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Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Guns of the Dawn in Books

Nov 14, 2019

Guns of the Dawn

Adrian Tchaikovsky | 2015 | Fiction & Poetry

9.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

A couple of years a go I was involved in a Twitter conversation about strong female characters in fantasy. The conclusion what that they were there but not very common. This book addresses this by adding another in the shape of Emily Marshwic.

Born into a priviliged family, she is nothing but practical, sparring with the local governor whom she blames for the suicide of her father. Then war breaks out with a neighbouring country and as the fighting drags on, taking the men of the Marshwic household, Emily ends up joining the army to do her bit. The war is brutal and through her experiences Emily finds out unexpected things about not only herself but those around her.

This story is entirely driven by character, not only of Emily but of all of those she meets and this is where Tchaikovsky shines, conjuring up a host of main and supporting cast, all of whom are three dimensional and painted in shades of light and shadow, even those whose lives are destined to be cut short. Emily herself is the central pillar of the book and is more than capable of that task.

The descriptions of the war - both of the frantic, muddled fighting and the times in between - is spot on, showing the futility of it all but also why the sides feel they must fight on. The plot is far from predictable and takes sudden turns onto new territory just as the reader becomes comfortable with the current situation.

The world is well drawn. This is definitely fantasy in style and there are magic users in the shape of the flame wielding Warlocks, but the main fighting is with muskets and flintlock pistols and it is clear that the war is driving technology on.

The only problem with this book? It is stand alone. I would definitely read more stories about Emily and will now be searching out Tchaikovsky's epic Shadows of the Apt series for future reading.

Advisory: Voilent scenes of battle and some sexual violence and references

Kudos

Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013) in Movies

Aug 6, 2019

I really wanted this movie to be epic. I wanted it to be the follow up that so many waited so long to see.

However, it fell just short of that goal in my book.

Anchorman 2 picks up in 1980 where Ron Burgandy (Will Ferrell) and Veronica Corningstone (Christina

Applegate) are married, have a 6-year old son, and are co-anchors for a local news station in New York.

Not long into the movie, something comes between the two, and we see Burgandy hit a new low as an

announcer at Sea World. But he is approached with an opportunity to work at the first 24-hour news

channel, and a chance to get his old team back together. Along with Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), Champ

Kind (David Koechner) and Brick Tamland (Steve Carrell), Ron Burgandy takes the world by storm with

a new format, and vastly different “news” stories than what some traditionalists would call news.

As I said, there was so much potential for this movie that it just seemed to miss. It felt like they tried

to force too much of Brick’s “natural charm” that made him so popular in the first, even with the love

interest they brought in for him this go around. You top that off with recycled jokes, not just from

the first movie (which I would have been okay with), but from other movies as well. I immediately

recognized 2 from the Austin Powers franchise alone.

It’s not to say that the movie didn’t have its moments. There were quite a few times where I was caught

off guard by something I was not expecting, or where the joke fell naturally into place. But the rest of

the movie seemed forced. And one cameo in reference to MTV had me downright upset. But hey, not

everyone shares my view.

So my test? Would I pay to see this movie in theaters? No. Wait for it to come to disc/digital

download. I have a feeling it won’t be long before it gets there.