The Saga of Jonathan Volsung

New writing & Old
The Children of Hurin

The Children of Hurin, by J.R.R. Tolkien

Gerard Wood
Books, Reviews
J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Children of Hurin is a dark and tragic story. A tale of faerie it might be, but this is certainly no fairy tale! Too grim to be enchanting, it does however enthral with horrific fascination as it draws the reader forcefully to the inevitable, terrible conclusion. So, a warning: if you’re looking…
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Hunters of Dune

Hunters of Dune

Gerard Wood
Books, Reviews
The urge to read Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson’s continuation of Frank Herbert’s Dune series is a bit like the urge to purchase a lotto ticket. Buying the ticket makes sense because what you’re gaining is the thrill of anticipation. What makes very little sense is checking your numbers as your chance of being disappointed…
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The Dark has Risen

Gerard Wood
Reviews, Screen
Walden Media, the studio that gave us The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, brings another fantasy series to the big screen this October with The Dark is Rising. Susan Cooper’s 1973 novel The Dark Is Rising is the second in a sequence of five: Over Sea, Under Stone, The Dark is…
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Sunshine

Sunshine

Gerard Wood
Reviews, Screen
Sunshine is director Danny Boyle and author Alex Garland’s third and most satisfying movie collaboration to date. Their first, The Beach (2000), was based on Garland’s outstanding debut novel of the same name. With a screenplay by John Hodge, it’s not clear how much of an input Garland had in the making of the film…
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