Book Review: A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Windspear

 

This dusty book has been on my shelves for quite a while. I was given the ARC of A Lesson in Secrets while volunteering at Left Coast Crime in 2012 and Winspear was one of the guest speakers.  I had so much fun hearing all the different speakers and received a great many books from authors I've never read before.  Don't know why it took me so long to read, but glad I did.  

"In the summer of 1932, Maisie Dobbs’s career takes an exciting new turn when she accepts an undercover assignment directed by Scotland Yard’s Special Branch and the Secret Service. Posing as a junior lecturer, she is sent to a private college in Cambridge to monitor any activities, “not in the interests of His Majesty’s Government. When the college’s controversial pacifist founder and principal, Greville Liddicote, is murdered, Maisie is directed to stand back as Detective Chief Superintendent Robert MacFarlane and Detective Chief Inspector Richard Stratton spearhead the investigation. She soon discovers, however, that the circumstances of Liddicote’s death appear inextricably linked to the suspicious comings and goings of faculty and students under her surveillance."

As a police procedural set in 1932, Maisie is sent to work undercover for a private college and the principal is murdered.  She's told not to investigate the murder, but she spends a good bit of running around the country, doing exactly that and of course, finding out quite a bit more than the Superintendent and Chief Inspector.  She quite daring for the times and has no problem knocking on strangers doors to interview them.  Interestingly enough, there were several red herrings which distracted her from finding the real murderer for quite a while and who turned out to be a surprise. Several times I though I knew but really didn’t.  She has a love interest, but also seems to be attracted to someone else.  Will probably dip back into the series at some point.

Dusty book, England, 1932 

James M's review of Sonic The Hedgehog: The Movie aka Sonic the OVA

 

Welcome back to the Sonic-verse, today, we're traveling back to the 1990s to look at another Sonic animation. We've covered the first two Sonic cartoons and Underground, but we've not yet covered another obscure part of Sonic's past, we're looking at the Sonic OVA aka Sonic The Hedgehog: The Movie (which is not to be confused with the Sonic movie that came out nearly 25 years later.

So, what's the story behind this anime?

Well, back in 1996, Sonic was very popular in America with several games, an ongoing comic book and two shows under his belt. But meanwhile in Japan, SEGA Enterprises wanted to do a Sonic show themselves, especially as Sonic had never done an anime at this point. 

So, they partnered with Studio Pierrot to work on the project with Sonic Team's Yuji Naka and Naoto Oshima supervising the project. However, since Sonic wasn't super popular in Japan, the OVA flopped and only two episodes were done. After that, it wouldn't come out in America until 1999 when the first Sonic Adventure was releasing alongside the Dreamcast.

In the years after this piece of Sonic media released, I saw it myself with my father on YouTube in 2015 and then saw it again with my mother a few years later. The OVA is quite good, too bad SEGA refuses to touch anything from it or even allow any material from the OVA to pop up in other Sonic media, especially since (unlike the DiC shows) it is almost faithful to the source material.

Now, what is the story and world of the OVA like?

Well, Sonic and Tails live on Planet Freedom, which is implied to be a post-apocalyptic Earth, and their enemy Doctor Robotnik kidnaps the president's daughter Sara while tricking Sonic to go down to Robotnikland so the villainous doctor can create Metal Sonic with the hedgehog's DNA. Robotnik intends to devastate Planet Freedom and marry Sara, which is near creepy too. The show features the likes of Knuckles the Echidna (who made his animation debut before appearing in Sonic Underground) and other colorful characters such as Old Man Owl, the President and, of course, Sara.

Its also a no brainer that Metal Sonic shows up and is Sonic's adversary in this two part movie, he and Sonic fight near the end, which leads to the now well-known meme-worthy line of "strange isn't it". Thanks to the likes of Tyson Hesse and the resurgence of Classic Sonic in the 2010s, the OVA became somewhat relevant again and is often referenced in many ways without causing much of an issue. 

Until Sonic X came along seven years later, the OVA was the only instance of a Sonic anime that ever came out and X was more successful than the 1996 movie ever was. Regardless, the Sonic OVA is a product of its time and deserves to be watched, this anime is nothing short of fun and has so many good moments sprinkled throughout. If you're a fan of Sonic, this is a must see.

My score for the Sonic OVA gets a 9.5/10, its likable and unforgettable. In regards to the possibility of any material from this piece of Sonic history seeing the light of day again, we may never know, but anything and everything is possible in the multiverse. Thank you and good day...

-CVGW James 

Book Review: Super Powereds Year 2 by Drew Hayes

 

Finished Drew Hayes Super Powereds Year Two which was just as good as Year One. 

"Despite having their secret revealed, the residents of Melbrook Hall return to Lander University for another year in the Hero Certification Program. Good thing the focus of this year is teamwork, because with their origins known they’ll have to lean on each other more than ever.

Now finally sophomores, their curriculum expands, allowing them to train in the majors that Heroes specialize in. The new classes will test their minds, bodies, and determination in ways never anticipated. In a year filled with the unveiling of secrets, unexpected entanglements, and, of course, super-powered battles, who will be left standing is anyone’s guess. Because if all that weren’t enough, more light is being shed on last year’s kidnapping attempt, and the results point at something far bigger than mere rogue educators."

Our main characters are in Year 2 of college and their Hero Certification program. This year for the kids it is all about team work while trying to preserve their spot to make it through to the fourth year. Their secret as powereds is exposed and they have to work doubly hard to preserve friendships and ignore those who don't think they are good enough.

I think I'm most surprised by Hershel and Roy. Glad Hershel approached Dad and found out Hershel needs to work out and get himself into shape in order for Roy to progress. Are these two going to combine into one person one of these days. It's sad they can't forgive their father and have a relationship but he did abandon them for a different lifestyle. I'm not surprised about Nick but I do think he'll be back for Year 3. I know Nick does things for all the right reasons, but I think his lack of trust in his team mates, his refusing to reveal his true self most of the time, contributes to some of their problems. But he is a teenager? Or is he just posing as one? Never quite sure about that. 

Disappointed in Camille hiding her true abilities from Vince. How will he feel when he does find out? Vince is way too forgiving of Rich and Nick. I would probably feel betrayed by their actions and take longer to get over them. Alice and Mary are learning to be team players, plus learning how to use their abilities. The rest of the sub characters and the adults all have something to hide, some more than others, which feeds into not only the lessons, but their lives. Looking forward to Year 3.

James M's review of Star Wars The Mandalorian season two (2020)

 

Welcome back to that galaxy far, far away, friends. After much delay, we're finally delving into season two of STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN, which aired all the way back in 2020 from October to December. Its high time we do that, so lets not delay any longer...

Just like the first season, Mandalorian season two consists of over eight episodes. Also, season two continues from where season one left off with Din D'Jarin's quest to protect The Child and help him find The Jedi after defeating Moff Gideon in the season one finale. 

This season marks the live-action debut of characters such as Ahsoka Tano from The Clone Wars and Rebels alongside Bo-Katan as well as Cob Vanth from the Star Wars Aftermath trilogy of books.

Boba Fett finally makes his return in this, having survived the Sarlacc pit when we last saw him during the events of 1983's Return of The Jedi. He even lost his armor, which ended up in the hands of Cob Vanth himself, which he wore as a sheriff on Tatooine until Din helps him and a band of Tusken Raiders defeat a Krayt Dragon in the very first episode, the same episode in which Boba Fett shows up.

When we run into Ahsoka a couple episodes later, we also learn more about The Child, discovering that his name is Grogu and he is a Jedi youngling who survived the chaotic events of Order 66 and was hidden away for years until Din found him. 

We also discover that Ahsoka is still looking for Ezra Bridger, which will become a plot point in her upcoming show, and she is seeking out Grand Admiral Thrawn, who was last seen in Star Wars Rebels being defeated in the series finale. 

The finale to the show's second season gets very interesting, especially when Moff Gideon kidnaps Grogu for his own uses. Din teams up with Boba Fett, a surviving Fennic Shand, Cara Dune and Bo-Katan to find and storm Moff Gideon's Star Destroyer to rescue the young Yoda-like child. Din fights Dark Troopers (which make their canon debut) and then battles Moff Gideon, who has the Darksaber which we saw him with near the end of the season one finale.

But even after Gideon's defeat, Din and his crew still have to contend with the Dark Troopers, but help arrives in form of none other than Luke Skywalker (with Mark Hamill reprising his role). Luke cuts his way through the Dark Troopers in a sequence that made a lot of fans smile and saves Din's group, but he's here to pick up Grogu and help him get back on the Jedi path.

Din has a heartfelt goodbye with Grogu and we watch as Luke goes off with him as season two draws to an end. However, its not done yet. A post-credits scene shows Boba Fett and Fennic Shand return to Tatooine where they enter Jabba The Hutt's place and kill the still-alive Bib Fortuna, leading to Boba taking the throne to himself, setting up the events of The Book Of Boba Fett (2021).

Season two of The Mandalorian was very entertaining with some very good episodes that will never be forgotten, even Luke Skywalker's appearance was great to see and satisfying enough to those who were upset by how he was handled in the Sequel Trilogy (specifically The Last Jedi). With Grogu no longer a plot point in the show, we have to see where The Mandalorian goes from there in season three, which will be airing down the road in 2022. Pedro Pascal fills the role of The Mandalorian title character flawlessly, it is also rumored that Luke may make another appearance in season three.

My definitive final score for season two is a 9.8 out of 10, The Mandalorian's an excellent addition to the legacy of Star Wars and is worth rewatching again and again. Now, I say farewell, may the Force be with you, always.

-James. M

A to Z and Back Again - E is for Earnest

 

You are in a pitch black cave so dark you can't see your hand in front of your face. You stumble about, unable to find your bearings.  Before the lights went out, you saw a cavern, a meandering walkway with rocks littering the path, leading to another cave. You listen for a voice, a laugh, a we're only kidding jest, but hear nothing.  Where are you now? Are you alone? Or are there other people lost in the dark same as you. 

You stand in place and wait.  Should you turn around and seek the light?  You remember a door, but you don't have any idea where it is anymore. You were shoved through a door into the cavern before the door shut, blocking out the light, sight, sound. What is on the other other side of the cavern? Where are you going? Do you know? 

They said they were giving you a test to see, ha ha, your full potential. What did any of this have to do with being a team player or a lone wolf. What did any of this have to do with being management material?  What were they expecting? For you to stand there silently and wait, or yell for help; stumble and fall, or march through the dark, like a stupid idiot, going in circles. 

You hate tests. Always had. They never revealed the true you. Didn't test your real knowledge, just the fake, the regurgitated lessons of the past.  Whether you made it through or not, you decided you were through; with her, with them, with the whole endeavor. It wasn't worth it.  

Do you dare move into the dark?  Stumble about in the dark, hands out stretched, eyes squinched tight against the heavy weight.  You breath deep and take a step, your foot sliding an inch, then another, until you reach the zenith of your stride.  You feel like Frankenstein, stiff legged, stiff armed, lurching forward in the dark.  You continue to shuffle forward, feeling your way with your feet and your hands.  Your whole body aware, seeking the path, seeking the way forward.  

You slide your feet forward again, a little faster this time, one after another. How far have you gone? How long has it been?

Silence descends and nothing reaches your ears except for the slide of your shoes. Nothing in the cave except you and the dark. The whoosh of your shoe as it swings in an arc, testing out the width of the trail. You swing your arms to no avail.

The split second of light at the beginning, a flash of the trail, not concrete, but gravel leading off into the distance remains in your mind's eye.  You blink open your eyes and wait for them to adjust, imagining people in the dark; observing, listening, taking notes, grading your progress.  Damn them.

Another foot forward, the rasp of your own breath, another inch.  Are you getting closer? How far have you gone?  Inch by inch, breath by breath, how much time has passed?

Your foot encounters something in the dark, in the path.  You reach out and run your hands over the object.  A chair? What would happen if you sat down? If you waited, if you rested? Would you fail? You grip the chair and fling it as hard as you can forward and listen to it clatter and slither along the trail, until it comes to a stop. Lost in the dark.   

An hour passed, you think, before you encounter another obstacle in your path. The damn chair again, upright, and waiting for you to sit down and rest. How the Hell did they do that? 

You huff out a laugh which echoes around you.  You hoot like an owl and listen as echolocation tell you you're in the middle of a chamber, the sound circling around you. You throw the chair, harder this time, and are rewarded with a thump as it lands against a wall. 

Tempted to rush forward, you restrain yourself.  Whoosh, slide, step, whoosh slide, and step, again and again until you feel the brush of air flow past you. A bat? A bird? A fan? Or maybe a door opening. 

You listen, hearing nothing, the oppressive dark unrelenting, your legs quivering from fatigue, and push forward until your hands hit a hard rock wall right in front of you.  You lean forward and rest your head against the rocks, resting for just one moment.  Is this the end or another chair, another barrier?

You run your hands over the wall searching for a doorknob, a latch, a hole, even a button to push. What feels like  interminable minutes pass before you find an outline of a square.  

You push it and wait and wait and wait and wait. 

You swear and punch the damn wall, slide down to sit. For just a minute. You are so damned tire, but you need a minute to rest, to regroup. It's another obstacle, no more than that. 

You climb to your feet and resume running your hands along the rocky wall. Five feet to the left and find large rocks blocking the way.  Back to the middle, then five feet more to the right.  You encounter a blank spot. You press forward through an opening, hands sliding against the wall, foot carving an arc, until you hit wood.  A door. An actual door with a handle.  You turn the knob and the door squeaks open to a sea of black.   

Sighing, you power onward and find, another chair. This time you sit and wait, close your eyes, and listen.

A murmur of voices, laughter, music, comes from your right, in the distance.  Are the jackasses having a party while they wait?  

You open your eyes and see a tiny light far, far away. A figment of your imagination, or the real deal. An open door? An exit? The end?

You rise and trusting nothing else will block your past, you stride with confidence forward into the light.  

James. M's review of Ghostbusters & Ghostbusters II (1984 & 1989)

 

Greetings, supernatural nerds, we're diving into another movie review. But this one is a double feature, its the first Ghostbusters movie from 1984 and its 1989 sequel both starring Bill Murray, Rick Moranis, Dan Aykroyd and Alien's Sigourney Weaver. Both were well-received movies and went on to become pop-culture products of their era, spanning a franchise consisting of a couple video games and various comic books as well as a cartoon show.

So, what's the story of all two films here?

In the first film, after Peter Venkmen, Egon Spangler and Ray Stanz investigate a ghostly phenomenon in a library in New York, they go into a supernatural investigation and ghost catching buisness calling themselves the Ghostbusters. As more spooky situations start popping up, its soon discovered that an ancient god called Gozer is coming to destroy the world so its up to the Ghostbusters to stop him.

And in the second movie, after going out of buisness following the battle with Gozer in the first film, the Ghostbusters have to get back together when pink slime is discovered under New York and they catch wind that a dead evil dictator named Vigo the Carpathian is planning to return from the dead and take possession of Daina Barret's baby son Oscar on New Year's.

Now that the plots are out of the way, what do people like me think of Ghostbusters?

Overall, they're nothing short of decent, comedic and almost serious 1980s movie fun. The producers knew what stories they were aiming to tell and the actors helped tell the story perfectly. The Stay-Puff Marshmallow Man, Gozer's pre-chosen form by Ray, in the first film went on to become an icon in pop culture and is somewhat of a meme now and then.

The tone of both movies manages to find a perfect balance between light-hearted comedic storytelling and when to get serious, especially with the big villains of the first and second films respectively. In regards to the cast of the movies, Bill Murray is perhaps one of the greatest out of the entire Ghostbusters cast, even Sigourney is a treasure to see, especially for those who are fans of her work. 

I don't have anything else to say, not only is there great acting and good storytelling in these movies, but the musical score is well done and there are some great special effects as well. These movies deserve the love they got, if anybody out there hasn't seen it, go see it. You do not want to miss out on some fun 1980s classics, especially when it comes to supernatural comedy films like Ghostbusters.

Ghostbusters I gets an 9.5 out of 10 and Ghostbusters II gets a 9.9/10. These movies are so loved and the franchise is so popular, a third film was finally launched after languishing in development heck for years while an all-female reboot in 2016 was released, but we'll save that one for another day.

Now, I bid you farewell. See you in the next movie review...

-James. M

James M's review of The Sonic Encyclospeedia (2021)

2021, ten years after Sonic's 20th Anniversary and five years after his twenty-fifth, SEGA and the fandom celebrated Sonic's long-awaited 30th Anniversary. The anniversary technically began a year in advance with the release of the highly-anticipated Sonic The Hedgehog movie from Paramount which was a love letter to the franchise and rejuvenated Sonic after years of declining popularity, returning him to a status of high-popularity not seen since the 1990s.

And amidst all that was going on, SEGA collaborated with Dark Horse Comics and popular writer Ian Flynn, not to create a Sonic comic, but to create a book that served as a complete history guide to the decades-worth of Sonic games. This was the Sonic Encyclospeedia.

I got this for Christmas after weeks of seeing other people reading it and read the entire thing in one sitting while opening up gifts on Christmas Eve. So, what do I think about it? Well, Ian is a great writer and he put a lot of effort into that research and everything that we saw about the games and the franchise factoids that popped up in this Encyclospeedia.

Did it clean up any lore inconsistencies? 

Maybe.

Were there any acknowledgements of other Sonic media aside from the games?

Yes, both Archie, Fleetway, SatAM, AoSTH and Sonic Boom were directly and indirectly acknowledged in this very book along with Sonic Chronicles, which had a section of its own. And at the start of the book, there was a sweet message from Takashi Iizuka, the head of Sonic Team and semi-steward of the Sonic franchise.

Take a moment and look at it, read it all. No matter what the fans think of him, Iizuka cares very deeply about Sonic just like everyone else and will do what he can to ensure the blue blur succeeds globally, even if he, the rest of his team and the rest of the franchise were held down by corporate restrictions from the higher-ups at SEGA of Japan.

And after years of working on Sonic projects with SEGA and having been part of the fandom (as well as the franchise's history), writer Ian Flynn knew what he was doing and knows what he is doing, especially with what he's given and how he navigates certain restrains. Just like Iizuka, Ian cares about the franchise, its world and the characters. He worked so hard on the comics and became so popular with the fanbase, this man deserves his long-awaited promotion to writer for the games' stories.

Yup, the man behind the story for the (as of right now) upcoming Sonic Frontiers video game is the same man who worked on this, Archie Sonic during its last decade, some Sonic Boom episodes, and IDW Sonic. Heck, he's also involved with the multiverse-spanning adventure show Sonic Prime.

Overall, the Sonic Encyclospeedia is a good read alongside the Mario Encyclospeedia (which also came out during the Mario Bros franchise's 30th anniversary), the Hyrule Historia, Breath Of The Wild Creating a Champion and the Hyrule Encyclospeedia. If anybody out there wants to learn more about the games, get this book, its great. 

However, this is not the first time Ian Flynn wrote a Sonic encyclopedia. All the way back in 2012, well before the reboot, Archie Sonic received an encyclopedia that contained nearly two decades of lore compiled together. And by pure coincidence, the Encyclospeedia is coming out right as the Sonic games are about to go through a reboot of some kind. History can repeat in many impossible ways.

My overall score for the Encyclospeedia is a 9.5/10, its a must-have and a must-read for the Sonic fans, be it newcomers or long-time fans. As I said before, if you don't have it yet, go get it. Now, I take my leave. Have a good life out there, don't get sick and don't hurt yourself. And remember, gotta go fast.

-James. M