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Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Atlantis (Jack Howard, #1) in Books

Nov 8, 2019  
Atlantis (Jack Howard, #1)
Atlantis (Jack Howard, #1)
David Gibbins | 2005
5
5.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Books where Atlantis is assumed to have been fact are nothing new, and quite a few adventure thrillers use it as the springboard for their plots. This is hardly suprising as it is a widely known myth and a handy way of drawing the reader in.

This book takes a slightly different approach, at least initially. His archaologist hero Jack Howard finds out about an ancient text that sheds more light on the story of the sunken civilization. Gibbins then does a good job of deconstructing the myths using real evidence of Egyptian, Minoan and Greek archaeology and rebuilding into a hypothesis which leads Howard on a quest to discover the source of the myth. I really enjoyed this part of the book, the author's knowledge in this area shows in some deft explanations.

However once on the trail of Atlantis a villainous adversary appears and this is the point where the book struggles as it tries to marry an interesting and plausible story of historical investigation and a thriller. Unfortunately I didn't think this worked as the book couldn't work out what it was anymore and the change between styles was very uneaven. There is a particular segment where the heroes are being pursued into the inner sanctum of Atlantis with all haste - and then spend a long time investigating the wonders of the frescos and artefacts they find within.

To my mind Gibbins is a good writer when what he is writing about is the archaeology and historical references. This novel didn't need the added threat of the villain and it just cheapened the deal. It's not exactly a bad book, just a bit confused about its identity. Howard himself is also a confused character, being essentially a charismatic history buff he has no problem being a hard-nosed killer and also seems to shrug off potential danger to his friends and colleagues without a thought.

I read The Tiger Warrior a little while ago and enjoyed that more simply because that book concentrated on the history and the archaeology with the threats being realistic and relevant to the plot.

The unevenness in this work can perhaps be forgiven as a first novel. As the Tiger Warrior showed Gibbins does have the potential for a good book if the ingredients are right. Unfortunately this isn't it.
  
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Darren (1599 KP) rated Blood Myth (2019) in Movies

Oct 31, 2019  
Blood Myth (2019)
Blood Myth (2019)
2019 | Horror
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Characters – James Lincoln is a journalist, his latest case involves in trying to debunk folklore which he is finding all too easy, until he learns about this newest one, which he decides to use as his final part of the article, he takes his fiancée who is pregnant and he has cheated on before to investigate. He spends time trying to find his missing fiancée learning that not everything is a myth. Harriet is the pregnant wife that joins James on his journey, she does disappear, being the mystery about what is going on. Alexandra is the local woman that has been studying the myth for years, being the only person that helps James out. We do meet plenty of locals, with most just dismissing James cries for help.

Performances – Jonathan McClean is the star of the show, he is involved in nearly every scene, it is his work dealing with being tired of the investigations, which is clear how he is dealing with this story. The rest of the cast don’t get much time to do anything more than the basics required, not given enough time to do much more.

Story – The story follows a journalist that is investigating myths and folklores with the latest one being one that might have more truths behind it. The story is interesting because it does show how frustrated the journalist is doing this story, which is against the normal as we usually see overly enthusiastic ghost hunters trying to debunk them. The story flows as James learns more about everything, but just like him, we don’t learn much about what is happening until he does. We do get plenty of mystery, but like most films like this the story ends up going in the same direction.

Horror – The horror in this film comes from the unknown, this does leave us wondering just what is going on, with the darkness and noise being used to the strongest effects.

Settings – The film is set in a small British village, which does help play into the folklore because the small villages are always going to have them.

Special Effects – The effects are saved for big moments in the film, they are kept hidden more than thrown onto the audience.


Scene of the Movie – The day after the first night.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Too much searching though.

Final Thoughts – This is a horror that does ask plenty of questions, with what is going on, only to follow a simple instruction on how everything ends up unfolding.

Overall: Folklore horror 101