves in the media before. They’ve never been starved of positive representation, so they don’t understand why it’s important.

Netflix’s new documentary Disclosure: Trans Lives On Screen goes out of its way to show why representation matters, and it makes important points. Most people might not realise that so many representations of trans people in media are as sex workers, murder victims, or killers. They might not realise that there are trans actors and actresses whose entire resume is Hooker #1, Stabbing Victim, and Prostitute #3. And I’m sure that they don’t understand the impact that such representation can have on people.

Disclosure doesn’t just feature trans voices, it centres them. You won’t find a narrator guiding you through the history of trans people in film; you learn about it from trans people themselves. And you learn the effect that had on them. You get to hear how certain examples showed them that those feelings they had weren’t abnormal, that they weren’t alone in the world and could live as themselves, but you also see how they were told time and time again that society would grind them down, would mock and ridicule them, and how all they could expect was fetishisation or murder.

Thankfully, things are changing in the world. Trans people are finally, after decades without, getting positive representation on film. There are documentary series that follow real trans people, and trans narratives are getting centre stage, acted by trans people and not cis actors in drag. Disclosure will show you where progress has been made, but also where so much more still needs to be done.

This is a documentary that will appeal to trans people, and the friends and family of trans people, but I think those aren’t the ones who most need to watch it. It’s cis people who need to see this documentary. It’s people who probably have never thought about representation, or if they have think poorly of it. It’s not just informative, it breaks down a long and complex issue into an understandable thing, and shows you the real human impact that it has.

There’s a moment when Jen Richards talks about a father to a trans child who appeared on a television show, and spoke with joy about his kid. He loved his child, he said that having a trans kid was like being the father to a unicorn, something special, rare, and amazing. Jen, and a lot of trans people, never had that kind of relationship with a parent. Some parents don’t understand when their child is trans. They can hate their child, they can reject them. Even if you eventually get some form of acceptance those moments where you see hatred and disgust in your parents’ eyes will always be burnt into your memories. Jen says that she never knew that a parent could love their trans child the way that man did until she saw it on television, and it made her realise that maybe she never realised she could love herself that much either.

That’s what representation can help do. It can show you that there is a good world out there, that people can find love and acceptance, that they can have some joy. I knew that representation was important before I watched this film, but it never really hit home until I saw that moment; and it broke me too as I realised I was the same as her, that I’d lived through some of that as well.

Disclosure is an important film, especially now. Trans people are one of the most at-risk minorities in the world, and Black trans women especially. The murder rates of trans people are disproportionately high for the population. Trans people are three times more likely to be unemployed, have a suicide rate of close to 50%, and homelessness and rejection are a constant fear. Governments around the world, including here in the UK, are in very real, serious debates to take our rights away.

This documentary isn’t going to stop these awful things happening to the trans community, but it might help people understand some of the struggles we go through. If even one person watches this and understands the importance of representation, and changes how they feel about trans people, it’s worth it.

So please, go and watch this film. Show it to people you know. Recommend it to people who might not understand the subject. It might not change the world, but it could help to save someone’s life if people begin to understand that we’re not monsters, we’re just people like you.

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Sonic The Hedgehog - Film Review

I've never been a huge Sonic The Hedgehog fan. I remember playing it a bit as a kid, but I never had any of the Sega games consoles growing up, so those times were few and fleeting, and not enough to really get me hooked on the character like some of my friends. When it was announced that there would be a live action film I was a little intrigued, I was seeing a lot of good things about the Detective Pikachu movie and thought that maybe we'd get something similar with Sonic. Then that first trailer hit.

I don't know how I feel about what happened behind the scenes in regards to the film. The fact that fans petitioned for the design of Sonic to be drastically changed is both a good thing and a bad thing. On one hand it altered a really, really bad design that would have taken a lot out of the movie into something that looks amazing and is a joy to watch running around on screen, on the other hand it seems to have 'proven' to some people that fan petitions work and has pushed more angry fans to start petitions about all kind of entertainment. The redesign also resulted in a massive crunch for the people working on the movie, with awful hours and work load, and then the company, Moving Picture Company, ended up being shut down.

Despite these last minute changes and troubled production the film looks incredibly good. There were a few times that I remembered scenes from the original trailer when watching the film and it stunned me that the film could be made to look this good in so short a time. Sonic himself is amazing, and is so emotive and engaging throughout. The level of detail in his character model was stunning.

One of the best sequences in the film from a visual standpoint was probably the opening moments of the film, where we see a young Sonic in the Green Hill Zone Stage from the games, or at least the alien world that looks like it. The scenery was amazing, looking real yet capturing the look and feel of the old games. And the echidna's that end up coming after Sonic looked phenomenal.

It was a genius touch to include these characters in so minor a role but making them important to Sonic's back story so as to allow easy access for Knuckles in a later film. It's one of the things that this film did that got me very excited for a sequel. I won't say what the other things are, but they featured during the end credits of the film, so make sure you watch till the end.

The human cast were also very good, and Jim Carrey as Doctor Robotnik is damn near perfect casting. I honestly couldn't picture anyone else in that role now that I've seen him play it. I was, at first, a little surprised as he doesn't fit the classic Eggman look from the source material, but he played the mad scientist so well that it didn't matter. Whether or not he does look like the iconic villain he embodied it so well that his scenes were some of the funniest in the movie; and being able to be more charming and funny than Sonic was not an easy thing by any means.

I liked James Marsden as Tom, the small town cop with dreams of being needed for more than the boring stuff that fills his day to day life and wanting to get the chance to save someone's life. Considering how little him being a cop actually played into the movie I kind of wish he had some other job, however. He could have been moving to San Francisco for any other reason than being a cop, and he could have been beloved by the town for something other than being the sheriff. Town doctor maybe? A beloved teacher?

It seemed like the film wanted to have a nice, 'good' cop in their narrative for some reason, and the cynical part of me suspects that his wife was Black to show he wasn't one of the racist 'bad' cops. I'm sure I'm going to get some kind of complaints about that, and people will be saying I'm reading too much into the film and projecting my own political beliefs, but changing his job would have hardly affected the movie at all.

Overall I really enjoyed Sonic The Hedgehog, there were moments that wowed me, times I laughed out loud, and even bits that got me emotionally. I really hope that this isn't a one-off film, and that we can get a sequel or two, because after not really thinking much about Sonic for most of my life I think I might be a fan now, and I want more.

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Power Rangers Beast Morphers Episode One 'Beasts Unleashed' - TV Review

Power Rangers Beast Morphers is the first series of the long running franchise to be produced by Hasbro, following the acquisition of the series in 2018 for $522 million. Some were a little worried about what would happen to the franchise under Hasbro, some thought that they might scrap the live action series and focus on animated shows instead, whilst others suggested the idea that they might not be able to adapt the brand as well as Saban. Whilst Saban had done some good things with Power Rangers before, and made the brand, I was very disappointed with Power Rangers Ninja Steel and thought that it was one of the worst seasons of Power Rangers to date, and was looking forward to some freshness in the brand.

Having now watched the first episode of Beast Morphers I'm happy with what the show has done. Okay, I know that I've only seen the one episode, but after the cringe-worthy and mostly boring season that was Ninja Steel it felt amazing to actually enjoy an episode of the show again. It was exciting, different, and made some bold choices straight out of the gate.

The episode starts by establishing that a group called Grid Battleforce (a great way of using the Go-Busters branding) is about to switch on a new reactor that will harness the energy of the Morphin Grid to provide the city of Coral Harbor with clean, renewable power.

We're then introduced to a few of the key characters of the series over at the gym, where Blaze is teaching a karate class as his friends Ravi and Roxy look on. One of the students, Devon, isn't really paying attention and a small confrontation breaks out between him and Blaze, resulting in a fight where the two of them are shown to be pretty equally matched. The fight is broken up by Devon's father, the Mayor of Coral Harbor, who needs Devon to come with him.

In the Mayor's car Devon is chastised for going to the gym rather than a job interview that his father set up for him. He reveals to Devon that he's on his way to Grid Battleforce to perform the switching on ceremony, and Devon begs to come along so that he can try out their battle simulator. When his father refuses, Devon takes a photo of his fathers visitor pass.

At Grid Battleforce Devon uses his fathers copied pass to sneak into the facility, whilst his father is held up by two members of security, Betty and Ben. Once away from them, the Mayor is taken to Commander Shaw by Zoe, one of the janitor staff.

Mayor Daniels is then shown around the facility and meets NAte Silver, a brilliant young tech wizard who discovered how to tap into the Morphin Grid, the power source that gives Power Rangers their abilities. When the Mayor expresses his concern that using this power could make the city targets to monsters and madmen such as Rita Repulsa he's shown that Grid Battleforce is creating a team of Rangers of their own to combat any threats.

When the Mayor turns on the reactor outside to a crowd of reporters the process to create the new rangers begins, and we see that Blaze, Roxy, and Ravi are to be these Rangers. However, a sentient computer virus names Evox has entered the system and corrupts the process, turning Blaze and Roxy into digital avatars of themselves, and evil Power Rangers. Fortunately, Devon is able to stop this from happening to Ravi. Joined by Zoe, the three of them fight these new evil Rangers. During the struggle, the three of them enter the transformation machine, and become Power Rangers themselves.

With help from Nate the new heroes manage to transport the evil avatars away. With the day saved the new team learns that to save Blaze and Roxy from the comas they're now in they'll have to defeat their evil counterparts.

Okay, so as far as setup episodes go this is really good. I like that the Rangers in this season are man-made. There's something about Rangers that aren't tied to magic, ancient artefacts, or mysterious mentors that is just really cool. I don't think it's any coincidence that Lightspeed Rescue, SPD, Time Force, and RPM are all considered great series, and all feature teams made by people and organisations. It also means that whilst the Rangers get to have secret identities to the public they also get a base of operations, a support staff, and resources at their command that they'll need in order to protect the city.

I also think that the look of these Rangers fits this model well too. This isn't the standard kind of Power Rangers suits, where the actors are in skintight spandex, this time they look like tactical leather outfits. There's no need to try and explain that it's not spandex, but some kind of nano-tech polymer or anything like that, because these guys look like some thought has been given to practical combat and protection as far as their outfits go.

What I also think is a really cool move is to create evil Rangers so early on, and to make them such an integral part of the set-up. There have been some great evil Rangers in the past, like the Psycho Rangers, and some absolutely awful ones like Zedd's Dark Rangers, but most of the time when there's bad versions of Rangers they're around for one episode, or you'll get multi-part arc if you're really lucky. Including them so early on like this is pretty wild. But, it's integrated into the story well, and gives the Rangers some bigger stakes and long term motivations outside of the traditional 'beat the bad guy'.

I also really like that the Power Rangers team took the Escape robot costume from Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters and gave it a yellow repaint to make it an evil Ranger suit. It's not as obvious a look as Blaze, who still looks like a cat, but you can see her as some kind of twisted version of a rabbit. This feels like the kind of bold creative choice that was lacking in some of the more recent Power Rangers seasons, and one I'm always open to.

I did also enjoy how the show set up another group of heroes to be the Power Rangers, before twisting that expectation out from under you. The only things that take away from this being a real surprise was that the episode included the opening credits that show Devon and Zoe as Rangers, and that the casting had already been announced at Power Morphicon. If the first episode had aired without credits, or fake credits, and Hasbro had tricked people by announcing the Roxy and Blaze actors instead they could have had a real great rug pull moment when they became evil and two other people had to step in to take their place instead. But, I understand that they probably couldn't do a fake casting announcement or a one-off credits sequence just for a bit of storytelling surprise.

Overall I thought that this was one of the stronger single episode openings to a new series of Power Rangers. Some seasons get a double episode to begin with, and really benefit from it, and some single episode premiers can feel a bit rushed, but Beast Morphers managed to walk the line of condensing the story into one episode yet giving the story and characters enough time very well. I hope that this is an indication of how the creators plan to treat the series going forward, and could be the sign of some good writing to come.

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JK Rowling Deletes Praise For Stephen King Following His Support Of Trans Women

Last night, Sunday 28th June, Harry Potter author JK Rowling launched into yet another transphobic Twitter spree. She was apparently spurred on to make these comments following Labour MP Lloyd Russel-Moyle, who said that Rowling had used her experience of domestic abuse to justify her transphobia; something that is completely true.

In her Twitter thread Rowling quoted author Andrea Dworkin, an American feminist. She used the quote 'Men often react to women's words - speaking and writing - as if they were acts of violence; sometimes men react to women's words with violence'. She appeared to be trying to use this quote as a way of saying that trans women who are angry about her transphobia are actually violent men. It' also strange that she would quote Dworkin, a feminist who was an open ally to trans people and supported trans inclusion.

Author Stephen King retweeted this tweet, part of a larger transphobic rant.

This retweet resulted in Rowling making a separate post praising King, and sharing her love for the author, claiming that her respect for him had reached 'new heights'.

She wrote, 'I've always revered @StephenKing, but today my love reached - maybe not Annie Wilkes levels - but new heights. It's so much easier for men to ignore women's concerns or to belittle them, but I won't ever forget the men who stood up when they didn't need to. Thanks you, Stephen.'

King's retweet was quickly noticed by his fans and the public, and concerns were voiced that King might be echoing views similar to Rowling. One of his followers asked him to clarify his position on trans issues, and he responded by saying 'Yes. Trans women are women.'

Whilst this was a relief to many people, and showed that Stephen King supports the trans community, not everyone was happy with his response. JK Rowling, however, was less than pleased that King held a view that differed to hers. Her tweet praising him was quickly removed from her timeline, and it appears that she no longer follows King on Twitter.

There are still many people who are claiming that Rowling is not transphobic, that somehow all of her tweets and her 3,000 word essay on why trans people are a threat are just her showing concerns for women's safety. Whilst this has been disproved by numerous breakdowns of her claims by some very intelligent and well informed people, I don't see how this incident could be interpreted as anything but open hostility.

Rowling has clearly demonstrated that all it takes to lose her 'love' and support is stating 'trans women are women'. If such a small, basic show of support for trans people can result in her deleting praise for you and removing you from her follows it shows that all she cares about is her hatred about trans people.

The mountains of evidence that trans women are not a threat to cis women appear to mean nothing to Rowling. She has been presented with rebuttals and counter arguments show she's using false science, and fake evidence, but has not changed her views. She has been offered literature that could help better inform her opinions, but sees these as attacks against her (like the Bodyshop tweet that resulted in TERFs boycotting the company). JK Rowling doesn't have time for any opinion on this matter that doesn't stand on her side, on the side of hate.

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Pokémon Isle of Armor DLC – Game Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

I’m going to begin by saying that I loved Pokémon Sword & Shield. It was a great way to bring a main series Pokémon game to the Nintendo Switch, and had lots of new game-play features that made it a joy, and some of the coolest new Pokémon designs in years. So when it was announced that Pokémon were scrapping their ‘third’ in the generation game and choosing to release DLC instead I was really happy. No longer would Pokémon fans have to pay for a whole new game for some minor changes and add-ons.

The Isle of Armor is the first of these new downloadable contents, with The Crown Tundra set to come out later this year. As this is not only the first DLC for this generation, but the first ever, there was a lot of pressure on it to be good, and whilst it might not be perfect, it’s certainly a load of fun.

As soon as you receive the Armour Pass you’re able to travel to this brand new area, an expansive open world island off the main coast of Galar. The island, and the waters around it, are open for players to explore straight away, and you can ignore the story elements in favour of travelling around the island. The island itself is much like the Wild Area in the main game, although it’s split up into about a dozen different zones, each of which has its own look and feel, and contains its own Pokémon. You can travel into deep caves, explore dark forests, or run around the beach. The island isn’t massive by any means, but the different zones help to increase the scope of the place, and it can make travelling around much more interesting than the regular Wild Area.

The DLC isn’t just a new open area to explore, however, as players also get a new story to experience. As soon as you arrive on the island you’ll have to fight a new rival, who will vary depending on which version of the game you have. After this you’ll be able to travel to the island fighting dojo, where you can enrol as a student. After being sent out on a few missions that will have you going around the island, you’ll be rewarded with a brand new Pokémon, Cubfu. After this, you get to bond and train with the new Pokémon, and will have to take on one of two challenge towers to get it to evolve into its final form.

The story isn’t very long, and you can get through it in a few hours, but the game manages to provide enough side quests and tasks to keep you interested, and you can even keep on improving the dojo after finishing the main tasks, which will require you to spend a lot of time acquiring watts to donate.

But let’s be honest, the story probably isn’t what’s drawn a lot of people to the DLC in the first place. It’s the Pokémon themselves. Whilst Cubfu and its evolution are the only new Pokémon currently available (we’re still waiting on new about the new mythic Pokémon Zarude to be released) there is the inclusion of the new Galarian forms of both Slowpoke and Slowbro. Alongside these new additions there are around 100 returning Pokémon who weren’t in the main game. Yes, I know that they’re older creatures who most fans will already have in Pokémon Home, but seeing Scyther, Rockruff, and Shinx running around in the over-world genuinely brought a smile to my face.

The Isle of Armor isn’t a big DLC if you’re coming to the game looking for additions to the story or new Pokémon, but for fans of the franchise it’s a lot of fun. There’s a huge new area to explore, favourite old Pokémon make a return, and there are some fun side-quests and missions to complete. We also get to have our own Pokémon follow us around in the game again, which has been something that always makes fans happy. What we know of the next DLC seems to indicate that that one will be a little bigger, if simply for bringing in new Pokémon and new versions of older ones, so I’m definitely excited to see that one, but the Isle of Armor is easily going to keep me entertained until then.

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A Phoenix First Must Burn - Book Review

'Sixteen tales by bestselling and award-winning authors that explore the Black experience through fantasy, science fiction, and magic. With stories by: Elizabeth Acevedo, Amerie, Patrice Caldwell, Dhonielle Clayton, J. Marcelle Corrie, Somaiya Daud, Charlotte Nicole Davis, Justina Ireland, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Danny Lore, L. L. McKinney, Danielle Paige, Rebecca Roanhorse, Karen Strong, Ashley Woodfolk, and Ibi Zoboi.

'Evoking Beyoncé’s Lemonade for a teen audience, these authors who are truly Octavia Butler’s heirs, have woven worlds to create a stunning narrative that centres Black women and gender nonconforming individuals. A Phoenix First Must Burn will take you on a journey from folktales retold to futuristic societies and everything in between. Filled with stories of love and betrayal, strength and resistance, this collection contains an array of complex and true-to-life characters in which you cannot help but see yourself reflected. Witches and scientists, sisters and lovers, priestesses and rebels: the heroines of A Phoenix First Must Burn shine brightly. You will never forget them.'

Anthology books are a good way to explore new authors. Most of the time I read an anthology book I come away from the experience with a list of new authors I want to check out, and invariably several books on my wishlist that weren't there before. A Phoenix First Must Burn is probably one of the anthologies that has given me the most new writers I want to read more of. Every story in this collection was great, and most of the stories ended way too soon for me and left me wanting more.

Representation is such a hugely important thing. For those who don’t understand it, it can seem like a forcing of certain groups or minorities into narratives or roles. I’m sure we’ve all seen arguments made before along the lines of ‘these characters are only included to tick a box’, or ‘why make a character gay if it adds nothing to a story’. It’s easy to jump on the offensive when people say things like this, to condemn those kinds of views as homophobic, or racist, or transphobic. It’s easy to see condemnation of inclusion as hatred of minorities.

What might not immediately come to people’s minds is that to some this inclusion seems forced because they’ve never experienced it before. They’ve never has someone in their shows, films, or comics who wasn’t white, or straight, or cis, or able bodied. But the thing that might make them see inclusiveness as tokenism is that they’ve never had to look for people like themselves in the media before. They’ve never been starved of positive representation, so they don’t understand why it’s important.

A Phoenix First Must Burn is amazing in part for giving representation to a voices that are often ignored in the publishing world. Black female voices. It's not hard to see the difference that Black voices have to live with over white writers, the recent #PublishingPaidMe campaign really highlighted how little Black people get paid compared to their white colleagues, especially Black women. Publishers seem more than eager to print and promote work by white writers, but aren't always prepared to take that leap with Black creators. And the amount of reviews I've seen of Black fiction where it's described as being perfect for 'black audiences' instead of just perfect for all audiences is ridiculous. Black voices need to be shared far and wide, they need to be open for all to read and promoted no differently than white voices.

This book take some amazing women of colour and showcases their work. It gives you a small sampling of their styles. It shows you how rich and wonderful, and varied, Black voices can be. And importantly, it doesn't just rely on telling 'Black' stories, stories that are rooted in the history of violence and oppression that Black people have faced. The book gives you pieces that draw on that history yes, but it's also full of science fiction, fantasy, and magic. Giving young Black women a book where they can see people like them in so many wonderful and varied stories and genre's is amazing, and needs to be celebrated.

'Wherein Abigail Fields Recalls Her First Death And, Subsequently, Her Best Life' by Rebecca Roanhorse is a cool western story, one that deals with revenge and loss in a way that doesn't glorify the act, but still gives the lead character some kind of emotional resolution. 'Melie' by Justina Ireland is a great fantasy story that shows the ingenuity and intellect of its lead character, as well a giving readers a cool take on dragons. 'All The Time In The World' by Charlotte Nicole Davis is a fun tale about a young woman discovering amazing new powers to stop time, as well as her falling in love.

I picked these stories out of a hat, and could spend so much time gushing over them, and ever story in this collection, but don't want to spoil too much of the experience for anyone. But these examples help to show the range of stories on offer. One is a gritty western story, another is a fantastical story with magic and dragons, and another is a story about super powers and gay love. But despite being so different from each other all the stories in this book share the common thread of highlighting how amazing Black female writers and characters are.

The book also has a lot of queer representation in it too, and as a member of the LGBTQ+ community myself I adored how so many of the stories were about same sex attraction, and treated that as nothing different from heterosexual stories. They didn't try to make the queer content stand out or seem special, but treated it as a regular part of life. And I loved that.

A Phoenix First Must Burn is a wonderful book. It tells amazing stories, and brings together so many brilliant writers. If you're looking for new authors to check out please pick up this book, as I'm sure there's going to be several in here that will capture your heart. And if you want to help support Black voices in publishing buy a copy too. Let's all fight for more positive representation in our literature, and push for more diverse, amazing voices like these.

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Transphobic Baroness Removed From Booker Prize Position

Baroness Nicholson continues her campaign against LGBTQ+ rights this week, and has been removed from her position as honorary vice president at the Booker Prize Foundation.

The Baroness has made a number of statements against trans people, marriage equality, and the larger LGBTQ+ community over the last month. She has said that allowing same sex marriage has led to the erosion of society, and has engaged in targeted abuse of trans children, calling them sexual predators and paedophiles.

Last week Nicholson made transgender model and activist Munroe Bergdorf the target of her rage, and engaged in racist and transphobic attacks against her. Amongst other comments, she called Bergdorf a 'weird creature'. These comments were reported to the House of Lords commissioner of standards.

The comments were also reported to the Booker Prize Foundation, where Nicholson held the position of honorary vice president. The Booker Prize Foundation released an initial statement on the 23rd of June, but received criticism for their lack of commitment to do anything.

The initial response went as follows:

The Trustees of the Booker Prize Foundation wish to point out that the views expressed by Baroness Nicholson on transgender issues are her own personal views.

Baroness Nicholson has herself recently said that she retired as a Trustee of the Foundation in 2009, and was then made an honorary vice president. She has no role in the governance or operations of the Foundation. She is not involved in selecting the judges nor in choosing the books that are longlisted, shortlisted and win.   

Following complaints that this comment was not only non-committal, but did nothing to address the situation, the Booker Prize Foundation released a more in depth statement, and severed ties with the Baroness by abolishing the position she held with them.

We, the Trustees of the Booker Prize Foundation, met today and wish to reiterate that the views expressed by Baroness Nicholson on transgender people are her own personal opinions.

The issues are complex, but our principles are clear.  We deplore racism, homophobia and transphobia – and do not discriminate on any grounds.

Literature is open, plural and questioning. We believe every author’s work should be approached by readers in the same spirit. Integrity is central to both Booker Prizes, whose judging process is conducted at all times in keeping with these values.

Upon her retirement from the Board in 2009, Baroness Nicholson was made an honorary vice president, a role that gave her no say in the governance or operations of the Foundation or prizes. In recent days there has been some confusion about the nature of honorary titles used by the Foundation. Too many believe that these titles in some way symbolise the prizes. That is not the case.

We have today decided that these titles and roles should, with immediate effect, cease to exist. Those holding them have been informed and thanked for their longstanding interest.

This response has received a great deal of praise online amongst the trans community, as well as from a number of LGBTQ+ charities and organisations.

'Baroness Nicholson’s strange and obsessive tweets attacking our charity with abhorrent accusations and her misgendering of our patron Munroe Bergdorf, represent the very worst in what is already a highly toxic, cruel and misinformed debate around the lives and very existence of trans people.' Trans children's charity Mermaids said in a statement today regarding the decision.

'While the Booker Prize Foundation continue to receive some criticism for not directly condemning Baroness Nicholson’s tweets, we are pleased to see a clear rejection of racism, homophobia and transphobia. This is a moment of reassurance for a community suffering daily attacks from those who would see trans lives humiliated and undermined. We thank the Booker Prize Foundation for taking this bold and principled decision, reminding us all that voicing our opposition to hate and calling out prejudice, cruelty and lies wherever we find it, can still lead to a fairer society for all.

'We hope Baroness Nicholson will find a moment to reflect on whether her virulent opposition to transgender rights is justified or whether she might take time to listen to the vast majority of trans people seeking a voice.'

Whether or not this repercussion to the hateful comments she has made will cause Nicholson to rethink her stance is yet to be seen. As of the publishing of this article she has yet to comment on the matter.

Nicholson is also a colleague and friend of noted transphobe JK Rowling, and is a part of the Lumos charity that the author helped to create.

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The Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey - Book Review

'Beauty Meets Beast in San Francisco. Accepting employment as a governess after hard times hit her family, medieval scholar Rosalind Hawkins is surprised when she learns that her mysterious employer has no children, no wife, and she is not to meet with him face to face. Instead, her duties are to read to him, through a speaking tube, from ancient manuscripts in obscure, nearly-forgotten dialects.

'A requirement for the job was skill in translating medieval French, and she now understands the reason for that requirement, and assumes her unseen employer’s interest in the descriptions of medieval spells and sorcery is that of an eccentric antiquary. What she does not realise is that his interest is anything but academic. He has a terrible secret and is desperately searching for something that can reverse the effects of the misfired spell which created his predicament.'

My first experience with Mercedes Lackey, and her Elemental Masters series, was when I was asked to review the fourteenth book in the series, The Spellbound Child, by Titan books. by any rational means jumping into a series so far in should be a silly decision, and I have to admit that I was only prepared to do so because of the inclusion of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, due in part to my love for Sherlock Holmes fiction. Despite this, I was able to get into the universe quite well, and the book was extremely entertaining.

The Fire Rose is the first in this series, and I thought it would be worth going back and seeing how it all began. I knew that some of the later books in the series continue on from each other, but was aware that many of the older books are more stand alone adventures, and often involved the re-imagining of classic stories. The Fire Rose takes inspiration from Beauty and the Beast, but despite seeing some parallels between the two tales it still very much stand up by itself.

The story begins in Chicago at the turn of the 20th century. We're introduced to Rosalind (Rose) Hawkins. She's a young academic whose father has recently passed away, unfortunately for her, his death has resulted in a number of creditors appearing in her life, and caused her to lose almost everything. Facing the prospect of having to find a job as a maid or servant in order to survive Rose is approached by a friend of her fathers, who has received a letter trying to find a woman who would be willing to take on the job of governess for his children. Because of the required knowledge and education laid out in the letter Rose seems to be the perfect candidate. With little choices left Rose agrees to take the job, and moves west to San Francisco.

Once arriving at the palatial home of Jason Cameron she learns that not only does he not have children, but he's not even married. It turns out that Jason was in some kind of accident that has left him disfigured and unable to pursue his research. Rose is told that what Jason really wants is a research assistant, one who will be able to translate ancient texts for him, all whilst he stays locked away in his own private wing. Despite initially being nervous about this sudden change in the arrangement Rose agrees, and begins to assist Jason.

Over the course of the next several chapters Rose is slowly exposed to texts that seem to indicate that magic might be real. Thanks to a number of unusual things happening around the house and her own rational, scientific approach, Rose begins to accept that magic might actually be real.

I wasn't sure how much the book would mirror the narrative of Beauty and the Beast, and have to admit that my knowledge of that story is mainly down to the Disney movie. I didn't know if the house would be filled with enchanted furniture, or if Jason would have been cursed for being a horrible person and was trying to make Rose fall in love with him. I'm glad to say that the book didn't take this approach, especially with the love story.

There was always something about a woman being held against her will in order to fall in love with someone that at with me a problematic, even as a kid, and I'm glad that it's been removed for this story. Rose isn't a prisoner, she's living in the house because that's where she works. She has a job, and she can quit at any time. This also means that when she does start to develop feelings for Jason it feels a lot more natural.

The book takes its time, and lets you get to know the characters well. It spends its time with Rose as she begins to learn more about the world of magic, but also with smaller things like her walks through Jason's estate or her trip to San Francisco. Lackey could easily have skipped some of this as it doesn't add much to the main narrative, but it helps to build Rose and her world so well. You feel like you really get to know her, and I became a lot more invested in her and her story than I thought I would.

Jason is the same, though readers spend much less time with him. At first he's not a very endearing figure, and the fact that he's tricking Rose to begin with and lying to her feels awful; but after a while you begin to see the reasons why he's made certain decisions. Just like Rose, readers get to discover the kind and warmhearted man beneath the wolfish exterior, and come to really like him as a person.

The only real criticism of the book that I have is that because of the slower pace at the start, because of the long scenes where we get to really spend a good deal of time getting to know Rose it does feel like the conclusion happens quite quickly. I would have been happy to have the book continue on for another fifty or a hundred pages more so that the ending had time to breath a bit. Despite this, the conclusion still left me satisfied, and I was happy with how the story wrapped up Rose and Jason's stories.

I'm a little sad that the next book in the series won't be carrying on the stories of these characters, that I won't get to see more of Rose exploring her own magics, or that I won't get to see her life with Jason; but I do understand that sometimes too much of a good thing can be bad. Mercedes Lackey gave enough of this world to leave me intrigued, wanting to read the next book in the series.

A brilliant introduction to The Elemental Masters, and probably one of the better versions of the Beauty and the Beast style narrative that I've experienced.

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Usagi Yojimbo: Bunraku - Book Review

'Presented in colour for the first time, the ongoing adventures of Stan Sakai's seminal and long running series are now being published by IDW. This first volume of all-new material continues the saga of Usagi Yojimbo with the three-part "Bunraku," where Usagi becomes embroiled in a puppet drama where the players are not quite what they seem! Will the aid of a supernatural ally be enough for Usagi to prevent more death?'

This is the first time that I've read a Usagi Yojimbo book. I've been aware of the character and the comics for many years, but never knew where to start reading the title. This book, proved to be that perfect stepping on point. Usagi Yojimbo has previously been published through Dark Horse Comics, but has recently moved to IDW Publishing. Usagi Yojimbo: Bunrako collects together the first seven issues of the IDW run, it's the start of the character's time with the new publisher, so makes this book a perfect point for new readers.

However, this doesn't mean that it's not open to older readers, those who've been fans of the character for years. IDW have made the very smart decision to make this a continuation of the original comics. It's not a reboot, or a reset, as the stories featured in this book make reference to older stories, and feature returning characters. It even tells you which volumes of the previous books to check out to learn more about these characters and stories. It's a great stepping on point, but one that encourages you to go back and read more.

There are a few stories presented in the book, the first one 'Bunraku' sees Usagi teaming up with the demon hunter Sasuke. The story has a nice introduction by Matt Alt, who gives a small introduction to Bunraku, and really sells you on the amazing craftsmanship that goes into the art. The story itself has a few fun twists and turns, and every time I thought I'd figured something out it threw in a new twist or revelation that I wasn't expecting. It kept me on my toes and made sure I was entertained throughout, and was a brilliant first story for my Usagi education.

The second story, 'The Hero' sees Usagi escorting the wife of a Hatamoto, a banner-man for a Shogun. Unfortunately, the Shogun is at peace, and the woman's husband is unable to earn glory in battle. He's become bitter and abusive towards his wife and the fame that she's receiving through her writing. Compared to the fun supernatural elements in the first story this one is much more personal, and deals with some very heavy concepts such as honour, duty, and abuse. The story foreshadows that it doesn't end well, and despite the villain getting his comeuppance by the end you won't come away feeling any real sense of victory, because no one really wins in that story. It feels a lot more real than the other stories because of this. It presents good people and bad, those who are in the wrong and their victims, but that doesn't mean that the good guys will win and get a happy ending.

The last two stories in the book are much shorter, being only single issue stories each, but are still great nonetheless. 'Adachi' sees Usagi return to the Adachi Plain, where his life as a Ronin began. The story refreshes experienced readers on Usagi's past, whilst presenting it to new readers. We get to learn how he became a Samurai without a lord, and how his journey has changed him. He also has to confront some of the ghosts of his past and put some of his unresolved emotions to bed. This story is a great piece of background information to those new to the book, yet doesn't seem to just retread old ground for readers already aware of this, by expanding upon his history and giving Usagi a new story to deal with.

The final story, 'The Swords of the Higashi' is the most comedic story in the book, and is a lot of fun. Usagi joins up with a pair of bounty hunter friends of his, Stray Dog and Gen. Much like Sasuke in the first story, these two are returning characters, and the story makes reference to some older adventures for curious readers. The story here kind of becomes a little farcical, and manages to walk the line between funny and too ridiculous well. It proves to be a great story to end the book on.

I wasn't sure what to expect from Usagi Yojimbo, but I'm so glad that I gave this book a chance. It was exciting, had mystery, told a story with emotion, gave me insight into the character's history, made me laugh, and left me wanting to go and read up on the older books. It's hard to really ask more from a book like this. It kept me entertained throughout and made me want to spend more time in that world; not every comic can boast that. Whether you're a new fan or you've read every issue of Usagi Yojimbo, I'm sure this book will satisfy.

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Descendant of the Crane by Joan He - Book Review

'Princess Hesina of Yan has always been eager to shirk the responsibilities of the crown, but when her beloved father is murdered, she’s thrust into power, suddenly the queen of an unstable kingdom. Determined to find her father’s killer, Hesina does something desperate: she engages the aid of a soothsayer—a treasonous act, punishable by death... because in Yan, magic was outlawed centuries ago.

'Using the information illicitly provided by the sooth, and uncertain if she can trust even her family, Hesina turns to Akira—a brilliant investigator who’s also a convicted criminal with secrets of his own. With the future of her kingdom at stake, can Hesina find justice for her father? Or will the cost be too high?'


I don't know what category to even begin to place Descendant of the Crane in. A lot of the time it feels like a historical fiction, but then there's things that place it within fantasy. It's got some amazing courtroom drama moments, but it's also full of political intrigue. It's a mystery story, but also has some elements of romance in there too. There's so much going on in the book that it's hard to pin it down as anything other than wonderful to read. It kept me engaged throughout and I was always guessing as to what was going to happen next, or what twists the next next chapter would bring to the story.

The story follows Hesina, a young woman who is not only having to deal with the sudden death of her father, but also with the fact that she now has to become the new ruler of her kingdom. Rather than just make the story about her grief over her father and all of the new trials and tribulations she as to contend with as a ruler Joan He makes things so much more complicated for her. Not only is the kingdom on the verge of war with one of their neighbours, but an investigation into the kings death begins, an investigation that turns Hesina's carefully planned life upside down.

Hesina thinks she knows how the world works, she thinks that she has an understanding of her kingdom thanks to the teachings of The Eleven, a group of revolutionaries that changed her country three hundred years ago and built a fairer, better society. Well, unless you're a Sooth and have magical powers, then you'll be slowly murdered on sight. Hesina thinks she understands how searching for the truth about her father's death will play out because of the laws put in place by The Eleven. But when she begins to see that despite these teachings, despite people seeming to follow this way of life, their are corrupt people not just in the world, but within her own palace, who will use this investigation to further their own political and financial ends.

The trial that comes from the investigation is one of the best parts of the book. The various accused that are brought in, who are all being framed by corrupt officials, must be defended by Hesina and her investigator Akira. Akira is a hugely interesting character, and its fun to learn more about him over the course of the book and try an figure out what kind of person he is, but seeing him in court was hands down my favourite thing. He approaches the witnesses and the evidence with a calm detachment, pointing out holes in testimony, and revealing false evidence with logic and deduction that made me think about Sherlock Holmes and his methods. Akira becomes something larger than life in the court, trampling over the fakery to reveal the corruption beneath, acquitting the accused with the undeniable truth. He's simply brilliant.

The rest of the story seems to play out somewhat like these court scenes. The reader is given something as fact, that Yan is a kingdom built on fair rules and order, but then reasoned and logical investigation begins to reveal that this is a false veneer, that what we, and Hesina, are led to believe is nothing more than a convenient lie.

Over the course of the book there are so many twists and revelations that just when you think you've reached an understanding of what's really going on you're thrown completely again. There's something that happens right at the end of the book that will leave you thinking 'okay, so this is how it ends', but then the epilogue throws some new light onto that and you'll come away thinking something completely different about one of the characters.

I'm strugglinging to really describe the book in any real, meaningful way, because I'm still trying to figure out what I thought of it. Oh, I know it was excellent, and that I loved the journey, but there was so much crammed into the pages that I kind of feel like I'm still catching up. It's like thinking you're going for a nice stroll in a garden, only to realise you've wandered into a hedge maze part way through. Suddenly there's more their than you expected, and you have to navigate the twists and turns to reach the end.

Descendant of the Crane was written as a standalone story, though it does seem like there's more to come, and Joan He has said on Goodreads that she's considered a companion book or two to go with it. I really hope that more books come out that carry this story on, as I'm desperate for more answers, to see more mystery uncovered, and to find out what happens to these characters. If there is no more, and it's just this one book, then it's a hell of a book, and there being no followup won't detract from my enjoyment at all.

Whether returning to this world, or exploring something new, I'm excited to see what Joan He does next. This book showed quite clearly that she's an author worth watching, one that can craft interesting and layered characters, an imaginative world, and a plot that will keep you hooked throughout. An amazing debut work from a woman sure to become a household name.

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