Smorgasbord Fantasia

So yesterday I watched the latest Marvel outing, Ant-Man . Going in with minimal expectations, I came out a really happy camper - a shrewdly done light comic thriller with all the trappings of a do-good movie. I sense that Marvel is trying real hard to get out of that dark grim shadow thrown by the Age of Ultron and is coming out with little bright gimlets like the Guardians ( a comic caper and a goof-ball of a movie that was such a great overall package!) and now this . Ant-Man on the surface, is a heist-movie featuring the smallest of Marvel Super-heroes, this time a down-on-his-luck thief with a masters in Electrical Engineering called Scott Lang. Scott ( Paul Rudd , the brightest spot of sunshine in this movie!) is just out of prison after a righteous crime, out of a job having been fired from Baskin Robbins ( This scene in the beginning sets the tone for the movie. It never takes itself seriously. A boy who walks into Baskin Robbins, asks for a burger with mayo and cheese,...

Quite a few SFF Series are coming to a highly anticipated explosive climax in 2015. And on my TBR mountain-pile, I spy quite a few that I will be getting around to ( very soon! I know I sound like a broken record here but hot damn! Some series just need a closure and you cannot live it down until you know what happened to your favorite heroes/heroines!) So here goes - a few of the highly anticipated series conclusions I will soon be wrapping up: Queen of Fire ( Raven's Shadow 3) by Anthony Ryan While Tower Lord didn't set me on fire like The Blood Song did, it still expands the series quite a bit and poses more questions than ever. The original prophecy is still to unfold and Vaelin Al Sorna, Frentis and Queen Lyrna are all joining hands against the dark. Having just finished Tower Lord, I cannot wait to read the end. The Queen of Fire promises a lot of fireworks. Epic conclusion to the story Vaelin and his friends! Half a War by Joe Abercrombie ( Shattered Seas 3)...

Sometimes there are books that you look forward to reading for a year or more - the anticipation and excitement building with each passing day - that by the time, you get to reading the book, you've built a castle in the air about the book. And with each turning page, you find those ramparts crumbling. slowly but surely. That was the case with The House of Shattered Wings. Aliette de Bodard is a big name - the Blood and Obsidian series pretty much catapulted her into the big league; And with multiple awards to boot, it seemed like this book, The House of Shattered Wings would be when she would be cementing her rightful place - among the top pantheons of fantasy writers. Alas! it is not to be. The House of Shattered Wings has an incredible premise - Paris in a post-apocalyptic world lies in the ruins of a Great War between the Houses - as controlled by the Fallen, angels ousted from Heaven by God having to make do with squabbling over House Politics and ruling the ravaged ...

With SS Rajamouli at the helm, Bahubali was always going to be an ambitious movie. But did anyone expect this South Indian movie to break records worldwide ? It's created waves - and toppled records all over. and it's still going strong! I always maintained that the home-grown stories of Fantasy are the best and Bahubali retells a somewhat familiar and yet different tale of a kingdom Mahishmati tucked away between craggy mountain peaks and sheltered by a roaring waterfall - caught in the middle of a power struggle between blood relatives for the throne. Rajamouli's epic vision blends elements of Lord of the Rings and Mahabharata into something unique, something that he owns completely and executes in grand style on the big screen. A home-grown epic fantasy movie that will knock down your defenses and any reservations you may have had - Bahubali features some stunning camework, whooping CGI effects and artistic attention to the majestic sets. Rajamouli's visual pr...

So I don't have a systematic manner of going about to find a new novel - I browse Netgalley, Amazon or the tonnes of blogs that I stalk for suggestions. Sometimes pick up a book on a whim. and it turns out to be pure spun gold. The pleasure in such cases is manifold. as you are not dragged down by the hype and expectations set by the world. Life or Death by Michael Robotham was one such. A tautly written spell binding thriller that starts off with a prison escape and then slowly unspools the backstory of the central protagonist through myriad of twists and harrowing suspense to finally reveal the truth - that would gut you and leave you spellbound at the author's craft and neatly spun plot. Life or Death is the story of Audie Palmer who escapes the day before he was supposed to be set free after ten years in a state prison - for having aided and abetted in a robbery with money worth seven million reportedly missing. The story is revealed through multiple POVs - inclu...

What do you think of a seventeen-year old sociopath obsessed with killing and blood - but keeps himself tightly reined in, instead focusing on saving the world from the "demons"? Perfect anti-hero material? Add in genius level IQ's and a razor sharp repartee along with compassion? Odd ball? Sure. But that  is what makes John Wayne Cleaver so charming and so endearing to the readers. Welcome back to the crazy world of manic depressive John Wayne hell bent on getting rid of "demons" in this world - but this time he's not alone. He's teamed up with a crackerjack unit from FBI and the King of "Demons" is hot on his trail. With a personal agenda - that turns the table on the hunters and makes John's complicated miserable life, one hell of a hellhole. This is probably not the best place to jump inside John's head - he's got a trilogy behind him. Dead bodies piled up, tons of baggage, lots of history. But trust me, Dan Wells' a ...

When I had finished Blood Song last year, I was super excited about Anthony Ryan 's entry into Epic Fantasy. The book was an absolute delight - a rousing tale of action, adventure and fantasy featuring an unforgettable hero thrust into a prophecy set in a pseudo-medieval fantasy world - I know that sounds like a boring traditional epic fantasy book blurb - and perhaps it is ( the traditional bit but nowhere near boring!!) - but the handling of the sprawling political sparring, religious faith and resulting conflicts had been excellent - all drawn up with Vaelin Al Sorna as the singular foil through which the reader sees the world around. Near flawless in the execution of a flowing narrative that just captivates and immerses the reader into Vaelin's up bringing, trials and the final battles into which he's tricked into serving his mad, scheming King - that was the chief reason why the book was such a big hit. It had everything going right - a sympathetic central characte...