I live in Louisiana. Right now we are riding out Hurricane Isaac. (while it will cause a large amount of property damage, we have seen much more intense storms.). An interesting facet of hurricanes is that for all intensive purposes, you experience 48 hours of night. In preparation for the storm (booze, generator hook up, foods, clearing your property) I wrestled with which Wilson book I wanted to read. I settled on either Nightworld or Midnight Mass. Both have the desolate, surreal flavor that can accompany a hurricane. I've read Midnight Mass more times than Nightworld, so the latter won out. It's been a trippy ride, and my wife has spent a good bit of time asking for updates in the book, or to describe a monster or event. I don't know why I felt I should share this experience, but I figured some jack fanatics or Wilson aficionados could appreciate it.

I thought I'd post this as I know a few are fans of BG. They are releasing an updated version of BG for PC and some of the tablets. Its supposed to add more characters, a few more quests and some graphic and gameplay enhancements. As far as I've read they aren't changing the story so much as just updating and adding to. Anyway, just thought some here might be interested.

http://baldursgate.com/

Has anyone else caught this one? I've seen 2 episodes thus far. It's set in 1864...in NYC. The story centers around a returned Northern soldier that is now a police detective. His daughter was killed and now his wife is missing upon his return.

For those that don't know, in 2005, the HPLHS made a low budget black and white, silent film called The Call of Cthulhu. Its 47 minutes long and stay on line with the plot of HPL's famous story.

The film is worth seeing for HPL fans, but do not expect anything spectaular. It is the "best" adaptation of a Lovecraft story, but considereing the rest of the trash that has been made that is not saying too much.

The movie is filmed digitially which takes away from the idea that it could have been filmed in the 1920s when the story takes place (something the filmmakers say they wanted to accomplish). Also with the low budget, the actors aren't great, and some of the special effects are pretty bad (dream sequences, ocean scenes and Island).

If you want to see Cthulthu...you won't be disappointed. This is the only version of media (even the game he did not make an appearance) where Cthulthu actually appears. Now remember, low budget. They used claymiation and stop motion animation to film his sequences, and while its decent I've seen far better from Ardmann Animations back in the 90s before they were made famous (in the US at least) by Wallace and Gromit and Creature Comforts.

So, yes, its worth it. I enjoyed the 47 minutes that I spent watching it last night. There are some bad moments (like I never felt scared or terrified like when you read Lovecraft's works), but if you keep in mind that they were working with about a $50k budget you'll understand some of the problems with the film.

And look for the "warning" at the beginning. Kind of funny.

Yes, he had to be channeled to give this review.

http://www.theweeklings.com/sbeaudoin/20...eceased-2/

Excerpt (and censored for those with delicate eyes):

Quote:But more to the point, as I am dead and can no longer defend myself, let alone hire the appropriate team of insanely ruthless and expensive get-medieval-on-his-ass barristers, let us talk in a more general sense of the concept of plagiarism, lawsuits, unpaid royalties, honor, bald purloining, and derivation. Let us speak quietly and in long-forgotten tongues of White Walkers and Ring Wraiths, Mount Doom and The Wall, Targarians and Baggins’, Ned Stark and Aragorn Ellessar, dragons and dragons, kings and courtiers, Nazgul and wizards, Baratheons and Borimirs, Dothraki and pretty much throw a dart at any of my books at random. Good god, man, does no one remember my Undying Lands? Do they only remember the ludicrous “house of the undying?” manned by ridiculous magi in the preposterous walled city of Qarth? Not to mention every other possible shape and form of blatant and legally actionable thefting?

Ah, if only I could once again feel the cool hand of Galadrial on my neck. And perhaps her delicate but supple touch beneath the writing desk.

No matter.

As I once said, in the blackest of Black Speech:

Ash nazg durbatulûk,
Ash nazg gimbatul,
Ash nazg thrakatulûk
Agh burzum-ishi krimpatul.

Let the usurper steal that! Hell, let his false and hollow quill scratch across store bought warg-parchment as he even attempts to translate.

Not to mention, and I feel a fair scoundrel even bringing this up since it is so plainly unjust, but where in Sauron’s name does George Martin get off, on top of everything else, embezzling my “R.R.”? It’s like someone stealing your kidneys. Or your sodden balls. Only the grossest charlatan would attempt such a thing. Let alone smugly collect worldwide royalties because of it.

But to the book itself: Crows? I am sorry, they do not feast. They pick and scavenge and cry out in their murderously human voices. Just as one, I would imagine, does on the subway whilst reading this drivel on a Kindle. Whatever in blazes a Kindle might be.

Alas, I can say but this; from the ashes a fire shall be woken, a light from the shadows shall spring; renewed shall be the blade that was broken, the crownless again shall be king.

And further, the headless can wear no crown.

So I tell you as firmly as I now stand here, or speak through you, or sprinkle my pixie dust or whatever the bloody hell it is that I’m presently doing; if I only held a fine gilded broadsword in my sinewy grip, I would raise it without a thought or shred of remorse, and in a single mighty stroke relieve George R. R. Martin of both his egregious initials and his empty head.

Let alone his agent. And his development deal. And a chance to cuddle in the director’s trailer with Amanda Peet while her husband is off stuffing the offal that is Martin’s prose through the magical deli grinder that turns it into a usable screenplay.

Furthermore….ah, why bother with this charade any longer? Okay, fine, **** it. I didn’t even read the book. But I did watch the entire first season of the show. You see, one thing they have in spades in the purgatorial nethers is television. In fact, it’s compulsory. So, yes, I watched every ********* episode.

(Sorry - full up with a waiting list)

Wednesday, October 10 at 6:30 (program to begin at 7:00)
A Discussion and Celebration of BOOKS TO DIE FOR
John Connolly leads a conversation with contributing authors, including Megan Abbott, Lee Child, Michael Connelly, Reed Farrel Coleman, Alison Gaylin, Lisa Lutz, MJ Rose, SJ Rozan and F. Paul Wilson
The Century Association
7 W. 43rd Street
New York, NY
sponsored by Dave H. Williams and Dr. Reba White Williams
RSVP: Books2diefor@gmail.com

It's called A Face in the Crowd by Stephen King and Stewart O' Nan and it just came out yesterday. $1.99 on kindle. I've read all his short stories and I think it's probably one of the best he's written. I was a little doubtful when I bought it. I thought "yeah, I can give this guy another $2 for one hour worth of reading, I suppose." His last short story on kindle, Full Throttle, written with his son Joe Hill was terrible and unsatisfying to me. I was actually upset. Another of his kindle realeases, Mile 81, I thought it corney and was not impressed. So I was fairly shocked that I found this one so good. If you enjoy King, or don't mind spending $2 for a hour of reading, check it out.

Wow. I am now required to read "The Distributor" by my incomplete.

Nice job Mr. F. Paul Wilson.

How did I miss the last book release? I always download the day it releases and slowly building my kindle library of RJ. Well I must put down my "Drums of Autumn" and go download Nightworld.

Thanks FPW for the wonderful series. Being so gracious to the nutty girl who drove to Pittsburgh dragging her friends along to meet you. It's been wonderful!

Kim

So there's going to be a remake of Red Dawn. Could the studio at least have stood its ground and kept the Chinese as the bad guys, as they had originally planned? I'm thinking that the remake will completely suck, in part because it's the North Koreans who are the invaders. North Korea invading the US without any help from China? Please...

Not that I have high hopes for the remake actually being good, even if China had been the invader but at least it would have been slightly more credible.