C.P.D. Harris's Blog, page 60

Shadow Wolf Sagas: Blade Breaker 1.26

Once again it is time to hit the mean streets of Myrrhn for some Shadow Wolf.

Missed the first one? start here and follow the links in comments.

Missed last week’s Blade Breaker? Read it here.

“Are you sure about this, Ragnar?” asked Murith. “It seems dangerous. Just look at the people you have already butted heads with already in your investigation. If the perpetrator is one of their enemies, then you are in over your head.”

“It’s fine Murith,” I said. “I have already been dead once before. I’m not afraid.”

Many of the inhabitants of the City of Assassins would  find it strange that I would risk drawing the ire of the Guild or a Scion of the seven families to seek justice for someone that I had never met. It was not the way of things here; people who stuck their necks out mostly ended up dead.

For my part I kept wondering what thoughts were going through Sapphire’s mind as she lay there, helpless and drugged, watching her lover get cut to pieces, awaiting her own violation and certain death. How would one summon the courage to face such a thing bravely?

The Wolves of the great forests of the North are much admired among my people. They are ferocious hunters, relentless trackers, and absolutely loyal to their packs. For all their savagery however, the wolves would never engage in a killing like that which had been visited on Sapphire and Bjorn Magnison. Even rival packs or challengers for the position alpha did not engage in viciousness like that.

Torture makes a statement. It is a demonstration of power. It is an attempt to show strength, to show that consequences of defiance against that strength are severe and painful. Wolves did not need to make that kind of impression. In my mind, the only people who engaged in such viciousness are cowards. After all, if a man has faith in his strength and skill, he does not need to such extravagant lengths to flaunt it. Torture is the product of the weak reasoning of men, not the noble instincts of the wolf. Those who engage in it must be driven from the herd and run down.

For those reasons I felt the need to hunt down Sapphire’s killer.

And as I stood there, thinking of her ugly death, a piece of the puzzle finally slid into place.  Greeneyes. Sapphire was a follower of the Sirutiran god Kamesin Greeneyes, little more than an esoteric cult in this part of the world. I remembered her funeral. The rites of Greeneyes were still fresh in my mind. That one of the names on our list was Greeneyes might not be simple coincidence.

I turned to Murith.

“I think I have something,” I said. “Tell me Officer Murith, has the Watch had any trouble of late with religious cults?”

“This is Myrrhn, Ragnar, if you can name it we have had trouble with it recently,” said Murith. “What are you getting at?”

“Greeneyes is the name of god that Sapphire followed,” I answered. “An interesting figure. I’ve heard tell that he was an ascended who became a god by eating the heart of some fallen deity.”

“Isn’t Madama Glorianna’s bodyguard Sirutiran Ragnar?” asked Murith, “That strikes me as a good place to start. Perhaps she introduced Sapphire to the cult.”

Crimson Wind. A Sirutiran Sword-Bride. A deadly master of the blade. She would have access to The Pearl, and she certainly knew about Kamesin Green Eyes. But what was her motive? For that matter how would I get her to talk? The Sword-Brides were notoriously stubborn, with a reputation for ferocity that extended even into the north. I might as well try and have a conversation with a blood-frenzied Yakshanaar.

“You might be right Murith, I might be in over my head here,” I said.

“I warned you,” said Murith. “But you had to pull your big tough Twiceborn act.”

“You can write in my ashes if I die, Murith,” I responded. “Now, you are a trained investigator. Help me plan my next move.”

Guardians of the Galaxy review

Guardians of the Galaxy: Watch It!

This Saturday I went to see the newest marvel studios comic book movie, Guardians of the Galaxy. No doubt, you have heard it is good. If you haven’t seen it, and there is even a remote chance you will like it, then you should because you will.

Guardians is not an especially deep movie. It was made to be fun, and full of geek chic references, with just enough heart to make you feel for the characters when appropriate. I can appreciate a movie that attempts to be entertaining without pretension, while still being relatively smart.

Here are the high-points of the movie for me.

Dave Bautista: Bautista hails from wrestling. He is a large, muscular individual who really, really shines in the fight scenes. No surprise there. However, I was stunned at how good an acting job he pulled of in this movie. His character, Drax the Destroyer, does not understand metaphor, which leads to some of the film’s more humorous dialogue. Bautista shows comedic timing and acting skill pulling these moments off, puling him in the class of wrestlers that can act (out of their element), which really only contains the Rock. I was pleasantly surprised to say the least.
The Cast: As a whole the cast was very good. Not a single one of them seemed to be phoning it in. Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel pulled off oddball, fully cgi non-human characters in a fashion that was both believable and enjoyable. I don’t even like Racoons.
The Return of the Rogue who did Good: The reformed rogue is a very strong archetype in american film and literature. Think Han Solo. Yet lately, as we drown in the cynicism of the post 9/11 security agencies and start to tally up the cost of their James Bond complex, our rogues on film and television, and in novels have become more cynical and less fun. It is good to see a character like Star Lord, a rogue with a taste for the good life but a decent heart nonetheless, make it to the big screen once again. Chris Pratt does a great job with him.
Setting, Set Design, and CGI: Guardians of the Galaxy is almost wholly set far from earth. It is wonderful, made up stuff that only has as much relation to the real world as you want to read into it. The CGI is brilliant, but it does not outshine the actors like in a Michael Bay picture. They do a great job of creating alien vistas, strange spacecraft, beautiful and imposing aliens, and awesome action sequences. I was particularly impressed with some of the clever references hidden away within the background. I suspect the film contains many Easter eggs.
Misfits, Freaks, and Losers: The best part about Guardians is how they play up the idea that while the Guardians may be powerful, they are also rejects and outcasts who have lived sad and ugly lives. The story is about them banding together, similar to the avengers movie, and becoming a team that is greater than the sum of its parts. In this case however, the Guardians are people that no one really wants or expects to have on their side, as opposed to a group of heroes with ego problems.

In all Guardians of the Galaxy is a pure blockbuster for me. It did not unseat Winter Soldier as my favourite marvel movie, but it is damn fun and certainly worth watching.

The Shadow Wolf Sagas: Blade Breaker 1.25

Time for some Shadow Wolf Sagas: Ragnar Grimfang, twiceborn, exile, arise!  HAAUUU!

This is a serial blog story. Start Here and follow the links in comments to read the story so far.

Missed last week’s post? Here it is.

In my time in Myrrhn I have learned many odd bits of information. For example one of the differences between a bordello and a whorehouse is that the former keeps records of visitors and transactions, while the later does not. In the City of Assassins, prostitution is both legal, and socially acceptable among many circles. Visiting a high class bordello is nothing to hide.

The Pink Pearl’s client list and visitor’s logs were private and protected, of course, but working for Madame Glorianna gave me a way under those fences. Getting Sapphire’s client logs merely took time. Getting my old friend Watch Officer Murith’s assistance was somewhat more tasking.

“I don’t get involved with Guild business,” said Murith, brows knotting. “Nor do I deal with the Doxy’s Union, not to mention the leader of one of the Seven Bloody Families, Ragnar. You’re neck deep in shit and don’t seem to realize it, I’m not interested in an invitation to dive in with you.”

“Oh come on Murith, surely a talent like yours is wasted running herd on cutters out in Burning Hill?” I said.

“Sod off, Ragnar,” said Murith, frowning at me from across our table at the Willing Wench. “It is a stepping stone to a better position.”

“Watch Sargent,” I nodded. “Does hard work really pay off in this city?”

Murith rolled her eyes. “It isn’t about paying off Ragnar, it is about doing the right thing.”

“How much of the right thing can you do when you’re out on one of the minor islets, running patrol?” I asked.

“More than you’d think, Old Wolf,” said Murith, sticking her chin out. I decided to switch tactics.

“Maybe you’re right,” I said, holding up my hands. “I’m sure a fine mind like your’s can make a difference anywhere they put you.”

“Damn right,” said Murith.

“Still with a mind like that, you would think that the Watch would want you working on some hard cases,” I mused, trying to sound innocent.

“Ragnar…” began Murith.

“It’s almost like they don’t want a brilliant straight-edge high up in the Watch for some reason,” I continued.

“That’s a cheapshot, Ragnar,” said Murith. But her eyes dropped for a moment.

“It is true nevertheless,” I said. “I’m not sure that this business with Sapphire will make the city a better place, but there is a chance that this action leads to someone very big. If it does, I will do my best to hunt them down. Wherever you stand, the person who killed Sapphire and Bjorn is a diseased animal that needs to be cut from the herd.”

“Who talks like that Ragnar?” Murith muttered, shaking her head. “You’re right of course; you couldn’t solve this without me.”

“Naturally,” I said, smiling.

<>

“Sildus appears quite regularly,” said Murith going over her part of records, making careful annotations in her ledger. “Once or twice a week for the last couple of years. Do you think he would be that careless with his alias?”

“Killers like Sildus rarely worry about their anonymity being broken, unless they are on the run,” I said. “They feel they can dispose of any inconvenience that discovery might impose. They are a lot like warriors in that regard. Besides he gave the alias under duress of sorts: I think the twins surprised him.”

“He was here? in your house?” said Murith, voice rising. “No wonder you trust him if you were at his mercy and he let you live.”

“Let me?” I said, hackles rising. “I could have taken him.”

“Sure thing Ragnar,” said Murith. “Ever heard of a thriceborn?”

“Very funny stump,” I said. “Remind me why I keep you around.”

“Because I am very good at what I do,” said Murith. “For example I can tell you that this name, Gylil represents miss Gemarkand.”

“Why?” I asked.

“It’s Lily G backwards, old wolf,” said Murith. “Spoiled princess probably thinks that this is a game. Also she only shows up on days when Sapphire is not working. They still meet at the Pearl, but Sapphire is not on the work schedule.”

“What else?” I asked.

“Quit drooling, who does that?” said Murith. “The name Sildus frequently appears on days with Bjorn Magnison. Bjorn comes and goes in stretches–“

“Whenever his father’s ship is in the city, I wager,” I said.

“Easy enough to collaborate,” said Murith. “Our Sapphire is very careful that her sister and the other two do not meet. The rest of the frequent names follow the usual patterns for callers at the Pearl. Regular appointments on regular days, booked long in advance.”

“You seem to know a lot about it Murith,” I said, smirking.

“I compared it to the other records,” said Murith. “It’s all about pattern recognition, my friend.”

“So if it wasn’t any of them, who else could it be?” I asked.

“Well, I’ve circled some of the more interesting names on the list,” said Murith. “These don’t follow regular patterns.”

I looked at the names. Greeneyes, A. Havek, Fosric M, and Irena Black. Another series of names were circled, with a small scribble next to each one. Murith looked at me expectantly. I looked back at the names. After a moment I realized that the names she’d marked this way all had common elements.

“This last name is the same person?” I asked.

“Yes, using a basic cipher to change alias with each visit,” said Murith. “I only noticed it because he or she often appears with Greeneyes. Greeneyes is a frequent visitor of the Pearl, but makes my list because he or she was there the day of the Murder and the last three times that Bjorn and Sildus visited. Likely not our main suspect, but definitely someone we should seek out. Could even be a hired assassin.”

Something about the name Greeneyes stood out in my mind. I could not quite place why, but I knew it was important.

Wierd Al & Geek Chic

Buy the Album!

I am not much of a concert guy; I much prefer conventions and games nights. But there was one show that I begged my mother to go to when it hit town : Wierd Al. In my youth Wierd Al was a fixture. I had at least three cassette tapes of his music rattling around in my desk drawers. In many ways he was my only connection to popular music. I listened to the CBC (which had yet to be gutted by years of conservative policy), not the top 40, if I did not have my head stuck in a book.

The concert was exactly what you would expect from Wierd Al; a mix of bright colours, frantic movement, and genius wordplay, like a billion dollar carnival parade put on by the world’s friendliest grammar teacher.

In many ways Wierd Al was ahead of his time. Crazy costumes. Deep knowledge of esoteric subjects injected into pop music. Witty wordplay. The man is a true prophet of the age of geek.

And as we enter into an age where geeky shows, art, and pursuits have become increasingly mainstream, Wierd Al has finally reached #1. His new album, Mandatory Fun, topped the charts last week. Likely a few of the old guard mundanes were stunned. But hard work pays off, and I really do feel that Wierd Al is a visionary, sticking to geeky subjects all through the eighties and nineties, heralding the blossoming age of geek culture.

Check out the new videos for Mandatory fun on his official site.

Now for the part where I do my first, and likely only album review. Here are the songs from my least favourite to the one that blows my mind, along with my thoughts about the song. Keep in mind that I am not a music reviewer.

Lame Claim to Fame: The title says it all.

Best Line: I got an email from the prince of Nigeria… well, he sure sounded legit.
Review: This is the only song that I am not delighted with on some level. It is about people trying to edify themselves with unimportant connections to celebrities, something we get a lot of these days. It isn’t bad, but it pales in comparison to the rest of the songs on the album.  The video, however, is awesome, with a great jib-jab style collage animation.


Handy: Handy is a song about a handyman, or rather those home improvement shows that some of us seem obsessed with.

Best Line: I got ninety nine problems but a switch ain’t one.
Review: Handy has some great lines and a decent video. References to Jay Z and MacGyver really made me laugh.


Foil: A song about aluminum foil: what could go wrong?

Best Line: Don’t mind that, I’m protected because I made this hat!
Review: Full disclosure: I love the song Royals. Madly. Foil is a great remake of Royals that starts off as cute wordplay about the uses of aluminum foil in food preservation and then descends into conspiracy territory and ends with Al wearing a foil hat and being dragged off by men in black. This song is quite clever, chock full of references to aliens, the Illuminati, the fake moon landing, and other conspiracy theories. Interestingly however, there is also a bit of a jab at the NSA in there… you know, the conspiracy that actually turns out to be more or less true. This is what I really like about Mandatory Fun, not only is Wierd Al entertaining as always, he actually works some deeper topical references into the songs.


Sports Song: A big band sports cheer, Wierd Al style.

Best Line: Our players are really fast, and strong, and brave… and your guys, not so much.
Review: I would kill to hear this cheer repeated by an audience at a college game; I would happily send my children to any institution that could manage such a feat. Sports song is an ultra complex, wittily worded cheer. It is both a send up and a love-note to the songs that we hear played during breaks at the super-bowl or local sports arenas. To me, it really captures the modern geek’s relationships with sports in our world, that incredibly complex industry that our fathers and grandfathers built.


Tacky: The banner song of the album.

Best Line: Practice my twerking moves in line at the DMV.
Review: The Video is great, full of favoured geek celebrities in tacky clothing, Wierd Al front-and-centre. Tacky is just fun. The wordplay is great. The only thing that could make the video better is Don Cherry in one of his famous suits. On a deeper level the song is about the occasional social awkwardness of geek culture, from the faux-pas that we often make, to odd sense of style, to our occasional bouts of obsessive behaviour.


First World Problems: A song about the complaints of people who really should not complain.

Best Line: My house is so big I can’t get wifi in the kitchen.
Review: First World Problems are problems that people incessantly complain about that show just how over-privileged and lucky they are. It is a bit of a meme in some places. If someone uttered the best line above as a serious complaint you would likely feel the desire to smack them. In an age where inequality is becoming more and more obvious, even to those of us who live in the blissful, coddled ignorance of the first world, this song really hits home.


Word Crimes: A song about grammar

Best Line: The whole damned song.
Review: Robin Thicke is an abominable throwback visited upon us by an overly rich family. His song, Blurred Lines, is catchy drivel with a video full of naked women up on youtube (go look, I’ll wait). I’ll forgive Pharrell Williams for hanging with him, because Pharrell is ubiquitous and also talented. This song takes a song that I despise, and turns it into one that I love. Word Crimes should be shown in schools. I should listen to it every time I sit down to write. The worldplay is genius. It leaves me in awe of Wierd Al…  Plus the irony of turning the dumbest hit song this year into the smartest is like sweet buttercream icing on my mom’s lemon poppyseed cake. Just perfect.
Yes, I know I make most of the mistakes in the song  frequently… :D
The video is awesome.


Mission Statement: Do you like whiteboards?

Best Line: Monetize our assets, monetize our assets, mooooooonetize our aaaaassets.
Review: For most people, Word Crimes or Tacky will be their favoured songs. The thing is for a while, when I actually had a job that paid well, I lived Mission Statement. I hated that world so much that I left behind good pay to scrape a living as a general labourer trying to grapple with the uncertainties of success as a self-published author. Mission statement seems like the jokes that I would make with the guys at ASAP. In a general sense this song is about how many corporations rape language, exploiting it like they do everything else in their mindless drive to profit. I laughed, I shed a tear, I got a little angry. This song is a beautiful criticism of something I hate. It makes me feel better about my life and how I have chosen to live it. Thank you, Wierd Al.
The video of this song is both beautiful and baleful, a scrolling whiteboard of awesome.

I like Mandatory Fun. It gives me heart to see someone I like gain well-deserved success. It is vindication of my tastes. It gives me hope for the future. If an album as smart and geeky as this can cut through the noise, then maybe we can too! Onward geeks, to glory!

Domains of the Chosen Facebook Ad

My Domains of the Chosen series is three years, and three novels old. Readers who enjoy superheroic action, strange monsters, explosive magic, and political intrigue should definitely give these books a try. Read the excerpts on Amazon or try my free short story, Bloodlust: The Great Games, on Smashwords.

Click on any of the books to follow a link to amazon.com.

Domains of the Chosen book one.

Bloodlust follows the career of Gavin, an unlikely Gladiator, and five friends.

Domains of the Chosen book two.

The second Bloodlust novel follows the six Gladiators as they seek their place in the world, leading up the Grand Championships.

Warbound: The Shield Maiden.

Warbound takes the action outside of the arena, following a former Gladiatrix as she enlists in the Legions to uphold a family legacy. Hi folks, I’m promoting this as a facebook ad, let me know what you think!

Shadow Wolf Sagas: Blade Breaker 1.24

Hi folks, sorry for the interruption, I was busy releasing Warbound: The Shield Maiden, my third novel and also the third Domains of the Chosen book. Buy it!

Once again, however, it is time for some Shadow Wolf!

Start at the beginning.

Catch up with the last post.

I was missing something. Sapphire’s lover didn’t kill her, nor did Lily Gemarkand, her sister. I was missing some vital insight that would help me catch wind of the killer.

While a prostitute, even an elite lady of the evening like Sapphire, could never claim to lead a safe life, it took extraordinary effort to silently break into her rooms, drug both her and Bjorn Magnison, and kill them by inches. It limited the suspects by both means and motive. It took skill to see the plot through, and of those those with the skill only a few would bother.

One angle I had not covered was that Sapphire’s murder might be part of an elaborate plot to discredit the Assassin, the man I knew only by the, likely false, name of Sildus. If the Guild of Assassins got word that one of their number killed a woman in a protected establishment, in a vicious crime of passion, then it would go very badly for Sildus and perhaps even reflect poorly on his superiors. I did not understand enough of the politics of the nine masters of the Guild to presume, but Sildus seemed to think it was a real enough possibility that he was looking into it.

Another possibility was that one of Lily Gemarkand’s enemies had done in her sister. In my discussion with the head of the Gemarkand house, before she’d forced me to fight a warrior of the Devout for her enjoyment, she had let slip that she kept in contact with Sapphire. Lily was a ruthless, slightly deranged woman who had eliminated her rivals to  become the head of one of the seven families before she was thirty. Miss Gemarkand didn’t seem like the type to waste time on Sapphire purely out of sisterly affection.

What were they plotting? was it enough to get Sapphire killed?

The idea that first leapt to mind was that Lily was maneuvering to have Sapphire replace madame Glorianna as head of the Doxy’s Union. Madame Glorianna’s power rivaled that of a merchant family, and would certainly make Sapphire a useful ally for her sister. I mulled it over. The idea was intriguing, but I could not think of a way to have Sapphire replace Madame Glorianna. I knew enough about the Doxy’s Guild from the twins, my bedmates, to understand just how popular Madame Glorianna was among her charges. Besides the viciousness of the crime was too extravagant to her.

I did not want to go back and ask Lily what she had been sticking their noses into. After her little pit fight, I felt that the less time spent in her company, the better.

I decided to revisit the Pink Pearl and look again at the records kept by Sapphire’s boss, Chloe. Perhaps I could puzzle out Lily’s intent by the pattern of her visits or through Sapphire’s clientele. Even if such information proved to be a dead end in finding the killer, learning more about Lily Gemarkand could prove to be useful, especially if I ever wanted to repay her for the fight that she’d forced upon me.

I decided that perhaps it was time to call on some help as well. Watch Sargent Murith was very good with records, you see.

Shadow Wolf Sagas: Blade Breaker

Hi folks, sorry for the interruption, I was busy releasing Warbound: The Shield Maiden, my third novel and also the third Domains of the Chosen book. Buy it!

Once again, however, it is time for some Shadow Wolf!

Start at the beginning.

Catch up with the last post.

I was missing something. Sapphire’s lover didn’t kill her, nor did Lily Gemarkand, her sister. I was missing some vital insight that would help me catch wind of the killer.

While a prostitute, even an elite lady of the evening like Sapphire, could never claim to lead a safe life, it took extraordinary effort to silently break into her rooms, drug both her and Bjorn Magnison, and kill them by inches. It limited the suspects by both means and motive. It took skill to see the plot through, and of those those with the skill only a few would bother.

One angle I had not covered was that Sapphire’s murder might be part of an elaborate plot to discredit the Assassin, the man I knew only by the, likely false, name of Sildus. If the Guild of Assassins got word that one of their number killed a woman in a protected establishment, in a vicious crime of passion, then it would go very badly for Sildus and perhaps even reflect poorly on his superiors. I did not understand enough of the politics of the nine masters of the Guild to presume, but Sildus seemed to think it was a real enough possibility that he was looking into it.

Another possibility was that one of Lily Gemarkand’s enemies had done in her sister. In my discussion with the head of the Gemarkand house, before she’d forced me to fight a warrior of the Devout for her enjoyment, she had let slip that she kept in contact with Sapphire. Lily was a ruthless, slightly deranged woman who had eliminated her rivals to  become the head of one of the seven families before she was thirty. Miss Gemarkand didn’t seem like the type to waste time on Sapphire purely out of sisterly affection.

What were they plotting? was it enough to get Sapphire killed?

The idea that first leapt to mind was that Lily was maneuvering to have Sapphire replace madame Glorianna as head of the Doxy’s Union. Madame Glorianna’s power rivaled that of a merchant family, and would certainly make Sapphire a useful ally for her sister. I mulled it over. The idea was intriguing, but I could not think of a way to have Sapphire replace Madame Glorianna. I knew enough about the Doxy’s Guild from the twins, my bedmates, to understand just how popular Madame Glorianna was among her charges. Besides the viciousness of the crime was too extravagant to her.

I did not want to go back and ask Lily what she had been sticking their noses into. After her little pit fight, I felt that the less time spent in her company, the better.

I decided to revisit the Pink Pearl and look again at the records kept by Sapphire’s boss, Chloe. Perhaps I could puzzle out Lily’d intent by the pattern of her visits or through Sapphire’s clientele. Even if such information proved to be a dead end in finding the killer, learning more about Lily Gemarkand could prove to be useful, especially if I ever wanted to repay her for the fight that she’d forced upon me.

I decided that perhaps it was time to call on some help as well. Watch Sargent Murith was very good with records, you see.

Snowpiercer, Metaphor, and Systems.

Watch it.

Last week I released, Warbound: The Shield Maiden, the third book in the Domains of the Chosen series. If you have read my other books check it out and leave me a review!

While recovering from this ordeal I watched the movie Snowpiercer, an interesting movie that has gotten a fair bit of buzz lately because of the drama surrounding its release in the US. You may have heard of it.

Spoiler Warning

The movie is about the last survivors of an ecological catastrophe that has frozen the planet. They have gathered on a supremely advanced train that circles the earth, the Snowpiercer, where over the last seventeen years a sort of model state has developed.  The film chronicles a revolution in which the 99% who live in squalor in the back car slums try to overthrow their oppressors from the front.

The film is visually sumptuous, well-acted, and very topical. The cast is impressive. I would heartily recommend watching it to almost anyone I know. If you cannot find it in theaters, it is available on demand in some places (that’s how I watched it).

Here are a few of the more interesting bits.

The Metaphor: The Train in the movie is an obvious metaphor for human society on any level, shrunk down to a microcosm where history unfolds at an accelerated pace. It makes for a riveting story of class warfare in a rigidly authoritarian system governed by the passengers in first class. The Metaphor is heavy handed, but it is treated with sensitivity and massaged into a decent story.
The Train Itself: The Snowpiercer is an enormous train, billed as a perpetual motion wonder machine, where the engineer is treated a a kind of messianic figure. The train is impressive and enormous, and as the rebellion progresses towards the front we are treated to a series of vividly imagined train cars that serve purposes from luxurious baths, schools, and ugly food processing places.
Tilda Swinton: It is hard to stand out in a film full of great acting talent, but Tilda Swinton’s Minister Mason is an amazing blend of satirical upper class viciousness, dictatorial monster, and hardened survivor. It seems to be that a large part of the success of this portrayal is a dark version of a certain iron-lady, a very appropriate portrayal for a movie about class warfare.
The Action: Director Joon-ho Bong (You may know him from The Host, or other movies) does an excellent job in adapting action sequences to the unusual environment of the train, while at the same time evoking images of revolutionary and class warfare conflicts. This is the best part of the movie in my mind. Each fight tells a story. Each fight is part of a larger struggle and they all seamlessly blend together into a truly impressive whole. The use of light and dark, blood, the linear environment of the train, and shifting imagery really made an impression on me.

Go see it.

If you have seen it, think about what the movie says about systems.The train is a closed system. Those who benefit from the system, no matter what their class may be, act to defend the system during the rebellion. Some do so blindly, and when the system is revealed to be a manipulation they kind of go nuts. Those in charge take the more cynical, world-weary view that they are merely bringing order to the inevitable, no matter how monstrous their actions. Those who suffer most simply lash out blindly for the most part. The only solution is presented very starkly at the end: derailing the system.

Birthday dinner bumps Ragnar.

No Shadow Wolf tonight. I know, I suck. But it is my birthday and I did put out a book on amazon today…

please accept my excuses…

Warbound: The Shield Maiden is live!

You can buy it on amazon.com so far (click this text to see it).

I am excited to see how people like this one. It is the first Domains book that takes place outside of the arena.

The Final Cover