Matthew D. Ryan's Blog, page 21

Upcoming Book Signings for Drasmyr

Matthew D. Ryan will be holding two book signings for his dark fantasy novel, Drasmyr, at the following dates and times:

Book Signing Schedule

Friday, October 18th, 7 p.m.— Peru Public Library, Peru, NY

—Includes Talk on “World-Building.”

 

Thursday, October 24th, 6:30 p.m.— Chazy Public Library, Chazy, NY

—Includes Reading from Drasmyr

Short Story Review: Dreams in the Witch House (H.P. Lovecraft)

The short story Dreams in the Witch House by H.P. Lovecraft is a devilishly good horror tale coming in at thirty pages or so. A few months back I reviewed the movie The Dark Sleep based on this very short story. You can read that review here. Having now read the story, I can compare the two, and I can unequivocally state that they are really quite different. The movie is only loosely based on the story; it had about three or four shared elements, and that’s it. Plus, the movie had a reasonably happy ending. Not so Dreams in the Witch House.

 

Anyway, the short story begins with the main character, Walter Gilman, living in a run-down garret in “changeless, legend-haunted city of Arkham …” Gilman is a student at a nearby university, caught up in studying advanced mathematics and quantum physics, as well as folklore. What has brought him to this particular building and the apartment therein, is his knowledge of said folklore. Apparently, the infamous witch (again, this is a witch with a Lovecraftian spin, not a practitioner of modern Wicca), Keziah Mason, of the Salem witch-trial days who escaped from Salem, and fled here to Arkham, along with a strange rat-like familiar that was often seen haunting the house and local area these many years later. The crux of the story is very much the crux of much of Lovecraft’s writing. He operates under the premise that advanced science and mathematics can be used to “rediscover” occult secrets; in this case, the secrets of witchcraft. As a result of his studies, Walter Gilman, while exploring the occult side of mathematics, using it to inadvertently travel across dimensions, is drawn into a confrontation with the ghost of Keziah Mason, and her hideous rat-like familiar, as well, one of Lovecraft’s personal favorites, Nyarlathotep … the crawling chaos. I won’t dwell on the final result; I’ll let the intrepid reader find out for him/herself.

 

Strengths: there was enough depth to keep the reader interested; the writing was typical Lovecraft with a masterful use of mood and surreal atmosphere that gave the tale a very haunting aspect. Weaknesses: I’d say the length: it was too short to be a novella, and too long to really be a short story. I guess it might qualify as a novelette, but I think it should have been expanded more into a novella. He had a lot going that could have enriched the story even more.

 

Anyway, I’ll give H.P. Lovecraft’s Dreams in the Witch House four stars out of five.

Movie Review: Gravity (2013)

Gravity is a film starring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock, two pretty big names for an hour and half jaunt through Near Space. Clooney plays the experienced astronaut Matt Kowalski, while Sandra Bullock plays newbie astronaut Ryan Stone. Together, they are the only survivors of a Space Shuttle disaster.

 

Let’s back up a bit: the film begins with Matt and Ryan (chuckle, chuckle) on mission working on the Hubble telescope which is docked in the shuttle in orbit. They shortly receive word that the Russians have shot down one of their own satellites. The reason is unclear, but it may have been a derelict spy satellite or something similar. At first, the debris path poses no threat and the mission can continue as planned. However, that soon changes. The debris begins colliding with and destroying other satellites starting a chain reaction of destruction in Space. And that is not a good thing. Minutes later, a field of debris slams into the shuttle, destroying it and all the crew except Matt and Ryan (chuckle, chuckle) and also severing all contact with Mission Control. What follows is an intense journey from one location in orbit to the next, as the two astronauts desperately look for a way back to Earth. First, after being sent spinning off into Space, they must return to the shuttle. Then, the International Space Station. And next, a Chinese Space Station. At each stop, they must overcome obstacles and challenges in their desperate bid to get home. Will they make it? Check out the film and see.

 

Strengths: well, the acting was strong; it had two seasoned professionals in Clooney and Bullock and virtually no one else to detract from it. It’s hard to maintain a story with such a small cast, but they managed it well. The special effects were excellent. I have to wonder how they manage the floating in space bit without actually going there. Is it just filmed in a big swimming pool? I don’t know. The story was fairly compelling, and even touching at points. Weaknesses: although my friends really liked this movie, for some reason I can’t endorse it wholeheartedly. It was lacking something, but I don’t know what. Although it was an original storyline; something I wouldn’t have expected to come from Hollywood these days. That said, I did enjoy how the characters shared my names (chuckle chuckle).

 

Anyway, I’ll give Gravity three and a half stars out of five.

Novella Review: The Case of Charles Dexter Ward

The Case of Charles Dexter Ward is a rather long novella (112 pages) written by H.P. Lovecraft. It tells the story of a certain mental patient by the name of Charles Dexter Ward. It begins with his early formative years where he displays an interest in all things antiquated. It then moves on into his early twenties when trouble starts. However, in order to tell the story properly, early in the work Lovecraft takes us back another 170 years or so, to the life and times of Joseph Curwen. Joseph Curwen is a practitioner of witchcraft—and I don’t mean an innocuous Wiccan. Oh, no, Joseph Curwen delves dark and deep, and has no qualms about killing anyone who gets in his way. It begins with the summoning of the shades of long dead people, but other horrors are hinted at, too.

 

The story starts with Joseph Curwen on his farm in Pawtucket, R.I. (I think it’s Rhode Island) where he is ensconced in his magical rites. His exceptional long life and other dark dealings breed sinister rumours about him. Eventually, the populace rises against him, raids his homestead, and in a final battle manage to kill him. But his activities are not through. Fast forward, 170 years to the time of Charles Dexter Ward. This young budding historian is the descendant of Joseph Curwen’s. And, when he discovers a painting of the old sorcerer, almost an exact double of the man. Ward, entranced by his own love of history and the things of a bygone era, continues to dig, and dig deep. Soon, he is traipsing off to Europe in his search, only to come back a changed man. Now, his family begin to truly worry for him. His searches have affected his mind. He has become obsessed. And, when two mysterious strangers join him in his efforts, the family’s worries multiply. The strangers are odd folk; some might even say sinister. What hold does the long-dead Joseph Curwen have over these men? And what is their ultimate design? I’ll leave that for the intrepid reader to find out for himself.

 

Strengths: this novella is horror, it is not fantasy. As I have read countless fantasy stories, horror stories never manage to “shock” me. I have to be in the right mood for a horror story to really sink in and absorb the ambience. That said, I enjoyed this novella immensely. It told a pretty gripping tale, and it told it well. All the loose ends were tied off, and yet a whole range of facets were left to the reader’s imagination to fill in. Lovecraft does that a lot. Weaknesses: I think some of Lovecraft’s writing may be overburdened with long, multi-syllabic words and descriptions. That’s usually a mistake of young writers, and I’m not sure when this particular piece was written in Lovecraft’s career. In any event, it can make his writing cumbersome at times; although, then again, that may just be because he was writing one hundred years ago (or nearly so) and the language may have changed slightly since now and then.

 

Anyway, I’ll give The Case of Charles Dexter Ward four stars or maybe even four and a half stars out of five.

Old Movie Review: Alex Cross (2012)

“Alex Cross” is a movie based on the fictional character created by James Patterson in a series of books (a series of books I have not read). The title character, Alex Cross, is played by Tyler Perry. He’s a tough cop and a brilliant psychologist with an uncanny ability to get in the head of the perpetrators of numerous crimes. He’s accompanied by Thomas Kane (played by Edward Burns) a tough cop in his own right, but not quite so brilliant as the esteemed Cross. This time, though, they are pushed to the edge by a ruthless assassin named Picasso (played by Matthew Fox). It’s a deadly game of cat and mouse, where life and death are on the line.

 

The story begins well: it gives some backstory for Cross and his team and shows the assassin making his first hit. He starts in an underground mixed martial arts tournament where he maims the reigning champ. Of course, his mark decides to take him home with her, whereupon he drugs her, kills her and her bodyguards, and leaves a drawing behind as his calling card. That’s when Alex Cross and his team are called in to investigate. Cross deciphers the drawing and determines where the assassin will strike next. A confrontation ensues, which ultimately comes to something of a draw. The mark is saved, but the assassin escapes. From there things get really hairy and Cross must decide if he’s going to cross that line between justice and revenge when the assassin begins to threaten and kill those closest to him.

Strengths: I thought Tyler Perry did a wonderful job as Cross. I’ve never seen him in anything else before—I know he’s something of a comedian, but this was straight-up solid acting on his part. The other actors did well, too. There were no gaping logical flaws in the storyline that I saw. They developed the characters well and pulled off an entertaining movie. Weaknesses: The second half of the movie just seemed to evolve into a standard cop-type movie. It was okay, but not truly strong. Also, the main protagonist and antagonist were just too … awesome. Cross figured things out too quickly and just seemed too smart for human. Ditto for the assassin. He was just too brutal and effective. Plus, there was that bit where the assassin maimed the MMA champ, but had difficulty fighting Cross whose hand-to-hand combat skills were never stated as being anything above ordinary. That, perhaps, counts as a logical flaw. Regardless, Alex Cross and the assassin seemed almost superhuman, and that detracted from the film.

 

Overall, I’ll give “Alex Cross” a rank of three and a half stars out of five.

Vampire Lover Blog Award for A Toast to Dragons

First off, sorry about last Thursday. I was out of town and unable to post on my computer. And then, when I got home, I figured that it was okay to miss one day out of my two posts-a-week schedule. Hope no one was too disappointed. Now, on to more important things.

As some of you may know, Megan Cashman of http://megancashmanbooks.wordpress.com/ nominated my blog for the Vampire Lover Blog Award. I will only partially accept the nomination because I won’t quite follow all the rules. The rules are:

You must be a vampire.
Link back to the one who nominated you.
Display the Vampire Lover Blog Award image.
State 11 facts about yourself.
Answer 11 questions from the list at http://vampireloverblogaward.wordpress.com/about/
State these rules.
Nominate (and notify) at least 3 fellow bloggers.

I haven’t been doing too much web-surfing lately, so I will be unable to follow the last rule. Sorry! I know it’s only three bloggers, but my time is very limited.

Anyway, the vampire under discussion here is my very own Lucian val Drasmyr, the villain from my dark fantasy novel, Drasmyr.

So, Lucian, tell us about yourself. More specifically, give us 11 facts about yourself.

11 Facts about Lucian val Drasmyr

I’m one thousand years old.
I can endure sunlight.
I was a great general once.
I became a vampire by choice.
I once served the great warlord Morgulan the Mad.
I served as guardian for the Sceptre of Morgulan for 500 years.
I broke free of the spell that bound me to Morgulan’s sceptre.
I hate Morgulan.
I hate Zarina the Black, Morgulan’s sorceress lover.
I have roughly the same traditional powers of your legendary Dracula.
I fear nothing.

11 Questions Answered:

1. Does living as a vampire have the same appeal as prior to being turned (if you’re that type of vampire)? If you had to do it over, would you?

A. I never considered the appeal when I was originally turned (by magic and not by bite). I joined the ranks of the undead as a service to my master, a master I now despise. Still, the power I obtained through that dark ritual is enticing enough for me to repeat the process if it were necessary.

 

2. What aspect of humanity or being human have you lost or used less—or has diminished the most?

A. The sniveling weakness of compassion.

 

3. If you live forever, or for thousands of years, and are difficult to kill, and are very strong and powerful … how do you not become a sociopath? And go off and start doing anything you want and acting on any impulse?

A. I do do whatever I want. I don’t understand your question.

 

4. What’s it like to be a vampire?

A. You shall soon know … limitless power, unending pleasure. It will all be yours! Whether you want it or not.

 

5. Do you miss food, the sun, or your heartbeat more?

A. Occasionally, I miss the taste of a fine wine, but the others, I can do without. Although, technically, I now possess the strength to endure the sun if I choose.

 

6. What was your first feed/kill like?

A. Exquisite. I spent five hundred years bound to a Sceptre that was hidden away in an abandoned castle. I went many years between feedings. The first was much like finding an oasis in the midst of a parched desert. Words cannot describe the relief and sweetness of that first taste.

 

7. If you had the choice to no longer be a vampire—to just be a human again—would you go for it?

A. Of course not. What kind of foolish question is that?

8. Do you find the idea of being undead—‘living’ forever, sleeping in a coffin, and so on—as horrifying as I do?

A. No, I don’t. And don’t worry, you’ll get used to it, too.

 

9. What do you think of the recent fashion for vampire books and films? Has it made your life harder or easier?

A. As I normally reside on the world of Athron, events here on Earth do not, generally, impact me. However, I must say that I wish the blind romantification of vampires by your populace would spread to my own world: I would find hunting amongst the humans there to be so much easier … and amusing.

 

10. Vampire physiology must be very different from human physiology—how is human blood digested and processed in the blood system?

A. Your addiction to science is a growing weakness of your society. How do I digest human blood? I don’t care. I simply kill and feed. Next, I suppose you’ll ask how I can transform into a wolf or bat? When will your society accept that some things simply cannot be explained, and are actually better when they are not?

 

11. What happens if you suck your own blood?

A. I would likely come up dry, unless I had recently fed. In such a case, it would just be recycled through my system again.

Book Review: Prince of Thorns

Prince of Thorns is Mark Lawrence’s debut novel. It tells the story of Jorg Ancrath, a mere youth of fourteen who has already seen too much of the world’s horror. He was born and raised a prince in a royal castle, but in his tenth year, his mother and younger brother were assassinated before his very eyes, and the guilt and pain of that experience still weigh heavy on his soul.

 

At first I thought this book was set on an alternate Earth. There are references to Plato, Jesus, and other elements from our world, but I did not recognize the map and there were elements of real supernatural activity. As the story progressed, it became apparent that it was meant to be a post-apocalyptic version of our world. Which I have mixed feelings about. Lawrence pulled it off well enough; it wasn’t a flaw in the writing that concerned me. I don’t know, I guess I just prefer my fantasy to be pure fantasy, without the corruptive touch of science—because once you let science into the story, everything has to have some kind of scientific support.

 

Anyway, the story revolves around the young Jorg Ancrath who is leading a band of outlaws, ravaging the countryside, killing, raping, and plundering. They are not nice fellows. Then, Jorg and his men return to the king’s castle where danger of another sort lurks around every corner, and Jorg is given an “impossible” mission to prove himself. He sets out boldly, but this time his very future is on the line.

 

Strengths: the writing was good, the story was interesting, and there were no logical flaws that I saw. The book was written with dark humor. Weaknesses: although the main character was a fourteen year old, I would not recommend this book for that age group: I would limit it to adults. There was violence, of course, but that’s to be expected in fantasy—and there was also some limited sexual scenes. My biggest complaint, however, was that the hero was as much as villain as anything else. He was cold and calculating and did a number of horrific things. Call me old-fashioned, but I like my heroes to be actually heroic and to possess a few virtues. They should be looked up to; they should not be exemplars of savagery. Beyond that, I can think of no other major weaknesses.

 

I’ll give Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence four stars out of five.

Old Movie Review: The Heat (2013)

“The Heat” is the latest movie featuring Sandra Bullock. In it, she plays a somewhat arrogant, uptight FBI agent named Ashburn. She’s due for a promotion, but all the other agents don’t like her. She’s a smug know-it-all, and her captain knows it. So, instead of promoting her right away, he gives her a mission to prove her worth; he sends her to Boston to find a drug lord. There she partners up with Detective Mullins (played by Melissa McCarthy), a foul-mouthed, street-fighting, rough and tumble cop.

 

In the beginning, the two do not get along very well. Ashburn steals Mullins’ parking space, and then her case. But Mullins will have none of that. She tries to threaten her way back onto the case—which was originally hers—steals an FBI file, and generally goes about driving Ashburn nuts. Eventually, their superiors pair them together whether they like it or not and they go about looking for the drug lord, fighting all the way. Eventually, though, things smooth out and they become friends. The plot revolves around the ruthless drug lord, a mole in one of the various law enforcement departments, and the developing friendship between Ashburn and Mullins. There’s a few explosions, a few people being shot, and other typical cop-movie activities.

 

Strengths: the acting was good. The characterization was good. The storyline flowed together well; there were no obvious logical flaws that I saw; and there was plenty of humor. Weaknesses: I’m of mixed minds about the profanity. I just get tired of every other word being an f-bomb. That said, the profanity did serve to characterize Mullins quite well, so perhaps it was necessary. There was also a brief spat where Ashburn swore up a storm, which was kind of humorous. And, again, served the needs of the story. Still, it seemed to be overdone some. Also, the character Sandra Bullock played (Ashburn) was unfortunately similar to the character she played in Miss Congeniality years ago. I’m not sure if that’s a weakness or not. There was also a twist in the movie—not one that was too shocking—actually, it was more an evolution of the plot than an actual twist. You knew there was a mole, revealing who it was wasn’t really too shocking. Anyway, although there were no major flaws in the movie, it never gripped me.

 

Ultimately, I will give “The Heat” a rating of three and a half stars out of five.

Old Movie Review: The Call (2013)

The movie, “The Call,” although fiction, isn’t really fantasy or sci-fi; but, I’ve said it before: this is my blog and I’ll review whatever I want to. Anyway, “The Call” starts with an interesting concept for a movie. It stars Halle Berry and Abigail Breslin as 911 call operator Jordan Turner, and teen abductee Casey Welson, respectively. But first, let’s back up and give the background.

 

The movie begins with Jordon at her desk answering 911 calls. All is fine, until one goes horribly wrong. It is a call from a young teenage girl who is frantic because someone is breaking into her house. Jordan answers the call and does her best guiding the girl to safety. Unfortunately (spoiler alerts ahead), they are disconnected and Jordan makes the mistake of calling the girl back. As a result, the prowler is alerted to the girl’s presence and the girl winds up dead. Fast forward, six months later. Jordan, who has moved from active duty to a teaching position at the center, finds herself through an unlucky chain of events once again taking a 911 call from another unfortunate teenager (Casey Welson) who has been abducted and locked in the trunk of a car. Again, Jordan tries to help the young girl, doing her best to guide her to safety. It is a hair-raising ride. People get killed. And soon, Jordan realizes that the man who has abducted Casey is the same man responsible for the death of the young teen Jordan failed. Things fluctuate, taking turns for the worse and turns for the better as the story progresses. Eventually, Jordan takes matters into her own hands while off-duty and hunts the perpetrator down.

 

Strengths: this movie had a lot going for it. First, it was a kind of unusual premise for a movie (at least, I thought so). The acting was good, the action and tension were well-paced and well-constructed. There were no major flaws in logic that I noticed.  And, of course, it had Halle Berry … who is just smokin’ hot! Flaws: I can only think of two flaws, really. First, some of the characters (the victims and such) did some really stupid things which, of course, led to their quick demise. Finally, my biggest complaint is that at the end, Jordan and Casey pretty much take justice into their own hands. True, the perpetrator was a wacked-out dirtbag, but we have courts and a legal system for a reason. Still, it was a pretty good movie.

 

I’ll give “The Call” four stars out of five.

Old Movie Review: Into the White (2012)

“Into the White” is an interesting little film about three Germans and two Englishman trapped in a cabin together during WWII. Not exactly the friendliest of compatriots. It’s a movie by Petter Naess. I have no idea who that is, but he did a good job with this movie. It also stars Rupert Grint from the Harry Potter films (Ron Weasley). The film begins with a downed Nazi warplane. Of the four man crew, three men have survived. They are lost in a winter wasteland in Norway. They make what preparations they can and then head off in pursuit of the coastline hoping to find their way back to German territory. Shortly, they find a cabin in the middle of nowhere and set up a temporary home to escape the harsh weather for a bit. No sooner have they made themselves comfortable, but two English airmen arrive. They, too, have been shot down. Surprisingly, the Germans invite the Englishmen in, and then, unsurprisingly, the Germans take the Englishmen captive.

 

What follows is an intriguing tale of survival in a harsh place. The two groups of men must learn to work together to survive. One of them was injured during the plane crash making for increased difficulty and hardship and eventually forcing a crude amputation. The roles of captors and prisoners are reversed a couple times until both sides agree to do away with the weapons. By the end of the movie, the men have become sort-of friends with each other. One of the Englishmen weeps when one of the Germans is killed, and what-have-you.

 

Strengths: the acting was good, the filming was good, and the special effects (what limited ones there were—amputation) were acceptable. The plot held together well and provided an intriguing look at how even the worst of enemies can become friends. Weaknesses: I don’t think there were any major weaknesses that reflected poorly on the integrity of the film, but I do have to take issue at one point. In the middle of the movie, there was a kind of relativistic assertion (it wasn’t stated that way, but it was kind of implied) where the Germans claimed they were simply doing what the Englishmen were doing or had done.  German aggression was no different than English colonialism. I’m not an expert on history, so I can’t go tit-for-tat between the English and the Germans. But I do know the English never tried to shove an entire race of people into gas chambers and ovens. English hands aren’t perfectly clean by any stretch of the imagination, but Nazi Germany embodied an evil which should not be wiped away in a fit of relativistic ambiguity. Other than that, the movie was actually quite good.

 

I’ll give it four stars out of five.