Smorgasbord Fantasia

Part-2 of the First Law trilogy.  With such a spell-binding title to a middle-book of a trilogy ( one that evokes grim visuals of dark shadows hanging down from a broken tree at the end of the street and gusting in the wind surely?) one HAS to get swept into it.  It’s been a while since I last read “The Blade Itself” – the epic fantasy debut that explosively launched Joe Abercrombie onto the Fantasy writing scene. While I enjoyed him taking the usual fantasy tropes and then giving them his own bloody “gritty” little twist to make them realistic and super dark, I was not going gaga over it. It was a good book, a 3-star one with some fantastic violent action scenes and the usual generous dose of politicking intrigue. Then I read “Heroes” – one hailed by many to be Mr. Abercrombie’s finest effort till date. I was hooked. This man was greater than the First of the Magi when it came to spinning a violent gritty tale of war. So I cut back to the unfinished trilogy and

This is something like hot off the press, remember those olden day headlines? I have similar thoughts flashing as I write this. Just dropped back home after having watched Joss Whedon’s summer blockbuster for 2012 – The Avengers.  Initial emotional reaction: a tad bit disappointed, but the last 30 minutes of the movie kinda made up for it. 5 super heroes crammed into one movie, it was bound to be ripping away at the seams. Explosive, by far( we know it was a foregone conclusion. But entertaining? I got my reservations. But let me not see those long faces droop; all is not lost. It’s actually pretty much a fun-filled rollercoaster ride. Three things stood out for me. One, Tony Brilliant Eccentric Genius Mr. Stark, take a bow.   You just cannot help loving the Iron Man character, insouciant swagger, irreverent devil-may-care attitude, crackling dry wit. It’s all there,   vintage Robert Downey Jr. the one guy who alleviates boredom in this movie. Two, the ass-kick