The Cabin in the Woods (2011)

A Spoiler-y Review

I'm just gonna get this out of the way right off the top as this movie was at least partially written by Joss Whedon. He has a brilliant creative mind but is a trash human. I've been a fan of his work since watching Angel and then Buffy, Serenity and then Firefly, then Dollhouse, The Avengers, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (which yes, he only worked on the first bit of, but still). However, unless I can get it for free, I won't be consuming anything else he manages to make if he ever manages to recover from the most recent, uhm, drama or whatever. I saw The Cabin in the Woods pretty soon after it came out in 2011, purchased the Blu-Ray, and now watch it every year as my Halloween movie. Whedon was the main reason I even watching The Cabin in the Woods in the first place, but I can mostly manage to separate this piece of art from the creator at this point, so... yeah. Let's all acknowledge this and move on.

I have never really been a fan of horror movies. Gimme vampires and werewolves and witches, sure, but straight up horror flicks... nope. Do not want or like. I do not need to be creeped out in my own home, thanks. That said, The Cabin in the Woods is definitely a horror movie and I absolutely love it.

In addition to the horror elements, the story-line also kind of commentates on and kind of flips the traditional narrative. I also like that it undercuts the horror with some comedy bits and gives the horror additional meaning. I mean, horror basically existing in that universe as a ritual sacrifice to the Ancients/Old Gods is definitely meaningful.

So, the A Plot of The Cabin in the Woods follows the traditional horror movie cast, who, it turns out, are not actually as traditional as it seems at first glance. They do all the horror movie things of going out into the middle of nowhere, start chilling at their vacation home, and, of course, essentially choosing how they die. They then have to deal with the consequences of that choice, which is where the murder and mayhem start to happen.

The B Plot of The Cabin in the Woods follows the facilitators of our horror movie. The people who have set up the entire scheme from beginning to end... which usually works, of course. They've got their ways of making sure the sacrifice goes off without a hitch and ways of blowing off steam afterward. We don't get exact specifics on everything they do, but we do get enough to understand the hows and whys and infer the rest.

I honestly think the real fun begins when the two plots merge. The remaining pair from the A Plot manage to find their way down into the control center's office building and basically set it on fire. Like, yes, it is the climax of the movie, but I just think it's more interesting than either plot on its own. There are so many references to so many movies and just pop-culture horror things that it's fun to watch. And, ya know, chaotic wholesale murder of a whole building full of people who are basically murdering college students every year is kind of cathartic. I haven't gone so far as to pause during the elevator scene to see how many monsters I recognize, but I do definitely try to look in a different part of the screen each year, see if I see something new.

I won't give away the very ending, for those who haven't seen it, but it is probably my favorite ending to a horror movie I've seen. I think The Cabin in the Woods does horror movie commentary a lot better than something like Scary Movie, to be honest. I haven't seen Scary Movie in years, but I don't remember liking it very much... but again, not a big horror movie fan. I might appreciate it more now, but I also don't feel the need to seek it out so... yeah.

If you need more than that to draw you in... Chris Hemsworth is in it. Basically pre-Thor. And Amy Acker, who is fantastic, as she always is. Richard Jenkins, who apparently was in Dhamer recently, and Bradley Whitford, most recently in The Handmaid's Tale. Seriously awesome actors in this thing. Looked like they had fun doing it, too, which is a plus.

I highly recommend giving The Cabin in the Woods a watch, if you haven't already.

Granny Bael by Lauren Patzer

A Semi-Spoilery Review

Spoilers at the very end, after a warning

So, those of you who pay attention to the name of the author and the name of the reviewer probably noticed that we have the same last name. Yes, the author, Lauren Patzer, is my dad. And yes, I am incredibly proud of him for writing a book (and all the other stuff he’s up to). However, that does not mean I’m going to be super complimentary about the book… I honestly didn’t like it and there’s no sense in lying about that. I have my reasons, which the following review will outline. I will also be up front about the fact that most of my issues are structural. I don’t normally talk about structure in my reviews because it’s not usually an issue. For Granny Bael, it really was.

I honestly felt a lack of immersion. There’s little description of setting other than what comes out of character’s mouths… and that’s not much aside from “Tugville sucks.” Specific settings just don’t feel like there’s much life in them. There’s a reliance on character dialogue over narration. Unless it’s a random flashback… but that’s a whole other thing. There's also a lack of atmosphere. Now, I will say, part of this is the physical book itself -- the paper is just so very, very white as compared to what I'm used to reading. However, I never felt like there was a sense of foreboding or urgency or any real sense of THIS IS A PLACE... if that makes sense. Even Granny's big murder spree was kind of like "ah, yes, a body-count of randos who obviously have no idea what I'm talking about is in order." I'm not even sure of the scale of that murder spree until much later and even then it's just... town full of people we don't care about is now wiped out and I really don't feel it at all.

 

The point of view shifts are jumpy as all get out.  Some are almost like it’d supposed to be camera shots, but they don’t really land well. I had to reread a couple times to make sure that’s what was going on. Also, there’s not a lot of clear delineation between the jumps. Just suddenly you’re reading from another character’s perspective. On a similar note, I had the same problem with the flashbacks. There is no obvious differentiation between the past and the present.

There is a severe lack of focus as far as characters go. Are we supposed to be invested in the kids or the adults? I ended up invested in neither. The way the characters are introduced and explained kind of brings to mind a TV show in the way things the focus jumps between groups of people, but it really doesn’t help the narrative. There are just too many of them. American Elsewhere handled switching if POVs a lot better. Monstrous Beauty handled the concurrent stories in different timelines a lot better. I’m sure there are more examples, those are just my most recent reads so… closer to the forefront of my mind. One thing both books had in common: Limited POVs. Granny Bael does not have that.

Character motivations in certain spots is like whiplash. Car blows up, I gotta go take down my father RIGHT NOW. Police are dealing with my foster family, gotta go deal with Granny Bael RIGHT NOW. I’m sorry, what? You were leaving town but now that the bus is dead, we suddenly have to go back. Yup, all these decisions make perfect sense. And these three are just the ones I’ve remembered. I definitely think this is a failing on the POV issue. If we were following one character through the events, these decisions might have made sense because we'd be in that character's head getting to see what was going on that led to the decision. There is some attempt at this but it's not nearly enough, in my opinion.

Overall, I will say the writing wasn't bad. It wasn't the best I've ever read, but it wasn't so bad that I had to put Granny Bael in my DNF pile. I didn't have to force myself to keep reading. I genuinely wanted to know how the thing would end. I was a little surprised when it kept going after a certain point, and I guess I'm happy with a certain character regaining her agency... and with there being two Final Girls.

Yeah… I wasn’t a fan of Granny Bael. The character or the book. I finished it mainly because I wanted to see what would happen… which I’m also mostly “meh” about. The Epilogue seems to be setting up a sequel which I won't be reading. I don’t actually know as I have discussed none of this with the author, not even the opinions you just read… but yeah, anyway. I would have loved to recommend Granny Bael, but I really just can't bring myself to do it.

The following paragraphs contain spoilers because I really want to talk about the antagonists.

Antagonist number one: the Mcphersons. They’re mostly a blip, but also super gross. Apparently murder and cannibalism are just fine with them, which is gross and lamp-shaded. Doesn’t make it better. Not even sure their arrest during this makes it better... I'm gonna just head-canon that they were murdered by Granny Bael at some stage during this. 

Antagonist number two: Granny Bael. I would really have liked a backstory for her. Probably would have made her a better antagonist. Mostly she’s just menacing because she’ll burn anyone. Her ending with Abigail would probably have felt all the more justified if we got more than just “she was burned at the stake for things she didn’t do.” 

Antagonist number three: Elbert Dawkins. Le sigh. Just… gross. And not even any kind of interesting gross. Just plain old gross, powerful, apparently crazy dude. Can’t even be the littlest bit charismatic or interesting. Nope, just gets his way because he has money. I don't even want a backstory for him. He deserves what he ends up with, even if it is kind of Prometheus-y.

Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama

A Spoiler Free Review

I quite enjoyed Monstrous Beauty. It’s a departure from my recent readings of vampires and witches. In fact, aside from the mermaids and ghosts, there’s not really a lot of magic in this. That’s not a bad thing. It definitely works as story mostly grounded in our reality.

I thought Hester’s job was interesting. Or at least, getting to see some behind the scenes on that job was interesting. Interpreting historical characters definitely isn’t a job many people are familiar with and very few have. I certainly haven’t read many characters with such a different job.

I thought Hester and Ezra’s love story was handled fairly well, especially coupled with the Syrenka/Ezra story and the inkling I had about Hester. Turned out I was right, so that’s fun. I don’t have any real feelings about Hester and Peter as a couple. Peter seems sweet enough but is also blank enough as a character that I’m just kind of shrugging in his direction.

Eleanor and Noo’kas as antagonists were alright. I feel like Eleanor was more fleshed out than Noo’kas, who I originally thought was some kind of mermaid god at first. I definitely didn’t like either of them, but I felt more dislike for Eleanor. Noo’kas was introduced as an antagonist too late in the game, I think was most of the problem with her. Well, that and those Jaba the Hutt type characters never end up winning so… yeah.

I think that’s in on this one. Not a whole lot to discuss without getting into spoilers. Monstrous Beauty was pretty good and definitely worth a read.

Doctor Who: The Power of the Doctor

A Review with a Spoiler Section

It may or may not come as a surprise that I am a big Doctor Who fan. I've been watching the show since about 2008. My Doctor, as we say in the fandom, is David Tennant, though I am not so fanatic a fan as to want him back in the role unless there's a very good reason. The Doctor changes and I'm fine with that. Tennant is just my favorite.

Anyway, The Power of the Doctor. I thought it was fantastic. I didn't immediately have any issues with the plot and I was pretty much sucked in from the first minute. All good signs. I cried several times throughout, which doesn't actually happen often with Doctor Who. In finales, kind of like this one, yes, but it's still a rare enough occurrence for this series. I thought the stakes were well balanced. The usual "End of Earth" thing mixed with the more personal stakes for The Doctor and her Companions. The Power of the Doctor definitely ticked all my boxes.

As mainly a fan of the current run of Doctor Who, I'm not nearly as invested in the returning Companion characters as some. Like, I know who Tegan and Ace are and I have watched a few of their episodes, but I don't have any real emotional connection with either. However, I think their return was handled really well and their emotional bits with the Doctor's AI Hologram thingy both made me cry. The Doctor's reaction to seeing them again was, ya know, on par for current Doctors and their absolute shock at encountering former Companions. Jodi did a good job with that, I thought.

The villains! The CyberMasters looked pretty good. I actually like the spiky shoulder plates and the Time Lord headpieces actually look quite nice on them. Not sure they needed the Time Lord scrolling on their bodies, but it looked alright. I have never been the biggest fan of the Daleks. I find them to be more annoying than actually threatening most of the time. However, I think they were used well here. Not too much and mostly in the background. The Master was at his most manic and creepy here. I will get more into him later, as digging into that is going to be spoilery. Sacha Dhawan has been my favorite incarnation of The Master and he continues to bring it in this episode.

 

HERE THERE BE SPOILERS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

 

 

 

 

 

Okay, so, I was actually really worried Kate might actually be Cyberized. Like, I was so in the moment I didn't even think she might end up okay. Also, Kate's one of those characters who pops up every now and again but isn't a Companion in the strictest sense, so the possibility of us losing her was very real to me. I'm very, very glad we get to keep Kate, cuz she's awesome.

I was extremely happy to see the former Doctors show up. Was definitely not expecting to see any of them. They made me laugh, they made me cry. I will second The Doctor's assertion about using the hologram thingy to confuse the CyberMasters. That was brilliant and the Jo Martin Doctor is up there with my favorites so I was very happy to see her. Speaking of favorites... I also second David Tennant's "What? What? What?" there at the end. The fangirls finally got their wish and we get Tennant back as The Doctor for another outing, even if it is only the 60th anniversary. Happy to see him back, can't wait to see what happens with him.

Okay, so I promised more Master discussion. OMG, Sacha Dhawan definitely brought it this episode. He was shades of Missy mad. I honestly want him to play Rasputin for real at some stage. He looked awesome. I do have to say, though, if he wanted to destroy The Doctor's reputation, he could have just started traveling around saying he was The Doctor and wrecking shit that way. The way he did it was interesting and I get that he also wanted to destroy her in the process, just seemed like he did it the hard way. Also, that outfit. Probably one of the best ALL THE DOCTORS mashup cosplays ever. It managed to look good while at the same time definitely highlighting The Master's unhinged-ness.

I was very happy with Dan and Yaz's departures. I would probably quit the TARDIS, too, after basically being shot in the face. I'm very, very glad Yaz got to leave of her own free will. Extra glad she had an immediate support group upon leaving. Lord knows she needs it. Also, that Companion Support Group was just the best. I was thinking about it while I was going to sleep last night and I got really sad (and again as I'm typing this) about the fact that we lost Elisabeth Sladen a few years ago, because Sarah Jane would have definitely been at that group. It makes perfect sense to me that Graham would be the one to finally set one of these things up.

So, yeah, those are my thoughts on The Power of the Doctor. I'd love to know what ya'll thought about it. I'm sure I won't be finding out via the interwebs, at least not until I listen to the single Doctor Who podcast I still listen to. Everyone just seems to be gushing about House of the Dragon right now... not that I blame them, but still.

Werewolf By Night on Disney+

A Spoiler Free Review 

This was a delightful, fairly short film. There is a bit of gore. There are monsters. My suspension of disbelief was only tested once.

I really didn't know what to expect with this one. I'm not a gigantic comic or werewolf fan, so I'd never heard of Werewolf By Night. All I knew going in was that is was in black and white and there was a werewolf in there somewhere. The "creep factor" was also understood. It's October and it's literally called "Werewolf By Night" so... yeah. Obvious. The choice to go with black and white for this film was a good one, I think. It did minimize the gore factor because, due to everything being in color these days, we're so used to seeing the blood stand out. It definitely didn't, even in the one instance where it was splashed on the camera. Werewolf By Night just didn't feel gory. And, ya know, the black and white just added to the atmosphere.

The setting was pretty cool. I liked the faux Egyptian decor on that entryway. The maze was cool on the overhead shot. The tomb Elsa and Jack find themselves in was interesting. Don't think I've ever seen back-lit name plates before. Looked good with the black and white though. I thought the multi-purpose room with all the monster heads was interesting. Jack had an interesting change in reaction to those when they showed up later in the film as opposed to his original reaction.

I thought the hunter characters were real bland. We got an proper introduction to three of them, two of whom are the main characters. Otherwise, they were just set-dressing and monster-fodder. The main villain of the piece was likewise fairly bland, if eccentric. The Bloodstone is confusing to me. It isn't really explained exactly what it can do, but it does do a couple different things. It's just referred to as "a powerful weapon." Also, does it come with an instruction manual? Cuz there were also chants involved... I get that it's supposed to be passed down through the family, so I assume there's training involved, too... but yeah... not a fan of it, really.

I did like Elsa and Jack as protagonists. Elsa was just my kind of jaded femme fetale type. Just completely done with all the nonsense but forced to deal with it anyway. Jack was somewhat amusing and pretty smart. He's so obviously the fish out of water in the beginning, it amused me. Also, I like Ted. Pretty sure everyone liked Ted.

The fight scenes were fun. I definitely knew someone was getting their arm chopped off when he's seen reaching around a door. There is a spot in there where one of the background baddies just kind of throws his weapon aside for no readily explained reason... Like, while he was being focused on by the camera. It was one of the few spots where I yelled at the TV during this. I mentioned in my opening that my suspension of disbelief was tested once, that was with Elsa's head. She definitely should have been more injured from being slammed into a concrete/rock surface multiple times.

The werewolf did not disappoint. Like I said before, I'm not a big werewolf fan, however, I have also seen enough on screen to have opinions. This werewolf was properly werewolf-y. No skinny, hairless varieties here. The werewolf was nice and hairy with a nice, in-between kind of face. Definitely more of your classic horror movie werewolf than most modern interpretations. I also enjoyed how much the werewolf jumped around, utilizing the environment instead of just plowing through the requisite goons squad on foot. Not entirely sure some of the parkour was really necessary, but it was fun to watch.

I honestly think that's all I can get into without spoilers. Highly recommend watching. It's definitely different than anything Disney's put out in the MCU so far. And it's short! About the same amount of time as an episode of Game of Thrones or whatever.

Arceus Adventures: Stunning Drapion

On my days off, I have been mainlining Pokemon Legends: Arceus. It is my goal to actually finish a Pokedex for once. Not sure if these are gonna be regular posts, but I had this idea, so here we go.

For those of you not aware, Pokemon Legends: Arceus has a Pokedex that's unlike any other. It's a checklist of tasks you must complete to complete the research on a Pokemon rather than just catching them and calling it a day. One of these tasks is stunning a Pokemon by throwing items at it a certain number of times.

The Pokemon: Drapion

The most accessible Drapion resides in the Cobalt Coastlands. Specifically Gingko Landing. It is usually surrounded by a few Skorupi, it's unevovled forms. This Drapion is an Alpha Pokemon, another one of Pokemon Legends: Arceus' quirky things. Basically, it's big, it's angry, it will "kill" you.

First attempts involve battling all the Skorupi so I no longer have to deal with them. This does not work. They respawn really fast. Also, in finding this out, I often ended up in battles with maybe 2 Skorupi AND the Drapion, which I do not want to be battling. Just a clusterfuck, if ever there was one.

My final batch of attempts involve running straight up to the Drapion and pelting it with Sticky Globs. This works... kind of.

I run up to the Drapion. I throw a Sticky Glob. The notification pops up that I've managed to stun it. I back off so it can recover. I have to start rolling around immediately, because, of course, on this final batch of attempts, one of the Skorupi turns out to ALSO be an Alpha Pokemon. Just. My. Luck.

I have to stun Drapion a further 7 times after this in order to complete my task. It's an absolute miracle I didn't "die" while throwing Sticky Globs and being shot at with poison!

In the end, I managed to succeed in stunning Drapion the requisite number of times and then noped out of there. The things one must do in this game, I swear...

Death’s Mistress by Karen Chance

A Spoiler Free Re-read Review

Death’s Mistress is a lot of running around. Detective Dory on the case with her headless sidekick! It’s fun and chaotic in a good way. At least Dory has a path she’s more or less following, so we get to follow along with her.

I am ridiculously glad Dory, Louis-Cesare, and Radu actually manage to talk their shit out and give each other info. This makes me happy. Would have been better if it had happened at the fricking start, but, ya know, considering how little this shit tends to happen, I’ll take what I can get.

Christine… look, I’m not a fan of religious characters. Especially ones who are suuuuper devoted to their deities. Especially ones who decide they are monsters because of what they are due to that religion. Especially when your religion is predicated on a deity who, ya know, “has a plan for you” but apparently that plan is thwarted because you've decided your life path isn't part of the plan you don't have any details of… but I’m digressing. Anyway… Christine reminds me of Anne Rice’s Louis. All self-deprecating and depression over being a vampire. Like, seriously, if you’re THAT depressed about it and already believe you’re damned, just kill yourself. Save everyone the trouble of taking care of the mess that is you. And then there’s that thing that is brought to light later… that was semi-interesting. Interesting enough to want to discuss but… spoilers. I would also like to take this opportunity to say: suicide is not a way out for humans. Don’t do it. Please get help. You are not a self-hating vampire. Thank you.

The politics in here do not excite me. I’ve never been one for politics. Especially vampire politics, which I imagine are similar but more complicated than human politics. Complicated by actual power dynamic, like, magical power.

The side effects of fey wine on Dory in this book… uh… they’re random as fuck. Like, they definitely serve some of the emotional plot’s purpose, but… they happen randomly and it’s weird. I do think it’s interesting that Dory’s only NOW discovering that vampires still have human emotions.

After Cassie’s ride through the Ley Lines, Dory gets a crash-course in the sport. Because reasons. I wasn’t a big fan of this part and it really just seemed like a non-sequitur for most of it. Literally just a long setup for a murder reveal. Speaking of Cassie, I do wonder what she’s up to during this fiasco. She is mentioned, but it’s really just a mention. But yay, Cassie reference!

Geminus is super creepy in a “not only am I gonna assault you but I’m gonna turn you into artwork” kind of way. And, like, kudos to Geminus for creating a new type of artwork, but… ew.

As much as I love creatures from non-western mythologies being brought in, I would also love for the authors to do a little more than cursory research on them. The luduan is described as a dog (dog-ish) whereas “actual” luduan are deer-like creatures. They’re depicted looked a lot like the shisa or Chinese guardian lions, so I understand the mixup. But still, a look at the wikipedia article would have cleared that up. But, ya know, otherwise, pretty good job using a non-western mythological creature.

But yeah, those are my thoughts on Death’s Mistress. I will add that I’m not exactly a fan of info-dump endings, but this one is alright. Only alright. Not the best ever. And the villain of the piece… well… there was a rant. 

Favorite Line

“Sycophants are always easy to find. They are also easily swayed by the next power who promises them more.” - Mircea Basarab

Keeper of Enchanted Rooms by Charlie N. Holmberg

A Spoiler Free Review

I would kind of like to be Hulda when I grow up. I have always enjoyed characters like her. The no-nonsense, neat as a pin, teacher-y types. Hulda, McGonagall, Mary Poppins… I’ve been very attached to these characters since I became familiar with the type.

Anyway, I was very drawn into this Keeper of Enchanted Rooms. Loved it almost from the first sentence. It’s pretty damn delightful. A comfort read, really. Not overly much happens for much of the book, which was a nice change of pace for me. Just kind of, slice of life in a slightly magical world.

Silas Hogwood is a slower-paced villain, almost overshadowed by the relationship issues between Hulda and Merritt. Well, more than “almost.” I’d say he’s the villain while the antagonist is Hulda and Merritt’s inability to actually talk to each other. Silas had the misfortune of having an abusive family and his motivations make sense, even if his solution is absolutely reprehensible.

I love the Whimbrel House. He/She’s great, for an enchanted house. The concept’s good, too. Rarely are the enchanted houses featured. They just kind of exist. This one has personality and is quite cute once Hulda and Merritt get a handle on him/her. I won’t go into that more, though, as it is definitely a spoiler.

I feel like I should talk about Merritt, as he’s kind of the driving force behind the plot but… he’s kind of boring. Characters like him are honestly a dime a dozen. He’s an eccentric male author who’s basically just a large child. Nothing especially interesting there. Same with Beth and Baptiste. They’re just kind of there. Mostly background color to Hulda and Whimbrel House.

I would very much like to go on a little rant about burgeoning relationships and twists regarding those relationships, but upon further reflection, that would be a spoiler. Suffice to say: I fucking HATE relationship twists caused by people NOT talking to each other properly. I think they largely aren’t handled well. This one had a bit of a plot reason for happening (Hulda goes on a research binge during it), but it really bugged me as soon as it started. Also not entirely sure how I would have fixed it, but it still bugged me.

Anyway… Keeper of Enchanted Rooms is a whimsical romance that kind of sneaks up on you. Kind of. Of course the book centered on a male and female protagonist with very little going on is going to end up as a romance. Of course it is. Not that it’s bad. It’s not, just typical, is all. But yeah, Keeper of Enchanted Rooms is a nice, mostly chill read that I really enjoyed.

In Other News

I have finished another OviPets project!

 

This is Mokumon. Based on the Digimon of the same name. Part of my "Village of Beginnings" project and overall giant Digimon project. Took me a little under a year to complete.

Darkness Rising Series Overview

Darkness Rising by Kelley Armstrong

A Semi-Spoilery Overview

Encompasses both Darkest Powers and Darkness Rising 

Welp, neither of these trilogies lived up to their ominous-sounding titles. I went in expecting something more in line with what Savannah went through at the end of Thirteen and it ended up being closer to the end of a CW teen school drama. Nothing remotely world-changing or even particularly dark happened in Darkest Powers or Darkness Rising. I think literally the worst things that happened were Nicole murdering Serena and the helicopter crash. I guess you could count Chloe accidentally raising an entire cemetery as “dark” but I saw that coming a mile away so it didn’t feel “dark.” None of this is to say that the trilogies were bad. They weren’t, really. A little bland at times, yes, but not bad.

I think it’s very safe to say that neither the Edison Group nor the Cabals know how to deal with people very well. It’s honestly hard to say which is worse… the circumstances are both similar and very, very different. Both were like: oooohhh, shiny experiments! Sure hope they don’t turn into PEOPLE some day. Sure hope we never have to tell them what we did to them. Oh no! We have to tell them now! Oh no! They don’t want to be under our control! Imprisonment! Murder! Just… you guys. What. The. Hell. Did. You. Think. Was. Actually. Going. To. Happen. You should have Xavier’s School For Gifted Youngsters that shit. Tell them the truth but make it as normal as you can! These are people, not objects. Thank the universe Sean Nast is helming their future at the end. He and Lucas Cortez were at the top of my “best case scenario Cabal people” list.

Anyway, specifically on Darkness Rising: I quite liked Maya as a protagonist. She was fairly chill through most the the trilogy. Capable in almost every scenario she’s put in. It was definitely refreshing after dealing with Chloe in Darkest Powers. I’m glad Maya did the smart thing with her love triangle, even if I would have loved to see some polyamory involved. Probably just me. But anyway, Maya was a good protagonist.

Rafe and Daniel, being Maya’s love interests/besties were the best fleshed out of the group of Project Phoenix kids. They were bother differing shades of chill boyfriend. Made a nice departure from the Dereks and Clays of the male love interest spectrum. Other than that, I don’t really have an opinions on them. They were there and supported Maya as best they could given the circumstances.

Still not sure how I feel about Ash. He kind of faded into the background once the Project Genesis kids were introduced and didn’t have much time with the Phoenix kids to get really well established. I kept envisioning a young Sam Carter from the Stargate universe whenever Sam was mentioned. Hayley was notable only because she shares a name with my bestie. Nicole for kind of the same reason (my sister’s original legal name this time), though it did help that she was psychotic so… yeah. Most of the rest of the characters were just kind of there and pretty one-note, which is completely understandable in a cast this large.

I think that’s mostly it for my thoughts on Darkness Rising. Better than Darkest Powers but mostly managing to hit the same story beats. Got your setup book, your wandering/traveling book, and your conclusion book. Not sure Darkest Powers would do well as an omnibus, but maybe a two book split instead. Not really sure.

The Rising by Kelley Armstrong

A Spoiler Free Review

I honestly found The Rising to be alright. There was a lot crammed into the last third of the book. The first third kind of felt like flailing and the middle was much more active than I think I was expecting. There’s a lot going on in this book. The last third basically serves as a coda for both the Darkest Powers and Darkness Rising trilogies. So yeah, lots going on.

Not sure how I feel about Ash. He largely just comes across as bratty and much younger than Maya and the others. And, with the introductions of Ash, welcome to a lesson in racism from a white author out of the mouth of her Native character. Not that this conversation shouldn’t be had, and often, just, uh, feels a little weird to me… the also white person. As I’m thinking about it (I write these reviews over time and not usually all at once), it would also be odd to NOT encounter racism at all. I honestly think Armstrong does a good job tackling the issue.

I am very glad the Interracial Council and Lucas got brought up here. Heck, I breathed a sigh of relief when Sean Nast showed up. Of all the Cabal people who could have wound up in charge of the Genesis and Phoenix kids, Sean was the top of the list for the ideal person to handle them.

Well Derek’s definitely coming across as more of an ass than he probably needs to be. Not that I didn’t think he was to begin with, but still… Getting these two groups together would probably have excited me if I were younger, but now it’s just like… ya’ll are all waaaay too pigheaded to be any type of real help to each other. Not how it turns out, but those were the initial thoughts. I think Kit being there definitely helped smooth things over between the groups.

Okay first, the ending of this book and this series feel rushed. Second, polyamory is a thing that ought to be considered whenever a love triangle is brought to light. You have more options than monogamy, even as a teenager. Work that shit out. And of course Maya does work that shit out and in a much less dramatic way that I was thinking it was going to go, so I’ll just let all this stuff lie. Definitely wasn’t counting on Armstrong to go the polyamory route. I do also want to say that there’s a paragraph toward the end talking about the dating pool needing to be wider and… just ugh. Why’s everyone always have to be super focused on dating? Romance is not and should not be the end-all, be-all for anyone, period. End mini-rant.

The Calling by Kelley Armstrong

A Spoiler Free Review

Nothing like starting out with an improbable helicopter hijacking and probable character death. Having never been in a helicopter myself, I can’t speak to the realism here, but… I really don’t buy any of what happened in the first 15 pages of this book. Just… feels like they all should have been dead, or crashed, at the very least. Not gonna say I was glad when they did eventually crash, but… yeah. I think it would have happened a lot sooner than it did.

Teens wandering around in the forest is no more interesting than teens hitchhiking across states. I question the adults who are going after them, too. Like, if ya’ll had shown up without guns — even if they are tranq guns — your case would be a lot easier to argue. But no, you choose violence so the teens have a very valid excuse for running the fuck away from you. Seriously, the Cabals and the Edison Group really need lessons in how to treat people.

Anyway, that’s pretty much how this book went. Maya and the others basically running away from Cabal operatives, hoping to head home, and eventually making it. I guess it was a little more entertaining than The Awakening, but not by much. At least there was barely any relationship drama to get into, so that was nice. I’m definitely not a fan of full-on relationship drama.

I did like the fact that Maya and her friends actually talked to each other about their plans. Glad to see actual group dynamics in action. I also like how Maya’s transformations were described and went down.

Pretty bog-standard Armstrong trilogy middle book, to be honest. Ya know, based on the one other specific trilogy of hers I’ve read. Not much actually happened aside from the beginning and the ending.

The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong

A Spoiler Free Review

After reading the Darkest Powers Trilogy, The Gathering was a breath of fresh air. That said, it’s definitely more up the alley of a CW show than it is anything else. There’s just a lot of teen drama. Not especially boring but also not especially engaging, either. I won’t say I was bored at any point while I was reading, but I also don’t really remember a lot of the details.

I thought Maya was a satisfactory protagonist. She’s spunky, has an actual personality, and is grounded as a person. The other characters are honestly blurs, in my brain. I remember the secondary characters — Daniel and Rafe — of course, but most of the others… nothing interesting pops up. They’re there to fill out Maya’s world and they do that well.

It is a little interesting to have a completely outside perspective on the St. Cloud Cabal. And by outside, I mean human. Having read other books set in Armstrong’s Otherworld, I know who the St. Clouds really are, even if their aims are beyond me, and Maya, at this point in the Darkness Rising trilogy. Of course, the mention of Dr. Davidoff from the Darkest Powers trilogy made me roll my eyes. But he’s only mentioned in this book so… yeah. Not a big thing.

I’m not normally a fan of abrupt endings. In fact, I never picked up any of the Divergent series after the first one because of this. However, I’m going to continue with the Darkness Rising trilogy, mainly because I know it’s a trilogy and I like the author. But yeah, do be warned, it just ends out of nowhere.

I would also like to mention that I read the "Enhanced Edition" on Kindle. It's got a couple little short stories that sort of flesh out a couple things from the book and a yearbook section and character profiles. I probably would have eaten this up if I were younger, but... yeah. That's definitely stuff for a younger audience than my 33 yrs.

American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett

A Spoiler Free Review

The tone of American Elsewhere reminds me a lot of NOS4A2 by Joe Hill. Kind of spooky but not exactly. Foreboding, is more the word. Wink somewhat reminds me of The Stepford Wives, though I’ve only experienced the 2004 movie and never read the book. Honestly, the thing I would liken American Elsewhere as a whole to the most is Fringe, a TV show from 2008. It’s weird and keeps building on the weird until you end up in the realm of the Eldritch Horrors… which I guess isn’t actually Fringe-y, but it’s close.

I quite enjoyed American Elsewhere, but at the same time I’m not sure I can properly discuss it without giving away spoilers. Basically, prepare yourself for a general sense of foreboding mixed with fringe-science and eldritch horror. Actually, I didn’t find that part super horrifying, but there were definitely gross bits I’m sure my brain is keeping me from fully imagining. I’m not super well versed in Eldritch Horror anyway, so… yeah. I dunno. I pretty much just filed it all away under “super alien that’s actually alien” and left it at that.

Anyway, American Elsewhere is very good. It sucks you into it in such a way that I think a reread would be best served by reading it all in one go. However, I do think reading it in chunks, like I did, served the story well. It allowed me to process what was going on a lot better than I probably would have had I read American Elsewhere all in one go. The reader is pulled along slowly and slowly conditioned for the ending, which is mind-bendy and actually more fun than the rest of the book, in my opinion, of course.

That’s another thing, American Elswhere isn’t fun, exactly. The foreboding tone makes it hard for any fun to really be had. There are moments where the reader can breathe, but the tone definitely keeps up throughout. Of maybe I was just breathing in between stints of reading, I don’t know. Definitely hard to say. Also don’t expect to be super emotional at any point. Even the ending just felt like letting out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding more than eliciting any type of emotion from me. Not bad, by any means, but… yeah. I keep saying American Elsewhere is foreboding, and I really, really mean it. Can’t shake that feeling even as Mona and Gracie drive away from Wink. It just sticks.

Character Spotlight

Mona Bright - Main Character. Spends most of the book very confused and looking for answers. Is kind of a badass.

Gracie - Honestly kinda boring for a majority of the book and then... turns into a ten-second deus ex machina.

Mrs. Benjamin - Honestly my favorite character. I love me some kooky old lady characters and she definitely fits the bill.

Mr. Parson - Kinda had in mind the old man from that Pixar Chess short who then turns into Jonathan Lipnicki from Stuart Little because reasons.

The Ganymede - A great concept for a villain. Also pretty darn human for really hating humans.