Saturday, August 25, 2012

Solomon Kane - Movie Review

Solomon Kane Movie  - 5/5 stars!

Distribution nightmare: This was made for non-USA markets in 2009, not shared in the States until now, Aug 2012, via Video On Demand-iTunes. A complex distribution has it rentable via Amazon Instant Video (Watch Before it's in Theatres) for a limited time (perhaps only before it hits theaters?) ... and intermittently available for purchase/rental from iTunes. US Region 1 DVDs have not been released yet.  It is due it theaters in select US locations this Sept. 2012.

A new Kane: This Solomon Kane is not R.E. Howard’s hero (Howard being the originator of the character with his ~1930’s pulp fiction), but the movie remains true to the core elements that made the Solomon Kane stories so appealing for Howard fans: dark adventure, witches and witchcraft, puritan vs. devil conflict, cool creatures, and emotive imagery.  Rather than a puritan hunting Satan’s devil with immeasurable passion, Michael Bassett portrays Solomon Kane as a rebellious royal avoiding the devil claiming his sinful soul.  

Ultimately the conflict is still “Solomon Kane vs. Devil”, but rather than Howard’s paranoid crusader who was ostensibly “good” (motivated by his perception of God to confront evil), we get treated to an anti-hero who avoids being dragged to hell. This Kane tries to renounce violence, joins a ministry, and eventually gets paired with some Puritans—so he still wears the Puritan hat and fights devils.  Sparse guns exist, but this is best classified as Sword & Sorcery. Those disappointed in the 2011 movies of the same genre (Season of the Witch 2011 and Conan the Barbarian 2011) should be very excited to see horror-fantasy done professionally.  With the mix of adventure and spiritual horror, expect a blend of the infamous Exorcist (1973) with Jackson’s famous Lords of the Rings movie trilogy.   

As captured in an earlier post, Michael Bassett will be delivering the Silent Hill sequel!  
  



Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Reader Reviews for Lords of Dyscrasia - 2012

2011 reader reviews were captured in a previous post, while the Review Tab (link) attempts to share all reviews. This post consolidates reviews for 2012 (so far) being posted on many disparate websites. The highlights are lines that I considered being particularly helpful.

GOODREADS.COM REVIEWS

  • DC Goodreads.com 4 of 5 stars false Read in August, 2012,   Recommended for: lovers of gore, dark fantasy enthusiasts 
"Just be mindful to sacrifice your dark emotions whence you arrive. Your soul will pale. The hue of your memories will desaturate. You will be cleansed. Protected."
This is a story of a man who worked to free himself from a lineage of bondage. He starts with simply denying the Rite of Inheritance of his forefathers, and soon finds himself undead and clothed in the skin of his enemies. For this is the land of the Lords of Dyscrasia, a land where blood and ichor color the landscape.
Reanimation, specters and murderers are ever-present here, as are the traces of insectan elders and terrible harpies. They battle for the supremacy of their masters, fueled by contempt and guilty memories. They fill your senses with sanguine touches, and they haunt your soul with unforgiving murmurs. I would definitely say that this is unique. I haven't read a lot of this genre, of speculative/horror/gore, but I must say that I had quite an enjoyable ramble as I walked through a world where I could sink my feet in bloodied pools or rotten corpses.
While this is not a book for the sick of heart, it is a fairly great story told by quite a technical hand. You have to be rather good at context clues (but it wouldn't be a problem if you're paying enough attention), but the details are consistent, surprising, shocking. I had some problems with the storytelling (rather confusing at times), but I'm sure that some details may be bypassed while still enjoying the story. The unraveling of the plot itself, however, was pretty good. The little details were significant too, which surprised me as I went along.
(Oh, and just to add: I absolutely loved Dey's parts. I liked this young artist of a man, with his sketches and searches for pigment. Bonus points for Dey!) If you have no qualms reading dark fantasy (and feeling as if you've bathed in blood), pick up this book and enjoy. Come, the Lords of Dyscrasia are beckoning, calling you to claim your nightmares. 
  • 's review Aug 24, 12 4 of 5 stars false  If you like horror, fantasy and mythology, this is your book! I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline. It was a little slow – and at times a little confusing – toward the beginning, but the story picked up by the second chapter and delivered everything I wanted in a horror story: decapitation, disembowelment, cannibalism, castration (my personal favorite), rape, incest, mythological Gods, insects, birds…the list goes on. It was very disturbing, but that’s what I like. I want a story that shocks the conscious and this story delivered! Bravo, Mr. Lindberg, for a job well done! The story was unusual and your artwork was phenomenal. I look forward to reading your future novels. 
  • 's review Feb 24, 12  4 of 5 stars false This book has some curious ideas and strong characterization. The main characters go through many trials and the will of their souls are challanged on every page. The loss that the main characters go through is heartbreakening and yet they carry on. The last 30 pages were harder to read through and I almost gave up but I skipped over a couple of pages so that I would not miss the ending. If Lindberg could shorten the book a little then the story would be tighter and feel less sometimes like a long journey but a great adventure.  This is also the first book I have read on the Nook Color.

Beauty in Ruins - Blog 

Review by Bob MilneFriday, January 20, 2012


I don't generally read a lot of small-press or self-published books, but when one snags my attention, I'm more than willing to give it a shot. Lords of Dyscrasia is one of those books where everything fell into place - the cover caught my eye; the review blurb comparing it to "the works of Poe and Lovecraft" made me curious; and the concept of infected bloodlines, diseased souls, and necromancy assured it a spot on my shelf.

Stylistically, this was a very interesting read, with a mix of high fantasy, pulp adventure, and visceral horror that worked as well as I could have hoped. Elements of it did indeed remind me, at different times, of H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allen Poe, but I also detected the flavour of Robert E. Howard, and even some early Books of Blood era Clive Barker.  The storyline here is interesting, and the investment in the mythology is quite impressive. It's definitely one of the more unique concepts I've come across in a long while, taking a very Cthulhu-like approach to an otherwise standard fantasy trope of interracial breeding and the mingling of mortal & immortal races. The world-building doesn't quite live up to the mythology, but only because we don't get explore enough of it.

This is a very intense, very frantic, very driven read that leaps from scene to scene. The action and the tension is relentless, which has a definite appeal for some readers, but I felt it suffered somewhat because of it. I think one more pass at the story to build some narrative bridges between the scenes, and to pad out the intensity with some subtler moments of reflection could have really served the book well. It's not very often that I put down a book wishing it had been just a bit longer, but her I would have welcome some fluff to round things out.  That said, what's on the page works very well. Doctor Grave is a fantastic character, secretive and manipulative, but driven by an honest purpose. His ethereal assistant is definitely a nice touch, and the ways in which she is used outside the Doctor's environment were a very pleasant surprise. Lysis, unfortunately, came across as a bit one-dimensional for me. I would have like to see some more vulnerability in him, some lighter emotions, but I suspect that lack is due more to the unrelenting intensity of his quest than to any failings on the part of the book.

Other reviewers have said this is a very dark book, and they're right. This is pulp fantasy for the horror fan (not the other way around), and it is wonderfully grotesque. There's a very clinical detachment from much of the horror, which actually serves to elevate the monstrosities to a higher level. Like I said earlier, this reminds me of Books of Blood era Clive Barker on the page, or original Hellraiser era Clive Barker on the screen, and I delighted in that visceral element.  By no means a perfect book, but one that manages to offer something new, and which does an admirable job of bringing it all together. I look forward to seeing what Lindberg produces next, and would even be up for a reread were he to expand the text here . . . an author's preferred edition, if you will.

Amazon Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Mixed feelings about this one, June 13, 2012; By K. Sozaeva "Obsessive bibliophile"
Disclosure: I received a free ebook copy of this text from the LibraryThing Members Giveaway program in exchange for an honest review.

Dyscrasia is a terrible disease in this book - one affecting mainly pregnant women who, if they survive their pregnancy, give birth to mutated creatures half-way between human and elder. The elders are either avian or insectile and they themselves are becoming extinct, leaving only a few, lesser members behind. The cult of people who worship the elders are called Picti, and Lord Endenken is the last of the Lysis clan, the only ones who can handle the power that is transmitted through their blood, only able to mate with those of the same blood or the dyscrasia takes them. It's quite a dilemma, and Endenken wants nothing to do with it - he wants to make his own way.

Lindberg has a real way with words - the language washes over the reader, completely immersing one within the world being created. But this is a very dark world that has been created - while many scenes occur in the daylight, everything I see in my mind is dark - there is no light anywhere. Also the scope is very large - there are scenes, of course, but overall it feels like everything is taking place at a distance. Analyzing my reaction, I think the reason I felt this way is that there are no "good" sides; everyone is really sort of evil, and there is no hero - or antihero - for which to root. Endenken is the main focus of the story, and he started with good intentions, but he's really not a nice man at all. Without someone to root for, I was left feeling sort of unmoored in the story. Dey was the only one I really felt any sympathy toward, and I much preferred Cypria and her quest for freedom over Haemarr.

All the art in this book - cover image and illustrations - are also done by the author. Amazing the amount of talent in one person! Also, amazing how much he overuses exclamation points... Every sentence that could possibly be emphatic ends with an exclamation point! I didn't notice it at first, but eventually I started to see that there was indeed exclamation point abuse occurring. There was also a lot of very awkward and ungrammatical phrasing throughout the book, although since this was an ARC, that might have been corrected before the final publication.

So, I have mixed feelings about this book. The language is lovely and it is beautifully written in many ways, but there is an excess of exclamation points and awkward/ungrammatical phrasing. There is no real hero/antihero for whom to cheer - or at least there were none for whom I felt any connection - and the scope is so large it is sometimes hard to keep track of it. I am sure there are some fans of high fantasy, especially dark fantasy, who will quite enjoy this tale, but it really wasn't for me.


 )twlite | Apr 4, 2012 | 
I won this book from a Library Thing giveaway

This book is a Fantasy/Horror novel. It's very vivid and has many dark and graphic scenes, so it's not for everyone. That being said, this book is a very intense, but moves along fairly quickly. It will keep you turning pages all the way through.

There is a blood disease that is plaguing the elder of the Underworld. Doctor Grave tries to save them by placing the soul of dying Queen into the blood of Lord Ante Lysis. The soul then passes to his descendants until Doctor Grave can resurrect her again. Edenken Lysis journeys to the Underworld to try to get rid of the plague from his soul. He must fight his own battles though, his past and the Doctor's minions.


It's very fast past and very vivid. This book is very gory, but if you like that, it's a great read and you will highly enjoy it. I haven't read a book quite like this one before, so it was a surprise. The characters are great and well rounded. They aren't just good and bad but a mix of both that makes them much more interesting. I don't normally read this graffic of a novel. There are a lot of very evil subjects in the book that may be very difficult to read, so please by warned. This book wasn't my "type" of novel, but it was well written by the Author and could be a very good read for someone who doesn't mind the gore and some of the stuff they do. Although this book wasn't my kind of thing, I gave it 4 stars because the book was well written and may be to the next persons liking.