Bookcover Spotlight 231

  

Girls 17 and 18

  

Wes and Kenny are having it out over what Kenny has done. To recap- Kenny has just had sex with a bunch of "girls" and there are now eggs everywhere. Nancy's putting the men to work building a ditch in order to trap the "girls". Some of the other women think that's nuts but Nancy's convinced they need to take the fight to the invaders. Meanwhile, Ted isn't sure he can face his wife again after hitting her two issues ago, and when they encounter a bear... no doubt the one encountered earlier in this series- Wes gets mauled, and who comes to the rescue? The "girls"! There's this great scene where they swarm the bear and they kind of kick ass? Even biting it???

Like I've said- you never know where this comic is going.

Wes feels the women need protecting but Lester points out that Nancy just about blew Ted's face off as evidence they don't! Again, the gender role dynamics and what would you do in this situation are the most fascinating thing about this story.

Also how well do you know someone? All through the series Ted has seemed like a good guy but here he and the men with him don't want to go back. Anyway Wes and Ted have it out, Wes is knocked out, and time passes. And when he wakes up... a lot of eggs have hatched. Back at the McCallisters the men have finished digging the pit trap, and Nancy has them back in the shed. They're just waiting now for the "girls" to take the bait and come after them- after all, the pit is ready. The "girls", however, are up to something else. They converge on the broken bridge (it collapsed earlier in the series) and are collecting corpses from the river. Women corpses.

Ying-ma is killing it to start this one out. I love her.

"Crazy bitches. Look! Look what they do now. They just put out four bonfire. Now naked girls will come here like cockroach."

She is, of course, referring to Nancy's plan to trap the "girls" in the pit trap she had the men dig. Will it work?

More words of wisdom from her as she consoles her daughter, who is grieving over her father's death.

"Life never fair. This hard lesson-- lesson I learn since very young girl. And ever since you born, I hope and pray you never experience, but this is way of things, honey. Life is struggle--it take things from you."

That's what I love about this series. No one is one dimensional- everyone has layers. Meanwhile, the "girls" are dragging women corpses out of the river and taking them through the woods. Where are they going? Well, they take them to the sperm- monster and begin- eating them- and the sperm- monster starts assimilating the bodies, like we've seen it do previously. Eww.

Ted's group at this point is debating what happened with Wes after the altercation with Ted. Which raises the question- if there's one local authority in a situation like this- how far does respect and allegiance to that authority go? Should they follow Wes' lead just because he's the local cop? And Ted is struggling with what he did. Meanwhile at the house the women are preparing for the "girls", and when they arrive there are a lot. The women start to freak but Nancy keeps 'em cool, and the "girls" start falling into the pit trap. They open fire, and between the guns and the spikes in the pit they kill a lot of "girls". 

The guys can only watch the carnage through the gap in the shed doors, since they're still prisoners. Rob remarks how it looks like a slaughter. You kinda feel bad for the "girls" here, a bit. I mean it's like a turkey shoot. 

"It was weird. I didn't think I could kill that many people-- if you consider those freaks people. It was just so-- freakishly easy."

Like I said- scary. Oh, and this is a surprise! Ying-ma boots the other women out.

""Safe"? You feel safe around these psychos? Since day one, they cause trouble. They take without ask, give order, shoot guns everywhere, tie men up-- they respect nothing! What stop them from tying us? Shooting us?" 

So she boots 'em out, including the men. And fires off a few rounds too when Nancy balks, just to get them moving. Of course, there are "girls" everywhere. And when the shit hits the fan, the men just... stand there? Ethan's like- are we gonna help? Then he sees Taylor in trouble and rushes to help and he comes across the sperm monster- which is much bigger now.

  

So I've been thinking about fantasy worlds lately. I mean, with the state of the world, it's not hard to understand why, right? But I wanted to dig a little deeper. What is it about fantasy worlds that appeal so much? Some of us love escapist reading, or exploring new worlds, and some people don't as much (I won't even get into the people who don't like to read). But for those of us who are attracted to fantastic worlds... the question is why? 

Well I imagine there are as many reasons as there are people, but I do feel that the sense of escape is a big one. The world can be a stressful place, even before a worldwide pandemic, and of course even more so now, so it makes sense that a lot of people would want to escape, to explore a world without viruses or other mundane elements. And by that I mean the day-to-day mundane things like going to the same (often boring) job or whatever. Isn't it so much more exciting to explore that dark cave or soar through the stars? 

The other thing is the sense of wonder a fantastic world provides. Tolkien is famed for the sheer breadth of imagination he brought to his world, but there are so many others. And it's not just fantasy worlds. Many of us marvel at the wonders of science fiction, the sheer imaginative sprawl of speculative fiction, whether it's near futuristic or set years in the future. Who doesn't want a world where diseases are manageable, where people can live longer lives, with less drudgery? 

For some there may be a spiritual element as well. Tolkien, again, was Catholic and is known for having his faith inform his worldbuilding. Narnia of course comes to mind. But whether you're religious or not, one can find meaning in a well designed fantasy world. For others it may be the hope and optimism that the future presents. The Long Way To A Small Angry Planet and other hopeful, forward-thinking SF books fall into that category. The truth is- as stated above, there are a million possible reasons. Everyone's reason is personal to them and valid. 

For me, fantasy (and SF) allow me to explore a world I otherwise will never get to. There are limited opportunities for me to pick up a blazing torch and enter a vine- shrouded cave, or to see a dragon in the night sky, obscured by moonlight. To stand on an observation deck and look out at a nebula, or hear the screeching of a dinosaur in the night. Fantasy allows us, for a time, to be someone else, or be somewhere else, and honestly- for that reason it's priceless. 

Tuesday Tagline 186

Ten teens. Three days. One killer.   😳           

  

 Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week a new Top Ten list will be posted. Everyone is welcome to join. Link back so everyone can check out other bloggers' lists. It's a fun way to get to know fellow bloggers.

This week is Top Ten Book Titles That Would Make A Good Band Name.      

I know we have Panic! at the Disco and whatnot but I just like the single word Panic for a band name. Or maybe I should go with Hitchhiker's and do Don't Panic! 

Just a fun name? 

This could be a fun one also. 

Twilight!!!

Mysterious...

Why not?? 

Perfect. 

I mean... ? 

I guess there's already a band called The Runaways but I just like it. 

Song Lyrics

You Belong To The City by Glenn Frey. A great song written for Miami Vice- this song is the 80's. I mean, really. And I love the Miami Vice footage too, especially with Don Johnson all in white with the loafers. Good times. I like the story the video tells too. Sooo 80's!  

 The sun goes down the night rolls in 
You can feel it starting all over again
The moon comes up and the music calls
You're getting tired of staring at the same four walls 

You're out of your room and down on the street 
You can feel the crowds in the midnight heat 
The traffic roars the sirens scream
Look at the faces it's just like a dream 

Nobody knows where you're going 
Nobody knows where you've been 

Cause you belong to the city 
You belong to the night 
Living in a river of darkness beneath the neon light 

You were born in the city 
Concrete under your feet
It's in your moves, it's in your blood 
You're a man of the street 

When you said goodbye you were on the run
Trying to get away from the things you'd done 
Now you're back again and you're feeling strange 
So much has happened but nothing has changed

Still don't know where you're going 
You're still just a face in the crowd 

You belong to the city
You belong to the night 
Living in a river of darkness beneath the neon light 

You were born in the city
Concrete under your feet 
It's in your blood, it's in your moves
For a man of the streets

You can feel it
You can taste it 
You can see it 
You can face it 
You can hear it 
You're getting near it 
You wanna make it 
Cause you can take it

You belong to the city

You belong to the night 

You belong to the city

You belong to the night

You belong

You belong  

Sunday Post #346

  

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is hosted by Book Date 

  

I finally got my Lost Horizon readalong post up and it starts on Monday. We'll probably go a week or two and I'll do a discussion post. Thanks to LaLa in the Library again for promoting this as well. Let's see what else? Oh I wrote a discussion post! My thoughts on fantasy worlds and why they are amazing- it'll be up on Wednesday. 

So... Krakatoa erupted. As if 2020 isn't already off to a fabulous start. Seriously, I saw this last Friday and I was like... NOW what? Although in true Twitter fashion, when it happened it seemed like a big deal? I mean, Krakatoa, right? Well, turns out it wasn't that big a deal. Which leads me into Twitter generally. I love Twitter, but it's stuff like this that gets a little blown out of proportion.
   

Song of the week

PULP COVER OF THE WEEK: 

NEW ARRIVAL/ UPCOMING REVIEWS:

BOOKISH LINKS  

Here's a stormy seas/ ocean waves ambient - this is from Byron Bay in Australia. The only thing I don't like it the screen goes dark a few mins in - which I think is intended for those who want to sleep to it, but I like seeing the landscape.