The Haunting of Tram Car 015 returns to the alternate Cairo of Clark's short fiction, where humans live and work alongside otherworldly beings; the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities handles the issues that can arise between the magical and the mundane. Senior Agent Hamed al-Nasr shows his new partner Agent Onsi the ropes of investigation when they are called to subdue a dangerous, possessed tram car. What starts off as a simple matter of exorcism, however, becomes more complicated as the origins of the demon inside are revealed.
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The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE
Title: The Bright and Breaking SeaChloe Neill brings her trademark wit and wild sense of adventure to a stunning seafaring fantasy starring a dauntless heroine in a world of magic and treachery.
Kit Brightling, rescued as a foundling and raised in a home for talented girls, has worked hard to rise through the ranks of the Isles' Crown Command and become one of the few female captains in Queen Charlotte's fleet. Her ship is small, but she's fast--in part because of Kit's magical affinity to the sea. But the waters become perilous when the queen sends Kit on a special mission with a partner she never asked for. Rian Grant, Viscount Queenscliffe, may be a veteran of the Continental war, but Kit doesn't know him or his motives--and she's dealt with one too many members of the Beau Monde. But Kit has her orders, and the queen has commanded they journey to a dangerous pirate quay and rescue a spy who's been gathering intelligence on the exiled emperor of Gallia. Kit can lead her ship and clever crew on her own, but with the fate of queen and country at stake, Kit and Rian must learn to trust each other, or else the Isles will fall....
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It has a dark past – one in which a number of humans were killed. A past that caused it to christen itself “Murderbot”. But it has only vague memories of the massacre that spawned that title, and it wants to know more. Teaming up with a Research Transport vessel named ART (you don’t want to know what the “A” stands for), Murderbot heads to the mining facility where it went rogue. What it discovers will forever change the way it thinks…
This year, I decided not to talk about most of the movies I watched in October. It would have been redundant, mainly because they’re pretty typical for the month: think Hocus Pocus, Corpse Bride, and other Halloween classics. That is to say, that wasn’t all I watched, and today I want to talk about two of Netflix’s recent releases.
The first is A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting (released on October 15, 2020). The movie was, overall, a really enjoyable one to watch. It’s essentially about babysitting, monsters, and what those two have to do with each other—as experienced by Kelly Ferguson, who was reluctantly recruited into watching the son of her mother’s boss. The story may have been simple but it sure was entertaining, due in part to how good the characters were (hats-off to the actors on this one) as well as how well the special effects worked. Right away, the opening scene introduced Kelly, some of her backstory, and the lore that would play a bigger role later on. The pacing was effective here, as it felt like enough time was spent on each scene to really build a solid starting point. So when the movie picked up and the reveals started happening, there was solid footing to stand on.
The second movie was one I was looking forward to since I first heard about it, which was Vampires vs. The Bronx (released on October 2, 2020). I enjoyed this one as well. We don’t often get vampire movies that step outside of the norm in terms of characters—one of the few I can think of is the Blade series. Vampires vs. The Bronx felt, at times, like a timely narrative (with gentrification being a focal issue in the story) with a paranormal edge. I liked all the characters, as well as how the paranormal side of the story was handled. The setting also afforded for some spooky ambiance, and there were a few comedic moments. Like A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting, I had a lot of fun watching this movie.
So what do these movies have in common? They may be vastly different, but man they were fun. It was the kind of campiness in the same vein as older films like Disney’s Halloweentown: quirky, kind of cheesy, but still an excellent viewing experience.
What have you been watching recently? If you have any recommendations, leave them in the comments.
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