Author: Ryan

TV Series Review – A Series of Unfortunate Events Season One

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A Series of Unfortunate Events is a new black comedy drama series, developed for Netflix, based on the series of children’s novels by Lemony Snicket (real name Daniel Handler). The series follows the misadventures of the Baudelaire orphans Violet (Malina Weissman), Klaus (Louis Hynes), and Sunny (Presley Smith), who are forced to move to different homes following the death of their parents. They are relentlessly pursued by the villainous Count Olaf (Neil Patrick Harris), who is determined to secure their wealthy inheritance for himself. The first season adapts the first four books in the thirteen-book series, dedicating two episodes to each book for a total of eight episodes.Read More »

Mighty Thursday #21: House of Penance

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House of Penance

By Peter J. Tomasi (Story & Words), Ian Bertram (Art), Dave Stewart (Colours); Dark Horse Comics; 2017

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Summary

A horrific story of a haunted house and one woman’s mission to wash away the blood curse of her husband’s invention from claiming her own life and soul.

This is a tale about guilt, ghosts, and guns…of how fortune brings misfortune, as a grim and determined woman oversees the construction of a house twenty-four hours a day for twenty years with the simple motto of keep busy building or get busy dying.Read More »

Book Review – The Manitous by Basil Johnston

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Summary

From the strong oral culture of his own Ojibway Indian heritage, Basil Johnston presents the first collection by a Native American scholar of legends and tales depicting manitous, mystical beings who are divine and essential forces in the spiritual life of his people. These lively, sometimes earthy stories teach about manitous who lived in human form among the Ojibway in the early days, after Kitchi-Manitou (the Great Mystery) created all things and Muzzu-Kummik-Qua (Mother Earth) revealed the natural order of the world.

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The Manitous is a collection of stories about the spiritual beings that inhabit the world of various Native North American tribes with a shared language, referred to within as the Anishinaubae people. Rather than simply cataloguing different examples of what the Manitous are, Johnston contextualizes what exactly a Manitou is, starting with the misunderstanding by European settlers and colonizers of what the Anishinaubae were referring to — the word “manitou” having many different connotations in their language. We come to understand the roles various Manitous played in the lives of the people, and the effect their ilk had on cultural development.Read More »

Book Review – Song of Susannah by Stephen King

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Summary

Susannah Dean is possessed, her body a living vessel for the demon-mother Mia. Something is growing inside Susannah’s belly, something terrible, and soon she will give birth to Mia’s “chap.” But three unlikely allies are following them to New York City from the border of End World, hoping to prevent the unthinkable. Meanwhile, Eddie and Roland have tumbled into the state of Maine — where the author of a novel called ‘Salem’s Lot is about to meet his destiny….

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Song of Susannah was an exciting change of pace for the Dark Tower series. As much as I liked Wolves of the Calla, it was a massive tome that took its time, mostly keeping the characters in a singular place for about a month over the course of the book. Song of Susannah drastically shifts the momentum of the story, propelling its characters toward the climax of their quest in a series of events that span a roughly 24 hour period. Even at a page-count of over 400, the plot felt like it breezed by in seemly no time at all.Read More »

Movie Review – John Wick

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John Wick is a 2014 neo-noir action thriller film, directed by Chad Stahelski and starring Keanu Reeves as the titular character. Having lost his wife to an unknown illness, ex-hitman John Wick receives a beagle puppy named Daisy as a surprise parting gift from her so he does not have to grieve alone. After driving around with the puppy all day, he is followed home by a group of punks led by Iosef Tarasov (Alfie Allen), who break into his house, knock John unconscious, and kill Daisy before stealing his car. This act of cruelty brings John out of retirement, unleashing a torrent of vengeance upon the men that wronged him.Read More »

Trying to get Refocused

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Lately I’ve been taking in just how much I still need to get through, not just in terms of books, but all forms of art and storytelling that have been backlogged for years now. I think part of this has to do with coming into my own both as a reader/viewer/etc. and as someone with critical aspirations. When I was in university, the material I had to learn and write about was provided for me and occupied a lot of my time. Now, I have to be the author of my own progress. The problem is, despite progress I feel I have made as a writer, I’m terrible at managing what content I get through.Read More »

Book Review – Mort by Terry Pratchett

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Summary

Death comes to us all. When he came to Mort, he offered him a job.

Henceforth, Death is no longer going to be the end, merely the means to an end. It’s an offer Mort can’t refuse. As Death’s apprentice, he’ll have free board, use of the company horse – and being dead isn’t compulsory. It’s a dream job – until he discovers that it can be a killer on his love life…

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Death as a character in the Discworld series is someone who has always grabbed my attention. This dry, knowledgeable, humorously frank, and surprisingly compassionate grim reaper hung out at the fringes of the first three books, having brief yet memorable appearances. Mort is the first novel among a number that focuses specifically on Death: his concerns, his job, and his realm. This was a book I was dying to reach, held back only by my desire to read Terry Pratchett’s massive series in order.Read More »

Dissecting my Feelings on Rogue One

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Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was a highly-anticipated film, and its plain to see why. It works hard to recapture the look and feel of the original trilogy, being set just before the events of A New Hope, and it promised a grittier, more war-torn take on the franchise. Force-users and the Jedi are largely absent, instead giving us a better look at everyday combatants in the Rebellion and the insurmountable tasks they had to accomplish against a vast Empire.Read More »

Top Five Books I Read in 2016

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The year has come to a close, and as I’ve done in years before here is my personal top five list of books I read in 2016. Some of these came out in 2016, but this list considers all books I read in the year, regardless of when they were published. I’m proud to say I’ve read more books of my own initiative this year than ever before, which I hope to surpass in the new year ahead.Read More »

Might Thursday #20

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Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

By Daniel and Charles Knauf (Writers), Roberto de la Torre (Penciler, Inker), Jonathan Sibal, Karl Kesel, Cam Smith (Inkers), Dean White (Colourist); Marvel Comics; 2007

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Summary

Tony Stark, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. It’s day one of a new role for Tony as he takes up the mantle of the missing Nick Fury to lead S.H.I.E.L.D. into the 21st century! But what does this mean for the future of Iron Man? As a global wave of terror reaches its climactic peak, Tony’s ability to lead the world peacekeeping taskforce is called into question by the powers-that-be. Can he trust even those closest to him within S.H.I.E.L.D., or is he exposing himself and the world to an even greater, more unspeakable threat from the villain behind the worldwide carnage?Read More »