Capsule book reviews in 255 characters or fewer. Ish. A reading diary (1st Jan 2019 onwards) by Eamonn Griffin.
A guide to three act structure, and why it works for narrative cinema: including the Alien screenwriter’s own variant. Completed posthumously, this is an accessible, lightly erudite and fun guide to onscreen storytelling. One third structural analysis, one third application of O’Bannon’s version of the three act template to selected movies, one third industry observations.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
A cartoonist and former forger gets drawn back into crime by a femme fatale. Another high-quality yarn of dark deeds on the wrong side of midnight; another man in over his head and head over heels at the same time. Series fans won’t be disappointed, and there’s much to relish for those new to the BrubakerPhillipsVerse.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
An ex-con returns to his drugs and disease-blighted mining community: soon, other monsters lurk. Splashy blue-collar Beowulf-ish horror graphic novel (a six-issue run collected here), working similar territory to the later Grendel, Kentucky. Pacy and told with verve, this is fine stuff all the way through.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
Taqa sets out to prove that God exists, the hard way. Collecting issues 5-8, this second volume offers the same goth-ish pleasures as before: dark, sly, and revelling in its whiffs of metaphysical pretension. In a good way.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
An introduction to Homer, including summaries of The Iliad and The Odyssey. A fine primer for those new to the area, maintaining the series’ accessible and informative high standard, while pleasingly mimicking the classic children’s book format, illustrations and all.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
An accessible, short overview of gravity as a topic in contemporary physics. A quick explainer that covers a lot of ground in a few pages. Well-illustrated throughout, and hopefully a springboard for non-scientists to read more on the subject.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
A conspiracy theory-loving FBI lecturer is inducted into an agency working to prevent collective belief from realising that conspiracy theories can become real. Fun, smart, and fast – if ever-so-slightly-preachy – this The Matrix meets JFK graphic novel (issues 1-5 collected here) is a brain-boggling and good-looking treat, and relevant as hell. Lots to recommend this.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
The leader of an all-woman biker gang returns home to avenge her father’s death. Swift, gory, fun riff on Beowulf populated by backwoods weed farmers and take-no-shit Kentuckians. The book anthologizes a four-part graphic story: there’s hell of a movie to be made of this. A straightforward thing done as well as it might be. Recommended.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
An overview of quantum mechanics, taking a largely historical approach. Another excellent, clear, uncluttered primer on a key topic. Just enough information to challenge and to get the reader enthused about the topic so that they go and find out more: the useful bibliography of accessible texts helps too.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
An accessible introduction to the beginning of the universe. A straightforward and (just about) graspable account of how it all began, and of the ramifications of this for the ways that the cosmos works now, and where it might all be going. As with other entries in this series, there’s enough here to make your investment in time worthwhile, while encouraging a more in-depth look also.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
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