strange and random happenstance

What did I know about The Witcher prior to Netflix's announcement that they were making a TV show? That it was a popular video game. What did I know about The Witcher after Netflix's announcement that they were making a TV Show? That it was a popular video game, there were also books, and Henry Cavill was going to play the lead and was a big fan. The thing about the show is it's actually hard to get into. The first season has I don't know how many timelines and tries to impart the mythology of the world via osmosis. This is not a method I would recommend to anyone trying to impart large chunks of knowledge. It's very confusing. Even to those who are rewatching, so say my friends. I'm not the biggest fan of the info dump, but I wouldn't object too strongly in this instance. In fact I think I might have learned more from The Witcher: Blood Origin about the mythology and history of the Continent than I did from the main show. This all led me to prefer the one-off episodes. Sure, they were mainly monster of the week episodes, but if anyone says anything bad about the creepy incest episode "Betrayer Moon" or the just insane reimagining of Beauty and the Beast "A Grain of Truth" I will fight you. Once I get my hands on a Witcher potion. The thing you have to understand about The Witcher, from what I can see, it doesn't really have any pretensions to be something it's not. It's not trying to be something more like The Rings of Power, it's just trying to be itself, which is Xena: Warrior Princess with an actual budget. You even get the off-the-wall cameos like Molesley from Downton Abbey to Simon Callow who wandered by for two episodes as an eccentric bookseller with a rather fiery end, to Graham McTavish obviously playing the role Simon Callow wanted, nudist talking to owls. In other words all I'm asking for is a Bruce Campbell cameo. Hell, I'd even watch Bruce as Geralt more than I'd watch the least Hemsworth brother take on the role. And serious question, do we think this is a option? Because I am not joking about preferring a Bruce Campbell version seeing as there's no way in hell I'm watching one with that Hemsworth on board. So in a moment of clarity, I will confess that this review is for the final season of The Witcher. Let's face it, it's how we all feel. I even wonder if Netflix feels the same way, there was an odd survey they had me fill out back in July... And given the way it ended, I don't know if I want to give them a second chance. The first half of this season was oddly informative and didn't confuse me in the least, except for the part where like no one told Ciri her father is alive. It's like they realized from The Witcher: Blood Origin that an audience wants a comprehensible story. They also got the memo that Jaskier should be in every episode AND have an adorable love interest AND a rival, bringing on a marvelous bard who so breaks the forth wall. But then "The Witcher Red Wedding" happened. And while it was magnificent, the writers forgot that in the world of Game of Thrones that the "Red Wedding" was quickly followed by the even more spectacular "Purple Wedding." Here we got a grumbling deathbed Geralt and a vision quest Ciri. Oh, and no resolution. Don't forget the fact that they wasted their last three episodes and in particular their final episode on nothing. What a waste of a Witcher. I think that should be one of Jaskier's final songs.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: And the Emmy Goes To, Beauty and the Beast, Bruce Campbell, Ciri, Downton Abbey, Geralt, Graham McTavish, Henry Cavill, Jaskier, Molesley, Netflix, Simon Callow, The Witcher, The Witcher: Blood Origin, Yennifer

I admit it, I was extremely worried about this adaptation of Terry Pratchett's work. For years and years he'd been trying to get this adaptation going and then he died and I figured well, The Watch was never going to happen. I didn't view it as much of a loss as of all the Discworld properties that had been adapted I felt only Going Postal really worked and the only one I had ever really been excited about was when Sam Raimi was attached to Tiffany Aching because I SO want to see Bruce Campbell as a feegle! But then Good Omens was a hit and The Watch was back. I reluctantly admit to the fact that I saw the preview for The Watch a handful of times before I even realized it was a Terry Pratchett adaptation. I remember seeing the first picture and the Brutalist cyberpunk vibe they were going for and just dismissed it outright, hence why I probably didn't put two and two together when the trailer dropped. But I was willing to give it a try. I couldn't be like all those other Pratchett fans dismissing it outright! I have to have informed dislike. And it turned out I didn't dislike it... in fact I kind of loved it. I didn't think Richard Dormer would work as the beloved Sam Vimes, having only seen him in Fortitude, but he brought an interesting and very pugnacious vibe to Sam. I can actually see him on the covers of the books as illustrated by Paul Kidby. As for Carrot and Angua, they are literally almost exactly as I pictured them. But the stars of this show are Sybil and Cheery. Sybil was taken from the periphery of Sam's life and given a place front and center and she just kicks ass, there's no other way to say it. I also love how awkward she and Sam are around each other, there's true chemistry there. But far and away this season is about Cheery. I so loved Jo Eaton-Kent as Cheery I can no longer see the character any other way. There's also so much depth brought to the character about finding yourself and how much bravery that takes and yes, the beard does make an appearance people! I just literally can't with how much I loved Cheery as brought to life by Jo. You are doing yourself a disfavor if you don't tune in. So it's not perfect, neither are Practhett's books the way they jump around in their narrative style, which this show fully embraces! So come on, embrace The Watch!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: And the Emmy Goes To, Bruce Campbell, Cheery, Cyberpunk, Discworld, Feegle, Going Postal, Good Omens, Jo Eaton-Kent, Paul Kidby, Richard Dormer, Sam Raimi, Sam Vimes, Terry Pratchett, The Watch, Tiffany Aching

Tales of H.P. Lovecraft by H.P. Lovecraft
Published by: Harper Perennial Modern Classics
Publication Date: 1935
Format: Paperback, 346 Pages
Rating: ★★★
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The world is stranger than it seems. No one knows this better than those who have been to Miskatonic University. But then, if you've been to this Ivy League school you've probably been there to catch a glimpse of their extensive collection of occult books and are therefore used to the strange. Perhaps you are even hoping to see the famous Necronomicon, capable of summoning the Old Ones. If that is the case, stories of ancient creatures plaguing the dreams of artists and poets are probably your bread and butter. Meteorite's bringing luminosity and madness to a small valley might seem plebeian. But at least you are forewarned. At least you know of the dangers that can be had on a street that can never be found again where you listened to the most haunting of music played on a viol. You know that sounds within the walls might bring a sleepless night or they might bring death to those you care for. You know that there are aliens and creatures beyond man's knowing and that sometimes this knowledge brings madness. Perhaps you yourself are mad. Maybe you were a professor at Miskatonic University who was called to a strange happening and your eyes were opened to the depravities that are possible when man and beast unite. Or maybe you went on an expedition, nothing more simple or academic than that. Then something went wrong. Someone went missing. Your worldview was forever changed and you were left with one purpose, to conceal the discovery of this horror from the rest of the world forever. Here's hoping you succeed and don't get in league with evil. But evil is so persuasive...

While most readers would probably place Lovecraft in the horror or fantasy sections of their bookshelves, he was distinctly influenced by the Gothic and in my mind that is where he belongs. Such authors as Edgar Allan Poe and Robert W. Chambers helped lay the groundwork for Lovecraft and all three of these men straddled genres. If you keeping going backwards in classification you'll see that Gothic is the only way to encapsulate all of them, because horror eventually arose out of the Gothic tradition of the 18th and 19th centuries. Yet Lovecraft has almost defied classification, he has become a byword for cosmic horror and knowledge beyond the ken of man, knowledge that often leads to insanity. His greatest creation, Cthulhu, is known by those who don't even know who Lovecraft or Arkham or Miskatonic University is. His imagery has become a part of popular culture and his influence is still felt. For me his influence is felt even closer to home in that my family owns Stanton and Lee Publishers which started as an imprint of Arkham House, which was founded by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei to publish Lovecraft's work in beautiful hardcover editions. Therefore it's kind of embarrassing to admit that while familiar with Lovecraft's work I had actually never read it until now. What struck me most about this collection of his short stories is you can instantly see why his writing is classic. It's not just looking beyond his work and seeing how much influence he has had on other writers from August Derleth to Terry Pratchett to Bruce Campbell to the Duffer Brothers, but it's how his work was so original. His work feels so modern, so fresh, so out of it's time. His legacy might be great, but it's endured because he was a gifted writer who saw the world differently, much like the afflicted artists who people his stories.

As for this collection hand-picked by Joyce Carol Oates after all the copyright issues were settled... without having read any of Lovecraft's stories not included here, I'd say it's a very solid collection that should have left "At the Mountains of Madness" out. Now I know those who are fans of Lovecraft are wondering why I would omit his most famous work. Well it's because a novella has no business being included in a collection of short stories, it creates an imbalance in the book's flow. Also, his writing style works better on a smaller scale. I'm not talking worldbuilding, I'm talking length. He has a way of packing such a punch with his shorter stories that having the time to search miles and miles of Antarctica AND see giant penguins who actually have nothing to do with the plot makes the punch lose it's impact. It's true, shorter is sweeter. As a reader I'm not a fan of short story collections. One really badly picked or placed piece can throw off my entire opinion of the book, IE "At the Mountains of Madness." Though in fairness to this collection I didn't hold the novella inclusion against it, that's Joyce Carol Oates's fault. But I did have issues with Lovecraft's writing, and not just with the occasional out-of-touch reference that is the product of his time that he expressed through his continued use of inbreeding as a plot point, but through his repetitive use of certain words, phrases, stylistic elements, and plot twists. That's the problem with a writer who has certain ticks when stories that weren't meant to be presented together are, you see where he repeats. You think perhaps you should start a drinking game for every time he uses the word "cyclopean" but then worry that you will die of blood alcohol poisoning. But I think that if you were to just space out the reading of his work you wouldn't find this as annoying as someone who reads right through.

Yet this repetition isn't all bad. Yes, it can be irksome, but it also helps his stories to have an inter-connectivity. It's interesting to me, reading these stories almost a hundred years after they were written that he is obviously setting all these stories within the same universe of his creation. He's worldbuilding on a level that, as time goes on, is becoming more and more popular. How many tie-ins, prequels, sequels, what-have-yous are now out there in the world? Characters from Miskatonic University reappear or are referenced in other stories. Events that have happened in an earlier story with say a University expedition have consequences in a story that was written later about a different expedition. This more than anything else is why people have latched onto his work. He has created his own universe and while his longest story is nowhere near a sizable book if you put them all together you have one heck of a story. I think this is why so many authors are drawn to writing stories within his world. It's not just that it's iconic, it's that it's so specific, so well built that to write within these confines gives you a freedom and the hope that a little of his genius will rub off on you. While I'm not going to debate the difference between true literature and fanfic here, because that is too thorny an issue, there has to be something said to the freedom of writing in someone else's voice. Even Neil Gaiman has gone all out fanboy with his Sherlock Holmes pastiche set in Lovecraft's universe, "A Study in Emerald" which should be noted isn't the only time Sherlock has fought with Cthulhu in various other authors work. But it is very interesting to muse on the fact that Conan Doyle and Lovecraft are contemporaries... makes you think, doesn't it?

Though, for me there were two stories that really struck home, "The Rats in the Walls" and "The Shunned House." Both stories deal with houses that have weird effects on the residents. Needless to say these homes have death within their walls yet hint at "the other." Be it cannibalism, paganism, werewolves, these stories work because not only are they suspenseful, but they are also left open ended enough that you have to draw your own conclusions. With the mysterious, sometimes having everything tied up neatly in a bow is dissatisfying. The hints, the surmises you reach, they can scare you more then knowing exactly what was going on. These two stories need to be read in one sitting, the pages turned as fast as your eyes can take in the words. These stories go for the tropes of traditional Gothic stories, and yet, Lovecraft knows how to tweak the narrative just enough to make the genre all his own. That is why I think so many people shy from calling him a Gothic writer, he has made the genre his bitch. While "The Shunned House" is slightly predictable, following genre conventions, I defy anyone to see that ending coming in "The Rats in the Walls!" A story about a man restoring his ancestral home, you expect a bit of ghosts and ghouls, you don't expect him to become a cannibal and eat his son's best friend after dreaming that he was a pig now do you? Right there is the essence of Lovecraft. Serving up the unexpected in a very macabre way. He's fused his own weird notions of aliens and outer space with what people expect from the Gothic and created what is and will always be Lovecraftian.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Arkham House, At the Mountains of Madness, August Derleth, Bruce Campbell, Going Gothic, Gothic, H.P. Lovecraft, Horror, Lovecraft, Miskatonic University, Necronomicon, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Worldbuilding

Hail to the Chin by Bruce Campbell
Published by: Thomas Dunne Books
Publication Date: August 15th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
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The official patter:
"Introduction by New York Times bestselling author and famous minor television personality John Hodgman.

Hail to the Chin is the new raucous and sardonic memoir from Bruce Campbell, a follow-up to the New York Times bestselling If Chins Could Kill. It’s been 15 years since his first memoir but Bruce is still living the dream as a "B" movie king in an "A" movie world.

Bruce Campbell makes his triumphant return from where he left off in If Chins Could Kill with further hilarious, gut-wrenchingly honest confessions.

Bruce brings us through his life in the decade since his first memoir and his roles as varied as they are numerous- from his roles in the Spider-Man movies to his self-referential My Name is Bruce to his role on #1 show Burn Notice and his new STARZ hit series Ash vs Evil Dead.

Over the last 15 years, Bruce has become a regular on the Wizard World convention circuit, has created his @GroovyBruce twitter account with over 400,000 followers and a Facebook page with almost 250,000 likes. His profile and reach is lightyears beyond where it was for Chins.

Hail to the Chin will be bursting with pictures and the signature humor that Bruce brought to If Chins Could Kill and will be devoured by his legions of fans across the country."

If you don't know of my love of Bruce Campbell I don't know what blog you've been reading. 

Return to Your Skin by Luz Gabás
Published by: AmazonCrossing
Publication Date: August 15th, 2017
Format: Paperback, 476 Pages
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The official patter:
"Past and present are interwoven in this story of everlasting love, where the shadow of witchcraft and man’s greed are defeated by one woman’s passion that transcends space and time.

Brianda, a young engineer, leaves her comfortable life in Madrid to learn more about her ancestors. When she travels to a cold, isolated village high in the Pyrenees to explore her roots, Brianda discovers a family secret—and a new love interest. The mysterious Corso, who is challenging destiny by restoring the neglected manor he has inherited, offers to help Brianda in her research. Together they uncover another woman named Brianda in the family archives, a woman who lived four centuries ago.

Heiress to the distinguished lord of Orrun, Brianda of Lubich defied convention by refusing to marry and carry on the family lineage. In a land convulsed by wars, twenty-four women were accused in one of the most dramatic episodes in the history of Spanish witchcraft. Due to her unconventional ways, Brianda became a target. She makes a promise to her true love, a promise she may not live to keep."

A shadow of witchcraft and I'm sold. 

Sleeping in the Ground by Peter Robinson
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: August 15th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
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The official patter:
"See why in Sleeping in the Ground, the gripping new novel starring Alan Banks — featuring an opening scene you'll never forget, and a finale you won't see coming.

At the doors of a charming country church, an unspeakable act destroys a wedding party. A huge manhunt ensues. The culprit is captured. The story is over.

Except it isn't. For Alan Banks, still struggling with a tragic loss of his own, there's something wrong about this case — something unresolved. Reteaming with profiler Jenny Fuller, the relentless detective deeper into the crime... deep enough to unearth long-buried secrets that reshape everything Banks thought he knew about the events outside that chapel.

And when at last the shocking truth becomes clear, it's almost too late."

It's always nice when characters you feel in love with on TV Shows that got cancelled keep going in book form. 

I Know a Secret by Tess Gerritsen
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: August 15th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
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The official patter:
"Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles—the inspiration for the smash hit TNT series—continue their bestselling crime-solving streak, as they pursue a shadowy psychopath keeping secrets and taking lives.

Two separate homicides, at different locations, with unrelated victims, have more in common than just being investigated by Boston PD detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles. In both cases, the bodies bear startling wounds—yet the actual cause of death is unknown. It’s a doubly challenging case for the cop and the coroner to be taking on, at a fraught time for both of them. As Jane struggles to save her mother from the crumbling marriage that threatens to bury her, Maura grapples with the imminent death of her own mother—infamous serial killer Amalthea Lank.

While Jane tends to her mother, there’s nothing Maura can do for Amalthea, except endure one final battle of wills with the woman whose shadow has haunted her all her life. Though succumbing to cancer, Amalthea hasn’t lost her taste for manipulating her estranged daughter—this time by dangling a cryptic clue about the two bizarre murders Maura and Jane are desperately trying to solve.

But whatever the dying convict knows is only a piece of the puzzle. Soon the investigation leads to a secretive young woman who survived a shocking abuse scandal, an independent horror film that may be rooted in reality, and a slew of martyred saints who died cruel and unusual deaths. And just when Rizzoli and Isles think they’ve cornered a devilish predator, the long-buried past rears its head—and threatens to engulf more innocent lives, including their own."

And speaking of cancelled shows...

Donna by V.C. Andrews
Published by: Pocket Star
Publication Date: August 15th, 2017
Format: Kindle
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The official patter:
"Book Two of the Girls of Spindrift. From the New York Times bestselling author of the Flowers in the Attic and My Sweet Audrina series, now Lifetime movies, continues a haunting new series featuring highly intelligent teenage girls who struggle to survive a specialized high school and find their place in a world that doesn’t understand them."

Anyone else in for some V.C. Andrews?

Wicked Like a Wildfire by Lana Popovic
Published by: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: August 15th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
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The official patter:
"Fans of Holly Black and Leigh Bardugo will be bewitched by Lana Popovic's debut YA fantasy novel about a bargain that binds the fates—and hearts—of twin sisters to a force larger than life.

All the women in Iris and Malina’s family have the unique magical ability or “gleam” to manipulate beauty. Iris sees flowers as fractals and turns her kaleidoscope visions into glasswork, while Malina interprets moods as music. But their mother has strict rules to keep their gifts a secret, even in their secluded sea-side town. Iris and Malina are not allowed to share their magic with anyone, and above all, they are forbidden from falling in love.

But when their mother is mysteriously attacked, the sisters will have to unearth the truth behind the quiet lives their mother has built for them. They will discover a wicked curse that haunts their family line—but will they find that the very magic that bonds them together is destined to tear them apart forever?

Wicked Like a Wildfire is the first in a two-book series. Readers will be rapt with anticipation for the sequel."

Yeah, the whole, Leigh Bardugo/Holly Black thing got me.

Call of Fire by Beth Cato
Published by: Harper Voyager
Publication Date: August 15th, 2017
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
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The official patter:
"A resourceful young heroine must protect the world from her enemies—and her own power—in this thrilling sequel to the acclaimed Breath of Earth, an imaginative blend of alternative history, fantasy, science, magic, and adventure.

When an earthquake devastates San Francisco in an alternate 1906, the influx of geomantic energy nearly consumes Ingrid Carmichael. Bruised but alive, the young geomancer flees the city with her friends, Cy, Lee, and Fenris. She is desperate to escape Ambassador Blum, the cunning and dangerous bureaucrat who wants to use Ingrid’s formidable powers to help the Unified Pacific—the confederation of the United States and Japan—achieve world domination. To stop them, Ingrid must learn more about the god-like magic she inherited from her estranged father—the man who set off the quake that obliterated San Francisco.

When Lee and Fenris are kidnapped in Portland, Ingrid and Cy are forced to ally themselves with another ambassador from the Unified Pacific: the powerful and mysterious Theodore Roosevelt. But even TR’s influence may not be enough to save them when they reach Seattle, where the magnificent peak of Mount Rainier looms. Discovering more about herself and her abilities, Ingrid is all too aware that she may prove to be the fuse to light the long-dormant volcano . . . and a war that will sweep the world."

And here it was San Francisco...

The Stone Sky by M.K. Jemisin
Published by: Orbit
Publication Date: August 15th, 2017
Format: Paperback, 464 Pages
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The official patter:
"THIS IS THE WAY THE WORLD ENDS... FOR THE LAST TIME.

The Moon will soon return. Whether this heralds the destruction of humankind or something worse will depend on two women.

Essun has inherited the power of Alabaster Tenring. With it, she hopes to find her daughter Nassun and forge a world in which every orogene child can grow up safe.

For Nassun, her mother's mastery of the Obelisk Gate comes too late. She has seen the evil of the world, and accepted what her mother will not admit: that sometimes what is corrupt cannot be cleansed, only destroyed."

Whereas here it's just Jemisin...

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Beth Cato, Bruce Campbell, DCI Banks, If Chins Could Kill, Lana Popovic, Luz Gabas, N.K.Jemisin, Peter Robinson, Return to Your Skin, Rizzoli and Isles, Tess Gerritsen, V.C. Andrews, Wicked Like a Wildfire

Earthsea
Based on the book by Ursula K. Le Guin
Starring: Shawn Ashmore, Erin Karpluk, Danny Glover, Alessandro Juliani, Richard Side, Chris Gauthier, Mark Hildreth, Heather Laura Gray, Alan Scarfe, Katharine Isabelle, Sebastian Roché, Jennifer Calvert, Emily Hampshire, Kristin Kreuk, and Isabella Rossellini
Release Date: December 13th-14th, 2004
Rating: ★★★
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King Tygath longs to subdue all of Earthsea and achieve immortality through the Nameless Ones. Two people stand in his way, Ged and Tenar. Yet he knows neither by name. Ged is the wizard prophesied to unite Earthsea in peace while Tenar will guard the labyrinthine prison of the Nameless Ones. Despite never meeting, Ged and Tenar know each other, through visions they have had for years. But their inevitable meeting isn't to happen. Yet. First Ged must leave his small village on the isle of Gont. He feels that he will forever be trapped there, the son of a smith, when he longs to do magic. He uses what little magic he knows from an old woman in the village to save his townspeople from the Kargides who arrive searching for the wizard of the prophecy. Ged dies in the attack. But the wandering magus Ogion arrives and revives Ged, taking him on as his pupil and giving him his true name, Sparrowhawk. But Ogion sees that he isn't the teacher for Ged and sends him to Roke, where he will attend the wizarding school there. Yet Ged doesn't understand why there are limits to magic and in a forbidden duel with a fellow student he releases a Nameless One. This act will haunt Ged and also signals to King Tygath that Ged is the wizard of the prophesy.

Ged is hunted by the Gebbeth, who eventually takes on Ged's form. His battle though will bring him to Atuan and Tenar. Tenar is the prized pupil of the High Priestess Thar. Thar is obstinate against King Tygarth and his desire to release the order's prisoners, the Nameless Ones. The King therefore is plotting with Thar's second in command and his lover, Kossil, to poison Thar and therefore make Kossil the one with the knowledge to release the Nameless Ones. Yet things don't go according to plan when Thar names Tenar as her successor. They therefore plot to tarnish Tenar's perfect image and achieve the immortality they seek. But on her deathbed Thar mutters a warning that what King Tygarth seeks is impossible. Little does she know that it is impossible because of the disgraced Tenar who is now captive in the order's dungeon with Ged. The two of them have been destined to meet. Destined to save Earthsea. But will they be in time to bring peace to the land or will King Tygarth rule forever?   

Here's the thing about this miniseries, if you go in expecting it to be in ANY WAY like the books by Ursula K. Le Guin, you are going to be disappointed. If, on the other hand, you take it at face value, don't over analyze, and yes, that's ironic coming from me, then it's entertaining. It's good for what it is but what it is is not the books you know and love. Driven by the success of the Harry Potter film franchise which in 2004 had adapted the first three books by J.K Rowling and by the success of The Lord of the Rings film franchise, which released it's final film a year prior this series was tailored to be a combination of the two. Therefore the action was predominately split between the wizarding school on Roke and the war on Earthsea led by King Tygarth and his Kargides. While in the books Ged's education is important, it's not such a focal point, as for the raiding Kargides? They're hardly mentioned except in passing. This miniseries was trying so hard to be an amalgam of something that it wasn't that it missed the opportunity to bring Le Guin's groundbreaking books to a great public. So while I did enjoy it I could help thinking what if?

Because what this could have been, what this should have been is an epic fantasy version of Roots. And you can tell looking at the DVD cover, well... Shawn Ashmore, he's, um, he would not be a protagonist in Roots. In fact Danny Glover is about the only thing they got right with regards to the source material, and personally, I felt a little bad for him. Did he sign on knowing the books? Did he think this would have been the epic it should have been? Whitewashing is being talked about more and more in regards to mainstream media. When Le Guin wrote her scathing tirade lambasting this production whitewashing wasn't discussed as readily as it is today. I feel that while the race issue has become more polarized at least audiences are getting more and more savvy, just look to the recent failure of Ghost in the Shell, casting Scarlett Johansson as the lead was an insult and audiences showed their disdain by not going to the film. Then there was the convoluted whitewashing of the Ancient One in Doctor Strange. I say convoluted because they went a step in the right direction by casting a woman in a male's role, but then it was a white woman who then started badmouthing her own casting... Any way you look at it, the lack of diversity on the screen is an insult to Le Guin's vision and I'm surprised she didn't find a way to fully distance herself from the production.

What I felt though really took this miniseries away from Le Guin's vision wasn't just the whitewashing, which is unacceptable, but the refocusing on war and violence. It's rare to have a series of books that celebrate humanity and the search for self. It's even rarer to find that series in fantasy where epic battles the equal of Helm's Deep or The Battle of Hogwarts seem to be the order of the day. Reading the books by Le Guin is a refreshing experience. They have become classics because they aren't like what else is out there. To strip the story of all that and replace it with King Tygath, a power-hungry and violent ruler who is almost irrelevant in The Tombs of Atuan, it's just insulting to the viewers. The reason why I don't like the Marvel film franchise or in fact really any superhero films is it's just action scene after action scene with no character development. So Sci-Fi did to Earthsea what they assumed their viewers wanted... made it epic battles and raids. While their might have been one raid in the first book, it wasn't with an express purpose of war and dominance, it was part of Ged's journey. But now, because of "popular tastes" Ged's journey is just one battle after another not to find himself but to save Earthsea from an evil tyrant. Sigh.

But the thing is, what this miniseries wants to be is the equal of The Lords of the Rings or Harry Potter, yet those are movies with IMMENSE budgets... this was a miniseries shot in Vancouver. Therefore your CGI looks a little or in this case A LOT like a bad video game and the special effects look like something Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell cooked up. At first I thought that the miniseries HAD to have been made a lot longer ago then just thirteen years because it's literally that bad, but the more practical effects had a kind of cheesy charm. It is my belief that CGI doesn't age well at all but practical effects, even if they look cheesy, they will hold up better over time. Because while technology might have improved, at least it's a physical thing that's there and not some greenscreened snake. Seriously, stop doing CGI snakes, they NEVER look right. So I kind of went to a weird place and started wondering, what if they had upped the cheese factor on the effects. Gone all in on The Evil Dead vibe. I personally think that could have really worked, made it shine a little, or at least made it amusingly memorable. It never had a chance to be a cinematic masterpiece, so why not go the other way?

Though for me the biggest insult of the miniseries which I kind of had to keep telling myself to ignore and just accept for what it is is how they treated the storyline from The Tombs of Atuan. I mean, it's just... nope. Nope, nope, nope. I seriously loved that book so much and aside from the insult of having Kristin Kreuk be Tenar, they just didn't get it. I mean, watching this miniseries it's pretty obvious they just didn't get anything about the source material, but what bothered me most about the story in Atuan was that it stripped the women of power, giving it all to the King, but more importantly, it made them servants of good. In the book they worship the Nameless Ones. Worship, as in revere and idolize. Here they're trying to keep the Nameless Ones locked away from the world. What!?! I mean, seriously what? That the good Tenar could come out of this bad situation, that she could find herself when she was raised for evil? That's a true journey of discovery. Here she's just a lame handmaiden waiting for the guy to come along and figure everything out and give her the heroic kiss as the world is set to right. NO NO NO! Ged is to be at her mercy and it is her with the upper hand. Just no. I'm really starting to second guess why I liked this miniseries. I guess for one rare instance I was able to separate what it was, what it could have been, and what it became into separate categories and somehow I was OK with that. Still don't quite know how.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Adaptation, Bruce Campbell, CGI, Danny Glover, Earthsea, Ged, Harry Potter, It's a Kind of Magic, Lord of the Rings, Miniseries, Roots, Shawn Ashmore, Tenar, The Tombs of Atuan, Ursula K. Le Guin, Whitewashing

Congo
Based on the book by Michael Crichton
Starring: Laura Linney, Dylan Walsh, Ernie Hudson, Tim Curry, Grant Heslov, Joe Don Baker, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Bruce Campbell, Taylor Nichols, Joe Pantoliano, Delroy Lindo, Stuart Pankin, Peter Jason, James Karen, Shayna Fox, and Frank Welker
Release Date: June 9th, 1995
Rating: ★
To Buy

Charlie Travers is leading an expedition in the Congo to find diamonds to power high tech communications devices, in other words, lasers, for TraviCom, a company run by his father. Charlie misses his second check in with his father back in Huston and when they get the video feed back online they see death and destruction everywhere and a mysterious ape like creature rushing past the camera. Charlie's father, R.B. Travis, begs his employee Doctor Karen Ross to go to the Congo. Karen agrees if the expedition is really to save Charlie, her former fiance, and not to get the diamonds. In California, Doctor Peter Elliott runs Project Amy, which has been teaching Amy the gorilla sign language. Amy is amazing, she has a glove that allows her to actually speak when signing and she's learned to paint. Of course the paintings are actually a form of therapy to help with her nightmares. Peter wishes to return Amy to her home in the Congo but the University doesn't want to lose Amy and the cost would be prohibitive. Enter Herkermer Homolka, a philanthropist who claims his interest is to see Amy happy, when really he suspects Amy is the key to finding the lost city of Zinj and King Solomon's Diamond Mines. Do to necessity Karen Ross attaches herself to Amy's party and they have only a few political hiccups in entering the Congo. With their forces combined will they find the diamonds, Charlie, or Amy's home? Or will they find nothing but death and destruction?

In 1995 Congo was tied with Sphere, well, maybe a little ahead of Sphere, as my favorite Crichton book; and it was going to be a movie! Not only that, it was going to be a movie with Tim Curry, my most favorite of all actors! Rocky Horror and Clue forever! The movie just happened to be opening right after my junior year of high school ended. I was counting down the days to summer break and then the last few weeks of my junior year descended into hell. I got the sickest I had ever been in years, I can still remember the pain as if it was yesterday. I had such a severe ear infection that I kept thinking if only I could get that metal spike from The X-Files and jam it in my ear everything would be better. I didn't sleep for days, making me test the theory that if you stay awake for three days straight you're insane. I quite possibly was, but aren't we all mad here?

I was so disoriented I picked up a soldering iron in art metal from the wrong end. Yes, that's right, I thought why not pick it up by the searing hot metal end that likes to burn flesh. Luckily for some unknown reason I picked it up with my non-dominate left hand, so I could at least still write and take all my finals the coming week, oh happy day. I spent all my spare time trying to finish my stained glass project with my one good hand, and then I had a week's worth of finals and on Saturday morning, before getting to see Congo, I had the ACTs. Because what better then to take the ACTs with a fever of 104! I still say getting a 26 when I was giggling to myself at the absurdity of my situation and randomly selecting answers was pretty darn good. It was good enough for the school I was applying to so that's all that mattered. And then, after all this suffering, my reward was Congo. It wasn't much of a reward. 

Of all the adaptations of Crichton's films Congo is begging for a remake. If not just for the advancement in technology, could the new version try to maintain any aspect of the book, oh, and can Andy Serkis play Amy? Bring back those ominous hand paddles and crush some skulls! Seriously, I have a new cast in mind and it would be awesome. Just saying, Jennifer Lawrence, Lee Pace, and Toby Stephens. Back to this version... the biggest and most detrimental change from page to screen in my mind is the changes wrought with the character of Doctor Karen Ross. Putting aside my hatred of Laura Linney, because I have a strong feeling that it was this movie that started this hate, this adaptation once again shows that for Hollywood woman can't be strong and ruthless, yes they can be strong, yes they can make tough decisions, but it all comes down to gooey romantic feelings. Ah, ick. Karen Ross didn't want to go to the Congo to prove she could do it, to succeed and get the diamonds at all costs, as in the book, oh no, she went to rescue her ex-fiance and her boss's son! Yes, it's all about saving someone she loved!

I wonder if Michael Crichton when watching all these various films of his books ever cringed. He doesn't write weak females and yet time and again they are made weaker. By making Doctor Ross all about her heart they are taking a book about ruthless business practices and making it into a doomed love story. By doing this they are shifting the burden for their journey into the Congo onto Amy. Amy's return to the wild becomes foremost. Instead of Amy being an addition to the expedition, Doctor Ross is an addition to Amy's release. And this change doesn't work because this throws the whole plot into turmoil and forces the movie to add in unnecessary characters that are literally cannon fodder in an attempt to keep the diamond subplot. And yes, that is a laser powered by diamonds. Yes, seriously, lasers! Lasers that could punch a hole in the moon. Say what? I know a psychic vegan who can do this and yes, it is still more believable the this freakin' laser.

By taking Doctor Ross out of the driver's seat the movie now needs someone to get Amy, she is now the star after all, to Africa AND have the interest in the diamonds. Hence, as much as it pains me to say he's an unnecessary character, Tim Curry is brought in as the ludicrous Herkermer Homolka. Firstly, who thought of that name? Secondly, why are we having this weird H. Rider Haggard throw back? The whole point of Congo was to have a modern interpretation of the adventure novels of Haggard, not do this weird clash of modern and old fashioned. Mesh the two don't set them off against each other. Also, Curry is basically the great white hunter, but so is Ernie Hudson, why do we need two characters that could, in a better written story serve the same purpose? For my money, despite my adoration of Curry, I'd stick with Hudson, he was the only one who was perfect in this plane wreck of a movie.

But, oh dear. Despite ranting about all the changes I haven't even gotten to the worst of it. I'm talking about Amy. Firstly lets talk animatronics. All the apes were done by Stan Winston who, if we were to judge him by this movie, has never seen an ape in his life. Seriously. What they hell. By the end of the movie we're in this weird guns blazing human engineered ape cave with everything going to shit in epic The Island of Doctor Moreau fashion, what the fuck. And I mean the crappy film version. Which came out a year after this film and was also done by Stan Winston. Sigh. So firstly, we have apes that don't even look like apes, then add Amy's "Power Glove." Though, to reference the Nintendo Power Glove is a disservice to Nintendo. So apparently having Peter translate Amy's sign language or even just having subtitles wasn't "cool" enough and instead we get this weird childish talking ape. And yes, if you ask me at a party, I will do my impersonation. Yes, it's so bad it deserves one. Easily. Also, interesting fact, if you had a friend named Amy in high school, this might just be their most hated film because of the "Power Glove."

The first and only time I watched this film I was so distracted by plot changes and talking apes I missed the weirdest part of this movie, and that's the jungle itself. Now, I'm not talking about the built sets that looked like they were rejects from Legends of the Hidden Temple or Xena: Warrior Princess, a conclusion that is easy to reach because of Bruce Campbell being in the movie. I mean seriously, look at that river, doesn't it look a little chocolaty to you? Is that ape throwing eyeballs at Bruce really Augustus Gloop? That is a whole different level of cheesiness. No, what I'm talking about is that the jungle is SO OBVIOUSLY NOT Africa, something my fevered brain missed the first time around. Yes, it's probably hard to get permission to film there, but still... why not just build the whole freakin' jungle, you badly built enough of it already. For the majority of the film I thought perhaps I was mistaken in the film's stupidity of not even filming in Africa, but the credits confirmed it. Costa Rica it is! In fact, isn't this the rain forest where some dinos fled to after leaving Jurassic Park? But then again, the people behind this film obviously thought the viewing public was made of idiots having the lost city of Zinj's architecture based on Cambodian temples... you know, that Asian country half a world away... or maybe they were just so stupid they didn't know or care. Because if you walk away from this film with one impression it's that it was made by idiots.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Adaptation, Africa, Bruce Campbell, Clue, Congo, Costa Rica, Crichton Celebration, Gorilla, High School, Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton, Sphere, The Island of Dr. Moreau, Tim Curry, Willy Wonka, Xena

Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris
Published by: Harper Voyager
Publication Date: April 26th, 2011
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Agent Eliza Braun lives for field work. Agent Wellington Books lives for his archives. Both working within The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, a secret agency within Queen Victoria's government, they never have had much time for each other. Eliza was always off on some dangerous mission, hopefully involving dynamite, while Books had his files and artifacts and tea, deep within the bowels of  "Miggins Antiquities." That all changed when one day, Books was Eliza's mission. He had been kidnapped by the enemy and whisked away to a secret base in Antarctica. Eliza arrived guns a blazing and rescued Books, returning the two of them to jolly old England. Only, she didn't follow directions, per se.  Doctor Sound had ordered Wellington to be decommissioned, in the most final way possible, in case he had let any secrets be spilled. Yet Eliza knew that Wellington hadn't been compromised, deep in her bones.

Her penance for such belief in Wellington? Being demoted from field agent to assist him in the archives. Both of them view this as the worst kind of hell imaginable. Wellington doesn't like interlopers in "his" archives. Early morning hours and the complete tedium of filing isn't what Eliza thinks of as a good time either. Though the archives do hold some interest for her... deep within the darkest reaches there are unsolved cases. One of those cases involves her ex partner, Harry. They had been investigating a series of gruesome murders together when Doctor Sound told them to abandon the case. Yet the files indicate that Harry kept working the case secretly, until his disappearance and subsequent reappearance in Bedlam.

Eliza will not let this rest. Slowly she convinces Books that it's in their best interest to continue Harry's investigation. She'll investigate it with or without him, so Books might as well come along. Soon there's buildings blowing up, high speed carriage chases, fights during the opera and secret societies. Working side by side, Books and Braun have to learn to trust each other and believe in their new partner. Yet for Eliza, relying on an agent, untrained in field ops, while being deep undercover could be the riskiest decision she ever made. For Books, leaving the archives was his riskiest decision.

I think I have quite probably found my new favorite series. The mystery, the chemistry, the humor are all perfectly balanced to create one of the best reads out there, Steampunk or otherwise. The polar opposites of toffy, British to the bone, Books and trigger happy, dynamite loving New Zealander Braun can easily go down as one of the best pairings since Mrs. Peel and Steed, Maddy and David, Sam and Diane, Castle and Beckett. They just fuel each other to new levels of ingenuity and snarky, witty banter. They are the chemical equivalent of dynamite, a comparison I know full well Eliza would love. There's a part of me that spent the entire book just hoping they'd get together, and another part of me just loving this long tease... I trust in the writers that everything will be worth my wait and the payoff will be sublime.

Almost a Victorian version of The Avengers, I find that with the artifact nature of many of the investigations, that the book can be favorably compared to one of my favorite series, Warehouse 13. I would not be surprised if at any moment HG Wells popped up and asked for a little help from Books and Braun, creating the best fan fic mash-up of the Victorian Era. Everything about the book just worked. The mystery changes directions many times throughout the lengthy story, yet I enjoyed every minute of the ride and the denouement brought everything back together. The Steampunk elements fit in the story and never once felt out of place or forced, which is a hard thing to do with techno babble. Just wonderful worldbuilding on the parts of Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris.

The authors where even able to take a trope that I've come to hate and make it fresh. The Hellfire Club. Anything Victorian or Regency, or really, any time they can in anything slightly period or historical in a British setting, or British Coloney, the Hellfire Club will rear it's head. Heck, they even did it in The Avengers. Yet the Phoenix Society, while having the debauchery of said predecessor, goes beyond just the wanton lust of what came before. They have a secondary agenda too, yet that isn't what made it work. What made the society work was that the way the authors set up the weekend of loose morals was by creating the perfect British Country House weekend and then skewing it. Like a very dark Gosford Park. Personally, I adore mysteries in a Country House setting. Therefore by adding this level of aristocratic sheen and typical behaviour over the atypical club, I never once was raising my fist going, "Damn you Francis Dashwood and your Monks! Damn you to a real, not intentional hell. Devils poking you... oh wait, you'd probably like that."

Also, as is my way, sometimes when reading a book I totally see one actor in my head immediately. Obviously, the agent Bruce Campbell, would be played by Bruce Campbell, that isn't up for negotiation. For Books I was trying to think of someone stuffy, but who could kick ass and be menacing when need be. The obvious choice is Alexis Denisof as Wesley Wyndam-Pryce from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and later Angel. Can't you just picture his stammering and lecturing of Eliza? I sure can!

Here is "Books" in lecture mode, disgruntled lecture mode, hence the tie being loose, when he has had one too many problems with Eliza. Once again trying to explain the taxonomy of the filing and how work starts not near lunch or in the afternoon but in the morning.

Yet, he can totally bring the "dapper" for a night out at the opera to enjoy some Macbeth or to infiltrate a Country House Party that has nefarious undertones.

For Eliza, I wanted someone young and plucky, who looks like they are a little cherubic, until they pull a gun on you. While she is The Doctor's next companion, it was Jenna Louise Coleman's performance in the Titanic miniseries by Julian Fellowes that shows she has Eliza's competence, quick wit and sharp tongue.

Also, she can bring the glam, but that reinforced corset might need some adjustments...

Moste Importante Steampunkery:
While there are many great Steampunk inventions in the book, many designed by Books himself, the prize has to go the Mad McTighe's coin-operated Combobula Bar. Lord McTighe was a gallant nutter who disliked women having to be bar maids because "women shouldna be pawed by drunk patrons!" So he invented the Combobula Bar where you can listen to "Onward Christian Soldiers" while waiting for the machine to mix and serve you drink. Yet what makes this shiny brass-and-wooden bar stand out is that it can somehow sense a bar fight and close in on itself, protecting the machinery, but, more importantly, the booze.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Bruce Campbell, Buffy, Eliza Braun, Hellfire Club, Jullian Fellowes, Ministry of Peculiar Occurances, New Zealand, Pip Ballantine, Tee Morris, The Avengers, Victorian, Warehouse 13, Welling Books

Jack of All Trades
Release Date: January 17th, 2000 – December 2nd, 2000
Starring: Bruce Campbell, Angela Dotchin, Stuart Devenie, Stephen Papps and Verne Troyer
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

At the end of the Revolutionary War, secret agent Jack Stiles is sent by Jefferson to the island of Pulau-Pulau, a French Colonial outpost in the East Indies. There he meets his British counterpart, Emilia Rothschild. Together they must thwart Napoleon's plans for world domination, as well as the island's Govenor Croque and Captain Brogard. Assuming the identity of a local folk hero, the Daring Dragoon, in order to protect their covers, Jack is able to foil any plan the Frenchies send their way. From rescuing Benjamin Franklin to stolen American gold shipments, getting hold of the Louisiana purchase documents, having a run in with Lewis and Clark, avoiding Blackbeard and the Marquis de Sade, Pulau-Pulau seems to be the hub of the French Empire, despite being a several months sea voyage from Paris.

This short run series staring Bruce Campbell was in the same campy vein as Xena and Hercules, which makes sense because it's the same production team as well as several of the actors. Bruce portrayed Jack as part Errol Flynn, part Three Stooges. Witty, sometimes bawdy, sometimes cringeworthy ripostes and sword play where the flavor of the day. A favorite among Steampunk aficionados for the wacky gadgets that Amelia was always cobbling together in her laboratory, from submarines to love potions, as well as the alt history. Yet the show goes beyond this cult fan base, I'm not just talking Steampunk here, but also Bruce's fan base, to be a broad historical comedy where everything is fair game from Napoleon being portrayed by the diminutive Verne Troyer, to a parrot, Jean Claude, being a secret agent, to Indiana Jones parodies involving the secret tribe of the WallaWalla Bing Bangs.

While it doesn't really surprise me that the show was cancelled half way through the second season, because I'm sure the premise didn't sound that fun to people. But I dare you to put anyone down in front of the tv, even the most sceptical, ie, my Dad for example, and by the end of an episode they will be loving it, and also apologizing for doubting you if you're lucky, after a few, they'll probably be singing the theme song along with you.

What drew me to the series, aside from Bruce Campbell, really, how can anyone not love Bruce Campbell*, was the historical aspect. I have always loved the time of the French Revolution, which had strong ties with the American Revolution, seeing as the French monarchy was bankrolling it. Yet, the idea that this little island in the East Indies, which is easily a few months journey from anywhere, has people coming and going like a French Farce just tickles me. Also, the nudge nudge, wink wink mentality of Bruce and his anachronistic references along with the blatant distortion of history just makes me giggle with glee. The fact that American History was formed by Bruce Campbell... now that's a show worth watching!

*Side not, I love Bruce Campbell so much that despite having pneumonia, which actually wasn't diagnosed till two days later, I bundled myself up against a cold Wisconsin winter and trudged forth to my local art cinema. The reason? Because after months and months of harassing them, My Name is Bruce was coming to the theatre with at least three sold out performances. While a Bruce Campbell movie is all well and good, the fact that the man himself was there made it so worth it. He just has a way with his fans. You can see he respects them, but there's also a slight snark there, especially when criticizing someone for not whisking the fake blood recipe in his book enough, that makes you love him all the more. Also, the movie was quite funny, but that could be the cough medicine talking.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Blackbeard, Bruce Campbell, East Indies, Errol Flynn, French Revolution, Hercules, Jack of All Trades, Marquis de Sade, My Name is Bruce, Napoleon, Pulau-Lulau, Three Stooges, Verne Troyer, Xena

Cherie Priest is the author of a dozen novels, including the steampunk pulp adventures Ganymede, Dreadnought, Clementine, and Boneshaker. Boneshaker was nominated for both the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award; it was a PNBA Award winner, and winner of the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. But what really matters is that she's a cat person, is totally into Steampunk (including video games!), and was the guest of honor at the first Teslacon!

Question: What is the definitive Steampunk book for you?

Answer: I haven't read it yet. Steampunk comes in too many flavors for me to pick one and hold it up, saying, "THIS AND NONE OTHER." That having been said, when I talk about steampunk being a spectrum, and not a binary, I tend to put The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen* comics at #10. It's hard to get too much more steampunk than that, but that's not the only way to go about it.

*Which you could win a copy of in the Steampunk Summer Giveaway!

Question: What drew you to this genre?

Answer: I slid into it sideways, as an old goth with a fondness for Tim Burton.

Question: How do you take your tea?

Answer: Iced, sweet, and usually flavored.

Question: Must have sartorial accessory?

Answer: A well fitting waistcoat and a fluffy skirt. I love corsets, but I have back problems - and I don't wear them nearly so often anymore.

Question: Sartorial leaning: Street Urchin, Tinker, Explorer or Aesthete?

Answer: Depends on my mood. I've done all of those, and others too.

Question: Top hat or bowler hat?

Answer: I have a good wool version of each, actually.

Question: Subgenre you most identify with: Boilerpunk, Clockpunk, Dieselpunk, Gaslight Romance, Mannerspunk, Raygun Gothic or Stitchpunk?

Answer: How about SteamGoth? I like SteamGoth.

Question: If there was one thing that could truly exist from the world of Steampunk what would it be?

Answer: Zombies.
Question: If there was one element in the Steampunk genre you could remove forever what would it be?

Answer: I can think of a number of overused tropes, but I'm as guilty of them as anyone. I'll not cast stones.

Question: Favorite movie or television series with Steampunk elements?

Answer: Oh, I don't know. A few off the top of my head: Dark City, Labyrinth, Sleepy Hollow ... lovely movies, all. TV shows - Firefly, obviously, and Jack of All Trades*, which was wonderful. And video games, God - Bioshock, Silent Hill (some of them, anyway). Batman: Arkham City and Arkham Asylum, both. It's hard to pick just one of anything. I'm sure that the moment I hit "send" on this email, I'll think of fifty different things I'll wish I'd included.

*Awesome, everyone should watch and we'll then have a group sing-a-long with the opening credits!



Question: Preferred mode of transport: celestial, aether, terra firma or aquatic?

Answer: Terra firma. I'm sick to death of flying, and I get a little seasick.

Question: Favorite Queen to have had a diamond jubilee, Victoria or Elizabeth?

Answer: Victoria, all the way.

Question: Victorian or Wild West?

Answer: Yes.

Question: Would you like an automaton butler or ladies maid, considering that it might be the first step in the robotic apocalypse?

Answer: Nah. I'm too much of a control freak.

Question: If The Doctor showed up at your door, where would you go?

Answer: To Waffle House.

*Author Photo Credit: Libby Bulloff

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Boneshaker, Bruce Campbell, Cherie Priest, Jack of All Trades, Labyrinth, Queen Victoria, SteamGoth, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Waffle House

The Janus Affair by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris
Published by: Harper Voyager
Publication Date: May 29th, 2012
Format: Paperback, 432 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

Eliza and Wellington have been behaving themselves... mostly. Since the to-do with the Phoenix Society, Eliza's desire for field work has been mildly slacked. But even Welly MUST admit that when a case just falls into their lap it can't be ignored. Even if it wasn't so much the case fell as a lady disappeared in front of them on a hypersteam train from Scotland to London. Eliza had just met the lady in question at a Suffrage meeting and now she's all screaming and lightning and gone. Yet their boss Dr. Sound doesn't follow the logic of Braun. She's too close to the case and therefore shouldn't investigate. But for Eliza this is exactly the reason why she must investigate, that and the knowledge that their fellow agent assigned to the case, Bruce Campbell, will do nothing. A promise he lives up to when he quickly sends the case down to the archives as closed... but not solved.

Eliza might have been convinced by Welly to back down if they didn't see it happen again. They are wandering around the park and head over to Speaker's Corner. There is a large Suffrage rally in progress and a large shock in store for Eliza. Kate Sheppard is there. Eliza hasn't seen Kate since the incident that made Eliza an outcast, no longer welcome in New Zealand. Kate is looking pretty good with her half metal face, she's not one to back down when the going got tough! Then all of a sudden the same metallic tang fills the air and Eliza knows Kate is going to be snatched. Jumping to the podium, Eliza once again saves Kate, but the other girl wasn't so lucky.

Now that there are two cases, Eliza combs the archives and finds even more. Key women to the Suffrage movement snatched out of thin air. But why? And why bury the cases? Are they being killed, kidnapped, ransomed? Or is this all just to undermine the movement? Because not knowing what is happening is sewing more fear than a direct attack would. Yet Kate is ready for a fight if Eliza is! Too bad Kate brought her son Douglas along... Eliza's first true love. No matter who is behind this or why, Eliza will solve this, job and life be damned. Yet, with the forces of darkness aligning themselves against the agents and their ministry, could it really be the end for Books and Braun?

First, make sure you've read the first book, second, make sure you've read the short story The Evil that Befell Sampson, which really should be required reading to get this book, ok, done? Now we can discuss. I adore Books and Braun. Their chemistry and their combined talents are such a perfect match. Yet, with just the two of them, you'd have a decent book. It is all the perfectly formed peripheral characters that make this book so much more. From Eliza's Ministry Seven, her answer to the Baker Street Irregulars, to her kick ass half steam maid, to their fellow agents whom you not only fall in love with but mourn. Even the baddies fascinate me! Usually the adversary is some mysterious, convoluted, not very well plotted big bad, yet here, we have Sophia and Lord Sussex and the conflicted Bruce. You are almost cheering them on as much as the protagonists. I want to know more about them, I want to know more about the mysterious Maestro. I want to know exactly what is happening to Sussex, because right now I have fifty million theories, and most point to a Jekyll and Hyde scenario. I never have cared much for villains in the past, maybe a passing interest in a roguish cad... but actual villains? Nope.

The world of this novel makes me want to curl up in it and never leave, which is why I'm so excited they put out so many short stories, because how else would I survive till the next book comes out? Still, there where a few things in this book that made it click a little less for me. What I loved most of all was that the arrival of Douglas threw Eliza and Wellington's feelings for each other into relief. We also had the closure of the Douglas chapter of Eliza's life. There could be no romantic entanglement between the two of them till at least the most obvious of the obstacles where removed, ie, Eliza's former partner, her former love. That isn't to say that there aren't tons of other problems, psychological and ideological that could get in their way... but now the real hurdles have been passed.

The Suffrage movement, personally, I could take it or leave it, but that's probably because I have grown up in a world that has never banned me from voting. I love this historical aspect and the little things, like the distinction of calling the women Suffragists not Suffragettes. Also, the fact that Kate Sheppard was a real hell cat for New Zealand, minus the bionic makeover, makes this ever more real. Yet, the fact that this struggle is somehow the final straw that broke our villain's back and had the world heading for... I'll be good, no spoilers... well, something really bad, I didn't really buy.

What I didn't like? I missed the archives! Which, because of this book's ending, I fear I will continue to miss. I liked the idea of them having a base of operations within this larger organization. I loved them thwarting their boss and trying to cover up what they where up to with elaborate shadow play and excuses. I missed the research in that dank little cellar! The archives are a character all it's own and I missed it! Plus, the archives has so much to offer, and really, it is their job! I found it not that feasible that they where not missed at all for the entire duration of the book. They maybe stopped by once or twice and no one commented on their absence? Really!?!

Though the thing that bothered me the most was a lack of copy editing. Hell, I would personally copy edit these books for free to avoid the grammatical errors and the occasional missing words which would make a sentence not make sense unless your brain filled in the gaps, which my brain is quite used to. Though, I think a continuity editor would be even better because of one niggling thing that drove me bonkers. The added elevator. In the first book, Phoenix Rising, there is a scene when Welly has to take the drunken Eliza home. He has to carry her comatose body up flights and flights of stairs. It was a struggle because that little pepper pot (a word starting to get overused in the chapter headings) was wearing her reinforced corset... yet in the second book, after Douglas shows up at Eliza's when Welly is there, Welly and Douglas leave together and glare at each other while riding the elevator to the ground floor. Say what!?! If there was the option of an elevator when Welly was lugging around a drunk Eliza, I think he would have taken it! Also, not much time has passed since the first book, so I find it highly unlikely that an elevator was installed. So, magically appearing elevator... yeah, no thanks. Yet, even these detractions can't take away my love of this series and the fact that I am desperate for the next volume... which probably won't be out to next year... sigh, sob and wail.

Moste Importante Steampunkery:
Sophia de Morte's Lococycle. It's basically Batman's Batcycle but cooler! Especially so once Wellington finishes adding some of his touches, sure to be far more effective than that lame crotch rocket Christian Bale was riding in The Dark Knight Rises! Though I think Sophia would approve of Catwoman having her own. Meow! This "infernal contraption" might be inelegant to the eyes of some, Sussex cough cough, the "two wheels, one in front of the other like a bicycle" added with pistons and valves makes this the fastest mode of transport for delivering messages to your dark master or rescuing your partner. It also scares the hell out of horses.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 2 comments  

Labels: Batman, Bruce Campbell, Catwoman, Christian Bale, Eliza Braun, Kate Sheppard, Ministry of Peculiar Occurances, Phoenix Rising, Suffragettes, The Dark Knigt Rises, The Janus Affair, Wellington Books

Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris
Published by: Harper Voyager
Publication Date: April 26th, 2011
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
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Agent Eliza Braun lives for field work. Agent Wellington Books lives for his archives. Both working within The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, a secret agency within Queen Victoria's government, they never have had much time for each other. Eliza was always off on some dangerous mission, hopefully involving dynamite, while Books had his files and artifacts and tea, deep within the bowels of  "Miggins Antiquities." That all changed when one day, Books was Eliza's mission. He had been kidnapped by the enemy and whisked away to a secret base in Antarctica. Eliza arrived guns a blazing and rescued Books, returning the two of them to jolly old England. Only, she didn't follow directions, per se.  Doctor Sound had ordered Wellington to be decommissioned, in the most final way possible, in case he had let any secrets be spilled. Yet Eliza knew that Wellington hadn't been compromised, deep in her bones.

Her penance for such belief in Wellington? Being demoted from field agent to assist him in the archives. Both of them view this as the worst kind of hell imaginable. Wellington doesn't like interlopers in "his" archives. Early morning hours and the complete tedium of filing isn't what Eliza thinks of as a good time either. Though the archives do hold some interest for her... deep within the darkest reaches there are unsolved cases. One of those cases involves her ex partner, Harry. They had been investigating a series of gruesome murders together when Doctor Sound told them to abandon the case. Yet the files indicate that Harry kept working the case secretly, until his disappearance and subsequent reappearance in Bedlam.

Eliza will not let this rest. Slowly she convinces Books that it's in their best interest to continue Harry's investigation. She'll investigate it with or without him, so Books might as well come along. Soon there's buildings blowing up, high speed carriage chases, fights during the opera and secret societies. Working side by side, Books and Braun have to learn to trust each other and believe in their new partner. Yet for Eliza, relying on an agent, untrained in field ops, while being deep undercover could be the riskiest decision she ever made. For Books, leaving the archives was his riskiest decision.

I think I have quite probably found my new favorite series. The mystery, the chemistry, the humor are all perfectly balanced to create one of the best reads out there, Steampunk or otherwise. The polar opposites of toffy, British to the bone, Books and trigger happy, dynamite loving New Zealander Braun can easily go down as one of the best pairings since Mrs. Peel and Steed, Maddy and David, Sam and Diane, Castle and Beckett. They just fuel each other to new levels of ingenuity and snarky, witty banter. They are the chemical equivalent of dynamite, a comparison I know full well Eliza would love. There's a part of me that spent the entire book just hoping they'd get together, and another part of me just loving this long tease... I trust in the writers that everything will be worth my wait and the payoff will be sublime.

Almost a Victorian version of The Avengers, I find that with the artifact nature of many of the investigations, that the book can be favorably compared to one of my favorite series, Warehouse 13. I would not be surprised if at any moment HG Wells popped up and asked for a little help from Books and Braun, creating the best fan fic mash-up of the Victorian Era. Everything about the book just worked. The mystery changes directions many times throughout the lengthy story, yet I enjoyed every minute of the ride and the denouement brought everything back together. The Steampunk elements fit in the story and never once felt out of place or forced, which is a hard thing to do with techno babble. Just wonderful worldbuilding on the parts of Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris.

The authors where even able to take a trope that I've come to hate and make it fresh. The Hellfire Club. Anything Victorian or Regency, or really, any time they can in anything slightly period or historical in a British setting, or British Coloney, the Hellfire Club will rear it's head. Heck, they even did it in The Avengers. Yet the Phoenix Society, while having the debauchery of said predecessor, goes beyond just the wanton lust of what came before. They have a secondary agenda too, yet that isn't what made it work. What made the society work was that the way the authors set up the weekend of loose morals was by creating the perfect British Country House weekend and then skewing it. Like a very dark Gosford Park. Personally, I adore mysteries in a Country House setting. Therefore by adding this level of aristocratic sheen and typical behaviour over the atypical club, I never once was raising my fist going, "Damn you Francis Dashwood and your Monks! Damn you to a real, not intentional hell. Devils poking you... oh wait, you'd probably like that."

Also, as is my way, sometimes when reading a book I totally see one actor in my head immediately. Obviously, the agent Bruce Campbell, would be played by Bruce Campbell, that isn't up for negotiation. For Books I was trying to think of someone stuffy, but who could kick ass and be menacing when need be. The obvious choice is Alexis Denisof as Wesley Wyndam-Pryce from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and later Angel. Can't you just picture his stammering and lecturing of Eliza? I sure can!

Here is "Books" in lecture mode, disgruntled lecture mode, hence the tie being loose, when he has had one too many problems with Eliza. Once again trying to explain the taxonomy of the filing and how work starts not near lunch or in the afternoon but in the morning.

Yet, he can totally bring the "dapper" for a night out at the opera to enjoy some Macbeth or to infiltrate a Country House Party that has nefarious undertones.

For Eliza, I wanted someone young and plucky, who looks like they are a little cherubic, until they pull a gun on you. While she is The Doctor's next companion, it was Jenna Louise Coleman's performance in the Titanic miniseries by Julian Fellowes that shows she has Eliza's competence, quick wit and sharp tongue.

Also, she can bring the glam, but that reinforced corset might need some adjustments...

Moste Importante Steampunkery:
While there are many great Steampunk inventions in the book, many designed by Books himself, the prize has to go the Mad McTighe's coin-operated Combobula Bar. Lord McTighe was a gallant nutter who disliked women having to be bar maids because "women shouldna be pawed by drunk patrons!" So he invented the Combobula Bar where you can listen to "Onward Christian Soldiers" while waiting for the machine to mix and serve you drink. Yet what makes this shiny brass-and-wooden bar stand out is that it can somehow sense a bar fight and close in on itself, protecting the machinery, but, more importantly, the booze.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 2 comments  

Labels: Bruce Campbell, Buffy, Eliza Braun, Hellfire Club, Jullian Fellowes, Ministry of Peculiar Occurances, New Zealand, Pip Ballantine, Tee Morris, The Avengers, Victorian, Warehouse 13, Welling Books

I really don't think I could love Terry Pratchett more, I am in a Pratchett Reading Challenge after all. He's a comic genius and each and every book he writes has subtle layer upon subtle layer of context and meaning, along with the odd pie in the face, and you better hope that it is not one of Dibbler's pies. Sky TV has been adapting his books for the last few years now. They tentatively started with Hogfather, which I thought was a fair adaptation that did lack some of the subtlety of the original. After their resounding success, ie, fans didn't pelt them with aforementioned pies, they went on to adapt the first two Discworld Novels, The Color of Magic and The Light Fantastic, which I think would have be a resounding success if not for Tim Curry's bad costume, but more importantly, the dreadful miscasting of David Jason as Rincewind. Is David Jason in his 30-40s? Is he skinny and lank and able to run fast? Not in the least! Now, while for some bizarre reason I see a young Bruce Campbell as Rincewind, there really is no explaining my mind, I suggest, due to his recently hanging up his screwdriver we bring another David into the role of Pratchett's favorite Wizzard. I'm talking David Tennant here people! Lithe, almost overly so, and we know he can run. Allonsy!

But back to the matter at hand. We have, what I view as possibly the best adaptation on the horizon. Going Postal! Now it's not so much the characters of Moist Von Lipwig and Lord Vetinari, it's the actors. The cast! OMG! David Suchet, Charles Dance, Tamsin Greig, Clare Foy, and I leave my favorite to last... Richard Coyle. Ah Jeff from Coupling, I have missed you. Season 4 was a piece of shit without you. So now I have my Jeff and my Pratchett combined into one wonderful package. So what's the down side? It's not going to air till May! Originally slatted for the Easter weekend, the intimidation of a Doctor Who launch is surely what pushed it back. But until then, a trailer! Huzzah!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:13 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Bruce Campbell, Charles Dance, Coupling, David Jason, David Tennant, Dibbler, Discworld, Going Postal, Hogfather, Richard Coyle, Rincewind, Terry Pratchett, The Color of Magic, The Light Fantastic

Forest Born by Shannon Hale
Published by: Bloomsbury
ARC Provided by a Friend
Publication Date: September 15th, 2009
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
Rating: ★★
To Preorder

"Rin is sure that something is wrong with her…something really bad. Something that is keeping her from feeling at home in the Forest homestead where she’s lived all her life. Something that is keeping her from trusting herself with anyone at all. When her brother Razo returns from the city for a visit, she accompanies him to the palace, hoping that she can find peace away from home. But war has come to Bayern again, and Rin is compelled to join the queen and her closest allies—magical girls Rin thinks of as the Fire Sisters—as they venture into the Forest toward Kel, the land where someone seems to want them all dead. Many beloved Bayern characters reappear in this story, but it is Rin’s own journey of discovering how to balance the good and the bad in herself that drives this compelling adventure."

Shannon Hale has been a very busy writer, since her last Bayern book was released in 2006. She has written two adult books, another adaptation of a fairy tale and a graphic novel. But with Forest Born she finally gives us readers what we have been waiting for, a return to Bayern. In this book we follow Rin, Razo's little sister. Her abilities are far different to any of the "fire sisters" we have seen before, which also leads to a new more free flowing, train of thought writing when we are in Rin's mind. We see all the characters we love and learn what has been happening in their lives. But I had problems with Rin as the focal point of all these intertwined lives. Rin is such a non-character, in the beginning, and she was obviously written as such. She is quite literally a shadow who eventually takes form. But it is hard to befriend a shadow. It is hard to identify with a wraith. It is hard to take a girl into your heart who you aren't sure who she is. But then again she doesn't know who she is either, and therefore your unease with her mirrors her own feelings about herself very well. I found Rin and her powers fascinating, but I think her progress could have been more rapid in parts. It takes awhile to face your demons, but sometimes narratively they should be faced faster.

The journeys contained within the book, both of body and mind lead our characters to Kel. There they do valiant deeds and Rin discovers more about herself than she originally bargained for when she followed Razo to the great city. I will not spoil anything as per the author's request, but I felt that Shannon Hale relied too much on a few cliched conventions in this book then her previous ventures. When I went to WisCon back in May I attended a panel entitled "Kick Ass Moms" wherein the authors discussed the habit of when you have a mother the cliched thing to do is to put that child in danger. Baby jeopardy is a big theme which is overused, and Shannon Hale does use this in Forest Born. She does handle it better than I was expecting, but still, I'm not sure it works as a driving plot force for a teen book. Also she uses the old trick of old enemies always return for the sequel. It felt a bit like that last scene in Bruce Campbell's film, My Name is Bruce, where they have just defeated Guan-Di, and then the sequel set-up is literally two seconds later. While the end result is great, it still felt a little worn.

But in the final analysis I loved seeing where our friends in Bayern have ended up and even if I wasn't wild about Forest Born the first read-through, it got the same rating I gave Enna Burning the first time, and I now love Enna! So Forest Born might grow on me to be a four star review, now that I know Rin more I'd be willing to give it another chance. But it is strongly recommended for all those who love the denizens of Bayern.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 1:40 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Bayern, Book Review, Bruce Campbell, Enna Burning, Forest Born, Goose Girl, My Name is Bruce, River Secrets, Shannon Hale