Blackwater: The Complete Saga

Product Information

Following the deaths from and the desertions during the battle, the city watch only contains some forty-four hundred men, [34] where it had numbered six thousand before. [4] Ser Philip Foote, the lands, rights and incomes of House Caron, including Lordship of Nightsong as Lord Foote, for slaying Lord Bryce Caron. [8] Elizabeth Anne Kelleher, a.k.a. Kelly Kelleher. The protagonist. She works for a magazine, Citizen's Inquiry. She wrote her thesis on The Senator. She is twenty-six years old, and suffers from acne and anorexia. I believe Michael McDowell did his research extensively as it felt so authentic and felt like being transported in this era in history. He understood the political ramification with some nuance, and the prose I found to be efficient, enchanting and beautiful. It’s so well utilised. Whenever there’s a horrific moment of a supernatural nature or concerning death, the prose becomes so poetic and vivid. It’s enchanting, it engrosses you and immerses you in the horrific nightmare of certain events. Even more so as these are characters that you genuinely love by the end. Some people refer to it akin to William Faulkner, I cannot comment on that comparison just beyond it being written well. Overall, there is a slight supernatural twist to this that the author isn't really making a mystery about. The reader is shown early on who the supernatural element is and even what (at least to a degree). This supernatural seed is growing in the Perdido river, triggering a number of events, some of which I did see coming and some of which I didn't expect.

Michael McDowell is a prolific horror writer who has distinguished himself with a varied body of work within the genre. He was born in Enterprise, Alabama, in 1950 and died of AIDS-related illness in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1999. Smith, Dinitia. "Writers Enchanted by the Freedom of Opera", The New York Times, 1995-09-28. Retrieved on 2008-10-29.With the bridge breaking up and their Hand lost in battle, the defenders retreat within the city walls. [34] At this point, after only a few hours of resistance, the battle seems to be lost to Tyrion, though at this time he also sees Stannis's army seemingly fighting itself on the other side of the river. Although containing explicit horror elements and gruesome descriptions, McDowell manages to deal with interesting and heavy themes!! His screen credits include Beetlejuice (1987), and collaborations on The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) and Thinner (1996). McDowell also wrote the novelization of the film Clue in 1985. The film was based on the board game and featured three different endings; however, the novelization was based on the shooting script and includes an additional fourth ending that was cut from the film. He also contributed screenplays to a number of television horror anthologies, including Tales from the Darkside. We learn this early in book one. So, really y'all, I'm not spoiling things (much). But the fact that throughout the entire series, Elinor spends 99% of her time as an iron-willed Southern matriarch, waging a war of wills against her mother-in-law for the first few volumes, scheming to enrich her husband and her family and to get her way against the wishes of the domineering, spiteful Mary-Love Caskey is what makes that other 1% so much more horrific, when she periodically assumes her true form, usually to perform some act of gruesome violence. The form moved towards a deeper engagement with the world into which its horrific elements intrude. It traced with greater precision the emotional and intellectual responses of its characters to that intrusion. It evoked more of the ways in which the horror’s disruption might be made manifest.

McDowell has several queer-coded characters in the book, though none of them are ever called that. Though he goes about as close as you can without saying so. (When two women share a bed and hold hands, that's a lot more than coding.) James, though he is married to a woman, is also described often as effeminate and more interested in having a family than having a wife. These characters get to be Southern "eccentrics," just as many queer Southerners before them hiding in plain sight.Most of the ~15,000 stormlanders and men of the Reach who had previously supported Renly abandoned Stannis [34] by the hundreds [15] Came for the monster suspense, stayed for the family drama. More emotive than I expected on the whole and so good.

The supernatural stuff was good fun. I especially liked how the ghost elements tied into the unfolding werewolf plot. It was well told and highly entertaining for it. McDowell was diagnosed with AIDS in 1994. After his diagnosis, McDowell taught screenwriting at Boston University and Tufts University while continuing to write commissioned screenplays. One of his final projects, upon which he was working at the time of his death, was a sequel to Beetlejuice. His final, unfinished novel Candles Burning was completed by novelist Tabitha King and published in 2006.

Lettered Edition

Tywin's host originally is 20,000 men strong. [31] Despite desertions and insurgency in the riverlands, and many minor sieges and skirmishes, he still has about the same number before the Battle of the Fords. [32] Despite casualties during the battle, Tywin is later said to have twenty thousand swords in King's Landing, [30] suggesting he either gained men or did not lose a significant amount. Of those who remain, some — chiefly those of House Florent — are put to death by Lord Randyll Tarly after Renly's death. [19] [28] As House Florent can field two thousand men at best, [29] this would reduce Renly's foot to fifty-eight thousand at a minimum. A fifth of the knights that had accompanied Renly to Storm's End return to join the other forces from the Reach, [23] but how many of his ten (of fifteen) thousand cavalry had been knights is unknown. Mace Tyrell's additional ten thousand at Highgarden would bring the total to ~70,000 soldiers from House Tyrell. The Caskeys are rich, owning several wood mills on the river, but right from the beginning Elinor makes clear that her intention is to make them more rich — richer than any of them could ever imagine. Without a history and only the flimsiest of explanations, Elinor soon worms her way into the Caskey family, marrying James's son Oscar and setting herself against the family matriarch, Mary-Love Caskey, against whom Elinor will wage war for the next few decades. The moment I saw this book, I knew that I wanted to read it. A horror/fantasy graphic novel with queer main characters? Sign me up! I was ecstatic to get it in my hands, and I started to read it as soon as possible. My first two thoughts of the book went like this:

The series had some ebbs and flows for me. Book one was a very strong start, and through book three, the family story was quite interesting. Of course, the most interesting thing was the anticipation of how this was all going to pan out. Which is why this didn't maintain the 5 star status I had going for the first half of the series. I hope that I've convinced you to give this audio a try by giving it my HIGHEST recommendation. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it if you do give it a go. Our certified coaches will support you by offering safe and effective advice, exercise guidance and lifestyle hints to help break the cycle of Long COVID symptoms. I appreciate the immensely diverse character cast, but disliked every character I met so far besides Marcia, and found the plot difficult to follow and extremely rushed. This isn't for me, but I'm sure it will better suit a lot of other readers.Freeman, John. "Joyce Carol Oates, up close and personal", The Times, 2007-08-11. Retrieved on 2008-10-28. Ser Garlan Tyrell, the titles, lands and incomes of House Florent, including lordship of Brightwater Keep. [1]