The Fireside

* Note: I've yet to watch Season 2 ( Gods of the Arena) as it is a prequel, made between Season 1 and Season 3. As you saw from my note above, I've finished the complete series of Starz' Spartacus - but only the content about Spartacus himself at this point. There are four seasons total. In the order in which they were made, they were: Blood and Sand (Season 1), Gods of the Arena (Season 2), Vengeance (Season 3) and War of the Damned (Season 4). Season 2 serves as a prequel and additional backstory, leading up to Season 1. Andy Whitfield, the original actor in Spartacus' role, passed away due to cancer. Before Liam McIntryre was cast in his stead, Starz continued the show, but opted to do a prequel, which did not focus on Spartacus. Because of this, I opted to skip the prequel (for now) and follow Spartacus' story. Now that is out of the way, I may begin (commence?) my review. There are a bevy of 'swords' shows out there - Vikings, Game of Thrones, C...

Hey all, just thought I'd do a quick note to let you know that I'm around, and so is the blog. Things have gotten busy lately, as is normal, plus it's summer. Therefore, not a lot of time in front of the computer - for extended periods of time. Sadly that means not much writing - tho as the weather chills  in the coming autumn months, I hope to go on a roll. I've been powering through Spartacus in spurts on Netflix, and will have a (complete) review up for that....as well as for Vikings: Season 3 as well....perhaps. I've also been steadily re-reading to Kill a Mockingbird , chapter-by-chapter, and will follow with Go Set a Watchman . currently, also steadily working through Red Rising and may pick up The Winter King following that [and Watchman .] On the bus I'm going through the anthology called Warriors . So yeah - just checking in. Not much worth of update at this point of time, but letting you all know that I'm still around, as is the blog. I hope to...

The world first publication of a previously unknown work of fantasy by J.R.R. Tolkien, which tells the powerful story of a doomed young man who is sold into slavery and who swears revenge on the magician who killed his father . Kullervo son of Kalervo is perhaps the darkest and most tragic of all J.R.R. Tolkien’s characters. ‘Hapless Kullervo’, as Tolkien called him, is a luckless orphan boy with supernatural powers and a tragic destiny. Brought up in the homestead of the dark magician Untamo, who killed his father, kidnapped his mother, and who tries three times to kill him when still a boy, Kullervo is alone save for the love of his twin sister, Wanona, and guarded by the magical powers of the black dog, Musti. When Kullervo is sold into slavery he swears revenge on the magician, but he will learn that even at the point of vengeance there is no escape from the cruellest of fates. Tolkien himself said that The Story of Kullervo was ‘the germ of my atte...