Friday 30 November 2012

Skyfall Review

Following on from my first review of a book I have just finished reading, I will be reviewing more books, as well as films in the future.

If you have an indie book you would like reviewed or are an independent movie maker/animator who would like a film reviewed, please leave a comment and I'll get back in touch with you. I'd love to help!

Anyway, back to why we are here...Skyfall.

I know this film has been out for a while now but I have only recently just seen it.

I have seen all the James Bond films at some point over the years, all with exception of Quantum of Solice. The reason why I have not watched it is because I was put off the series for a long time by the poor quality of Casino Royale and Die Another Day. I know a lot of people really enjoyed Casino Royale but I didn't.

Alas, but that was six years ago and some friends told me that the new film was good. I am glad that I listened to them! I was very impressed with Skyfall and I felt Daniel Craig played the part of 007 extremely well.

For those who have not seen it (but without spoiling the plot) the film is about James Bond's quest to retrieve a computer hard drive that contains the identities of secret agents that has fallen into the wrong hands. M (Judy Dench) sends Bond to get it back before those who stole it release its contents to the world. However, Bond loses the hard drive after he is accidentally shot by one of his fellow agents and the thief gets away. Bond himself is also feared dead, after he falls from a train following the shot.

After disappearing for a couple of months Bond is finally forced to contact M after a bomb is planted in London, killing a number of fellow secret agents. What follows is a two hour chase across the globe to retrieve the hard drive.

For those who ever wanted to know about the origin of Bond, or in fact M, will now get the chance to do so. Joined by a younger cast, including a new computer-whiz Q, Bond is forced to come to terms with the fact that he is no longer a young man and is struggling to keep up. M also faces losing her job with the threat of forced retirement by her seniors and an investigation into the bomb plot that killed a number of her agents.

What follows is an emotional journey for both characters as they face the demons of their pasts and come to terms with their current circumstances. This paints a greater depth to the two characters, who have maybe been a bit to mysterious personality-wise in previous films. Their exposed flaws also makes them seem more human.

The one thing I did not like about the film, however, was the constant shift between real stunts and CGI. I don't have a problem with CGI being used in movies and I understand it being used in difficult to otherwise shoot scenes, eg, when James Bond is grappling with a henchman under a frozen lake (sorry spoiler). But some of the times they used it in Skyfall was just pointless. There is a great chase scene that opens the film with motorbikes and a fight on the top of a train and it is pretty much all filmed with live stunts.

But then there is a scene when Bond is taken to a deserted town and instead of a set, all the buildings are CGI. Staying with the same scene, when he is rescued by helicopter, the three choppers are also CGI.

I understand that it must have been cheaper for the film makers to use CGI helicopters than use real ones and the quality is really good but you can tell that it is fake. For a moment I thought James Bond have walked into Call of Duty or another fighting-style video game.

I don't have a problem with CGI, but it just seemed to be used at random and kind of felt disjointed mixed in with the real stunts in some scenes.

But despite this misgiving I give Skyfall an eight out of ten.



Sunday 25 November 2012

King of Thorns Review

So I have now finished reading King of Thorns by Mark Lawrence. It is the second book in the Broken Empire trilogy and sequel to Prince of Thorns which was released last year.

I read Prince of Thorns last year and loved the book and that was the reason why I picked up the second installment after it came out in Waterstones. The first book is very dark and gritty but hilarious all the way through. My only complaint about the first novel was how short it was, but on the other hand it was nice to read something straight to the point and not packed to the gills with filler like some other fantasy novels I have read over the years.

King of Thorns is anything but short though. The book tops nearly 600 pages in length, so while first was like a thick wedge, the second in hardback is like a doorstop - although its cover is far too pretty to allow it to serve such a purpose once you have finished reading.

Anyway the story follows Jorg - the anti-hero of the first book. Things kick-off four years after the last novel ended but the story jumps between the present and the events that took place after the end of Prince of Thorns. The book alternates between the two time periods and as the story progresses the events of the previous four years begin to bare more relevance on Jorg's present circumstances.

We first find Jorg, now 18, making plans to fight off an army that has arrived at his door. Also on the same day, seemingly by bad timing, we also find he is getting married. But as the tale marches on it becomes appraent that neither were any accident.

Then there is the object that haunts Jorg throughout the tale; a little box that holds one of his memories, which was taken from him to end his madness. Throughout he gleams shreds of the memory and pieces it together piece by piece. Yet the question remains until the very end: Should he open the box? And more importantly, what terrible thing did he do that his friends thought it best to have the memory taken from him entirely?

The book is written in a first person persepective (Jorg's) and walks the reader through his thoughts with every new situation he is faced with, along with his pains and memories. Jorg also often reflects on the thin line between life and death - often with humorous conclusions.

If you also had inklings when reading the first novel about when the story is set, King of Thorns confirms it openly several times.

In conclusion, this is a solidly written book with a lot of dark and also funny moments. My only complaint would be the lack of development among some of the other characters.

Overall I give King of Thorns 8/10

Saturday 24 November 2012

Chapter Ten

I'm currently working on chapter ten of my new novel, Stormfront, the sequel to Alchemist. This one promises to be bigger and better than the first and will answer a lot of the questions left unanswered in the first. Stay tuned for more updates. :)

Tuesday 20 November 2012

New Cover Out Now!

The new cover for my book 'Alchemist' is finished! The book will be available for download with this cover from Amazon Kindle within the next 24 hours. The picture on the flag is that of a Manbur, a giant, golden eagle like bird that is the sigil of the main character's (Terry) family.

Monday 19 November 2012

New Cover

I'm working on a new and hopefully much better cover for my first novel Alchemist. I will hopefully have it uploaded in the next few days, so watch this space! :)

Friday 16 November 2012

Crab People

I've just watched that episode of South Park with the crab people...now I can't get their song out of my head! >< Though it's not much of a song...

Wednesday 14 November 2012

My Artwork

Hey guys, I am also on Deviantart (DA), so be sure to add me if you have an account there too. Even if you don't have an account, please still feel free to have a look around my artwork, which includes; game art, dragons and cartoons. Let me know what you think! :)

DA account: http://redtnt.deviantart.com/

Tuesday 13 November 2012

I seem to be having some problems adding a link on here to my book for anyone who wants to buy it for Kindle or to preview the first three chapters for free.

I'm going to see if it works this time using the link below which should be embedded...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alchemist-Four-Corners-Santerria-ebook/dp/B00A2WH5EA/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1352574053&sr=1-1

A Little About Me

So, I've decided to write a bit about myself (for those interested XD). If you have come through here from my Twitter page then you will know a bit about me already.

But for those who do not, my name is Terry Reid. I am just starting out in the publishing world and I have published my first novel, 'Alchemist' on Amazon Kindle. It is only 97p and around 400 pages long. So good value for the amount you get! ;) A description of the book is available down the side of this blog. >

Anyway, enough of the self-promotion (sorry)! :D

I'm 25 and I live in Scotland for a start off. I have been writing for many years but I have only recently had the confidence to publish any of my work.

I am also a keen artist. My profile picture is something I designed myself (no, of course I don't really look like that!) I specialise in digital art but I also enjoy painting on canvas with oil or water paints. I also enjoy reading and playing Xbox games.

That's all for now. :)

Monday 12 November 2012

Debut Novel out Now

Hi everyone, my debut novel is now out and available through Amazon Kindle. The first three chapters are available for three if you want to get a flavour for the book before you buy and the book is only 97p (GBP)!

It can be purchased from here Enjoy! : http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alchemist-Four-Corners-Santerria-ebook/dp/B00A2WH5EA/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1352574053&sr=1-1

You can also follow me on Twitter to find out what I'm doing and my progress on my next book. @AuthorTerryReid