Nerd Church - A Rant Of Moral Magnitude

I am right royally p**sed off. We have to make this world better, not worse.

I recently found out that an old friend, someone I've known since we were kids, has been receiving harassment on social media.

The reason? She has an Arabic first name, and is half-Asian. This harassment started after the Paris attacks.

I've read some of the messages - from someone she doesn't even know, and who apparently has picked on her completely by random - and they are disgusting.

You know the kind of thing I mean - she's been told to go back to her own country, and even threatened.

This is her country.

Fools like this b*****d, and Donald Trump (king of the bigots,) are not what we want in this world.

Racism, bigotry, and discrimination, is something that we need to speak out against - whenever, wherever.

How dare these people act so vilely! We are all human.

Zombies and Vampires Through My Letterbox

So chuffed this morning to receive Dead Ice by Laurell K Hamilton in the post from the UK publisher Headline. (As always, of course, in exchange for a fair and honest review.)

This is the whopping #24 in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series - an extensive and popular urban fantasy series (and I love me some urban fantasy - paranormal creatures faffing about in cities? What's not to love?)

I've read others in the series (though not all of them, because that's just how I roll sometimes,) and loved them, so have pretty high hopes for this one.

I'm sure this instalment will have the requisite number of vampires, zombies, and other paranormal creatures and stuff of a similar nature, to keep me very happy.

This time around, Anita's on the trail of someone making illegal zombie porn... should be an interesting read!

My review will be up as soon as I've read the book.

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

But With A Whimper

We are losing our libraries.

Inch by inch, building by building, government cut by government cut, we are losing the buildings at the heart of our communities - the places where we can invest in our present and our futures, regardless of background or income. The magical rooms filled with books.

(Beware, political opinions ahead.)

Of course, I cannot speak for other countries. But in the UK, the place where the problem lies is pretty obvious to me - the Tory government.

Yes, libraries are run by local authorities (councils) and with local authority money, but the cuts that councils have to make are dictated by the trickling-down of funds (or, in this case, cuts,) from Westminster.

Yes, that goes for Wales too - how is the Welsh Assembly supposed to give councils enough money, when they themselves are woefully underfunded?

The list of collateral library casualties to the war on the welfare state is frighteningly large.

Each one of these is not just a library - it's a kid who'll never know the joy of a room of books, a grandmother who can't manage the trip to the next town for a cup of tea and a chat somewhere warm and inexpensive, an unemployed single mother who can't afford internet access to apply for jobs, and her child who can't get the information needed for a homework assignment.

Every blow to our libraries is a blow to ourselves.

In some ways, we can't blame the Conservatives - how could a cartel of spoilt little rich boys ever understand that there are people who can't afford a world-class education, who struggle to buy the books they need for school, and who value a safe, warm, place to do some homework, have a chat, apply for jobs... how could they understand that?

We can't let them take our future.

It's hard to prioritise libraries when people are struggling to feed themselves, or pay the bills, or the rent. But in ignoring each building as it slowly slips away, we are letting the world split itself into the haves and the have-nots.

We need places like libraries: for community, for education, for the equality that only a free public resource can bring. We need libraries for the hope that they bring.

Friday Fics Fix! - Diamond In The Rough

Sometimes, you come across fan-fiction which is so well written and thought-provoking that you forget it's not written by a professional author.

(That is, until the odd spelling, grammar, or formatting, mistake breaks the illusion. Though that seems to happen increasingly in published books as well, so c'est la vie.)

This week, I came across an extended series-work on ao3 (for those who don't know, these can be interconnected stories, or a chronological series, usually based around a single theme, story setting, or character relationship.)

The Remember This Cold series by Lise is a series where Loki and Steve (Captain America) have a romantical thing going on.

Much of this series is not graphic in terms of both the violence and the sexy-times, but a fair bit of it is definitely graphic - so will be labelled 18+ by me (stay in school, don't rob old people, look both ways before crossing the street...)

To be honest, I think at this point that Loki has hooked up with each and every one of the Avengers in a variety of dirty ways within the realms of fanfiction.

They've also hooked up with each other. So it's fine. Everyone has sex with everyone. Deal with it.

(If you can't deal with it, then I suggest you run from fanfiction very, very, quickly.)

I didn't know what to call a Loki/Steve relationship - it's slightly less common than, say, Frostiron, Stony, or Stucky.

I did find this post on Tumblr listing a variety of ship names for the Marvel Cinematic Universe - it was exceedingly helpful (and that's praise from a seasoned fangirl.) I think I'm going with FrostShield, or maybe CapsLok.

Back to the point (because there was a point, wasn't there? Not sure any more.) Lise writes Steve and Loki's relationship as a nuanced and mature deal-y - they aren't straight in there with the butt action.

I haven't read all of the parts (there's a lot of fics in this work,) but I've bounced around them, and I love the subtlety and complexity of the characters and their relationship, and how other people react to this emerging romance. Honestly. This is good.

And that makes me very, very, happy.

Because that's why I started reading fanfiction and writing my Friday Fics Fix - to find the diamonds in the pile of shakily written porn. And I've found one here. It makes all those hours of fic-reading worth-while.

Comics Wrap Up - We Could Be Immortals

TV Trailers

Some more Legends of Tomorrow-y goodness in preview of the spin-off series from The Flash and Arrow. Still looking good at the moment! Fingers crossed!

Movie Trailers

 

 

And then you have the Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice trailer. Which... it looks mad as a box of frogs, doesn't it?

 

Jesse Eisenberg is pretty cool. I live in hope for the rest. Honestly, I do - I hope it manages to pull the cat out of the bag.

 

Maybe though, just maybe, DC needs to calm down, and stop eating food that's past its expiration date. Then everything will be fine. (Nods and smiles reassuringly.)

 

Graphic Novels
Sons of the Devil Volume 1 by Brian Buccellato (US link) is a gritty noir-ish graphic novel with intrigue and mystery.

A sinister cult falls apart in California in 1989. In the present, the troubled Travis is looking for answers about his past - answers that may end up affecting his life and those around him. It's really awesome. (Check out my full review for more.)

Single Issues

Moon Knight #1 (2006-2009) (US link) is a moody and atmospheric issue featuring one of Marvel's less well-known characters. The Moon Knight has a devoted fan following, but not much press outside the comic world.

There's a beautiful sadness to this issue - and a real setting-up for the rest of the series. It's pretty good, and is one for anyone who likes the darker, vigilante-type, superheroes (Daredevil, 'The Dark Knight' incarnation of Batman, etc.)

Review Time! (Yay!) - Carnevale by Michelle Lovric

Title: Carnevale.

Author: Michelle Lovric (M. R. Lovric.)

Genre: Historical fiction, Romance.
 

USA Link.

A few starting notes:

I'd previously read The Book of Human Skin by Michelle Lovric (US link) - which I loved. So when I saw this, with its bold and eye-catching cover, in my library, I picked it up (that really does make me sound so easily distracted... which I can't really deny...)

Premise:

Fictional painter, Cecilia Cornaro, tells the tale of her life and loves in the Venetian Republic as it slowly disintegrates. What unfolds is a description of her two greatest love affairs - with Casanova, and Lord Byron.

Best bits:

Lovric has clearly researched her primary male leads - Casanova and Byron - very well.

 

Separating man from myth (was Casanova black? what was Byron really like as a person?) is almost impossible with these figures, but Lovric simply uses this mythologising as a theme, and for detail, uses the interpretations of history which most suit the plot and characterisation of the novel.

 

This is a novel of myths and masks, and whether we really know the people behind them; Lovric weaves themes around themselves with skill and style, making for a book filled with intensity, emotion, and dubious morality.

 

Lovric's writing is lush and detailed - every inch of prose has its own rhythm and flow. Her style and talent evoke vividly the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries - and the exoticism and mystique of Venice.

 

Venice is almost another character here - I hear that a lot about places in books, but it seems true in this case - as if Venice (or 'La Serenissima,') is an active participant in the events. Plus, the (often risqué) Venetian proverbs are great.

Not so great bits:

As can be imagined in a book which features two of history's greatest (and most notorious) lovers as main characters, there is a lot of sex. Rarely is this gratuitous or graphic, but it's there. There's also a bunch of swearing.

 

More uncomfortable though is the amount of abuse in this book. This book has descriptions of, or references to, pretty much any type of abuse you can think of: emotional, physical, sexual, animal, child...

 

Often the reader is made unwillingly complicit: Cecilia is a very young teenager throughout her affair with Casanova, and, if anything, the sexual relationship between teenager and significantly older man is glamorised and romanticised.

Looked at objectively (and in a modern light,) it's creepy, but the book somehow manages to turn it into this beautiful love, which Cecilia holds onto as the ideal relationship - not sure I'm all that comfortable with this.

 

There are other issues here which might be distressing to some readers - homophobia, incest, the loss of children, and suicide, for example, all feature.

 

It should also be mentioned, briefly, that real historical figures commit fictional offenses - this is fine in terms of plot and story, but the reader should remember that the real Byron and Casanova did not act like this towards Cecilia, because there was no real Cecilia. (It's that tricksy man and myth thing again!)

 

This is also a very long book (over 600 pages,) which may put off some readers.

Verdict:

While there are certainly moral issues with this book, it's still magnificently written, and an exceptionally good read.

If you're looking for a tale of love, loss, and the intoxicating Venice, you will find few other books which succeed in taking you away to this time and this place so vividly.

 

Buy Now UK – Buy Now USA - Goodreads – Author's Site

Christmas Movie Binge

Ok, I'm the Reading Addict. But I also love a Christmas movie. Because I will take advantage of any excuse to be Christmas-y! CHRISTMAS!!! (Ok, I'll be good and get back to the post.)




Looking for Christmas films to binge on?

I got you covered. I watch a ridiculously large amount of Christmas films: here's some of my favourites.





The Muppets Christmas Carol


A Christmas classic if ever there was one - this is one of the awesome-est films you will ever watch.

We got Muppets. We got Christmas. We got a kid-friendly adaptation of a classic of literature that might just spark fond memories for years to come.

I watch this every year, and have done since I honestly can't remember when. I love it. It's just amazing.







White Christmas

The classic Christmas film.

Featuring the amazing Danny Kaye and the smooth Bing Crosby (ain't nothing wrong with a bit of Bing,) this is pure Hollywood. Vera Ellen dances amazingly, and Rosemary Clooney just has that 1950s style.

The songs are some of the best you'll ever hear - to say nothing of the title song. Ahhh! I plan on watching it again and again and again!





Mickey's Once and Twice Upon A Christmas

This is actually two feature-length Disney specials/films.

Made up of little stand-alone Christmas stories, featuring Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy, this will please big kids, little kids, and everyone in between.

These are cute and sweet, and can be watched in sections if you're short on time. I love them.






A Christmas Carol

Another 'A Christmas Carol' adaptation (funnily enough,) but very different to The Muppets' version.

This is motion-capture animation (where actors act out the parts and then the animation is layered over them, so to speak,) featuring some fabulous performances by Jim Carey.

This film is also hugely true to Charles Dickens' original - sure, there's the odd bit of deviation, but overall this is Charles Dickens' book made film.

There are significant stints of dialogue lifted directly from the book, and the creepy characters of Ignorance and Want are included in all their poverty - allowing the true morality of the story to really hammer home.