It is Star Wars Day as I write this, aka the day of terrible puns, and I’m sat in my car, waiting for my son, as some teenagers get told off by the police for drinking outside our local store. Mind you, the policemen don’t look old enough to drink themselves. Not that it’s possible to drink yourself, of course.
The biggest news in Fantasy has to be the return of Game of Thrones. I’ve really enjoyed all three episodes so far, especially the first five minutes of episode 3, the tension before the battle was unbelievable. Minor qualms over the placement of cavalry were far outweighed by the gorgeous (if dark) cinematography and excitement throughout.
And what’s been happening in the actual world? Well, I visited Salisbury (cathedral city in southern England) and, as it’s nearby, Stonehenge (complete with replica huts). This made me think about all sorts of things, from how I would have wiped out bronze age man with all the diseases I carry, to how I would have coped not being able to Tweet about the genocide. In other breaking news, we had squirrels move in to the attic. They have ‘moved on’ now…
A couple ‘to watch’ suggestions for you – ‘The Favourite’. Great film, lovely 18th century settings, great script, plot… I can see why it had so many Oscar nominations. I also watched ‘The Cabin in the Woods’ (2012) on Netflix which I missed first time around. It’s dark, comedy-horror from Joss Whedon (Buffy, Firefly, Avengers), also has Thor (Chris Hemsworth) in it… If you have a strong stomach, I highly recommend.
And a reading recommendation – ‘Blood Song’ by Anthony Ryan. Very nice story, beautifully written. High Fantasy with plenty of magic, battles, and generally good fantasy fodder.
SEXY TWITTER STORM! Well, OK, not really, but I did I run an interesting poll on Twitter, asking how people feel about sexual themes in fantasy. The majority view (82%) was that they have their place, as long as there is a point to them. This is reassuring, as I do explore such themes from time to time, albeit not in a 50 Shades kind of way. If you’re on Twitter, I am here: https://twitter.com/spstevenswriter .
