[NEWS] Felicia Day as Little Red

As we all know fairy tales are the BOMB. You grew up with a relative reading you stories. Perhaps, you have listened in on a relative read stories to your younger sibling. There were the books, the animated series, the Looney Tunes/Tex Avery's specials and of course Disney. They have left an everlasting impression on our minds and it is no surprise that we try to enact them, cast them in your reality and draw them closer to us.

The long winded overture leads to this announcement from a few weeks back at SFX:

Syfy has released the first image of Felicia (Dr Horrible/The Guild) Day starring in Red, a modern-day retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. Looking at it, we don’t rate the wolf’s chances.

Red is part of a new Syfy series of original telemovies aimed at giving new twists on classic fairy tales and myths. The series launched last month with Beauty And The Beasts: A Dark Tale and future movies will include new versions of Aladdin, Sinbad and Hansel & Gretel.

I watched the SyFy ALICE [though minus the caps lock]. It was long, dystopian and a worthy re-imagining of the distilled imaginative thrill-ride that is the original Alice in Wonderland. I am positively looking forward to seeing this one out in the open. Felicia Day is a budding SFF actress, who I hope turns into a multi-role landing icon.

[Review Anthology] Dead Souls Part 2

Title: Dead Souls
Editor: Mark S. Deniz
Pages: 286
Genre: Horror / Dark Fiction
Anthology: 25 Stories
Publisher: Morrigan Books

Dead Souls contains twenty five stories that will only ensure the darkness without enfolds you in its cold embrace…beware…be ready…be damned! Before God created light, there was darkness. Even after He illuminated the world, there were shadows — shadows that allowed the darkness to fester and infect the unwary. The tales found within Dead Souls explore the recesses of the spirit; those people and creatures that could not escape the shadows. From the inherent cruelness of humanity to malevolent forces, Dead Souls explores the depths of humanity as a lesson to the ignorant, the naive and the unsuspecting. God created light, but it is a temporary grace that will ultimately fail us, for the darkness is stronger and our souls…are truly dead.

CONTENTS

Bernie Mojzes	The Collector
T. A. Moore	Licwiglunga
Carole Johnstone	The Blind Man
Tom English	Dry Places
Sharon Irwin	Begin with Water
Robert Holt	In the Name
William Ward	When they Come to Murder Me
Chris Johnstone	The Unbedreamed
Elizabeth Barrette	Goldenthread
Catherine J. Gardner	When the Cloak Falls
Anna M. Lowther	The Price of Peace
James R. Stratton	Your Duty to your Lord
Kenneth C. Goldman	Mercy Hathaway is a Witch
Lisa Kessler	Immortal Beloved
Lisa Kessler	Subito Piano
Michael Stone	The Migrant
Robert Hood	Sandcrawlers
Reece Notley	Tatsu
L. J. Hayward	Wayang Kulit
Rebecca Lloyd	Contaminator
Ramsey Campbell	The Dead Must Die
Stephanie Campisi	The Ringing Sound of Death on the Water Tank
Paul Finch	June
Gary McMahon	A Shade of Yellow
Kaaron Warren	The Blue Stream

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If ‘Dead Souls’ had a strong and enchanting gravity to lure the reader in with Genesis, which was inhabited by ghoulish and true to authenticity myths and old legends, then One Upon a Time will suck you in this quilt of nightmares, sorrows and surprisingly a few happy endings along the way.

As you might have guessed, Once Upon a Time has a fairy tale ring to it, but leave your tiaras and white ponies at home, because the five stories hosted are far from innocent and far from glitter, sparks and colors. In this segment we behold fairy tales with their original voice and intended for their initial audience and namely adults.

We begin our exploration with ‘The Unbedreamed’ by Christopher Johnstone, who takes on a small scale quest in Scotland, where Dughall, a hunter and peasant, sets to liberate his dreams and free will from a wicked warlock. What I liked here was the accidental nature of how the protagonist discovers the plot that has been executed by the warlock and his misshapen non-human henchman. This story reads like an old wife’s tale so to say, where the man uses his cunning wit to ensnare the dream thief and trick the warlock to his death.

Next up, we have ‘Goldenthread’ by Elizabeth Barrette, who sees in the stereotypical ‘dragon slayer, stalking in the dragon’s den’ trope an opportunity to insert magic and a disarming tale equivalent of a tear jerker ballad. The story does not feature action and does not have a point per se, but acts as a tragic memoir filled with pain and atrocities done upon the woman turned to a harp, telling her story to the one, who has come to slay the dragon. Enchanting.

‘When the Cloak Falls’ by Catherine J. Gardner is my least favorite from this lot, because it is rather vague and quick paced, which does not bode. I think that this is the story about a hunt for werewolves and ends in a death match between a werewolf and a nightmare, or possibly a kelpie. Although an interesting sequence of scenes to behold, the story bulleted through the events with little background or foreword.

‘The Price of Peace’ by Anna M. Lowther is longest and my top pick, because it takes a rather pleasant and optimistic story from my culture. This is the story about the snow girl, who from a human-shaped snow figure became a real girl as a gift to a couple, who couldn’t conceive a child of their own. This is a very sweet story, the way I have been hearing it since a child, but Lowther has taken it and run a ‘When Happy Endings Go Horribly Wrong’ and the snow girl becomes from a blessing to a primordial evil.

‘Your Duty to Your Lord’ by James R. Stratton exemplifies Japanese culture delivered with a dose of uncontrived realism and dimensions to it. I’ve a fondness for settings. So the diversity in the culture portrayed kept my interest to see where this one leads. There are no speculative fiction elements, if you don’t count the obsessive and ritualistic relationship Japanese have with honor, loyalty, debts and vows. The protagonist is a nobody, who has been granted a life by a Lord and in return, she sacrifices her life in order to preserve the history of the clan of her Lord from a fire. A really solemn story.

"The Even" by T.A. Moore

Can you believe it? I am actually going to review a book… That isn’t the zombie anthology, which hasn’t been completely concluded. What boosts this level of red hot stinging shame is that actually “The Even” written by T.A Moore and published by Morrigan Books is what I like to call my soul book.

Have you ever read the greatest novel in the world? Without it being the interstellar bestseller, which changed literature and the concept of storytelling. But because the said novel resonates and synchronizes with you as a unique individual in pretty much the same fashion space pilots in Japan are in full sync with their giant Mecha transformer robots. I am not sure how much this post would be a serious attempt at reviewing or a total gush fest.

In the Even — a city built in the intersection between the real and the not —ruled by the iron whim of the demon Yekum where treachery brewed amidst the ever-changing streets. Ancients dwell in the city who have out-lived their purpose and grown jaded with their immortality. They want only to die and they will take the whole world with them if they have to: suicide by Apocalypse.

Only Faceless Lenith, goddess, cynic and gambler, stands in their way. The fate of the world rests on her shoulders and mankind did not conceive her to be wise.

“The Even” combines the qualities that I desperately seek in novels and in my own writing, which are poetic brevity, haunting beauty, a gothic underworld and a brew of known myths and legends, mutating into a creeping Tim-Burton-esque creation with a life of its own. Needless to say that reading this short novel of 162 pages is an otherworldly experience, which submerges you into a murky fluxing landscape of silent hysteria and grotesque beauty, drenched in wilted aesthetic. The author’s ability draw you into the captivating city of damnation that is the Even, filled with remnants of past, present and future with a mind of their own as well as demons and gods shunned away by fickle human beliefs, is enhanced tenfold through the ethereal and evocative illustrations provided by artist Stephanie Pui Mun Law. As a reader, I have experienced books that use illustrations to try and bring out their spirit so to say, but so far only “The Even” has been successful to lure me in completely both visually and through my imagination.

Unlike other fantasy titles “The Even” creeps, crawls and seeps through scenes, through plots to overthrow the reigning demonic tyrant, treachery, betrayal, double crossing, bribing and of course the apocalypse amongst others. The story is fairly simple and short about a former goddess of the Deathlands, who is coaxed into rescuing a soul from her former domain, but turns out to be a clever plan to end a city, which otherwise won’t ever die off on its own and eternity is enough to kill enthusiasm in exploiting every sin and debauchery imaginable. Lenith is constantly in motion, but what readers might perceive is more of the cold suspense before the monster in a horror movie makes his grant entry rather than the blistering adrenaline rush that is the usual cannon. This quality completes the whole otherworldly feel that you get by cracking the book and after the very first pages you are convinced that this novel is entirely unique.

Lenith is a solid antagonistic protagonist, who knows exactly what all her flaws are, but exploits them anyways, since eternity is too long spent in a hellish city being virtuous. She also knows that her involvement in this rescue mission is no good, but does it anyways, because what is there else to do in a city, where everything has been done before. Lenith is unattached to the citizens and knows the language of deals, bargaining, intimidation and loans, but in a city full of demons and dead gods you couldn’t afford anything else. Sympathetic also is he contrast that despite being goddess she is powerless sort of outside her domain or at least doesn’t show any abilities other than her sly scheming nature and knowledge about how things run in the Even. Aphar, the object of Lenith’s rescue, is the member of the elite and beautiful demon clan that runs the Even and is gifted by royal narcissism and pride in industrial quantities, but through the whole experience of being the tool for the apocalypse and finding that hell is outside his castle the guy becomes likeable and is pretty amusing as a spoiled brat.

Perhaps there are flaws, since all manmade creations are flawed by default, but as a gushing love and compliments fan I couldn’t see through all the awesomeness.

Additional Informartion: There is also another favorable review about the books and can be found at the "Sharp Words" and "Waterstones". [If you have a review up, scribble a comment and I will upload it.]

Once Upon a Time ІІІ

It’s that time of the year, where spring affects you in immeasurable ways, so here I am making a commitment to a three month reading challenge, but considering the fact that I am reading precisely what this challenge is about, I won’t have a problem. So with no further ado, here is the Once Upon a Time ІІІ Challenge:

fan-ta-sy: a genre that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting

fairy tale: a fictional story that may feature folkloric characters such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants, and talking animals, and usually enchantments, often involving a far-fetched sequence of events.

folk-lore: the traditional beliefs, legends, customs, etc., of a people, lore of a people; The traditional beliefs, myths, tales and practices of a people, transmitted orally.

my-thol-o-gy: a body of myths, as that of a particular people or that relating to a particular person; a set of stories, traditions or beliefs associated with a particular group of an event, arising naturally or deliberately fostered.

Those are genres allowed and there are 5 Quests with special demands on how many and what books to read. From all five I am aiming to manage three Quests.

Read at least 5 books that fit somewhere within the Once Upon a Time III criteria. They might all be fantasy, or folklore, or fairy tales, or mythology…or your five books might be a combination from the four genres.

Fulfill the requirements for Quest the First or Quest the Second AND top it off with a June reading of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream OR a viewing of one of the many theatrical versions of the play. Love the story, love the films, love the idea of that magical night of the year and so this is my chance to promote the reading of this farcical love story.

Read two non-fiction books, essay collections, etc. that treat any one or more of the four genres covered in this challenge.

“The Perfume: The story of a murderer” by Patrick Süskind

Title: "The Perfume: Story of a Murderer"
Author: Patrick Suskind
Pages: 272
Publisher: Vintage

Originally published 1985 “The Perfume” has been slipping through the decades with one mission only and namely leaving you speechless. Or at least this is how it happened with me once I read the novel. Extravagant, visual and surrealistic the story spins out of reality’s control, demolishes the rules with a bulldozer and show like a grand theatre hall how the least likely things happen.

During my German class years I had the misfortune to sample firsthand literary works written by German speaking and have been bored out of my wits. The reason behind this is because Germans never really incorporate emotions in what they right and go along the lines of a philosophical essay. Intelligence in a novel is something I value, but it can’t support any story on its own. Needless to say “The Perfume” came as a pleasant surprise and a dark fairy tale taken from the Brothers Grimm, left to mature and evolve and then served with an actual historical background.

Süskind has woven a creepy tale, which dissects the human heart, spirit and essence so boldly, into our own time line in such a way that you begin to wonder what part is fiction and what is not and whether or not this is based on a true story. The protagonist’s name is Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, whose life is almost identical to most of the children in France during the 18th century. Left for adoption, then cast off into child labor and an unsure future. But what separates him from all the rest is his superhuman sense of smell. This is the first step into a new world for the reader as Süskind give smells a whole new dimension to play with. Jean-Baptiste can identify any solid, liquid or gaseous substance in all of its nuances. He can memorize them, mix them any way he wants and then use them as a map to guide himself without using his sight.

Naturally this talent saves him from a low paying job as a leather worker and launches him straight in to the perfume business under the wing of perfumer Giuseppe Baldini, who is only interested in profit. Either way Jean-Baptiste soaks in all the knowledge and techniques from Baldini before leaving for Grasse. There he plans to learn new ways to isolate smells from inanimate objects, but after spending seven years into a cave to rejoice the absence of human smells his quest changes. Suddenly he realizes that his own body doesn’t emit any odor of its own. Now he sets off to create the finest human body odor there can exist and from then on the story progresses into a bizarre tale of murder and planning to create the ultimate perfume. A flask, which is filled with the scent of the 25 most beautifully smelling teenage girls.

The nutshell version is the first hook in experiencing “The Perfume” and it doesn’t stop here. But be warned that this is a book for the people, who aren’t satisfied with the normal and would like something more daring, more surreal and sometimes if necessary vulgar. Süskind offers all. Every human relationship is being translated through the world of smells. The motherly connection with a baby, the way society recognizes and treats you, love and the concept of right or wrong are all a game of smells.

Mix the right ingredients and you possess the power to make women fall faint from admiration, outwit and deceive the harshest law enforcer that you are as innocent as a lamb and if the circumstances require, turn invisible. This statement is proven in the novel with heavy scenes of a group festive orgy and an act of cannibalism that transcends the concept of love and twists it to portray the ugly extremes sowed in the human instinct. In the ultimate end with the right perfume you can test the morale of the human spirit, as proven there is none or at least it’s rather flexible; you can overcome limitations in communication and you can change identity with a simple spray. In the case of Jean-Baptiste, the freedom to forge any identity is what leaves him with none whatsoever, instantly detaching from the human world. He is an outsider, who is only allowed to observe.

Of course another fun part is to perceive the world through the eyes of Jean-Baptiste, who is the epitome of all sociopathic anti-heroes to be created. His character is forced through another extreme, where it thrives and you wonder how in their inner world a human being can in reality never be part of the race. There are no attachments to the people in his life or around him. What ties him to the world is the abundance of smells, smells, which no one else can sense. Thus it leaves Jean-Baptiste a one of the kind character in a state of loneliness, some might relate to, but the majority will find too new and with different dimensions to connect.

As a conclusion I want to add that “The Perfume” has done quite a lot to impress various artists, siring several songs, two of which are “Scentless Apprentice” by Nirvana and “Du Riechst So Gut” by Rammstein. A 2006 movie also appeared starring Dustin Hoffman, which earned a total 135$ Million in Europe. The story did quite well I think. A real rarity.