In many ways, "Children of Men" is a very typical futuristic thriller. It of course extrapolates the current worries of our time into a dystopian nightmare of tomorrow. World ravaged by terrorism, anti-terrorism, and global warming? Check. Shadowy, sem-fascist government? Check. Soulless capitalism relentlessly shilled in ubiquitous advertising? Check. Population stripped of dignity and basic compassion? Check. There is more than one reference to the war in Iraq, which will undoubtedly date this film in just a few years.
However, "Children of Men" manages to rise above this genre's cliches in several important ways. First, the most pressing problem is not one specifically related to the troubles of today: the world is dying because for some unknown reason, women can no longer have children. The film opens with the news that the youngest person on earth (18 years old) has died in a brawl.
Second, the film is only set about twenty years into the future, so while the there have been some technical advancements, the landscape looks largely the same. It's just different enough to be disquieting. The double decker buses of London are still there. It's just that now, those buses pass billboards that read, "Avoiding Fertility Tests is a Crime."
Most importantly, while this film does not break any ground in its genre, what it does, it does well. Other reviewers have complained that the film does not not make a tremendous amount of sense, and this is true. However, the film's main thrust is not a commentary on today's social moores. It is first and foremost a thriller, and we get just enough sense of what's going on to make us care, without getting bogged down in massive expositions on the hows and whys. We are told that the world is in a bad place, and we are drawn in with compelling cinematography, a fast-moving plot, and good acting.
I also found some of the final scenes involving Kee, the pregnant woman, quite moving, even more so because the film ends on a decidedly ambivalent note. Early on in the film, the hero says that even if scientists discovered the cure for infertility, it wouldn't help: the world's already gone to pot. And in fact, the movie does not even get that far. It's about saving ONE woman who is pregnant. Whether this will save the world is an open question. The film also does a good job of fleshing Kee out as a person, with an actual personality. I originally passed on this movie because I assumed that she would be treated as a precious, but essentially non-sentient vessel that holds The Antidote to the World's Troubles. While some characters in the film do see her as such, the viewers are allowed to experience her as a unique individual.
Final analysis: a very strong example of its genre. Not as imaginative as BladeRunner, not as satiric as Brazil, but 100x better than, say, Running Man. Definitely worth watching.
Children of Men [Blu-ray] Overview
No children. No future. No hope. In the year 2027, eighteen years since the last baby was born, disillusioned Theo (Clive Owen) becomes an unlikely champion of the human race when he is asked by his former lover (Julianne Moore) to escort a young pregnant woman out of the country as quickly as possible. In a thrilling race against time, Theo will risk everything to deliver the miracle the whole world has been waiting for. Co-starring Michael Caine, filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón’s Children of Men is the powerful film Pete Hammond of Maxim calls “magnificent … a unique and totally original vision.”
Children of Men [Blu-ray] Specifications
Presenting a bleak, harrowing, and yet ultimately hopeful vision of humankind's not-too-distant future, Children of Men is a riveting cautionary tale of potential things to come. Set in the crisis-ravaged future of 2027, and based on the atypical 1993 novel by British mystery writer P.D. James, the anxiety-inducing, action-packed story is set in a dystopian England where humanity has become infertile (the last baby was born in 2009), immigration is a crime, refugees (or "fugees") are caged like animals, and the world has been torn apart by nuclear fallout, rampant terrorism, and political rebellion. In this seemingly hopeless landscape of hardscrabble survival, a jaded bureaucrat named Theo (Clive Owen) is drawn into a desperate struggle to deliver Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey), the world's only pregnant woman, to a secret group called the Human Project that hopes to discover a cure for global infertility. As they carefully navigate between the battling forces of military police and a pro-immigration insurgency, Theo, Kee, and their secretive allies endure a death-defying ordeal of urban warfare, and director Alfonso Cuaron (with cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki) capture the action with you-are-there intensity. There's just enough humor to balance the film's darker content (much of it coming from Michael Caine, as Theo's aging hippie cohort), and although Children of Men glosses over many of the specifics about its sociopolitical worst-case scenario (which includes Julianne Moore in a brief but pivotal role), it's still an immensely satisfying, pulse-pounding vision of a future that represents a frightening extrapolation of early 21st-century history. --Jeff Shannon
Father Brown of the Church of Rome: Selected Mystery Stories Review
G.K. Chesterton's writings are often compared to those of John Henry Newman in their beauty and eloquence; Chesterton's "Edwardian" prose is particularly amazing and tends to focus more on Divine mirth than on Divine sorrow (as does J.H. Newman in his wonderfully Victorian way). "Father Brown and the Church of Rome" is a perfect example of Chesterton's love of Divine joy, and is a wonderful playground of the imagination. His various stories of the exploits of Fr. Brown are beautifully written, and his prose is unbeatable. Children should read (or be read) this and other volumes on Fr. Brown, for Chesterton writes as an artist paints, and will greatly influence their use of the imagination. A definite winner!
Father Brown of the Church of Rome: Selected Mystery Stories Overview
These are very good stories, excellent short detective yarns in the classic British tradition of Sherlock Holmes--puzzling concoctions of mysterious crimes, dubious suspects and ambiguous clues. They are among the best of the Father Brown stories.
Mysterybooks come in all different types of categories. Among these mysterybook subgenres are: police procedurals, hard boiled, humorous, "cozies" (à la Agatha Christie), and graphic.
Many established authors are adding paranormal cozy mysterybooks to their repertoires. The last few years has had a rather large increase of paranormal happenings in the Cozy Mysterybook world.
Some of the Cozy mysterybook paranormal categories are: ghosts, psychics, vampires, witches, and even werewolves! This paper will list several authors who write cozy mysteries with the paranormal vein, with the focus on the ghost sub-category. The paper will also name the cozy mysterybook series which the author writes, and give a very brief description of the series.
Authors Who Feature Ghosts in Their Cozy MysteryBooks
Nancy Atherton
Nancy Atherton writes the Aunt Dimity Mystery Series. After a young woman inherits a Cotswold cottage, she finds that her deceased Aunt Dimity is intent on staying in the cottage.
Mignon F. Ballard
The Augusta Goodnight Series is written by Mignon F. Ballard. Augusta is no ordinary ghost. She is a guardian angel who helps her wards solve mysteries.
Annette Blair
Annette Blair writes the Vintage Magic Mystery Series which features a woman who returns to her hometown to open a vintage clothing shop and gets more company than she expects. She finds that there are ghosts who are intent on helping her in her sleuthing capacity.
Helen Chappell
Helen Chappell's Sam & Hollis Mystery Series involves a husband who helps his wife solve crimes. The husband, however, is deceased!
Casey Daniels
The Pepper Martin Mystery Series is written by Casey Daniels and involves a tour guide at cemeteries who also does a lot of sleuthing. Her partner in crime (solving) is a dead mob boss.
Elizabeth Eagen-Cox
Elizabeth Eagen-Cox writes the San Diego based Shannon Delaney Mystery Series. The sleuth in this series is an author who gets ghostly help to solve mysteries.
Carolyn Haines
The Sarah Booth Delaney Mystery Series revolves around a sleuth who gets help solving mysteries. Her help comes from one of the main character's deceased ancestors.
Carolyn Hart
Carolyn Hart writes the Bailey Ruth Mystery Series. This paranormal mystery series features a sleuthing ghost who has joined Heaven's Department of Good Intentions.
Cleo Coyle (aka Alice Kimberly)
Cleo Coyle writes the Haunted Bookshop Mystery Series which features the owner of a bookstore. This bookstore owner sleuths with the help of an inhabitant of her shop.
Victoria Laurie
Victoria Laurie pens the Ghost Hunter Series. This paranormal mystery series features a sleuth who hunts ghosts.
Mary Stanton (aka Claudia Bishop)
Mary Stanton writes the Beaufort & Company Series which features a niece who inherits a law firm from her uncle. The main sleuth encounters "previously living" clients.
There are other Cozy mystery authors who write mysterybook series which feature paranormal themes, with the emphasis on ghosts. This paper should provide a good starting point for people who are interested in this particular theme.
While many first authors find themselves turning to the print on demand publishing option, others cite making such a choice committing literary suicide. The last thing you want to hear after you have spend the last several years compiling what you believe to be the next great novel is that by choosing print on demand means you are killing your literary career before it really got off the ground. While that may be true in some cases, or many cases, it doesn't necessarily have to be yours.
Have you received rejection notices from top named publishers? If you haven't taken the time to submit your story to various publishing agencies, then you may want to attempt that route first.
Keep in mind though, even if you do get a publishing contract, success is not guaranteed. Furthermore be aware that it might take you years before you are offered a publishing deal.
While the success stories of print on demand publishing may be few and far between, they are out there, and the only way to ever know is to try and to find a way to stand out from the crowd.
There are always pros and cons, you need to weigh your options and examine your project. For example print on demand might work great for a niche non-fiction writer who may find a hard job selling to commercial or academic publisher, but may gain the upper hand with print on demand, finding their own way of reaching to their targeted audience.
Other people who may find success in print on demand are workshop lecturers and business owners who are able to have access to their own pool of customers. Ultimately, it's important to be confident and believe in what you are doing. If you don't believe in yourself or your book, then rest assured, no one else will either. If you haven't received the response you've hoped from publishers, and you really believe in your book, take the print on demand option.
Take the book "Still Alice" written by Lisa Genova for example. After being ignored and rejected by publishing companies, Lisa eventually decided to use the print on demand services and publish her own book, complete with an ISBN number that would allow her to sell on places like Amazon. After getting several great reviews, a major publishing company picked up her book, which eventually landed her in the New York Times Best Seller List.
Success stories are out there, and yours could be the next one. The important thing is to know your facts and assess your project options, and if you believe that print on demand is the route you should take, then by all means, go for it.
Arts guests are: Richard Hoagland, one of the most popular guests on Coast and their "Chief Science Advisor, and David Wilcock. Hoagland had pulled David out of a prolonged period of social and professional isolation and inspired him enough to do a massive amount of new research. This particular show, from May 15th, 2004, Art announces the murder of Dr. Eugene Malove, former head of science at MIT, and arguably the most public and well-connected proponent of free energy. Richard Hoagland and Dr. Malove were to meet with congressmen the following week to discuss alternative energy. EXTRA: To listen to an interview with George Noory and Dr. Malove, use the link listed below. Scroll down half way and watch on Google Video: halkinnaman.com This interview occurred just after , The Reincarnation of Edgar Cayce?, David Wilcocks first published book, was released in bookstores all over the country. This same show was also a triumphant moment in the life of Art Bell, because "The Day After Tomorrow" had just been released in theaters worldwide. This was a Hollywood feature film was based on "The Coming Global Superstorm," a book Art co-authored with Whitley Strieber.
Consider the prose of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer series, together with more versions of the female body than you'll have seen in a very long time, and you'll begin to have an idea of the great thriller you'll experience when you listen to, or read, Dennis Manuel's Blood From A Stone: The Venus de Milo Murders! Personally, I loved the whole package! Highly recommended for mystery and suspense lovers!
Tommy Fallon, Tifa and Nicole are the good guys on this side of the ocean, together with Gilles, a French policeman. Most of the other characters are bad guys, even the cops! For in the art world, where few can tell the difference between fakes and real works, you can never assume that any transaction will be legal or ethical...
Tommy, a former cop and now owner of a security system company is called in to investigate when a murdered woman is found in the sculpture garden of Jack Danner, a billionaire art dealer. Why? Because in order for the body to have been found within his grounds, either the security system failed or was compromised! With a promise of blackmail that would ruin Tommy's business, as well as a promised $2 million, Mr. Danner forces Tommy to investigate who and why the body was placed on his property. Tommy is sent to France to begin his investigation. Although Mr. Danner does not explain why or what he is to find, he does give him the name of the French artist with whom he normally transacted business.
Tifa, his assistant/partner in business is set to work in America, to try to learn more about Mr. Danner's reputation in the art world and who might want to harm him. Nicole, his lover, a cop, and also partner with Detective Lubrani, the cop who caused Tommy to leave the force years ago, agreed to share as much information as was possible.
For the woman who had been found in the sculpture garden was not just murdered, she had been butchered-her body cut to match the famous Venus de Milo sculpture! But, this wasn't the first time this had been done! In fact, it was the earlier murders years ago by the Venus di Milo serial killer, and the inability to find him that had caused Tommy to leave the police force.
The story leads back into the time when Nazis were capturing not only cities but also all of the wealth through the theft of art! As more murders occur in America, Tommy faces his own dangers as he works to discover what Danner had done in his past to bring about the hatred needed to rekindle the Venus de Milo murders. Is it the same serial killer? Is it a copycat? How and why is Danner being targeted to receive the bodies, and possibly the blame for their deaths?
Remember that you can "experience" this book via audio with characters who will dramatize and act out the book for you or you can read the book as text. I did both and recommend you listen to the story "live" as the narrator sets the stage for the exciting parts with his voice!
This story is sexy, sophisticated and especially suspenseful in audio format! Either way you are going to be caught up in a strange and gruesome mystery. I know one thing I couldn't have done-I couldn't have waited to have this story chapter by chapter-it is a page-turner that will entrance and excite! Thoroughly enjoyable madness and mayhem!
Blood From A Stone:
The Venus de Milo Murders
By Dennis Manuel
Audio iSoap Drama
New Fiction.Com
