literature
Geek literature from the New York Times or the recesses of online. Our favorite stories showcase geeks.
Movie Review: "The Marvels" (2023)
I saw this film on the 15th of November, 2023. Now, as we all know, the Marvel Universe has been going down the hill for quite some time. After the events of Avengers: Endgame and the grief the world felt for the character of Tony Stark, the universe seems to be coming apart at the seems so badly that even the Loki TV show cannot save it over on Disney+. From this, I think we are seeing these Marvel movies simply become your run-of-the-mill action film and are driving down to being nothing special. What better what to usher that in than a fun but underwhelming movie like The Marvels?
By Annie Kapur2 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Heavy Weather" ed. by Kevin Manwaring
Full Title: Heavy Weather: Tempestuous Tales of Stranger Climes edited by Kevan Manwaring The collection entitled British Library Tales of the Weird sounds like it should have criteria of how it is organised and written. So far, we have seen short introductions about the author, the work and where it was published first before each tale and, though they can get in the way of the excitement for a good story, they are often very informative and well-written. Here we see the editor move away from that and either go straight into the story, have a short and uninspiring introduction to it or even put some rambling mess at the end which is also not very well written. It breaks the continuity of the series and more than often, breaks the feeling you are getting from reading the book. This plus the fact that the stories are not exactly Tales of the Weird makes this one of the worst edited books I have read in the anthology so far. Let's stop with the negativity for a second to look at the good stories that were provided within.
By Annie Kapur2 years ago in Geeks
Writer Reality TV Show
Reality TV can be a fun way to relax an enjoy a funny show that doesn't take too much thought to pay attention to. A competition show is a great way to have people on the edge of their seats. There has been modeling, art design, cooking, and baking competitions for several years now. Are we running of of show ideas and ways to compete? What about a writers competition! Is that possibly too boring to bring to the screen? People used to gather from all over in cities in order to hear from an old storytelling bard, so isn't there a way for this idea to become entertaining? I know I would watch!
By Seashell Harpspring 2 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Roman Lives" by Plutarch
Plutarch was born around 46-50 AD in Chaeronea, Boeotia, Greece. Being born into a well-connected and wealthy family meant that Plutarch's education and work came with an access often denied to poorer people of the region. Not having to climb the social ladder also meant that Plutarch's access to a good education let him behind the closed doors of the political atmospheres of the empire. This allowed him to critique and study the people higher up and thus, he came to deciding upon the most important Romans to write about from his unique historical perspective.
By Annie Kapur2 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Atalanta" by Jennifer Saint
I would like to begin with stating how fond I am of Jennifer Saint's writing. Her book Ariadne was one of the best Greek Mythology retellings I have read to date and her book Elektra was, well, electrifying. In terms of debut novels, not many get as good as Ariadne. It was an unforgettable blend of adventure and mysticism blended with a magical love for Ancient Greek folklore and fantastic writing. It only put my hopes high for reading Atalanta and if there is anything I am happy for it is that having high expectations for Jennifer Saint's books always pays off. This was a wonderful experience of a novel and an enchanting story based on one of the most famous adventure narratives ever told: Jason and the Argonauts.
By Annie Kapur2 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Normal Women" by Ainslie Hogarth
Thanks to NetGalley for this book. I remember I read Ainslie Hogarth's Motherthing and thought it was a bit here and there. I found the concept good and the black comedy quite clever, but on the whole something was lacking. It was as if the writing was not all that great or the characters were common tropes I had seen a thousand times before. Then it sort of hit me. Where I thought Motherthing should be in terms of genre were books that had better writing. Books like Mrs March by Virginia Feito are much better examples of black comedy in women's fiction. I thought I would give Ainslie Hogarth another go though, knowing there was another book coming out by her. This book is entitled Normal Women and has still left me with mixed feelings sitting on the fence about her. I cannot quite place it - but it feels a little cliché and all the characters are wholly unlikeable without any saving graces.
By Annie Kapur2 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Her Radiant Curse" by Elizabeth Lim
I have to admit that I am a big fan of the book Six Crimson Cranes. It is a clever fantasy novel filled with excitement and brilliant storytelling; the sequel The Dragon's Promise is a high-fantasy novel that definitely lives up to its predecessor. In the world of Six Crimson Cranes, we seem to have an off-shoot novel named Her Radiant Curse. About sisters, one who is beautiful and the other who looks monstrous - the elder has sworn to protect the younger but, keeping with the main themes and traditions that made Six Crimson Cranes so great, a sibling will have to put their life on the line for the other - often with intense consequences and incredible character development.
By Annie Kapur2 years ago in Geeks
Reviewing Disney+'s "Goosebumps" Revival, and My Hopes for Season 2
God, I love Goosebumps! Let me tell you a bit of a personal story. When I was in third grade, I saw nearly all of the kids with these books that said, "Goosebumps" on the front. I had no idea what they were; I did know that they were supposed to be horror stories directed at children. I also knew one other thing: I wanted those books! I finally bought a Goosebumps book about a year or two later, though I didn't collect them in order, mainly because there were a lot of them out at that time.
By Clyde E. Dawkins2 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Absolutely and Forever" by Rose Tremain
Rose Tremain's writing is always a treat to read. Her books of the Restoration series are awesome and I love the vivid historical atmosphere she creates. In this new book titled Absolutely and Forever, we see her grapple with 50s and 60s London in a way that seems almost a little too romanticised and a little too on the sentimental side. However, Rose Tremain also shows off her incredible writing talent and though the story itself seems a bit flawed and all over the place, the writing makes up for what it lacks. There are good and bad points to this narrative which is why I have awarded it such marks as above.
By Annie Kapur2 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Daughters of Sparta" by Claire Heywood
I have read many, many different retold stories of Greek Mythology. My favourites include but are not limited to: A Thousand Ships, Pandora's Jar, Stone Blind, The Children of Jocasta and Divine Might - all by the legendary Natalie Haynes. Then there is Ariadne and Elektra by Jennifer Saint. After this there is Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati and obviously any book by Madeline Miller or Mary Renault. When it comes to books about mythology or mythological retellings, the one thing I respect is the attention to story and truth. There are certain truths explored in each Ancient Myth on which the foundations of societies were once formed, built and constructed. I have to say though, after reading Daughters of Sparta, I am now in two minds about whether giving this a go after such great mythological retellings and explorations of truth was such a good idea after all.
By Annie Kapur2 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: "The Drift" by C.J Tudor
A couple of years ago, I read The Chalk Man by C.J Tudor and not only was I impressed at the difference to your everyday psychological thriller, but I was also impressed at the attention to the writing style. Usually, a psychological thriller is far more interested in telling the story, setting the pace and twists and turns than it is in actually making for really good writing. But, C.J Tudor proves that great writing can make all the difference as well. In Tbe Drift, C.J Tudor not only proves that great writing is important yet again, but also shows how she can write in several different tones in order to create some very memorable characters with twists that are entirely unexpected.
By Annie Kapur2 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Suddenly at His Residence" by Christianna Brand
The British Library Crime Classics are a series of books edited by Martin Edwards which are mainly novels both famous and assumed lost from the golden age of British Crime. This means that more than often you will find stereotypes and even more than often, links, crosses and similarities between them. This does not mean that they are badly written for, at the time, there were certain tropes that were part of popular fiction. The golden age of crime is a wide and expansive time and place of novels with the most obvious ranging from Agatha Christie and across the water there was Dashiell Hammett, all the way down to a woman I have never heard of: Christianna Brand.
By Annie Kapur2 years ago in Geeks
