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Black Panther Vol. 1: A Nation Under Our Feet
Black Panther Vol. 1: A Nation Under Our Feet
Ta-Nehisi Coates, Brian Stelfreeze | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
So what can I say? I liked it, yes. A bit dry in spots, felt like a bit of a slow burn in the very beginning, but really quite liked how Coates wrapped up the first arc of his run. Only thing not likable in this collection was the Jonathan Hickman-written material from NEW AVENGERS 18, 21, and 24 (if wasn't for this inclusion, I would have given it 5 Stars). Other than that, good stuff, great handling of the socio-political aspects of Wakanda. Looking forward to starting the 4th volume this week!

One concluding thought I want to put out there.. Don't go into Coates' BP run expecting a Marvel "paint by numbers" superhero book. This series is so much, offering a solid interpretation of the character. Coates has incorporated so much of what is going on in the world today, bringing into the comic, as well as stirring in Wakanda's rich historical background as well as the Wakanda pantheon of gods! If you go in with the approach I am recommending, you, too, will love Coates' BLACK PANTHER run!
  
    Atlas 2016

    Atlas 2016

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Ascension (The Gates Legacy, #3)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
4.5 Stars
I have adored these books from the very start, and once again, this third offering from Ms Font doesn't fail to please. We pick right back up with our motley crew of vamps and humans as they do battle against the crazy Goran and his misguided attempts to control absolutely everything (he's a tad on the barmy side, but he's a good character to read so we'll let it slide a little longer).

As always, there was a superb continuation from the second book in the series. As someone who knew what was going on, it was excellent to dive straight back into the action, although I have to admit, I needed to check oddments as my brain hadn't retained all the facts it needed. As a new reader, you'd need to go right back to the start, but given how amazing they are, you shouldn't mind it that much.

Unlike the other books, I did find Ascension to be a little slower starting, but if you should encounter the same issue, please, for the love of everything, do not stop reading! Because my oh my! Once that snowball reaches the top of the hill, it powers down with a force that is unbelievably intoxicating. The last 10% in particular was phenomenal writing and it was quite impossible to put it down. I was left with a real sense of whiplash, just as things appeared to have settled down, and it all went to hell in a fast car all over again! Be warned though, you will definitely need some tissues, that's all I'm saying!

The characters, as you would expect from Font, are all absolutely excellent. The old cast are fabulous (but we already knew that!) and the new additions blend in effortlessly and are a pleasure to read. With all that's going on, it would be easy to get lost and start wondering who's who, but Font is very good at making sure that, despite the multiple points of view she writes from, the reader always knows exactly what they need to know about the characters and the action - but you'll never know more than you need to, it's a supreme balancing act that is brilliant to read. As always, I'm a huge fan of the multiple POVs and I love being able to get inside all the characters heads, without getting lost along the way.

And so, to wrap it up. This is yet another excellent read from Font that I can highly recommend to all who enjoy action, excellent characters, brilliant vampire lore and that extra little twist of something special. I've honestly never read a series quite like this, but I am already on tenterhooks waiting for the next part of the Gates Legacy to find out where else this brilliant story can now go. Seriously though, if you haven't already tried this series, buckle up and block out your schedule for a week or so and get where the action is, because this series is going from strength to strength.

*This book was first reviewed on Lily Loves Indie as part of a blog tour, for which an ARC was received in return for an honest review*
  
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Wind River (2017)
Wind River (2017)
2017 | Action, Crime, Mystery
Thoughtful, provocative murder mystery
The back 1/2 of August has traditionally been a dumping ground for bad motion pictures. One exception to this was last year when the deserved Oscar nominated film HELL OR HIGH WATER was released (if you still haven't caught up with this, I highly recommend you do). So when I saw that the writer of HHW, Taylor Sheridan, was coming out with another modern sheriff murder mystery, I was intrigued to say the least.

And, I am happy to report, that this film did not disappoint. While it is not at the level of HHW, it certainly is a thoughtful, provocative murder mystery that is a refreshing change from the normal SuperHero, GGI-fests that festoon the cineplex throughout the course of the summer months.

Written and Directed by Sheridan (the screenwriter of HHW and SICARIO), WIND RIVER tells the tale of a murder on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming. Coming in to investigate is young, city girl, Florida native, Elizabeth Olsen who teams up with aTribal Police Captain (Graham Greene) and a veteran tracker (Jeremy Renner) to find out what happened.

This could have been a by-the-book murder mystery with the naive, "fish-out-of-water" Olsen learning to love and understand the world she is thrust into, but in the hands (and pen) of Sheridan, it is much, much more. Sheridan creates a mood throughout this film, one of slow, lingering dread and hopelessness - and how he accomplishes this was intriguing to me. He uses the setting of the Indian Reservation to show the "smallness" of the people living there, juxtaposing scenes of vast, wild, cold wilderness with scenes of squalor in the settlement of Native American people living there.

The acting is solid - Olsen is turning into a very good actress and her performance sets the right tone. Greene is, as always, a steady hand on the screen with a pragmatic approach to the inhabitants of the Reservation, but it is Jeremy Renner as the quiet, taciturn tracker who has a loss of his own that parallels the murder investigation, that shines. I've always liked Renner and was high on his potential after his breakout performance in THE HURT LOCKER in 2008. While his performances in the blockbusters that followed have been solid, but not spectacular - you saw glimpses of it in films like THE TOWN - but I've felt that he never quite lived up to that potential - until now. This is a very strong performance (falling just short of Oscar material) but one that anchors this film and mirrors the mood that Sheridan sets up through the location of WIND RIVER.

Not the fastest moving of films, but a thoughtful, intelligent mystery that left me grateful for a film with some meat on the bone after a summer of "Cotton Candy" action flicks

Letter Grade: B+

8 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank (ofMarquis)