The Shadow Of What Was Lost by James Islington
This is part 1 of a new fantasy ‘epic’. It started out as a self-published novel which shows. In a cod-medieval Europe world, magic users are the subject of murderous loathing due to a war generations ago. Now one magic student has a gift, another has an obvious secret and one is stricken by despair due to a lie. Other magic users and normal people do things unsuited to logic. This starts out well but a 1/3 of the way through it goes downhill fast. The stupid framing story bores; nobody has experience, intelligence of humanity. There is time travel, revelations, dropped plotlines, no harm reduction approaches and people jabbering incomprehensible phrases. The author tries and fails to impose a narrative on this tale of people with stupid names reacting with dismissive incredibility to the coming of danger. Everyone is plotting, lying and having private urges. This has every cliché in this sometimes unlovely genre but none of them are put to positive use. This was a real disappointment.
Best Line:
“Such is the way of weak men.”
~
Heathers by John Ross Bowie
This is an examination of the stunningly effective black comedy movie that is a bastion of vulgarity and uncontained menace; ‘Heathers’. The author goes on and on and on about the awfulness of high school while discussing this film. This is full of intelligence, humour and outrage. This is well intentioned though quite short at only 125 pages.
Best Lines:
“This is harmful. Avoid it.
“No one suspects him for the genuine threat he is.”
“Jason Bateman got thrown in the trashcan a lot.”
“Anything Lars Von Trier inflicts on the public.”