Archive for the ‘Film Review’ Category

Best Fiction Titles

Leaving this pinned for a bit as people are enjoying them. New posts are below.

The below is the fiction titles of all time I recall and have enjoyed the most. No doubt some escape me, but overall, if you are looking for a good read, these are it. Where they are available for purchase online somewhere I have added a link.

The Sub-Genre column needs a little explanation. For Example, my book 2 in the Overlords of Mars series says “film” because the events in it are written more as you would expect them to appear in a film. And the Hyperion series is sort of, kinda, about Christianity, in a way, but a very cool, sci-fi way. Anyway, I hope you enjoy them.

GenreSub-GenreBook Title
FantasyChristianityThe High Crusade
FantasyPoetryThe Lost Books of the Odyssey
FantasyRomanceAll My Friends Are Superheroes
FantasyVenice MythologyThe Stress of Her Regard
HumourCartoonsCalvin & Hobbes
PoetryPoetryJohn Keats Complete Poems
ReincarnationLoveCloud Atlas (See the film which is better)
RPGFantasyThe Rules Cyclopedia – D&D or PDF
RPGSci-FiClassic Traveller Role Playing Game (the three little black books 1, 2 and 3)
Sci-FiAndroidsDo Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
Sci-FiChristianityThe Hyperion Series (get the whole thing)
Sci-FiHistoryOverlords of Mars – Inception (book 1)
Sci-FiGraphic NovelAldebaran 
Sci-FiGraphic NovelAntares
Sci-FiGraphic NovelBetelgeuse 
Sci-FiGreek MythologyIlium 
Sci-FiFilm Overlords of Mars – Stasis (book 2) 
Sci-FiMarsJohn Carter of Mars the film too is good
Sci-FiPrecognitionThe Stochastic Man
Sci-FiTelepathyThe Hollow Man

And of course, I did forget some in the table there, so they are here:

The continuation of the Bladerunner (the original film) but in book format (and bury that foulness from the pit that was the film Bladerunner 2049) by KW Jeter. He actually has 3 more out, I didn’t even know as I had only read the second one. Which was brilliant.

I am sure I have forgotten many more, or perhaps I simply have outgrown some I really enjoyed when younger, like the Dragonlance Series, which I read when I was 16 and played Dungeons and Dragons quite a bit, but these above are the ones that stuck in my mind off the top of my head.

A reader reminded me in the comments I did not include anything by gene Wolf. For which I will lash myself in penance. My personal best loved of his books is Soldier of the Mist. But the man was a genius, you can’t go wrong with any of his stuff.

    CHILD 44 – A Brief Review (No Spoilers)

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    Child-44-Poster

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    This has made it onto the top 10 films I have ever seen. When searching for the image above, I also came across the fact that the average review for it is very poor, between one and three stars, which initially (and stupidly) shocked me.

    This film is truly amazing and or a variety of reasons, but primary amongst them is that it is a very real portrayal of what happens when Political Correctness becomes the ideology of the day. And yes, I really do mean that, and yes, the emphasis on Political Correctness is indeed on Political. But do not be fooled.

    Read more »

      Tales of the Gold Monkey – Not Dead!

      I have been busy with a new job and various other things, among which the creation of Videos for the Systema book, which after many tribulations, I have concluded is just going to happen easiest and best if I do them myself and forget about trying to rely on other people I had contracted originally. It seems the world of media people and I have different ideas about a lot of stuff concerning deadlines and agreed rates and so on. ANY-WAY…

      Here is something cool for you though:

       

      Tales of the Gold Monkey (Link to amazon UK)

      Tales of the Gold Monkey (Link to Amazon USA)

      The tales of the Gold Monkey was a show which I saw only a couple of episodes of when I was a kid in the early eighties, but I was sorry the series (or more likely the reception, as we lived in Botswana then) went off air shortly after it started. I always remembered it though and looked for it online from time to time. FINALLY some genius has put it on DVD, the whole series too!

      Now, I did read some of the reviews on amazon before buying it and I was worried that like so many other things from my misspent youth this would have aged badly and I would not enjoy it at all.

      I am glad to report this was not at all the case. The show is indeed quite “over the top” but in the same way that Indiana Jones is. In other words, in a way I quite love. And it is a PERFECT show. The violence is somewhat theatrical, yet present, the acting is quite B-class but just kitch enough to make it brilliant and with some genuine moments of inspired B-Acting, and the plots…oh the plots…they basically make this the best damn birthday present I have bought myself in along time. The Gold Monkey has it all. Nazi nuclear bombs, lost Egyptian tribes, anachronistic elements that don’t really fit together and B-movie acting. It’s perfect. Truly a work of wonder. It has 22 episodes in the DVD pack but I am miserly with them as I fear running out of them. If you ever saw the original show you will not be disappointed if you get this. And if you never saw it before get it. Trust me…B-style films never get this good again. This is like pulp film. Brilliant. It’s right up there as one of my all time favourite film things, and probably at number one for TV series, right up there with NCIS and Dexter though these are two very different shows.

      So yeah, while I avoid telling you about my life (not much new there) and work (lots new there but it’s for a wealthy and semi-famous client and he likes his privacy so he shall have it from me), be grateful I share this gem of cinematic genius with you. More than 24 hours of excellent entertainment. Not many blogs point to that today. It’s pretty cheap too at about 25 bucks. So if you are stuck for something good to see on TV, now you know what to get.

      One last little bit of info…this series came out in 1982 but in it (although in classic B-cinema style) there is a semi-accurate representation of the fact that the Nazis had more advanced atomic bomb technology than the Americans. Something that is still not widely recognised today and only became public in 1992 with the release of certain documents under the FOI act. How Don Bellisario knew of it (or guessed it) before then is not known, but it just goes to show. All good B-movies really tell the deepest truths. At least about Nazis. You know it.

        Black Swan — A Review

        I would warn you about spoilers, but nothing, and I mean NOTHING can make this tragic piece of shit of an excuse for a waste of pixels more “spoilt” than it already is thanks to the director of this wild, wild, coat-hanger abortion of a “film”. Read more »

          The Book of Eli – Excellent Propaganda

          Now you may consider propaganda to be a bad thing, and generally I am no fan of it myself, however I always respect skill wherever it is displayed and the recent film The Book of Eli certainly merits comment.

          WARNING: Huge fat spoilers. Don’t read this entry if you still want to watch the film.

          Read more »

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