Want To Spread Some Christmas Magic?

There is a wonderful charity here in the UK called Post Pals (eagle-eyed readers will notice I have a permanent button linking to them at the bottom of my blog.)

Post Pals mails ill children and their siblings gifts, letters, and cards, to create smiles. It's as simple as that.

A reason to smile during a very difficult period in their lives can make a huge difference to a kid who isn't very well.

So, I figured I'd write a little post to try and drum up some support and/or Christmas cards.

It would be lovely if you could choose a few 'pals' you feel you have appropriate Christmas cards for, and send it to the 'care of' address on their profile page.

Or you can help spread the word by telling others who may be interested, or making a small donation. Post can be sent throughout the year, but obviously, Christmas is uber-special and the perfect excuse to spread some love!

Review! (Graphic Novel Edition!) - Sons of the Devil Vol 1

Title: Sons of the Devil Volume 1.
(US Link.)

Author: Brian Buccellato.

Genre: Graphic Novel, Horror.

Series: Sons of the Devil.

 

Release Date: 8-10 Dec 2015.

A few starting notes:

I received a free digital review copy of this book via NetGalley. NetGalley provides review copies from publishers in exchange for fair and honest reviews.

 

I had never heard of this series - but the cover art looked pretty awesome, with a gritty, half-noir kind of vibe. So I decided to give it a shot. Impulsive reading pays off!

 

Premise:

In 1989, a cult was broken up in California. It was lead by a man named David. He had plans for his children; he had 'work' to complete.

Travis has lived the life of a foster-care orphan. He has a short temper. He has court-ordered therapy. He has a whole bunch of mystery surrounding a photograph of the man who might be his father - a man with eyes just like his: one red, and one blue.

Best bits:

The art keeps that cool, lush, half-noir, thing going throughout - it matches the tone, and looks pretty awesome.

The story is intriguing - we know that there's something seriously sinister going on, and the layers are peeled back to reveal just a tantalisingly small amount of the truth at a time. It definitely keeps you reading.

Overall, the book has a fab gothic/horror/freaking weird vibe. As that's my kind of thing, I definitely enjoyed it. It's likely to appeal to people who enjoyed The Crow (US link,) V for Vendetta (US link) - y'know, the grittier side of things.
 

Not so great bits:

It probably goes without saying, but if you're not a fan of horror, demons, and bloody violence, this is probably not for you.

There's the occasional feeling of disjointedness (you know, the 'who was he again?' 'what's he doing?' kind of feeling,) but it's exceedingly small.

Verdict:

An intriguing and absorbing graphic novel for those who like their plots sinister and sinuous, their art lush and noir-ish, and their graphic novels awesome.

Buy Now UK – Buy Now USA - Goodreads – Author's DC Comics Profile

Nerd Church! - Christmas is For Everyone

I admit that I don't think much about religion in the traditional sense. That's part of the reason that I do a 'Nerd Church' post every week - to provide a little bit of moral discussion that doesn't require a denomination, just a touch of nerdiness (non-nerds are also welcome!)

I adore Christmas. Completely. Utterly. Christmas rocks.

Maybe I lean more towards the pagan than the Christian, and maybe not, but regardless the message remains the same - light, and life, and being kind and generous to people...

Ahhh! Isn't it just beautiful! (Sorry, having a starry-eyed, naïve, moment - I know that's not all that common with me. Normally I'm cynical as all sin - but - it's Christmas!!!!!!)

Anyway, my point was that Christmas is beautiful and wonderful, and doesn't require a huge amount of organised religion for enjoyment.

Everyone can enjoy Christmas.

Even Harry Potter celebrates Christmas - and who has the slightest clue what religion wizards are?

Game of Thrones Series 6 Teaser

Argh! This GoT Series 6 teaser trailer is such a tease - it doesn't really tell us anything. But it's like argh! The potential implications! Enjoy :)

Review Time! (Oh Yeah!) - Straight James/Gay James by James Franco

Picture provided as part of the Press Kit by Hansen Publishing Group on NetGalley

Title: Straight James/Gay James 

Author: James Franco.

Genre: Poetry.

Release Date: 1 Jan 2016.

Amazon: UK - US

A few starting notes:

I received a free digital review copy of this book via NetGalley. NetGalley provides review copies from publishers in exchange for fair and honest reviews.

This is a chapbook of poetry by James Franco. Yes, before you ask the inevitable question. That James Franco.

I really love poetry - but tend to read more of the nineteenth century stuff etc. because a lot of modern poetry is either overly-simplistic rhymes for kids, or overly-pretentious stuff for adults. I'm happy to say that this is neither.

(And don't worry about 'not getting' poetry - you don't have to. Good poetry gets you.)

Premise:

A variety of poems by James Franco, largely dealing with questions of identity, life as an actor, and sexuality.

It also includes the interview Franco conducted with himself for a magazine, in which he splits himself into Straight James and Gay James (hence the title.)

Best bits:

James Franco can write poetry. I know, who knew? And it's good.

He weaves the lines with an understanding of how they meld and twist together - without ever losing the frank honesty that shines through. He has the confidence to play with the form - blurring the line between poem and prose - without lurching into the territory of a pretentious artiste.

Regular readers of this blog will know that I have a thing for sparse prose, done well. I can tell you that the same applies to verse. And this is some beautiful sparse verse.

In short: Franco. Has. It. I have no idea what 'it' is - I'm not going to ramble about themes and forms and metaphors - that's for some poetry professor somewhere to get in a faff over. I just know it's beautiful - and something special.

Not so great bits:

This isn't for the easily offended - there's sex, swearing, and a bunch of mature themes.

Honestly though, I don't know whether I liked 'Goat Boy.' It kind of creeped me out. Although, given the sex and dead goats, I think that's understandable. It's probably not as bad as it sounds - I just personally didn't like it.

Verdict:

I loved this. I devoured it in less than a day. As I mentioned before, this has it. Well worth the read.

Buy Now UK - Buy Now USA - Goodreads - Author's Facebook

Friday Fics Fix - There Is Omegaverse (And I'm Taking You All Down With Me)

The Omegaverse. Also known as Omega Verse, Omega-verse, Alpha/Beta/Omega, A/B/O dynamics, and so very many other variants.

This is a fairly common alternate universe (AU) in fanfiction. Not quite as common as the Hogwarts AU, but still quite a common trope, regardless of the fandom. Doubtless, I've mentioned it before - but I'll give you a refresh.

Omegaverse dynamics work a bit like a wolf pack (or, that's the theory anyway.) Alphas are in charge. Betas faff about in middle-class status.

Omegas are typically the weakest, the rarest, the most beautiful, and the most fertile - regardless of gender. Whether women can be Alpha depends on the author's preferences.

MPreg (male pregnancy) is common in this AU, and breeding is determined by animalistic 'heats' - which, as can be imagined, cause a heap load of problems.

The other thing about this type of fanfiction is that there is always sex at some point (which is the case for a lot of fanfiction really) - it can get pretty weird.

Some people have thought how this works through to a worrying dedicated degree - there are biology charts available. I am not providing links to them - there is a limit, even for me.

I am also not explaining knotting. Because I don't know where I'd start. Let's just say there is... bonding... and... glands.

Every fanfiction author has their own rules and variations to the Omegaverse theme - for example, whether there are suppressants which can stop a heat, the rights of Omegas, whether families literally live in 'packs,' etc. It can actually lead to some pretty interesting stories.

This week's fic makes use of Omegaverse (otherwise I wouldn't have just spent a good chunk of my time explaining it to you,) in this version of the AU, there are 'Hunters' - who can recognise an Omega before their first heat (which is when, usually, orientation is revealed.)

Lost Brother by thunder_from_asgard

- is a Thorki Omegaverse fic. I explained Thorki here - basically, Thor and Loki are together romantically. This is fanfiction - just go with it.

I should mention at this point that I recommend this as 18+ Only - I know you might ignore me, but I owe it to myself to try and warn you. There's sexual slavery, and a bunch of trauma and sexual assault in this story, so please reader, beware.

Now that that's all said - I can tell you that this is a relatively long fic, at 11 chapters, and is, actually, very good.

Again, when it comes to fanfiction my perception has become a bit warped by the amount of the stuff I've actually read. For example, I'm no longer surprised by MPreg, or Omegaverse in general. My view of 'normal' is becoming increasingly blurred.

But I do think this fic is worth the read - it's interesting, really considers the emotional fallout of events, and is quite well-written.

There are spelling and grammar issues - but the author is not a native English speaker, and if I wrote this well in a second language, I'd be pretty damned proud of myself.

So, there you have it; Omegaverse. Just another randomly compelling facet of the bizarre world of fanfiction.

Charity Reading Challenge 2016

A little while ago I signed up to the Charity Reading Challenge over on Becky's Book Reviews. So I figured I'd write a little post explaining my plans, and my reasons for doing the challenge.

Host: Becky's Book Reviews
Duration: January 2016-December 2016

The Challenge: 'Read for a good cause! Buy books at a charity shop, or, even a friends of the library book sale, or, donate a certain percentage of money for each book you read for the challenge. You can choose your own goal of how many books to read, what charity you'll be donating money towards, how much money, etc.'

The full rules can be found on Becky's Book Reviews here.

I'm aiming to read at least 20 books for this challenge - seems doable!

The books I read will be from various charity shops, and I'm planning on giving challenge updates which include the name of the charity, the amount I spent on the book, and a bit of info on the charity (because charities can do with all the publicity they can get!)

I love helping charities - it's kind of my thing. And I figured, as I buy a lot of books from charity shops anyway, I could also help to raise some awareness of the fantastic work done by charities while I'm at it. (And it seemed fun!)