Hi Everyone!
AT HOME:
There are a few craft markets around from now until the end of the year and we’re visiting the odd one. Our local market is going to be open for a late night once a week for the next three weeks. I’ve booked in some more acupuncture, though right now just hoping it calms things down and helps make me more comfortable, as I could only get 2 sessions until the new year.
FILM/TV:
Finished Squid Game, which had a bit of a shock ending that had me swearing (can’t reveal why without spoilers). Been re-watching Castle as we never saw the finish and it’s been a long time. And started Cowboy Bebop, which is Netflix’s attempt to take an Anime series and make it live action. It’s basically a bounty hunter western in space. Does it succeed? I don’t know as I’ve not watched the source material. I think if not for John Cho playing Spike Spiegel, I might not be so taken with it, but it’s visually striking and ticking along nicely so far.
READING:
Listened to Alien: Out of the Shadows, by Tim Lebbon.
Not a bad dramatisation which fits into the Alien universe between the first Alien film and Aliens the second in the franchise (it doesn’t appear to at first, but it covers this towards the end). Wanted to listen as Rutger Hauer reads the part of Ash and the woman who reads the part of Ripley sounds remarkably like Sigourney Weaver, which adds to the experience. Not that the story is faultless. A lot reminds one remarkably of characters from the first film, and it’s clear Ripley survives or she wouldn’t have appeared in the second film, so ultimately this adds nothing to the Alien universe. Still, it’s nostalgic fun.
Nightflyers, George R.R. Martin
Shocked to receive such a slim book, but the story within is only a novella. It will be interested to watch the Nightflyers Netflix series after reading this to see how they’ve extended the material, for surely they have — there’s hardly enough here to make a long film. I found the story a little hard to get into, though once things go wrong, it got interesting. The concept behind this sci-fi jaunt is interesting, though hardly unique, and something about the overall story seems weak. I wish I’d seen this can also be bought with other stories rather than have paid for it as a separate book. I’m glad to have read it, but don’t feel I would have missed much if I hadn’t.
Kill Creek, Scott Thomas
Although the character of Sam McGarver is the protagonist of this novel, all four fictional authors (McGarver, Cole, Slaughter, and the unforgettable Moore), are in a sense all main characters of this trip into horror. And like the work they produce, they represent various facets of the genre, which makes this (in some small way) a book that questions the meaning of horror as much as it’s a part of the category itself. Undoubtedly a slow burn, this book will naturally invoke mixed reviews, but it instantly drew me in and I happily went along for the ride. The horror comes in snippets until it reaches an ultimate pay-off. I throughly enjoyed this, though it’s not for those who want an in your face terror fest, or those who don’t have longer than average attention spans. My only negative is I have to wonder if people could carry on moving while suffering such severe injuries even though they’d be running on adrenaline, but this is fiction, would make an excellent film, and we’ve seen people suffer through worse in the make-believe world of the cinema.
Fevre Dream, George R.R. Martin
Martin is a writer best known for the Song of Ice and Fire series (A Game of Thrones), but if readers were to overlook his other work, that would be a pity. Fevre Dream is an easy reminder of what sets this author apart. A richly drawn tapestry of life aboard steamships ferrying goods and passengers up and down the Mississippi, blended with a gothic helping of vampire mythology. Most striking of all is how the author brings the steamboat captain, Abner Marsh, alive in full coarse realism. Never has a protagonist so ugly been so wonderfully memorable. The story at once romanticises its setting and characters, simultaneously making them powerfully gritty. It’s possible to feel the heat and damp and oppression of the steamboat work, the river, the weather, and of society itself. There’s something classic about this book (references to Mark Twain abound entwined with Bram Stoker, and that’s a fair definition). This is no lightweight vampire tale or novel. Good for those who like a richly portrayed backdrop to the action. Atmospheric, and beautifully layered storytelling.
WRITING
I finished the current Work in Progress and have now set it aside for a proper read before submission. I’m toying with adding a third book to another project, but it’s too soon to tell.
Stay happy and healthy!
Sharon x
