My top 20 favorite horror movies of all time - Part I: 20-11

October is the time to watch horror movies, so prepare yourself for a descent into the world of high strangeness! What are your favorite horror movies? Some people like horror movies with zombies and maniacs running around with murderous chainsaws, you know, the sort of stuff that use jump scares, blood, and gore to make people scream. But I prefer psychological horrors and macabre stories, the sort of movies which will make you think. I have compiled a list for the 20 horror movies I like the most. 

The list consists of two parts, and the ranking is in ascending order. Part I is from 20 to 11, where Part II will be the top 10. The list is a reflection of my personal preference for the genre. Perhaps from my list you will find a few movies to intrigue you on a rainy night.

Number 20: Attack the Block (2011)

Who knew, a story about aliens invading a block of units could be so entertaining! Attack the Block is a small budget horror movie with a splash of comedy in it. This movie is a cult classic, and it is the kind of movie I would watch on a late Friday night. The story follows a gang of hoodlums, as they struggled to survive an alien invasion in the apartment complex they live in. Attack the Block is a genre-bending film with a fun story, and the special effects are pretty great too, which is even more impressive considering the small budget.

Number 19: IT (2017)

A number of Stephen King's novels have seen movie adaptations, and IT is one of my favorites. There are two motion picture adaptations for IT; a TV series from 1990, and a recent movie in 2017. I think the 2017 movie is better than the TV series. The story is about a bunch of kids growing up and facing their deepest fears, where the monster, Pennywise, is a physical manifestation of all their fears. However, the best thing about this movie is not the scary clown, but the kids themselves. I mean, even if Pennywise was removed from this movie, leaving a story only about the kids, it would still be just as good.

Number 18: The Wicker Man (1973)

The Wicker Man? The one starring Nicholas Cage? No no, I am not talking about the disastrous 2006 remake which starred Nicholas Cage. I am talking about the original from 1973, a British horror/mystery movie inspired by a novel called "Ritual". The Wicker Man takes an interesting peek into cults and belief systems. There is no supernatural element in this movie, but it is terrifying nevertheless because it uses paranoia so well. The Wicker Man is one of the finest horror movies I have ever seen.

Number 17: The Conjuring (2013)

The recent years brought us a movie franchise, based on the (allegedly true) stories of Ed and Lorraine Warren, who were paranormal investigators and Christian exorcists. There are now 5 or 6 movies in this franchise, but I like The Conjuring the most. I remain skeptical of the paranormal and supernatural activities, but The Conjuring is genuinely terrifying and suspenseful. This movie may have dramatized the effects of demonic activities and Christian exorcisms, but what surprised me is that many religious people are also skeptical of Ed and Lorraine Warren's stories. I mean, only a few hundred years ago this stuff was the fabric in the everyday life of religious people, and these things were also recorded in their holy scriptures. However, nowadays when religious people encounter modern-day possession and exorcism stories they don't believe it, instead they usually examine the modern-day claims through the lens of scientific skepticism. This made me wonder, why aren't present-day religious people applying the same scientific skepticism they used on the modern-day claims, to also examine the claims in their holy scriptures? Their positions seem inconsistent to me. I mean, if they don't believe in the present day stories then they have even less reason to believe in the ones from antiquities.  

Number 16: Alien (1979)

The best movies in the Alien franchise, are the first two movies. But the first one, Alien, directed by Ridley Scott, is a sci-fi/horror masterpiece. But where, or who, is the horror in Alien? Is it the Xenomorph? Well, if you think about it, being locked up in a spaceship with a Xenomorph is no more terrifying than being locked up in a cage with a lion or a pack of wolves. But that is not "horror". So where is the horror? I believe, Alien is influenced by the philosophy of Cosmicism. This is a literary philosophy invented by author H.P. Lovecraft and it is the very heart for the famous Cthulhu mythos. I was not a big Alien fan until I discovered the philosophical connection between the movie and the Lovecraftian horrors, then suddenly I saw Alien in a new light, with a newfound sense of appreciation.

Number 15: The Gift (2015)

Are the things we say to each other just words? Take a look at a movie called The Gift. This is a psychological horror movie made with a very small budget. If I tell you anything more about the movie then I will spoil it, so let me just say The Gift is a damn good movie. There is no supernatural element in this movie, and there is no blood and no gore. This movie has a very clever story. Don't watch any trailers for The Gift, just pick up this movie and watch it, and it will surprise you, with two hours of suspense and mystery.

Number 14: The Babadoook (2014)

The Babadook is an Australian psychological horror movie. This movie was made with a very small budget. The Babadook feels a bit Indie and arthouse. It is quite scary and I love it. The first time I watched The Babadook I was cowering behind a blanket and a cushion. The story follows a widowed mother, who was raising her 6 year old son alone. Her son began to display strange behaviors and it drove her to the brink of exhaustion. This movie successfully made the audience wonder if the characters were experiencing an imagined event or a genuine supernatural episode, and it was intense and suspenseful. The Babadook is a prime example of good Australian film making, and it also showcases what good acting and a good story can achieve with a small budget.

Number 13: Get Out (2017)

Get Out is a psychological horror movie, but it is also a little bit comedic because it is a satire and a social commentary. This movie received the Oscar award for the best original screenplay, which is extraordinary for a horror movie! I mean, how often do we see the judges on Oscar handing out an award to a horror movie? Not very often, right? I think this movie deserves the critical acclaims, because it is very clever, and it offers a thought provoking story, one you have never seen before.

Number 12: The Mist (2007)

At number 12 is another adaptation of Stephen King's novel. I believe there is a more recent TV series adaptation for The Mist but it is poorly received. Anyway, I am not talking about the TV series, I am talking about the 2007 movie adaptation, The Mist. 

The premise of the story is quite simple, a mist of unknown origin suddenly invaded a small town, and the residents found themselves besieged by mysterious assailants in the mist. This movie has multiple interpretations, and its ending will punch you in the gut, for it has the most horrifying conclusion to a movie I have ever seen. However, I think the ending also sends a powerful message, and although it deviates from the novel, but even Stephen King himself said he wished he could have come up with that ending. Does this sound interesting to you? Make sure you check out The Mist.

Number 11: Rosemary's Baby (1967)

Rosemary's Baby, directed by Roman Polanski, is an adaptation of a novel of the same name. I like both the movie and the novel, and it is also worth mentioning the movie is a very faithful adaptation of the book. The story follows a young woman, Rosemary, who, together with her husband, just moved into a posh apartment in New York. The young couple encountered very friendly neighbors, but soon Rosemary discovered something is amiss about their new friends. The horror in Rosemary's Baby is the sense of paranoia. The movie keeps the audience guessing if Rosemary's ordeals were real or the products of her own imaginations. The story is also a commentary about control and women's health. Rosemary's Baby is an icon in the horror genre, and it is worth checking out if you haven't seen it yet.

This covers number 20 to 11. But what about the top 10? Gentle readers, stay tuned for Part II, where I will continue and list my top 10 favorite horror movies of all time.

Until then, happy haunting!

A Book Review; Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames (The Band #2)

What if mercenaries in the fantasy world are like rock stars in our world?

It is a rare idea, and it inspired Nicholas Eames, a budding author, to write a fantasy novel called Kings of the Wyld. It was a sword and sorcery adventure which rocked and rolled in my reading world. Kings of the Wyld was my favorite book of 2017, and for the past year I have been praying to Crom, day after day, for a sequel:

"Crom, I have never prayed to you before. I have no tongue for it. No one, not even you, will remember which book was good or bad. Why we read or why we dreamed. No, all that matter is one story stood out from the many. That's what's important. Glory pleases you, Crom, so grant me one request – grant me Bloody Rose! And if you do not listen, then the hell with you!"

And Crom answered my prayer!

Two weeks ago, Bloody Rose, the sequel to Kings of the Wyld, finally arrived at my mailbox. I read it during the weekend. 

And? 

Well this is it, boys and girls, I have found my favorite book of 2018!

Synopsis:

Fable is the biggest and the most famous band this side of the Heart Wyld, and they just rolled into town. 

Walking at Fable's front is the lead, Bloody Rose. Two swords rest on Rose's armored back, and with their sharp edges she carved herself a monster-slaying history as crimson as the color of her hair. On Rose's side is a rabbit-eared warrior, the hilt of a giant sword is protruding from his shoulder. His name is Freecloud, an immortal, and he will fight monsters and gods, not for gold or for glory, but for Rose's love. 

Trailing at Fable's rear is a pair of unlikely friends; a giant of a man and a tattooed woman. The big man's name is Brune, and he is deadly, not because of the twin glaives swinging in his hands, but for his shape-shifting ability that will make even Beorn envious. Meanwhile, the tattooed woman, Cura, is armed with nothing but a pair of daggers. Yet, one should know better than undermining Cura because it will be too late to regret when she summons nightmarish allies from the inks on her skin.

Yep, that is a screenshot for Fable, the legendary band. But something is missing in the picture, don't you think? I mean, legends must be told, so who in Fable is singing and telling the world about their tales and exploits? Members of Fable must have thought so too, for upon their arrival in town, Fable announced they were auditioning for a bard. That was when Tam, a tavern girl from the sleepy town, seized the opportunity and signed on as a bard, to become a part of a life-changing epic.

My thoughts on this book:

In Bloody Rose, Nicholas Eames made a bold move, he featured a cast of new characters instead of continuing with ones from Kings of the Wyld. A few characters, from the previous installment, did appear in Bloody Rose, but their roles are minor, because this book is predominantly about a different band. This also means Bloody Rose is pretty much a stand alone story, although you might appreciate it more if you already read Kings of the Wyld.

This book has an interesting narrative style. The story is about Rose, but it is was told from the perspectives of Tam, who is Fable's bard. At the beginning of the story Tam was thrilled to join Fable because she was under the charm of their legendary reputation. Later on, however, Tam observed that behind their heroic reputations these people are really just flawed people like everyone else, and so in the process Tam began to bond with her band members while at the same time learning about the world. 

I like that Nicholas Eames used Tam as the POV character, because from her eyes, we see these characters for who they really are; not just as heroes, but real people with struggles and flaws. These blemishes made them feel more real. Every character in Bloody Rose is just as likable and memorable as our beloved heroes from Kings of the Wyld. I loved every character in this book and I was sad to wave goodbye to them. Furthermore, the villains were also well written, and their motives are sympathetic. In the fantasy world of Bloody Rose, the humans who adventured into the Heart Wyld and killed "monsters" were hailed as heroes, but to those non-human creatures living in the Heart Wyld, the humans were the monsters slaughtering them. This story raised a good point - one does not become a hero in one story without being a villain in another.

The characters, however, are not the only changes in Bloody Rose. The tone and the theme in this book are also more serious than the previous installment. Kings of the Wyld was a story about the parents' love for their children, and the bonds between old friends. Kings of the Wyld was heartwarming story, but it was also light hearted. Bloody Rose is also about family, but this time the story is not just about the family you were born into, but it is also about those who you have chosen to be family with. Bloody Rose is more emotional than Kings of the Wyld, it is also heartwarming, but this time it is also heartbreaking.

Oh yes, by the way, have I mentioned the action scenes in this book are phenomenal? Probably not, well then, for the record, the battles in this book are climatic and they will rattle the bones your ancestors! You ask, where will the thunder rumble? The answer: pretty much the entire book. But without spoiling the story let me just say two battles scenes in particular, one from 2/3 into the book, and the final battle, these two battles scenes are stuff of legend, it is something you have never imagined before.

Anyway, while the laugh-out-loud humors from Kings of the Wyld are still present in Bloody Rose, but overall this book feels darker than the previous one. Personally, I think Bloody Rose has a slight edge over Kings of the Wyld because it delivered a stronger emotional impact than the last (and I think the battles scenes in Bloody Rose are better than their counterparts in Kings of the Wyld too). Having said this, these novels are my favorite books in two consecutive years. I believe Nicholas Eames is planning to release the third, and the final book in this trilogy in 2019, so take a guess what will be my favorite book of 2019?

The most damnable thing is, I have to wait a whole year to read the next one.

So I shall pray to Crom again....

My seven favorite non-English books and series

"Stories are the communal currency of humanity"

• Tahir Shah, in Arabian Nights

 Some people say human beings think in metaphors and learn from stories. This is because story, though fictional, embodies a storyteller's values, experiences, and the perspective of the world. In other words, every story can be considered as a facet of humanity, so the more stories we read, the more complete the picture we will have about mankind. I love stories, but I have a limited exposure to the stories around the world because I am only bilingual. Fortunately, in these days more and more books are being translated into English. I believe all the stories I have read, in English or otherwise, will matter one day, where it will help me building bridges instead of erecting walls. Meanwhile, I compiled a list of my seven favorite books and series which were penned by non-English authors, but have been translated into English, and I would like to share the list with you, my gentle readers, in the hope that it may add more colors to your reading world. 

P.S. While I do love ancient classics and epics, such as The Divine Comedy, The Romance of Three Kingdoms, The Iliad and The Odyssey etc... but in this list I am focusing on the "modern" books. This means the books from the last one hundred years.

7. The Name of the Rose

Author: Umberto Eco

Language: Italian

English translator: William Weaver

Genre: Historical murder mystery

Published in: 1980

The Name of the Rose is a story like Sherlock Holmes, but set in the medieval times. Its author, Umberto Eco, was a semiotician and a brilliant philosopher, and the story is a series of intellectual puzzles consisting of semiotics, biblical analysis, literary criticism, and medieval studies. At its heart, The Name of the Rose is a book about books, and it made a ton of references to medieval literatures written in Latin, and as a result this is one of the hardest book I have ever read. At the end of the day, though, the efforts were well worth it.

6. The Witcher saga

Author: Andrzej Sapkowski

Language: Polish

English translation: David French­

Genre: Fantasy

The first story published in: 1986

Elves and dwarves are common in fantasy, but in the world of The Witcher they are not lords and ladies like in The Lord of the Rings. No no, in the world of The Witcher the elves and dwarves are terrorists and victims of racial discriminations, it is a world torn asunder by power struggles and civil wars, waged by religious fanatics, and tyrannical kings advised by court sorceress and politicians. The story of The Witcher follows one Geralt of Rivia, a mutant monster hunter who travels from one city to another slaying monsters for bags of coins. Geralt carries two swords; a silver sword for killing the monsters, and a steel sword for dealing with his human foes. The Witcher saga is somewhere between A Song of Ice and Fire and The Lord of the Rings, and it consists of 7 books (5 full length novels and 2 compilations of short stories). The stories are rich with Eastern European folktales as well as Arthurian legends. In short, if you like A Song of Ice and Fire but you also want more high fantasy settings with elves and dwarves, then check out The Witcher Saga. (Apparently Netflix is planning to adapt it into a TV series)

5. Blindness

Author: José Saramago

Language: Portuguese

English translator: Giovanni Pontiero

Genre: Literary fiction

Published in: 1998

Most people you come across in your day-to-day life seem like nice, upright citizens. But how will these people behave if everyone, that is, everyone in the whole world, collectively become blind tomorrow? Jose Saramago, the winner of Nobel Prize in Literature, wrote Blindness to explore the dark side of the human nature. This book is shocking, raw, and brutal, it is not for the faint hearted, yet it is also the most thought provoking book I have ever read. Strangely Jose Saramago is not more widely known in the English speaking world. This is unfortunate considering his works are stunning. Make sure to check out Blindness, and if you like this book then you can also read The Gospel according to Jesus Christ, which, alongside Blindness, are commonly regarded as this brilliant man's best works.

4. The Club Dumas

Author: Arturo Pérez-Reverte

Language: Spanish

English translator: Sonia Soto

Genre: Mystery/Crime thriller

Published in: 1993

Not many people have heard of The Club Dumas, but if I mention the cult classic movie, The Ninth Gate, then it may ring the bell for some people. The Ninth Gate, starring Johnny Cage and directed by Roman Polanski, was a movie adaptation of The Club Dumas (the novel). However, I strongly recommend you read the book and forget about watching the movie, because the movie only adapted half of the book and it is but a shadow of the book's true glory! The Club Dumas is macabre and deeply fascinating, it is a book that truly made me feel as if I was reading about some forbidden knowledge not meant for the mortal eyes!

3. The Long Ships

Author: Frans G. Bengtsson

Language: Swedish

English translator: Michael Meyer

Genre: Historical fiction/Adventure

Published in: 1941

Apparently The Long Ships is a very famous book in Scandinavia, but few in the English speaking world has heard of it. This is a historical adventure novel, set in the late Viking age, and it tells the story of Red Orm, a viking chieftain whose adventures spanned across half the globe, from the frozen tundra of Northern Europe all the way to the sun-scorched desert in the Middle East. This is a ripping yarn about treasures, blood feuds and politics, with a special focus on the exclusivity of Christianity and Islam. If you want to read a fun and interesting Viking story, then you cannot go wrong with The Long Ships.

2. The Cemetery of Forgotten Books

Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Language: Spanish

English translator: Lucia Graves

Genre: Gothic/Mystery

The first book published in: 2001

The Cemetery of Forgotten Books is a tetralogy consisting of four books; The Shadow of the Wind, The Angel's Game, The Prisoner of Heaven, and The Labyrinth of Spirits. The series's author, Carlos Ruiz Zafon, wrote so beautifully it hurts. These books are set in Barcelona, in the 1950s, but the stories are inspired by the Gothic genre, with mysteries and dramas galore. Last year I read the first three books of the series and they are magical. I am looking forward to read The Labyrinth of Spirits, which will conclude the series. I recommend this series to anyone who likes stories and want to read good books.

1. Remembrance of Earth's Past

Author: Cixin Liu

Language: Chinese

English translator: Ken Liu

Genre: Science fiction

The first book published in: 2008

I am not big on sci-fi, but I loved Remembrance of Earth's Past. This trilogy falls into a subgenre in sci-fi called, "hard science fiction"; meaning, a type of science fiction which uses the established or carefully extrapolated science as its backbone. In other words, for "hard science fiction", think of 2001 Space Odyssey, or the works of Arthur C. Clarke. In fact, Cixin Liu, the author for Remembrance of Earth's Past, is dubbed the Arthur C. Clarke of China. With the first book in the trilogy, The Three Body Problem, winning the Hugo award for best novel in 2015 and also Nebula award for best novel in 2014, it is no wonder why such high regard was paid to Cixin Liu. The book's success in the US is even more astonishing considering it is a Chinese novel winning multiple literary awards which are supposedly for the English books. If you are still not convinced, then just ask Barack Obama and Mark Zuckerberg, both are loyal fans of this trilogy who won't hesitate at recommending it.

A Book Review: The Tower of Living and Dying by Anna Smith Spark (Empires of Dust #2)

The Tower of Living and Dying is the sequel to Anna Smith Spark's debut novel, The Court of Broken Knives. I adored The Court of Broken Knives, but I also thought the book's pacing was a bit uneven. The Tower of Living and Dying, however, is an improvement over its predecessor. This sequel ironed out the pacing issue from the previous book, and it also expanded the story's scope and its characters. The Tower of Living and Dying is one of the finest grimdark novels I have ever read.

Synopsis:

Marith, king destroyer, bent his will on a dark conquest to bring the world down to its knees. A darkness, promised by Marith's ancestry, consumed him while he unleashed wholesale destruction on the world. Only his queen, Thalia, the light of Sorlost, could bring out the last shred of humanity in him. But is she enough? Or will Thalia join Marith to embrace their dark destinies?

My thoughts on this book:

The Tower of Living and Dying is as beautifully written as its predecessor. One cannot fail to notice the book's lyrical prose, it is exquisite and poetic, rendering a mythical atmosphere into a story as dark as it is tragic. The writings also vividly portrayed a cast of strangely sympathetic characters despite all their flaws. This book reminded me of the Skaldic poems and epics of old, as if it is meant to be read out loud, by a bard at a campfire.

This is a character-driven book, where much of the story revolved around the development of its characters. The main protagonist(s), arguably, were Mariah and Thalia. It is very interesting to read about their relationships, about how, Thalia was the last foothold, preventing Marith from giving in and become that which he always feared to be. A reader cannot help but to hope that somehow Thalia's influence on Marith can be his redemption. The book also explored Thalia's inner struggles and conflicts, and it successfully created a tension where the readers were constantly worrying if Thalia might give in and join Marith on his dark path.

The third POV character in this book was Orhan. In the previous book, we saw him rise to the height of political power at Sorlost. In this book, Orhan's rivals returned to challenge him, and forcing him to play a deadly game where the winner takes all and the loser dies. I won't spoil Orhan's role in this book, but it suffices to say, even though his story arc was mostly about court intrigues, but it was suspenseful and the stakes were high. Furthermore, his story arc also explored the consequences of Thalia's exodus from Sorlost, and towards the conclusion the book began to merge Orhan's story together with that of Marith and Thalia's. It would be very interesting to see how the story will unfold in the next book.

Next, we also have POV characters such as Tobias and Landra. Tobias was a washed up mercenary, while Landra was a disfigured lady who lost everything. Both of them had one thing in common – they wanted revenge against Marith. I liked both of these characters despite their many flaws, because I could sympathize with, and understand their motives for desiring revenge. Tobias and Landra may not be heroes, but neither were they villains. As a reader, I felt torn by these characters, because I liked and understood them, I wanted all of them to live and succeed, yet they were on a collision course to destroy each other. This is a story where its characterizations successfully moved beyond the typical "hero vs villain" settings. 

The last page in the book shocked me. It was a cliffhanger, but it was also a fitting conclusion to the saga's middle book. I closed this book and felt a burning desire to read the next one. Unfortunately, Anna Smith Spark is still working on the third book, and I can only hope its release will be imminent. I dearly wish to resume the dark and twisted tale of Marith and Thalia. In the meantime, The Tower of Living and Dying is exemplary of the grimdark subgenre. The first book was good, but this one is even better. I highly recommend this trilogy.

A Book Review: The Court of Broken Knives by Anna Smith Spark (Empires of Dust #1)

I like fantasy novels, especially those of the grimdark persuasion. This is why The Court of Broken Knives has been on my radar for a while. This book, is the debut for the British novelist Anna Smith Spark. The readership for this book grew rapidly following its release. Readers in the grimdark circles are raving about this book. Meanwhile, some are hailing Anna Smith Spark as the new queen of grimdark.

However, the opinions about this book are divisive. Some readers loved it, while some are less enthusiastic of it. As for me, I loved this book. The Court of Broken Knives tells the type of story that I like, and I am committed to reading the entire trilogy (when the author completes it)

Synopsis:

The city of Sorlost is ancient and unconquered. From its throne the emperor governed the richest empire the world has ever known. The imperial glory and wealth, however, were but facades veiling an ugly truth, for decadence was slowly killing the empire.

But one man, Orhan Emmereth, saw the heart of the problem, and he planned to heal the empire with a surgery.

Out of the desert came a band of mercenaries. They looked like killers. The band was destined for the imperial palace in Sorlost, where Orhan contracted them to assassinate the emperor.

Among the band walked one strange, beautiful boy. His name was Marith, and he was no ordinary soldier. As the band moved closer to Sorlost, it also became apparent that Marith was a man walking with a darkness within him. But no one could have known the horror and the beauty Marith would unleash upon the world when he finally stepped into the Golden City...

My thoughts on this book:

The Court of Broken Knives has everything I like about the grimdark subgenre. The story is morally ambiguous, featuring a cast of characters whose motives and moral compass point to shades of grey, and so there was no obvious "hero" or "villain" in the story. There are 4 major characters in this book, I particularly enjoyed reading about Marith, whose story sets the centre stage for this saga. Marith is tormented by his past. He knew a special power resided within him but he shunned it, fearing what he might become if he embraced it. Marith reminds me a little of Elric of Melnibone, where both men were cursed by destructive talents they do not wish to possess, yet cannot live without, and so they are doomed to destroy their enemies as well as those closest to them. This book foreshadowed the sort doom and destruction which Marith can unleash upon his world. We see the conflicts within Marith and the irony, where the more he tried to escape from his hidden power, the closer he came to become the destroyer whom he believed he may become. In many ways, Marith is both the main protagonist and the antagonist in the story. He is a deeply conflicted man.

The second character I liked was Thalia. She was a high priestess in a temple, whose job was performing rituals of human sacrifice for her god, until a civil unrest forced her into leaving her clerical works behind. In this book, Thalia constantly reflected on her past life as a temple priestess. She felt guilty about the killings. This part of the book was very interesting. Later on, Thalia would become Marith's romantic interest, and she was the only character in the book who sympathized with Marith, because of her own past. The book did really well at portraying Thalia's feeling for Marith – admiration and disgust. Talia adored Marith for all his finer qualities, yet Thalia's disgust of Marith was born out of her own past, because what Marith had within him, the side of him that would bring many deaths and destructions, it reminded Thalia of all the people she killed as a temple priestess.

I also liked Orhan, he was a politician in Sorlost who plotted the emperor's assassination, because he wanted to save the empire from further decline. In this book, Orhan engaged in a series of political games and court intrigues to achieve his mission. He was like a spider laying down the web. I enjoyed reading Orhan's part of the story. I found his character, and his motive, complex and interesting. This is the sort of characterization that makes grimdark my favorite literary genre above all!

Many in the grimdark community have praised this book, but some readers don't share the same enthusiasm. The divisive opinions about this book, it appears, is based Anna Smith Spark's writings.

Is this a badly written book? No. Anna Smith Spark's writings are beautiful and exquisite, it has a poetic and bardic quality to it. Her writings made me feel as if it was meant to be read out loud, like a bard standing in front of a camp fire and telling a tale. However, I think this is also why some readers didn't like this book, because her writing style is unusual in the fantasy genre. Most fantasy novels use plain and simple writings to tell stories. But Anna Smith Spark's wrote as if she was writing poetry. Her writings are emotional, lyrical, and also descriptive. This also means The Court of Broken Knives is not easy to read. To appreciate this book, a reader has to read it carefully. I adored her writings even though I am not a guru of English literature. When I was reading The Court of Broken Knives, there were times when I paused just to admire how beautifully written the sentences were in this book.

I am gushing over this book, but I also think the book has some weaknesses, especially in its pacing, which was a bit uneven. For the most parts, this book was very fast paced, but several travel scenes felt drawn out and slow. I believe this book would have been even better if the lengths for the travel scenes were edited down a bit. However, the pacing issue is minor, because it occurred only at a few places in the book. On the whole, I adored The Court of Broken Knives, this is a very impressive debut novel, and it shows a promising start to (what I believe) a would-be grimdark classic. I highly recommend this book.

A Book Review: The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

I used to think the gothic genre is dead.

Mind you, I have always enjoyed a gothic novel as long as the story was creepy and intriguing, like Dracula and Frankenstein, for examples. However, I was under the impression that the genre no longer has its practitioners. My impression was proven wrong, when I discovered Carlos Ruiz Zafón and his book, The Shadow of the Wind, which made me realize the gothic genre is alive and well.

I adored The Shadow of the Wind as well as its two sequels; its story was beautiful and harrowing, and I was spellbound by it. The Shadow of the Wind opened up a new vista in my reading world. In the months that followed I specially seek out the works of Zafón, and I read and enjoyed all of them. Carlos Ruiz Zafón entered my list for favorite authors.

Two weeks ago, during a regular visit to my local library I came across The Midnight Palace, which I haven't read. I quickly loaned this book, as this is one of Zafón's earlier works prior to The Shadow of the Wind.

Set in the 1930s, the story began on a street in Calcutta. Under the cover of night, an English lieutenant took flight with a pair of baby twins under his arms. At the cost of his own life, the brave lieutenant delivered the twins, a boy and a girl named Ben and Sheere, to places of safety. Many years later, upon their 16^th birthday, Ben and Sheere's lives suddenly came under threat by an assailant, whose past was shrouded in mystery. All clues pointed to a spectacular building in Calcutta – The Midnight Place, and only the twins' loyal friends could aid them and face the terror lurking under its shadows.

I did enjoy reading The Midnight Palace, but I don't think this book is as good as Zafón's later works. Make no mistake, Zafón wrote as brilliantly here as he would in his later works, and it is not hard to see how he would go on from here and write a masterpiece like The Shadow of the Wind later on. The writings in this book is top notch. So why am I saying this book is subpar to Zafóns later works? Is it the characterizations?

Well, no. This book's characterizations were surprising good, considering its short length of 200 pages. Zafón gave each character a personality of his and her own, and these characters made up a memorable and likable bunch. Having said this, I do think the protagonists, Ben and Sheree, were not portrayed with enough depths, and so the ending (which I will not spoil here) lacked the emotional impact that it could have had on the readers. This also means, I think this book would have benefitted from a longer length, where Zafón could use the additional spaces to address the character developments.

What is really holding this book back, I opine, is the worldbuilding. Hang on, am I really saying Zafón's worldbuilding is lacking here? Ok, I understand my opinion may raise some eyebrows. After all, Zafón is renowned for his vivid and beautiful depictions of Barcelona in The Shadow of the Wind and Marina, and I adore those books because of it. So what is it about the worldbuilding in this book that I found lacking?

Let me explain.

Zafón's works, especially The Shadow of the Wind series, as well as Marina, are Spanish Magic Realism novels. What is magic realism? It is a film, literary, and visual art genre where the aesthetics and the style has magical elements blended with the real world. In a magic realism novel (or film), the story presents "reality" and "magic" as the same stream of thought, and thereby presenting the magical elements in a straightforward manner. But magic realism is not the same as the fantasy genre. No, because fantasy is set in the fantasy world, where magic realism is set in the real world. Moreover, what really sets magic realism apart from fantasy is the purpose of the magical elements; in magic realism, the author uses the magical elements to highlight the character's inner experience and perception of the world, to illuminate and help us look at our reality in a different way. An example for magic realism would be Martin Scorsese's movie, Hugo (a very good movie, BTW! Check it out if you haven't seen it yet).

Zafón's works, including The Midnight Palace, are all rooted in the vein of magic realism. The Shadow of the Wind was successful, because it used the magical elements to flash out the characters' inner emotions and experiences about their pasts, love and hatred, and in the process making its readers reflect on these things in our reality. The Midnight Palace attempted to do the same, yet it came short of it, because in this book Zafón used not magic, but supernatural elements, and the story failed to adequately address the origin of this supernatural occurrence. In other words, this book had a supernatural agent in the story, but it failed to explain how did this supernatural agent came to be. Mind you, I am not asking if such a supernatural agent is "possible. No, as an avid reader of the fantasy genre I have no problem with authors using supernatural elements to tell stories. What I am saying here, without spoiling the story, is that Zafón did not address "how" this agent, an agent whose identity is the crux of the story, became supernatural. Instead, Zafón glossed over it, and as a result the story lacked the power that Zafon was trying to communicate.

Is The Midnight Palace a bad book? No, definitely not. This book may not be as good as Zafón's later works, but it is still a very good read. Under Zafón's pen, Calcutta transformed into a place of mysteries and intrigues, and his characters left lasting impressions on my mind. I think this book is still fun and worth reading, and it will find admirers among Zafón's fans.

A Book Review: World War Z by Max Brooks

“Fear,” he used to say, “fear is the most valuable commodity in the universe.” That blew me away. “Turn on the TV,” he’d say. “What are you seeing? People selling their products? No. People selling the fear of you having to live without their products.” Fuckin’ A, was he right. Fear of aging, fear of loneliness, fear of poverty, fear of failure. Fear is the most basic emotion we have. Fear is primal. Fear sells. That was my mantra. “Fear sells.”

                                                       - Max Brooks, World War Z

World War Z is a great example of why some books can never be adapted into movies properly. Furmore, this book is also the proof that people who don't read but only watch TV and movies are missing out, big time. If your impression of World War Z is based on the Brad Pitt movie, then scrap it, because the source material is not an action adventure story found in the Hollywood blockbuster. No, the book is so much more than movie.

This book is as original as it is ambitious. It reads like non-fiction, told in the form of a compilation of interviews. In this book, the readers followed an agent of the United Nations Postwar Commission (named Max Brooks), as he travelled around the world and interviewing the survivors of a "world war" against the zombies. The zombies, were the human victims of a viral outbreak, but the origin of the virus remained unknown. However, the official patient zero was found in a remote village in China, where the virus spread to the rest of the world through human trafficking, refugees, and black market organ trade.

This book is divided into 4 sections: 1) before the viral outbreak, 2) the mass panic during the viral outbreak, 3) the world war against the zombies, and finally, 4) the aftermath of the great war. In this book, Max Brooks interviewed no less than 100 people from all over the world, and they are from all walks of life; including a Chinese doctor, a Central Asian refugee, a Mossad agent from Israel, a Russian priest, a pharmaceutical tycoon from the US etc... The book has a very big international cast, and the scope is ambitious and breathtaking. When I was reading this book, it made me feel as if I was watching a documentary program about history. Normally I don't associate the zombie genre with realism, but this book felt real, like something that could, and had already, happened.

But how can a story about zombies feel "real"?

When I started this book I was expecting a "zombie horror story". 20 pages into the book, however, it defied my expectations. I was surprised to discover that zombies made very little appearances in the book. Instead, I realized this book was actually about geopolitics, and it explored themes such as survivalism, fear, and uncertainty.

I will briefly discuss each theme:

Geopolitics:

I particularly enjoyed reading about the geopolitics in this book. The many scenarios in this book are grounded on the real geopolitical history in our world. For example, at the onset of the viral outbreak, the Chinese government attempted to cover up the news, by escalating the tensions across the Taiwanese strait and then diverting the media attention to it instead. This is not a far fetched scenario, considering the Beijing government does have a history of media censorship, and they are still threatening to invade Taiwan. Furthermore, the book also explored how the Three Gorges Dam became China's Achilles Heel during the zombie war. Another example is that during the viral outbreak, Israel built a great wall to block out the infected victims and the zombies, but they also accepted Palestinian refugees on the basis that every human being saved is one less zombie to fight. However, the young, zealous Palestinians were suspicious of the Israeli government, and they thought the refugee policy was a trick to lure Palestinians into concentration camps. Meanwhile, a civil war broke out in Israel because the Zionists thought their government betrayed Israel by taking in the Palestinian refugees. These are just some examples of the geopolitics in the book, there are many others, such as in Russia, Mexico, Cuba, the Korean peninsula, Japan, so on and so forth. As I said, the scope of this book is breathtaking and ambitious, almost every nation has her own shining moment in the book.

Fear and uncertainty:

This book also explored themes such as fear and uncertainty. It highlighted how fear and uncertainty underpin the principles for our society and economy. Here is an example, at the onset of the viral outbreak, the US retreated into isolation, where the pharmaceutical companies and the government reached an agreement to produce and sell the placebo vaccine to the public. This way, the government could prevent an outbreak of mass hysteria, while the pharmaceutical companies can rip sizeable profits. However, this cover up eventually blew up, because the news got out that the vaccine was placebo and there is no cure to the zombie virus. What followed was a mass panic and a total break down of the society.

Survialism:

World War Z is primarily a war about how mankind survived an extinction event. Whenever survival is concerned, things often tread in the grey areas of morality. For example, in this book, at the onset of the zombie war, humanity was losing every battle. Mankind's salvation finally arrived with the "South African plan", which saved humanity from total extinction. What was this plan? It was similar to the scorched earth strategy used by the military. Except that in scorched earth strategy, you sacrifice the lands and resources, but in the "South African plan", you sacrifice masses of people to the invading zombie hordes while some people retreat and survive, thus our species can continue. This part of the book was particularly interesting, because it pushed the boundary of morality – when facing an extinction event, what is more important? The survival and the continuation of our species? Or is upholding our much treasured egalitarian value more important?

The above descriptions are just giving you a taste for this book, but there is a lot more to say about it, and I am unable to discuss the full scope of the book in a single book review. It would suffice to say this book narrated how (almost) every nation in the world dealt with the zombie virus, each according to its own cultural, social, and geological history. World War Z is fictional, but this book made me feel as I was reading history. The geopolitics and the themes in this book both feel real and authentic. On the surface, the book is about projections of "what could happen" if such a global pandemic does break out, but at its heart it is a commentary about our world and the nature of society. World War Z sent a shiver down my spine, and it is not because of the zombies, but because some of the things mentioned in this book are actually happening in our world today. This is the most interesting book I have read this year. It is thought-provoking. I highly recommend it to my fellow readers.