Ghost Ship (not to be confused with the many, many other works also called this) has a 16% “TomatoMeter” rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 28% “MetaScore” on MetaCritic. Its audience scores are somewhat higher, but it’s generally fair to say that this is not a film that met with much positive critical reception or audience enthusiasm. Despite all that, it’s one of the best-constructed and most watchable horror films I’ve seen in ages.
Continue reading “Ghost Ship (2002) – Review”
After being brutally murdered by necromancers, Cal returns to consciousness as a dungeon core – a sentient lump of rock with the power to shape its immediate surroundings. Paired with Dani, a will-o’-the-wisp, Cal sets about stocking his dungeon with monsters and traps so that he can consume incautious adventurers and grow his power.
If the above paragraph sounds familiar to you, then thank you for being such a loyal & observant reader, and apologies for basically re-using the opening paragraph from another review. It’s not laziness though – honest – I just want to begin with the point that this book is incredibly similar to Jonathan Smidt’s Bone Dungeon. Plot point by plot point and archetype by archetype, the books follow the exact same pattern.
Continue reading “Dungeon Born – Dakota Krout (Review)”
Everyone has heard of killer bees – a mutant strain of honeybees known for their aggression, killing and attacking humans without provocation. This book, and the film it inspired, are part of the reason for that. In reality, although killer bees are aggressive, they kill only a few people a year.
In The Swarm, two people are dead by page 6. Not content with this initial assault, the bees embark on a campaign of aggression, culminating in their (successful) occupation and pacification of New York. And these aren’t even normal killer bees – they’re a mutation on top of a mutation, with all sorts of new deadly tricks.
Continue reading “The Swarm – Arthur Herzog (Review)”
When the opal miners heard strange tapping sounds in the tunnels, they thought it was a subterranean creature stalking them. They called it the “miners’ mother” and left offerings of blood to keep it away. Now the mines are closed, the offerings neglected and a long-dormant creature stirs hungrily in the dark.
Continue reading “The Cavern – Alister Hodge (Review)”
I have, for unknown reasons, always been drawn to the deeps. If a film/book/game is set underwater, regardless of other considerations (genre, quality, etc.), I am interested. Something about the bizarre half-lit world down there is endlessly fascinating to me. Subnautica, therefore, is absolutely my kind of thing.
Continue reading “Subnautica (Review)”
I picked up this book partly on the recommendation of a friend and partly because I was oddly charmed by all the negative reviews. While overall, reviews of this book are fantastic, there is a constant thread of negative reviews from people who are both astounded and enraged at the very idea that Achilles might have been anything other than a 100% heterosexual all-American hero.
I struggle to picture these reviewers; who are these people with a deep knowledge of Greek mythology, storied pedigrees in literary analysis/classics/history, and no awareness whatsoever of not just any subtext but also the past few millennia of discourse? They are so very, very angry and I would love to meet one.
Continue reading “The Song of Achilles – Madeline Miller (Review)”
Lacey is an ex-NASCAR photographer haunted by her memories of a fatal crash. Kip Sellars is a troubled NASCAR driver with a bad reputation and a death wish. The two have almost nothing in common except their mutual contempt, lust, and complimentary backstories (both involving witnessing the brutal death of a loved one in a racing accident).
When they are forced to work together to rehabilitate Sellars’ public image, Lacey and Sellars have no choice but to confront both their traumatic pasts and the undeniable attraction between them.
Continue reading “Dangerous Curves – Larkin Rose (Review)”
Inconsistent Pacing 