The Mandalorian Marathon - Chapter 6: The Prisoner

This isn't the first piece of Star Wars media in which the stormtroopers' poor shooting skills is mentioned to be an in-universe thing. Anyway, this is actually one of my favourite episodes.

Mando takes a job with an old partner-in-crime, Ranzar Malk, to spring an associate from a New Republic prison ship. But he soon has misgivings about the crew he's going to be working with: Mayfeld, a former Imperial sharpshooter played by Bill Burr; Zero, an arrogant droid pilot played by Richard Ayoade; Burg, a Devaronian bruiser played by Clancy Brown; and Xi'an, a Twi'lek knife thrower played by Natalia Tena, who claims to have been romantically involved with Mando.

This plays out like a heist story, but Mando is being deceived from the beginning. Mando reluctantly takes the job when he learns that the security detail is comprised of droids, but gets into a stand-off with the crew when they find a human officer on board (played by Matt Lanter, who voices Anakin in The Clone Wars). And when he finds that the target is Xi'an's brother Qin, the crew double-cross him as revenge for Mando previously abandoning him.

This is probably one of the strongest episodes in the first season so far. The first third roughly consists of the crew picking on Mando, which produces some of the funniest snarky dialogue (apparently Bill Burr was cast as a joke when he went on record saying he wasn't a fan of Star Wars). We also have some truly tense moments as they sneak on board the ship and get into a fight with several security droids. And when Mando is double-crossed, it's satisfying to see him go after the rest of the crew. I won't reveal that detail though.

Great action and characters all around, and we get to see Mando develop his caring side.

The Mandalorian Marathon - Chapter 5: The Gunslinger

Of course there's gonna be some call-backs to the films. I must admit, this episode's kinda slow.

Mando gets into a dogfight with another bounty hunter above Tatooine, and the Razor Crest is badly damaged. He travels to a facility at Mos Eisley Spaceport operated by Pelli Motto, played by Amy Sedaris, and looks for work to cover the repairs. At the cantina, he meets Toro Calican, a cock young gunslinger played by Jake Cannavale who seeks to join the Bounty Hunters' Guild. Calican asks Mando for help bringing in a notorious assassin named Fennec Shand, played by Ming-Na Wen.

Overall, this episode is similar to Unforgiven, featuring a young gunfighter taking up a job and enlisting the aid of a seasoned killer. Star Wars is essentially a Western after all. There's a brief moment where Mando and Calican encounter a pair of Tuskens, but Mando is able to barter for safe passage usining Calican's binoculars. Nice to see a protagonist deal with them non-violently.

While the last couple of episodes took place on new worlds, this one shifts to a location familiar with the fans, showing how much has changed since the fall of the Empire. We're treated to a shot of several stormtrooper helmets on display, and return to the cantina from A New Hope, which is a lot deader than previously shown. But at least droids are welcome there now. There's also some jabs at prequel material. Peli Motto uses three pit droids from The Phantom Menace, but Mando shoots at one of them as they go to work on his ship.

The action's still good, including the opening dogfight and a tense sequence where Mando and Calican try and reach Shand as she tries to snipe them. However, there are some moments which don't make a lot of sense. For example, Peli discovers Baby Yoda in the ship and plans to look after him to try and squeeze more money out of Mando. But that only gets mentioned and doesn't really go anywhere. On another occasion, Fennec tells Calican about Mando's dust-up in Nevarro, but I wonder how she heard about that when she's hiding in the desert?

Anyway, despite some hiccups, there's still things in this episode to enjoy. Plus an interesting cliffhanger.

The Mandalorian Marathon - Chapter 4: Sanctuary

 

Nothing like a good old Kurosawa retelling. "The Magnificent Mandalorian"?

After fleeing Navarro with The Child, Mando travels to a lush arboreal world called Sorgan. While seeking lodgings, he gets into a brief scuffle with Cara Dune, a former shock trooper for the Rebel Alliance who is lying low after going AWOL. He's subsequently approached by a pair of krill farmers whose village is having a problem with raiders. Mando agrees to the job in exchange for lodgings, and hires Cara as an extra gun. After learning that the raiders are in possession of an Imperial walker, and the villagers can't establish new farmland elsewhere, they opt to train the village to fight.

Yeah, it's a familiar story. Not much I can really say about it. That said, we see Mando growing close to one of the villagers, a widowed mother named Omera, to a point where it's suggested that he settles down with her (according to Mando's creed, he can't put his helmet back on if he takes it off in front of somebody). We also see Baby Yoda bond with Omera's daughter Winter and the other village children to a point where Mando is willing to entrust him to Omera's care. Unfortunately, this idyllic plan is scuppered when a bounty hunter targets The Child, forcing him to leave with Mando so he's always on the move. It's a truly poignant scene as he's forced to leave.

The action is still great, with Mando and Cara Dune making a great team as they battle the raiders at their camp in a bid to draw them out. And while Cara is a seasoned veteran, Omera is pretty cool as well, demonstrating some excellent marksmanship during the training sequences and even ordering the villagers to charge during the final confrontation.

If there's one thing that bothers me in this episode (other than the problematic individual playing Cara Dune), it's the plan our heroes hatch to draw the raiders out. If they knew the raiders had the walker, why not take it out of commission at the camp? Granted, the walker provides some tension as its activated, complete with some sinister red lighting, and it provides some cooler scenes at the climax of the episode. But luring it back to the camp rather than knocking it out feels like an unnessary risk. I guess that's a minor issue, and one that just leads to more speculation.

Anyway, see you tomorrow for the next episode. And before anyone asks: Yes, I will be watching The Acolyte. I'll probably post my thoughts when the season wraps up, but that's a review marathon for another time.

The Mandalorian Marathon - Chapter 3: The Sin

While this previous two episodes play out like a two-parter, this one is where things truly kick into gear.

Mando returns to Nevarro and delivers Baby Yoda to The Client and a scientist named Dr Pershing, played by Omid Obtahi. In return, he receives a large consignment of Beskar; a durable steel which the Mandalorians use to make their armour. However, the aftermath of the job begins to weigh on him: The Child saved his life, and he's being forced to hand him over to people associated with the now-defunct Empire.

Roughly the first half of this episode focuses on drama, with a strong "only the lost walk alone" vibe, as Mando sees little comfort in such a lucrative payout. The Client reprimands him for asking questions. Another member of the secret Mandalorian community (known as a "Covert") he's part of is angry that he took a job with Imperials, who carried out a purge of their people. The rest of the Bounty Hunters' Guild - all of whom carried tracking fobs for The Child - are resentful that he beat them to it. Even Greef Karga tells him to put it out of his mind and report any Imperial activity to the New Republic (who are likely too far away and bureaucratic to do anything about it). After preparing to leave for his next contract, Mando sees a knob that The Child had taken from one of the levers in his ship to play with. Once again, you can't see his face under his helmet, but you can still read him from how he stares.

We also get some insights into Mando's past. The first episode established that he's a "foundling" who wasn't born on the Mandalorians' homeworld of Mandalore, but nonetheless swore to uphold their values at an early age. Both this episode and that one feature sequences where the covert's Armourer, played by Emily Swallow, forges new armour for Mando, which is interspersed with flashbacks to Mando being a war orphan. The sequence in this episode shows that his parents were killed when Seperatist forces attacked his home, and he was confronted by a Super Battle Droid. It's a harrowing sequence applied to an entity that's normally used for comic relief. It certainly hints at why he's prejudiced against droids.

The latter portion of the episode is more action-packed. Mando storms The Client's safehouse and battles the stormtroopers that guard it. We see him isolate and dispatch the troopers with his walking armoury, and he recovers The Child. But as he leaves, the rest of the guild are alerted when their tracking fobs activate. What follows is an even bigger street fight with Karga and his men.

All in all, this was a good episode.

The Mandalorian Marathon - Chapter 2: The Child

 

The trouble with bounty hunting is that finding the target is only half the battle.

Anyway, picking up where we left off, Mando has found the Client's "Asset" which turns out to be an infant version of Yoda. An infant that's 50. Baby Herman, anyone? Anyway, after killing IG-11 when he attempts to eliminate it, he begins his journey back to Nevarro. Unfortunately, the journey isn't a simple one. He's attacked by a trio of rival bounty hunters, and later finds that Jawas have looted the Razor Crest. Reuniting with the ugnaught who helped him earlier, he meets with the Jawas and reluctantly agrees to recover "The Egg" in exchange for all his parts.

This episode seems more comedic in tone. Mando disintegrates several Jawas as he sees them stripping his ship, but gets his arse handed to him when he attempts to board their sandcrawler. While those things might not stand a chance against any serious military strikes, they're certainly hard to breach by a band of raiders or a single foe. He has to scale the side of it as the Jawas throw scrap metal at him, and there's even a reference to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade when the driver attempts to crush him against a canyon wall. When he finally reaches the top, he's zapped by several Jawas and falls off the edge. I'm surprised he didn't break any bones through all that.

When Mando and the ugnaught meet with the Jawas, we get some funny lines as the Jawas immediately point guns at the pair of them, and Mando butchers an attempt to speak the Jawa language. Later, he's forced to battle a giant mudhorn for "The Egg" which tosses him around like a ragdoll. It's a harrowing sequence, which makes the resolution funnier when the Jawas proudly proclaim the egg...and then messily devour the yoke.

Nick Nolte is still great as the ugnaught (who is yet to be named at this point), and he strikes up a friendship with Mando, who offers him a place on his ship.

Still a good episode, and it makes me eager to see what happened next. Especially after Baby Yoda unexpectedly saves Mando during his tussle with the mudhorn.

The Mandalorian Marathon - Chapter 1: The Mandalorian

Well, it's June. Happy Pride Month by the by. Let's make a start on this marathon.

Taking place some time after Return of the Jedi, we follow Pedro Pascal as "The Mandalorian" (sometimes referred as "Mando", similar to how Clint Eastwood's character in For a Few Dollars More is referred to as "Manco"), a member of a proud warrior culture which the Empire had driven underground. He's getting by as a bounty hunter, working for a guild based on the volcanic world of Nevarro led by Greef Karga, played by the late Carl Weathers. With a shortage of lucrative bounties (most of whom are bail jumpers), Mando takes a special job for a mysterious client played by Werner Herzog, who has stormtroopers as bodyguards. The job takes him to another planet where he meets an Ugnaught played by Nick Nolte who seeks to help him.

The episode has some great action from the outset. We open with Mando tracking a bounty to a cantina on a remote ice world. Said bounty is being hassled by some local toughs, who immediately decide to pick a fight with Mando. He don't say anything, and you can't see his face behind the helmet, but he's probably thinking "Seriously?" Anyway, he proceeds to kick their asses, including cutting one of them in half with a door. He then presents the target with his bounty puck, telling him "I can bring you in warm, or I can bring you in cold."

The following segment establishes that Mando harbours a strong prejudice against droids. While taking his target back to his ship, the Razor Crest, he refuses to travel in a droid-operated speeder, paying extra to ride in a more run-down speeder with a human driver.

The cantina brawl at the beginning is topped with Mando raiding a safehouse where The Client's target is located, reluctantly teaming up with a bounty droid called IG-11 (voiced by Taika Waitit). It's an epic shoot-'em-up sequence with some truly harrowing moments, such as when the mercenaries occupying the compound uneveil a heavy gun.

There are some funny moments too. Mando's target at the beginning is very chatty, while Mando doesn't say anything during the journey. Reminds of Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare in Fargo. Later on, we have Mando getting snarky as he meets with the Ugnaught (especially when he mentions that he aided several hunters, who were killed). We also have a small moment where one of those cackling lizard things that Jabba the Hutt kept is being roasted on a spit. Something tells me that Jon Favreau wasn't fond of those.

Anyway, great start, and I'm already hyped for the next one. 

The Mandalorian Marathon

 Yeah, I'm procrastinating. Realising that this blog has been pretty bare this year, I decided to do another marathon. Having recently seen previews of the Savage Worlds Science Fiction Companion, and joined an Edge of the Empire game which is being recorded by Denizens, I have Star Wars on the mind. Since we've got The Acolyte coming next month, I decided that I'd take a look at the Star Wars universe's first foray into Live-Action TV; The Mandalorian.

I know I've talked about this series on here before, but I'd like to take the opportunity to look at things in more detail. I've always enjoyed that series, as it explores the post-Jedi world much closer to that film than The Force Awakens could. I also enjoy the fact that we have a title character who isn't a Force user. I understand that the Force plays a major role in the films and provides a "techno fantasy" element to the franchise as a whole, but it's always refreshing to see a character who isn't a Jedi.

Starting tomorrow and going throughout June, I'm going to be looking at an episode of The Mandalorian and posting my thoughts on it. I'll try and keep spoilers to a minimum, but I may have to reveal things as they come back in later episodes.

Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow for my first review.

This is the way.

Review: The Gentlemen (Series)

Yeah, I'm procrastinating again. I've recently started running a Wiseguys campaign, and have been looking at possible adventure ideas in the spin-off setting Tuffguys (I talk about both of those here). While looking for inspiration, I found myself watching Guy Ritchie's latest series, The Gentlemen. 

Partly based on his 2019 film of the same name, The Gentlemen stars Theo James as Edward "Eddie" Horniman, the second son of the Duke of Halstead. A former UN peacekeeping officer, Eddie unexpectedly learns that his father has bequeathed his land and titles to him rather than his older brother Freddie, an irresponsible cocaine-addicted manchild played by Daniel Ings. Learning that his brother is in severe debt, and that the family is asset-rich but cash-poor, Eddie searches for ways to raise the money needed. He soon meets Susie Glass, played by Kaya Scodelario, the daughter of an imprisoned drug kingpin who had set up a secret cannabis farm on the estate. While Eddie makes an attempt to distance himself from the illicit operations in a bid to protect his family, he nonetheless shows an aptitude for the life.

While The Gentlemen shares its name with Guy Ritchie's earlier film, it's not a continuation of that story but rather a remake. It seems unusual to want to remake something of yours that's only been around for five years, but here we are. The main element of both stories is that a kingpin runs a network of secret cannabis farms on the estates of English aristocrats, many of whom struggle to pay for the upkeep and are glad to accept the bribes or favours. However, the series takes a different approach by utilising one of the aristocrats as the protagonist.

The series has some great characters. Eddie serves as a nice foil to his older brother, who throws a temper tantrum and rants about "primo-genital" when he's passed over. He spends most of the series suffering misfortune after misfortune, which can provide a mix of comic relief and genuine tension. For example, in the first episode he owes £8 million to a Livepudlian drug dealer named Tommy Dixon, played by Peter Serafinowicz. Susie negotiates with Tommy to pay half of what's owed, and Tommy agrees if he can film Freddie do a humiliating dance in a chicken suit. But he becomes so overbearing about the performance that Freddie ends up killing him. The events leading up to this go great lengths to showing how much Susie Glass and her family are respected by many in the underworld.

Other notable characters include Ritchie regular Vinnie Jones as Geoffrey Seacombe, the Horniman family's gamekeeper. While he's not your typical "tough guy" that Jones is known for playing, he still gets his threatening moments but also has plenty of pragmatic advice. Ray Winstone plays Bobby Glass, Susie's father and the head of the organisation who is enjoying luxurious conditions in prison.

If there's any other element that is carried over from the film, it's a wealthy American seeking to purchase the kingpin's operation. In the film, he was called Matthew Berger. The series version is Stanley Johnstone (with a "t"), played spectacularly by Giancarlo Esposito. It's actually quite similar to his role as Gus Fring in Breaking Bad (and it's even mentioned by Susie that he deals meth), but he does it so well. In fact, he gives a highly profound speech about how the English aristocracy were the original gangsters (one that seems to ring true these days). This becomes a running theme as the series goes on, especially as Eddie finds himself getting deeper and deeper into the life.

The Gentlemen is available on Netflix, and I highly recommend it. There's only eight episodes, but it left me eager to find out what happens next.

Happy writing.

Book Review: Death at a Shetland Festival by Marsali Taylor

It's been a while since I've posted anything on here. I guess the last couple of months have been pretty busy with new work hours, moving flats, prepping for Swanwick, and a holiday in the Isles of Scilly (which I feel I should talk about on here). Anyway, I decided to revisit to look at Marsali Taylor's latest murder mystery, Death at a Shetland Festival. This post is being made as part of a Reading Between the Lines blog tour hosted by Lynsey Adams.

Blurb

Crowds are gathered for a concert at Shetland's renowned folk music festival when there's a shocking discovery - international folk legend Fintan Foley has been stabbed backstage. 

Sailing sleuth Cass Lynch and her partner DI Gavin Macrae are in the audience and must untangle a complicated case where nothing is quite what it seems. Cass soon discovers that Foley's smiling stage persona concealed links with Shetland. He'd worked here in the 80s, the days when oil brought wealth to the islands.

Has a long-buried secret risen to the surface - and will it make Cass a target for a cold-blooded killer?

Review

Marsali Taylor has done a wonderful job in painting a vivid setting in this murder mystery through extensive use of Shetland dialects. While I initially found this a little difficult to understand at first, I was nonetheless able to follow it after a while. Fortunately, there is a glossary at the back of the book for readers who are confused or curious about certain phrases.

The murder mystery is a good one, with plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing to the motive behind the killing. For example, Foley had offered to sign a young performer at the festival up with his talent agency. The performer, Ethan, mentions that he was told not to mention it to his mother, which makes things suspicious. There's also two French Canadian musicians who perform with Gavin's cousin Will, who also seem to have a history with Foley.

The first chapter of the book opens with Cass finding a diary amongst a box of books donated to a church sale. At first it seems innocuous, but then it turns out to have a connection to the case, especially after it's stolen. The story is interspersed with entries from that diary, written by somebody who worked at the Sullom Voe Terminal around the time of its official opening in 1981. As the story progressed, the diary helped in stringing me along.

Death at a Shetland Festival is available from Amazon here, and I recommend it. It's not the first entry in the Shetland Mysteries, but you don't have to read the earlier entries.

About the Author

Marsali Taylor grew up near Edinburgh, and came to Shetland as a newly-qualified teacher. She is currently a part-time teacher on Shetland’s scenic west side, living with her husband and two Shetland ponies. Marsali is a qualified STGA tourist-guide who is fascinated by history, and has published plays in Shetland’s distinctive dialect, as well as a history of women's suffrage in Shetland. She's also a keen sailor who enjoys exploring in her own 8m yacht, and an active member of her local drama group.

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Happy Writing

Book Review: Hunter's Christmas and Other Stories

 

Happy New Year. Christmas is over, but some places might still have their decorations up while the supermarkets already have Easter eggs on the shelves. Anyway, to simulate the retail sector's long Christmas period, I'm going to look at Val Penny's latest book; Hunter's Christmas and Other Stories. This review is part of a Reading Between the Lines Blog Tour by Lindsey Adams.

Blurb

DI Hunter Wilson is looking forward to spending a holiday in India with his girlfriend Dr Meera Sharma, away from the cold, wet winter of Edinburgh. He looks to share his happiness with others when he is attacked by Santa Claus, he says. His team swing into action to catch his attackers but then receive information about an elf found dead in a car park and a car stolen by Mrs Claus. Are the crimes by these Christmas characters connected? Can Hunter’s team restore peace and good will to Christmas?

Hunter’s Christmas and Other Stories includes tales about DI Hunter Wilson and DS Jane Renwick along with those about new and different characters in this gripping collection of short stories especially for crime fiction readers.

Review

As always, Val Penny does a great job with her character dynamics. While Hunter's team investigate a series of brutal crimes, the snarky dialogue between them creates some great black comedy. A lot of this stems from how incredulous the detectives are that Hunter was attacked by Santa. In one example, DC Tim Myerscough gives Hunter an ice skating magazine as a joke, which Hunter is...not amused by. Speaking of which, Hunter himself becomes determined to close the case, despite having a broken wrist and leg. All in all, it's another great crime thriller in a city with a small town feel.

Of course, that's not the only story in the collection. I'll take the time to talk through some of my favourites:

• "The Bruntsfield Book Group" follows DS Jane Renwick and DC Rachael Anderson as they go to a highland lodge for an annual retreat organised by a book group Rachael's a member of. At the lodge, another member of the group - a former Lord Provost named Simon - is murdered. Stuck in the remote lodge in heavy snow without a mobile or WiFi signal, Jane learns that all the other members had an axe to grind with the victim. It's a classic murder mystery scenario, and really plays up the "asshole victim" trope with some truly poignant exposition.
• "In Plain Sight" follows a drama between four high school friends in Charlottesville over the span of eleven years: Jerome Sheriff, his fiancée Barbara "Babs" Potter, Andy Wright, and Andy's girlfriend Lillian. Kicked off by an incident between Andy and Jerome at a university graduation party hosted by Andy Wright's wealthy family, it later seems to be resolved when Babs is hired to design a new garden for Lillian (now Andy's wife), and Andy offers Jerome a highly lucrative job at his father's accounts firm. What follows lays bare the evils of capitalism, with workaholic culture destroying family life and even targeting integrity, all with the empty promise of wanting for nothing.
• "The Corpse in the Catacombs" provides a story with a weird element. Taking place in Paris and told from a first-person perspective, we follow Elise and her grandparents as they are visited by Elise's rude and impulsive cousin Cossette. During her stay, Cossette expresses a desire to see the Catacombs, but it's clear that she has no intention of visiting respectfully. It grows tense when she disappears, and the payoff is harsh.

There are plenty of other stories, some of which are part of Val's ongoing Hunter Wilson and Jane Renwick series, and some which are stories of their own. They're not all Christmas stories (so I don't feel too silly about posting this in January), but they certainly do have their fair share of gruesome moments. All in all, I thoroughly recommend it.

Hunter's Christmas and Other Stories is available from Amazon here.

About the Author

Val Penny has an Llb degree from the University of Edinburgh and her MSc from Napier University. She has had many jobs including hairdresser, waitress, banker, azalea farmer and lecturer but has not yet achieved either of her childhood dreams of being a ballerina or owning a candy store. 

Until those dreams come true, she has turned her hand to writing poetry, short stories, nonfiction books, and novels. Her novels are published by SpellBound Books Ltd.

Val is an American author living in SW Scotland. She has two adult daughters of whom she is justly proud and lives with her husband and their cat.

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Happy writing.

Wrapping up 2023

 

Buckling swashes and shivering timbers.

Well, it's once again around the sun and time for me to take stock of the happenings of this past year. Suffice to say, it's been kind of rough.

A lot of my writing this year has been ghostwriting commissions, including a novelette, a couple of flash fictions, and a full-length novel. But I've paused my gig on Fiverr in response to the platform facing boycotts over Palestine. It's been a while since I've taken projects through UpWork, but I think it's time to jump on that again.

Furthermore, I expanded into writing for roleplaying games, serving as a co-writer for a 5e-compatible adventure based on Calke Abbey. This is part of a project to write a series of adventures set in National Trust sites, and I hope it takes off because I'm interesting in seeing where else I can take it. I'm actually going to be running a workshop on the subject at next year's Swanwick.

Of course, I didn't just do gig projects. I published another Kestrel and Scar story, The Homecoming at the end of October. I'm now looking at other story ideas for my favourite troublemakers, while also looking at compiling the three stories I've written so far into a single book for a physical release.

There has been some trouble too. I left Twitter at the end of November, which has become too much of a mess. Most of the likes my posts were getting ended up being from bots, and most of my friends already jumped ship. Fortunately, you can find me on Bluesky now.

Well, that’s about it. I’m still alive, and I’ll see you in the New Year.

Happy writing.