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David McK (3692 KP) rated Sworn Sword (The Bloody Aftermath of 1066, #1) in Books

Jan 30, 2019 (Updated Jul 9, 2023)  
Sworn Sword (The Bloody Aftermath of 1066, #1)
Sworn Sword (The Bloody Aftermath of 1066, #1)
James Aitcheson | 2013 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
About a month or so ago, I was in my local Waterstones when I spotted two books both set around the time of the Norman Invasion but telling the tale but different angles: <i>Hereward</i> and this. Humming ang haaing, I eventually decided on <i>Hereward</i> and then, later, came across this novel for sale in Tesco's picking it up there.

Of the two books, I have to say - and despite a title that sounds like a bad b-movie ('"Sworn Sword: 1066: The Aftermath!" coming soon to a theatre near you!') - this is the better. Told in first person prose, this novel is from the point of view of a Norman Knight (whereas <i>Hereward</i> was from that of an Anglo-Saxon), and reminded me very much of one of the better Bernard Cornwell books in that the history covered (albeit slighlty fictionalised to fit the demands of the story) is just as interesting as the actual plot.

The first in a series of books set in the same period, I think I will be picking up more of these!
  
    Oxford

    Oxford

    Martin Garrett

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    Book

    Oxford started as an Anglo-Saxon border outpost, with a bridge replacing the 'oxen ford' from which...

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David McK (3692 KP) rated Assassin's Creed (2016) in Movies

Jun 9, 2019 (Updated Jan 18, 2020)  
Assassin&#039;s Creed (2016)
Assassin's Creed (2016)
2016 | Action
5
5.8 (33 Ratings)
Movie Rating
What. On. Earth.

Another (IMO) failed attempt to bring a video game - in this case, Ubisofts long-running Assassin's Creeds series - to the big screen.

For those not in the know (anyone?), those games sees the player taking the part of a character reliving the memories of one of their ancestors through a device known as the animus, with a whole alt-past mysticism behind it all, and with a centuries-long war between the Templars (the bad guys, in all bit one game) and the Assassin's bubbling along in the background.

And, right there's, is why I think most of these video-game-to-movies adaptations fail: in the game, you're (as the player) are an active participant whereas in the movie theatre you're passive.

It probably also doesn't help that the film seems largely based on one of the more universally-disliked portions of the source material (i.e. the present day parts, which have more or less been completely dropped in the games that came out after this film) rather than the more-interesting past! On the plus side, however, at least they went for a new period of history to visit instead of something already covered by the games.