Review: "The Malevolent Seven" by Sebastian de Castell

So what kind of story do you have when your protagonist is an unabashed mercenary who makes deals with devils for spells to crush his foes?

More accurately, what kind of story do you have when that one is the good guy?

That's the latest offering from Sebastian de Castell, the author of the Greatcoats series. I enjoyed the Greatcoats series overall. Oh, there were parts of it that didn't set well with me, but overall it was an okay read. I found De Castell's "Tales of the Greatcoats" collection of short stories to be more enjoyable, mostly because the reader is spared the multiple chapters of narrative self-loathing and authorial sadism that is such a common thing in so many stories that are out these days.

"The Malevolent Seven" is set in an entirely different world. A world of magic, of angels, of demons, and of battle mages. Cade Ombra is one such mage and he's got a very complicated background for a simple mercenary mage. A series of events has Cade and his (sort of) friend Corrigan take on a job to kill seven virtuous mages for cash. If only the job were that simple. If only all the cast were that simple as well.

"The Malevolent Seven" is a delightful story. It's got a fun pace. Oh sure, the protagonist, Cade, is a tormented whiner who is really a hero among rogues in a shitty world (not unlike his setting for the Greatcoats) but it was a quick and fun read. De Castell doesn't shy away from moral questions any more than he shies away from having his characters wade through literal shit from time to time.

A part of me hopes there will be a sequel. The other part of me hopes he leaves the story where it is, set with a curiously-optimistic ending. I think I'll be fine either way, truth be told.

Review: "The Traitor" by Anthony Ryan

The latest in Anthony Ryan's series known as "The Covenant of Steel", the third novel entitled "The Traitor" follows "The Pariah" and "The Martyr" in the testament of Alywn Scribe, a former outlaw turned knight and lover of the Risen Martyr Evandine Coulain.

As one might tell from the title, the story is about as cheery and loving as the previous two books, as Ryan continues to abuse his protagonists viciously amid scenes of carnage and torture.

For all that, the story is an enjoyable enough romp with a lot more closure and coherence in it than the "Raven's Shadow" series. There are parallels in numerous characters between the two series, but I find enough differences that I don't give "Raven's Shadow" too much thought as I've made my way through "The Covenant of Steel".

Alywn Scribe's journey continued to keep my attention throughout "The Traitor", though there were few surprises. I found a few plot points introduces in "The Martyr" were left unresolved as "The Traitor" concluded, but Ryan hints there may be another series along one day.

Oddly, the one thing I found that really stood out in "The Covenant of Steel" was how Ryan handles the otherworldly powers. In his other series, magic is usually tied to vaguely godlike entities that are callous and indifferent, if not outright malign. In "The Covenant of Steel", there is, at least, some acknowledgement that there's benign powers out there, albeit ruthless ones.

The series was a fun read. I look forward to more from Anthony Ryan.

2023

About six months in, I very much dislike 2023.

That is all.

Skull Island

So I just finished binging the "Skull Island" animated offering on Netflix.

I really enjoyed Kong: Skull Island. I think it was the strongest of the "MonsterVerse" films that have come out, with Godzilla, Kong, etc. It was really the only film that had human protagonists I have half a crap about, which is kinda impressive. Those sorts of films really don't do "appealing human characters" very well, but Sam Jackson, Brie Larson, Tom Hiddleston, John C. Reilly, and the rest really had appealing characters set in an atypical monster setting.

"Skull Island" builds on the mythos of the monster-infested Skull Island a bit, albeit in an animated format. I was impressed by how that was handled. The story really wasn't centered around Kong, too much. Kong was an incidental agency in the story, that was mainly centered around a gaggle of shipwreck victims and a feral teenage girl who has bonded with local monsters. All-told, it didn't suck nearly as much as I expected it would. The story could've made the cast a bit more appealing, and they could've shaved a good 80% of the quips and jokes off without too much trouble. Still, it wasn't horrible. I'm intrigued enough that I'd watch a sequel if they do one. Hopefully they dial back the excessive quipping a lot next time around.

John Wick 4

I finally saw it. The conclusion of the John Wick films.

I really love these films. All a first-person shooter videogame done up Hollywood style with nice suits, fancy clubs, and style to go with the way over-the-top dollops of ultraviolence.

That's really all that needs to be said about the fourth film, really. It's almost three hours of carnage and insanity mixed in with posturing and "yeah".

Adding in Donnie Yen was a nice touch.

I'll miss this franchise. It won't be the same without Keanu's John Wick in whatever they do in subsequent films.

Thoughts on "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves"

So I finally got around to watching Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves the other day.

I'm upset it took me this long to see this film. This is one of the most enjoyable fantasy romps I've watched in ages!

Set in the D&D fantasy world of "Faeun" (sp?), the film centers around the bard Edgin Darvis (Chris Pine), his barbarian friend Holga Kilgore (best name ever, played by Michelle Rodriguez). Imprisoned after attempting to steal a magic artifact from Edgin's previous employers, the heroic Harpers, the pair escape prison and recruit the dubious sorcerer Simon Aumar (Justice Smith) and shapeshifting druid and Tiefling Doric (Sophia Lillis) to rescue Edgin's daughter Kira (Chloe Coleman) from their treacherous former teammate, Forge Fitzwilliam (Hugh Grant). And there's of course many shenanigans in the way.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is thematically a lot like the Guardians of the Galaxy films. A rag-tag team of quirky misfits unite to stop a terrible evil in the form of the sorceress Sofina (Daisy Head). Along the way, the group befriends the paladin Xenk Yendar (Regé-Jean Page) and jump through hoops to become a quasi-family.

It's a formula and a predictable one, but it's perfectly executed in this film. The casting was rock solid, with every actor really making her or his character distinctive and entertaining. I'm hard-pressed to come up with a favorite, truth-be-told. I'm kind of torn between the humorless and earnest Xenk Yendar and the badass but blunt-spoken Holga Kilgore, though I really loved all the characters. Edgin could have easily been annoying, but Pine's portrayal really walked a good line to keep the character's flaws entertaining but not excessive.

I really hope they make sequels! Good sequels!

It's May, it's May, the merry month of May

No idea why "Camelot" popped into my head, but there it is. The month's more than half-over and the song's been lurking in my brain on-and-off for about a week now. It's a relief to get it out of my system. You're welcome.