Andy Jamieson

Sometime Geek Overlord, bi-monthly Dungeon Master, part-time care worker, reigning Husband of the Year, & full-time daddy. Also, proficient proverbial juggler.

Norwood by Charles Portis

Aug 222011
 

Norwood by Charles Portis (published by Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd, out now, £8.99)

This is the debut novel from Portis, most famous for True Grit, the book that inspired two movies. Norwood was released in 1966, and featured the laconic lead, Norwood Pratt, a wandering drifter with no aim. It’s a classic tale of neon-drenched Americana, and Portis has an eye for detail, an instinct for character, and an ear for dialogue. There is no plot to mention, and whatever substance of plot that exists, is swiftly abandoned in favour of a wandering character piece.

It’s a beautifully written book, and will appeal to fans of that modern great, Barry Gifford (Wild At Heart).

Andy Jamieson, Editor

The Search For WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi

Aug 222011
 

The Search For WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi (Simon & Schuster, PB, due out September 2011, £6.99)

This is one of the most original books I’ve read in some time. You may know of Tony DiTerlizzi as being one of the co-creators, and illustrator, of The Spiderwick Chronicles. I’m a fan of that series but I would never have expected anything like this from TD. This is an SF/Fantasy adventure, aimed at the ‘Young Adult/Teen’ market – but one that I think has that crucial crossover appeal. The cryptic story is spilling over with ideas, and unfolds as you progress; we follow Eva Nine, a solitary young girl who lives in a self-contained underground ‘Sanctuary’ – she is unaware of, and protected from, the outside world by her surrogate parent, a guardian robot, Muthr. Eva Nine’s world all changes one day when her home is invaded by a mysterious, and deadly, creature intent on capturing Eva. The young girl sets out on a quest to discover who she is and where she is…

And what a world she discovers. Tony DiTerlizzi has crafted one of the most exciting fantasy/SF books this century. He takes the reader to so many fascinating and wonderful locations, peppered with exciting set-pieces and action sequences. With a cast of imaginative, loveable and memorable characters, creatures and settings, this is an excellent, absorbing introduction to the world of Eva Nine, and the start of a very promising trilogy. There is also an intriguing online feature that is a quirky added bonus.

Andy Jamieson, Editor


Conan (PS3)

Aug 222011
 

Despite the alarm bells in my head telling me “PUT THAT GAME DOWN” – I only went and bought it, and against the advice of a good friend (sorry, Alex, you were right).

This game is bobbins. It is a proper mess that wastes a licence of such potential. It plays like a stiff, wet dog straining against its leash; the controls are cumbersome, the graphics are ropey (yet infrequently decent), the camera perspective is a right pee boiler, and the difficulty level is choppy.

The only redeeming factor is that Ron Perlman, he who was Hellboy, does the voice of Conan. But that is by no means enough to save this turd of a game.

DO NOT BUY.

Andy ‘Hybor-ed’ Jamieson, Editor

Blade Runner 2?

Aug 222011
 

It’s been talked about for years but it appears that a sequel to Blade Runner is now a reality.

It was announced earlier this week that Alcon Entertainment, who acquired the franchise rights to Blade Runner earlier this year, are planning to bring a new film to the screen – and they’ve only gone and got Sir Ridley Scott on board. That’s what makes me so intrigued. Blade Runner is clearly a labour of love for Scott; he has overseen numerous edits, even shooting new footage for the recent Final Cut, and has often spoken of his fondness for his third feature, released to disastrous box office in 1982 but since acknowledged, and quite rightly, as one of the most influential SF films of all time.

So how did this happen?

Andrew Kosove, the producer in charge of the project / company spokesperson chatted to the LA Times about the news earlier this week and revealed that Sir Ridley’s involvement was down to Alcon Entertainment’s pitch. What concerns me is that Kosove hasn’t been too precise about the nature of this film – is it a sequel? Prequel? Thankfully Alcon have confirmed, according to the LA Times, that it “definitively won’t be a remake”. Phew. That’s something at least, right?

I can see room for a film set within the same ‘universe’ as the original. If anyone can do it, it is Sir Ridley. There are the three sequel novels written by K.W. Jeter, that were released to mixed reviews (Blade Runner 2: The Edge of Human, BR 3: Replicant Night, and BR 4: Eye And Talon), which explored some interesting corners of the Blade Runner world, mainly involving the Tyrell family. I thought they were pretty good, particularly Replicant Night. Jeter was actually a friend of Philip K. Dick (who wrote the original novel that BR was adapted from), so perhaps it might be worth at least consulting him on the project, hmm? (Won’t happen, me thinks)

This news does make Scott’s next film, Prometheus, a more intriguing project, being as it is a kind of Alien prequel. Will the new BR film be a similar concept?

(Btw, I would love someone to finally finish off the film series with a direct fifth movie – some kind of Alien : War style plot. Alien Resurrection is not the way the series should be capped…)

Shooting isn’t likely to begin on the  new Blade Runner until 2013 or 2014 but a script is already in discussion. I’d like to see original screenwriters Hampton Fancher and David Peoples return to the BR world that they helped shape. (Again, won’t happen)

My prediction: expect William Monahan, whom Scott has worked with twice of late, to be involved at some point.

And no Harrison Ford involvement apparently…

 

Andy ‘Batty’ Jamieson, Editor

Frank Darabont leaves The Walking Dead

Aug 222011
 

Those of you who are fans of Frank Darabont and his latest project, The Walking Dead, will already be aware of this news. It was announced towards the end of July that Darabont has stepped down as the big boss of the show, just as shooting on the second season (scheduled for 13 episodes) reaches its halfway point. What is weird about this announcement is that Darabont has given no reason for his decision (in public, anyway). And it’s strange that he jump from a project that he campaigned for long and hard.

Darabont had recently hired Glen Mazzara, a veteran tv producer (check him out on IMDb, he has a stack of experience), to assist on the second season. I suspect Mazzara will oversee the rest of the shoot and, hopefully, the quality will not suffer for Darabont’s absence.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first season (particularly the first and last episodes) and have high hopes for the second season, which is due to air in the states on the 16th October.

 

Andy Jamieson, Editor

Crooked Little Vein by Warren Ellis

Aug 222011
 

Crooked Little Vein by Warren Ellis

(U.S. import, published by HarperCollins, approx £7.99)

Warren Ellis is one of the most talented and prolific graphic novelists of our age, but unfortunately outside the comic reading community he is an unknown. His work – until 2010’s RED adaptation, starring Bruce Willis – has largely been ignored with regard to being produced for TV or film. Crooked Little Vein is his debut novel and quite possibly one of the funniest, most twisted, sick little detective yarns you will ever read. As with all Ellis writing there’s a generous splash of Hunter S. Thompson gonzo mad-cappery and a serving of Philip K. Dick science-fiction.

However, this punchy and fast paced novel is a hard-boiled travelogue featuring a burnt-out private eye called Mike McGill. A self-professed shit- magnet, he travels the USA on a mission for the White House: find the real Constitution, the one hidden by the Founding Fathers, devised for times of great crisis. His journey is really a hilarious series of encounters with America’s perverted underbelly, and all forms of debauchery flourish; two things you never want to google are macropetophilia and saline scrotal infusion (the former is Godzilla porn… avoid!).

There is masochistic joy to this book, and it will revolt you – but you will love it through every belly-laughing stomach-churning moment. It must be said that it is not needlessly vulgar; Ellis’ supposed descent into Hell actually makes heroes of the degenerates whilst railing against the two-faced moralists whose agenda limits their freedom. Crooked Little Vein contains a radical libertarian worldview, Ellis is not disturbed by the array of perversions but by a hypocritical manipulative government that would restrict us. It is a moral rage at a world overwhelmed by dishonesty.

It is a compulsive read, and a quote inside reads; “Think Kurt Vonnegut having tea with William Burroughs and a bipolar Raymond Chandler”

This is a read you won’t easily forget.

Paul Eckersley, Designer, Black & White Publishing

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