Game Review : Cutthroat Caverns

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

A motley band of adventurers descends into the inky darkness of the caverns in the quest for the fabulous artefact rumoured to lie somewhere deep within. Working together they should be more than a match for the terrifying creatures that wait in the shadows, but each member knows that only ...

Film Review : Avatar

Sunday, January 3rd, 2010

James Cameron has always been an interesting film maker. Although on one level most of his films could be classified as pulpy genre-related fare, they usually have a more interesting subtext lurking below the explosions. Previous Cameron films have investigated such themes as mother/daughter relationships, humanity's fear of the unknown, ...

Book Review : Three Books

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell: A Novel by Susanna Clarke Possibly going for the title of "Most English Book Ever Written", Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell tells the unlikely story of two magicians in the early 1800s, a time when magic is all-but forgotten. The two title characters have very different ...

Book Bragging Rights (Fantasy Edition)

Sunday, March 8th, 2009

Alright! This is the last one of these I am going to do, partly due to the time they take, but mostly because they make me look bad. Fantasy is a much (and accurately) maligned genre. Unlike SciFi, Fantasy cannot pretend that its authors are offering up visions of our ...

Game Review : Talisman

Thursday, January 17th, 2008

This is a review of a very geeky game, so those not interested can view some pictures of animals by clicking on this bear: Still with me? Talisman is a board game with a premise similar to Dungeons and Dragons. Each player takes a archetypal character (Warrior, Elf, etc) with certain ...

5 Ways to Tell If You Are Living In a Fantasy or Science-Fiction Novel

Wednesday, May 30th, 2007

1When you come across a thin building taller than 6 stories high, do a quick check to see if it is a tower. If it is then you have no problems, provided you are a law abiding citizen. However, if it could be a spire then you are in trouble; ...

Movie Review: Pan’s Labyrinth

Sunday, May 27th, 2007

A young girl travels with her mother to a remote military base in the Spanish countryside to live with her stepfather, an army captain. While there, she meets a magical faun who gives her three fantastic quests to carry out. This would be complicated enough, but in the meantime it ...

Movie Review: The 7th Voyage of Sinbad

Wednesday, May 16th, 2007

The legendary sailor is forced to form a crew of untrustworthy criminals and sail to a remote island filled with every kind of stop-montion animated peril when his fiancée is cursed. I had good memories of the Sinbad from watching them on TV as a child, and I am happy to ...