January 2020 Recommended Reading/Viewing

[Coír Draoi Ceítien]

It's really incredible - not only have we moved into a new year but we've also reached an entirely new decade. Who knows what trends, fashions, and phenomena await the new 20's? With that being said, here are some new recommendations.

Reading: Fevre Dream (1982) by George R. R. Martin

Long before he became almost exclusively known for A Song of Ice and Fire, Martin tried his hands at other works across multiple genres. This particular work follows an aging riverboat captain who enters into an agreement with a mysterious pale young man to build the most opulent riverboat in the southern United States, made with purposes known only to the benefactor. As events unfold, the captain learns that he may have taken on a hellish bargain, but it could just turn out to benefit the whole human race. An original take on a well-known genre (which I will leave unrevealed here for spoilers' sake, though the Amazon links will make it quite obvious), Martin's novel is an intriguing, ultimately and intimately human tale that fans of his later work would be wise to check out.

Mass Market: https://www.amazon.com/Fevre-Dream-George-R-Martin/dp/055357793X/ref=tmm_mmp_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1577918334&sr=8-1
Trade: https://www.amazon.com/Fevre-Dream-George-R-Martin/dp/0553383051/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1577918334&sr=8-1
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Fevre-Dream-George-R-Martin-ebook/dp/B000FC29J8/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1577918334&sr=8-1



Viewing: The Black Cauldron (Ted Berman and Richard Rich, 1985)

Based on the first two books of Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicles of Prydain, this film follows a young assistant pig-keeper who finds himself thrust into a search for a diabolical instrument - a cauldron with the power to raise the dead - which he must keep out of the hands of the lich-like Horned King, who seeks to create an army of the undead. This is one of Disney's most troublesome releases - made at a time when the company was struggling to recapture its glory days, this attempt at darker fare was a notorious commercial disappointment with a troubled production history, so much so that it was not released on home video until 1998. While it is no masterpiece, it is till an interesting chapter in Disney history and, in ways, set the stage for the Renaissance of the 90's. If you're a fan of cult classics, you may find this worth the time.

DVD: https://www.amazon.com/Black-Cauldron-25th-Anniversary-Special/dp/B003RACGZM/ref=tmm_dvd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1577919109&sr=8-5
Amazon Video: https://www.amazon.com/Black-Cauldron-John-Huston/dp/B006RZZ80O/ref=tmm_aiv_swatch_1?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1577919109&sr=8-5

Well, that's all for now. Let's see what the new decade has in store for us!