Being an active networker in publishing realms, I have found that I come across new and interesting writers is relatively curious ways. For instance, I am a big fan of literary agent Juliet Mushens. Who knew agents could have fans? ...
Read More »The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is the latest outing for Studio Ghibli and another feather in their cap. Helmed by co-founder Isao Takahata, this feels very much like a swan song for the elderly creator and like the best ...
Read More »Joan D Vinge’s The Snow Queen: Beating us over the head with dichotomy
Before I became a regular reader of the Tor.com blog, I had never heard of D Vinge’s novel The Snow Queen. More and more often I found it cropping up in articles I was reading on the site, often praised ...
Read More »Humber Boy B by Ruth Dugdall
Humber Boy B is the latest novel from Ruth Dugdall, who previously won the Debut Dagger award for The Woman before Me. This is my first exposure to the author and I found this a deeply frustrating read. The book ...
Read More »Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Offensive jokes served sunny side up
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was originally developed by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock for NBC. When NBC realised they didn’t really have anywhere to put the series within their current line-up, they allowed the show’s creators to shop around for a ...
Read More »Theatre Review: The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster
Shattered reputations, political wrangling, incestuous urges, religious corruption, madness, cannibalism and murder – oh, that all theatre was like this. If you are fan of the bloody tradition of the Renaissance revenge tragedy, taking inspiration from the gore-drenched works of ...
Read More »The Fire Sermon: The next YA dystopian thriller to be optioned for film
I was pulled into the hype surrounding The Fire Sermon by its clever marketing campaign – well, clever and prolific. It sounded like a fun (can we call dark dystopias ‘fun’?) premise and I was excited to read a novel ...
Read More »CHAPPiE: An AI gangsta with a heart of gold
Since Neill Blomkamp’s stellar debut, District 9 (2009), he has continued to be an active voice in science fiction cinema. While Elyisum (2013), with it’s heavy handed moralistic metaphors, was a disappointment (knowing Blomkamp was capable of producing so much ...
Read More »Greg Rucka’s Veil: A mysterious woman, is she hero or villain?
In March 2014, Dark Horse comics began publishing the miniseries Veil. This creator-owned comic series comes from the mind of the Eisner Award winning writer Greg Rucka with the artistic talents of Toni Fejzula. The hardcover collection of all issues ...
Read More »Love is Strange: When you live with people, you know them better than you care to
Love is Strange tells the story of Ben and George, a gay couple together for nearly forty years, newlywed under New York’s gay marriage legislation. However, the public announcement of their union loses George his job at a Catholic school; ...
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