Booklog 35/2019 - Sarah M Eden: The Lady and the Highwayman

The title is a bit misleading. This isn't about a lady or a highwayman, but about a pair of Victorian writers. Fletcher Walker is reasonably affluent, but he's dragged himself up from the gutter by his bootstraps. His mission now (along with friends in the Dread Penny Society) is to support a 'ragged' school for the poorest children, and also to rescue some of the badly treated ones and send them to that school. He finances this from the proceeds of writing 'penny dreadfuls' but just lately a new author, a Mr King, has become popular enough to threaten Fletcher's sales. What he doesn't know is that respectable Elizabeth Black, headmistress of Thurloe School and renowned author of silver fork novels, also writes pulp fiction under the name of Mr. King. Interspersed with the main story are the penny dreadfuls the two authors are writing. The Lady and the Highwayman is one of those novels.

Apart from a few research blips concerning pre-decimal English coinage, the naming of English streets, and the location of Windsor Castle, this is a very readable story. It's a gentle romance. The characters are engaging and the story fairly rattles along. It's not due out until September 2019, so there may be time to make corrections before the final printing.

Booklog 36/2019 - Sebastien de Castell: Queenslayer – Spellslinger #5

The fifth Spellslinger book featuring Kellen and his business partner, squirrel-cat Reichis, who are in Darome, and still separated from Kellen's Argosi mentor. Kellen has inadvertently committed treason by smearing (his) blood on the Daroman flag and he's about to be executed when the eleven year old Queen Genevra demands he become her tutor of cards. This is his get-out-of-jail-free card, but Kellen is immediately embroiled in court machinations The political twists are… twisty. His sister Shalla turns up as an ambassador from Jan'Tep and as usual it's difficult to fathom out whether she's on Kellen's side or not. In this instance she's bringing cryptic instructions from their father who is now mage-leader of the Jan'Tep and is the one who has put a price on Kellen's head. Kellen's magic is weaker than any other mage likely to be trying to kill him, so he has to be sneaky, but sneaky may not be enough to get him out of this one. He's trying to come to terms with his shadowblack infection, despite the fact that he believes it could lead to him being taken over by a demon.

This is the penultimate book in the series, so Kellen has one more book to figure out who he is and what he's doing with his life. Looking forward to the last book, Crownbreaker, sue October 2019. I loved Sebastien de Castell's Greatcoats series. (Highly recommended!) This isn't in quite the same league, but it's close and well worth reading from the beginning.

Booklog 37/2019 - A.C. Crispin: Time Horse

I bought this precisely because I read a bad review of it and I figured it couldn't that bad as it's about a girl and a horse. What's not to like? I was right. It's not a bad book, but maybe the reviewer was expecting something a little more adult. This is a book for kids in the younger end of the 8 – 12 age group (depending on their reading age and level of maturity). It's a time-travel story in which the young heroine befriends a horse and together they go back in time and help America in the War of Independence. It's simple and simplistic, not necessarily a bad thing in a book for this age group. It delivers a dollop of easily digestible history, and may be a little didactic at times. It's set up for more stories to follow, but it was published posthumously as sadly the author died in 2013.

Movie of the Week: Rocketman

The Elton John fantasy biopic featuring Taron Egerton and a load of my favourite Elton John songs. This isn't a straightforward biography, but a fantasised version of the star's early life and success. It features Jamie Bell and word-wizard Bernie Taupin and Richard Madden as John Reid, cast as the villain of the piece.

If you are interested enough you can dig around on the web and find a list of things that are fact and things that are fiction.

This may not stick around in cinemas as long as Bohemian Rhapsody, but it's still worth seeing. Egerton's performance is flamboyant and vulnerable at the same time. Excellent.

Movie of the Week: X-Men Dark Phoenix

I believe that this is the final X-Men movie.

When Jean Grey begins to develop incredible powers after an encouter with an alien entity, she is corrupted and the X men must decide whether her life is worth more than all of humanity.

Sophie Turner, fresh from playing Sansa Stark in Game of Thrones, takes centre stage as Jean/Phoenix and makes a decent job of it. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender reurn as Prof. X and Magneto, for once on more-or-less the same side.

If you're expecting this to tie into the original X Men with Patrick Stewart's Prof X, you'll be disappointed. This is an alternate timeline. The ending left me scratching my head a bit and i had to go and read it up after I got home.

Movie of the Week: Men In Black: International

The fourth Men In Black outing moves the action to London and Paris. No Tommy Lee Jones or Will Smith, I'm afraid, but with Chris Hemsworth.Tessa Thompson, and Liam Neeson as well as a cameo from Emma Thompson as O, it should have plenty going for it. Except, sadly, it doesn't. 

I have great respect for Liam Neeson as an actor, and Chris Hemsworth's comic timing is usually great, but this simply fell flat. Neeson seemed miscast and Hemsworth seemed to be dialling it in.

Only Emma Thompson provided the required charisma, but hers was a tiny role.

It wasn't terrible, but there was nothing fresh here. Go and watch the first one again.