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Little Heaven: A Novel
Little Heaven: A Novel
Nick Cutter | 2017 | Horror
10
7.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Before I delve into my thoughts about Little Heaven, I would like to thank the publisher, the author, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Little Heaven will be available for purchase January 10, 2017 and its definitely on my wishlist for a physical copy.

Little Heaven plays host to an interesting cast of characters that range from three extremely different and unlikely heroes, to your typical, run of the mill, religious zealot. Heavily influenced by the Jonestown Massacre in some regards, I found Cutter's book to be a delightful and fresh read, in the most fiendishly way possible.

Our "heroes" are hired by a concerned woman after her nephew is taken into Little Heaven, a religious compound run by Reverend Amos Flesher. The motley crew quickly find themselves caught up in what can only be described as a nightmare; Reverend Flesher's obsession with his religion, coupled with an ancient evil, wrought a terrifying tale that is worth every minute I spent reading it.

I also have to admit that I was awestruck by Nick Cutter's style of writing. If you read my blog often enough, you're likely aware that I am no stranger to the macabre. The more gruesome, terrifying, and gore-filled a story or movie is, the happier I am. In that regard, Cutter exceeded my expectations. He paints such a vivid picture that there are times I actually found myself feeling squeamish - and that is a feat when it comes to the written word. Other times, I found myself on the verge of an anxiety attack, even if it was action driven, rather than by suspense.

The only thing I really didn't care for was the manner in which it went back and forth between two different time periods, especially since the latter period, 1980, could probably have been largely left out of the equation - or at least implemented into a smoother transition. The part of the story taking place in the 80s felt largely pointless to me up until the end, and even then it didn't have as much of a "wow" factor as I had hoped for. Nonetheless, it was still an excellent read.

Little Heaven is, undoubtedly, one of my favorite books so far this year - or rather, next year if you go by the publication date. I can't wait to read more from this author!
  
Love, Death & Robots - Season 1
Love, Death & Robots - Season 1
2019 | Animation, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
The beauty of Love, Death and Robots is it's format. An eclectic collection of animated short films, some genuinely brilliant, with a handful of duds, truly gives something for everyone.

There are 18 films on show here, all with something different to offer.
Firstly there were 3 that failed to really resonate with me - Sucker of Souls, When the Yoghurt Took Over, and Alternate Histories. I found these three either slightly boring, or silly for the sake of being silly. There were 2 that sort of floated in the middle - The Dump, and Blind Spot, not bad by any means (none of the shorts are truly bad) but just were sort of there.
Leaving a grand total of 13 shorts that I thought were really really great.

A handful of these realistic CGI entries - namely, Sonnie's Edge, Three Robots, Beyond the Aquila Rift, Shape Shifters (one of the highlights for me), Helping Hand (reminded me of Gravity, in a great way), Lucky 13, and The Secret War.
These lot are lengthier offerings, and boast some good looking CGI animation, bordering on photo realism at times. The run time gives an opportunity for some decent fleshed out stories.
The Secret War in particular is nothing short of breath taking, and may well be my top pick of the whole season.
Elsewhere, we have more cartoony offerings - Suits, a loud animation that features farmers in mech suits fighting aliens. Zima Blue, a beautifully touching story of how a simple robot transcends existence itself - another highlight of the season. Fish Night, a short desert based drama bursting with colour. The animation of this one reminded me of A Scanner Darkly. Good Hunting, a collision of Ancient Chinese stories and a Bioshock style steampunk future. Hard to watch at times, but stunning also - easily would have been my top pick if The Secret War wasn't included.
Rounding it off we have The Witness, and animation that looks like a moving oil painting and reminded me of Mirror's Edge, and Ice Age, a fun short that's the only live action inclusion with CGI flourishes about a civilisation growing in a couple freezer.

It's an ambitious collection of shorts for sure, but like I said, there's something here for everyone. Even the ones that I liked the least are a 6/10 at worst. If you like sci-fi or animation in any shape or form, then check this series out.