Review of Eye of The Tempest by Nicole Peeler Book 4 of the Jane True Series

Shortly after arriving in Rockabil, Jane and Anyan are attacked by humans of all things. Anyan is almost immediately incapacitated, leaving Jane to defend them both.  Jane is aware that they took out Anyan first because he was assumed to be the real threat, while her size, her gender, and her identity as a halfing made her appear nonthreatening.  Jane grasps all of her power, despite being told not to in the past and draws all of the water out of their bodies.  Jane manages to save the day, but not without putting her life in extreme jeopardy. 

Jane goes into a coma and while she is asleep, the blonde ancient that had helped her out in Tempest's Legacy, ingratiates herself with Jane's family and the super natural community by keeping Jane alive. When Jane awakes, she finds her father at her bedside.  She is happy to see him and shocked to learn that he is fully aware of the supernatural world, and Jane's role in it.  He admits that he always knew that there was something different about her.  He follows up this news by informing her that his heart ailments have been completely cured.  Though he loves Jane completely and wants her to stay near, he let's her know that it is okay for her to live her own life and leave Rockabil if she has to.

Unfortunately for Jane, her father's awareness of the supernatural world is not all she has to learn.  It turns out that some kind of power is drawing the supernatural creatures to Rockabil. This creature is ancient and has the potential to destroy the world.  Anyan informs her that the clues to the location of the creature are hidden within an Alfar nursery rhyme. 

"Four locks for power,
Four locks for force.
Four locks for the old one,
Whose time has run its course."

Blondie tells Jane that if the old one is released, its wakening will cause the destruction of the eastern seaboard.  To makes matters even more urgent, Jane also learns that the ancient will choose a champion and give that champion an enormous amount of power.  With a war coming, Jane, Caleb, Anyan and the crew, know that it is essential that this power not fall into the hands of the Alfar. For the first time, Jane is forced to realize that the split within the supernatural community is much larger than Jarl and Morrigan because there are factions forming across the globe. When Nell and Anyan are sidelined, a reluctant Jane is pushed into a leadership position.

Once Upon a Time, Season 1, Episode 18: The Stable Boy

In the past we have a flashback to Regina’s youth – with her doting father and her abusive, manipulative and controlling magical mother. And a stable boy she is having an illicit relationship with. But he is not happy with having to keep their relationship hidden from her mother and her aggressive social climbing and her dangerous magic.

And Regina saves a young girl – Snow White - on an out of control horse stampeding out of control. And giving a trite lesson on facing her fear.

Of course, Snow White is the daughter of the king and the king visits, much to Regina’s mother’s joy, to meet Regina – and the king asks her to marry him on that first meeting in order to secure a woman who cares for his daughter.

Regina runs to Daniel the stableboy and they try to run away together. But Snow White sees them and runs – but Regina catches her and explains True Love to her. She begs Snow to keep it a secret for her, especially from Regina’s mother. Unfortunately Snow White is a gullible child and easy manipulated by Regina’s mother, playing on Snow White’s grief for her own mother – and she spills the secret to her.

Of course her mother stops her running away – and she kills Daniel, taking his heart because she thinks love is an illusion that does nothing for you – power is what endures and keeps you strong. And Regina learns that Snow White was the one who betrayed her. And we see the beginning of her heart hardening

We begin in the real world with Regina and Gold in a flashback –Gold asking a favour from Regina to get out of his battery charges. He offers a plan to get Mary Margaret – killing Katherine, framing Mary, Mary escaping with Regina’s key and then dying trying to leave town. All this plot, all that has happened in the last few episodes – it’s all been Gold’s plan.

In the present, David is trying to encourage Emma to let her visit Mary Margaret but after he all but accused her of killing Catherine Mary doesn’t want to see him. Regina is visiting Mary and trying to push her into confessing and Mary can’t understand why Regina loathes her so.

Stanley is still playing a double game, pretending to work for Emma while really working for Regina. Gold’s legal plan is to play up Mary Margaret’s sterling record, being sweet and co-operative. And the interview with the DA doesn’t go to plan – even less so when Mary bemusingly loses her temper and says the worst possible thing. Oh and the DA is King George, Prince Charming James’s (David) father.

Emma gets to brainstorm with August – who I really wish we’d know more about – and they go detecting – and find the shard of a spade broken from the burying of the heart. If they can match it up they can prove who buried the heart. So recruiting Henry and trying to look at Regina’s tool shed (I do love the forgetting the code book though), finding the damaged spade that matches perfectly with the shard.

Game of Thrones, Season 2, Episode 1: the North Remembers

I will begin by again linking to HBO’s most excellent guide to the 10,000 characters on this show, to help people keep up with who is who.

Game of Thrones is back. I expect so much from this season. Dragons and breasts and kings and prostitutes and brutal murders and breasts and politics and prostitutes and war and breasts. Ok, probably more snarky than intended – I actually expect a lot of great action and story in this series – but I also think it’s going to be told against a backdrop of a thousand naked prostitutes

So without further ado, let the gratuitous jiggling – err, story - commence

In Kings Landing Joffrey is continuing to be the hateful little worm he is – now indulging in blood sports while Sansa tip-toes around his torturous, sadistic and petulant demands – including cleverly manipulating him into saving Ser Dontos’ life. At least Joffrey’s siblings are pleasant.

In Queen Cersei’s council the Maesters has confirmed that the summer is finally over. Cersei’s way of dealing with the many refugees in this time of war and coming winter is to have them evicted from the city

Except now Tyrion is here as well, with his all encompassing awesome. He sets Joffrey down most wonderfully, provides what comfort he can to Sansa in her awful predicament and to show Cersei that Tywin has appointed him hand while he’s away. Tywein takes the chance to poke Cersei perfectly (particularly the “it must be hard for you, being the disappointing child) with all her many varied failures. Alas for the Starks, now Tyrion is making the decisions.

Tyrion has brought Shae, despite his father’s orders.

While Cersei is hoping to find Arya to fix one of her mistakes. She approaches Baelish (her advisors don’t trust Varys being a eunuch) and she exchanges battles of wit with him which she loses – but she then has her guards hold a dagger to Baelish’s throat and show the true power she has. I have to say, the Lannisters do have style.

Joffrey starts emulating the Targaryen decorations and even steps over the line with Cersei – even Cersei is seeing what a disgusting little toad he is and how little he cares about anyone but himself – including her, Jaime and Tywin.

And, of course, it wouldn’t be Game of Thrones if we didn’t have some jiggling breasts in a brothel. I was beginning to think we wouldn’t see one this episode and I’d have to edit my opening. The guards are hunting and killing all of Robert Baratheon’s illegitimate children, even the babes in arms. That also sets them on the trail of Gendry – who has joined the Nights Watch and is travelling north with Arya

In Winterfell Bran and Maester Luwin are holding council as the lord while the other Starks are away which looks both dull and cold. Bran continues to have vivid dreams – dreaming of being a Dire Wolf and seeing a comet in the skies. He follows it up with Osha and Hordor (treated as a pack animal again) walking through where he walked as a Dire Wolf – and Osha and Bran discussing what a comet portends. Osha says it means dragons.

Daenerys has merely a handful of followers left, few supplies and few horses – and 3 baby dragons. They’re heading east across the red waste, a desert, with so few supplies. It’s the only way they can go and protect the dragons – south and west both have too many enemies. Her horse, the one Drogo gave her, founders and dies but Daenerys has to be the strength  for the people and their leader. We also focus a little more on one of her bloodriders, Rekharo.

In the North, beyond the wall, the Night Watch has ridden forth and are at a Wildling camp – where a wildling man has many daughters who are controlled by him – and he has more daughters incestuously by them – which is appropriately regarded with disgust. He’s the last wildling encampment for miles around, the others have allied with Manx Raider, the King of the Wildlings. He’s gathering a huge army and it’s speculated he’s going to lead them south – and he has more men under arms than any of the Seven Kingdoms.

Of course, Jon Snow is pouty and undisciplined and a bit whiney. Which is pretty standard.

Stannis Baratheon, the second Baratheon child and the legitimate heir to the throne is watching a woman in red, Melisandre, burning the statues of the gods (the New gods, the seven). She’s a priestess of a different religion – a lord of light and shadows. She gives Stannis a burning sword and they kneel to her god. Not everyone is happy about it – but they are loyal to Stannis.

Stannis is a harsh but very honest man and has a letter sent across the world proclaiming that Cersei’s children are illegitimate and fathered by Jaime, her brother (which is true). He won’t ally with Renly, his younger brother, because he has declared himself king and he won’t ally with Robb Stark because he has declared himself king in the north – but it leaves Stannis with few forces.

Fangs for the Fantasy Podcast, Episode 60

This week we discuss the Game of Thrones (which is back!), Being Human (US), The Vampire Diaries and Lost Girl. And our book of the week, Jennifer Rardin’s Once Bitten, Twice Shy. And we discuss Tami’s porn, of course.

Review: Once Bitten, Twice Shy, by Jennifer Rardin, Book 1 of the Jaz Parks Series

Jaz Parks is a CIA assassin and a Hellsinger – an expert at killing vampires. She and her partner, Vayl, have been teamed up for several months to track down and eliminate various international bad guys

And in Miami they had what seemed to be a simple hit. A plastic surgeon working for terrorists, human and simple. Except they quickly found themselves in deeper than they had ever imagined with a plot that encompassed ancient, other-worldly forces, a devastating plagues and a large number of vampires and even a member of the government.

Throw in a mole, Vayl’s evil and lethal ex-wife and a vampire from her own past and it’s overwhelming. And Jaz is already more than overwhelmed with her family and her own past experiences – to say nothing of her growing feelings for Vayl

Before I get to the problems with the story I have to complain over the writing, alas. It is very overwritten, overly descriptive and full of distractions. The book is told from Jaz’s point of view and she has the concentration span of a concussed gnat on LSD. She constantly flits from topic to topic, interspaces everything with various coping mechanisms and her endless doubts and insecurities. We keep maundering on about a 6 year old bully and her long deceased grandmother (I have no idea why) and you can generally get lost in the space of a paragraph.

The plot (which I will complain about at length) is also such that the pace is ridiculous. I hate slow novels, but this goes far too far the other way. We have so much to deal with we’re positively racing through this book

The problem I had with the story is that there were 2 books worth of story in there. Maybe even 3. There was a lot happening here. A crooked mole, trailer trash assassins, Vayl’s ex, an abused wife, Jasmine’s many many issues and past, her issues with her brother, her father who has a secret and has sacked his nurse, her pregnant sister, there’s a plague and a demon and terrorists and a super vampire and this hot guy called Cole and and and – there’s just so much here. In some ways I applaud that a plot can have so many facets and so many actors all coming together, but there was just too much to follow and we kept jumping between them. I got lost quite a lot, I was confused, I almost had to take notes.

And this is the first book as well – which means this is our introduction. This is the book where we’re supposed to learn about Jaz, her job and role, her issues, her personality as well as Vayl and introduced to what exactly their relationship is, what the foundation is exactly who and what he is. And then we throw in the peripheries – her boss, her sister, her father, Vayl’s past. She also has super contacts that just drop out of the sky – Cassandra the super-psychic and Bergman the super-duper tech guy that would make James Bond drool. These could have been introduced in a more preliminary novel and not had the super dream-team just drop out of the sky.

It could also have given us chance to explain what these special titles Vayl is giving to Jaz actually mean and a chance for Vayl to explain his past without the sense of “guys, this is REALLY a bad time”. Same goes for Jaz’s powers which are, at best, vaguely touched on. Or her family issues (utterly irrelevant to the story but shoe-horned in as well)

There was too much here – and in a book that was 270 pages long that meant all of this was brushed over a lot, rushed through a lot and generally crammed in with a crowbar.

I’m also not keen on Jaz Parks. Now, I am very happy to see any character that has suffered trauma actually show the effects of trauma since urban fantasy has a habit of brushing over horrific pasts. BUT, Jaz is affected to the point where she’s borderline non-functioning. She has blackouts – she’s a CIA agent, well-armed assassin going out on undercover missions to kill international bad guys and she has frequent, long lasting blackouts. This trained killer is losing time. She also has some amazing mood swings, horrendous low self-esteem, frequent flash backs to a childhood bully she once endured (as well as a granny who keeps coming up but seems to have zero relevance to anything) and is extremely conflict averse to the point of whining because her boss may yell at her. Even aside from her blackouts and mood swings, her whining, neediness and poor impulse control combine to make her a not very strong character to me – just because she can fight doesn’t make her strong.

Dresden Files, Season 1, Episode 1: Birds of a Feather

The show is nicely introduced by a dream - seeing young Harry – with a father who doesn’t believe in monsters (either he’s lying or he was ignorant), the knowledge that his mother is dead and a nice shield bracelet provided by said deceased mother. It’s a pretty nice lead in to the character, concept and themes and an elegant bit of back story.

We see more flashbacks of his past – of him using his magic to help his father’s work as a travelling magician’s – and his father’s worry because people will use him and prey on him for his abilities. Including Uncle Justin Morningway. Justin wants to train Harry in his magical gifts but his father is worried about the plots Justin is involved in. Unfortunately Justin doesn’t take no for an answer and he is a powerful, amoral wizard.

Of course modern Harry is much less afraid of things that go bump in the night and wakes up next to a young lady with whom he has been creating many such noisy bumps last night. Speaking of, we also meet Bob, the magical knowledge spirit and possessor of much sarcasm and giving us some more backstory of Harry’s magical, evil uncle who he “self-defenced to death”.

In fact this episode is generally good at introduction – Harry is listed as a wizard in the yellow pages (as pointed out by a young boy wanting to hire him to save him from monsters) and he is friend with Karin Murphy, a police detective and her side kick Detective Kirmani. Who have a horrible, skinless body to deal with.

Bob is worried that Harry dismissed the boy too quickly – or, rather, worried that if the kid is eaten by monsters that he will have to endure Harry moping for several weeks – and convinces Harry to do some more investigating. And the kid sees ravens and pale people raven-ish people and runs screaming.

Harry does provide them with a protection spell (for the kid’s peace of mind) and that spell keeps the boy’s teacher out of the house. The symbol also ends up carved on the ceiling outside the boy’s room.

Murphy calls Harry in for an opinion for – he’s a paid expert for the police and she recognises the dead woman’s picture as the kid’s teacher – making her a skin-walker. A creature that steals skin and uses them as a disguise. Naturally it’s cavalry time but they arrive too late as the raven-man has taken the boy. Harry also learns that ever since the boy came home he has been stalked by ravens – which Bob identifies as raven-clan mercenaries.

The boy has the gift – the potential to be a wizard – and the Skinwalker catches up with harry to ask some painful questions and while they give up information they also learn that the Skinwalker is working for someone.

Using a raven feather, Harry casts a quick tracking spell to find the raven’s nest where the boy is having a banana split. The ravens plan to keep moving and running, taking the boy away to escape the Skinwalker – but Harry, after his transient childhood finds this less than ideal.

One of Bob’s bag of tricks takes care of the Skinwalker, develop during Bob’s days working for Justin. Now Harry is going to have to be ready to teach the boy when he grows older

A Sadly White-Washed Hunger Games

Natalie Wilson is a literature and women’s studies scholar, blogger, and author. She teaches at Cal State San Marcos and specializes in the areas of gender studies, feminism, feminist theory, gender studies, cultural studies, body studies, and literature. She is author of the blogs Professor, what if…? and Seduced by Twilight. She also writes a column at Girl with Pen and regularly blogs for the Ms. Blog.

 Do I think Jennifer Lawrence is a phenomenal actress? Yes. Do I delight in her astute, feminist commentary? Yes. Do I love of the fact she rejects the toothpick paradigm of Hollywood and proudly proclaims her love of philly cheesesteaks? You bet. But, I still wish that an actress of color would have been cast to play Katniss Everdeen.

The book describes Katniss as having black hair, olive skin, and gray eyes. More significantly, as argued by Alexiel at the blog Sanctuary, “the entire metaphor that runs through the book about oppression, hunger, and excess is meaningless if none of the main characters are people of color.” 

The dystopian future documented in the novel is beset by extreme levels of inequality, with the Capitol functioning as the figurative 1% and the districts as the 99%. This wealth and power differential can also be read in relation to the Global North and the Global South, with the Capitol operating as an oppressive and exploitive seat of empire. As Alexiel notes in her post, the children of The Hunger Games can be read in relation to sweatshop workers and child soldiers of the Global South. Doing so, as she points out, stays true to the fact the book “was bubbling over with revolution – with images and ideas that were easy to analogize to the current world economic order and power structure.”

To be fair, the revolutionary aspects of the narrative are not lost in the film adaptation, but they are certainly watered down, and, more to the point, extensively whitewashed. Not only is Katniss white, the majority of people in District 12 are white, as these image convey:

The casting, which problematically only called for caucasion actors to audition for the role of Katniss,  goes against the books clear description regarding the fact that District 12 is divided along racial lines, with the merchant class having “light hair and blue eyes” and the working class having “olive skin.” As Director Gary Ross notes “it’s a multi-racial culture.” 

Grimm, Season 1, Episode 15: Island of Dreams

“Soon her was so in love with the witch’s daughter he could think of nothing else. He lived by the light of her eyes and gladly did whatever she asked.”

Another quote I don’t recognise, though I suspect a theme here – femme fatale incoming? Evil seductive women? Oh dear, Grimm, you don’t have the record with women to pull this off methinks

Police Chief Captain Renard (Reaper-Maybe-Evil-We-Don’t-Know-Because-We-Never-Get-Any-Damn-Meta-Plot) examining a painting (and dropping the hint he has been around for several centuries) and talking to Adalind the Hexenbiest they saved waaay back in the beginning of the series and a semi-almost recurring character. Renard wants her to seduce a police detective – they want to control Nick and to do that they’re going through Hank.

She takes his blood (obtained by Renard from a police physical) and goes shopping at the Fuschbau’s pharmacy (the only wesen shop in town it seems) for more ingredients (and she’s scary enough to get her shopping for free). She makes these into cookies for Hank (giant cookies at that. Hey, I don’t care if it’s evil black magic – chocolate cookies get me on side). And yes, she starts dreaming of Adalind. He also doesn’t share his cookies with Sergent Wu forcing him to resort to cookie theft. Hank also starts hallucinating about her and then asking her out on a date.

Meanwhile 2 wesen are inhaling fumes then go rob that same shop for some white powder referred to as “J”. The shop keeper manages to bite one on the leg before being shot. In comes the Grimm team. Nick, hank and Sergent Wu turn up and find the flesh in the Fuschbau’s mouth he has ripped off his killer (uckies uckies).

Nick, of course, knows the place and they check the basement and Nick gets to inform the deceased’s sister, Rosalie, who gets to come down and answer all the sad questions the surviving relatives have to at these times and Nick takes her to the shop where she goes all fuzzy Fuschbau and sad over the blood stains. She also recognises Nick as a Grimm and has the obligatory moment of panic (y’know, if I were Nick I’d severely question the activities of my fellow Grimm if this universal panic is the automatic reaction) and they discuss the illegal trades her brother has done in the past and what else he could have been involved in.

To the Grimmopedia, Eddie! Unfortunately, Eddie may know what some of the things in the shop are – and whether Vesen would kill for them –but not by the chemical names that the police labs have given them. Going to the shop he recognises J – poisonous for humans, but an incredible painkiller for wesen – and a narcotic taken for its high.

And the wesen who did the stealing come back for more J – Rosalie cuts one and escapes and then gets to come to the police to ID the thieves. Eddie goes home with her to help protect her (and because he’ll be able to smell them).