Category: Reviews

Books

Tree and Leaf by

I propose to speak about fairy-stories, though I am aware that this is a rash adventure.

This, in many ways, is the perfect book for the Once Upon a Time Reading Challenge as it contains fairy tales and myth and fantasy. It is a collection of shorter works by Tolkien, and begins, not with a story but, with an essay, On Fairy-Stories and surprisingly, I found this the most interesting aspect of the book. Tolkien writes about the origins of fairy stories, why he believes them necessary. He also defines what he means by a fairy story. A very different thing from the tale relegated to the children’s nursery, although somewhat related. Possibly the first defence of the fantasy genre.

8 June 2007
Books

Dark Alchemy [edited] by ,

Magical Tales from Masters of Modern Fantasy ISBN: 9780747590569 There was a witch buried at the edge of the graveyard; it was common knowledge. This is a collection of 18 short...

2 June 2007
Books

Rules of Engagement by

25 May 2003
The tip-off came from a Fleet Street contact that Saturday evening: something serious was brewing in the media, something ‘pretty big’. I’d been under the cosh for the last week after being accused of war crimes, so I wondered how much bigger it could get.

So, do I admit at the start or the end of this review that I was anti the Iraq war? Does that political inclination mean that my opinion of this book is biased? I’m not sure, I do however know that this book did not get off to a good start with me, as the dedication is “to the soldiers of Ireland who left their native land to fight for the Crown so that small nations might be free.” That grates. It is meant with the best of intentions, or at least I suppose so, and I’m guessing he is talking about in modern times, but it still grates. After all, Ireland is one of those small nations that had to fight against the Crown so that she might be free.

27 May 2007
Books

On Raven’s Wing by

The atmosphere surrounding the little boy vibrated with tension. He could not see the stifled anger and baffled desire, but he sensed their residue accumulating like dustballs in the corners of the fort. Unspoken recriminations crowded the silences; bitter glances were hurled like spears over small Setanta’s head.

When I first read this book I wrote the month and year inside the cover, so I know that I first read it in February 1994, but I’ve reread it plenty of times in the past 13 years. It has been one of my favourite books ever since. That might possibly be because it is based on the Irish legend of the Táin Bó Cúalnge, or Cattle-Raid of Cooley. The Táin is made up of a collection of stories, based around the heroes of the Red Branch, the warriors of Ulster, and especially Cúchulainn.

23 May 2007
Books

Katherine by

The Katherine of the title starts out this book as an orphan, raised by nuns, but heading off to the royal court at the whim of the queen. There she becomes betrothed to Hugh Swynford; she also meets the Duke of Lancaster, John of Gaunt. And it is John that she falls in love with, although at first he seems to dislike her.

19 May 2007
Moving Pictures / Reviews

Alpha Dog dir. by

You know this film isn’t half bad. I went to see it expecting a somewhat mindless popcorn film. But is actually a fairly watchable, half way decent flick.

Johnny Truelove and his pals are half-arsed weed-dealer-kids, hanging out and doing drugs, making money through dealing. But when real bad-boy Jake Mazursky owes money to Truelove things begin to escalate, leading to Truelove and “his boys” kidnapping Jake’s half brother. But the 15 year old Zack doesn’t seem like much of a victim. He gets to live the life of drugs, drink and parties; he is having a good time. But the kidnapping was a spur of the moment thing, and when he consults his lawyer Truelove realises that the implications may be quite serious.

17 May 2007
Books

Black Juice by

ISBN: 0575077816 A Once Upon A Time reading challenge read. See also: Margo Lanagan’s blog ; LibraryThing ; Scooter Chronicles ; The Merchant Princes ; The Genre Files ; Emerald City...

13 May 2007
Moving Pictures / Reviews

Spiderman 3 dir. by

I wasn’t a huge fan of the first two spiderman films; I enjoyed them but didn’t LOVE them. They were good, solid entertainment. Two was probably a little better, though I...

13 May 2007
Books

The Awakening by

Book #1 in The Vampire Diaries series ISBN: 0061020001 September 4 Dear Diary, Something awful is going to happen today I don’t know why I wrote that. It’s crazy. According to...

10 May 2007