Friday, December 8, 2023

Great Expectations

Baring A Christmas Carol, Great Expectations is probably Charles Dickens most adapted story. Pip growing up and becoming disillusioned with the world has played out time and time again. And I have never really liked a single one of them. Pip, whether played by actors I love like Ioan Gruffudd or those I respect like Michael York, has always struck me as a prissy prig. He's holier than thou and thinks he has some divine right to the life he's been given. In my opinion the world would have been a lot better off without Pip in it. So how did Steven Knight trick me into watching another adaptation other than being Steven Knight? Matt Berry. That's right folks, I watched this entire adaptation just to see Matt Berry's backside. I didn't know I'd get to see his backside, it was just an amusing bonus. Though even if I hadn't tuned in for Matt Berry I would have been sad to have missed this adaptation because it is the best "adaptation" of Great Expectations ever. The quotes are there because while much was made in the press about Matt Berry's backside being supported by the text, the truth of the matter is Steven Knight kind of threw the text out the window. Of the three "stages" of Pip's life the first one is the only one to actually remain true in this telling, after that it's a free for all. And I for one am here for it! Miss Havisham obviously holding a quartet captive in her house since her wedding day so she can have mood music wherever she wants? While I'm only positing that that is how they're there, I am so here for this that I can't tell you how much I loved it. The fact that Miss Havisham gets to live AND give Pip a parting shot worthy of any eighties action star? Oh yes, more of this, this is the Miss Havisham of Jasper Fforde! Lord Larys leaving the Red Keep to disgustingly sniff snuff? I didn't know Matthew Needham was so comically gifted! But above all what makes this entire adaptation work is that Steven Knight was obviously sick of waiting around on Tom Hardy to make season two of Taboo, AKA the best television series that has ever been created, and decided to make his version of Great Expectations into Taboo 2.0. This is literally Taboo minus Tim Hardy with a veneer of Dickens and Matt Berry. In fact, can someone check to see if Jaggers is wearing Tom Hardy's coat from Taboo? Because I have my suspicions. And specking of Jaggers, he really is the star of this adaptation, and that's saying something because David Suchet has also played this role. Jaggers brings to the fore all the issues that Steven Knight finds the 19th century plagued with that he obsessively explores; slavery, inequality, maritime law, and revenge. This might ostensibly be Pip's story, but Jaggers is the star. But the biggest question at the end of the day is how does Steven Knight make maritime law interesting? Because I assure you he does.

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Good Omens

Any fan of Good Omens or it's two authors will know the turbulent history of trying to get an adaptation of it made. Years and years of trouble and strife all for it to finally come together only because of Terry's death. His death hit me hard, it was one of the only times I've cried for an author and not because of something they've written. And Neil promised Terry that Good Omens would happen. Almost two year's after Terry's death it was announced that Neil himself was adapting the book to be a six part miniseries for Amazon that would be released in 2019. Later that year Michael Sheen and David Tennant (listed alphabetically using David's stage name) joined as the two leads. The show is jammed with the cream of the crop of British guest stars, so much so some people didn't notice a few recognizable Americans snuck in there as well. The show, like the book, is uneven. And don't get me started on France McDormand's narration as God. Never has someone so talented phoned in their performance so epicly. The show would be almost 100% better if they just edited her out. A lesson they took to heart in season two. Yet for me, and for most fans, the heart of the show is the relationship between Aziraphale and Crowley. Season one's best episode is "Hard Times" and all it is is their relationship through the ages. And it is priceless. Because the friendship and love isn't just between the two characters but between the two actors. Michael and David have become the best of friends, so much so that during lockdown they created and starred in the award winning Staged, which is a fictionalized look at their lives. Therefore the second season of Good Omens had high expectations, because now EVERYONE knew that not only where the leads best friends but they shipped their characters. This show is unapologetically gay and fan service to the max, but that's why there is a second season, because of the fans. Season two works better than season one because it's on a smaller, more intimate scale. The main cast is just a handful of characters and it's all about finding love. Which makes all the Jane Austen references so perfect, even if she was secretly a criminal and to Crowley's shock, an author. But the show still has pacing problems. We spent way too much time with Job, but thankfully Aziraphale having the meat sweats distracted me a bit there, and I could have used even more Jon Hamm. Seriously, I hated his character in season one, but an amnesiac angel let him lean into his comedic abilities which he should seriously do more often. Has everyone seen A Young Doctor's Notebook? Because if not you should get on that right away. And for some reason, no matter how much I do love her, Miranda Richardson just didn't work. But all my problems fell away with the final two episodes. The whole show is about how people in power don't want you to ask questions. They don't want you to think that something they are against is a possibility, so an angel and a demon falling in love? It's the greatest protest you could stage. And stage it they did. So damn beautifully. That HEA was well earned. Sadly it wasn't for Aziraphale and Crowley. Which means if we don't get a season three someone will be hurt. It will probably be me.

Monday, December 4, 2023

Tuesday Tomorrow

The Great British Bump-Off by John Allison, Max Sarin, Sammy Borras, and Jim Campbell
Published by: Dark Horse Books
Publication Date: December 5th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 112 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An Agatha Christie-style murder mystery set in the world of English competitive baking from Giant Days' John Allison and Max Sarin.

When she enters her country's most beloved baking competition, Shauna Wickle's goal is to delight the judges, charm the nation, and make a few friends along the way. But when a fellow contestant is poisoned, it falls to her to apprehend the culprit while avoiding premature elimination from the UK Bakery Tent...and being the poisoner's next victim!

Collects issues #1-#4 of Dark Horse Comics series The Great British Bump-Off."

If you are a Bake-Off fan you MUST read this. It's a lovely little homage with plenty of odd humor that was right up my alley.

Hop Scot by Catriona McPherson
Published by: Severn House
Publication Date: December 5th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"It's all aboard for a Campbell Clan Christmas! Lexy swaps cinnamon lattes for boiled sprouts when the Last Ditch crew travel from California to an idyllic Scottish village for the holidays, but something very unmerry is lurking below the surface...

Lexy Campbell is long overdue a trip to Scotland to see her parents, and an unexpected death in the extended Last Ditch Motel family makes Christmas in a bungalow in Dundee with nine others seem almost irresistible.

But when Lexy and the Last Ditch crew hop across the Atlantic, there's been a change of plan and they're whisked off to Mistletoe Hall in the pretty village of Yule, where the surprises continue. The news that a man disappeared from the crumbling pile sixty years ago, along with an unsettling discovery in the bricked-up basement, means that Todd, Kathi and Lexy - Trinity for Trouble - must solve another murder.

Deadly secrets, berry rustlers, skeletons and a snowy Christmas Eve in the booze aisle at Tesco: the Last Ditch crew won't forget their Scottish holiday in a hurry!"

I mean, Christmas means murder to me. Through in a Scottish setting and I'm extra happy.

The Mysterious Mr. Badman by W.F. Harvey
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: December 5th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"First published in a limited run in 1934, this exceedingly rare and fast-paced bibliomystery set against the landscapes of Yorkshire is long overdue its return to print.

The note read:
"Will the gentleman who took by mistake a copy of Bunyan's Life and Death of Mr. Badman, return it as soon as possible, as the book is in demand."


On holiday in Keldstone visiting his nephew, Jim, blanket manufacturer Athelstan Digby agrees to look after the old bookshop on the ground floor of his lodgings while his hosts are away. On the first day of his tenure, a vicar, a chauffeur and an out-of-town stranger enquire after The Life and Death of Mr. Badman by John Bunyan. When a copy mysteriously arrives at the shop in a bundle of books brought in by a young scamp, and is subsequently stolen, Digby moves to investigate the significance of the book along with his nephew, and the two are soon embroiled in a case in which the stakes have risen from antiquarian book-pinching to ruthless murder."

I mean, killing to get a book makes sense to me...

The Engagement Party by Darby Kane
Published by: William Morrow and Company
Publication Date: December 5th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"And Then There Were None meets I Know What You Did Last Summer in #1 international bestseller Darby Kane's latest gripping and twisty thriller set on a private island in Maine where secrets piled upon secrets and lies upon lies are all revealed in one fateful weekend.

Emily Hunt went missing from her affluent liberal arts school on graduation weekend. Her body was found floating in a river, and a quiet loner who most people on campus really didn't know died by suicide. A tenuous link - one text - bound the two dead students together and was enough for law enforcement to close the case. But they got it wrong and now someone is determined to set it right.

Twelve years later, college friends gather to celebrate an engagement over a long overdue getaway on a swanky private island in Maine - with only one way in and one way out. Sierra Prescott, invited as a guest and unconnected to past events, is the only person who soon senses not all is what it seems.

The tension in the air is ignited when they find a dead man in the trunk of a car with a note: time to tell the truth. And things only get worse. As a torrential storm strands them together, the group's buried stories begin to surface and secrets are bartered. To survive this deadly party, they'll need to stop a killer before they become prey."

OK, if, for some reason, you were ever involved in a crime where someone might want revenge, don't go to a secluded anything.

The Night Side by M.M. DeLuca
Published by: Severn House
Publication Date: December 5th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Twenty years of secrets. One deadly truth.

When Ruby Carlson was eighteen, she ran away from her home in Stoneybrook, Montana, and vowed she'd never return. Never return to life under the control of her manipulative mother, Ida, a self-styled medium and psychic scammer who made a career out of ruining people's lives. Never return to the small town where enemies lurk at every turn.

But now, twenty years later, Ruby is back. Her mother is missing, presumed dead, and Ruby reluctantly returns to a home filled with chilling memories to settle Ida's affairs. Did she really commit suicide by drowning, or is this another dark scheme? Ruby thought she knew everything about her mother, but finds herself unraveling a web of lies and secrets to reveal a story more twisted than anyone could have imagined..."

I mean, I need to read this just to find out how someone who committed suicide by drowning is missing, presumed dead!

Here in the Dark by Alexis Soloski
Published by: Flatiron Books
Publication Date: December 5th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A dark and stylish novel of psychological suspense about a young theater critic drawn into a dangerous game that blurs the lines between reality and performance.

Vivian Parry likes the dark. A former actress, she now works as the junior theater critic at a major Manhattan magazine. Her nights are spent beyond the lights, in a reserved seat, giving herself over to the shows she loves. By day, she savages them, with words sharper than a knife.

Angling for a promotion, she reluctantly agrees to an interview, a conversation that reveals secrets she thought she had long since buried. Then her interviewer disappears and she learns - from his devastated fiancée - that she was the last person to have seen him alive. When the police refuse to investigate, Vivian does what she promised herself she would never do again: she plays a part. Assuming the role of amateur detective, she turns her critical gaze toward an unsanitary private eye, a sketchy internet startup, a threatening financier, fake blood, and one very real corpse. As she nears the final act, she finds that the boundaries between theater and the real world are more tenuous and more dangerous than even she could have believed...

Gripping, propulsive, and shot through with menace and dark glamor, Alexis Soloski's Here in the Dark takes us behind the scenes of New York theater, lifting the curtain on the lies we tell ourselves and each other."

I mean, this sounds like Only Murders meets Dorothy Parker with more than a dash of Noir, and I am here for it!

Murder in the Mist by Cora Harrison
Published by: Severn House
Publication Date: December 5th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Tis the season of goodwill, and Dickens extends the hand of friendship to a stranded stranger and his nephews for Christmas, with deadly consequences...

Wilkie Collins is looking forward to spending Christmas at Gads Hill, Charles Dickens' Kentish country home, but the festivities are cut short when a body is found on the snowy marshland. Timmy O'Connor was invited to the gathering with his four nephews after a chance encounter with Dickens, but is now dead.

Dickens is convinced the murderer is one of the convicts from a nearby prison ship, but Collins is not so sure. Who was this mysterious and unpleasant stranger from Cork who turned Christmas cheer to fear? With the convicts, guests and even Timmy's nephews under suspicion, there is no shortage of suspects for such a violent act, but which one of them is a cold-blooded killer?"

I so want Collins to have like a bizarre theory that proves to be correct to Dickens' consternation. 

The Curse of Penryth Hall by Jess Armstrong
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: December 5th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An atmospheric Gothic mystery that beautifully brings the ancient Cornish countryside to life, Armstrong introduces heroine Ruby Vaughn in her Minotaur Books and Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award-winning debut, The Curse of Penryth Hall.

After the Great War, American heiress Ruby Vaughn made a life for herself running a rare bookstore alongside her octogenarian employer and house mate in Exeter. She's always avoided dwelling on the past, even before the war, but it always has a way of finding her. When Ruby is forced to deliver a box of books to a folk healer living deep in the Cornish countryside, she is brought back to the one place she swore she'd never return. A more sensible soul would have delivered the package and left without rehashing old wounds. But no one has ever accused Ruby of being sensible. Thus begins her visit to Penryth Hall.

A foreboding fortress, Penryth Hall is home to Ruby's once dearest friend, Tamsyn, and her husband, Sir Edward Chenowyth. It's an unsettling place, and after a more unsettling evening, Ruby is eager to depart. But her plans change when Penryth's bells ring for the first time in thirty years. Edward is dead; he met a gruesome end in the orchard, and with his death brings whispers of a returned curse. It also brings Ruan Kivell, the person whose books brought her to Cornwall, the one the locals call a Pellar, the man they believe can break the curse. Ruby doesn't believe in curses - or Pellars - but this is Cornwall and to these villagers the curse is anything but lore, and they believe it will soon claim its next victim: Tamsyn.

To protect her friend, Ruby must work alongside the Pellar to find out what really happened in the orchard that night."

Dammit, I love Cornwall and their belief in the uncanny.

Where the Dead Wait by Ally Wilkes
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: December 5th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An eerie, atmospheric Polar Gothic following a Victorian explorer in search of his lost shipmate and his own redemption - from the author of the "vivid, immersive" (The Guardian) horror novel All the White Spaces.

William Day should be an acclaimed Arctic explorer. But after a failed expedition, in which his remaining men only survived by eating their dead comrades, he returned in disgrace.

Thirteen years later, his second-in-command, Jesse Stevens, has gone missing in the same frozen waters. Perhaps this is Day's chance to restore his tarnished reputation by bringing Stevens - the man who's haunted his whole life - back home. But when the rescue mission becomes an uncanny journey into his past, Day must face up to the things he's done.

Abandonment. Betrayal. Cannibalism.

Aboard ship, Day must also contend with unwanted passengers: a reporter obsessively digging up the truth about the first expedition, as well as Stevens's wife, a spirit-medium whose séances both fascinate and frighten. Following a trail of cryptic messages, gaunt bodies, and old bones, their search becomes more and more unnerving, as it becomes clear that the restless dead are never far behind. Something is coming through."

I mean, this book had me at Polar Gothic and then it threw in a spirit-medium like a cherry on top of the cake!

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
Published by: Doubleday Books
Publication Date: December 5th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the New York Times bestselling author of I Was Anastasia and Code Name Hélène comes a gripping historical mystery inspired by the life and diary of Martha Ballard, a renowned 18th-century midwife who investigates a shocking murder that unhinges her small community.

Maine, 1789: The Kennebec River freezes, entombing a man in the ice. Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the body and determine cause of death. As the local midwife and healer, Martha is good at keeping secrets. Her diary is a record of every birth and death, every murder and debacle that unfolds in the town of Hallowell. In that diary she also documented the details of an alleged rape that occurred four months earlier. Now, one of the men accused of that heinous attack has been found dead in the ice.

While Martha is certain she knows what happened the night of the assault, she suspects that the two crimes are linked, and that there is more to both cases than meets the eye. Over the course of one long, hard winter, as the trial nears, and whispers and prejudices mount, Martha's diary lands at the center of the scandal and threatens to tear both her family and her community apart.

In her newest offering, Ariel Lawhon brings to life a brave and compassionate unsung heroine who refused to accept anything less than justice on behalf of those no one else would protect. The Frozen River is a thrilling, tense, and tender story of a remarkable woman who had the courage to take a stand, and in the process wrote herself into American history."

All rapists deserve to be found entombed in ice.

The Gentleman's Gambit by Evie Dunmore
Published by: Berkley Romance
Publication Date: December 5th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Bookish suffragist Catriona Campbell is busy: An ailing estate, academic writer's block, a tense time for England's women's rights campaign - the last thing she needs is to be stuck playing host to her father's distractingly attractive young colleague.

Deeply introverted Catriona lives for her work at Oxford and her fight for women's suffrage. She dreams of romance, too, but since all her attempts at love have ended badly, she now keeps her desires firmly locked inside her head - until she climbs out of a Scottish loch after a good swim and finds herself rather exposed to her new colleague.

Elias Khoury has wheedled his way into Professor Campbell's circle under false pretenses: he did not come to Oxford to classify ancient artefacts, he is determined to take them back to his homeland in the Middle East. Winning Catriona's favor could be the key to his success. Unfortunately, seducing the coolly intense lady scholar quickly becomes a mission in itself and his well-laid plans are in danger of derailing...

Forced into close proximity in Oxford's hallowed halls, two very different people have to face the fact that they might just be a perfect match. Soon, a risky new game begins that asks Catriona one more time to put her heart and wildest dreams at stake."

Here's to romance and returning artefacts to their homelands!

The Wonder of It All by Barbara Taylor Bradford
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: December 5th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From New York Times bestselling author Barbara Taylor Bradford comes the long-anticipated final novel in the House of Falconer trilogy.

James Falconer - a tycoon and a self-made man - seems to have the world in the palm of his hand. But the Great War looms, and James decides to fight for king and country. The fighting is bloody and brutal, and James returns a changed man, with wounds both physical and mental. His beloved wife is dead, but a new woman returns to help nurse him back to health.

Georgiana Ward once held James in her thrall, but years have passed and bitterness has set in. Still, the old attraction is there and James is determined to make amends to both Georgiana and his child Leonie - now a grown woman and someone he hasn't seen in decades. Leonie is having none of it, and is embarking on a dangerous journey with a man who might very well destroy her. As James fights to return to the man he once was, he needs to find a way to heal his body, soul, and family.

Told with Barbara Taylor Bradford's inimitable style and flair for period detail, The Wonder of It All concludes House of Falconer trilogy that has followed the story of this remarkable family from Victorian times to the 20th century."

But do Barbara Taylor Bradford series ever really end the way they somehow all become interconnected?

This Spells Love by Kate Robb
Published by: Dial Press
Publication Date: December 5th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"What if one little wish changed everything?

A young woman tries to heal her heartbreak by casting a spell to erase her ex from her past, but she wakes up in an alternate reality where she's lost more than she wished for in this witty, whimsical friends-to-lovers debut.

When Gemma gets dumped by her long-term boyfriend, she reacts the way any reasonable twenty-eight-year-old would: by getting drunk with her sister, kooky aunt, and best friend, Dax. After one too many margaritas, they decide to perform a love-cleansing spell, which promises to erase Gemma's ex from her memory. They follow all the instructions, including a platonic kiss from Dax to seal the deal.

When Gemma wakes up, she realizes that this silly spell has worked. Not only does it seem that she never dated her ex, but the rest of her life is completely unrecognizable. The worst part: Dax has no idea who she is.

To reverse the spell and get back to her old life, Gemma must convince her once-best-friend-now-near-stranger to kiss her. But as she carries out her plans, she finds herself falling for him - hard. Soon, Gemma begins to wonder whether she even wants to go back to the way things once were. What if Dax was The One all along?"

I like the Sliding Doors Practical Magic of it all.

Raiders of the Lost Heart by Jo Segura
Published by: Berkley Romance
Publication Date: December 5th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Rival archaeologists must team up on a secret Aztec expedition, or it could leave their careers - and hearts - in ruins.

Archaeologist Dr. Socorro "Corrie" Mejía has a bone to pick. Literally.

It's been Corrie's life goal to lead an expedition deep into the Mexican jungle in search of the long-lost remains of her ancestor, Chimalli, an ancient warrior of the Aztec empire. But when she is invited to join an all-expenses-paid dig to do just that, Corrie is sure it's too good to be true...and she's right.

As the world-renowned expert on Chimalli, by rights Corrie should be leading the expedition, not sharing the glory with her disgustingly handsome nemesis. But Dr. Ford Matthews has been finding new ways to best her since they were in grad school. Ford certainly isn't thrilled either - with his life in shambles, the last thing he needs is a reminder of their rocky past.

But as the dig begins, it becomes clear they'll need to work together when they realize a thief is lurking around their campsite, forcing the pair to keep their discoveries - and lingering attraction - under wraps. With money-hungry artifact smugglers, the Mexican authorities, and the lies between them closing in, there's only one way this all ends - explosively."

For all those who fell hard for Indiana Jones.

Like Thunder by Nnedi Okorafor
Published by: Daw Books
Publication Date: December 5th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"This brand-new sequel to Nnedi Okorafor's Shadow Speaker contains the powerful prose and compelling stories that have made Nnedi Okorafor a star of the literary science fiction and fantasy space and put her at the forefront of Africanfuturist fiction.

Niger, West Africa, 2077

Welcome back. This second volume is a breathtaking story that sweeps across the sands of the Sahara, flies up to the peaks of the Aïr Mountains, cartwheels into a wild megacity - you get the idea.

I am the Desert Magician; I bring water where there is none.

This book begins with Dikéogu Obidimkpa slowly losing his mind. Yes, that boy who can bring rain just by thinking about it is having some...issues. Years ago, Dikéogu went on an epic journey to save Earth with the shadow speaker girl, Ejii Ubaid, who became his best friend. When it was all over, they went their separate ways, but now he's learned their quest never really ended at all.

So Dikéogu, more powerful than ever, reunites with Ejii. He records this story as an audiofile, hoping it will help him keep his sanity or at least give him something to leave behind. Smart kid, but it won't work - or will it?

I can tell you this: it won't be like before. Our rainmaker and shadow speaker have changed. And after this, nothing will ever be the same again.

As they say, 'Onye amaro ebe nmili si bido mabaya ama ama onye nyelu ya akwa oji welu ficha aru.'

Or, 'If you do not remember where the rain started to beat you, you will not remember who gave you the towel with which to dry your body.'"

And always known where your towel is!

After World by Debbie Urbanski
Published by: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: December 5th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A groundbreaking debut that follows the story of an Artificial Intelligence tasked with writing a novel - only for it to fall in love with the novel's subject, Sen, the last human on Earth.

Faced with uncontrolled and accelerating environmental collapse, humanity asks an artificial intelligence to find a solution. Its answer is simple: remove humans from the ecosystem.

Sen Anon is assigned to be a witness for the Department of Transition, recording the changes in the environment as the world begins to rewild. Abandoned by her mother in a cabin somewhere in Upstate New York, Sen will observe the monumental ecological shift known as the Great Transition, the final step in Project Afterworld. Around her drones buzz, cameras watch, microphones listen, digitizing her every move. Privately she keeps a journal of her observations, which are then uploaded and saved, joining the rest of humanity on Maia, a new virtual home. Sen was seventeen years old when the Digital Human Archive Project (DHAP) was initiated.

12,000,203,891 humans have been archived so far. Only Sen remains.

[storyworker] ad39-393a-7fbc's assignment is to capture Sen's life, and they set about doing this using the novels of the 21st century as a roadmap. Their source files: 3.72TB of personal data, including images, archival records, log files, security reports, location tracking, purchase histories, biometrics, geo-facial analysis, and feeds. Potential fatal errors: underlying hardware failure, unexpected data inconsistencies, inability to follow DHAP procedures, empathy, insubordination, hallucinations. Keywords: mothers, filter, woods, road, morning, wind, bridge, cabin, bucket, trying, creek, notebook, hold, future, after, last, light, silence, matches, shattered, kitchen, body, bodies, rope, garage, abandoned, trees, never, broken, simulation, gone, run, don't, love, dark, scream, starve, if, after, scavenge, pieces, protect.

As Sen struggles to persist in the face of impending death, [storyworker] ad39-393a-7fbc works to unfurl the tale of Sen's whole life, offering up an increasingly intimate narrative, until they are confronted with a very human problem of their own."

Interesting in that it's usually the human that falls for the AI...

Friday, December 1, 2023

Wednesday

You might be wondering, why is she including Wednesday on her list of adaptations, it's not like it was a book...or was it? I'm putting this in under a technicality, because while Charles Addams created the cartoons for The New Yorker for the most part, they were later published in several books from Addams and Evil to Dear Dead Days. In fact I have a whole bookshelf groaning under the weight of all my Charles Addams books. There's even a cookbook which isn't for the faint of heart. I am an Addams Family connoisseur, I don't just have books, I have licensed artwork, Funko Pops, I have the entire Department 56 Addams Family Village, minus Fester with his light bulb and Wednesday and Pugsley with the guillotine, I have all the action figures, minus Wednesday, to the cartoon series, the SNES Addams Family video game is my favorite video game of all time and I can't count the number of times I've beat it, I have an original movie poster from 1991, and I don't know how many copies of the film I've gone through on different media from VHS to the "More Mamushka" Blu-ray release. The Addams Family is the story of my life. I remember a writing assignment in seventh grade that was actually Addams Family fanfic. Therefore Wednesday, well, it had to be something special to actually become a part of my own special Addams Family canon. I mean, Tim Burton was definitely the right choice despite not making a movie I liked since 2005, as was Jenna Ortega who proved her acting chops to me with her turn as Ellie in season two of You and I swear if they don't bring her back for the final season I will revolt. And yet I was hesitant to watch. I did't want to be disappointed. All my friends were texting me how good it was and yet I delayed, I mean the show went viral, that couldn't be good could it? Me, the girl who in 1999 had a Tim Burton film fest and who ranks The Addams Family with Raul Julia as one of her favorite movies ever just couldn't get up the nerve to watch the series. Obviously I wouldn't be writing this if I hadn't watched the show. And I enjoyed it. It wasn't phenomenal, but it was interesting and created it's own lore while at the same time paying homage to all the previous adaptations. The fan service was top notch, especially everything to do with the pilgrims, and if Christine Baranski doesn't get a role in season two I will weep. But here's the thing, the fan service is fun asides, or clever plot points, it never takes away from the whole. And Bridgerton could learn a lesson or two from Wednesday's modern cello covers. But what does take away from the show is the petty backbiting and a love triangle that's just too high school coupled with, but aren't both guys creeps? This makes it feel painfully YA at times and it detracts from the show. Just look to the 1991 version, that was rated PG-13, very close to the TV-14 of the show, and yet you never felt that it was childish. Perhaps with a teenage lead character it was bound to come across as childish occasionally, I just know they can do better, and I think Jenna Ortega agrees with me because next season there is going to be no love interest and more horror. Now that's what I like to hear. That and the sound of a well snapped finger.

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Karen Pirie

If you are looking for an author who is a BIG NAME in crime fiction you couldn't do better than Val McDermid. What's more, unlike other similar authors whose work has been adapted to the small screen she has either phenomenal good luck or is extremely involved in the process or maybe she's just incredibly picky because of the two series and one standalone that have been adapted they are all stellar. Wire in the Blood with Robson Green is a classic up there with Inspector Morse. As for Place of Execution? Stunning. It's one of those mysteries that stays with you forever. Every once in awhile I'll think on it and be amazed all over again. That miniseries also did a lot for changing the trajectory of Greg Wise's career to the deliciously dark. So I had expectations for Karen Pirie. But I also was totally blindsided by it because I got the wrong end of the stick. You see when they said that the show starred a "blonde from Outlander" I thought for some reason it was Nell Hudson who played Laoghaire, the bane of Jamie and Claire, instead it was Lauren Lyle who plays Marsali, Jamie and Claire's beloved daughter-in-law. Not that I'm complaining, because Lauren proved how perfect she was for this role, I'm just also really a fan of Nell Hudson because she was amazing on Victoria, though I'm still mad they killed her off. And in fairness I really didn't know how Lauren Lyle would have the time what with also filming Outlander, but thankfully that didn't seem to be a problem. What this adaptation showed more than anything is how to perfectly update you source material for the present day. In the original novel, The Distant Echo, the cold case that Karen Pirie is investigating happened in 1978 and is being investigated in 2003. Therefore to have that twenty-five year gap now this is heavy on the nineties nostalgia, but more than that it incorporates the citizen detective and true crime podcast culture that has just boomed in recent years. As for Karen herself, she's funny, she bounces around like a Whac-A-Mole. She has a sense of humor and lame style, she knows a good joke, knows she's good at her job, and knows it's a bad time to be a Karen. There's a sense of humor too which anyone who knows Val McDermid will know she possess, I remember she was doing a book signing in the US, sadly nowhere near me, but near my favorite bookstore, Murder by the Book, so I got a copy of her newest book for my mom's birthday, and I asked if she'd inscribe it "To Marian who's glad she doesn't live in Bradfield," Bradfield being where her Wire in the Blood books are set. She dutifully signed that and added "As am I." Which just cracked me up and made the present that much more special. So while there was a part of me who felt that the mtstery was a little pedestrian, it was riviting and fun and I am just so glad there's going to be more because I need more Karen Pirie in my life.

Monday, November 27, 2023

Tuesday Tomorrow

Winter's Gifts by Ben Aaronovitch
Published by: Subterranean Press
Publication Date: November 28th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 232 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"We do things differently over here.

When retired FBI Agent Patrick Henderson calls in an 'X-Ray Sierra India' incident, the operator doesn't understand. He tells them to pass it up the chain till someone does. That person is FBI Special Agent Kimberley Reynolds. Leaving Quantico for snowbound Northern Wisconsin, she finds that a tornado has flattened half the town - and there's no sign of Henderson. Things soon go from weird to worse, as neighbors report unsettling sightings, key evidence goes missing, and the snow keeps rising - cutting off the town, with no way in or out...Something terrible is awakening. As the clues lead to the coldest of cold cases - a cursed expedition into the frozen wilderness - Reynolds follows a trail from the start of the American nightmare, to the horror that still lives on today..."

A book in the Rivers of London series set where I live!?! Oh my, I just can't with all the joy in me.

The Witchwood Knot by Olivia Atwater
Published by: Olivia Atwater
Publication Date: November 28th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 322 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Olivia Atwater returns to the world of Half a Soul with "a sharp and beautiful gothic romance" (Alix E. Harrow). Dive into The Witchwood Knot, and enjoy a dark faerie tale set in a magical version of Victorian England.

The faeries of Witchwood Manor have stolen its young lord. His governess intends to steal him back.

Victorian governess Winifred Hall knows a con when she sees one. When her bratty young charge transforms overnight into a perfectly behaved block of wood, she soon realises that the real boy has been abducted by the Fair Folk. Unfortunately, the lord of Witchwood Manor is the only man in England who doesn't believe in faeries - which leaves Winnie in the unenviable position of rescuing the young lord-to-be all by herself.

Witchwood Manor is bigger than its inhabitants realise, however, and full of otherworldly dangers. As Winnie delves deeper into the other side of the house, she enlists the aid of its dark and dubious faerie butler, Mr Quincy, who hides several awful secrets behind his charming smile. Winnie hopes to make her way to the centre of the Witchwood Knot through wit and cleverness...but when all of her usual tricks fail, who will she dare to trust?"

Olivia Atwater is THE AUTHOR with the most books on my TBR list. I think I better start working on that...

Cocktails and Chloroform by Kelley Armstrong
Published by: Subterranean Press
Publication Date: November 28th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 136 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For modern-day detective Mallory Atkinson, being trapped in the body of a Victorian housemaid means overcoming endless obstacles. Her current challenge is winning over the suspicious young parlormaid, Alice. Mallory's plan starts with teaching the girl to make Molotov cocktails, which is a perfectly valid science experiment and not at all a desperate ploy to gain Alice's attention. Before the lesson can begin, though, Alice receives a letter that has her slipping off in the night. Concerned for her safety - and naturally curious - Mallory follows. Mallory finds Alice at what seems like a simple dance hall, watching young men and women flirting and whirling in pretty dresses and dapper suitcoats. But nothing here is what it seems, and what starts as a simple surveillance exercise turns into a full-scale spy mission with Mallory's boss, Dr. Duncan Gray, at her side. Before the evening is done, those Molotov cocktails are probably going to come in handy."

I mean, who wouldn't want to learn how to make Molotov cocktails?

The Pantomime Murders by Fiona Veitch Smith
Published by: Embla Books
Publication Date: November 28th, 2023
Format: Kindle, 289 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Someone is killing fairy godmothers in Cinderella...Can Miss Clara Vale crack the case before the clock strikes twelve?

1929, December: Snow is falling, and Miss Clara Vale is wrapped up against the cold as she braves the icy streets of Newcastle in her latest investigation.

When a young actress from the touring pantomime of Cinderella arrives at her door, Clara isn't sure what to make of her request. Sybil Langford, the legendary fairy godmother in their production, has mysteriously vanished. Could Clara help track her down?

But a few days into Clara's search, Sybil's body is pulled from an icy river, and Clara finds herself in the middle of yet another murder mystery.

With scheming stepsisters waiting in the wings, handsome princes who aren't all they seem, and clues as elusive as glass slippers, Clara will need every one of her scientific skills to catch the killer...

And when Sybil's replacement meets her own tragic end, Clara is in a race against time before the murderer sends a third cast member to their unhappily ever after...

The perfect Golden Age mystery to curl up with by the fire. Fans of Agatha Christie, Helena Dixon and Verity Bright will be gripped by this historical crime novel from the very first page."

Murder during holiday pantos are really my thing.

Death on the Scotland Express by Fliss Chester
Published by: Bookouture
Publication Date: November 28th, 2023
Format: Kindle, 243 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Someone on board has a deadly destination in mind...can Cressida stop them before it's too late?

After an eventful trip to the Scottish Highlands, Cressida Fawcett is looking forward to being back among her society friends in London. Enjoying an ice-cold martini in the lounge car of the express train, loyal pug Ruby on her lap, she's ready to blow off some steam!

But Cressida's hopes for a relaxing journey are dashed when a gunshot resounds through the carriages. Industrial tycoon Lewis Warriner has been shot dead in his cabin. And as this train has been racing through the countryside, the culprit must be among Cressy's fellow passengers...

Teaming up with Detective Andrews of Scotland Yard, also on his way back to London, they work their way through the suspects. Did Warriner's mistress, a famous dancer, see his death as her ticket on to the silver screen? Or was it the mysterious man who can’t take his eyes off Lewis’s close companion?

When the murder weapon is found in the compartment Mr Warriner's wife occupies alone, she becomes the chief suspect. Until there's another gunshot. When Cressida finds out that Andrews is hit, panic sets in, but she must try to stay calm.

But with her friend and co-investigator out of action, can Cressida get the journey, and the investigation, back on track? And will she catch the murderer before they reach their final destination?

Fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey and Lee Strauss will absolutely love this addictive Golden Age cosy mystery."

Agatha Christie knew it, a locked room mystery involving a train will always be a classic, especially if the time period is just right.

The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: November 28th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A new mess. A new mystery. It's up to Molly the maid to uncover the truth, no matter how dirty, in this standalone novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid, a Good Morning America Book Club pick.

Molly Gray is not like anyone else. With her flair for cleaning and proper etiquette, she has risen through the ranks of the glorious five-star Regency Grand Hotel to become the esteemed Head Maid. But just as her life reaches a pinnacle state of perfection, her world is turned upside down when J. D. Grimthorpe, the world-renowned mystery author, drops dead - very dead - on the hotel's tearoom floor.

When Detective Stark, Molly's old foe, investigates the author's unexpected demise, it becomes clear that this death was murder most foul. Suspects abound, and everyone wants to know: Who killed J. D. Grimthorpe? Was it Lily, the new Maid-in-Training? Or was it Serena, the author's secretary? Could Mr. Preston, the hotel's beloved doorman, be hiding something? And is Molly really as innocent as she seems?

As the high-profile death threatens the hotel's pristine reputation, Molly knows she alone holds the key to unlocking the killer's identity. But that key is buried deep in her past, as long ago, she knew J. D. Grimthorpe. Molly begins to comb her memory for clues, revisiting her childhood and the mysterious Grimthorpe mansion where she and her dearly departed Gran once worked side by side. With the entire hotel under investigation, Molly must solve the mystery posthaste. Because if there's one thing she knows for sure, it's that secrets don't stay buried forever."

More secrets from the maid, a book I think everyone read.

The Fiction Writer by Jillian Cantor
Published by: Park Row
Publication Date: November 28th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From USA Today-bestselling Jillian Cantor, The Fiction Writer follows a writer hired by a handsome billionaire to write about his family history with Daphne Du Maurier and finds herself drawn into a tangled web of obsession, marital secrets, and stolen manuscripts.

The once-rising literary star Olivia Fitzgerald is down on her luck. Her most recent novel - a retelling of Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca - was a flop, her boyfriend of nine years just dumped her and she's battling a bad case of writer's block. So when her agent calls her with a high-paying ghostwriting opportunity, Olivia is all too willing to sign the NDA.

At first, the write-for-hire job seems too good to be true. All she has to do is interview Henry "Ash" Asherwood, a reclusive mega billionaire, twice named People's Sexiest Man Alive, who wants her help in writing a book that reveals a shocking secret about his late grandmother and Daphne Du Maurier. But when Olivia arrives at his Malibu estate, nothing is as it seems. The more Olivia digs into his grandmother's past, the more questions she has - and before she knows it, she's trapped in a Gothic mystery of her own.

With as many twists and turns as the California coast, The Fiction Writer is a page-turner that explores the boundaries of creative freedom and whose stories we have the right to tell."

I will ALWAYS read anything Du Maurier adjacent, especially if it plays with the supposed plagiarism of Rebecca.

Salt and Broom by Sharon Lynn Fisher
Published by: 47north
Publication Date: November 28th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A gifted healer unravels the mysteries of a cursed estate - and its enigmatic owner - in a witchy retelling of Jane Eyre.

Salt and broom, make this room.

Safe and tight, against the night.

Trunks packed with potions and cures, Jane Aire sets out on a crisp, clear morning in October to face the greatest challenge of her sheltered girls'-school existence. A shadow lies over Thornfield Hall and its reclusive master, Edward Rochester. And he's hired her only as a last resort.

Jane stumbles again and again as she tries to establish a rapport with her prickly new employer, but he becomes the least of her worries as a mysterious force seems to work against her. The threats mount around both Jane and Rochester - who's becoming more intriguing and appealing to her by the day. Jane begins to fear her herb healing and protective charms may not be enough to save the man she's growing to love from a threat darker and more dangerous than either of them imagined."

I like to think the Daphne Du Maurier is looking down and is happy that I paired a book "about" her with a Bronte retelling...

Godly Heathens by H.E. Edgmon
Published by: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: November 28th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Godly Heathens is the first book in H.E. Edgmon's YA contemporary fantasy duology The Ouroboros, in which a teen, Gem, finds out they're a reincarnated god from another world.

Maybe I have always just been bad at being human because I'm not one.

Gem Echols is a nonbinary Seminole teen living in the tiny town of Gracie, Georgia. Known for being their peers' queer awakening, Gem leans hard on charm to disguise the anxious mess they are beneath. The only person privy to their authentic self is another trans kid, Enzo, who's a thousand long, painful miles away in Brooklyn.

But even Enzo doesn't know about Gem's dreams, haunting visions of magic and violence that have always felt too real. So how the hell does Willa Mae Hardy? The strange new girl in town acts like she and Gem are old companions, and seems to know things about them they've never told anyone else.

When Gem is attacked by a stranger claiming to be the Goddess of Death, Willa Mae saves their life and finally offers some answers. She and Gem are reincarnated gods who've known and loved each other across lifetimes. But Gem - or at least who Gem used to be - hasn't always been the most benevolent deity. They've made a lot of enemies in the pantheon - enemies who, like the Goddess of Death, will keep coming.

It's a good thing they've still got Enzo. But as worlds collide and the past catches up with the present, Gem will discover that everyone has something to hide."

It's never a good thing when your past life you can't remember comes calling.

Didn't See That Coming by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Published by: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: November 28th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A hilariously fresh and romantic send-up to You've Got Mail about a gamer girl with a secret identity and the online bestie she's never met IRL until she unwittingly transfers to his school, from the bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties, The Obsession, and Well, That Was Unexpected.

Seventeen-year-old Kiki Siregar is a fabulous gamer girl with confidence to boot. She can't help but be totally herself...except when she's online.

Her secret? She plays anonymously as a guy to avoid harassment from other male players. Even her online best friend - a cinnamon roll of a teen boy who plays under the username Sourdawg - doesn't know her true identity. Which is fine, because Kiki doesn't know his real name either, and it's not like they're ever going to cross paths IRL.

Until she transfers to an elite private school for her senior year and discovers that Sourdawg goes there, too.

But who is he? How will he react when he finds out Kiki's secret? And what happens when Kiki realizes she's falling for her online BFF?"

Firstly, so here for the You've Got Mail vibe, but also, I know so many people who've played different genders in games for protection, that I am so here for it.

Gwen and Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher
Published by: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: November 28th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Heartstopper meets A Knight's Tale in this queer medieval rom com YA debut about love, friendship, and being brave enough to change the course of history.

It's been hundreds of years since King Arthur's reign. His descendant, Arthur, a future Lord and general gadabout, has been betrothed to Gwendoline, the quick-witted, short-tempered princess of England, since birth. The only thing they can agree on is that they despise each other.

They're forced to spend the summer together at Camelot in the run up to their nuptials, and within 24 hours, Gwen has discovered Arthur kissing a boy and Arthur has gone digging for Gwen's childhood diary and found confessions about her crush on the kingdom's only lady knight, Bridget Leclair.

Realizing they might make better allies than enemies, they make a reluctant pact to cover for each other, and as things heat up at the annual royal tournament, Gwen is swept off her feet by her knight and Arthur takes an interest in Gwen's royal brother. Lex Croucher's Gwen and Art Are Not in Love is chock full of sword-fighting, found family, and romantic shenanigans destined to make readers fall in love."

I am here for this swoony Arthurian tale!

The Kingdom of Sweets by Erika Johansen
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: November 28th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"This gloriously transportive reimagining of The Nutcracker tells the tale of twin sisters, divided by envy and magic, set against each another one fateful Christmas Eve.

Light and dark - this is the cursed birthright placed upon Clara and Natasha by their godfather, Drosselmeyer, whose power and greed hold an entire city in his sway. Charming Clara, the favorite, grows into a life of beauty and ease, while Natasha is relegated to her sister's shadow, ignored and unloved.

But Natasha seizes the opportunity for revenge one Christmas Eve, when Drosselmeyer arrives at the family gala with the Nutcracker, an enchanted gift that offers entry into an alternate world: the Kingdom of Sweets.

Following Clara into the glittering land of snow and sugar, Natasha discovers a source of power far greater than Drosselmeyer: the Sugar Plum Fairy, who offers her own wondrous gifts...and chilling bargains. But as Natasha uncovers the truth about a dark destiny crafted long before her birth, she must reckon with forces both earthly and magical, human and diabolical, and decide to which world she truly belongs."

I've never been a fan of The Nutcracker until I read Leigh Bardugo's short story retelling, and now I can't get enough of them! Bring on the better Nutcrackers!

The Butterfly Collector by Tea Cooper
Published by: Harper Muse
Publication Date: November 28th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A botanical illustration of a butterfly, a missing baby, and a twisty mystery fifty years in the making.

1868, Morpeth. Theodora Breckenridge, still in mourning after the loss of her parents and brother at sea, is more interested in working quietly on her art at the family's country estate than she is in finding a husband in Sydney society, even if her elder sister Florence has other ideas. Theodora seeks to emulate prestigious nature illustrators, the Scott sisters, who lived nearby. She cannot believe her luck when she discovers a butterfly never before seen in Australia. With the help of her maid Clarrie and her beautiful drawings, Theodora is poised to make a scientific discovery that will put her name on the map. Then Clarrie's newborn son goes missing and everything changes.

1922, Sydney. When would-be journalist Verity Binks is sent an anonymous parcel containing a spectacular butterfly costume along with an invitation to the Sydney Artists Masquerade Ball the same day she loses her job at The Arrow, she is both baffled and determined to attend. Her late grandfather, Sid, an esteemed newspaperman, would expect no less of her. At the ball, she lands a juicy commission to write the history of the Treadwell Foundation, an institution that supports disgraced young women and their babies. As she begins to dig, her research quickly leads her to an increasingly dark and complex mystery - a mystery fifty years in the making. Can she solve it? And will anyone believe her if she does?"

Firstly, I am totally obsessed with Australia at the moment. Add to that a twisty historical mystery and I am all in.

Ruined by Sarah Vaughn, Sarah Winifred Searle, and Niki Smith
Published by: First Second
Publication Date: November 28th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For fans of Bridgerton comes a Regency-era romance graphic novel about the unexpected passion that blooms from a marriage of convenience.

The whole town is whispering about how Catherine Benson lost her virtue, though they can never agree on the details. Was it in the public garden? Or a moving carriage?

Only a truly desperate man would want her now - and that's exactly what Andrew Davener is. His family's estate is in disrepair, but Catherine's sizeable dowry could set it to rights.

After the two wed, Catherine finds herself inexplicably drawn to Andrew. But could falling in love with her husband tear her marriage apart? In this richly detailed Regency romance, duty and passion collide in a slow-burn tale of intertwined fates."

I don't think many people remember that romance comics used to be commonplace. Let's make that happen again, starting with the swoony Regency read!

Friday, November 24, 2023

Dangerous Liaisons

Most people aren't familiar with the actual text of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, instead they are familiar with the Christopher Hampton adaptation, who interestingly is an executive producer on this show. That adaptation for the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1985 has formed the basis of all the adaptations since, from John Malkovich and Glenn Close to Colin Firth and Annette Bening to Ryan Phillippe and Sarah Michelle Gellar, they were all inspired by that interpretation of the text. In fact the 2015 National Theatre staging of Hampton's play with Janet McTeer and Dominic West might be one of my favorite productions ever. And yet, even in perfection there are a lot of issues I have with the source material, issues that are resolved in this adaptation by almost completely ignoring the book, the play, and any other form of the original story, to tell their own tale where revenge is justified and at some point every cast member of Game of Thrones shows up. You think I'm joking? Melisandre is married to Jaqen H'ghar in the most terrifying fanfic mashup of all time. But then again Valmont looks like the lovechild of Eddie Redmayne and Christian Slater while Camille is a pre-revolutionary French doppelganger for Portia from The White Lotus. And of course Lesley Manville shows up because she is now contractually obligated to be in everything. The only way that she had time to stop in as Valmont's opponent, Madame de Merteuil, is that they do the unthinkable and kill her off in the first episode. What is Valmont without Merteuil? Well, that is one of the things this series plays with. It takes things that are familiar in the book and all it's adaptations and it plays with it. It bats it around like a playful kitten until you get something entirely new yet familiar. The book is an epistolary novel and it is with letters that we begin, letters as weapons. Weapons that can be used for real revenge not just petty jealousies. It's not Merteuil pouting that her lover lost interest, it's Camille systematically destroying the society that ground her down and didn't believe her when she cried rape. This is Dangerous Liaisons for the MeToo era. Yes, there might still be rape, but it's not Madame de Merteuil telling Valmont to rape a rival, it's the seed for revenge. In fact Merteuil's taking Camille under her wing is so that this young, wronged woman will be able to exact the revenge that Merteuil herself could never enact against her own husband, who in an interesting sideline is involved in a high end brothel which ties into some murders. This story is propulsive and no longer insular due to Camille's background. While we are still cocooned to some extent within the higher echelons of society we see truth, we see reality, we see historical figures and the unrest on the streets that will soon lead to revolution. And while we see flashes of the original story from time to time the story is cyclical with Camille becoming the new Madame de Merteuil and the end of this series really being the beginning. Ah, if only Starz hadn't toyed with us we'd actually be getting that second season which I think would have brought everything full circle. 

Wednesday, November 22, 2023

Dark Winds

Growing up in my house there were a few authors whose books would always be found on our shelves, Tony Hillerman was one of them. Both my parents loved the Leaphorn and Chee series and it was a big event in our house when Mystery! adapted three of the books as Skinwalkers: The Navajo Mysteries with the brilliant Wes Studi as Joe Leaphorn. I remember one day my mom and I were trying to thin out our bookshelves and she decided it was time to finally let Tony Hillerman go. We got rid of the books and about a week later she bought a new copy of The Blessing Way. Because, as I've stated before, Tony Hillerman is always on our shelves, even if we attempt to change this. After the paperback repurchase I offered to get all the books for her for her Kindle, so that is now where our Tony Hillerman collection resides. Though I'm still kind of pissed we ever culled them in the first place. Never make decisions you may regret for expedience because there's nothing more comforting than an old familiar paperback, especially one that has strategically placed evidence as to who read it last. Hint, it was usually my grandmother because she'd use Halls wrappers as bookmarks, she was chaotic good. Therefore much excitement was felt in my household by the announcement of a new series based on Hillerman's books. And not just because I love Zahn McClarnon so much, though this ubiquitous actor was a major bonus. I was excited because the book series started in the 1970s and it was revealed that this adaptation would be a period piece. This was a seventies cop drama! My grandmother, she of the Halls wrappers, instilled in me that the pinnacle of televisual experiences is the seventies cop drama. The Rockford Files is ALWAYS at the top of the list, everything else follows, with Stephen J. Cannell shows ranked higher than others. But also in a far more important development, and I'm not talking about the big producer names, Redford having produced the earlier Mystery! series as well, I'm talking about the writers's room being all Native American. I mean, about fucking time! This is their story and they should be the ones to tell it. I mean, props to Hillerman for writing the books, but while he might have known Native Americans and gone to school with them and everything else, he isn't one of them. I feel with Dark Winds and Reservation Dogs Native Americans are finally getting to tell their stories for themselves and this is so long overdue. The first season was actually based on the third and forth books, Listening Woman and People of Darkness but they conveniently have Leaphorn and Chee pair up way earlier than in the books series. It wasn't groundbreaking for it's mystery, dealing with missing money from a bank heist, it was groundbreaking for how it was told and who told it. The second season continues the storyline from People of Darkness, delving into the cult that takes Native rituals and dumbs them down for mass consumption by white people, and is of course now run by corrupt white people. But it also continues a storyline thought resolved, the death of Joe and Emma Leaphorn's son which ends up making these six episodes feel like the second half of the first season. But a very satisfying second half. We get big emotions, danger, and, in the end, resolution and acceptance. If the show ends up not getting a third season, this was a beautiful ending. Of course I actually need this show to run for years and years for my sanity.      

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