Author: hscptcrash

Blog Tour Review: Devil Darling Spy by Matt Killeen

Characters

Sarah and the Captain are given time to really show us how they’ve been changed from the events of Orphan Monster Spy. Not only do we see individual development, but there’s plenty of evolution to the dynamic of the relationship of the pair.

What I enjoyed most about this story, was Sarah’s narrative about her growing up. It makes an interesting change to have a character of her age express something other that a wish to grow up. While it may appear like fear on the service, it very quickly becomes clear that it’s a lot more complex than that. It also makes for a very interesting dynamic between Sarah and several other female characters that appear. 

Plot

The plot centres around a new mission for the Captain and Sarah. One that reads well as a stand alone but, much like a good cheese and wine, is complimented and added to with its previous instalment: Orphan, Monster, Spy.
Our familiar characters are sent to Africa in order to seize what is believed to be a new weapon that’s come about from experiments of germ warfare. Along the way, we meet rogues, traitors and people who aren’t all what they seem.

You won’t get a second to breath as this high-speed thriller brings you to a part of the war that you may not be familiar with. There’s nothing better than a book with a message and a lesson in history.

Writing

I love Killeen’s narrative. His way with words is incredible and is able to pull me so far in I feel like I’m wearing VR and actually taking a role in the unfolding story. Despite being written in the first person, Sarah’s emotions leap off the page. It’s crafted, its fiction that’s rooted in a challenging history that only Killeen could make work.
It’s a writing style I would love to have many books to read. Equally, he could make me wait longer than J RR Martin and I’d still be grateful of anything that comes my way.

Devil Darling Spy is out 5th March

Devil Darling Spy Blog Tour Q&A with Matt Killeen

You made it very clear about the dates throughout the book and there are many years in which the war continues. Are there plans to continue Sarah’s story beyond the two novels?

Sarah certainly has more missions ahead of her, and you’re right, there are five more years of the war to go…assuming she can survive that long. I have many ideas and some clear thoughts about where she might end up. Also, finding something she can realistically influence is important…but there’s a very stark delineation between things that live in my head and what publishing may or may not share with the world. Sarah may find herself kicking her heels for a while.

Are there any difficulties to rooting a story in history? On the flip side, what are the rewards?

It is certainly swings and roundabouts. I always say that “history delivers”. Almost every piece of research provides something astounding that I can use to further the narrative. I imagined a Nazi boarding school, and lo, there they were the Napola Schools. I also like the framework that real events provide and the craft of winding your narrative between the real bits, so you can tell several stories at once. But assuming that you’re writing fiction, you are on some level simultaneously proposing an alternative history – even narrative non-fiction works demand a little guesswork and elaboration. That’s a responsibility too. What’s hard is that these events – including the death, atrocity and horror – happened to real people. You owe them, to tell their story, or the story of which they were a part, with some authenticity – either by fact or emotional truth. That’s an abstract concept if you’re talking about Ancient Rome, but WW2 is well-documented. There’s a lot of faces looking back at you. I’d argue for the necessity of forging a compelling narrative as a vehicle to discuss and highlight important issues – “history must be burned into the imagination before it can accepted by the reason” Lord Macaulay said, I think – but there’s a line, somewhere along the way, where you pass into exploitation, prurience and tastelessness. That moment isn’t always clear and obvious. This is particularly apparent when you talk about the Holocaust. Writing Devil Darling Spy, I’m dealing with colonialism and imperialism – that exploitation continues in one form or another and real responsibility for the horror has not been taken by the perpetrators. This is raw and ongoing. That makes all this harder to do right and there’s a reasonable argument that I shouldn’t even be trying. But I couldn’t walk away from the chance to put these events front and centre of people’s minds.

Both Orphan Monster Spy and Devil Darling Spy are empowering to readers today. What other books have you discovered since the release of Orphan Monster Spy that you feel demonstrate the same empowering theme?

​Well I’m glad to hear people find them empowering…certainly that would be my hope, but Sarah kind of does her own thing. As my editor once put it, “Sarah does not always model good behaviour.” I was just thinking about the moment she saves the Captain on the dock in Friedrichshafen in Orphan Monster Spy. That was Sarah’s decision. She wasn’t going to be saved, or even save herself. That’s the moment I understood her, when I really knew who she was. I know some writers hate this idea, that characters could or should make decisions, but that’s how it is for me.

There have been some excellent, nuanced female characters of late – well-written women and girls rather than the “kick-ass” archetype – like Wing Jones, Tulip Taylor, Izzy O’Neill,  and I’m a sucker for the profoundly flawed, like Bevan from Other Words for Smoke. Then there’s Amani from Alwyn’s Hamilton’s Rebel of the Sands Trilogy which I finished since Orphan was released…they feel related, which shouldn’t surprise as many of the people who chose Amani’s story for publication, also chose Sarah’s.

I make no apologies for the graphic novel reference – because comics are reading – but of everything I’ve read lately, I’m finding the Lumberjanes comics to be the most invigorating, joyful fiction. All female and diverse ensemble cast of wonderful characters having funny, smart and rollicking adventures at Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Hardcore Lady Types. I feel empowered, I can only imagine the power of these characters for young teenagers. One of its creators is the showrunner on the new She-Ra series, which is happily consuming me right now. In fact, I’m wearing a She-Ra t-shirt as I’m typing this…and I hated the old show for the exploitative, unreconstructed toy commercial it was.

Do you listen to any particular music while writing?

Music is very important to me, but I need a very specific kind of music to write to. It usually can’t have words or be too up-tempo, and guitar-based stuff is too intrusive. It has to allow a certain detachment, but can’t be drivel either – something that I can lost in, but doesn’t dominate my brain. Soundtracks don’t always do this and not all classical music hits the spot, but I think what works best is called New Classical or Neo-classical or something equally dismal. A Winged Victory for the Sullen is the best example. There are certain pieces or albums that are absolutely tied into my work, both as inspiration and as soundtrack to the action. Agnes Obel and Kathryn Joseph are rare examples of vocalists that I work to, as they’re all quiet pianos, pain and anguish. So I have an evolving and ever-growing playlist of this stuff, and when it goes on, I’m ready.

For more general, around the writing work, I listen to BBC 6Music but I really don’t like the schedule changes they made about a year ago. After nearly 10 years of working at home and hearing the same voices every day, losing them for something less than was a bit heartbreaking. I’m still grieving. I’ve found Spotify really good, it came with my new phone, but I have severe reservations about its morality. They don’t pay their artists much of anything.

Devil Darling Spy is out 5th March

Check out my next post for my review x

Dispatches From Elsewhere Episode One Review @jasonsegel

Dispatches From Elsewhere

Episode One

This show is special. It’s a show that feels so different, new and bold. Yet I’m not at odds with its high concept. I feel at home and comfortable with all that was thrown at me in the 50 minutes of delightfully weird narrative.

This is a Douglas Adams creation for today. It’s self aware, while keeping the main characters in the dark about how this 10-episode story will unfold.

I’m not going to tell you much about the plot or premise, other than to say it is perfect for those who enjoyed Hitchhikers, Dirk Gently and Pushing Daisies. The episode ends far too soon and will ensure you have an hour a week set aside for this show and in which you won’t even think of checking your phone.

Jason Segel is a welcome sight on the screen, and brings a vulnerability and an ‘everyman’ appeal to the role of Peter. My heart melted with one of the last scenes he was in and the newly acquainted characters said goodbye-for-now.

However, the most important and beautiful aspect of Dispatches is the casting of Eve Lindley as Simone. We have a trans actress, playing a trans character with little to no fanfare. It’s not a gimmick, it’s not a Box-checking ‘aren’t we inclusive’ character. Nicole is … Nicole. She is beautiful, open and there’s a connection between her and Peter that is palpable. Their chemistry is instant. Segel has given us a a character and a relationship that should have been on screen decades ago: one that just ‘is’.

Finally, Richard E Grant. Every single syllable from his mouth are glorious. He grabs your attention from the start and he’ll haunt you between episodes, I promise you that. I don’t trust him, yet I am soothed by him.

Damn, I’m hooked.

Blog Tour Review: Highfire by Eoin Colfer

‘A joyous fantasy for grownups’ Guardian 

‘A funny, offbeat adult fantasy novel’ Independent

‘A dazzling first adult novel from bestselling children’s author Colfer’ Daily Mail

Highfire is a genre-bending tour-de-force of comedy and action by the million-copy-selling master storyteller.

Squib Moreau may be swamp-wild, but his intentions are (generally) good: he really wants to be a supportive son to his hard-working momma Elodie. But sometimes life gets in the way – like when Fake Daddy walked out on them leaving a ton of debt, or when crooked Constable Regence Hooke got to thinking pretty Elodie Moreau was just the gal for him . . .

An apprenticeship with the local moonshine runner, servicing the bayou, looks like the only way to pay off the family debts and maybe get Squib and his momma a place in town, far from Constable Hooke’s unwanted courtship and Fake Daddy’s reputation.

Unfortunately for Squib, Hooke has his own eye on that very same stretch of bayou – and neither of them have taken into account the fire-breathing dragon hiding out in the Louisiana swamp . . . 

For Squib Moreau, Regence Hooke and Vern, aka Lord Highfire of Highfire Eyrie, life is never going to be the same again.

‘Told in crunchy prose, with lashings of earthy dialogue, it reads like an Elmore Leonard Thriller, but with dragons . . . Colfer clearly had a blast writing this, and his sheer storytelling panache brushes aside the quibbles of fantasy-genre agnostics with infectious glee’ Mail on Sunday

From the internationally bestselling author of the Artemis Fowl series: Eoin Colfer’s first adult fantasy novel is a hilarious, high-octane adventure about a vodka-drinking, Flashdance-loving dragon who’s been hiding out from the world – and potential torch-carrying mobs – in a Louisiana bayou . . . until his peaceful world’s turned upside down by a well-intentioned but wild Cajun tearaway and the crooked (and heavily armed) law officer who wants him dead.

What a glorious read from the amazing mind of Eoin Colfer. Vern is the last living dragon and reads like a character created for David Harbour to play. He’s gruff and closed off, and that’s the way he likes it. That is, of course, until Squib comes hurtling into his life, bringing with him chaos and danger.

It’s a well written, funny book that doesn’t hold back in the slightest. You can clearly see from how this book is crafted, why Colfer wrote another instalment in Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s series. Colfer embodies Adams’ charm and wit and brings it to the 21st century.

This book is a perfect stand alone but I would love to see a sequel. Many sequels. Hell, if Eoin Colfer wants to throw out seven or eight tales of Vern and Squib, I’ll be there waiting for the publishing date of each one.

Han x

Review: Star Trek Picard (Episode One) Spoiler Free

Star Trek: Picard

S1 Ep1: Remembrance

First Thoughts

I watched the first trailer late at night whenever it dropped online. I showed it to my dad first thing, the very next day. His face lit up and he grinned like a kid at Christmas. Star Trek was not just ‘his’ show, it was ‘our’ show. He was so looking forward to catching up with Jean Luc and he found the addition of Seven in the second trailer rather clever. Unfortunately, my father passed in November, so tomorrow is going to be very different to the day we’d had planned. In fact, I almost was going to never watch it.

Fast forward to January 2020 and I’ve sobbed through the first half of the other show of ‘ours’; Dr Who. The thought of Picard being as painful was actually on my mind a hell of a lot.

Then, something amazing happened. I won tickets through Amazon Prime to be at the premiere in London. Seems like dad was there making sure I didn’t let this show pass me by.

The Logical

  • This is Trek, but not as we’ve come to know it. At the heart we do have familiar faces, but this isn’t the universe we left the crew of Enterprise in. It’s a stunningly flawed and embittered society we’re faced with and it clashes with the serenity of the vineyard.
  • There’s catching up for viewers to do and it’s done in a way that embraces those who are new to the franchise. There’s no gate keeping in the opening episode. Which is brilliant because I was a bit foggy on the events of that last movie outing.
  • Visually, it is stunning. From the costumes, to the physical movement and location choices. It is that balance between the tv show and the cinematic outings.
  • Patrick Stewart not only fits back into the role like he’s never left, he makes it seem so effortless. Jean Luc instantly pulls back your loyalty and your trust like its 1987. There’s a scene in which Picard engages with the media and I found it to be one of the most powerful scenes ever crafted for Trek: it was able to comment upon topical politics while utilising Stewart’s theatrical background for a breathtaking speech.
  • New face, Isa Briones, has a charm that will disarm you while the mystery surrounding her will keep you thinking long after the credits role. The actress is challenged with making the audience feel something for her very quickly and she does so with beautiful grace.
  • A personal favourite actress of mine, Alison Pill, shines in the later half of the episode as what I hope will be our resident Dr for this series. Her interaction with Picard are tonally perfect and give the viewers a humorous interlude to the dramatic.

The Illogical

  • Why are they not all dropping tomorrow?! The episodes, that is. Wow! That first episode was over in a flash and left me wanting more. Yes, I’m impatient and I have questions that need answers.

Final Thoughts

This episode is not fan service, it’s not about everyone getting a pay check. This first episode is the start of something! It’s a well crafted, emotionally charged hour of tv perfection.

Star Trek Picard launches its first episode tomorrow on Amazon Prime.

Love Han x

Blog Tour Review: Storm of Ash by Michelle Kenney

The brand new novel from Michelle Kenney, author of the Book of Fire and City of Dust!

As Talia treks back through the treacherous North Mountains, she knows only three things:
 
Pantheon has stolen nearly everyone she loves;
Her blood is the only control over the Voynich’s oldest secret;
And Cassius won’t stop hunting Arafel until every last outsider is destroyed.

Will Talia finally face her legacy and defeat Cassius before it is too late?

Characters

As a reader, I’ve spent a long time with these characters. From the first book, you take them into your heart so that even between books you’re wondering how they’re fairing.

Of course, being a final instalment there’s to be expected some character evolution and some conclusions to the story that’s unfolded before us.

Talia is the one. She’s been a solid and fully formed character from the very start. You will see the return of characters and bid farewell others. Not before each has their time to shine of course.

Plot

It doesn’t initially feel like the conclusion or the end of a trilogy; the action remains full throttle from the first page to the final line. It doesn’t stop two thirds of the way in order to wrap up the strands neatly. It allows for a story that is gripping, characters that you know will continue on beyond the pages of the book.

All in all, it’s a fitting ending and a perfect way to wrap up this amazing trilogy.

Writing

The only thing that made this a hard read was that it was a world I was not ready to say goodbye to. There are very few writers who could incorporate language from a classical era in such a smooth way, that you will find yourself not requiring the glossary that’s attached. It’s the incorporation of these words that enables such a rich world to be built and for the reader to fall into.

Final Thoughts

I’m still not ready to say goodbye. These books have been a comfort and I’ll be reading them many times again over the years.

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

Rating U

Length 1hr 25

Release 18.12.1992

Director Brian Henson

Naughty

  • It’s Michael Caine’s performance alone that saves this film from being an outright camp pantomime. As much as I love some aspects of Gonzo and Risso, some of it strays a little too far for me.
  • There’s some odd dialogue choices along the way. There’s the headmaster who declares ‘it’s the American way’ before being corrected. Much in the same way as the film’s narrators, it takes you out of the film.
  • Not too sure how I feel about Michael Caine’s singing prowess. It’s very much the voice equivalent of dad dancing. I know the film seemed aware of it by keeping his musical additions to a minimum, but it’s really weird and jarring to not have your protagonist have at least his own song in what is essentially a musical.
  • There seemed to be a significant shift in quality when it came to the creation of the secondary and background puppetry.

Nice

  • Gonzo makes for a brilliant narrator and it’s something I’ve not seen in many other versions. It brings, when it works, some of the original text to the screen and some humour.
  • On the most part, all of the Muppets are well cast in their Dickensian roles. I completely adore Kermit as Cratchett and Statler and Waldorf as the Marley brothers.
  • Both the Swedish Chef and Animal make cameos that don’t quite fit, but are both so awesome you won’t care.
  • Michael Caine, musical elements aside, is a wonderful Scrooge. He is almost in a completely different movie to his puppet counterparts, but that strangely works in this case. As a Scrooge, he’s able to show the development of character and a will to change.

Final Thoughts

It’s a fair adaptation and while Caine lacks the flair for singing, he’s now too iconic in the role to even dare to mentally recast.

The Kevin Smith View Askew Film Tag

I’ve just watched Jay and Silent Bob Reboot and I’m not quite ready to write my review. I’m still very much in my own head and emotional about it all so I’ve decided to though out a tagged post for people to complete.

You know the rules; answer the questions, link back to this original post, the person who tagged you and three awesome people you wish to tag!

Starters

Which Kevin Smith movie introduced you to the View Askew universe?

For me it was Dogma, although I think I’d seen pieces of Mallrats without being aware of its connection. I will ashamedly admit I hated the film when I first saw it. It was slightly too weird for me and I actually took the VHS back for a refund the next day.

However, the story stuck with me and a little over 6 months later I gave it another watch. I fell in love with it: the filmmaking style, the humour and the religious accuracy. I bought it again and it’s been a go to movie of mine ever since.

Favourites

View Askew movie

Surprisingly it’s not Dogma. Not any more. My favourite is Clerks 2. I saw the hell out it in the cinema. There was the added bonus that every screening over the month I went to watch it had a Nokia advert beforehand with Gary Oldman being his delightful self in and around New York.

Clerks 2 is my favourite because it for me, this film is still quirky while being given the budget of a mainstream movie. There’s a charming story at the heart of the film and is that rare sequel that doesn’t require you to have seen the preceding movie.

View Askew character

Elias! How can you not love Clerks II’s fearful, geeky Elias?! From his fucked up banter filled relationship with Randell to his jacking off to a donkey show swan song Elias is my … well he’s not my hero, but he certainly makes me laugh, a lot.

Silent Bob line or speech

“Adventure, excitement … a Jedi craves not these things.” Mallrats

View Askew universe callback

It would have to be the Bluntman and Chronic/ Cashing Amy callback in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.

Celebrity Casting

Alan Rickman, hands down is the best celebrity casting from all of the movies. Not only does Smith give Rickman the opportunity to flex his comedic muscles, he gets his pants down too.

Up until Rickman’s untimely return to the heavenly Morissette’s side, I had been looking forward to a Rickman reprise in Smith’s movies.

Geeky movie nod

It has to be the Indy ‘no ticket’ reference in Dogma. The added bonus being that it’s Silent Bob who utters it.

Non universe movie

Zack and Miri Make a Porno. I can’t put my finger on what makes this film work so well, but it’s truly charming and I love it.

Fandom

Do you have a Kevin Smith-worthy story connected to any of his films?

I have a few and they all have to be told.

So… I make the mistake of watching Chasing Amy with my dad (I can’t quite remember if mum was there too) and he spent the whole fucking movie asking ‘where’s Amy?’, ‘is there an Amy?’, ‘who is Amy?’, ‘why is this film called Amy?’. Then the fucker talks all the way through Silent Bob’s speech.

My dad, I suspect is much like any other man and enjoyed his porn. My theory was proven when my self confessed technophobe father who had spent the last year insisting he didn’t know how the DVD player worked, managed just fine when it came to watching my newly purchased Zack and Miri. He claimed it accidentally started playing, which might have been plausible had the dvd not still been in its wrapper when I’d left for work.

Finally, I managed to ask the awesome man himself a question during a Q & A in London a few years back. I also used the opportunity to thank him for being a big inspiration in my life. I was not expecting him to ask questions and the following exchange took place:

“Oh, thanks to Dogma I became an RE teacher.”

“What’s RE?”

“Religious Education.”

“Fuck, man you totally didn’t get the point of that movie.”

“Oh I did. I teach that religion is just an idea.”

“Wow, you got my movie better than I did.”

To have that exchange, to let him know how important he was in influencing something that I’d dedicated ten years of my life to. Well, it meant the world to me.

How do you show you are a fan?

Interestingly enough, I don’t own a single t-shirt like I do for all my other fandoms. I did have Jay’s ‘fuck, Motherfuck’ song as my ringtone until I became a teacher and was too scared it would go off in class.

What I do have though, is a Metatron quote tattoo in tribute to Alan Rickman. “Noah was a drunk, look what he accomplished” and it’s true, check your bible.

What do you want to see Smith tackle next?

So the question I asked at the Q & A was which Shakespeare would he like to take on if he had the chance. This is my go to question for many a person I’ve met, but of all the people I’ve asked I thought this would be the biggest risk and best pay off. Indeed, it was the best answer I’ve ever gotten and the answer really surprised me.

I, personally, want a View Askew take on A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Mainly because I’d love to see Silent Bob take on the guise of Puck, remain silent for the whole movie before giving that beautiful monologue at the end. Plus, it’s a play about sex crazed teens, woodland creatures playing with drugs and a donkey show… aren’t they all within Smith’s wheelhouse?!

Tags

I’ll be tagging the boys over at Sorry, You’re in My Seat, Ollie from Out of Our Element and Amy Smith (filmswithamy)

In The Loop (2009)

Rating 15

Length 1Hr 46

Release 17.4.2009

Director Armando Iannucci

About During an interview, British Cabinet Minister Simon Foster (Tom Hollander) delivers an off-the-cuff remark that war in the Middle East is “unforeseeable.” Profane political spin doctor Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi) tries to cover up Foster’s faux pas, but the ill-conceived comment is picked up by a warmongering American official. Foster is invited to Washington, D.C., where a war of words brews as politicians maneuver, manipulate and deceive each other before a U.N. vote on military action.

The Good

  • I like that you don’t need to have seen The Thick of It to watch this film. I’m certain there’s value added for fans, but I certainly didn’t feel lost. Well, no more lost than I ended up being with this car crash of a film.
  • There are some amazing lines in this film. Yes, I’m childish, those lines do mostly involve swearing. From losing count of the amount of fuck’s Capaldi uses to his wonderful ‘fuckerty bye’ I was giggling.
  • Tom Hollander steals the show for me. He’s the satirical incompetent stereoptype who seems to have slept walked into office. He’s genius and the film would have been greatly improved had we have had him as our sole focus for the film.

The Bad

  • It’s plot is a mess. A hot fucking mess. We’re here, we’re there. It’s just shit! To quote the film its ‘arse spraying mayhem.’
  • Party of the problem perhaps was the attempt to ‘appeal’ to an American audience. I don’t know what it is about the media industry, but Dr Who should have taught the BBC that ‘making it more American’ is not the way to do it.

The Ugly

  • The biggest problem for me is the nature of it being largely an improvised comedy. It’s humour feels stunted and rather hit and miss. Yes, there’s some amazing lines that do raise a chuckle. However they’re very few and far between.
  • The handheld camera approach just fucks me off. Especially when you consider that this isn’t presented as a documentary. At no point do any of the characters acknowledge the cameras. Which begs the question, why the fuck bother invoking headaches?!

Final Thoughts

It was just a bit of a clusterfuck if I’m honest. I’d love to say the removal of the handheld would have improved things, but I doubt it. All in all, I’d have rather have watched Capaldi saying ‘fuckerty bye’ repeatedly for 2 hours than this.

Book Review: A Throne of Swans by Katherine & Elizabeth Corr

Publishers Hot Keys

Pages 352

Book birthday 9.1.2020

Came to me direct from the publishers for an honest review

About When her father dies just before her birthday, seventeen-year-old Aderyn inherits the role of Protector of Atratys, a dominion in a kingdom where nobles are able to transform at will into the bird that represents their family bloodline. Aderyn’s ancestral bird is a swan. But she has not transformed for years, not since witnessing the death of her mother – ripped apart by hawks that have supposedly been extinct since the long-ago War of the Raptors.

With the benevolent shelter of her mother and her father now lost, Aderyn is at the mercy of her brutal uncle, the King, and his royal court. Driven by revenge and love, she must venture into the malevolent heart of the Citadel in order to seek the truth about the attack that so nearly destroyed her, to fight for the only home she has ever known and for the land she has vowed to protect.

Written in rich detail and evocative language, this is the start of an irresistible, soaring duology about courage, broken loyalties and fighting for your place in the world.

Characters

  • There isn’t a single character I don’t love in this book. There’s other feelings, obviously, but each one feels so necessary to the plot that you will love them as ensemble. I don’t think I’ve ever felt that way before. I’ve either forgotten characters, or felt they were there simply to fulfil a need in the plot.
  • There is of course two I love beyond anything else and those are Aderyn, our protagonist, and Lucien, her clerk. Aderyn is someone I identify with and I feel many will do the same. Her relationship with her parents and the society she’s been protect from might be grander than we may experience, but the emotions are certainly something a reader will empathise with. She’s everything you want in a protagonist. What I love most is how flawed she is and how much she grows throughout the book.
  • Lucien! Oh, beautiful Lucien. I really did love how the Corr sisters managed to get across his feelings while Aderyn seems to not acknowledge them.

Plot

  • It’s a retelling of the classic Swan Lake. Something I had known but completely forgotten by the time I came to read this beautiful book. I am unable to comment upon its comparative narrative, however I will say that as someone with no knowledge of the original source I found this to be a compelling story of fear, trust and politics. I was hooked from the first page and never lost me the way some reworking do. If anything, I feel this book will bring a new generation of fans to the classic story and the ballet that is its most famous platform to explore.
  • There are many plot threads at work and it almost has that episodic charm that I’ve come to associate with Harry Potter. Only here, the threads are a little more interwoven and by no means contained to one chapter; ensuring any reader will be whispering ‘just one more chapter’ until they reach the back cover.
  • Please have your book grieving routine at the read, this is the first in what I believe is a duology and believe me, you’re going to be left on tenterhooks until that second instalment comes out. It’s a perfect way to end as it will prompt conversation between readers and will have those inclined, heading to fan fiction for predictions in the months we’ll all be waiting.

Writing

  • I love reading in first person for this sort of book. The atmosphere is built on the distrust and fear and you most definitely feel it here as it restricts your view of the social standing within the castle Aderyn spends much of the book.
  • I sometimes struggle with fantasy books. Not to do with the content, but the language and perspective used almost slows my reading down and I lose the flow. It’s simply not the case here. The Corr sisters have built not only a world but a complex politically charged society that a reader will fall into and fall in love with.

Final Thoughts

I loved this book, I’m grateful for the book arriving when it did and charming me like a feisty fairytale I have always wanted.

Bowling for Columbine (2002)

Rating 15

Length 2hr

Release 15.11.2002

Director Michael Moore

About Political documentary filmmaker Michael Moore explores the circumstances that lead to the 1999 Columbine High School massacre and, more broadly, the proliferation of guns and the high homicide rate in America. In his trademark provocative fashion, Moore accosts Kmart corporate employees and pleads with them to stop selling bullets, investigates why Canada doesn’t have the same excessive rate of gun violence and questions actor Charlton Heston on his support of the National Rifle Association.

The Good

  • Well made and informative. It’s journalism in its truest form and pulls no punches. To that extent it certainly has a level of fair representation and at no point does Moore address the audience and give his opinion. Now, while it might be implied that he is anti-gun, its not said outright and I don’t feel like I’m having someone else’s opinion shoved down my throat. It gives you the freedom to make up your own mind.
  • The film looks at as many root causes to American violence and gun culture. The film looks at the social history, the political history and the culture of fear.

The Bad

  • I felt uncomfortable with some of the emotional manipulation of Columbine survivors, in particularly in regards to them arriving unannounced at a K-Mary head quarters. I believe it’s right to hold them accountable and the survivors have a right to be heard, but it feels a little exploitative to do it for a film.
  • Again, with Charlton Heston, I felt very uncomfortable with everything that is seen to happen after the interview is stopped. Again, he was an absolute knob. Holding a gun convention in a town days after a massacre is thoughtless and insensitive. To do it twice and, both times, refuse to relocate is barbaric. However, I did struggle with watching Moore follow him after leaving.
  • I found the run time a little too long to be affective when the narrative flow doesn’t feel as smooth as other documentary films out there.

The Ugly

  • How is it that the Columbine massacre was 20 years ago, yet there has been no governmental effort or change to ensure public places are safe for citizens? This event and Moore’s film should have been enough to legislate gun control.
  • The film was bold, it was brave and it made people think. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who thought it would make a difference, so to watch it now it stirs up too much bitterness, too much frustration.

Final Thoughts

Irrespective of its flaws, this is a film that everyone needs to see. Not only that, I somewhat think its time for an updated follow up that looks into the rise of these incidents and the blind ignorance of the US and their flawed logic that guns are okay, but the kinder egg is dangerous enough to be illegal.