Magic 7, Volume Two: Against Them All by Kid Toussaint - Book Review

 

'Leo, Farah, Lupe, and Hamelin will need all of their supernatural gifts, and all the help they can get, to fight a mysterious power that has all the authority figures in their town—teachers, parents, and police—acting strangely and dangerously. And along the way, they will learn more about the bond that links them, and just what a daunting future the Magic 7 must prepare for.'

The second volume of Magic 7 goes a bit Invasion of the Body Snatchers when all of the adult authority figures in their small town begin to act strangely, forcing our group of heroes to go underground and form a resistance movement.

Magic 7, Volume Two: Against Them All picks up a short time after the first book, with Leo, Farah, Hamelin, and their new friend Lupe, having been friends for a while and forming a stronger bond after coming together to fight Lupe's out of control robot creations. However, we learn that their peaceful lives have been thrown off kilter when the teachers at school start cracking down on minor uniform rule infringements. This seems to only be the start too, as then the parents start to clamp down on what the kids are allowed to do outside of school. They're only allowed to get together if parents are around, and neighbourhood watch groups have formed to keep an eye on kids. It reaches breaking point when the police put a curfew into effect, preventing kids being out on the street at night.

The gang also face some personal dilemmas too. Lupe loses her stash of robots, her hanger being raided by police, who take the machines in as evidence. Hamelin gets told by his father that he's going to be sent into foster care, and his animals to the pound, and is forced to run away from home. We also discover that Farah is having difficulties with controlling her fire based powers, and learn why when we're told that she's channelling the power of a demon that's trying to possess her.

With their lives seemingly falling apart around them the children of the town are forced into action, coming together to form an underground resistance movement. Our magic heroes join up with the other kids, but have to try and keep their powers hidden from their peers as they fight back against what's happening. However, they soon start to suspect that there might be a magical origin for this new threat too.

With the previous volume of Magic 7 having done a lot of the groundwork for setting up these characters this second volume moved at a much quicker pace, and was able to pack in a lot more action, adventures, and intrigue straight from the start. The story didn't have to spend time letting us get to know our main character, and as such it definitely began a lot stronger; especially by being able to give us a huge revelation into Farah's powers and her home life very early on. It turns out she's not just making fire with her magic, but is possessed by a powerful demon that she's keeping at bay, and using its powers to her own ends. This was certainly a surprising development, but not an unwelcome one. It giver her characters a lot more depth, and makes her more than just a kid with powers. She has something dangerous inside her, something that she has to keep a tight rein on else it gain control and cause havoc. It definitely helps to set her apart from the other members of the group.

We also get an early explanation for why Lupe was acting shady in the first volume, and exactly what Alice was doing, and what her powers are. Yes, she's still quite creepy and I'm not one hundred percent convinced that she's completely on the level, but she at least seemed a bit more trustworthy in this book to the previous one.

I enjoyed the story for this volume a lot more than the first too. The first was a very childish story in a lot of way. I know these are books aimed at younger readers, so the stories are going to be simpler, but a thief that's stealing random objects like the school trophy or someones jewellery to be made into robots feels a bit different to all of the adults in town turning against the children. It felt like the stakes were higher here, that the threat was a lot more serious, and that it was a more desperate fight. 

We also got hints in this volume of where the series as a whole might be heading thanks to a surprise appearance at the end of the book. It was something that I wasn't expecting, and am still not sure how I feel about it. The character it has a connection to seemed to act quite casual about something that should have been a huge emotional moment for them; but I guess we're going to have to see how it expands in future stories. We did get told why the Magic 7 are important though, and why they need to come together. It's something that I found very interesting, and if the story does follow through on what was promised here it could lead to some exciting stuff further down the line.

Overall, Magic 7, Volume Two: Against Them All proved to be a good second chapter in this story. It introduced some new characters, expanded upon the universe and gave us some interesting new information, and it felt like the stakes were a lot higher now too. If the series continues like this it seems set to only get better as it goes.

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Ghosts of the Ozarks – Film Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

I’ve got a bit of a soft-spot for historical horror. I find that the combination of horror elements and people and places that don’t really exist anymore to be hugely interesting. Especially when a story uses its setting to help enhance the horror, when the people involved don’t have the knowledge or understanding to think that ghosts or monsters shouldn’t really exist, and don’t have the technology to run away from threats. Ghosts of the Ozarks is a film that looked like it was going to be an interesting addition to this genre of horror, but became a movie that I couldn’t stop thinking about for days.

The story focuses on Dr James McCune (Thomas Hobson), a man who recently fought in the Civil War and has been recovering from his injuries sustained there, and trying to find a new life for himself. When he receives a letter from his uncle, Matthew (Phil Morris), inviting him to move to a new town as the doctor, James jumps at the chance to start afresh.

On the way to the town of Norfolk, Thomas is approached by a stranger in the woods that surround the settlement. When the man attacks James a strange red fog descends, and the man is dragged into the darkness by some unseen force. Thomas runs to Norfolk, where he’s greeted warmly by the residents, but is informed by them that the woods are protected by the ghosts, and that they took his attacker.

As a man of science, James is unsure what to believe, whether he can trust what he saw that night and if he should believe the local legends. As he settles into his new role he discovers that his uncle didn’t quite tell the truth about Norfolk. Not only is the walled town living with a ready supply of gas thanks to the local mine, leading to prosperity, but Black people are treated equally, and Matthew is even the leader of the community. James realises that there’s something special about Norfolk, and begins to form some bonds of friendship with several of the local residents. But soon he starts to realise that there’s a darkness lying just beneath the surface, and it’s connected to the ghosts.

The first thing I thought when I finished watching Ghosts of the Ozarks is that I disliked that it was a movie, because this story would have made a great mini-series or novel, and I wanted more of this. I was also shocked that the film was only an hour and forty five minutes long, as the filmmakers were really able to cram a lot of stuff into the runtime without it feeling rushed or bloated.

Whilst the movie is a horror story not a lot of it focuses on the ghosts and the horrors that are happening around the town, and a lot of it is actually about James and his story. James is played wonderfully by Thomas Hobson, who gives the character a very layered and deep performance. He’s a man who’s struggling with ghosts already, albeit ones from his past. As a Black doctor in reconstruction era America he’s seen a lot of awful things, and had a lot of awful things done to him. He carries physical and emotional scars with him, and whilst he’ trying to find a decent life for himself and is approaching things with hope you can see the trauma lying just under the surface.

But this is something that’s not just centred around James, as other inhabitants of Norfolk have a lot of dark parts of their pasts that begin to come to light. Matthew speaks of the slave markets in New Orleans, of the violence done to his people, and how it drove him to found Norfolk as a place for all people, no matter what they look like. Torb (Tim Blake Nelson), the blind tavern owner, and his wife Lucille (Angela Bettis) sit somewhat apart from the rest of the community and never seems to really fit in. Hunters Annie (Tara Perry) and William (Jospeh Ruud) live outside the community, and despite keeping the people fed are looked at with suspicion. It seems like most people in Norfolk are more than they first appear, and trying to figure them out is a big part of the fun of the movie.

The film puts this focus on characters over the horror for much of the runtime, and there were moments where I was forgetting that this was a horror as I became engrossed in these characters and seeing how this community worked. And whilst I can see that some people who come to this hoping for a more intense and overt horror experience might find it lacking, or even go so far as to call it dull, I think that it’s been one of the more engaging and engrossing horror films that I’ve seen in a long while.

Ghosts of the Ozarks also just looks beautiful. A lot of times with historical pieces if not enough care and attention gets given to the period details it can end up looking cheap or like those making it didn’t care enough. This film, however, looks great. You never once question the setting, and everyone looks like they belong in this time. Clothes are worn, people are often dirty, and the town of Norfolk looks lived in and aged. The night scenes in particular are great visually, with the use of flickering candles or oil lamps as the only source of lighting making for dynamic and sometimes beautiful moments.

I really enjoyed Ghosts of the Ozarks, and the more I think about it as time moves on since watching it the more I think I’m coming to enjoy it. I find myself going back to think about certain performances, or story points that I found interesting. I want to watch it again and to try and get more out of it, because I just want more. And that’s the only complaint that I have about this film: that it’s not bigger, that it doesn’t go on longer, and that my time with it has come to a close. Other than that, I absolutely loved it.

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Magic 7, Volume One: Never Alone by Kid Toussaint - Book Review

 

'On his first day of class at a new school, Leo, a boy who talks to the ghosts of famous dead people for fun, meets Hamlin, who can talk to animals, and Farah, a human flamethrower. The new friends band together to track down the thief who has made off with the school's prized trophy, and must use all their powers to fight off an army of gigantic robots intent on destroying them. What they don't know is that this is all just part of a much, much bigger plan...'

Magic 7 is a middle-grade urban fantasy graphic novel series from Europe Comics that sees a group of young teens with special powers learning that they're not the only people in the world with extraordinary abilities.

We begin by meeting Leo, a boy who lives alone with his mother in their new home. Leo is ready to begin his first day at a new school, Mercury High, but he's not worries about not making any friends as he always has friends with him. You see, Leo can talk with ghosts. Leo has the ability to summon any spirit and talk with them, and can even have them pass into him so that he can use their skills and knowledge.

Upon arriving at school Leo falls afoul of a pair of bullies and ends up trapped inside a locker as his fist class is starting. Leo manages to escape, thanks to the help of Houdini's ghost, but gets caught out of class and sent to the principal along with two other students; Hamlin and Farah. Leo strikes up a friendship with Hamlin, and learns that the boy is often the target of the school bullies, and is being blamed for the theft of the school trophy.

Investigating into the theft, with the help of some ghosts, Leo learns that Hamlin has the ability to talk with animals, and when he encounters the thief in action he gets rescued from their robot bodyguard by Farah, who can shoot fire from her hands. Knowing that the thief is stealing metal from around Mercury High and turning the pieces into robots, the three teens band together to get to the bottom of the mystery.

Magic 7 starts off with what seems to be something of an explanation for what might be happening as we see a robed figure giving seven individuals magical powers in an unspecified point in the past. Each of these seven is being given the powers of one particular school of magic. I'm guessing that these will be the ancestors of the seven powered teens we're sure to meet over the course of this series, but we have little other info. It's nice that the book starts with this tease, as it really didn't need to, as it shows us that this is a bigger story than just these magical kids, and that there is a history to things.

Of the three main kids we spend the most time with Leo, and he's definitely our lead character. We learn that he and his mother moved to town not long ago, and that his mother is having to work a lot of hours to support them both; leaving Leo alone a lot of the time. We discover that this is because Leo's father died. Leo admits that he tried to use his powers to talk to his father's ghost, but for some reason it doesn't work for him. I expect that this will be something that the series will revisit at some point in the future. Leo is pretty withdrawn because of these issues, but begins to become more and more outgoing as the book goes on.

Hamlin is something of a social outcast, and is treated pretty poorly by most of the other students at school. He lives alone with his father in a run-down trailer filled with animals, and their family don't really have much money. Because of this many people look down on him, and assume that because his family are poor he must be the thief. Whilst this does upset Hamlin, and we see him dealing with the prejudice he experiences, he finds solace in his animals. Hamlin's gift allows him to understand animals, but there is a slight drawback as they can only understand him if he plays a musical instrument. As a result, Hamlin is constantly experimenting with different musical instruments, seeing which ones let him talk to which animals.

Farah is the school rebel. She dresses like a goth, doesn't seem to care about the rules, and just does whatever she likes. However, there is a different side to the character that begins to pop up every now and then. When Farah gets picked up by her parents after school she's dressed like the other girls, looking all prim and proper. We learn that her parents are both very religious, and Farah maintains the lie that she's a well behaved Christian girl around them. But it turns out that she's not only hiding her rebellious side, but some magical powers too. Farah has the ability to produce and fire flames whenever she wants to.

There are two other magical children introduced in the book, but who they are and what their powers are are better left unsaid so as not to spoil too much of the book. I will say that the hints we get about them and what they're up to are pretty interesting, and have me excited for future volumes.

The art on the book is provided by Giuseppe Quattrochi, and looks really good. The book has an exaggerated, almost animated feel to it. Quattrochi isn't trying to make things look realistic, and is taking a much more dynamic approach to the art. The characters all have distinct looks to them, making them instantly recognisable, and the action sequences are bright, colourful, and really dynamic. There's not a single panel in the book that looks dull, boring, or ugly, and the art works well with the story to create a book that is a genuine pleasure to read.

I had a lot of fun reading Magic 7, Volume One: Never Alone. It was a series that I'd seen a lot, but not had a chance to pick up. Whilst I'm not upset with myself that it took me so long to actually read this book I do get the added bonus that I can jump straight to the next volume now; and I'll definitely be doing that, as I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next.

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Wyrmwood: Apocalypse – Blu-ray Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

With modern film franchises churning out sequels at a pretty consistent pace these days it’s sometimes surprising to see a film receive a sequel several years after its release. This long gap can put further expectations on these films, with fans assuming the long time between instalments meaning that the film will be bigger and better than the first. Wyrmwood: Apocalypse is the new follow-up to 2014’s Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead, and whilst I can’t compare it to the first film I can say that as a newcomer to this franchise it’s pretty entertaining.

The film is set in Australia, where a zombie virus as swept through society and reduced the survivors to having to adapt in strange ways to get by. For example, the zombies in this film emit some kind of green gas that people have since come to utilise as a source of power. I’m guessing this is something that would have been explained in the first movie, so as it is we’re dropped into a world where zombies are tied up in the back of cars with masks on their faces that collect the gas to power their vehicles. It’s pretty unique and ridiculous, and I kind of like it.

We get introduced to Rhys (Luke McKenzie), a soldier who’s been tasked with finding survivors and bringing them back to a secret underground bunker, even if that means taking them against their will. Inside this bunker the Surgeon General (Nicholas Boshir) is experimenting on the infected, and the living, to try and find a cure, and is secretly using liquids harvested from people’s brains to keep his own infection at bay.

There’s also Grace (Tasia Zalar) and Maxi (Shantae Barnes-Cowan), a pair of sisters who come into contact with the protagonists from the first movie, Barry (Jay Gallagher) and Brooke (Bianca Bradey). Brooke has been infected by the virus, but has become a strange hybrid creature who can sometimes control her hunger for flesh and can psychically command the zombies. When she loses control for a moment it results in her biting and infecting Grace. When Rhys comes across Grace he takes her prisoner and transports her to the bunker, believing that she could be the key to finding a cure. However, he soon discovers that the people he’s working for are doing awful things, and so teams up with Maxi, Barry, and Brooke to get Grace back before it’s too late.

The first third of Wyrmwood: Apocalypse is easily the weakest part. It spends some time setting all of the important pieces up, jumping from one group of characters to another as it introduces everyone. Whilst this isn’t bad in itself, not a huge amount of new or interesting things happen here, and it’s not until Rhys turns on his employers that the film really starts to get interesting. From here the movie becomes a weird and wild experience that feels like a love-letter to over-the-top action movies and weird horror games.

There aren’t a huge amount of zombie things that really take themselves seriously, due in part to the entire concept of zombies being ridiculous, and Wyrmwood: Apocalypse steers well clear of trying to make a dark, depressing story that has anything to say about society with its themes or commentary. Instead, it uses the zombies and the end of the world scenario as a springboard to do wacky action. I’ve seen some reviewers comparing it to the work of George Miller on Mad Max, and it’s not a bad comparison.

There are a number of moments in this film where the ridiculousness really helped to win me over, where I ended up shaking my head at what I was seeing, but doing it with a smile. Whether it’s the wind machine blowing Brooke’s hair whenever she uses her psychic powers, heads exploding in showers of blood, or a monster that looks like it stepped straight out of Heisenberg’s factory in Resident Evil 8, this film has too much ridiculous charm. That being said, the possessed arm scene is probably the biggest let-down in this department, as it tries to be Evil Dead and doesn’t really succeed.

The acting is pretty decent, and the best performances come from Shantae Barnes-Cowan, who does a good job as a woman out to save her sister, and Nicholas Boshier, who’s a very over-the-top mad scientist type. Most of the film is filled with macho types who spout one-liners and seem to want to deliver every moment in a way that makes them appear cool and heroic, even if it doesn’t quite fit. This results in a film where most of the characters feel two-dimensional. This isn’t necessarily bad though, as you kind of just switch off looking for anything deep or meaningful and just go along with things.

The biggest letdown for this release, however, is the disc itself. The film is the only thing on the Blu-ray, without any extras or bits and pieces to give viewers extra content. Perhaps we’ve become a bit spoilt with home releases coming with commentaries, trailers, and behind the scenes documentaries and interviews, but the lack of anything on the disc really felt like it let the movie down, and depending on the cost you might want to wait for it to come down in price a bit to justify purchasing it.

Wyrmwood: Apocalypse feels like a cheesy action movie mixed with a bad survival horror game in the best way possible. It’s the kind of film where you don’t have to think and can just switch your brain off for an hour and a half and just enjoy some silly, ridiculous fun.

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Girls Nite Out – Blu-ray Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Slasher films were big business in the 1980s. A small group of filmmakers with a camera, a couple of actors, and some bad gore effects could head out to the woods for a few days and come back with a film that could be thrown onto VHS and join the multitudes of other horror films on offer. As such, there were a lot of strange horror movies knocking around at the time. Arrow Video continue their dive into the small, overlooked, and sometimes completely forgotten horror films of decades past to bring audiences hidden gems from the years where horror was the big thing, and it could be hard to find the interesting pieces amidst all the cheap schlock.

Their latest Blu-ray horror release is Girls Nite Out, a film from 1982 that went under the radar at the time, thanks in part to being released under different names and with some odd advertisements. But now horror fans get the chance to catch this pretty strange movie.

Girls Nite Out is set on the campus of the fictional DeWitt University in Ohio. We get introduced to various students, as the team win their basketball game, folks hang out in the campus diner, and a costume party is held. The first third or so of the film is very light on the horror, and plays more like a teen college comedy than a slasher movie. Although there aren’t really many jokes, and the ones that there are don’t exactly land too well and aren’t particularly amusing, but it does have the feel of a teen comedy drama of the era with arguing couples, folks interesting in getting laid, and parties going on on campus.

The only sign that this isn’t going to be the standard for the entire movie are the scenes towards the start of the film that show a man hanging himself in a mental health facility. We don’t see much of this, and don’t know who he is, but it’s certainly a bold way to open the movie. Especially when the two men assigned to bury his body are attacked and apparently killed by someone with a shovel. After this we get a story on campus of a former student who killed his girlfriend years before and was locked away in a mental health hospital. And thus we get the set up for the movie: an escaped killer returns to campus looking to kill some teens.

Whilst this might not seem like the most original of plots, this was still something that was fairly new at the time, and the killer on campus routine was still fresh enough. One thing that this film does do that’s a pretty unique twist on the formula is having its killer steal the school mascot costume, a rather shoddy looking bear, and wearing it whilst doing their crimes. They even stick knives on the paws, something that actually predates the iconic knife hand of Freddy Krueger by a few years. Thus we have a killer that looks like a large, silly looking bear with knife hands. It’s like Five Nights at Freddy’s mixed with Porky’s.

Girls Nite Out is an odd movie. There are times where the film seems to forget that it’s supposed to be a slasher horror and simply focuses on the interpersonal drama of its main cast as they cheat on their partners, get into drunken fights, and take part in a school-wide scavenger hunt. Then the tone suddenly shifts and you’ve got a woman murdered and bound up in the school showers for her friend to find in some kind of grotesque parody of bondage play.

It doesn’t really help that the film never really seems to push too far in one direction, and is fairly tame in comparison to other movies in the genre from the same era. It doesn’t go overboard on the gore, and the killings are pretty vague and very much left up to the imagination; there are no shots of garden shears being shoved into people’s chests, or heads being crushed. It also doesn’t feature nudity, something that’s surprising for a film that’s also trying to feel like a teen sex comedy. Nudity was so common in slasher movies that I was almost waiting for the topless shot, but it never came. The film seems to be trying to play it safe in this almost family friendly middle ground, and because of that it does feel strange at times. Overall, however, it is fairly entertaining, and is far from the worst slasher film of this era. The cast do a decent enough job with the script and deliver some good performances, and there are some amusing moments scattered around too.

In addition to the film, which has been newly restored from the 35mm negative, the new Blu-ray release comes with some extras. There’s a full length audio commentary from film critic and author Justin Kerswell, and film historian and author Amanda Reyes, who discuss the making of the film, horror movies of the time, and the place Girls Nite Out has in the genre. There are also several brand new interviews with cast members from the film who discuss their time making the movie.

Girls Nite Out is likely to be one of those horror films that you’ve not heard of before, or have seen in passing as one of those ‘weird’ 80s movies. There will be long time horror fans who will remember the film though, and this release definitely seems geared towards big fans of the genre who are trying to collect together as many of these odd movies as they can. Whilst casual viewers might not find enough to be blown away by this film, those with a love for the history of horror will enjoy this one.

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Glitterati by Oliver K. Langmead - Book Review

 

'Simone is one of the Glitterati, the elite living lives of luxury and leisure. Slave to the ever-changing tides – and brutal judgements - of fashion, he is immaculate. To be anything else is to be unfashionable, and no one wants to be unfashionable, or even worse, ugly…

'When Simone accidentally starts a new fashion with a nosebleed at a party, another Glitterati takes the credit. Soon their rivalry threatens to raze their opulent utopia to the ground, as no one knows how to be vicious like the beautiful ones.

'Enter a world of the most fantastic costumes, grand palaces in the sky, the grandest parties known to mankind and the unbreakable rules of how to eat ice cream. A fabulous dystopian fable about fashion, family and the feckless billionaire class.'

Glitterati is the latest novel from Oliver K. Langmead, who wrote the stunning Birds of Paradise last year. Whilst Birds of Paradise looked backwards, taking a look at the history of the world, the garden of Eden, and the first humans, Glitterati looks forward, to an unspecified future point where the mega rich live lives of luxury.

Glitterati follows Simone, a man who lives a life of absolute luxury. He, and the other Glliterati, spend their days obsessing over fashion, about looking fabulous, and chasing the next trend. Simone has a job in a beautiful, gleaming building with other Glitterati, but the job seems to consist of posing around the office, reading magazines, and pretending to be in meetings. Jobs themselves seem to be a fashion choice, and no real Glitterati would actually work for a living.

When Simone gets his days mixed up and arrives to work wearing white rather than the expected purple that he should have been wearing on a Wednesday, he gets praised for his daring choice, and is invited to a swanky party held by the much beloved Justine. The party goes well, until Simone snorts too much cocaine and ends up having a nosebleed. Simone escapes the party, hiding his shame; but is outraged the next day when Justine is on the covers of magazines sporting her latest fashion, nosebleeds. Simone believes that Justine stole his look and sets out to get back at her. This spurs off a series of events that sets the two Glitterati as enemies, and ends up changing Simone's life forever.

I feel bad saying this, but I really don't think Glitterati was the right book for me. There's nothing wrong with it, it's written really well and has some beautiful prose, but I think the subject matter is just too far out of the area of things I enjoy for me to have been the target audience for this book. Which is a shame, because Birds of Paradise was one of my favourite books of last year; I really wanted to like this one. But, not every book is going to appeal to every person, and that's fine. And whilst this review may seem negative, please be aware that this is only my opinion, and that others love this book. So please, if it sounds like something you like pick up a copy and give it a try.

Glitterati is a book that seems to celebrate in the excess of the ultra wealthy and the mega fashionable. It feels like a combination of reality shows like Keeping Up With The Kardashians and London Fashion Week. Simone, and every other person we spend any real time with in this book, are wealthy to the point where they never have to think about money, where they can do whatever they like whenever they like, and don't even need to acknowledge that capitalism is a thing because they have enough money to make it happen. And everything they do is shaped around fashion and aesthetic beauty to the point where their actual lives seem empty of any real goals, passion, or personality.

The fashions on display in the book are often over the top. They seem impractical and often silly, and the lives of the fashionables seems to be one long exercise in showing off how opulent and pretty you are. Clothing isn't worn to be comfortable, or practical. Fashion seems to either be used to fit in with the crowds, with everyone dressing to certain themes on certain days, or as a way of expressing certain moods as facial expressions seem to be a thing forgotten for the Glitterati as any change in the face could ruin their perfect make-up. For example, if you're upset with someone and want to confront them about something you dress in armour, strapping decorative plates and weapons to yourself. 

I know I'm not a fashionable person in real life, and I care about comfort more than how fashionable I look, so I know I don't get things like this; but it felt like Langmead had taken a look at the strangest and weirdest runway fashions in the world and asked 'what if that was everyday?'. And that's not a bad idea, and it presents some interesting and unique things that make the book stand out. But it also made it feel like this was something that I just didn't understand too. I wasn't sure if it was a satire or a serious look at what a future where these trends and themes evolved into everyday wear. I can't help but feel if I knew more about fashion, make-up, and being glamorous that I'd have gotten more out it.

The book is filled with long descriptions of clothing, make-up, and accessories that Simone uses in order to make himself fashionable. The reader gets given names of designers and companies, dropped in as casual references as a way of building the world. I liked this, I enjoyed the fact that Langmead slowly built the world of the fashionable with small context details like this, and that as the book went on you'd begin to see the same names pop up again and again. But there's a lack of larger world-building that I found left me scratching my head by the end of the book.

The fashionables live in paradise, existing in a world away from the 'uglies'. Their homes , their playgrounds, and their jobs exist near regular people, but above them or to one side. The two groups never meet, never mix, and the fashionables try not to think of regular folks. But regular people clean their homes, they cook their meals, they make their clothes. Regular folk exist within the Glitterati world unseen and un-thought of. The Glitterati are able to remove memories, to have their entire childhoods erased, and to wipe away any unkind moments of their lives. They have all this advanced technology, and have this system set up where they live in luxurious ignorance because regular people work behind the scenes. But the book never explains how or why.

We never learn how the fashionable society came into existence, how they're able to live like this whilst the rest of the world struggles on like normal. We don't know why they have more advanced technology whilst other people seem to be living in a world that seems contemporary to ours. And we never get an explanation as to why people simply don't just revolt against this system and tear down the Glitterati way of life. This is stuff that I wanted desperately to know, that I found much more interesting that simply watching Simone going to the beach or the gym and seeing how he picks out his outfits. It felt like there was an interesting world here, yet we never went beyond a narrow, surface level look at it.

I also failed to connect with Simone in any real way. Simone is, frankly, an awful person. He's vapid, self absorbed, thoughtless, selfish, whiny, and has no real redeeming features. I'm not saying every protagonist needs to be good, or even likeable, but they need to have something to them that makes me care. And I just didn't have that with Simone. He gets upset that someone 'stole' is look, but Justine didn't steal anything. It wasn't Simone's look. He was running away with a nosebleed. Justine was inspired by what happened to Simone, but it wasn't a fashion he'd made and she took the idea. But in his head it is, because he thinks he's wonderful and amazing and fabulous. And I just couldn't get on board with that. Yes, Simone does begin to change towards the end of the book, but it felt like it was too little too late, and by then I'd already come to dislike him and couldn't care if he'd finally come to realise cruelty to children wasn't okay.

I feel like I've come across as too negative towards the book with this review. Please don't feel that this is me saying it's bad. Please, try the book yourselves and come to your own conclusions about it; because there's a chance you could end up being one of the folks this book was definitely made for. There's an audience for this book, and they're loving it. It simply isn't me.

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The Misfits Club For Girls: Celeste by BéKa - Book Review

 

'Their first mission was successful and Paloma, the troubled foster care teen, is adjusting to a more empowered life in a happier home setting, but now the Misfits Club for Girls has a new project: find out who has been sending shy, withdrawn, bullied Celeste nasty text messages that shatter her sense of self-worth. One of the Misfits is a computer whiz who can hack into just about any system, but what she finds out comes as a shock nobody could have possibly anticipated...'

So, it turns out some of my predictions for what was going on with some of the other characters in The Misfit Club For Girls were slightly off the money, but some of them landed pretty close to the mark, and one in particular in a surprising way that I wasn't expecting.

Having helped Paloma overcome some of the trauma in her past, and encouraged her to give being their friend a try, the Misfit Club For Girls have decided on their next big job, helping Celeste. We were introduced to Celeste in the first volume as a quiet, withdrawn kind of girl, one who's happy to let the others take the spotlight and lead. This volume opens with her walking to school, and it's immediately apparent that something's not right for her. The neat and vibrant art that Camille Mehu usually brings to the series is jagged and messy looking, presented in greys with Celeste herself being the only source of colour on the panels.

This is how Celeste sees the world most of the time. It's grey, it's drab, and she's alone in that vastness. At least, she's alone until a couple of bullies meet her at the school gate and give her some abuse. Luckily, Apoline is there to step in and scare the bullies off. Celeste brushes it off as nothing though, and carries on with things. We keep following her as the day progresses, watching as she keeps getting text messages and withdrawing into her grey world. We also learn that the source of her cuts is that she has to sneak out of her house to be able to be with her friends at night, and activity where she can't escape the messages and the effect they have on her. We discover that the messages are coming from a stalker, one who is sending her abuse, tearing her down and leaving her with little self worth.

When Apoline encourages Celeste to tell the group about the two school bullies she also comes forward with the information about her text stalker and the abuse he's been sending her. Whilst this shocks the group they all agree that it needs to end, and come together to find out who it is, and stop them.

I wasn't really sure what direction the series was going to be taking Celeste in, though I suspected due to her withdrawn nature that it would touch upon depression in some way. And this volume very much did that, even if it didn't go into great detail about it. There were no moments when the character turned round and said 'I'm depressed', but she didn't have to because you could see it. The world she withdraws into, where everything is grey and jagged, where her friends fade away felt like how I remember depression effecting me when it was at its worst. You could be surrounded by people you love, having fun, but then you'd feel yourself fading out of it, slipping into a cold, empty feeling world where even if you were in a crowd you'd feel alone. I think the team working on this book really managed to capture the essence of that well, to the point where I instantly knew Celeste was suffering without it needing to be stated in words.

Because of the kind of person Celeste is this volume didn't feel completely like her story, not to the degree that the previous one felt like it centred on Paloma. As such, the other characters were given a bit more to do, and we get some other development for them. There wasn't much from Apoline or Sierra, and other than one brief mention nothing really happens with their developing relationship. There is a small mention of Sierra's ex and what he might have done to make her so angry about him all the time. I think that this, much like the clues in the previous volume, might be setting up for what's to come, and I wouldn't be surprised to see us learning more about Sierra and her ex in a future volume.

The one who got the most to do, outside of Celeste, was Paloma. It didn't feel like the writer was giving her new stuff, however, as it really felt like the natural next step in her story from the developments that she went through towards the end of the last volume. It was more of an epilogue to how her spotlight volume ended, and it felt right to be included her. Chelonia takes on a similar role to the last volume, with her using her computer skills to move the plot forward, and taking a proactive approach to helping Celeste when she needed someone to be there for her. She's definitely fallen into the leader or mother figure of the group, and seems to be happy to get involved and help her friends, even if she is doing it in illegal and questionable ways. We also get an answer to what's going on with her father; and that's one I actually did predict!

This volume felt quite different to the last, I think it went to some darker places, and explored themes and ideas that felt a lot heavier. Many of us will have dealt, or will have to deal depression in our lives. It's something that can happen to anyone. And I think bullying and harassment is something a lot of people can also say they've been through. They're not easy topics to talk about, and whilst this book didn't do anything groundbreaking it did tackle a difficult thing with care. I also found that I've come to really like and care for these characters, so enjoyed just spending more time with them.

I'd already mentioned some of the art that Camille Mehu did on this book, talking about the way that they made Celeste's depression look. It was surprising how different the book felt when this was happening, how different it was from the rest of the book. Mehu has such a neat, clean, and beautiful art style that as soon as that changes slightly it feels wrong. Mehu used the art to tell a story in ways that comics don't always do, and it worked brilliantly.

With two volumes of this series read now I can say without hesitation that I've become a big fan of it. I enjoy the characters, I'm invested in their stories, and I want to see what happens next with them. Here's hoping volume three comes soon.

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Wayward by Hannah Mathewson - Book Review

 

'Welcome to the Witherward, and to a London that is not quite like our own… The grandchildren of the High Sorcerer are nothing but trouble. Cassia is determined to be inducted into the Society of Young Gifted Sorcerers. But the harder she trains, the more unreliable her spells become. But when Cassia accidentally awakens an archaic power, the fate of the entire city falls into her hands.

'Ollivan, her disgraced older brother, is scheming to seize the leadership of the society and revoke his banishment. But if he is to succeed, he must unravel a vengeful plot he set in motion the night he was exiled. The problem? His sister has triggered the spell.

'The city is divided between six rulers of six warring, magical factions. Each wields unique powers. Each is uniquely dangerous. The tenuous peace between them all is barely maintained by fragile accords. Now Cassia’s only chance to save that peace and put an end to the destruction she’s unleashed is to join forces with her villainous estranged brother.'

Wayward is the loose sequel to last year's Witherward, a fantasy story that takes readers to an alternate, hidden London attached to our own in the Victorian era, where magic rules supreme. Instead of following on from the previous book directly, Hannah Mathewson has chosen to jump forward in time a few years, and to follow a minor character from the first novel in a new setting. As such, Witherward is a sequel that fans of the first will enjoy, but also a perfect jumping on point for brand new readers.

The story focuses on two siblings, Cassia and Ollivan. Both of them are the grandchildren of the High Sorcerer, the leader of the Sorcerer's region in London. Cassia spent several years growing up in 'the Zoo', the part of London run by the Changelings (and where we met her in the first novel). Since returning to her people a few years previously, she's been studying to use her Sorcerer gifts and wield magic; hoping that she can prove herself and join an illustrious club, the Successors, for important Sorcerer families. Ollivan, the older of the two siblings, has spent the last year banished from the Witherward, forced to live amongst regular, non-magical humans in the other London. Having been accused of murdering a member of the Wraith faction, Ollivan was banished from his world by his grandfather, but has a plan to return home.

When Ollivan stages a daring scheme to have himself elected as the new president for the Successors using hidden promises, underhand dealings, and half forgotten bylaws, he's able to return to the Witherward for the duration of his term. This allows Ollivan two years in which to find a way to convince his grandfather to let him stay. However, before that happens he need to disarm a dangerous magical artefact he left behind before his exile; a weapon that he left to ensnare the person who caused his exile. Unfortunately, Cassia has the item in her possession; and if Ollivan can't disarm it the entire city could be at risk.

As someone who reads a lot of books each year I really do appreciate it when authors return to the worlds that they've created, but aren't relying on you to remember everything. When you've read close to two hundred books between the first and the sequel it can be hard to remember every character and every plot point, so having the sequel be almost a stand-alone story in its own right is absolutely my kind of thing. Not only that, but Mathewson really expanded the world she created by leaving the group of characters we followed in the original and taking a look at another part of that universe. We got to see how a different group of people live, how a different part of that society operates, and it led to some great expansion.

Wayward does assume that you've read the first book in some ways. Where the first one had a character being introduced to this other, magical version of London this one doesn't. Both of our POV characters grew up there, they understand the rules and the way the world works. We don't get as in-depth a breakdown of what this other version of London is like. But, I never felt like it was skipping over things, or that new readers could get lost. The book dropped in the background details as they became important, allowing the reader to learn things as they happened organically, rather than giving big info-dumps or explanations that could slow the action down.

One big difference here, over the first book, is that we follow two characters, rather than having the one lead. Cassia and Ollivan are very different types of people, and jumping between their perspectives lets the reader see the same scenarios in very different ways. Cassia is more reserved and introverted. She doesn't really have any friends, she feels slightly uncomfortable in the Sorcerers part of London thanks to growing up with the Changelings, and her magic isn't as strong or well honed as she wants it to be. Ollivan is a huge contrast to this. Despite having been accused of murder and exiled he managed to keep some strong friendships, he's outgoing and tends to be a smooth talker, he walks around with confidence and believes himself to be the smartest person in the room, and his magic is powerful.

The narrative switches between the two of them at various points, and Hannah Mathewson does a good job at picking the right moments to do so. We will see events from the point-of-view of one of them, seeing several plot points unfold, leading us to come to certain conclusions about what's happening; then the point-of-view will change and we either get more information that gives further context, or we learn something that completely changes what we thought we saw. Mathewson uses this to great effect, with the two perspectives working together to build on each chapter, either building a bigger and more developed world, or giving us a twist or two.

I also really liked that because our two leads were siblings we don't really get the romance sub-plot that books in this genre have. Yes, there are romances in the book, including wonderfully healthy queer relationships that aren't treated as anything but normal, but these aren't the main thrust. Instead, the book is about family. It's about the people that you don't choose to love, but are obligated to because you're related to them. And sometimes those relationships aren't great, you might not particularly like each other. This is what Wayward makes the focus. I think most readers will have someone in their family who they don't always see eye-to-eye with, who might even drive you to the end of your patience at times, so I think a lot of readers will be able to relate to Cressia an Ollivan to a certain degree.

The threat in Wayward is also a lot more straight forward than the first book. The first novel had mystery to be solved, hidden goals and secret plots. It was complex in a lot of ways. Wayward, in comparison, is much more straight forward. There's a threat that becomes apparent, and the heroes have to find a way to stop it. And I don't mean simple in a bad way, there's still a lot of layers here and stuff to uncover, but the threat is definitely more overt. I loved this approach, and found the threat to be a really cool and even creepy opponent.

I really enjoyed Wayward, I liked that this wasn't just another story with the same characters, that Mathewson didn't try to come up with more adventures that might have felt like it changed the way things ended in the first book. Instead, we got a book that expanded the universe, that went to new places and did some exciting new things to the mythology that's just making this series all the more exciting. I hope that this is the way this series is going to go with future entries, that we'll be getting new characters and new places each book; and if it is, I can't wait.

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The Misfits Club For Girls: Paloma by BéKa - Book Review

 

'Four high school girls who have problems fitting in decide to join forces and form their own club, which they feel will empower them to better face the world and their own individual problems. Their first goal is to get girl No. 5 to join them: Paloma, a troubled and anti-social teenager who's lived in more than fifteen foster homes since she was six. But before the Misfits can welcome Paloma into the fold, they must first get her to confront her difficult and tragic past.'

The Misfits Club For Girls is a new teen coming-of-age graphic novel series from Europe Comics that sees five young women who are outsiders and outcasts come together to form a friendship that will help each of them deal with their issues and live happier lives. At least, that's the plan.

The story begins with the focus of this volume, Paloma, arriving to live at her 15th foster home. Paloma has failed to find a place in any of the homes that have taken her in, and she expects that this one will fail for her too. She believes it so much that the first thing she does upon arriving is to set a fire in her bedroom. Fortunately for her, her new foster mother, Liselotte, takes it in her stride and doesn't let it bother her. She doesn't mind when Paloma refuses to eats with her, she doesn't say anything when Paloma wrecks the house. Paloma is sure that Liselotte is going to throw her out any moment. But then Liselotte makes her a deal, if Paloma can make a real friend within a year she won't get thrown out, and won't have to go into a group home.

The first year comes and goes without success, so she gets an extension. She gets another when she fails again, and another, and another. It's whilst in her fourth year living with Liselotte that she gets an email from the school informing her that she has to go to a mandatory tutoring session. When she arrives she finds four other girls from the school, other outcasts. There's Celeste, Sierra, Apoline, and Chelonia. It turns out Chelonia, who's something of a hacker, used her skills to get in the school system and look into the other girls, and faked the emails to get them all together. She's seen the way the five of them are treated by the other students, how sad and angry they are, and is sure that they can help each other. She proposes they become The Misfit Club For Girls.

Whilst the others are up for the idea Paloma is angry that they would try to be her friends and storms out. This leads to the club making getting Paloma to join be their first official action. They try talking to her inviting her to hang out, and whilst these plans and schemes bring the rest of them closer it doesn't convince Paloma. They know that they're going to have to take drastic steps to get her into the club, and so form a plan that will uncover some startling revelations.

I really enjoyed The Misfit Club For Girls. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about it when it first began, mainly because Paloma is a really tough character to like at first; especially when she's being so mean to Liselotte, who is just wonderful. When the book introduced the other members of the group things got better, and it felt like a much needed injection of new and exciting energy. Whilst we don't get to know all of the group super well at this point I did like what I learnt. Apoline is a tall, Black lesbian who gets picked on for her sexuality, but is super confident in who she is and doesn't seem to let it bother her. Pretty early on we see her get a comment about being a 'dyke with big boobs' and it doesn't even phase her. She forms a connection with Sierra, who has pretty extreme emotional reactions to things, especially seeing her ex with new girls. Over the course of the book the two end up kissing more than once, and whilst Apoline is cool with it Sierra is clearly struggling with her identity and who she's attracted to. This is something I really hope comes up more in future volumes.

Celeste seems super quite, not really speaking much and avoids confrontation. She loves to read and tries to be nice to folks. There are a couple of moments throughout the book where she ends up turning up to the group with scrapes and cuts, and I wouldn't be surprised if perhaps this is setting up a future revelation of her being a victim of abuse at home, or possibly self harming. Whatever route her story goes, I'm super interested in seeing it. Chelonia is the member of the group that seems the most well adjusted. She doesn't appear to have any real issues to be dealing with, and has a good handle on her emotional state. Yes, she engages in some pretty illegal activity with her hacking, and has no sense of personal boundaries when it comes to looking into folks past; but she seems fairly okay. However, there is a scene where the girls visit her house and she tells them her mother died years ago, and her father is disabled and stays in his room. There's a moment where the book makes a point of showing us that there's only one toothbrush in her bathroom; so I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out she's living alone and has no parents in her life.

But, the focus of this volume is Paloma; and over the course of the book we begin to understand why she's so angry, why she doesn't want to make friends with people, and how much Liselotte means to her. Her story was pretty interesting, and I enjoyed learning about her history and why she ended up the way she did. It was lovely to see her change over the course of the book too, learning that it's okay to open up to people and to start letting her guard down. There are developments towards the end of the book that means whilst her initial story here seems to be fairly resolved she'll be going through some big things going forward. I was surprised at how much the end of her story effected me emotionally, and I found myself tearing up at one point.

The art on the book, by Camille Mehu, is very pretty, and I really liked how the book looks. The art feels very soft, with minimal lines that are all really thin and precise. It felt kind of delicate at times. Each panel is filled with detail though, and every location feels lived in and full of things to look at. Each of the girls looks instantly unique too, with their own distinct looks and styles that mean you're able to identify them straight away on the page.

The Misfits Club For Girls: Paloma is a great start to this new series. It was a really entertaining and endearing introduction to these characters and this idea, and whilst it wasn't perfect it ended up entertaining me and delighting me throughout. With more of the group yet to focus on, and with the seeds of future stories already being planted here, I look forward to seeing what comes next.

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The Adventures of Maid Marian – Film Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Everyone knows Robin Hood. Whether you know the story or not, you know the name. But there was more to the legend than this one man; after all, he has a whole band of ‘merry-men’ around him acting as a supporting cast. One of the main figures of his legend is Maid Marian, a capable female warrior who was also Robin’s love interest. Over the years Marian has been given meatier roles in various adaptations, from being the true leader of the Merry Men in the BBC children’s show, to little more than a prisoner of the villains that Robin has to rescue. Whatever role she takes, she’s become a key part of the story of Robin Hood.

Writer and director Bill Thomas has forgone telling the story that we’re familiar with, of the dashing hero thief working against a villainous sheriff, and has set his story years after the tale of Robin Hood has come to a close. Set years after Robin has won and joined the King in his war abroad, The Adventures of Maid Marian focuses on the person he left behind, his love, Marian (Sophie Craig).

Marian has spent the last three years living in a small convent under an assumed name, keeping her identity secret from those around her. She’s pretty bad at being a nun, and regularly sneaks off to go and help people in the surrounding area as a masked archer. When Marian hears that King Richard the Lionheart has died and his soldiers will be returning home, she leaves the convent and travels to the pre-arranged place where she hopes to meet Robin (Dominic Andersen) again.

Robin returns from the war, and the two of them make plans to finally be together, to make a life with each other and get the happy ending that they were denied all these years. Unfortunately, others intend to ruin these plans. The disgraced and exiled Sheriff of Nottingham (Bob Cryer) has returned to seek revenge against Robin. With a group of mercenaries helping him, he begins to hunt the two young lovers across the countryside, determined to make them pay for everything they did to him.

The Adventures of Maid Marian is billed as being ‘her story’; it’s on the poster for the film, and she’s front and centre of all the marketing. And whilst she is the central focus of the film and we follow her throughout, this doesn’t really feel like her story. When the film started and she was sneaking out of the convent to help folks I was expecting that she would upset the wrong person, or end up becoming a wanted criminal and it would be her own actions that spur the events of the film on. Instead, this is more of a follow-up to Robin Hood’s story, and is still very much about him.

The villain of the piece has his sights set on hurting Robin, and even says more that he didn’t intend to do anything to her. He does put her in danger, and sets his men to harm her, but only when she tries to stop him from killing Robin. So yes, she might be the hero of the film, she might be the one having to step up and save the day, but she does so in order to resolve a man’s story, and as such it doesn’t really feel like, as the title suggests, this is her adventure.

Another thing that I found that stood out when watching the film is that things such as costumes, arms and armour look pretty good. But perhaps a little too good. Clothing looks bright and fresh and brand new, like they’d just been made that morning. Whilst this isn’t really too big of an issue in itself – after all it is period accurate clothing – nothing looks worn or lived in. Perhaps we’ve been spoilt by big fantasy and historical productions where they’re able to give over more time and money to such things, but The Adventures of Maid Marian never looks like it is taking place in a real historical setting, and looks more like an reenactment.

The action also feels a little flat at times too, and whilst there is nothing majorly wrong with it there are never any moments where things feel really dangerous. The fighting has a slightly sluggish feel to it, like the participants are simply going through the motions instead of genuinely fighting for their lives. The choreography never tries to do anything inventive or new, and the film doesn’t really offer anything that we’ve not seen before elsewhere.

The Adventures of Maid Marian tries to be entertaining, and in that regard it doesn’t exactly fail. It’s an entertaining enough way to spend a couple of hours, but if you’re looking for something to wow you, to become your new historical epic go-to film, this may not meet those expectations.

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