Category Archives: Disappointment

Sky of Swords by Dave Duncan

450 pages. Eos Fantasy paperback. 2000. Third published novel in the Tales of the King’s Blades trilogy. So. Denouement, eh? After having spent Lord of the Fire Lands setting up pretty much an alternative plotline to the one told in The Gilded Chain, Dave Duncan endeavours to straighten things out again in Sky of Swords. Obviously, any such an [...]
Also posted in Ambiguity, Annoyance, Boredom, Discomfort, Great Expectations, Literature, Rant, Review, Speculative fiction, meh. | 6 Comments

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

The first Elizabeth movie is one of my all-time favourites, so I had rather high hopes for Elizabeth: the Golden Age when I watched it a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, they were not fulfilled. Where I had expected more political drama, the focus was all on Elizabeth’s love life, and her struggles to be a woman [...]
Also posted in Great Expectations, Movies, Review, meh. | 12 Comments

Interview with the Vampire

Man, I did not until a few seconds ago realise what an inane title Interview with the Vampire really is; it is scary to see just how much an article can matter… Anyway, I had my sister over for dinner a couple of days ago, and we watched this thing, mainly because we both remembered the [...]
Also posted in Annoyance, Boredom, Death, Language, Links, Literature, Misery, Movies, Pain, Panic, Review, Speculative fiction, Weird stuff, lol, meh. | 2 Comments

Swords and Deviltry by Fritz Leiber

(If this isn’t my best review, please bear over with me; it’s been over two months since I read this book.) 2001 (1970, 1962, 1970). 165 pages. “Induction” (2 pages) “The Snow Women” (74 pages) “The Unholy Grail” (27 pages) “Ill Met in Lankhmar” (62 pages) Swords and Deviltry is the first collection of short stories in the Gollancz Fantasy Masterworks series’ [...]
Also posted in Ambiguity, Annoyance, Collections, Conflicting emotions, Discomfort, Great Expectations, Hope, Impressions, Language, Links, Literature, Opinions, Pessimism, Potential, Review, Scepticism, Speculative fiction, meh. | 2 Comments

A Plague! A Plague on Our Houses!

In my Last.fm shoutbox, I was recently asked by one of my readers to post more frequently in my blog, and seeing as your whim is my law, I bring you this: an essay of sorts about the last topic you’d expected me to write about! One of the things you might not know [...]
Also posted in Ambiguity, Annoyance, Boredom, Conflicting emotions, Discomfort, Dumb luck, Evilness, Failed attempts at subtility, Family, Football, Forums, Glee, Gloating, Goosebumps!, Great Expectations, Grief, Hallucinations, Help!, History, Hope, Impressions, Irony, Language, Laziness, Links, Lists, Lotta, Media, Megalomania, Misery, Music, My microcosmos, Norse stuff, Norway, Nostalgia, Oh noes!, Opinions, Optimism, Pain, Panic, Paranoia, Pessimism, Pettiness, Pleasant surprises, Politics, Potential, Pride, Procrastination, Roman stuff, Scepticism, Speculations, TMI, Television stuff, This Blog, Various, Videos, Weird stuff, Whoa, Why do I think anyone cares?, Wistfulness, Words, Yay!, lol, meh. | 11 Comments

The definition of preaching to the choir

You need to have flashplayer enabled to view this YouTube video Seriously, I don’t know why these people bother. I mean, I agree with much of what the guy said, but jeez, does he honestly believe he is going to win many religious people over by antagonising them? Is this rational behaviour? And what’s up with the islamophobia of these prominent atheists? (On a concluding note, I’d like [...]
Also posted in Ambiguity, Annoyance, Discomfort, Impressions, Irony, Language, Misery, My microcosmos, Pain, Rant, Regret, Religiousity, Scepticism, Videos, meh. | Leave a comment

The Sword and the Sorcerer

The Sword and the Sorcerer is one of the many fantasy movies produced in the early 1980s, most of which have in common that they are so full of cheese and plot-holes you might think they’re Swiss. In this particular case, the plot revolves around the kingdom of Eh Dan (Edain, anyone? Or Eng Land?), peaceably [...]
Also posted in Annoyance, Collections, Misery, Movies, Music, My microcosmos, Pain, Pessimism, Rant, Regret, Review, Speculative fiction, meh. | Leave a comment

Superhero Movie

Rather out of the blue, I ended up seeing Superhero Movie with a friend last night. And man, am I sorry. But I’ll get back to that. First, a plot synopsis. Rick Riker is Peter Parker, only more (exaggeratedly) so and with more unmotivated and unfun slapstick accidents happening to him. He is in love with [...]
Also posted in Annoyance, Boredom, Coincidents, Death, Discomfort, Dumb luck, Grief, Help!, Misery, Movies, Oh noes!, Pain, Panic, Paranoia, Pessimism, Pettiness, Rant, Regret, Review, meh. | Leave a comment

The Golden Compass

I’ve been meaning to do this for a long time, but it wasn’t until earlier this week that I finally got around to getting myself to a screening of The Golden Compass. In a parallel steampunk universe, the Catholic Church-like Authority is trying to suppress all competition and innovation, in their belief that this is what’s [...]
Also posted in Movies, Review | Leave a comment

Another one of GRRM’s ASOIAF fantasy references?

So far, I’ve noticed references to at least two other writers of Epic Fantasy in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. The first was quite simply the use of the name Vance on one of Westeros’ noble families, and the second (which I admittedly didn’t discover myself, I’m ashamed to say) is [...]
Also posted in Ambiguity, Annoyance, Boredom, Coincidents, GRRM, Hodge-podge rambling, Hope, Links, Literature, Revelations, Scepticism, Speculative fiction, meh. | Leave a comment