On the Silver Screen
Review: November Rain by Shannon S. Thompson
This is a short YA novel that reads like it might have started out as X-Men fan fic. This is not at all a criticism. It’s the 2080s, and kids with powers, “bad bloods,” are cropping up all over the place. And unlike Marvel’s mutants, they don’t have to wait until puberty to get their powers.
Their existence is illegal and they are forced to flee and live underground to avoid being sent to “blood camps.”
And they just found a test for “blood” status.
Oh, and there’s an election between a guy who wants to eradicate the bloods and a guy who doesn’t. Those stakes are, however, in the background; the real conflict is between blood Flocks…over a young woman with Rogue-like powers.
These kids don’t have codenames and costumes, but they do have superpowers, and all they have is each other.
Unfortunately, this book needs to be longer. I think the author may be splitting the series up a bit too much.
Also, there’s some not just bad but terrible science in there. No, aspartame has not and will not cause uncounted cancers…or heal mutants, for that matter. Aspartame is safe for most people. Trust somebody it’s not safe for. That aside, this is a pretty nice little superhero book, even if it does take the X-Men and make them even darker.
Recommended for X-Men fans.
Review: Mask of Silver by Rosemary Jones
This is Lovecraftiana that makes Lovecraft spin in his grave…something I am entirely there for. Our protagonist, Jeany, is a young Chinese-American woman (Chinese mother, Swedish father) who is a brilliantly talented costumer and prop maker working in the silent movie industry.
She’s part of a team put together by Sydney Fitzmaurice to make “terror movies.” Her sister, known as Renee Love, is white passing and is Sydney’s star, muse, and lover….but only he and Jeany know the truth of her heritage. Even the rest of the team think Renee and Jeany are best friends, not sisters.
And then Fitzmaurice takes them to Arkham to film his latest masterpiece. With results that are predictable from the first mention of “Arkham.”
However, this has the more hopeful ending of modern Lovecraftiana…although some of the team die and one ends up in the looney bin (at least we assume Sydney is dead…) the protagonist escapes, albeit with a few less sanity points.
Mask of Silver is focused on silver…the silver screen, the silver of films, the silver of mirrors. This is good Lovecraftiana in a setting that’s less familiar…but clearly well-researched. Jones admits to being a silent movie buff and she certainly knows a lot about how Hollywood worked (and didn’t work) back then.
Recommended for Lovecraftiana fans and people curious about the silent film industry.