Smorgasbord Fantasia

Alan Moore's greatest project, Watchmen - possibly one of the best graphic novels/ comics ever written still continues to be ultra-relevant and topical as we are living in the middle of the one of the turbulent politically unstable times ever. I loved the graphic novel and the movie, I thought wasn't too shabby either. But I wasn't a fan-boy. No sir, not until Damon Lindelof ( creator of the one of the most successful longest running telly-series Lost and the critically acclaimed but criminally underrated Leftovers ) brought to HBO, this amazing companion sequel to the main movie/comic. Which in my humble opinion, is undoubtedly the greatest show running on TV today. It is set in an alternate America, more specifically, a small town in Oklahoma called Tulsa. Which is a microcosm of modern America filled with masked vigilantes ( pitted against masked policemen, empowered by the ludicrous sounding DOPA - Defence of Police Act, that lets the police force use  violen...

" Waiting On Wednesday ” is a weekly meme that first originated at  Breaking the Spine  but has since linked up with “ Can’t Wait Wednesday ” at  Wishful Endings  now that the original creator is unable to host it anymore. Either way, this fun feature is a chance to showcase the upcoming releases that we can’t wait to get our hands on! So I missed out reading Jon Skovron 's adult fantasy forade with Empire of Storms trilogy and I intend to fully rectify that mistake. But for now - I am feasting my eyes on the absolutely stunning cover for his latest, The Ranger of Marzanna that promises to be all lush, epic fun set in a wintry East European background featuring warring siblings, potent magic and daring adventures. Sonya is training to be a Ranger of Marzanna, an ancient sect of warriors who have protected the land for generations. But the old ways are dying, and the rangers have all been forced into hiding or killed off by the invading Empire. When her f...

Jason Arnopp was one of my favorite authors when I read " Last Days of Jack Sparks " last year ( as with most of you, I am sure who have read that splendid addition to the genre of horror!) - So it was with a bit of a trepidation that I came in to read Ghoster ( was one of my most-awaited titles of the year!) The premise holds a lot of promise - and creepy intrigue. Kate Collins, a paramedic is about to move in with her boyfriend Scott Palmer in the next two days but her lover has stopped answering his calls. Has he "ghosted" her? Kate, who suffers from a "smart-phone" addiction problem, first "super-liked" Scott on one of the popular dating apps on her phone, only to bump into him in person at this de-addiction camp. The initial 'like' soon turns into a roaring long-distance relationship with frequent to-and-for between Leeds and London until we come to that fateful day, when Kate discovers to her mounting horror that Scott has ...

Asuran literally means the demon. A movie adapted from a popular Tamil novel called Vekkai by Poomani, the movie traces the past and present transformation of Sivasami , the character played by Dhanush (the actor and not the star!) as he cyclically transforms from the demon to a human and then back to being the demon - all to protect his family. It's an intense and gritty character drama about two warring families, treading through the perils of casteism and the gulf between the haves and the downtrodden have-nots.  Sivasami is a poor farmer, whose 3 acres of land is being coveted by the rich landlord Vadakooran, who intends to build a cement factory on this land. But this feud is ignited further when Murugan, Sivasami's eldest son is actually kidnapped and killed by Vadakooran's goons in a defiant act of petty vengeance taken too far. Sivasami is a drunkard, a mild-mannered quiet old man who only wants to live in peace and doesn't want to exacerbate matte...

Black Hawks by David Wragg caught my attention last month as this impressive debut seemed to have drawn the impossible comparisons to two of the genre's greatest, Joe Abercrombie and Scott Lynch. And then that gorgeous gorgeous artwork on the cover resembled the cover of one of the most buzzy ( and rightly so!) debuts in the previous couple of years - Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames . Tall order to live up, sure but hey - you got my eyeballs! Finally got down to it over the last one week - when rains in Langkawi and airport transits gave me ample time on my week off to gobble this one up. And say this for David Wragg - this guy's writing chops are absolutely A-class and he writes a fine debut to give us an impressive epic fantasy about a band of scrappy mercenaries getting caught in a twisted game of power in a kingdom reeling in the middle of civil unrest and faith gone ugly. In a year of spectacular books, this one's going to be standout and hells, that says a...