Monthly Archives: April 2024

Wednesday Briefs: April 17, 2024

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Here is a list of all the authors flashing this week, along with a brief snippet from their latest free work. Click the link after the snippet to be taken to the complete story on the author’s home page.

Dracula #11 (3.3) by J L Hayes

“Strigoi,” the old woman repeated. “Heartbreakers. Seducers of women… and of men.” A few of the men in the room squirmed uneasily at her words, while others playfully poked their neighbors and chortled in amusement. “The eyes in the night that see all,” she continued. “The mouths that demand, that steal the lifeblood of others in order to remain forever young.”

“What are you talking about?” one person called out, followed by another and another until the question echoed throughout the room. “What do you know, bunica?” “What tales are you trying to pass off as truth?” As quickly as they’d begun, the voices suddenly stilled.

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Book Review: One Piece, Vol 10: Let’s Stand Up! by Eiichiro Oda

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One Piece, Vol 10: Let’s Stand Up!     

Author: Eiichiro Oda

Publisher: Viz Media

American release date: April 4, 2006

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Action & Adventure/192 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Luffy and the others reach the island where Nami has absconded to. Luffy is convinced that she is not the bad person she appears to be, that there must be a reason why she is working with Arlong the Fishman and his pirate crew. When they learn what her true motives are, and how she is working to buy back Coco Village from Arlong’s tyranny, Luffy knows what he has to do -defeat Arlong and free them all!

Luffy, Sanji, Zolo, and a reluctant Usopp head to Arlong Park, where the fishmen are dismissive of them. The fight begins, with their terrible leader nowhere in sight. Unfortunately, Luffy finds himself in quite the predicament when he ends up stuck in the cement, unable to move. To make matters worse, Arlong shows up, and manages to cut out Luffy, cement and all, and hurl him into the water! Oh dear, as everyone knows, those who eat the devil fruit cannot swim! Can they save Luffy from drowning? Matters aren’t helped when Usopp runs off, followed by one of Arlong’s men.

Sanji dives into the water to rescue Luffy but he is attacked by one of the fishmen and has to do battle. Meanwhile, Nojiko (Nami’s sister) and Mr. Genzo have come to the rescue. Nojiko holds Luffy’s head above water, having stretched his neck, while Mr. Genzo presses on his chest to help him breathe. Even so, how long can Luffy hold out like this?

Usopp, in fear for his life, manages to convince his attacker that he is dead, but his conscience gets the better of him, thinking of Luffy and the others, and he decides to stand up to him, come what may! Nami decides the same thing and heads into the fray! Once Luffy is rescued, it’s time that he and Arlong tangle!

This volume of One Piece is about standing up for yourself and for your friends and doing the right thing. Nami has been with Arlong and his nefarious crew for a long time, albeit for good reasons, but she’s also been isolated and abused, becoming mistrustful of people. She learns to let go of that thanks to Luffy, who believes the best of everyone. Usopp, despite his bravado and wild tales, has essentially considered himself to be a coward, afraid to step in, afraid to be hurt. But Luffy has shown him that friends fight for friends, and he is finding his backbone at last.

Luffy’s a good kid, and a good friend and captain. He does not allow injustice to go unpunished, especially when it concerns his friends. It’ll be interesting to see how he develops as the story goes along. Great volume, look forward to the next!

Saturday is Horror Day #161 – Victor Frankenstein

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Victor Frankenstein

A young hunchbacked man with no name (Daniel Radcliffe) works for a circus in Victorian England. Although he is abused, and treated like he’s stupid, he secretly studies the subject that interests him – life – in the form of medical books. And he crushes on one of the ladies in the circus, Lorelei (Jessica Brown Findlay). An accident brings him face to face with a medical student in the audience, Victor Frankenstein (James McAvoy), who recognizes the young man’s brilliance and steals him away from the circus. He takes him to his new home, names him Igor, and proceeds to involve him in his experiments, which involve the creation of life itself. Unfortunately for them, a determined policeman, Inspector Turpin (Andrew Scott) is on the case of the missing hunchback and will stop at nothing to find him.

This is the familiar tale of Frankenstein as seen through the eyes of Igor (who, of course, is a completely

original character not from the book). I think it can be considered an origin story as such.  The obsessed Frankenstein manages to find a like-minded patron at the college he somewhat attends, one who is fortunately very wealthy and willing to fund Victor’s research. Having been transformed from being a hunchback, Igor is very grateful for Victor and his friendship. But he begins to wonder about the ethics of what they are doing. Also, who is this Igor he is named after, and where is he?

The film is very creative in sets and design, the writing and directing are good, but, at least for me, it didn’t quite make it. Something fell just a little flat, although I’m not sure I can put my finger on what. Perhaps it didn’t quite make me believe, didn’t ground me in its reality. While Daniel Radcliffe is good as Igor, his transition from supposed circus idiot to brilliant biologist was a little too quick to be really believable. McAvoy’s Frankenstein is a little two-dimensional, and reveals nothing of the person beneath until we get to the story of his brother at the end, and that’s just too little too late. Andrew Scott’s Inspector Turpin (sorry, I keep wanting to say Moriarity lol) is sufficiently obsessed and off his rocker  as well as being a religious fanatic who thinks they are doing the work of Satan, but he doesn’t ring quite true to me.

At what I believe to be the heart of this story is the question of science vs morality – just because we know how to do it, should we? Or are there things that are better left alone, such as the creation of life? Of course, there is no definitive answer as this is the lead-in to the Frankenstein story itself, which explores that theme as well.  Was it worth watching. Yes, but it wasn’t quite the film I had hoped for, despite a great cast. I’ll give this film 3.5 Stars.

Book Review: Cries Unheard: Why Children Kill: The Story of Mary Bell by Gitta Sereny

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Cries Unheard: Why Children Kill: The Story of Mary Bell     

Author: Gitta Sereny

Publisher: Metropolitan Books

American release date: April 13, 1999

Format/Genre/Length: Hardback/Criminology/416 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

In 1968, Mary Bell (age eleven) and Norma Bell (age thirteen) were arrested for the murder of two little boys – Martin Brown (age four) and Brian Howe (age 3). The arrests shocked Great Britain, as well as the rest of the world. Children killing children? What was wrong with these girls? The world looked on in horror as they were sent to trial. Norma Bell (no relation to Mary) was acquitted of the crimes, but Mary was convicted and incarcerated. Of course, they didn’t send her to prison right away, that came later. The judge who sentenced her called her a monster. Was it possible for such a young child to be a monster? Or was there more to the story that no one bothered to look into?

Gitta Sereny covered the trial when it happened. Her first book on the subject was The Case of Mary Bell. She never lost touch with Mary, even after her release in 1980. Mary wanted to be left alone, and refused offers from various sources for her story. It wasn’t until after the death of her mother, Betty Bell, that Gitta contacted her again and she agreed to talk to her and to tell her story. This is her story.

To say she came from a troubled home would be an understatement. Mary’s mother was seventeen when she had her and immediately wanted “the thing” taken away. During the first four years of Mary’s life, she tried to kill her four times. From the ages of four to eight, she allowed her to be sexually abused (Betty was a prostitute). But no one took any of that into consideration when they tried her as if she were an adult.

I remember reading about the case in the newspaper back in 1968 and I was shocked, of course (I am just a little older than Mary myself). I’ve never forgotten about what happened, so when I found out about this book, I had to read it. It made me reevaluate what I thought about Mary and what she did. She should have never been tried, she should have been helped. Her cries for help fell on deaf ears, though.  At her tender age, children have no concept of the finality of death. The biggest reason why Norma Bell was acquitted and Mary convicted had to do with their support systems – Norma’s family was there for her, and Mary’s was not.

Major reforms need to happen in regard to children who commit such crimes below a certain age. Another case that is mentioned in the book has to do with the torture and murder of young James Bulger by two ten-year-old boys. They too received early release from their life sentences. Today Mary lives with her daughter and her partner in anonymity. She is not the child she once was. I can’t help but admire her resilience and strength after all she has been through, especially with her horrible mother. This book is important for us to gain an understanding and show compassion for children, who don’t always know what they are doing.  They aren’t adults and should not be treated that way, even if they commit adult crimes. We shouldn’t let their cries go unheard.

Wednesday Briefs: April 10, 2024

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Here is a list of all the authors flashing this week, along with a brief snippet from their latest free work. Click the link after the snippet to be taken to the complete story on the author’s home page.

Dracula #10 (3.2) by J L Hayes

A collective gasp surged through the alehouse. The ensuing silence rendered the argument between the two men all the more audible, encouraging listeners.

“I simply said she seems very happy lately. That’s all I said, Bogdan. You are making a fuss over nothing.” And yet the tone of the speaker’s voice implied so much more. What did he know, what could he have seen, and did it somehow relate to Dracula?

How could it not?

Avram focused his attention

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Saturday is Horror Day #160 – Poor Things, Dead Shack

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Poor Things

Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe) is a brilliant and scarred scientist who discovers a woman (Emma Stone) who has just drowned herself. To his horror, he discovers she is pregnant. In an unorthodox move, he removes the brain of the infant and transplants it into the woman, saving her life. He names her Bella, and watches as she must re-develop from an infant, despite having the body of a grown woman. Godwin’s assistant Max (Ramy Youssef) falls in love with Bella and they become engaged. All is well until Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo) comes along, and leads Bella down paths she has never imagined, opening the world to her.

Poor Things is a creative re-imagining of the Frankenstein story. In this case, the scientist is the one with

scars, the result of his father’s direct experimentation upon his son. The cinematography is very lovely and well done, the acting superb, especially Mark Ruffalo as the villain Wedderburn. And yet… and yet… I found myself very disturbed because at the end of the day, Bella, despite having a woman’s body, had the mind of a child, so what happened felt… wrong.  I just couldn’t help but feel disturbed that she was having sex.

Be warned, there is a ton of sex in this movie. A TON OF SEX. I understand what the director was going for. The independence of women, the ability to control their own sex lives, to not need men to control them. I don’t have a problem with the prostitution aspect, that doesn’t bother me. It’s just the idea that intellectually and emotionally, Bella is a child. Maturity does not happen that quickly. Plus, although many will disagree, I didn’t see Emma Stone’s performance as the tour de force some have suggested it was. I thought her performance rather awkward at times, and stiff. I would never watch this again, spend another two and a half hours on it. It’s a matter of taste. Poor Things was just not to mine. I’ll give this film 3 Stars.

Dead Shack

Jason (Matthew Nelson-Mahood) is invited to go camping with his friend Colin’s (Gabriel LaBelle) family, including Colin’s sister Summer (Lizzie Boys), their dad Roger (Donavan Stinson) and Roger’s girlfriend Lisa (Valerie Tian). They end up in a cheap cabin in the middle of nowhere. The teens are pretty free to do as they want while the so-called adults get drunk. They wander through the woods and discover what appears to be an abandoned house, with a lot of junk cars on the property. But there is more here than meets the eye as they quickly discover this neighbor (Lauren Holly) is definitely not the neighborly type.

This film combines horror and humor in a tale of cannibals and zombies. It has some funny moments,

including the drunken father who is too focused on drinking, his young girlfriend, and being his kid’s friend to be the leader they need in a crisis. One has to wonder how Lauren Holly ended p here in a suit that’s a cross between dominatrix and welder, but that’s anyone’s guess. Maybe she is friends with the director or something. Not the best, not the worst, but not a complete waste of time either. It’s only 81 minutes, and I’m fine with that. I’ll give this film 3 Stars.

Wednesday Briefs: April 3, 2024

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Here is a list of all the authors flashing this week, along with a brief snippet from their latest free work. Click the link after the snippet to be taken to the complete story on the author’s home page.

Dracula #9 (3.1) by J L Hayes

Gunther fell silent. Tendrils of anxiety wrapped about Avram’s heart.  Why was it beating so fast? Something was wrong. and whatever it was it was about to get worse. Someone dropped a glass, which shattered, and he visibly flinched at the explosion.

This was no time to panic, and no time to borrow trouble. He forced himself to take deep breaths. Maybe he should step outside for a moment. He needed to think, but without all the noise. He glanced across the room. Bogdan was still there. One less worry.

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