I haven’t read this book since the mid-80s when my schoolmate and friend, Michael Hay suggested I might like it. I dug into it, and for awhile there, birthdays or Christmases would bring me the latest Tom Clancy hardcover. I’ve been itching to kind of go back and see I still enjoy the stories, and…
Tag: intrigue
TIFF 25: The Wizard of the Kremlin dir. Olivier Assayas
Director Olivier Assayas with novelist Emmanuel Carrere adapted Giuliano da Empoli’s novel that shows the machinations of political evil at work. While a work of fiction, it does tie in with actual events, and the lead character, Vadim Baranov, played by Paul Dano, seems to be more than a little similar to Vladislav Surkov. Dano…
Age of Ash (2022) – Daniel Abraham
Orbit Books invited me to take a look at the first novel in The Kithamar Trilogy, a new fantasy series from author Daniel Abraham. Fantasy novels have always been a tough in for me, I enjoy Tolkien, have delved into some Terry Pratchett, and have been known to enjoy some fantasy entries in the ‘Young…
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970) – Billy Wilder
The next title in DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies book is a bit of a red herring, which is kind of appropriate as it is kind of a mystery. Despite being nestled in the chapter on dragons and dinosaurs, the dinosaur, or monster in this one is apparent, from it’s first appearance that it…
Goliath and the Dragon (1960) – Vitorrio Cottafavi
I move to Italy for the next film in DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies book as I explore the chapter on Dragons & Dinosaurs. Dubbed in English to reach the North American audience, this Italian sword and sandal (and sorcery) ‘epic’ follows Goliath (Mark Forest) who has his hands full as we join him…
Meddling Kids (2017) – Edgar Cantero
When I was a kid I loved reading the Hardy Boys (I could knock out a book in a day – which to me at the time was amazing, and I loved those little blue hardcover books). Between ages 11 and 12, I danced around the edges of things that could be interpreted as scary,…
The Colorado Kid (2005) – Stephen King
I’m a fan of Stephen King, as most people who follow the blog would know, as they have seen me revisit some of my favourite stories and novels. I was also a huge fan of the television show, Haven, when it aired, delighting in the tie-ins it made to the worlds King had created. But…
The King and I (1956) – Walter Lang
Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr light up the screen in the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Oklahoma! The Rogers and Hammerstein musical soars to life in a stunning adaptation that doesn’t sacrifice story for musical numbers. Instead, the story is just as important, if…
The Tournament (2013) – Matthew Reilly
Matthew Reilly brings his thrill-a-minute style of writing back to the 16th century as he populates his novel with historical figures caught up in intrigue, lust and a legendary chess tournament in the heart of the Ottoman Empire, Constantinople. A young English princess, Elizabeth Tudor, Bess, all of thirteen years old, accompanies her teacher Roger…
Star Wars: Tales From a Galaxy Far, Far Away – Aliens Volume 1 (2016)- Landry Q. Walker
More new canon for Star Wars via this young adult book that collects six tales from creatures that inhabit that galaxy far, far away, and were seen or hinted at in The Force Awakens. Penned by Landry Q. Walker with some nice art by Tyler Scarlet the stories are all exciting, fun, and have…
The Mind Reels 