strange and random happenstance

I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai
Published by: Viking
Publication Date: February 21st, 2023
Format: Kindle, 448 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy (different edition than one reviewed)

In 1995 Thalia Keith was murdered at the elite New Hampshire boarding school Granby. The school's athletic trainer, Omar Evans, was fitted up for the crime. In 1994 Thalia Keith's roommate was Bodie Kane. Thalia's murder was just one more horrific event that happened in Bodie's life that she's trying to forget. She has a successful career teaching film at UCLA and running the podcast Starlet Fever. Which is why Granby asks her to come and teach a class or two for their January "mini-mester." She will spend two weeks with students teaching them film history and podcasting. But her secret hope is that one of her students will take up Thalia Keith's case for their podcast. In the weeks leading up to her return to Granby Bodie has gone down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories with regard to Thalia. An innocent link to a video Bodie had never seen of the production of Camelot the night Thalia was murdered has her asking questions she never would have thought to ask as a senior in high school. But when her student, Britt, starts to investigate, Bodie can claim that it was all her student's idea. It wasn't her idea to come back and open up old wounds, even if that's exactly what she wanted to do. She has plausible deniability as her entire class becomes obsessed with the case. And there legitimately seems to be a case. Omar Evans was a convenient villain, he was black and not "one of them." So the school and local law enforcement never looked beyond him despite things not adding up. One big piece of evidence overlooked by the original investigation is that it looks like Thalia was having an affair with one of the teachers. Dennis Bloch was the music teacher and, oddly enough, Bodie's favorite teacher. But things start to slide into place making it look like he could have silenced his young protegee. Looking back Bodie realizes that the culture of the times let teachers like Dennis Bloch prey on innocent girls by being the "cool teacher." He was young and understood them, and therefore could act with impunity. And perhaps Thalia wasn't the first? Thalia was young and vibrant and she didn't deserve to die. But what's more, her killer deserves to be brought to justice. The times have changed and the female of the species is going to prove she's deadlier than the male.

One can't discount that there's a nostalgia factor to true crime. Reading or listening about a time and place that brings up your own associations that are somehow comforting despite the horror. I really didn't expect to be so affected by this when I picked up I Have Some Questions For You, but here I find myself. Not connecting to the location or the murder, but to the era. To 1995. To how the world was different. To how the world has drastically improved. I was also in high school in 1995. In fact I would have been a year behind Bodie Kane had we been in school together and she weren't fictional. And everything she was saying about how life was like back then I found myself agreeing with. The casual sexism, the way boys behaved and we just excused it, because this was what life was. As women, as girls, we didn't know that there could be a reckoning. We didn't know that things would change. You just accepted being shit on and made uncomfortable by the opposite sex. Oh, and let's not forget how vicious girls could be with their little cliques. I look back and wonder how I ever survived. And I really don't think there's been an author I've read who just understood the pervasive shit that I had to wade through on a day to day basis for years. Rebecca Makkai gets it. She gets it completely. And this might not have been my school or my classmates, but they were. They had the same ideas, the same attitudes. It was nostalgic and cathartic reading this book. Knowing that I wasn't alone. Knowing that while I struggled then that I can look back and understand that it was just the way the world worked and thankfully times have changed. Sadly they haven't changed as much as they should, but to acknowledge that boys were just given free reign to be the creepy the little shits they wanted to be and no one called them out on it, at least, for me, this meant something. And yes, I know not all boys were creepy shits, but there was always at least one and that one made your life a living hell. Sadly the book wasn't able to keep it's narrative focus once it jumped forward in time to Omar's hearing for a retrial. It felt like it was trying to be too of the moment with MeToo and Covid. We haven't had enough time to come to grips with what "now" is and how it will be remembered so having it be the narrative focus instead of the lens we're looking through to the past made it feel like it was trying too hard. Add to that the fact that Bodie's just sitting around doing nothing, until she's doing a classmate, and there was just too much of a disconnect. The past should have informed the present more and instead we are left dissatisfied.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: #MeToo, 90s, Boarding School, Bodie Kane, Camelot, Covid, Granby, Grooming, I Have Some Questions For You, Injustice, New Hampshire, Omar Evans, Podcast, Rebecca Makkai, Summer School, Thalia Keith, True Crime

Hokuloa Road by Elizabeth Hand
Published by: Mulholland Books
Publication Date: July 19th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
Rating: ★
To Buy

Grady Kendall's life imploded. But then so has so many others. The pandemic came and everything ground to a halt, including the construction on all the wealthy vacation homes in Maine where he worked as a carpenter. The first stimulus check went to back rent and two overdue truck payments. So he moved back in with his mother. Though the memories at home aren't the kind you want to dwell on, his father's suicide, his brother's addictions, and so much loss. Which is why he likes his Pabst. And then an opportunity lands in his lap he can't pass up. An eccentric billionaire is looking for a caretaker for his home in Hawai'i. Grady has always loved the wilderness and has felt that circumstances have limited his chances to see the world so he applies. Within days all the paperwork has been sorted and he is flying to his new home on Hokuloa Road. Another of Wes Minton's employee's, Dalita, picks him up from the airport and drives him out to the house. The compound appears wild but on closer inspection he sees it's just as meticulously designed as the empty beach resorts he saw from the plane, it's just in need of some care, and that's what Grady is here to give. His work isn't too onerous and he has his own cottage. His boss is often at the sight of his proposed hotel on the remote Hokuloa Peninsula, which he now uses for conservation work, particularly with rare birds. In fact the most important of Grady's tasks is tending an aviary of rare birds on the second floor of Wes's house. Some days it feels like these birds are his only companions. Which leads him to feel the loneliness and menace of his isolated surroundings. Sure, it's beautiful, but it's otherworldly too. And then he learns about the disappearances. There's a well-known surfer who's just gone, as well as a girl, Jessie, whom he met on the plane. Because of his personal connection to Jessie, Grady feels like he should ask questions. But Wes hired him because he's a stranger, an outsider, and will not ask questions. The island is filled with the absences left by the vanished. It's only when a tourist like Jessie arrives that anyone cares. But despite being the wrong guy for every possible reason, perhaps he is the tool at hand to break this mystery wide open?

I hated this book so much I don't know if I'll be able to coherently express my rage. I mean, just the cavalier attitude to Covid and declaring people "safe" without knowing where they've been or what they've been up to enraged me. And keep in mind this is set at the very beginning of the pandemic, so tests were impossible to find and there was no vaccine! But that was just the first of many many rage inducing incidences and I have many issues stemming from the new subgenre of pandemic literature which I won't go into here. So much of this book is rooted in the lore and people of Hawai'i. Dalita speaks Hawaiian Pidgin, alternately called Hawai'i Creole English. It's a very stilted language. I'm sure Hand did this to add to the authenticity of the book. She says she went to great effort to learn the dialect when she went to Hawai'i. But as much as I believe in her good intentions it comes across as a privileged white woman travelling to a foreign land and setting herself up to be the mouthpiece of these people. It doesn't sit right with me. I kept asking myself, is she the right person to tell this story? Well, given my next complaint, yes, but that then brings me to the fact that if this book wanted to be authentic maybe a native speaker or someone whose life this is should have been telling this story. And I am against censorship, anyone can write any story they want, but that doesn't make it feel right. Because this book exudes white privilege and Hand is nothing but a haole! Grady and his adventures are nothing but the biggest most nauseating example of white savior complex I have read in years. I mean, it's so horrid that if I had to summarize the book in one word it would be cringe. I physically recoiled from this book. At one point a character accosts Grady saying "You think you're the fucking chosen one." And that is the book, he IS the chosen one. A drunk, messed up chosen one, but it's the outsider status of a white man that's the problem. He comes in and Dalita is all, yeah, people disappear all the time, but no one's ever going to take the time to figure it out. Well their new white savior will! Because that's what he's here to do, make everything right for the natives. How could Hand, whose previous works I loved for their understanding and subtleties write this tone-deaf tome!?! That's the real mystery.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Authenticity, Caretaker, Chosen One, Covid, Disappearances, Elizabeth Hand, Grady Kendall, Hawai'i Creole English, Hawaii, Hawaiian Pidgin, Hokuloa Road, Maine, Murder Most Foul, Pandemic, White Savior Complex

Happy-Go-Lucky by David Sedaris
Published by: Little, Brown and Company
Publication Date: May 31st, 2022
Format: Kindle, 272 Pages
Rating: ★
To Buy (different edition than one reviewed)

Like most people during the pandemic David Sedaris lost a family member with whom he had a complicated relationship. Lou was not a good man, a liar who would belitle his son and seuxlaize his daughters, much as David would sexualize an encounter with a young boy in France. And by young I believe the child was naked and twelve and in his bed. Hopefully unlike most people their fathers hadn't been accused of sexual abuse by one of their siblings. But David, Amy, and the rest didn't believe Tiffany and now she's dead by her own hand. They claim the suicide indicates she was mentally ill, but what if it was the only solace someone who was abused by someone who was supposed to love and protect them was left with after the rest of her family denied her truth? What's more, David seems destined to fill the void left by his father, commenting on things best left unsaid. Like most people during the pandemic David Sedaris's day to day life changed. He would wander the empty streets of New York for hours begrudging the loss of his favorite pastime, window shopping, while determined to get his steps in. After all he is a man who spent $5,000 on a fur coat not because he liked it but because if he didn't buy it someone else might or might not and he couldn't stand that. And what's $5,000 anyway? Unlike most people during the pandemic he continued living his life as he pleased, damn what anyone else thought. He'd host lavish dinner parties and bemoan why anyone would need a stimulus check. He'd not see the needed social change that brought about the BLM protests, instead he'd see ways to make his way across town in the swiftest manner possible by "joining" the protests . David Sedaris is the one percent. He doesn't see why he shouldn't live as he chooses. Random strangers on the street who have crooked teeth should be thankful if he's willing to pay to have them straightened so that he doesn't have to look at them. After all he had his own teeth straightened and they make him feel better, even if Amy and Hugh don't agree. It's David's world and everyone else is merely players, fodder for his stories. Because his gaze no longer looks inward so much as a gimlet eye out to eviscerate others.

I first read David Sedaris back in 2002. I got Me Talk Pretty One Day for a Christmas present and I was left deeply underwhelmed. But I think the reason the book was so successful is that people could relate to it. I know I read it and thought, I could write this. I'm not sure everyone had that reaction, but, what it boils down to is that they could see themselves in David. But now? He is so cocooned in his entitlement that he is completely detached from reality. I was either appalled or revolted, there was no inbetween. There is such a cringe factor I can't even. And it's not just the revelations about his father or the young boy in France, there was multiple levels of cringe from the sexual to just the plain out of touch. I came away from this book picturing David as Marie Antoinette with me baying for his blood. Not just because of his flaunting of Covid safety protocols, but the actual incomprehension that a check for half the price of his fur coat could actually matter to someone. You know what David? Those stimulus checks saved me. Repeatedly. I don't know what I would have done without them. And you, you look down your nose at them? I just can't with you. I literally just can't. Universal basic income is the way forward to a society with parity. But I guess now that you're part of the one percent with one apartment on top of another just "because" you wouldn't like parity. Not with your homes in France and England and North Carolina... All told Google is telling me you have eight homes. EIGHT!?! Which is also how many million he is worth. To play devil's advocate against my prosecution, some people in my book club pointed out that perhaps this book didn't "work" because it was written in lockdown. David Sedaris is known to travel constantly giving talks where he hones his material. OK, fine, perhaps that made this less "refined" of a book, but editing couldn't have made this less offensive. The only explanation is he's reached J.K. Rowling levels of fame and they just publish whatever he spews forth, and yes, at points he could easily be compared to that other hateful author. For myself I like to think of some intern gleefully sending this to press knowing that David's head would role because that intern was someone who needed their stimulus check.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Covid, David Sedaris, Entitled, Father, For the Love of Book Clubs, France, Happy-Go-Lucky, J.K. Rowling, Marie Antoinette, Me Talk Pretty One Day, New York, One Percent, Pandemic, Stimulus Checks, Teeth

Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Published by: Tordotcom
Publication Date: September 13th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 480 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy

Six months ago Nona was born into a body not her own. But it's hers for now. And for that time she fantasizes about her birthday party. All the dogs, especially Noodle, could come, as could the kids from school; Hot Sauce and her gang, Honesty, Born in the Morning, Beautiful Ruby, and Kevin. But if The Angel could come, that would be the best gift ever. But this assumes that Nona and the planet New Rho still exist in the coming days. A Resurrection Beast hangs in the sky, trapped between reality and the River, ready to devour the planet at a moments notice once it fully materializes. The insurgents, Blood of Eden, have surrounded the remaining Cohort barracks. It is in the Emperor's best interest to destroy New Rho and it's inhabitants so that the Resurrection Beast doesn't become more powerful. This is unacceptable to Blood of Eden. Some of the insurgents think the Emperor will arrive to do what needs to be done, which means that Blood of Eden will have a chance to eliminate their enemy. But the problem is the Emperor Undying is literally undying. The only way to destroy him is to open the Locked Tomb, where Alecto's body lies sleeping. Which is why Nona is important. She is the weapon they have been waiting for. Or at least they think she is. Whoever is piloting the body is up for debate, but the body is that of Harrowhark Nonagesimus. And Harrow could do it. Years earlier Harrow worked her way into the Locked Tomb and fell in love with the still body of Alecto. If Harrow could do that then, think what she could do now? But Nona cannot. Nona lives a happy life with Pyrrha, Cam, and Palamedes. They are a family. Sure, they help Blood of Eden, and try to get Nona to use Harrow's powers, but most days Nona goes to school as a teacher's assistant and walks Noodle for The Angel. If she's lucky they go swimming. Each and every day she's happy to be alive. And when she sleeps she has odd dreams. Dreams that Cam and Palamedes want to hear about before she can forget them. Dreams that might signal time is running out. Because the body Nona is in is failing. The foreign soul is being rejected. The time to open to tomb is now. But can they succeed?

When you pick up each book in this series you have no idea what you're going to get. There is no through line in style, other than they could all loosely be classified as "space operas." We start with a haunted house, move on to a haunted human on a space station, the closest to an actual space opera we've gotten so far, and here, with Nona the Ninth, we go full on dystopia. And my guess is this dystopian book, which expanded the trilogy into a tetralogy, was a direct results of Covid. There's just too much isolation, masking, temperatures taken, questions about schooling, to be a coincidence. And much like the pandemic, it's something we could have done without in our lives. This book literally adds nothing to the series, unless Tamsyn Muir's goal was to make the weirdest post-apocalyptic version of Freaky Friday ever, well then, mission accomplished! Two thumbs way up. Because this entire book is a body swap bottle episode of a TV show stretched beyond endurance. It's not just who's in whose body, it's how many are in there and do we even know who they are? We have cavalier Pyrrha in the Lyctor Gideon's body, we have Cam and Palamedes sharing Camilla's body, and as for Nona? Well, it's Harrow's body but as for who is inhabiting it? It's not Harrow. Or Gideon. Despite what Cam or Palamedes think. So the majority of this book is marveling in Nona's innocence while trying to figure out who she really is. Yes, we get a fuller understanding of why the Emperor isn't liked by the people he saved. Yes, we see another side to the universe. But did we need to? No. Did we need hundreds of pages in a war zone that could be destroyed at any instant just so I don't know, we could feel what the common person feels instead of those enshrined within the Nine Houses? No we did not. Also, hell no to dream interpretations. I guess, what I'm trying to say is I feel cheated. I didn't like Gideon the Ninth when I started to read it and I fell in love with it. I gave it a chance and it paid off. Since then I've given the next two volumes a chance and they haven't paid off. It feels like this series is spiraling out of control and Tamysn Muir is more interested in trying out other genres and styles than in actually bothering to do what is right by her story. Tell the story. Tell it simply. Or, as simply as can be done. But don't try your readers patience because maybe they won't give Alecto the Ninth a chance.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alecto the Ninth, Blood of Eden, Camilla Hect, Covid, For the Love of Book Clubs, Freaky Friday, Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Locked Tomb, Nona the Ninth, Palamedes Sextus, Post-Apocalyptic, Pyrrha Dve, Tamsyn Muir

George Mann is a fantasy author whose diverse range of books are always must buys for me, seriously, just look at the picture of the bookshelf below, that's just some of my collection. I first discovered him through his Newbury and Hobbes series when I picked up a copy of The Affinity Bridge on vacation, an interesting experience I have previously recounted. So when I heard George was setting up a blog tour for his newest publishing endeavor, Motherbridge: Seeds of Change, I contacted him immediately. I had to be a part of this. We readers who have a platform need to make sure we vocally support authors we love so that they keep doing the work we hold so dear. So here's some fun and I hope thoughtful questions for George that he was kind enough to answer. AND if you need more George after this here's a Q and A from back in 2014 he did for my blog. Enough from me, over to George!

Question: If someone knows you only from some of your franchise work, be it Doctor Who, Star Wars, Warhammer 40,000, what would you tell them about yourself to get them to pick up something else you’ve written?

Answer: I guess I'd frame myself as a fantasy writer, really. In that my Newbury and Hobbes series take the form of mystery plots, but at their heart they’re Victorian fantasies, filled with weird and wonderful goings-on, the supernatural, and adventure. Likewise my other work, such as Wychwood, or Ghosts of Manhattan, or Engineward. I love to dabble in different genres, but what I always come back to is fantasy and myth. I love creating mythic stories that have their roots in folklore and superstition, or at least feel like they could have sprung from that same well.

Question: We met at TelsaCon in 2011 but we discovered we had actually attended the same David Bowie concert back in 2000. What was your favorite song that Bowie sang during that show?

It has to be 'All the Young Dudes.' Or maybe 'Absolute Beginners.' I loved that show, and the band he was touring with at the time, too. It's probably the most 'rock and roll' thing I've ever done, flying to NYC for one night, just to see David Bowie. I only had a rucksack with me and literally flew in, went to the gig, then slept at a cheap hotel. We only had time to grab breakfast and pop up to the top of the Empire State Building the next morning before flying home. What a great experience, though. I still think about that gig all the time.*

Question: You’ve done books, music, audio books, comics, now an animated series, what medium have you not done yet that you’re excited to do and could it be VR? Or do you secretly want to become a YouTube influencer with Cavan Scott and your channel Strange Matter?

Answer: Ha! I can't see myself as an influencer! I’ve not really considered VR, although never say never! I think it’d probably be live action TV. That's still very much on my bucket list. I love long form storytelling, with a tale that unfolds over several episodes, and I’d love to get my teeth into a meaty TV project.

That aside, though, there's still so much I want to do in the other mediums I'm already working in. More novels I want to write, more comics I want to co-create with great artists. And more stories I want to tell inside some of the worlds I've been lucky enough to be invited to write within, too.

Question: What can you tell us about your dark fantasy reimagining of King Arthur Blood of Camelot you’re working on with Cavan Scott?

Answer: Oh, Blood of Camelot is hugely exciting! As I mentioned earlier, I have a deep and abiding interest in folklore and mythology, as does Cav - it’s one of the reasons we’re such good friends. We wanted to do something new together, having written a number of Doctor Who comics and audios together, as well as two Sherlock Holmes audio plays for Audible.

The story is a dark reimagining of the original Arthurian myth, that sees Arthur lose his way in his effort to protect Camelot from the plague of fae creatures that are constantly attacking the borders of his realm. Believing he is the only one who can save Camelot, that in order for Camelot to survive, he himself must persist, he murders Merlin - the last of an ancient Elven race - and drinks his blood to consume his power. In the process, he becomes the thing he’s always tried to fight against - a monster. It's left to Guinevere, a knight of the Round Table, and Lancelot, to lead the resistance and try to fight back against the tide of darkness consuming the land.

Question: Animation has a very loyal fan base, despite what Netflix is doing gutting their department, is there an animated show that holds a special place in your heart?

Answer: Too many to name! As a child I used to love The Mysterious Cities of Gold, Battle of the Planets, Ulysses 31. These days I love watching anime with my kids, and we're loving things like Attack on Titan, Jujutsu Kaisen, Demon Slayer and Seraph of the End.

Question: You are a very prolific author, in the next few months alone you have Motherbridge, out now, and in July both The Albion Initiative and a Carnival Row tie-in. My question is, does this mean you know that season two of Carnival Row is coming this summer and you’ve been sworn to secrecy? OMG, have you seen it!?!

Answer: Ha ha ha! I couldn't tell you even if I knew, I'm afraid. But I will say this - I've read the scripts and you’re going to love it.

But yes, I've been busy! Some of that is to do with the spate of pandemic lockdowns that we all went through, and the fact that release dates got bumped back, and some is just because I find it hard to say no to such amazing projects. I mean - who’s going to turn down the chance to write official Carnival Row continuation comics???

Question: With the end of your long running Newbury and Hobbes series with The Albion Initiative does it feel like you’re shedding the mantel of Steampunk author or do you feel that over the years you’ve diversified enough that Steampunk is like your origin story and you’re now so much more?

Answer: That’s an interesting question. I mean, yes, The Albion Initiative is the final Newbury and Hobbes story...for now. But I don’t think I’ll ever walk away from them completely. For example, there’s an unannounced Newbury and Hobbes novella coming this year, too. And there'll be more stories in the future. Maybe not novels, though, we'll have to see.

As to shedding/taking on new mantles...I’m not sure the mantle of 'steampunk author' has ever sat that easy on my shoulders, to be honest. I’ve always seen myself as more of a fantasy writer, and the Newbury and Hobbes series very much borrowed the aesthetic of the steampunk genre, but also dipped into other loves and inspirations, such as Doctor Who, Hammer Horror, James Bond...I think the other work I’ve produced over the years has borne that out. If you look at it as a body of work, the one word I’d use to sum it all up is 'fantasy.' So I think that’s a better fit.

Not that I’ve ever had a problem being considered a steampunk author! I love playing in the genre and the people I’ve met amongst the fandom have all been so lovely and welcoming.

Question: Seeing as many of your stories are set within the same universe do you have any personal headcanon that there were Wookies long ago in the world of Newbury and Hobbes?

Answer: Heh. No. I think it’s important to keep these things separate, when you're writing in other people's worlds. I know I've dabbled before with little crossovers into one of my Doctor Who novels and some Sherlock Holmes stories, but I see those more as little Easter Eggs, harking back to some key influences, rather than trying to build a cohesive universe that embraces them all. I suppose the only thing that links them, really, is that the stories are written by me, so I suppose some of the same voice and preoccupations bleed through those different stories.

Question: While you’ve created many interesting worlds of your own, you’ve played in some very big franchise sandboxes, from Doctor Who to Star Wars. What franchise do you dream of working with?

Answer: Both Doctor Who and Star Wars are a huge amount of fun to write for, and I hope there’ll be many more opportunities to write more for them both in years to come. In terms of franchises I’d love to write for and haven't yet: Spider-Man, Batman, James Bond, Conan the Barbarian all spring to mind. All big influences from my youth too.

Question: And, this follow-up question is actually mandatory; you’ve written a lot for Doctor Who so who would you like to see as the next Doctor?

Answer: I’m SUPER excited to see Ncuti Gatwa take on the role! I think he’s going to be brilliant. Beyond that, I don’t know! I’d be a rubbish casting director! I just want great stories with an actor who’s enthusiastic to be there!**

Question: And on to an equally hard question, I know this is like picking your favorite child, but of all the characters you’ve written, do you have a favorite?

Answer: That is a super-tough question. I don't know. Maybe Ellie from the Wychwood books, because strangely she's the most autobiographical of the characters I've written. I feel a real affinity for her. But then...I do love writing stories for Newbury, too...

Question: Moving more specifically to the reason we’re here, the release of Motherbridge, what was the first comic that you remember making a lasting impact on you? And yes, it can be terrifying, like how I learned about shock treatment from a Return to Oz comic.

Answer: Since I'm in the UK, it's a slightly more difficult question to answer, because we have a tradition for funny kids' comics like The Beano, The Dandy, Buster, Whizzer and Chips and the like. Anthology comics filled with short, funny strips. They all played a big part in my early comic reading.

When I eventually discovered American comics, it was through the Marvel UK reprints of Spider-Man and Star Wars. I adored them, and the characters that were often introduced in back-up strips. Later still, I discovered imported comics and started reading Batman and Daredevil. I remember a particular issue of Daredevil that introduced Typhoid Mary and that sticks very much in my mind.

Question: What comics are automatically on your pull list?

Answer: Spider-Man and Batman. Usually Daredevil. Anything set in the Hellboy universe by Mike Mignola. Anything drawn by Humberto Ramos. Tom Taylor’s Nightwing. Cav's Star Wars: The High Republic and Shadow Service series. And then...whatever looks good, or is written by someone whose work I admire. My pull list is substantial, but it shifts around all over the place!

Question: Recently you had two covers of the Star Wars Adventures you wrote illustrated by the amazing Francesco Francavilla. Is there anyone else working in comics who you dream of working with? Get it out there in the universe and see if we can actualize it.

Answer: Yes! I’d love to have some covers created by Esad Ribic, and I’d love to work with both Phil Noto and Humberto Ramos. Oh, and JH Williams III!

Question: What was it like writing a direct to trade comic versus one released monthly?

Answer: Well that’s an interesting question in this case! Initially, we were planning to produce Motherbridge as a four-issue mini series, but when Covid hit we only had one issue written, and everything had to go on hold because the comic stores and comic distributors were all rightly closing to protect their staff. Later, when things started to stabilize and the market opened up again, we realized Motherbridge might better suit the OGN treatment rather than floppies, so I revisited the first script and then wrote the rest of it with that in mind.

For me, the main difference is that, as a writer, you can pace yourself a little differently. You don’t have to get all the reveals and hooks out as quickly in that first or second issue, because anyone who’s reading the graphic novel is in for the long haul - at least for those 80-odd pages! It’s a bit like writing a prose novel in that respect - while there are clear conventions of format and medium, you have a whole book in which to tell your story.

I need to say something about Aleta’s incredible artwork here, too. She worked so hard on this book, and it shows on every single page. I was so lucky to be able to work with her, and she’s realized Hayley and her world in a way that was exceeds anything I ever imagined.

Question: There are so many stories where nature takes over, usually post-apocalyptic, but in Motherbridge nature taking over is a positive thing, what made you want to flip the trope?

Answer: It’s very much a reaction to the world around us right now, and what's going on with the climate. Rewilding seems to be such an important part of what's needed to save the world from the intensive industries that we've developed to sustain us. I wanted to look at what a world might look like where nature had tried to balance the system for us, how a radical natural revolution could change the planet - and the sorts of reactions that different people would have. I guess it's a love letter to the Earth, in a way. We have a tendency in post-apocalyptic fiction to see nature as a wild, untamed, sinister thing as you say - I wanted to show the flipside of that, to remind us that we're part of the natural world, not aside from it.

Question: Motherbridge seems so of the moment, with climate change, immigration, walls, even separation from loved ones, which many of us suffered due to Covid, yet comics have a lengthy production time, how did you manage to capture this relevancy?

Answer: It's actually been in development for a long time, but the wind seems to have been blowing in this direction for a good while. It's obviously quite a political comic, a gut reaction to the anti-immigration policies instigated by various world governments, a reaction to the symbolism of border walls and isolationism. I guess, in some ways, Motherbridge is a bit of a scream in rage at the way our leaders seem intent on leading us down an increasingly grim path, seemingly ignoring all the important lessons of history. So it started long before Covid, and was written and drawn by the wonderful Aleta during the pandemic period. It can’t help but be informed by that.

Question: Even more startlingly relevant is this world you have created where the masculine military industrial complex and governments are forcing Mother Nature to die in order to achieve their goals. This seems like a confluence of events that you couldn’t dream up. Do you believe that with enough education, enough people reading articles, and stories like Motherbridge, that we can positively effect the world around us?

Answer: I really do, yes. I mean, Motherbridge is a comic. It's a story. It's entertainment. I have no misconception about that. It's not a political treatise and it's not going to change the world. In some ways, it's deeply personal, too - about my reaction to the world and where it's headed. But at the same time, isn't the point of a story to transmit ideas? To help create empathy for others - to allow people to see through someone else's eyes for a while? From the earliest myths, this is what we see - cautionary tales, human stories, tales that warn, tales that help us engage with the world in a different way. If just one person reading Motherbridge looks at the world outside their window and thinks a little bit more compassionately about the people out there - well, the story has done more than I could ever have dreamed of.

I think that's what I hope for. That through stories, and articles and news reports and television shows - that we can all learn to look beyond ourselves and try to understand what's going on in other people's lives, and to offer out our hands to help them, and maybe ask for help from them, too.

That all sounds very grand. This is, like I said at the start, just a comic book. But I do think that's the power of story. Not my story, in particular, but the collective stories that we tell each other and through which we share our experiences of the world.

Question: This book feels like it would be good for any age to read, especially as you present large topics in a non-condescending manner. Was your plan to educate as you entertain or was that just a welcome side effect?

Answer: I think it's a welcome side effect. I'm no expert in these things. Like I said above, this is a personal story, a personal reaction to the world. It's a fantasy. But if it makes someone think, even for a moment, then I'll be a very happy man indeed.

Question: Will there be further adventures for Hayley Wells?

Answer: Time will tell! Both me and Aleta would love to delve back into Hayley’s world and tell people what happens next. I have a plan. It'll depend on how well this first book sells, as to whether we get to do more. We'll be keeping our fingers crossed!

*Interesting fact, but of George's two choices I would chose 'Absolute Beginners' because it's the first time Bowie sang it in concert since 1987. Though my personal choice is 'Wild is the Wind' which opened the show because hearing Bowie's voice for the first time coming out of the darkness was transcendent. And yes, that is an actual picture I took of Bowie singing 'All The Young Dudes!'

**I literally sent this question to George on a Thursday and that Sunday Ncuti Gatwa was announced, and I am equally excited by the casting.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:01 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Aleta Vidal, Carnival Row, Comics, Covid, David Bowie, Doctor Who, Fantasy, Francesco Francavilla, George Mann, Motherbridge, Newbury and Hobbes, Star Wars, Steampunk, The Affinity Bridge, The Albion Initiative

Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: March 30th, 2010
Format: Paperback, 397 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

Lady Calpurnia Hartwell was bound for spinster seating from her very first season. Sure she had the dowry. But that only attracted a certain type of gentlemen. And besides saddling her with an absurdly Shakespearean name her parents also made her believe in love matches. Oh, to be loved. Like her sister is. It's been a decade since Callie's first season an her sister has made a love match before the season is even underway. Callie should be happy. Instead she is sad and soon to be drunk. She's been on the shelf for so long even her brother is encouraging her to not be such a stickler for the rules of society. Therefore Callie does what comes naturally to her, she makes a list. Lists are sensible. Lists are good. Lists are what women on the shelf make when they've reached the end of their rope. She lists nine things that would shock polite society. Sure, some of them might easily ruin her, but isn't it time to live a little? Isn't it time to shoot a gun, attend a duel, dance every dance, and be passionately kissed. She decides that she will tackle the kiss first. Only her inebriated mind could make her believe this is a good idea. At a ball during her first season she fell irrevocably in love with the Marquess of Ralston, Gabriel St. John. He spent a few minutes talking to her before moving on to an assignation in a hedge maze. Those few minutes were enough for her to fall in love with a man who was already making a name for himself as a rake. Seeing him and his paramour for the first time in life Callie was jealous of another person. Therefore if she's to experience her first kiss she wants it to be him. It doesn't matter if it will ruin her for all others because she is sure there will never be any others. She is rather scandalized when she is taken to his bedroom. But she has come this far, she will not turn back. When Ralston realizes that it is not his current mistress but Lady Calpurnia Hartwell who has entered his room he decides to take the upper hand. He will give her the kiss she desires but she in turn must help his sister, an illegitimate Italian, come out in society. Callie's approval will give Juliana legitimacy. Callie agrees. But that kiss changes everything. For both of them.

Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake is based on the clever conceit that Callie has written a list of nine things that she wishes to do were propriety not an issue. The conceit is clever because the list acts as an outline. Callie's HEA cannot happen until everything is completed, including a duel. So it's a nice way to pace out the narrative. Plus they don't happen in a specific order so it's a little like roulette, which rule will she break next? Though the problem with Callie's list is that literally every time she draws a line through an item she's drugged by Ralston's kisses. I mean, this is a romance so you expect the sexy time, but does the sexy time have to be so repetitive? Each item means that the sexy time has arrived, and each time it's basically the same with them going a little further until Callie is well and thoroughly compromised. The drugging kisses, the laving of some part of her anatomy with word usage that reminds me more of a cat, the nipple play, all of which seems meant to prove that Ralston is really into satisfying his partner, which means he can't be entirely a reprobate right? I'm just saying that they needed a little variety in their sex life... At least they were both very enthusiastic I guess. But the sexy time for me isn't what this book is about, it's about Callie coming into her own. Like Callie I feel like I have spent so much of my life being "their" version of me that I sometimes don't know who I really am. And by "their" I mean the whole world at large, for Callie it's the ton, for me it's largely family. And don't get me started on when people talk to you with "why are you so..." Maybe I wasn't that way until you thrust your expectations onto me? Maybe I should make a list? What also hit unexpectedly hard was Callie talking about being put on the shelf. How she was so high up there and so alone. It wasn't just the fact lack of coupledom that made this hit the mark but Covid. We have all collectively been on the shelf for two years. We aren't going to public houses or fencing clubs of heaths for duels, we're home on a high shelf hiding out from the rest of the world. I think when this pandemic is over we all need to take a leaf out of Callie's book and make ourselves a list and find out who we really are. Rake an added bonus.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Compromised, Covid, Duel, Expectations, HEA, Lady Calpurnia Hartwell, Love By Numbers, Marquess of Ralston, Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake, Regency England, Regency Romance, Sarah MacLean, Sex, Ton

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: June 30th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy

Noemí Taboada's is the life of the party. A wealthy socialite, she loves her modern life and all the men she's stringing along. With her red lipstick firmly affixed she feels like she could tackle anything the world can throw at her. Everything changes when she gets a letter from her cousin Catalina. Catalina is recently married and is convinced that her husband is trying to kill her. Noemí and her father worry that the once wealthy Virgil Doyle only married Catalina for her money and is now going to get rid of an inconvenient wife. Therefore it is up to Noemí to suss out the situation. She packs her bags and heads to High Place. The home is high in the mountains and shrouded by mist. It feels as if she's stepped back in time to a forgotten world where they can't even rely on the electricity and instead live by candlelight. The household consists of four Doyles and Catalina. There is Catalina's husband Virgil, and his father Howard, and Howard's first cousin Florence, and her son Francis. Florence rules the house with an iron first, but Howard is the power behind the throne. But the one thing they all seem agreed on is that Noemí should be allowed to see her cousin as little as possible. They hope they can dissuade her and she'll leave them alone. They obviously don't know Noemí. When Noemí can finally speak to Catalina her cousin begs her to seek out a healer, Marta Duval, in the small village of El Triunfo. Catalina says that despite what the family physician says, this medicine is the only thing that can help her. It helps her right into a seizure and Noemí is banned from seeing her cousin. But not that that concerns her too much, as she's started to have ghostly dreams and is sleepwalking. She's befriended Francis and along with information she has dug up it all points to the Doyles being dangerous. She decides she must leave. She can return home, get her father, and return for Catalina. Only the Doyles say she is not allowed to leave. She is to stay. She is to marry Francis. She is going to be one of them now.

The first, and in my mind, most important aspect of a good Gothic novel is location. If you get the location right it's hard to mess up the rest. Mexican Gothic nailed the location. High Place has oodles of Gothic atmosphere. There is this wonderful Crimson Peak vibe that just engulfed me and made me want to stay. I could picture every nook and cranny of that forbidding and compelling house and felt like I was there. Much like Daphne Du Maurier, Silvia Moreno-Garcia has created a memorable place and therefore Mexican Gothic is one of those rare occasions when I don't throw up my arms in protest when comparisons are made to my favorite Cornwall obsessed author. And yet... For once the location just wasn't enough... For me I think Mexican Gothic suffered from too much hype. Summer of 2020 it was THE BOOK everyone was talking about and recommending. Every online book club was reading it and it was flying off the shelves. Perhaps this was just because we hit the book club phase of Covid? I've been in a book club for years so I didn't experience this phase of the pandemic. Because while I enjoyed the book I didn't love it. But who knows, this could change, much like my opinion of Crimson Peak. I did not like that movie at first and learned to appreciate it in time once I got over what I expected it to be and accepted it for what it was; a Gothic love story, not Gothic horror. This here also has the love story elements and the horror elements, but oddly, despite the Gothic trappings, I felt this adhered more to magical realism. I mean, yes, we could even argue that we have science fiction elements similar to The Expanse, but I'm sticking to my guns with magical realism just because of the feeling from beginning to end. And as for the "villain" of the piece, the fungus amongus? I saw where she was headed too early and I didn't find it compelling enough for me to care about how it played out. That last act needed another polish because it felt too cobbled together and disjointed making me even more disinterested. But a real solid first act! Too bad it didn't last.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: 2020, Book Club, Cornwall, Covid, Crimson Peak, Daphne Du Maurier, Going Gothic, High Place, Hype, Location, Magical Realism, Mexican Gothic, Money, Noemí Taboada, Science Fiction, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, The Expanse

The original All Creatures Great and Small has always held a special place in my family's heart. My grandfather, who has to be held partially responsible for turning me into an Anglophile by having the rule that every Sunday when we visited the TV had to remain on AND remain on PBS, had the complete series of books by James Herriot that I ran off with. As for my father, let's put it this way, when one of my friends announced she was marrying a rural Canadian vet his first question was had they watched All Creatures Great and Small together yet. I have a sneaking suspicion that my parents didn't get an invite to the wedding because my friend knew the gift would be the complete DVD set of All Creatures Great and Small followed by incessant pestering if they had watched it yet. Therefore when the new series was announced it was greeted with incredulity in my house. How could they remake such a classic!?! My Dad was actually a little flabbergasted that I wanted to watch it when it started on Masterpiece. I told him my reasoning. First, it had aired in Britain earlier and all my friends there who had the same fanatical devotion to the original show that my father has fell in love with it. Secondly, it would be a return to something comforting and secure on a Sunday night, which I think we can all agree we need right now. On January tenth the first episode, "You've Got to Dream," aired and I KNEW my father was hooked by the fact he was copiously sobbing at the complicated labor of a cow. I was more shocked than anything though when after a few episodes he said he thinks that Samuel West is a better Siegfried Farnon than Robert Hardy. This is as close as it gets to blasphemy in my house. But the show is magnificent. It's a breath of fresh air, and those gorgeous Yorkshire landscapes! THIS is what Masterpiece Theatre has always been about. Tapping into the perfect dream of England, with a little trouble and strife along the way, but a happy ending to cap it off. Nicholas Ralph who plays James Herriot says he hopes next season that his character and Helen go on their first date after her engagement with Hugh was broken in the Christmas special. Personally a true happy ending to me will be their marriage! Or I will be willing to substitute Samuel West wearing those gorgeous knee-high leather boots in every episode.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: All Creatures Great and Small, And the Emmy Goes To, Covid, England, James Herriot, Masterpiece, Masterpiece Theatre, Nicholas Ralph, Robert Hardy, Samuel West, Siegfried Farnon, Veterinarian, Yorkshire

I don't think it's just me, but I feel like there has been a plethora of book adaptations over the last year. Not only have I not gotten around to watching them all, but of the ones I've seen I feel like I'm barely touching the tip of the iceberg! I want to binge them all! Bridgerton, The Stand, Clarice, Resident Alien, All Creatures Great and Small, and on and on. Because if there's one thing Covid has done it's to let us fully embrace the binge on a level heretofore never seen! What's Bridgerton or The Queen's Gambit in a day? That's nothing compared to not leaving your couch for months on end! In fact it gives you something to do while on your couch! But what I'm amazed at is that we're constantly getting new shows, how is it that the film industry has kind of wobbled but television and streaming have continued on so robustly? Oh, does it really matter? Not when so many beloved books were finally adapted this year. Terry Pratchett? Yes please! Alan Tudyk is a what? I'm overjoyed! Regency England is cool again? What, is this 1996 again? Because at this moment I think I'd be OK with that. So here's to all the shows I've watched, I'm watching, and I plan to watch, all emanating from my favorite medium, books! Because I want to make it abundantly clear, an adaptation doesn't legitimize a book, a book is a perfect finished product in it's own right. An adaptation just gives me joy at seeing what I envisioned on screen. And even if they get it horribly wrong... well, they tried right? Plus, I do kind of like complaining when things go wrong...

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Adaptation, Alan Tudyk, All Creatures Great and Small, And the Emmy Goes To, Bingeing, Book, Bridgerton, Clarice, Covid, Regency England, Resident Alien, Streaming, Terry Pratchett, The Queen's Gambit, The Stand

If there's one book my Mom pushed more than any other over the years it was Summer's Lease by John Mortimer. When I was growing up my Dad didn't have time to read so I remember every single business trip he had to take my Mom would sneak this book into his luggage in the hope he'd finally read it. I have yet to confirm with him, but I do believe he did finally read it... or at least he said he did. OK, I checked, he did read it but says he remembers more about the miniseries than the book, and that's all down to John Gielgud. Because the truth of it is this miniseries exists for one reason and one reason only, and that was for John Gielgud to get an Emmy so that he became an EGOT. That's it. And in fact, in my opinion, there could have been more John Gielgud. The book and therefore the miniseries as well, is about a mystery loving mother who's feeling stifled and whisks her family, including her father played by John Gielgud, off to Italy for their summer vacation so she can see some art by Piero della Francesca. The mother becomes obsessed with their absent landlord. When the agent who let the house to them dies under mysterious circumstances, she becomes obsessed with getting to the bottom of the mysteries their summer rental has put at her feet. Needless to say it's her meddling that has catastrophic results, which is why my mother likes the story so much. If things had been left alone nothing would have happened... So it's not really a whodunit more a story of cause and effect which was totally preventable. Personally I found the whole series kind of depressing. When the highlight of a miniseries set in Italy is the bad charades performance by a very young Gabrielle Anwar, you know you have issues. But this is why this miniseries is the perfect show to watch right now. Summer's Lease somehow makes Italy look bleak! It makes Italy depressing. It makes you never, in your life, want to go to Italy. And right now, as we're all still trapped indoors hoping the vaccine does some good so that one day we'll have vacations again, watch this so at least for the moment you won't feel like you're missing out!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Covid, Depressing, EGOT, Emmy, Fifty Years a Masterpiece, Gabrielle Anwar, Italy, John Gielgud, John Mortimer, Murder, Mystery, Piero della Francesca, Summer's Lease, Vacation