Vikings. Raiding and pillaging and dragon riding. That’s about the extent of my knowledge of the ancient(?) civilization that so many people go bonkers romanticizing. Okay, so they didn’t REALLY ride dragons, but How To Train Your Dragon is great and the game I am previewing today also includes dragons, so I’m rolling with it. But how does this Viking game play and compare to its inspirations?
Asator is a head to head (or teams) game of troop maneuvering and attacking using 30 identical miniatures on each side. Each mini acts as a platoon of three different kinds of armies, plus a Chieftan, Master, Wizard, and Dragon that all have different special abilities. The winner of Asator is the player who can eliminate their opponent’s leadership (Chieftan, Master, and Wizard).
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and I know that the final components will be slightly different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, as there are just too many. You are invited to download the rulebook, back the game through the Kickstarter campaign, or through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
To setup, place the battle mat on the table, and then players will place groups of minis on the field within the closest three rows of hexes in alternating turn fashion. Players will also take the two large Battle Sheets and a dry-erase marker to keep track of every one of their minis’ stats throughout the game. Each player will also choose five of the given 10 Wizard spell cards to use for the game, and each spell may only be used once during the game. Once all army minis are placed, the first player will move up to 20 units on the battlefield and attack opponent armies if possible. The game is now on and decimation is the goal.
Each mini type corresponds to a different group of armies, plus the dragon and three leader pieces. All armies of the same type have the same stats for movement, hit points (HP), armor rating (AR), and attack weapons. Also each mini is labeled on the bottom so keeping track of each unit is made a little easier. Obviously the leader pieces are more powerful and each has a special style of combat. The Master wields an axe and shield (which is broken after one hit) to increase AR and dole out the damage. The Chieftan wields a spear, twin axes, a bow, and a shield. Similar to the Master, the Chieftan’s shield is broken after an attack against him, and his spear is broken after a missed attack. The Wizard is not at all strong in melee, but has powerful spells at his disposal to be used for the disposal of enemy units.
Besides the leadership trio each side also brings a Dragon to the battle. Dragons can move slowly by land, but quite quickly by air. Once in the air he or she may deliver a Fire Blast that causes huge damage, but then the Dragon must ground themselves to regain stamina for flight. In addition, each player will have access to Cavalry, Infantry, and Bowmen, each with their own stat blocks and abilities.
This is all well and good, and is somewhat similar to the strategy one would use in Chess. Combat, however, is much more involved than that of simply moving into an enemy’s space and automatically overtaking it. In Asator combat victory is decided via a VERY pared down version of D&D combat. It uses a simplified d20-based attack versus the enemy Armor Rating (AR). Rolls over the AR of the enemy is a success and damage is dealt. Done. Some attacks require a roll of 2d6 for damage amount, like spells and Dragon attacks. That said, combat is decided using 1d20 and 2d6. That’s it.
The game continues in turns where the first player will move their pieces and attack, and then the next player will do the same until one player has defeated all three enemy leaders and earned the title of Asator – Master of War.
Components. Again, we were provided a prototype copy of the game, but most of the components are what will be received when the game is backed or purchased. That said, the game utilizes a cloth battle mat that folds into the box, four dry-erase Battle Sheets, two dry-erase markers, dice for both players, Wizard spell cards for both players, and 60 miniatures. The battle mat is great fabric quality with minimal art that doesn’t get in the way of play (much appreciated). The dry-erase components are good. The card quality is fine. The dice are black and white dice to correspond with players using the black or white minis, and are of normal quality. The minis are great and I enjoyed playing with them.
Now for the negatives of what is included in the box. First, the art. Now, there is very minimal art used throughout the game. It’s just not a focal point, and it shows in the game’s production. I found the sketch on the cover of the rule book (which is the same as the watermark on the Battle Mat) to be very cool, but the box cover art leaves some to be desired. Similarly, the Wizard spell cards use very generic-looking art icons with text for explanation. I am most certainly being hyper-critical here because flashy art on these components are certainly not needed to play or highly enjoy the game. For my tastes, though, I would like to see more polished art on these pieces as the art is so sparse throughout.
But how does the game feel? It’s truly quite good. I don’t play many wargames or 1v1 skirmish style games, so to present me with something like this and for me to enjoy it as much as I have has to be a sign of something good. Again, I am no strategic war general, but being able to employ different strategies every game is exciting. Testing out the different combinations of Wizard spell cards is fun for a tinkerer. And, of course, playing with a bunch of minis is always good fun.
There is a good game here, and I absolutely love the combination of Chess maneuverability with the simplified RPG d20 battle system. It works well in a game like this where each piece owns a stat block of which players will need to be mindful. I didn’t quite mention my favorite part of the rules yet either: natural 20 on a combat roll equals insta-death. Yes, even to the Dragon, which happened in my very first game. THAT is a cool rule that tripped up tactics quite often in my plays.
All in all this game is a great example of combining a couple sets of mechanics that wouldn’t be expected and creating a great gaming experience from them. I invite you to back the game on Kickstarter when it goes live if you are looking for that special game that is unlike many others you currently own. If the art were spruced up a bit I would be fawning all over it, but even without impressive art I still find I have the twitch in my brain to play it again and again. I wonder how many natural 20s I can roll in a game. Great, now I want to set it up and see…
Eternal Darkness- why does no one talk about this game. It is amazing, its horrorfying, terroryfying, spooky, creepy, thrilling, chilling and so much more. Plus it came out only for the gamecube, which is huge because nintendo doesnt put out or release alot of horror games. This, luigi's mansion and Resident Evil 4 were the big horror games for the gamecube. Maybe more came out, but those 3 were the big ones. Lets talk about this game, shall we....
The narrative of the game's story switches between two phases. The main phase focuses on a series of chapters in which players take control of a new character each time. The other phase acts as an intermission. The game boasts twelve playable characters, split between four distinct locations, and from different periods of time.
The story features multiple paths that can be taken. This choice not only determines which of the game's three other antagonists are aligned to the plot, but it also has subtle effects on the gameplay in chapters and intermission periods. Some changes include slight differences in puzzles and items, but most changes revolve around enemy placement, which will determine how the player engages them. This can even have an effect on the relative difficulty of the game in certain situations. Red tinted enemies, for example, are tougher than their counterparts.
The other distinctive gameplay aspect comes from "Sanity Effects", the game's standout concept that Nintendo patented. Upon beginning the game's second chapter, players must keep watch on a Sanity meter – a green bar which decreases when the player is spotted by an enemy. As the bar becomes low, subtle changes to the environment and random unusual events begin to occur, which reflect the character's slackening grip on reality.
While minor effects include a skewed camera angle, heads of statues following the character, and unsettling noises, stronger effects include bleeding on walls and ceilings, entering a room that is unrealistic before finding that the character never left the previous room, the character suddenly dying, and fourth wall breaking effect such as "To Be Continued" promotions for a "sequel", and simulated errors and anomalies of the TV or GameCube. While the latter does not affect gameplay, they can be misconstrued by the player as being actual technical malfunctions.
Lets talk about the plot/story....
The story of Eternal Darkness takes place over four principal locations which the game skips back and forth between. They include an underground temple complex called the Forbidden City, in Persia; a Khmer temple in Angkor Thom, Cambodia; Oublié Cathedral in Amiens, France (not to be confused with Amiens Cathedral); and the Roivas Family Estate in Rhode Island, which also leads to an ancient underground city named Ehn'gha beneath the mansion. Each time a location is visited, it is done so in a different time period. Spanning from 26 BC to 2000 AD. Almost half of which take place in the 20th century. Each different era and character offers a different periodic and personal perspective on the location.
The chapters found in the game are not discovered in chronological order. Instead, to make the narrative more dramatic, each chapter jumps around the timeline of the plot. However, despite the overall story skipping back and forth through time, the chapters do follow chronological order within their respective locations. This is because each setting also has its own contained story.
This game is so good, its epic, im surprised that not of people know about this game and heard about this game.
I highly reccordmend playing this game.
Lastly shout out to @LeftSideCut for getting the hints/clues for this review.
Rosalind Ryan, a popular yet mysterious teacher, is found dead by the local lake. She's been murdered, her body left floating with red roses surrounding her. Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock and her partner, Felix, are called in to investigate Rosalind's case. Nothing about Rosalind adds up--everyone seemed to like her, but no one really knew her. She lived in a cheap apartment, but clearly had expensive taste in wine and makeup. She was the youngest of four, with three brothers, one of with whom she'd quarreled recently. Her father, George, is ill and runs a large business conglomerate in Australia, yet seemed to adore his inscrutable daughter. As for Gemma, she has memories of Rosalind from their time together in high school, when the beautiful Rose seemed enigmatic even then. Gemma and Felix have their hands full, focusing on Rosalind's co-workers, students, family, and more. Who is responsible for the death of this lovely teacher?
This is an intriguing and compelling two part mystery, with the present-day case focusing on Rosalind, combined with flashes to Gemma's past, focusing on her history with her former boyfriend Jacob, who died as a teen. The majority of our story is told from Gemma's present-day point of view, but we get a few key snippets from the townspeople and occasionally Gemma's point of view flashes to the past.
I really liked Gemma as a narrator. The intersection of the case with her past was extremely well-done. I read some reviews where the readers didn't care for Gemma, but that wasn't the case for me, though I could understand, as the story wore on, how they came to that point of view. She doesn't always make the right decisions, and I'm intrigued to see what she'll be like in the next novel (Goodreads tell me this is the first book in the series). But for me, I identified with her in many ways and, because she was so well-written, really enjoyed the story from her point of view, even if I didn't always agree with her actions. It was also great to get to see a character dealing with the challenges of being female and a mother in a small police force--in a small town no less--in what seemed to be, overall, a fairly realistic fashion.
The story itself is great. There are several twists that really got me, so major kudos to Bailey. I read a lot of thrillers, and it's not always easy to surprise me! For a huge portion of this book, I had *no idea* where this was going to go, or who killed Rosalind. Several times I found myself genuinely shocked by the happenings and was completely enthralled by the story and Bailey's characters. (I also can't believe this is a debut novel - wow.) She does an excellent job at creating tension in the story and the characters, slowing unfurling plot points and details as we go along. This novel is truly a puzzle, the pieces fitting into place as we go along, and putting them together is a joy. It is so well-done and Bailey's weaving together the past and the present is excellent. I wound up really liking Gemma, and her boss Jonesy, and I'm quite excited this is a series. I can't wait to see where Bailey takes us (and Gemma) next. 4.5 stars.
Thank you, Ms Dawes, for writing these books, I've thoroughly enjoyed delving into this world.
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted all these books.
Book1, Half Blood
I enjoyed this, a lot. I didn't love for a couple of reasons.
CLIFFHANGER! It finishes on a cliffhanger, and if I KNOW is finishes as such, I'm usually ok, but I did NOT see this one coming at and I was somewhat annoyed about that!
I'm still not entirely sure whats going on, what the bigger picture is. It might just be me, but my brain didn't put everything together yet, and I was somewhat annoyed by that, too. I am certain that it will all become clear in the next few books, though! (or at least I hope so!)
There is some scene setting, for multiple characters who are side players. For a long while I wasn't sure why they even had a say, but all does become clear why they are there. Eventually. It took far too long for me though, to love that fact. I like hearing from everyone, I really do, but this reminded me a little of several series that take a long way round to get across the road.
I liked Indigo. She is a force of nature and when she fully becomes aware of what she is and what she can do, she will be invincible. Rhett, too, isn't fully aware of himself, I don't think yet. Some secrets he hasn't told us, and some I don't think have been revealed to him either.
I liked the twists to usual vampire/werewolf lore. Some major twists thrown up there!
I have to wait now, to get ahold of book 2. If you are reading this review, I recommend you wait til you at least have book 2 to hand, so you don't throw the hissy fit I did when I ran out of book!
Because of the cliff hanger and because of the not seeing the bigger picture (yet) . . .
4 stars
Book 2, Half Truths
This is book 2 in the Helheim Wolf Pak=ck series, and you really MUST read book one, HAlf Blood, first. This is a continuous story line and not everything is recapped.
And again, I really ENJOYED this, but I didn't quite love, and it's mostly ME that is the reason, not the book. (I think!)
I still cannot see the bigger picture, I really can't! It's driving me nuts that I can't even make one up, as I am prone to do, and I can't see where this is all going. AT. ALL!
Vaile is the focus of this book, and his new, human, FEMALE poilce partner. Dealing with the murders at the nightclub brings many questions for Larissa, and Vaile is hiding something. Something big. It's pissing her off and she will get to the bottom of it! Rhett and Indi's relationship begins to move at a much faster pace, especially once they sort out her food problem. I'm not sure I like the final solution, and I think Rhett might struggle with it too.
The search for Alpha's mate intensifies, throwing up some major spanners in the works, some twists I really didn't see coming.
It's dark and deadly. Bloody and emotional. Sexy and sweet. The violence is graphic and the sex explicit, and I loved that they were!
Lots of people again have a say, and I was ready for that this time, so I really enjoyed the stage setting in this book.
And another bloody (quite LITERALLY!) cliffhanger! *throws toys out the pram and spits dummy out*
Creeping up to 4.5 stars though!
Book 3, Half Life
This is book 3 in the Helheim Wolf Pack series, and I STRONGLY recommend you read book one, Half Blood and two, Half Truths before you read this one. There is an underlaying story line that isn't fully recapped here.
Sabel, The Butcher of the Helheim pack, needs to find who killed a pack member. A non-pack female wolf wasn't supposed in the woods. When Sabel finds out who Ivy is, and what her visit means to her, he helps. But Ivy's past follows her, and there is something killing not just Helheim wolves, but other packs, and shifters, are suffering too.
So!
Now I have an idea of who/what is causing all this mayhem that the Helheim pack is suffering from, the picture is becoming clearer and so I'm starting to enjoy this series a little bit more!
Everyone gets a say again, Sabel and Ivy mostly, but many others too. This book also sets the scene for book four, so pay attention!
Sabel and Ivy are explosive together. They butt heads, right from the start and it's a great deal of fun watching them fall hard, and fall HARD for each other. Ivy brings some tension to Sabel's life and it is also fun watching him deal with that.
There is the amount of violence that is in the other books, but it really is needed more so here, I think. Sabel has a particular skill set and he puts it to use here. It is graphic, and dark and deadly. It's heartbreaking in places too, as the pack deals with not only the loss from the previous book, but a shocking, more painful one here.
I loved how things are starting to make (some) sense, and the picture is becoming clearer. Where it's going, though?? No bloody idea and I LOVED that!
Hit the top marks with this one, please keep it up!
5 full stars
Book 4, Half Cast
This is book 4 in the Helheim Wolf Pack Tale, and you really SHOULD read all three previous books before this one. There is MUCH that is referenced, but not fully covered here from those books. MUCH. So, don't say I didn't warn you!
We met both Alex and Saskia in book 3, and they met too. They fell in love over a single kiss and now Saskia is mated to another, and Alex is now Bitten.
So, in my review for the third book, I said things were beginning to make sense, and I could kinda see where this was all going. You read that, right? I said it?? Well, now? I lost it all again! I still got an inkling, but I've lost something in the couple of months since I read book three, I really did and I didn't pick it back up here, not fully.
To that end, I didn't enjoy this as much as book 3.
However, I don't think that me losing whatever I did is the full reason. There is more, and it revolves around what Alex and Saskia did, to Ezekiel, in their home. They both felt guilty about that, and well they should but it didn't sit well with me! I would like to see Ezekiel happy in a later book, he needs some happiness now.
Saxon (Saskia's brother) meets HIS mate, but this book ends on a cliffhanger about that. Brax is smitten by someone he meets but not sure where thats going.
As usual, everyone important has a say. And you really do need that here, more so than in the other books.
Like I said, I lost something, and didn't quite get it back and whatever it is, I missed it!
Books one and two got 4 and 4.5 stars respectively. Book 3 is by far my favourite of them all so far and got 5 stars. We've slipped a bit here, and so....
4 solid stars
Book 5, Half Bound.
This is book 5 in the Helheim Wolf Pack series, the last book and you do NEED to have read the other books before this one. This one pulls everything together but not everything important is recapped.
I found this one a much darker read than the others. The others are graphic and explicit but I thought this one was so much MORE. The violence Vivian expends to get what she wants is described in great detail, what she does and what she has others do. This is the only reason I gave it. . .oh . . no. . .wait, there is ANOTHER reason. Let me try that again! This is ONE of the reasons I gave it 4 stars. Oh but she does get her comeuppance, she really does!
Saxon is captured and Casey allows herself to be taken, on the condition Saxon is freed. Yeah, right, we did not see that one being double-crossed by Vivian! Vivian breaks Casey, she really does, physically and emotionally. It's painful reading, not just the physical stuff, but when Casey comes to terms with what Vivian does to her, what it means for her future, what it means she can never be. And then. . .not yet. . .I'll say soon.
Across the other side of the story, Brax, who left Rhett a while ago because he was addicted to Indi's bite, has to fetch a new pack member who affects him, and his wolf, deeply. But Andrea is damaged, both inside and out, and she doesn't think anyone will want her now her abusive ex has marked her as he did. Besides, all men are gonna hurt her, so she steers clear. When said ex gets too close, Brax and Drae bond, and when they do? Oh it's so beautiful, their bonding, it really is. Said ex also gets his comeuppance, but not quite how I thought he would!
Back to what Vivian does to break Casey emotionally. This is the other reason I gave it 4 stars. Casey loves Saxon and he loves her. But they never really got to tell each other that. After Casey gets free, I'm not surprised she has the thoughts she does. And then there was that "Besides. . . ." when Vivian was gloating! So now my mind is racing and I want answers! At least I know the questions this time!
A very fitting end, and one that spawns another series about Casey and her brothers. I hope to get my hands on them too.
Thank you, Ms Dawes, for writing these books, I've thoroughly enjoyed delving into this world.
4 stars
**same worded review will appear elsewhere, on individual listing**
It’s always surprising when a truly awful film performs well at the box-office, but that’s exactly what happened with 2017’s London Has Fallen. Despite overwhelmingly poor reviews, the sequel to 2013’s marginally better Olympus Has Fallen made over four times its production budget in ticket sales.
Naturally, a sequel in the now originally named ‘Fallen’ film series was greenlit soon after with the majority of the cast returning for the third instalment. But is the finished product, Angel Has Fallen as bad as its predecessor? Or is this the turning point?
Authorities take Secret Service agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) into custody for the failed assassination attempt of U.S. President Allan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman). After escaping from his captors, Banning must evade the FBI and his own agency to find the real threat to the president. Desperate to uncover the truth, he soon turns to unlikely allies to help clear his name and save the country from imminent danger.
First thing’s first. This is better than London Has Fallen in every conceivable area. Where that film was packed full of grainy stock footage, poor CGI and laughable dialogue, Angel Has Fallen at least attempts to create a reasonably coherent film, even if the end result is completely forgettable.
The script for one attempts to focus on the mental and physical strain Gerard Butler’s job has taken on both aspects of his health. We join the film with Butler working his way through an assault course of sorts, so far so Gerard. However, as the film progresses the audience realises that Agent Banning is suffering from a lot of demons, impacting his clarity and causing him to lose focus.
To be fair, Butler does his best with the material he’s given, but three films in, even he is starting to look a little bored. The rest of the cast don’t fare any better. Morgan Freeman dons his tried and tested President persona, but the 82-year-old legend struggles with the physical demands of the role – and the all too obvious body doubles are a jarring mismatch with a film that is occasionally nicely choreographed and edited.
Only a film series as mediocre as ‘Fallen’ could make Angel Has Fallen feel like a success
The highlight comes about half way through the film as we are introduced to a dishevelled Nick Nolte playing Clay Banning, Mike’s foul-mouthed father, living off grid in rural Virginia. The casting is a little odd at first but the pair share good on-screen chemistry with each other and are much better than any relationship we saw in the film’s two predecessors. One of the action sequences the two of them have together is absurd but genuinely funny.
While the script has improved somewhat (there’s no unnecessary racism to be had), there are still huge flaws here. A third-act twist is one of the most ridiculously predictable twists in movie history, made all the more insulting by the fact that there are no red herrings in the story whatsoever. Come on guys, at least give us something else to think about! Instead of an “oooo” when the twist is revealed, the collective response from the audience was practically an eye-roll.
Elsewhere, the film’s finale, which feels like it goes on for far too long, is pure cinematic nonsense of the highest degree but does utilise this instalment’s bigger budget reasonably well. There are instances of poor CGI and very very obvious green screen dotted throughout, but nothing as bad as the laughably rubbish explosions and CG helicopters that riddled London Has Fallen.
Angel Has Fallen (2019 Movie) Official Trailer - Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman - YouTube
Overall, only a film series as mediocre as ‘Fallen’ could make Angel Has Fallen feel like a success but the increased focus on the human elements of the lead characters rather than the outright racism featured in the previous films is a welcome change, and while the action scenes are filmed with a little too much shaky cam for my liking, they’re decently watchable if lacking in any real originality.
The problem we have is that this film will undoubtedly be yet another success if the sold-out screening I attended is anything to go by. Inevitably, this will then pave the way for more similarly themed movies. However, these films aren’t created for those of us who love cinema or to show off the craft of film-making, they’re made for people who want to check their phones every now and then or have a chat to the person next to them. And to be frank, that’s a cinematic world I’d rather not be a part of.
This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Unrivalled is the first book in a new young adult series by Alyson Noël. Set in Hollywood, this story takes a look at what it is like to be young and famous, as well as what it is like to be aspiring to be. The lives of four eighteen year olds from completely different circumstances are suddenly thrown together in a prestigious competition to become the best promoter of VIP nightclubs owned by the infamous Ira Redmond.
Layla and Tommy, from less notable backgrounds, are determined to become famous through journalism and guitar playing. For Layla, this competition means winning enough money to go to college in New York. For Tommy, the prize will help him to move up from his lowly rented apartment and begin to make himself known. Aster, on the other hand, is already rich, she does not care about the money, she cares about winning. Winning means being noticed, which for an aspiring actress is an important career move.
The fourth character is already famous and is a face that Redmond has challenged the competitors to get to enter their respective nightclubs. Madison Brooks has made her way to the top as America’s hottest teenage actress – yet how she has managed this is unclear. As the story goes on it becomes clear that Madison has a shaky past that is constantly trying to catch up with her. No one other than her trusted staff know of the true Madison, so when she goes missing the police suspect foul play. The only problem is Layla, Tommy and Aster are so mixed up in recent events surrounding Madison that they immediately become the prime suspects.
Unrivalled is a book that needs a required taste to fully enjoy. The focus is on celebrity life style, which for me is not something I am interested in. I found myself lacking in sympathy for any of the characters – although I slightly liked Layla’s ambition to become a reporter as journalism and writing IS something I am drawn to. What is annoying is that Unrivalled is only the first novel in a series, so I never got to find out what happened to Madison after plowing through pages of tedious narrative. But to be honest, I do not really care about the result.
It is my lack of interest in the subject matter that consequently leaves me to only give this book a two star rating. However, I would like to emphasize that Noël knows how to write. For the right target audience Unrivalled will be a captivating novel. It emphasizes the glamorous and the not-so-glamorous aspects of becoming famous, which the three contestants soon discover: as Shakespeare put it “All that glitters is not gold.”
If you have an interest in celebrity culture, teenage romance and a bit of mystery, then this book may well be for you. If not, you may be headed for disappointment.
Warning: Spoilers ahead. And they'll probably be in all caps.
I have mixed feelings about Every Other Day.
The good:
It literally got my adrenaline pumping. Barnes has a good voice for YA novels.
I loved the protagonists and I hated the antagonists. I love Skylar, she's my favorite! I would want her to be my little sister. I love Bethany! (well, in a love-hate kind of way. I like her snark and her sarcasm.) I love Kali. She's totally my favorite kind of kick-ass heroine with supernatural powers.
The not so good:
I almost stopped reading this book a few times. Once right in the middle of chapter 2, because what was happening didn't really click with what the summary said was going to happen. I put it down for a while. When I finally picked it up again, it got exciting right at the end of that chapter.
I tore through it until right before the halfway mark, when something happened and I took it the wrong way and thought "oh no, she's turning into a vampire, it's one of THOSE books," and got really mad, and wanted to quit again. But I kept reading and discovered my assumption was incorrect. And then I read some more and I discovered that she was, indeed, part vampire. I mean, I guess I should have known what with the hourglass filled with blood. But seriously?
Point is, it was hard for me to read for an extended period of time, because I got frustrated.
I couldn't quite tell if it had a plot, or just a lot of events that happened. (See my post about plotless books here for more about that.)
It took me a good long time to get through it. For something so exciting, you would think it would be easier to read more than two or three chapters at a time. I'm not sure why: Maybe the drama was getting to my head and I just had to put it down.
WHAT THE CRAP IS WITH SKYLAR DYING OMIGOD SHE WAS MY FREAKING FAVORITE!!!!1 *breathes* okay Haley, you can handle this… be professional… *sobs and hits head against wall* Okay you can't just kill off a main character like that. Skylar was the reason I kept reading the book and then YOU KILLED HER.
VAMPIRE? REALLY? SERIOUSLY?? LIKE WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH YOUNG ADULT VAMPIRE NOVELS OUT THERE, SOMEONE PLEASE WRITE SOMETHING ORIGINAL.
That was not an ending. It needed like, four more sentences. Also: the fact that it is totally the first book in a series? Gah. What's wrong with writing stand-alones?
Obviously, for me, there is more bad than good: but, it was addicting enough that I HAD to finish it.
So. You can decide if you want to read it or not. It really depends on your taste, and what you want in a YA novel.
Andres Barba's A Luminous Republic has feral children, senseless murders, and a plot that keeps the story moving enough that the reader won't want to put the book down. This story creatively combines politics, murder, fear and family - - - but the best part is, the book is unpredictable.
We first meet our main character, whose name is never given throughout the entire story, when he and his family are moving to San Cristobal because of a job opportunity. He works for the Department of Social Affairs, and has just received a promotion because he has come up with a very successful plan: " I had developed a social integration program for indigenous communities. The idea was simple and the program proved to be an effective model; it consisted of granting the indigenous exclusive rights to farm certain specific product." Our main character believes that this plan will bring the farmers more money. And he is more than happy to go back to the city where he fell in-love with his now wife, Maia - - - a violin teacher who had a daughter before meeting him, who he calls 'girl' throughout the story because she is also named Maia.
While on his way to work one day, our main character comes across one of the unknown children of the jungle, which shakes him up a bit. The unknown jungle children were known to beg at street lights for money and food, but one of the grimy, frizzy-haired boys stared the man down, only to end up giving him a very wide smile. "The boy's smile unsettled me because it confirmed that there had been a connection between us, that something had begun in me ended in him." Pretty soon after, he begins to notice these unknown jungle children running around a lot more, and that sometimes their intentions are not always innocent - - - he and the 'girl' witness an elderly woman get robbed of her groceries by a group of these children in the middle of the street in a subtle but violent way.
The unknown jungle children soon begin to rob several people,and when a police officer is killed while being attacked by them, the Mayor and the police want the children off the streets as soon as possible. Working with our main character, the former and the latter try to figure out the strange language these children use, whom may be the leader among them, and where they disappear to at night. Since the story is being told from our main character's past, the book is written like a True Crime story, with names of professionals and such being cited throughout. Our main character brings up a woman, who was a young girl at the time of the jungle children's invasion on San Cristobal: Teresa Otano, who happened to 'publish' her diary from that time, which gives readers insights into the jungle children: "Often, some of the thirty-two [jungle children], on their nightly journey back to the jungle, congregated next to Teresa's house, on one corner of Antartida Avenue. At first, Teresa, enthralled, simply makes notes, logging the days on which they appeared, whether there were three, four or five of them, what they were wearing, and so forth. She establishes patterns and identifies a few of the kids..." our main character explains to the reader.
But soon, the children cross a line that they can never come back from; being told by our main character from the view of surveillance video tapes, he describes to us that the jungle children entered a supermarket after an incident with a guard that works there, they block the entrance doors and begin to destroy items throughout the store, but the chaos quickly escalates, and two adults are murdered by the children - - - fear now holds the town in its grip, causing search parties to sweep through the dense jungle after the children fled.
But murder wasn't something new to San Cristobal, our main character explains to us that the suburbs of this area usually had a murder a week all year long, and that on the outskirts of the jungle, there were known spots for drug trafficking and assaults. What made the 'Dakota Supermarket' murders scare the town was that the residents' own children began to behave differently afterwards - - - they start to play a 'game' where they put their ears to the ground, believing that they can hear the jungle children talking to them. Our main character even walks in on the 'girl' playing this exact game. "For a second it was as if I were witnessing a ritual invented by a twelve-year-old girl, and I thought of how afraid my daughter must have felt when I found her in the bathroom that day. People often remark on the self-assured quality of the invocation, its instruction-manual tone, but I'd say that its intensity actually stems from what it dispenses: adult logic, a world that no longer serves. How could our children possibly have explained to us what they were doing? We weren't prepared for their world or their logic. Somewhere out there, underground, that dissonant sound was being sent, in code: down below, chaos. "
This phenomenon attracts the attention of money/fame seekers, which includes the Zapata children. Four siblings, ranging from the ages of five to nine, claimed that the jungle children were speaking to them through their dreams. They would make drawings from what they were told by the jungle children, but state that even they didn't know what the drawings meant. The media quickly jumped on them and put them in front of a camera, causing the family's home to be surrounded by civilians at all hours of the day and night. One night, the crowd outside becomes anxious, and breaks into the house, stealing not only the drawings from the Zapata children, but also the life savings of the family. At this point, the Zapatas had had enough, and retreat from the story altogether for reasons I won't disclose here. I can't give away much more of the book without ruining the story.
Barba's attempt at making a different kind of Lord of the Flies was done well, but the lack of emotion is felt throughout the entire story which makes the characters flat, especially our main character, who I didn't find likable in any such way. He calls a grieving woman a 'whore,' and he seems rude towards his family, especially his step-daughter.
A Luminous Republic is redeemed by is unpredictability, which is something that doesn't come along in fiction that often anymore. I enjoyed that the story was written like a True Crime novel, with fictitious documentaries, news reports and books. So, I would recommend this book to people who like True Crime and Mysteries.
When a director like Ari Aster only has two full-length features under his belt, it’s difficult not to compare his works but the truth of the matter is that Hereditary and Midsommar are two incredibly different films. Hereditary seemed to thrive on lurking in the shadows visually to assist in its dark storytelling. Nearly all of Midsommar takes place under blinding sunlight making the horrific events that unfold feel stranger and even more out of place, confusing, and bizarrely unsettling. Based on his two films though, Aster does seem to flock towards a few common themes. Grief, loss, and the inability to cope have plagued the main characters of his films while the importance of family takes a high precedence. Hereditary was more about a specific family attempting to stay together while already being in shambles and Midsommar attempts to create a new family on more than one occasion with the possibility of constant expansion.
Dani’s (Florence Pugh) life is turned inside out once a devastating tragedy leaves her dumbstruck. She leans on her boyfriend of four years, Christian (Jack Reynor), for support, but their relationship is obviously strained. Along with their friends Josh (William Jackson Harper) and Mark (Will Poulter), Dani and Christian end up going on vacation to rural Sweden. They travel to a small village where their friend Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren) grew up and now serves as their host. A rare nine-day festival that only occurs once every 90 years is being celebrated. Josh is utilizing the trip as a means to bulk up his folklore thesis for college while Mark is more interested in partaking in the Swedish women. Christian is attempting to figure out what his thesis will be while Dani searches for some sort of guidance after such a tragic occurrence. Their trip becomes increasingly more peculiar the longer they stay as they’re forced to witness violent rituals and are encouraged to embrace the ways of a Pagan cult.
The intricate illustrations throughout the film like in the opening shot, the elongated love potion cloth, or the walls of the barn-like structure Dani and her friends sleep in, give Midsommar this dark fairy tale aspect to it that a film like Pan’s Labyrinth would be proud of. The Pagan roots of Pelle’s village and the film’s metaphorical feet being so firmly planted in such rich folklore give Midsommar this cautiously fanciful aesthetic. The film capitalizes on the nostalgic sensation of when fairy tales and children’s books were read to you as a child. There are consistent signs that things aren’t right, paranoia lurks around every corner, and the locals set off every ominous alarm in your body, but there’s that naïve part of us buried deep down that wishes for and hopes for a happy ending because cosmetically we believe that is what resides at the end of every fairy tale not written by Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm (The Brothers Grimm).
It’s also interesting observing the main and supporting characters of the film or basically all of the “outsider” guests of the festival. Pelle acts as a conduit/guide between his village and the outside world, Josh is a historian/researcher, Mark is a mocker/fool, Dani and Christian are a strained couple, and Connie (Ellora Torchia) and Simon (Archie Madekwe) are a flourishing one. According to Wikipedia, Ari Aster based Dani and Christian’s relationship on a bad breakup. Midsommar is also way funnier than it has any right to be; something Hereditary completely distanced itself from. Midsommar goes out of its way to boast about who Dani’s real family is in the film. The unified chanting, outrageous theatrics, and harmonized moaning may seem like mockery or complete insanity to some. While it is humorous at times, it seems like this is the way the locals can experience everything everyone else does as a cohesive unit. This seems relevant to emotions, hallucinogens, and even sustenance; this cult does everything together.
Midsommar isn’t going to sit right with a lot of people, especially since Ari Aster desired to be confusing when it came to making the film. With all of the drug-taking in the film being so common, Midsommar may leave you feeling as groggy and disoriented as the characters on screen. However, in between the sacrifices, the brutality, the graphic nature of the film, inbred oracles, and plethora of naked mature women moaning in unison there’s something unique and brilliant about Midsommar you can’t find elsewhere. It may draw parallels to films like Robin Hardy’s The Wicker Man and may feel like a bleaker version of The Wizard of Oz on a bad acid trip, but Midsommar is unlike any other film you’ll see this year. In a way, Dani and her friends all get exactly what they came for but the end outcome is that the majority of them bit off more than they could chew. Truth be told, you’ll never look at a bear in a film the same way again even if it does remind you of the Tanooki suit Mario wore in Super Mario Bros 3. This is the type of film where you could literally tell someone everything that happens and it wouldn’t really spoil the film for them. The context of these events is important to witness in succession and in their entirety since what each individual takes away from the film will likely differ person to person.
There’s a deliberate pacing of the film many will find too slow and uneventful as the film’s two and a half hour runtime will already feel daunting. Aster has teased that the original cut of the film was three hours and 45 minutes and he has a version of the film that is 25 minutes longer that was difficult to cut down to the theatrical cut currently in theaters. An extended cut of the film or a large amount of deleted scenes on the Blu-ray (how about that levitation sequence from the trailer?) would certainly be intriguing.
If you enjoy ambiguous filmmaking where everything isn’t explained and the film’s imagery can mean more than one specific thing, then Midsommar may be worth checking out. It is an outlandish experiment by Ari Aster that a large quantity will likely deem a failure. Personally speaking though, Midsommar is such an unconventionally different ceremonial fever dream loaded with preposterousness, beautiful cinematography, hilarity, and anxiety-fueled-dread that it’s not only memorable and bold but also the type of one-of-a-kind film experience I crave whenever the lights dim and the quiet hum of a projector accelerates into a dull yet soothing roar.
