Top Ten Tuesday – Fictional real places

Top Ten Tuesday“Top Ten Tuesday” is a feature started by “The Broke and the Bookish”,  though now hosted by some artsy reader girl in which people list their top ten books that match some given criterion. It changes every week, and happens on a Tuesday. Lots (a frankly ridiculous number) of bloggers take part.

This week, the theme is “books that take place in another country”. The vast majority of books I read take place in other countries, and often other worlds, so that seemed a little too easy. Instead, I’m listing fictional real places. These are places that have been inserted seamlessly into the real world – places that might exist, as long as nobody actually goes and looks. Continue reading “Top Ten Tuesday – Fictional real places”

It (1990) – Review

It_1990_Promotional_PosterI think most people are probably familiar with the basic idea of It, in the same way that everyone understands generally how Freddy Krueger or Jason Voorhees operates. Essentially, the town of Derry is home to a fear-eating monster that often disguises itself as a clown.

The story is split over two time periods – one in which a group of outcast children are hunted by the monster, and one years later in which the outcast children, now adults, return to Derry to deal with the monster again. As you might imagine, it’s quite a long book.

The 1990 miniseries was an attempt to take the massive and complex story of It and distill it down to a three-hour running time. It was reasonably successful.

Continue reading “It (1990) – Review”

Top Ten Tuesday – Monsters that it is difficult to be angry with

Top Ten Tuesday“Top Ten Tuesday” is a feature started by “The Broke and the Bookish“, in which people list their top ten books that match some given criterion. It changes every week, and happens on a Tuesday. Lots (a frankly ridiculous number) of bloggers take part.

This week, the theme is Halloween, without further elaboration. In the spirit of that then, I’ve chosen to list monsters who it is difficult to actually be angry with, regardless of what they do. Continue reading “Top Ten Tuesday – Monsters that it is difficult to be angry with”

The Problem with Horror: Length

Horror  – in any medium – has a weakness. It’s almost always too long. And long horror doesn’t really work – it might start off strong, but it slowly attenuates, ending in anticlimax. Continue reading “The Problem with Horror: Length”

Top Ten Tuesday: Auto-Buy Authors

Top Ten Tuesday“Top Ten Tuesday” is a feature started by “The Broke and the Bookish“, in which people list their top ten books that match some given criterion. It changes every week, and happens on a Tuesday. Lots (a frankly ridiculous number) of bloggers take part.

This week’s topic is auto-buy authors – authors who you automatically buy when a new book comes out because you know it will be worth it. Continue reading “Top Ten Tuesday: Auto-Buy Authors”