In 1981 I left Northern Ireland, a place of very overt hostilities compounded by covert ones, to live in Wales where the surface is relatively calm and the conflicts deep. Well, I hadn’t “got my ear in” to the accent at that stage. It was very good of my husband to marry me because at our first meeting I greatly offended him by asking what part of Scotland he came from. It’s hard not to bump into the English when encountering the Welsh. My mother said he fought against the English and was “in Shakespeare”? I saw it every day from my bedroom as a child. In fact, I married the first one I met – apart from those soldiers on Belfast’s High Street with the wee silver leek in their berets and Owain Glendower who had a street in east Belfast named after him. Most of the 26 stories are set in Northern Ireland or Wales. It has recently been longlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize. My short story collection A City Burning emerges from that double life. This double life has stretched me, sometimes painfully, but that creative tension has fed into my work. For decades I have been living in two places at once – at least in terms of imagination.
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I'm surprised by that now because there are very, very little similarities between the two. *I forgot as I was reading Sundiata, that this story was the inspiration for the Disney movie The Lion King. I probably would have enjoyed it a bit better if I could have taken my time, but most likely I wouldn't have rated it higher than a 2.5 anyway. It was assigned reading for my Humanities class and we were only given two days to read it. It was especially difficult keeping up because I was really just skimming through it. When Sogolon and her son are exiled, though, I thought the story became kind of complicated and there were too many people being introduced all at once (most of them being rather inconsequential). I was most interested in the first half of the book, when Sogolon (Sundiata's mother) is first introduced and the sections that talked about Sundiata's childhood. I enjoyed some aspects of the book, such as the magic/folktales. The War of Art author Steven Pressfield says that Mastering Fear: A Navy SEAL’s Guide is “a useful weapon for those fighting creative battles.” Former triathlon world champion and author of Surfacing Siri Lindley says that this book encourages you to “get out of your comfort zone, and dance with your fear, knowing it will lead you to new levels of performance!” Finish author Jon Acuff says that his favorite part of the book is when Webb “doesn't teach you to conquer fear as if it will go away completely and forever.” He goes on to say that Webb teaches you to “master it, fully aware that it is coming and ready when it does.”ĮVERY GOOD BOOK CONTAINS A WORLD FAR DEEPER Mastering Fear: A Navy SEAL’s Guide is a must-read manual for anyone who needs greater courage and change in their lives. In this process, fear becomes the secret weapon that brings victory in most dangerous situations. According to Webb, the key is not to fight fear but to harness it. In this simple yet powerful book, Webb teams up with writer John David Mann to share the five-step guide in mastering your fear a transforming your life. Former Navy SEAL Brandon Webb writes Mastering Fear: A Navy SEAL’s Guide. Tags: carlton mellick III, Eraserhead Press, kill ball, Nicholaus Patnaude, Review Kill Ball also contains its fair share of horror movie imagery, yet also resembles a comedy in which one cares about the characters (something like Superbad or Planes, Trains, and Automobiles). It definitely has its share of comedic moments, particularly early on where I chuckled at least a few times (people making fun of each other for how they chose to dress their balls). He states in his introduction to this book that he considers it to be a satire of the giallo genre. The imagery of the narrator and Siren’s evolved bodies was also original.Ĭarlton Mellick III certainly has a knack for balancing conventional structures with bizzare and outlandish ideas. The explanation and inner-workings of the devious Kill Ball are unexpected and imaginative. The book functions like a fast-paced thriller, although I do wish certain giallo elements had been played up more, particularly the elaborate death scenes of Argento–although I’m not sure if this would’ve worked on the page. The darkness of the tropes in the giallo genre also keep things from getting too cartoony. Fusing giallo with a children’s film concept (people must stay in hamster-ball-like bubbles because of a disease) is an unexpected and brilliant idea. Ĭleopatra is used as a character within the dialogue of the alchemical texts themselves.Ĭleopatra was a foundational figure in alchemy, contemporary with or even pre-dating Zosimos of Panopolis. The two supposedly lived during the same time and are said to have similar styles in their writing, both having grand imagery. She is also conflated with Cleopatra the Physician. One example of this can be found in Basillica Philosophica by Johann Daniel Mylius (1618), where her seal is pictured alongside the motto: "The divine is hidden from the people according to the wisdom of the Lord". Nonetheless, she is referred to as Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, in some later works. She is not the same person as Cleopatra VII. Identity and misnomers Ĭleopatra is a pseudonym for an unknown author or group of authors. These alchemists used complex apparatus for distillation and sublimation. She is associated with the school of alchemy typified by Mary the Jewess and Comarius. Ĭleopatra the Alchemist appears to have been active in Alexandria in the 3rd century or 4th century A.D. Some writers consider her to be the inventor of the alembic, a distillation apparatus. She experimented with practical alchemy but is also credited as one of the four female alchemists who could produce the philosopher's stone. 3rd century AD) was a Greek alchemist, author, and philosopher. Cleopatra the Alchemist ( Greek: Κλεοπάτρα fl. He understood that in almost all the Gallic campaigns succours had been furnished for our enemy from that quarter Julius Caesar, Gallic Wars – Book IV Chapters 20 What then motivated Caesar to pick a fight with an island so far removed from civilisation? Firstly, and importantly in the eyes of the average Roman, Caesar claimed it was self defence and he invaded Britain to protect Rome. Why did Julius Caesar want to Invade Britain?ĭespite its trade links, the Romans saw Britain as on the edge of the known world, and at first glance it would seem an unlikely target for their aggression. References for Julius Caesar’s Invasion of Britain.Evidence for Caesar’s Campaigns in Britain.Caesar Consolidates his Bridgehead Encampment.Why did Julius Caesar want to Invade Britain?. This luminous poetry collection explores history, language, identity, and erasure through an imaginative and intimate collage. In Call Us What We Carry, Gorman captures a shipwrecked moment in time and transforms it into a lyric of hope and healing. Gorman was the sixth and youngest poet to deliver a poetry reading at a presidential inauguration and her recitation of “The Hill We Climb” received widespread praise from media who called the poem “flawless” ( The Atlantic), “a stunning vision of democracy” ( The New Yorker), and “deeply rousing and uplifting” ( Vogue). On January 20, 2021, Gorman captivated the nation, and the world, with her delivery of her poem, “The Hill We Climb,” at President Joe Biden’s inauguration. Gorman will discuss her latest book of poetry, Call Us What We Carry, with decorated poet and scholar Dr. Writers Bloc Presents® and the Skirball invite you to a livestream conversation with bestselling author, poet, and activist Amanda Gorman. He is driven insane by his deformities and murders an innocent man for revenge. The storyline was so painful to read, you saw this young boy fighting his way through life, hiding the hurt within him but near the end, it all comes out. This was probably the most disturbing comic I’ve ever read. These artists pushed their imaginations to the limits and beyond. I loved these comics, so bizarre and weird and wonderful. It is a spooky theme, a nightmare fantasy. The storyline is quite bizarre the camera angles are very original. There are great perspectives of character close-ups. Shading on the characters and backgrounds are very detailed, gives an excellent 3d effect. I love the black and white theme it helps the reader focus on the illustrations themselves. There are many pages with little or no text. Sometimes the frames fit in a linear coherent manner and sometimes they are all over the place, hard to follow at times. Very clean cut Illustrator style, sharp shadows, not too much colour. Have to twist book around to read some comic strips. Quirky notes on the cover and cover also opens out like a map. As Suraya struggles with the decision to cut Pink loose, darker forces remind them that Pink is not the only malevolent being around. Pink soon breaks his promise when Suraya is bullied by other girls, but when she finally makes her first human friend, Jing Wei, Pink’s protectiveness takes a dangerously jealous turn. Disturbed, Suraya extracts a promise from Pink not to hurt others, ever, unless she is in absolute danger. Pink serves as Suraya’s friend and protector, but his retribution against those he believes have slighted Suraya is impulsive and malicious. Suraya, a lonely, impoverished child who is shunned by the local children and held at an emotional distance by her mother, embraces her pelesit inheritance, lovingly naming him Pink. After the death of the village witch, her pelesit, a cricketlike trickster ghost-familiar, must seek a new master who shares the witch’s bloodline. Young Adult Book of the Year ( Huntress): 2018 Christian Indie Awards.Finalist, Speculative Fiction ( Huntress): 2018 ACFW Carol Awards.With Satan's eyes now fixed on Audrey, a battle for the safety of the living looms in the shadows.įans of The Mortal Instruments, Supernatural, and This Present Darkness, won't want to miss this epic story of unfailing love and adventure. When an ancient weapon of unparalleled power chooses Audrey as its wielder, attracting the cautious gazes of her fellow hunters and the attention of Satan himself, Logan is the only one she can trust. It doesn't help that her trainer, Logan, is as infuriating as he is attractive. She's convinced there's been a cosmic mistake after all, she'd rather discuss the color of her nails than break them on angelic weapons. No one's afterlife is as dispiriting as Audrey's-at least that's what she believes after waking up dead without her memories and being promptly assigned to hunt demons for the rest of eternity. |