Review – The Terror

Based on the 2007 novel by Dan Simmons, itself a fictional account of true events, The Terror is one of the most atmospheric tv series I’ve watched in a while. Brutal, relentless and immensely engaging, everything about the show is brilliantly crafted.

Set in 1845 as two ships, the HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror, seek a passage through the Arctic and plot the navigation of the Northwest Passage. In reality, both ships were never seen again after leaving Beechey Island. The fictionalised account uses research from later expeditions which found the wrecks of both ships along with graves and other signs of the lost crew.

The series takes these facts and turns them into one of the most intense survival stories made. When Erebus and Terror become frozen into the ice, the leader of the expedition sets to keeping order and his men in check. If the actuality of being stranded in sub-zero temperatures, miles away from help isn’t terrifying enough, things quickly take a terrible turn when an Eskimo is shot. Accident or not, the handling of his death, the lack of respect given his corpse and his daughters wishes brings even more trouble to the lost sailors.

As winter chips away at the men’s resolve, the inadequacy of their Captain becomes apparent. The isolation and unforgiving environment soon reveals the true nature of many characters. Whilst the weather and the ice worsens, the issue of food rears it’s ugly head. Though provisioned for five years, the supplies were bought from the cheapest source and have begun to spoil. Worse the tins are poisoning the sailors with lead. When the ice doesn’t thaw and the men remain stuck for another year, even the second-in-command can’t make his Captain see sense. There’s also the problem of a beast slowly stalking and killing sailors at random.

Cold, darkness, endless ice and a huge, yet ghostly, enemy eats away at both the mental and physical capacity of the men – officer and sailor alike. Madness begins to set in and, after HMS Erebus’ captain is killed, it’s up to the HMS Terror’s captain to lead the survivors across the ice.

Everything about the series drips with dread. Mundane tasks take on horrifying consequences; even eating is a slow death. And no one can escape it. Honestly nail-biting at times, grimly gory at others the stunning photography, stark colours and creeping soundtrack combine to create an atmosphere so tense it’s an experience to watch. Added to that is the amazing cast of actors who somehow embody the maddeningly austere Victorian as they suffer through the ordeal of survival.

This is a truly terrifying horror; a series that demands attention and offers no peace from its insane, relentless spiral toward the end. Brilliantly acted and directed, it’s a story that will stay with me a while. The combination of historical fact and fictional supposition creates an awful yet fascinating account. Excellent, dreadful, bloody and, human.

Review – The Boys season 2

Whilst this show reminds me of Toxic comics and the anti-superhero Marshall Law in some ways, it’s gory take on what would happen if people developed superpowers continues to be a unique, inventive and original experience. The Boys is nothing short of fantastic as it manoeuvres between action, social commentary and fantastical mayhem.

Season 2 sees Butcher momentarily absent whilst the rest of the crew continue their quest to bring down mega-corporation Vought. Hughie tries to keep up the good fight, finding proof that Vought creates ‘supes’ but it seems the news isn’t as devastating as he’d hoped. In fact, all it does is put his on/off girlfriend Starlight in exceptional danger.

And, here is the crux of the series for me. Butcher, Hughie and the rest of ‘the Boys’ are all battling loss along with all the Supes. Loss of loved ones, loss of control, loss of freedom. It’s a theme that weaves through each episode, shining a light on the characters and their motivation, no matter how crazy it all seems. Speaking of crazy, that’s where Homelander comes in; the massively powerful, hugely narcasstic and sociopathic superhero. Desperate to be adored his actions create a firestorm of conditions ripe for extremism.

The season is hard, fast and unforgiving. Superheroes discover they are mere commodities, people realise they are valueless beyond being consumers. At the centre The Boys strive to break through and reveal all the ugliness for what it is but at what cost?

The Boys is a stunning and clever take on the superhero genre so popular. However, it also asks some fairly heavy questions about modern society, politics and the media. Entertaining, engaging and brilliant.

The BookBeard’s Blog best of 2020

Well. There’s not much to say about 2020 that hasn’t already been said. My year was fitness heavy and homeschool-tastic. In review, it’s been… interesting.

When it comes to what I’ve read, there’s been a lot of horror. Not sure what that says about my mindset but there we go. Topping the weird and creepy novels are two fantastic books: The Breach by M.T. Hill and The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher.

Both are brilliantly written, wonderfully constructed pieces of fiction, peopled with great, believable characters trying to understand incomprehensible, alien things.

The Breach was a crawling, creeping journey that burrowed under my skin and left me with a sense of feverish fright as it navigated something that slipped language and thought. It was a powerful novel, full of strangeness that was both set in yet off kilter with the near-future reality it described.

Equally, The Hollow Places was both grippingly intriguing yet horrifyingly tense, so much so that it wouldn’t let me stop reading. The sense of wonder and terror was palpable and the lead actors were so well drawn it was wholly engrossing.

My best fantasy read goes, without a shadow of a doubt to that powerhouse Joe Abercrombie and his The Trouble with Peace. Set thirty years in the future from the First Law novels this new set of books are just as amazing. Capturing the essence of those first novels yet expanding and improving upon its own history, these are some of the best fantasy novels about. Absolutely cannot wait for the third instalment.

In science-fiction, I dug out a few books that had been sitting on my shelves for a while. Top most was Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill. A stunning and thought provoking post-apocalyptic tale about robots battling in a relentless and unforgiving wasteland, this was a novel that was both gripping and considered in equal measure. Unique and exceptionally readable Sea of Rust hit all the right notes and more.

This year I also read more widely than before – thrillers, philosophy, biographies and more. Strangely and uncharacteristicly I also abandoned a number of books that just weren’t keeping me engaged. This was also true for television and films. In a year when not much new was produced, I found myself falling back on old favourites. However, amidst all that, Futureman stood tall.

A blend of sci-fi, nostalgia, tv tropes and original and intelligent storytelling, Futureman was both funny and thrilling. The characters were excellently played and the story seemed to know what it wanted to achieve. Personally, this series is one I could watch again and that says a lot.

Hopefully, you’ve all read well and had new doors opened to you through the power of good writing. I’ll keep blogging and reading and I hope you do the same.

Review – Future Man

I just finished watching season 3 of Future Man and it was glorious. After telling my wife why I’d stayed up late on a week night, she immediately binged the whole show. Because it’s that awesome.

The premise of the series revolves around Josh Futturman, a janitor who still lives with his parents and spends his free time playing a video game; a game sent back from the future to find the perfect warrior who will change the course of humanity and save the last survivors from the biotics. When Tiger, a fearless leader, and Wolf, her deadly second in command, arrive in Josh’s bedroom so begins one of the most epic time travel escapades ever.

Clearly, Josh is not the warrior they expect him to be. He’s nothing like the toughened, brutal Tiger or the muscular, psychotic Wolf. He’s a video game addicted, sci-fi nerd. However, his library of knowledge about movies and games comes in useful as the trio embark on a periless journey to change history “back-to-the-futuring” around in time, creating all manner of time-holes, mishaps and mayhem as they seek to make things right, over and over again.

The mix of comedy, action, self reference and sci-fi cannon create such a ridiculously watchable mix, it makes Future Man as good as it gets. And that’s without mentioning some of the big names that appear in the series. The characters are equal parts hilarious, engaging and (kind of) relatable as the banter and comraderie builds up in each episode. However, whilst the show references lots of great movies it’s also it’s own, very unique, thing. There’s strong storytelling here with lots at stake. Yet all the diversions and side journeys continue to make up such a fantastic tapestry of ideas, it’s completely engrossing.

Each season just gets better and, for once, it’s a show that seems to understand what it set out to do as the finale is everything you’d want. Rather than outstaying it’s welcome, Future Man hits the perfect send off note, leaving (perhaps) just enough wiggle room for a little more.

Original, engaging, super watchable, Future Man is a definite favourite of mine and I will be rewatching it very soon.

Review – Altered Carbon Resleeved

I am a big fan of the Takeshi Kovacs novels by Richard Morgan, and a bigger fan of Richard Morgan’s writing in general. Altered Carbon is one of my top cyberpunk/sci-fi reads and when Netflix took the source material and made it into a series, I really enjoyed it. Now, Netflix has taken the universe of Kovacs and expanded it with Resleeved and a second live action series.

Using anime to bring Kovacs to life in Resleeved, we see the Envoy spun up on the planet Latimer where he’s asked to protect a young tattoo artist who is under the control of the Yakuza. It drops him firmly in the middle of an inter-clan war. The artist is the only one who can perform a certain ceremony that sees the head of the clan pass on, in real death, and the successor inked with a marking that will, eventually, end his stack’s ability to upload his data when his time comes to resign his leadership.

The action is non-stop and though the plot is fairly linear, it’s a great look into the extended life of Kovacs. The style of the animation and it’s use of the Yakuza conflict, adds to the cyberpunk layering at play. Grim cyber-ninjas, a power mad leader and a vengeful son make for a heady, violent mix with the Envoy firmly in the eye of the storm. There were a few nods to the source material ( polite yet forceful A.I hotels, anyone?), and a few insights into what Kovacs existence must be like.

In all, Resleeved, was thoroughly entertaining; a welcome, colourful and violent distraction.

Review – The Boys

Amazon’ s adaptation of The Boys is as shocking as it is engrossing. Visually brilliant, the first series is visceral and full of action, never letting up the pace for a moment.

In a world where superheroes are real, America holds them in the highest esteem. More than celebrity, bigger than politics or entertainment or any other thing you can imagine, these real-life, super-powered men and women are revered. And, as such, can do whatever they want. On the surface, they, along with the company that promotes them, appear to work for the greater good (so long as a good profit margin is made). They save lives, protect freedoms and make America a crime free zone. Yet, behind the curtain, they are egoistical, amoral and completely unconcerned with anything other than themselves.

Caught up in all of this is Hughie Campbell, a shop worker. When his girlfriend is tragically killed after a superhero, A-train, accidentally runs straight through her, Hughie is suddenly and horrifyingly shown a side of things that leaves him more angry and vengeful than he thought possible. Just as inexplicably, Billy Butcher, an enigmatic and fairly unpleasant FBI agent, comes asking for his help in exposing the superheroes. Hughie goes along annd quickly finds himself way, way beyond what he thought he knew.

Vought, the company promoting ‘Supes’ is a money making, mega marketing machine. They want Hughie’s silence. The superheroes are megalomaniacs and the whole industry is a corrupt circus. But there’s more; some of it way worse. Hughie, Butcher and his accomplices uncover a deeper, darker truth about the superheroes. Something that will tear down the very fabric of their status and change everything. However, nothing is that simple especially when money and politics are involved.

The Boys is fantastic anti-hero action. ‘Supes’ are frightening protagonists when you imagine that they are practically unstoppable and basically uncontrollable. It’s an interesting allegory for what power (be that money or social position) can do and, more importantly, get away with. The whole show is riven with social commentary on the notion of the powerful and rich, the machinations of politics and mega-companies and the influence of propaganda.

It’s violent, irreverent and brutal. Hughie and Butcher are driven by revenge yet the system, from the law to the media, is tipped against them. As mere mortals, they seek to take down super humans. It seems success is unlikely but… never bet against the man with nothing to lose.

I will, no doubt, be watching season two as soon as possible.

Review – Black Summer

Ah, Black Summer. A balm to ease my zombie needs. If you’ve read my post on why I stopped watching The Walking Dead, you’ll know just how bitterly disappointed I was that my love affair with the series came to an end. Yet, here comes Black Summer, strutting it’s gory stuff all over Netflix and getting my heart racing as zombies chase down their hapless prey.

Set (apparently – but only because I haven’t done my research) in the same universe as Z Nation, Black Summer is very different. There’s little in the way of humour nor any of the tongue-in-cheek nods given to the tropes of the genre that Z Nation manages to play with. Instead, what we are left with is a gritty, breathless start to the zombie apocalypse where no-one is safe.

What begins with a family trying to find passage with a retreating military, soon devolves into a frantic fight for survival. The father is tagged as infected, the daughter is whisked away on another truck whilst her mother is torn between the two. When her husband turns, it’s all she can do to stay ahead of him. In amongst the madness, set in a housing estate, as people are attacked and reanimate, storylines unfold. A gangster is held at gunpoint by soldiers looking for loot; a boyfriend abandons his other half; a woman looking for her family is carjacked and then saved yet only for a while.

It’s brilliantly executed, breakneck speed action that unfolds and twists back on itself within the same set of streets, and told from multiple angles. And, soon, some of these survivors migrate together. The gangster saves the mother who both help another lost soul. The carjacked woman and her saviour take in a young Asian lady who speaks little English. These strange, fractured and desperate relationships are intense yet unexplored as, just like reality, there is no time to dwell and ponder and give monologues. It’s about staying alive and staying ahead of the pack; both zombie and human.

Black Summer, is relentless and there’s little plot armour for the cast. Things happen and they happen fast. Feral kids; hedonistic-drug fuelled underground raves; kind strangers; and all out terror. I’m hoping there’s another season as I thoroughly enjoyed the first one. The no frills, all action, the ‘apocalypse is happening right now’ style to the story telling and camera work was excellent and hooked me from the get-go.

Things I’ve stopped watching.. part two

I’m not happy about this. It’s just my anonymous opinion. But, I gave up on season two of The Punisher.

I really enjoyed the first season and was as spellbound as the rest by Jon Bernthal’s portrayal of Frank Castle aka ‘the Punisher’. From the ensemble cast, each checking and countering the other, to the morally ambiguous actions of both antagonist and protagonist, the first series kicked in the doors and laid bare its intentions from the outset. It was grim and gritty and bloody, and I loved it.

I couldn’t wait for the next season. I shared text messages with a friend when it hit Netflix. And then….

And, then. It wasn’t what I’d hoped for. It didn’t fulfill its potential. It could have done better.

Perhaps, the first season was so everything that it was hard to follow up. Perhaps, it had done so much with the source material in that opening stanza that what came next paled in comparison. To me – and just in my eyes – it felt forced. The way in which they dragged Castle back in to a fight seemed beyond contrived. The person he was helping earned no empathy from me as a viewer. Added to that, the clumsy dual plot line of Russo/ Jigsaw just made it all seem forced.

Everything about it from Russo’s overly acted yet non-consistent character to the new big baddy hunting Castle threw me off. It was all to strained and I just couldn’t invest. Perhaps I’ll revisit it because, believe me, I wanted to like it but, after four episodes, I bailed.

Things I’ve stopped watching…part one

It seems, by writing these posts, that I’ve been watching more media than I’ve been reading. However, I’ve also quit on a few shows as well and I wanted to briefly discuss why…

First up, The Walking Dead. I was a big fan of this series; I’ve re-watched the seasons 1-5 quite a few times and, it’s fair to say, I was slightly obsessed with it when it first came out. It made me more of a fan of the genre due to its internally consistent logic, it’s great world-building and some very decent acting. The human element was intriguing and the threats were real. That the zombies became a secondary danger compared to other survivors was well played initially but, for me at least, things began to unravel somewhere around season 6.

Rick’s character lost that thing that made him, him. He made choices that weren’t consistent with who he had become. Choices which, whilst obviously plot driven, seemed contrived. The introduction of yet another war-lord/cult leader with (again) a more equipped army and (again) a better suited stronghold who (again) has megalomaniacal ideas of control and domination felt… tired. Negan wasn’t the character he was promised to be and his Jim Carey-lite portrayal didn’t really work for me; he was neither unhinged enough to be scary and nor was he imposing or brutal enough to fear.

And then we came to ‘the scavengers’. It was this group that ended my love affair with the show. Whilst my wife bailed after season 6, I powered on, hoping the series would find itself again and reaffirm it’s gritty, realistic style, and get back to its roots. But, no. What we got was a group of post-40 year old emo/goths living in a scrap yard talking in a type of slang that had little to zero bearing on anything. The internal logic was gone. The Walking Dead had finally lost that thing that made me relate and had fallen into a feedback loop.

I couldn’t shake it off. In the world of Rick and the others, the apocalypse had been, at most, going on for three years (?). How on Earth had these scavengers devolved into a bunch of mute, Mad Max cosplaying, pidgin- talking weirdos in that space of time? It grated at me until I realised I’d lost the desire to know, to understand, to watch along anymore. I no longer cared if Carl stayed in the house; I no longer worried if Maggie or Carol would find their inner strength again (and speaking of Carol, her character arc was another massive sense of annoyance best left unpacked).

I loved The Walking Dead for a long time but, sometimes, it’s best to just delete that season you’ve been saving just in case and move on.

Things I’ve watched.. part two..

Continuing from yesterday, here’s one more awesome thing I’ve watched in a stupor of post-training fatigue..

I saw the trailer, more than once, but I wasn’t wholly convinced. I initially felt like this mini-series would be one of those melancholic, navel-gazing type shows where little would happen but much would be discussed. How wrong I was.

Maniac is anything but. Instead, it was a journey out of despondency and depression, spiralling upwards toward a kaleidoscopic expression of wholesome emotion. In a retro-futuristic world of robots and weird science, there’s an off-key, off-centre feel to its sci-fi background that is as intriguing as it is tricky to hold on to. Following the entwined stories of Owen (Jonah Hill) and Annie (Emma Stone) the narrative simultaneously converges and fractures around a bizarre pharmaceutical trial. Owen needs the money to strike out and find his dependence from his domineering and overly successful family; Annie is chasing the drug on trial and it’s particular effects.

Whilst Owen is anxious and withdrawn, Annie is brash and bold, and the pair are soon thrust together in the same group testing the drug. Adding more unique layers to the already unusual worldbuilding, the pharma Company is itself a story that unfolds in fits and starts, revealing a scientist exiled from his own research only to be brought back at a crucial time and a computer that is so self aware it’s sabataging it’s own experiment.

The drug works by dropping the user into old memories and visions, helping them realise a healthier and happy conclusion. However, each time Owen and Annie find themselves in each other’s visions, as different people, in different lives but always thrown together. Eventually both do escape their most negative aspects and find inner peace yet the journey there is a winding and fantastical path.

As a vehicle for the actors it’s a chance to play multiple characters within a narrative framework. This is where the uniqueness works, ebbing and flowing forward and rising ever upwards. It was surprising and fulfilling and hopeful, all couched in a thoroughly distinct and inventive worldbuilding. It’s odd, hard to categorise but excellent it’s own special and quirky way.