I missed out on ordering the Cemetery Dance Limited of this first title in the series. For the past year or so, I've been watching eBay and the other secondary markets trying to pick up a copy. It's been priced anywhere from $75.00 to $125.00 (sheesh). Anyway... if anyone else missed out, Barnes & Noble.com has some in stock for the $35.00 cover price. Mine arrived today, and now I'm a happy completist.

Anyone seen the long preview for this? It is M. Night Shamalans new movie that comes out this summer.

Looks really good. But I say that because there are two scenes in the preview that remind me of things that just scared the crap out of me as a kid.

First, the premise of the Village is that they live in this nice little village in the early days of America and there is some sort of bad thing that lives in the forest around them. But if they don't bug it, it won't bug them. The village is surrounded by torches on the perimeter of the village/border of the forest.

Well, the kids have a game they play at night were one of them stands really close to the edge of the woods with his back to the woods, and trys to stay that way for as long as he can....I can remember doing that when I was a kid, I lived in the hills and there was a story/area urban myth about a murderer named "Hacksaw Harry" who was last seen in the woods above were I lived, we used to do the same thing, see who was the bravest by standing with our backs to the woods. Was very tense and scary.

Then there is a scene when I guess the bad things are coming into the village to do whatever bad things do, and everyone is hiding, there is a blind girl in the movie and she is waiting for her boyfriend to come back before she will hide, she has her hand outstretched to the outside while the bad things are tearing things up, saying she knows her boyfriend will be coming..

Reminded me of when, growing up my bedroom was in an unfinished basement. So we didn't have light switches, just a string hanging from the light bulb in the middle of the room. I can remember being terrified that while blindly groping for the light string at night, that I was going to touch something that shouldn't be there...gives me the creeps thinking about it now...

Hope the movie lives up to my initial impression.

Paul:

I wanted to thank you for the inspiration that I got for a new short story. I finished MIDNIGHT MASS a couple of weeks ago, so I've had vampires on my mind, and I came up with an interesting idea for a vampire story (at least I think it's interesting).

Don't worry, it doesn't rip off anything in the book, nor does it take place in the world of MIDNIGHT MASS.

Thanks again!

Crisscross has been in my house now for almost a week, but I didn't know that. I had to visit Goddard College last Friday; later in the day, it arrived. Since my birthday is coming up on June 4th, my sister (who was the only one in the house while my mother and I went up to Goddard - she was looking into applying there, too) just took this package and put it away, thinking it must have been something my mother ordered me for my birthday. Then this morning my mother brought the package to me and said that it must have been something I ordered, and opening it, I found what will be the next book I'll read after I finish reading Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's Still Life With Crows.

Silly me.

Hey guys-


I just have a quick question. I want to begin reading The Adversary Cycle, but I dont know where to start. I have read The Tomb, where should I go from there? Is there any set list? Thanks to all that help.


Also.. should I wait until FPW finishes the RJ series before reading Nightworld(as I have heard this is the last RJ story)?

Hey Guys,
Would I miss anything important in Conspiracies if I skipped to All the Rage?
I've got it in my hands and soooo want to start reading it, but -- I will wait and pick up Conspiracies first if the greater wisdom suggests it.

Mini-spoiler

.

.

.

.

.

.

.


Gregor's curtain call is sublime. How much fun do you have coming up with material like that?

Scott

I have yet to see the Mann-ified version of The Keep; until I do, however, I will know that there could never be a worse adaptation (oh, excuse me, "inspiration") of such a perfect piece of literary art than the atrocity known as Troy.

Just about everything in this movie was bad. No, I take that back: EVERYTHING was simply HORRENDOUS. It was simply GARBAGE. Let me explain only a little of what I think...

The characters were mutated to a point that strayed beyond any kind of cliché or stereotype; they became simply dreadful. Achilles became a pompous, over-self-glorifying jerk that seemed to show no emotion other than arrogance. Paris became a little schoolgirl--er, boy--who would rather sit and watch the battle. Agamemnon became an insane, over-the-top, bloodthirsty maniac with the same motivations as our current "President" (and not to mention just as annoying). Helen suddenly had a whole blooming romance with Paris the equivalent of yet another attempt at cashing in on poor Shakespeare's famous romance (which will remain anonymous, because what else would I be talking about?). Ajax became a huge muscle-man...and not much more. Odysseus even fell to a similar fate; he became more of a sword-ready fiend rather than the innocent thrust into a war he did not wish to be in. And where was Diomedes? And more importantly, WHERE WERE THE GODS?!

All the armor, ships, and costumes were identical, as if they were manufactured, rather than hand-crafted (which is how it would have been). All of the rooms and houses had such gaudy, Martha Stewart-esque deco and tapestries.

Finally, the movie dragged on forever (I actually checked my watch at one point, only to be sorely disappointed that less than half the movie had elapsed). There was no humor in it whatsoever, and the plot structure was a monotonous pattern of battle-dialogue-battle-dialogue.

How could Wolfgang Petersen and such a fine group of actors and actresses (well...never mind the actresses, actually) create such garbage? David Benioff should be SHOT for his adaptation of the beautiful poem that is recognized everywhere as one of the best and most wonderful pieces of literature ever.

There are so many other things I could rant about with this atrocious movie. Troy was, quite simply, THE worst movie I have EVER had the misfortune of actually spending money on, only to have my visual nerves stimulated (more like raped) from. If you don't believe me, go ahead and see it; perhaps those of us who had the pleasure of reading The Illiad are more biased towards this piece of cinematic garbage, but I will be honestly surprised if anyone other than a little girl of the age of 13 finds this movie to be even remotely entertaining.

Simply put, Troy sucked.

I wondered what would become of Bellito's Circle until Jack gave Lyle the lowdown. "Yeah. Eventually they'll die. Long after they want to." Mercy! Any chance of learning more about the Mikulski brothers in a future story?

Does anyone still have the URLs for the RJ teaser trailers that were posted on the old board?