Book Review | The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett

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As it moves towards a seemingly inevitable collision with a malevolent red star, the Discworld could do with a hero. What it doesn’t need is a singularly inept and cowardly wizard, still recovering from the trauma of falling off the edge of the world, or a well-meaning tourist and his luggage which has a mind (and legs) of its own. Which is a shame because that’s all there is…

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The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett is the 1986 follow-up to The Colour of Magic and the second novel in the comic fantasy Discworld series. The story continues right where the previous one left off, following Rincewind and Twoflower as they travel across the disc. This is unique among Pratchett’s extensive series of books, which are otherwise self-contained stories with recurring protagonists and characters.Read More »

Movie Review | Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

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Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, directed by Zack Snyder, is the highly anticipated follow-up to 2013’s Man of Steel. Starring Ben Affleck as Batman and Henry Cavill as Superman, the movie deals with the consequences of Superman becoming an active presence as a hero in the world. Following the events of the previous film, many view him as a bastion of hope — a saviour — while others are wary and fearful of him. Batman in particular, who has had a long vigilante career in Gotham City, blames Superman for the massive casualties in Metropolis during Man of Steel and does not trust that the world is safe from his power.Read More »

Book Review | The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett

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The Colour of Magic is a 1983 comic fantasy novel written by Terry Pratchett. The novel is the first of 41 total books in the author’s immensely popular Discworld series. The story follows Rincewind, an incompetent and craven wizard who gets roped into escorting the Discworld’s first ever tourist. This tourist is a naïve but rich man named Twoflower from the Agatean Empire, who is accompanied by a sentient luggage chest with hundreds of legs. The book is divided into sections, each section kind of like its own short story, following the pair as they travel across the Discworld to see the sights and regularly get into mortal peril.Read More »

First Impressions: Alice Isn’t Dead

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Alice Isn’t Dead is a new serial fiction podcast written by Joseph Fink of Welcome to Night Vale, and narrated by Jasika Nicole. The podcast is part of the new Night Vale Presents network. March 8, 2016 saw the release of the first episode, “Part 1, Chapter 1: Omelet.” Episodes are set to be released every two weeks. The story follows a truck driver, the narrator yet to be named, who is travelling the country in search of her wife Alice. During her travels we can expect her to encounter strange people, places, and phenomena.Read More »

A Beginner’s Advice: Giving Characters Depth

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As a writer, I’m not sure I’ve given one particular thing more thought than character depth. I’m sure all writers think about this, especially other beginners brimming with the drive to create a character who can offer something captivating and unique to the reading audience. While I’m hardly an expert on crafting characters, there are some methods I’ve come up with that can help with the process. Writing, writing, and more writing is of course the best way to practice the craft, but it does help to discuss, and learn what you can from what you read, which is how I arrived at the line of thinking I’m going to share.Read More »

Movie Review | Deadpool

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Deadpool is a 2016 comedy superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, starring Ryan Reynolds and directed by Tim Miller. A former special forces operative working as a mercenary in New York City, Wade Wilson is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Unwilling to put his fiancé Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) through the pain of watching him waste away, Wade undergoes torturous experimentation provided by a shadowy organization in an attempt to awaken any dormant mutant abilities in his genetics. The experiments work, giving him a healing ability that makes him nearly immortal, but he is hideously disfigured in the process. Left for dead after the destruction of the lab, Wade becomes Deadpool, his costumed alter-ego. He begins a crusade to track down those responsible for his hideous transformation so that he can reverse the effects and reunite with his beloved once again.Read More »

Book Review | A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms By George R.R. Martin

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A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R. R. Martin, published in 2015, collects the first three prequel novellas to the popular A Song of Ice and Fire series. The stories collected are The Hedge Knight (1998), The Sworn Sword (2003), and The Mystery Knight (2010). Set nearly a century before A Game of Thrones, each story follows the young hedge knight Dunk, also known as Ser Duncan the Tall, and his squire Egg as they adventure across Westeros during a time when the Targaryen family still holds the Iron Throne.Read More »

Artful Video Game Storytelling

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I don’t get too specific, but this post has Spoilers for 999: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors

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Anyone who plays enough video games knows how important storytelling has become for the medium. Though obviously not essential, as many great games have little to no story at all, both the big budget and independent scenes have a plethora of compelling, story-driven games. Video games are unique when it comes to storytelling because they require the direct action, and often skill, of the player to progress. This is unlike other mediums, where you’re never punished for doing a poor job of watching a movie or reading a book. How much you can understand may vary, but you progress regardless.

Over the past few years I’ve become increasingly aware of and fascinated with games that have core story elements that only work in the video game medium. Adaptation would be possible, but something crucial would be lost along the way.Read More »

Comic Book Review | Darth Vader (2015) Vol. 1

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With the release of Star War: The Force Awakens has come a lot of new fiction to the Star Wars universe. Regrettably, this resulted in a lot of the old expanded universe fiction being relegated to “Legends” status in the canon, but I’ve seen it as an opportunity to get deeper into the now more manageable canon of expanded fiction. One such series that saw release in early 2015 was Darth Vader, an ongoing monthly series by Marvel Comics, written by Kieron Gillen with art by Salvador Larroca.Read More »

The Overpowered Problem

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Contains Minor Spoilers For One-Punch Man

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Growing up, I never had a strong affinity for Superman. I hadn’t read any of the comic books, and only had a passing experience with the cartoon, but my father’s dismissal of the character for being “too powerful” and therefore “boring” turned my interest away from him for a long time. Having become much better versed in Superman stories, however, I have turned this around.Read More »