The Cult of Eden by Bill Halpin - Book Tour

'Newlywed Will Battese finds himself homesick and overwhelmed after following his ambitious wife, Shannon, to New York City. When a surprise pregnancy shreds their already meagre budget, Will drops out of college and settles for work at a low-end diner. There, a small act of kindness draws the attention of Victor Degas, a man with an unsettling presence and deformed eyes. Unbeknownst to Will, Degas belongs to an ancient, sophisticated cult known as the Edens and believes Will to be the key to gaining otherworldly power. 

'As the sun sets on Good Friday, Degas orchestrates a home invasion in which Will and his baby boy, Gideon, are kidnapped, leaving Shannon to join forces with an unreliable agent from the Roman Catholic Church. While Will struggles to save other innocents from the Eden parish below the city, Shannon discovers that the cult plans to use her family for an unimaginable demonic ritual, and that the Vatican may let it happen. With no one to trust but themselves, Shannon and Will must fight not only to survive, but to keep their humanity intact.'

The Cult of Eden is the first part in a new series, 'The Unrisen', but is an easily satisfying and entertaining stand alone novel too.

The book follows several members of the Battese family, as their lives are turned into a nightmare. There's Will, who's moved away from his quiet home town to live with his new wife, Shannon, in New York. Despite hating the big city Will has been trying to make a go of it with Shannon and their new baby boy, Giddeon. Despite being a great chef, Will has had to take a job working in a less than perfect restaurant in order to support his family, but is making enough to help support Shannon's higher paid job.

When Wills father, Richard, little brother Danny, and his grandfather Griff, all leave their old lives behind and decide to travel to the big city to live with Will things begin to look up for the Batrese's. However,when the family's first gathering is attacked by mysterious masked assailants the men are all captured and taken to a strange location, one where a bizarre cult needs them to perform a ritual. Now the family are left fighting for their lives.

The Cult of Eden wasn't what I was expecting from the initial premise. First of all, the book is structured quite differently that I thought it would, skipping between a number of focal characters depending on what chapter you were reading. This was used quite well for a lot of the book, and meant that the reader got to see what was happening during other events, or occasionally got extra insight into things that happened in a previous chapter, now that the focus had shifted. 

However, there were a couple of times where I felt like perhaps the chapters could have been slightly better served by being shifted around in their order, because one would take the tension out of another. For example, one character was left trapped in a room with no apparent way out in the end of one chapter, but then appears at the end of the next characters chapter, revealing that they managed to get out before we see that happen. It's a small niggle, and one that only happens once or twice, but something that I'm hoping Halpin addresses in the next book.

These shifts in character focus also allow for a few surprise moments at certain interludes, where the action shifts away from the main narrative, sometimes giving us more detail into characters that are only really on the periphery for the main narrative, and in another teasing out a mystery that takes the whole book to be revealed, and seems to hint at bigger things to come in the series.

The story also managed to keep me guessing for a lot of it, as it was never clear exactly what was going to be coming next, and whilst I did expect certain things, like the cult to kidnap the family, there were so many twists and turns along the journey that a plot that could have felt like it had been done before was fresh and interesting. These twists were great when it came to the idea of the supernatural being introduced to the narrative too. There were moments where it looked like the cult were actually working with otherworldly forces, yet there was enough doubt about it to make you never sure if this was too fantastical a development to be real. The book does give you a definitive answer by the end, it foes tell you whether or not supernatural forces are real, but I certainly wont be spoiling that in the review other than say that the journey to the answer was a lot of fun.

I think it's probably worth pointing out that there is a lot of violence in the book, and Halpin doesn't shy away from describing some brutal moments in very vivid detail. This might put some people off, but I never felt that it went too far, going into the territory of 'torture porn' or anything like that, and there are definitely a lot worse horror films out there. If you get through the initial attack on the Battese family then you'll be able to get through the book as a whole, so stick with it if you can; but of course, if these parts are a little much for you I completely understand. Horror is not always for everyone, but there is a really good story mixed in with the violence here, one that is worth reading and sticking at.

The book seems to bring a lot of the Battese's story to a close come the end of the book, and whilst there are definitely threads left hanging the book would still be a satisfying read all on its own. but, this is the first part of a series, and as such not everything will be resolved in this book, and you will be left wanting to read the next one. Personally, I'm definitely interested in finding out what happens next, even if the Battese family don't play much of a part in the next instalment. Halpin has managed to craft a world that's interesting and intriguing enough to be able to carry on in new directions and explore new elements and still keep me wanting to read more. I'm certainly looking forward to finding out what happens next.

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My Summer As A Goth – Film Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

My Summer As A Goth is a coming of age story that follows 16-year-old Joey (Natalie Shershow) as she spends the summer vacation with her grandparents following the sudden death of her father, and the journey she takes to self-acceptance and happiness.

Joey has reached the end of the school year despite the recent death of her father, and being something of a loner who hates hanging out with most of the other students. When her mother has to leave town for a number of weeks, Joey is sent off to stay with her grandparents.

Unlike most movie grandparents, Joey’s are actually quite cool, and try to make sure that Joey is having a good time, whatever it is that she needs that to be. They give her space, encourage her to explore, give her a big wad of cash to have fun with, and try to get her to make some new friends. One of these new friends is Victor (Jack Levis), the grandson of their neighbours.

Joey is instantly drawn to Victor. His goth look grabs her attention, and his brash and forward personality is something that helps to draw her out of her shell. With the help of some of his friends Victor gives Joey a make-over, getting her to embrace her inner goth. At first this is a great thing, and Joey begins to discover a new sense of happiness and freedom that had been eluding her; but over the course of the summer she begins to suspect that Victor might not be the amazing guy she first thought he was.

My Summer As A Goth is a film that instantly intrigued me, in large part because I was curious to see just what it would try to do with its representation of the goth community. In most media goths are either painted as depressed, lonely teens who revel in death and a gloomy aesthetic, or they’re used as the punchlines for jokes. However, this movie really seemed to understand that goths are as varied and interesting as any group of people, and that just because someone wears black clothing and dark make-up doesn’t mean that they’re going to be depressed or sad all the time.

The film embraces the idea that being a goth can be something fun, something that brings people a sense of happiness and joy. The film does use being a goth as a punchline a couple of times, but in subversive ways, by showing that it’s not what people expected. One young goth couple get told they look like ‘a couple of dead honeymooners’, to which they respond with a big grin and a thank you. It’s small jokes like this that make the film really charming; it doesn’t include goth culture just to make fun of it, but embraces it.

Whilst most of the goths in the film are handled really well, and are given pretty well rounded personalities, Victor is a bit of a caricature. He wears clothing that’s very over the top, stark make-up even by goth standards, and his attitudes seem to fall back on some reductive stereotypes. Now, I suspect this is done on purpose, and Victor isn’t the nicest character in the world, and the other goth friends that Joey makes are much nicer in comparison. However, some people might find Victor’s portrayal a bit reductive, or even offensive at times.

Other members of the cast are great however, with Joey’s grandparents being some of the more fun movie grandparents I’ve seen in a while, and people I’d probably enjoy hanging out with. There’s even a fun scene where they take Joey to experience bingo for the first time, at a bingo hall where the host is a drag artist. Not only is this scene fun and subverting of expectations, but it’s handled really well, and whilst there are a few laughs with the drag queen character they’re always with them, and not at them; which is how much of the comedy in this film works, making comedy where people’s differences aren’t a punchline.

The film proved to be a fun and touching coming of age story, one that encourages the idea of self exploration, to try new things and new social circles. If your life is in a rut and you don’t feel like you fit in, maybe it’s because the people you’re surrounding yourself with aren’t the community you need, and perhaps the people that will help to make you happy are out there somewhere.

The story has an uplifting message, and a sense of fun and hope to it that stops it from feeling tired, even if this is the kind of story that we’ve seen before with a goth make-over. I ultimately had a lot of fun with it, and I’m sure that a lot of you will too.

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Just Act Normal: A Pie Comics Collection by John McNamee - Book Review

'This third collection from The Onion and the New Yorker contributor John McNamee features his most absurdly relatable comics on our futile attempts to seem “normal,” and why that’s hilarious.

'Pie Comics began as a college comic strip way back in the mid ’00s, when flip phones roamed the earth. But after a shoulder injury forced cartoonist John McNamee to simplify his drawing style and improvise comics, Pie Comics evolved into the beloved strip it is today!'

Just Act Normal is a very fun book, one that won't take you long to read through, but will definitely act as a good pick-me-up when you do. 

The book isn't a graphic novel, there's no overarching narrative at work here, instead it's small one page stories that are designed to make you laugh. It's this simplicity that really endeared me to this book, coupled with the very easy to understand art style that borders on basic. The style is so simple that I've found myself wondering if I've seen some of John McNamee's work before, shared around on the internet as funny jokes and memes, or if it's just similar to other stuff I've seen before.

Ultimately, I don't think it matters if I have seen his work before or not, as the book completely stands on its own thanks to each comic being its own thing. There are some that feature the same characters across a number of strips, like the depressed goth, but even these don't need to be read in any kind of order or with continuity in mind. 

The humour here is very silly, and at times it's even downright bizarre, but even when some could argue that the jokes were stupid, they still made me laugh because of the amount of charm put into them, and the delivery that McNamee manages to get into simplistic panels.

If you're looking for a fun book that's inoffensive, will make you smile, and will take up an hour or two this book will definitely tick those boxes for you.

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The Bride With White Hair – Blu-ray Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

The Bride With White Hair is the latest Hong Kong cinema release from Eureka Entertainment, and joins an ever expanding catalogue of entertaining wuxia films.

The story follows Cho Yat-Hamg (Leslie Cheung), who was raised to be a chivalrous swordsman by the leaders of a Wudang Scet. Over the years we see that Cho is something of a maverick, often getting into trouble for acting out and doing what he sees as right. One of these misadventures sees him being chased by a pack of wolves, before he’s saved by a mysterious young girl.

Years later, Cho is tasked with leading a coalition of warriors from the eight martial arts sects against an evil demon cult that is spreading through the lands. However, Cho soon discovers that one of the powerful warriors within the cult, Lie Ni-Chang (Bridgette Lin), is the girl who saved him from wolves years before, and who has been in his heart ever since. Fleeing the battle together, these two opposing warriors declare their love for each other and decide to leave their old lives behind to be together; but fate would seem to have other plans for them.

The Bride With White Hair is one of the later Hong-Kong wuxia movies that I’ve seen, having been made in 1993, but it still has a lot in common with many of the other films in the genre; so much in fact that I was surprised to learn that the film was from the 90s, it feeling much more like a production from at least a decade before. A lot of this has to do with the look of the film.

It has some great production values at times, and some of the sets are huge constructions, but I’m struggling to think of any scenes in the movie that were set at daytime. The fact that most of the film, if not all of it, is set at night definitely changes the look and feel of the movie, and many of the scenes are dark and oppressive. I’m sure that this was done as a deliberate choice to add to the downbeat feel of the film, but it also makes it feel like the production is somewhat limited, that perhaps some of it was set at night so that flaws or lack of budget could be hidden in the darkness.

A lot of the drabness of the locations are offset with the brightness of costume and characters, particularly those members of the evil Mo cult that plays host to the conjoined villains Gei Mou-Seung (Francis Ng and Elaine Lui). The scenes with the cult are filled with bright costumes, half naked dancing, Africanised props, and wild orgies. These scenes definitely stand out from amongst the more down to earth and historically accurate parts of the movie, especially as the dual nature of the villain is shrouded in secrecy for a good portion of the film, leaving the audience to try to figure out what it is they’re seeing.

Overall, however, the film has a somewhat dour tone to it, and left me feeling somewhat deflated due to the decision of director Ronny Yu to break away from the traditional happy ending narrative, and take a leaf out of Romeo and Juliet‘s book of having love lead to tragedy. Despite this, the film is still hugely interesting, and kept me entertained throughout.

Along with this new 4k restoration the new Blu-ray release also comes with a pair of audio commentaries, one with director Ronny Lu, and another with Asian film expert Frank Djeng, both of which offer some great insight into the making of the film, and its place in cinema and the impact that it had. There are also a number of interviews included, if you’re still left wanting to learn more about the film.

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Lake Michigan Monster – Blu-ray Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Lake Michigan Monster follows the adventures of Captain Seafield (Ryland Brickson Cole Tews) as he gathers together a group of unlikely misfits to help him to track down and kill the mysterious sea monster that killed his father on the shore of Lake Michigan.

From the title I was expecting something a little cheesy, something that didn’t take itself too seriously, but Lake Michigan Monster doesn’t actually seem to take anything seriously, and suffers because of this. The plot, what little there is, follows a strange ‘sea captain’ Seafield, played by the film’s writer and director, as he seeks revenge against a monster that murdered his father.

This happened only six feet from the shore of Lake Michigan, and no one will believe that a monster was involved. As such, he hires three ‘experts’ to help him. There’s his weapons expert Sean Shaughnessy (Eric West), who is only ever referred to by their full name; sonar specialist Nedge Pepsi (Beulah Peters); and former N.A.V.Y. officer Dick Flynn (Daniel Long); and that’s not the Navy, that’s the Nautical Athletes and adVenture Yunit. This brief break down of the main characters should show the level of humour this film is steeped in.

The scenes barely have any content to them, and instead fill the run time with jokes that barely count as jokes, instead relying on people saying or doing the stupidest things in hopes that it will get a laugh. When asked how big the monster is Seafield pulls out a toy lion, then a toy tiger, then throws away the tiger and confirms its as big as a lion – and I guess this is supposed to be funny? These poor and unfunny jokes get used more than once, with the apparent act of referring to their own jokes meant to cash in on the laughs that just weren’t there to begin with.

Bad jokes would have been one thing, but when the plot and characters are so thin on the ground, seem to make no sense at all, and rely on this wacky humour to drive things forward, the film quickly overstays its welcome. After about the first fifteen minutes I was left not only bored, but regularly checking the time hoping that we were near the end.

If I was watching the film for entertainment purposes I would have turned it off, and as such I’m not really sure that I could recommend it to anyone. I’m sure there are some people out there who will enjoy this level of comedy, who think fart jokes are the peak of humour (and I don’t mean jokes where people pass wind, but someone randomly saying the word ‘fart’ to get a laugh), but this is probably going to be quite a niche audience.

The Blu-ray comes with a number of special features, including three commentaries, one of which where those talking are apparently drunk, in case slogging through the film once isn’t enough torture for you. There’s also a trio of interviews from a few different film festivals where Lake Michigan Monster was shown, as well as the entire first season of Ryland Brickson Cole Tews’ web series L.I.P.S., which despite only being about twenty minutes long I switched off after three and a half because it was even less fun to watch than the main film.

I’m sure that there will be people who would love this film, but if you’ve never experienced Ryland Brickson Cole Tews’ comedy before, and aren’t already a fan of his I wouldn’t recommend giving this film a go, as you could be left extremely disappointed, especially when Arrow Video have so many other, better movies on offer than this one.

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Marvel Action: Avengers #2.2 – Comic Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

I’d almost forgotten that there was a second run of Marvel Action: Avengers books being published, as the first issue in this run came out way back in March – which, as it’s 2020, feels like it was a few years ago at least. Luckily, this book doesn’t rely much on readers remembering the previous issue, and instead stands on its own as a fun, solo adventure.

Like the previous issue, this one deals with one of the members of the Avengers as they take a day off from hero work to unwind. This issue focuses on everyone’s favourite member of the Greatest Generation, Captain America. Never one to idly spend time doing nothing, Cap decides to spend his day at a local school, where he wants to talk about the benefits of being a hero for Career Day.

Being the fastidious man he is, Cap comes prepared with lesson plans, and handouts for the children; but his plans are quickly thrown out when he finds out he’ll be spending the morning with the Kindergarten class with another hero, Squirrel Girl. Together, these two very different heroes try their best to keep the kids entertained, but things take a strange turn when one of the elderly teachers turns out to be the retired villain Paste Pot Pete, who’s determined to show he’s still ‘got it’ by taking down the star spangled man.

This second wave of Marvel Action: Avengers books, written by Katie Cook, is definitely the more fun of the two. It doesn’t rely on real levels of threat to challenge our beloved, costumed heroes, but instead feels a lot more like the comics being produced in the Golden Age, where they were wacky adventures aimed at kids. As such, the book has a level of charm and enjoyment that tends to be lacking in the more adult-focused hero books, and is comparable to the campy fun you’d get from shows like Batman ’66 or Batman: Brave and the Bold.

The villain for this book, Paste Pot Pete, is played like one of those joke villains from the comics your grandparents would read, where they never tried to hurt anyone, and challenged heroes just to prove that they could, rather than being part of any larger scheme. This is why the villain here decides to take on Cap and Squirrel Girl: to prove that the older villains are better than the evil ‘Super’ villains of today, that a man with a tacky costume that shoots glittery glue at people might be silly, but they’re still capable. It’s great how Pete is never played as a ‘bad guy’, but instead treated as a man trying to recapture his glory days, and the heroes see this and treat him kindly because of it. It shows the nice side of being a hero, that sometimes it’s about showing compassion as much as it is throwing a punch.

I’m sure there’ll be some among you who read this issue and feel let down, hoping for big superhero action but left disappointed by a campy adventure. But there are dozens of comics designed for you published every month; this is something aimed at a very different audience, one that often gets overlooked, and this book gives them something great to sink their teeth into.

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Star Wars Adventures: Shadow of Vader’s Castle – Comic Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Star Wars Adventures: Shadow of Vader’s Castle returns readers to the fiery planet of Mustafar, where Darth Vader’s imposing castle still looms over the beleaguered native people, even after the fall of the Galactic Empire at the Battle of Endor, and the death of the dreaded Dark Lord himself.

Written by veteran Star Wars author Cavan Scott, the book manages to pack a load of stories and art styles into its pages. The first of these stories takes readers back in time to the events of Revenge of the Sith, where recently fallen Anakin Skywalker comes to Mustafar for the first time.

The story follows Kakan, a young Mustafarian who’s dreamt of seeing a Jedi his entire life. Having grown up on stories of these amazing force users and protectors of the innocent, he’s thrilled when rumour reaches him of a Jedi on his planet. Running to the lava mines, he finally gets to see one of these legendary warriors, before realising this is no guardian of the Light. The fallen Anakin chases the child deep into the mines, desperate to eliminate him so there are no witnesses. However, deep in the mines Anakin is exposed to the hallucinogenic toxins in the mists, and is driven further to the dark side because of it.

This story might be pretty short, but it’s one of the ones that I enjoyed most in this collection, mostly because it adds more to events we’re already familiar with. Instead of Anakin having come to Mustafar to kill the Separatist leaders and just waiting for Obi-Wan to come he’s an active force, and the mental torture he goes through when confronted by the twisted, demonic shades of his former Jedi friends adds more weight to his fall to the dark side, and makes it feel more justified. It’s also great to see these twisted versions of heroes like Plo Koon, Qui-Gon Jinn, and Ahsoka Tano.

The rest of the issue jumps forwards more than two decades, to the time of the fall of the Galactic Empire. Just following the Battle of Endor, and the death of Vader, some of the locals are discussing the fact that the castle still stands, and two of them take it upon themselves to infiltrate the castle, and use detonators to destroy it from the inside. During this adventure we get three more stories, as they’re warned against going into the castle, hear a tale of Vader’s cruelty, and try to scare each other with tales of dark side sorcery. Each of these stories is tackled by different artists, and makes them instantly jump out from the main story that’s being used as a framing device.

One of these stories reveals more of the backstory of Vanee, the dark cloaked attendant to Vader seen briefly in Rogue One, as well as several other Star Wars comics, though it being a secondhand tale means that this story might not be entirely true, but merely conjecture. Either way, it offers some fascinating insight into the origin of the character,m and ties into the first story in the book.

There’s also a story that sees a young Twi’lek girl being sent to retrieve a special crystal by a mysterious cloaked figure with powers that’s definitely Palpatine, as well as a story where a scientist tries to double cross Vader. The book is packed with small stories and vignettes that add more to the vast chronicles of the horrors that the Sith lords have committed, and helps to make the star wars universe feel a little more lived in, and shows that Vader and his master were always doing something, always working on one scheme or another.

Star Wars Adventures: Shadow of Vader’s Castle manages to pack in a lot of content, and give insight into characters fans will be familiar with, as well as introducing some new and scary ideas into the lore. It even manages to set the stage for a potentially very exciting new story to come in Star Wars Adventures: Ghosts of Vader’s Castle, which could have some huge implications for the ever expanding Star Wars universe. A great one-shot that offers good value for money.

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Goosebumps: Secrets of the Swamp #2 – Comic Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Goosebumps: Secret of the Swamp returns for a second issue, continuing the adventures of Blake and Lilly as they head into the monster-infested swamp surrounding their town.

The first issue of this series was a really great introduction, and showcased these characters a lot; unfortunately, issue #2 really suffers by being a middle issue, and because the characters are left spending every single page either running through the woods to escape werewolves, or arguing with each other, nothing much actually happens here. The issue begins with the two leads being confronted by a trio of huge wolf monsters wearing ragged clothes, forcing the teens to flee into the woods to escape.

After managing to get away from the beasts the two girls get into an argument about why they even came into the woods in the first place, with Blake feeling like she’d been lied to by Lilly. Lilly, on the other hand, suddenly reveals that her parents perform patrols of the swamp, equipped with weapons in order to protect the town from the monsters within. She even gives Blake a special net launching ball to help defend herself with. Unfortunately, this revelation can’t be gone into in any great depth as they’re once again beset by werewolves, and have to run for their lives.

And that’s pretty much everything that happens in issue two. Obviously the conversations between the two girls are longer, and the running through the woods is a bit more dramatic, but nothing is really added to the story this issue, other than a vague hint that there might be something more going on that Blake is unaware of.

I honestly don’t think this is any fault of the writer, Marieke Nijkamp, but more down to the fact that comic structures often mean that some issues are left hanging for content, and when viewed on their own can feel like something of a letdown. However, in combination with the previous issue this is a pretty solid second part, and sets stuff up nicely for the third issue. The art by Yasmin Florez Montanez is also still superb, and I love how she draws the characters and puts a lot of life and emotion into them during both the chase sequences and the arguments.

Whilst this issue on its own isn’t brilliant, I’m still enjoying the series as a whole, and very much looking forward to seeing what happens next.

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Marvel Xavier's Institute: Liberty and Justice for All by Carrie Harris - Book Review

 

'Two young mutants take on the X-Men’s greatest foes single-handedly, in this breakneck superhero adventure from the extraordinary realm of Marvel comics

'It’s exam time at Xavier’s Institute, and young mutants Tempus and Triage are barely surviving the Danger Room. Newly teamed up for a solo X-Copter flight exam, they approach Chicago unaware that Sentinels – giant Mutant-hunting robots – have attacked the Field Museum of Natural History. When they receive an SOS from the notorious Sabretooth, requesting help for wounded anti-mutant politician Graydon Creed, Triage is all for calling it in. But Tempus sees an opportunity to test their healing and time-manipulating powers for real. Whether it’s a trap or a chance for peace, the two students face their greatest challenge, and the X-Men’s worst enemies. '

Comics can be hard to translate into other mediums, especially into prose novels, largely due to the very visual nature of the types of stories they tell. It can be easy to make huge battles with super powered beings look big and bold and entertaining in a comic, but sometimes that kind of action can be dull when it comes to prose, and stories can drag. This is why it's great whenever you can find a writer who's able to translate the characters and stories in ways that manage to keep the excitement of the source material; and Carrie Harris' Liberty and Justice For All is definitely a case of it working well.

Rather than trying to adapt a preexisting comic story, Harris has chosen instead to craft her own tale, one that focuses on two of the newer characters in the X-Men canon. Set after the events of X-Men: Schism, the book follows a number of the students in the New Charles Xavier School For Mutants in the old Weapon X facility in Canada. The book fits neatly into a definable time period in the myriad X-Men events and status changes, yet doesn't step on the toes of any pre-existing story, allowing it to do its own thing.

The book focuses on two of the newer X-students, Eva Bell and Christopher Muse, who would take on the mutant code names Tempus and Triage respectively. Despite the two of them going on to play big roles in the Marvel universe, especially Eva as a member of The Five, this is still early days for the two young mutants, and they've only been with the X-Men for a relatively short period. Having been cooped up in the gloomy Weapon X facility for weeks, except for a brief adventure in Limbo, the teens are beginning to go a little stir crazy, resulting in some of the students failing to survive a Danger Room session.

Despite this, Eva and Christopher have been working hard, and quickly latch on to each other as partners for the upcoming X-Copter evaluation, knowing that they're the two most likely to take the test seriously. It also means that they'll get the chance to leave the facility for a while, even if it is just to fly the helicopter for a few hours. Whilst on the test the two of them receive a distress call from the former villain Sabertooth, requesting their assistance.

Knowing that Sabertooth has been a vicious mercenary and killer in the past, and that they're only supposed to be proving that they can safely pilot the X-Copter, they're reluctant to help, but eventually decide to land in Chicago so that they can provide assistance. However, they soon discover more than they bargained for when they find Sabertooth with an injured Graydon Creed, the former presidential candidate who campaigned for mutant extermination, as learn that they're being hunted by mutant killing machines, the Sentinels. Working alongside the two former enemies of the X-Men, Eva and Christopher must try to get to the bottom of the mystery and survive long enough to get back to the school.

I've been a fan of the X-Men for a long while, but have to admit that I've found myself drifting away from many of the X-Men books in recent years, and as such this was my first real experience with both Eva and Christopher. Being introduced to any new heroes can be a bit daunting if you've been out of the loop for a while, but Harris made it so easy to get to know both of these characters, and I had a good understanding of who they were, and what motivated them way before they even ended up getting involved in their mission. They were written so clearly, and with enough care that not only did I never feel like I was having to play catch-up with the comics, but I left the book wanting to spend more time with the two of them; I even went and researched which comics I could find them in.

It wasn't just the two leads who had a chance to shine, however, as both Sabertooth and Graydon Creed were written incredibly well. I've had a soft spot for a good Sabertooth since reading the Age of Apocalypse and Exiles comics, so the fact that the 616 universe Sabertooth has been given the chance to walk closer to the line of being a hero, and is allowed moments here where he gets to do the right thing, and creates a friendship with the two younger mutants was incredibly well received by myself. The scenes where he would be scolded by Eva for being a grouch, or took the time to make sure that Christopher was feeling okay after using his powers, or even just making jokes with the two of them were easily some of my favourites in the book.

I was also surprised that not only did I not end up hating Graydon Creed, a man who's always been portrayed as an out and out bigot, a person who would gladly march mutants into extermination camps, I actually kind of came to like him. I know that the character has gone through a lot over the more recent years with their constant cycle of death and resurrection, but to see him showing humanity, and basic decency was a big surprise for me, and made him one of the more interesting characters in the book.

The characters and their interactions are definitely the highlight of the book, and take focus over the action sequences which are fewer and further between than if this story was made in comic form. Yes, there are some big moments of the team having to fight against some cool opponents, but that's not really what the focus of the story is about. Instead, its about these two young heroes learning that being an X-Man isn't always just flashy costumes and big adventures, that sometimes they'll be tested in extreme circumstances, and can be left deeply effected by it.

Liberty And Justice For All isn't your standard X-Men adventure, it's one that focuses more on the human (or mutant) journey that happens to these characters, it spends quite moments with its characters and lets the reader get into their heads and see the effect this life would have on someone. It might not be what you'd be initially drawn to an X-Men book for, but it's what you'll come away loving and wanting more of.

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The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher - Book Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

'Pray they are hungry. Kara finds these words in the mysterious bunker that she’s discovered behind a hole in the wall of her uncle’s house. Freshly divorced and living back at home, Kara now becomes obsessed with these cryptic words and starts exploring the peculiar bunker—only to discover that it holds portals to countless alternate realities. But these places are haunted by creatures that seem to hear thoughts…and the more you fear them, the stronger they become.'

I was introduced to the work of T. Kingfisher (the pen-name for chiefly children’s author Ursula Vernon) last year, with her horror book The Twisted Ones. That quickly became one of my favourite books of 2019, and I adored the way that she was able to draw from older horror themes (in that case the work of Arthur Machen), and create something so thoroughly chilling. When this book was announced I was excited to see what they’d do next; and I wasn’t disappointed at all.

The Hollow Places follows Kara, nicknamed Carrot, just after she divorces her husband. With work being slim and little savings she’s facing the prospect of having to move back home with her mother; something she dearly wants to avoid. Salvation comes when her uncle invites her to stay with him. Her uncle runs a small museum of oddities and ‘wonders’ that Kara grew up loving, and she jumps at the chance to spend some time with her beloved uncle, and the museum she grew up with. Everything is going great for her there, she’s staying in the back room, helping her uncle with tourists, and even getting around to cataloguing his stuffed animals and bizarre finds.

When her uncle has to take some time off to recover from knee surgery Kara is left to take care of the place alone, and is immediately met with problems when a hole gets knocked in the wall. Upset that a tourist broke the museum on her watch she asks her neighbour Simon to help with the repairs, but it’s then that they notice something strange about the hole. Instead of being just a normal hole there’s a hallway on the other side, one that shouldn’t be there, one that’s impossible. Crossing into the hole they discover that it leads to a strange bunker, one of just many in a place that shouldn’t exist. Delving deeper into this impossible world the two of them find horrors that will haunt them forever – if they live long enough to escape, that is.

If Kingfisher’s first book was inspired by the dark horror of Machen, this book feels like it would be at home in the catalogue of writers like H.P. Lovecraft, something that she confirms in the book’s afterword, also referencing Algernon Blackwood’s The Willows as an inspiration (you can read this for free online and definitely should). Like those stories The Hollow Places sets its stock in creeping atmosphere and cosmic horror that’s too alien to be able to perceive.

The world that Kara and Simon discover through the hole is one that itself is enough to unsettle and disturb; something so impossible and bizarre that its existence could cause nightmares, but it’s the hints of the things that inhabit this world that are the worst. I don’t want to talk too much about what’s on the other side of the hole, but what I will say is that the brief glimpses of things, the possible rationale and explanation that characters try to come up with, and the effects these creatures have, is so disturbing, so other, that I can’t help but think that experiencing these things would leave you traumatised forever.

The story does things that I can confidently say no one would expect, because some of the stuff here is so reality bending that there’s just no way you’re going to see everything coming. It will have you holding your breath in tense moments, wanting to put the book down because of how frightening it is, yet desperate to read more to find out what happens next. I read the book in just over a day because I found this story and its characters so utterly addictive and enthralling. Even though the scenes on the other side of the hole are some of the most disturbing I’ve read in a book, and left me feeling creeped out, I would have read so much more of it because of how much it entertained me.

This book might not be for everyone (probably because it’s going to be too scary for some) but if you enjoy horror this is an absolute must read. It left me glad that the experience was over, but so desperate for more. I wanted to know what was going on, I wanted answers because the not knowing was driving me crazy; but then that’s the mark of truly great cosmic horror.

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