Danny Franks

I've not been excited by Superman since I was about nine years old - I loved the Christopher Reeve movies (at least the first couple) as a kid, but as I got older I found the character boring and DC's approach to making movies was terrible (Zack Snyder is a hack). But all it took was that John Williams score kicking in to make me feel like a kid again. And this teaser really worked. It set the tone of the movie (I hope) as dramatic without being dark, fun without being a comedy. Yeah, I can see why people worry about the glimpses of so many other DC characters in a Superman movie, but it's just a case of getting the balance right. Except for Krypto, we can have as much Krypto as possible (I think James Gunn must have loved CGI Cosmo in Guardians, and wanted to develop it more). I like the casting - Brosnahan seems perfect for Lois, Corenswet certainly looks the part as both Clark and Superman, Nicholas Hoult should make a dastardly lex (Huzzah!).

The definitive version of the prequel trilogy concluded with Mustafar Takes Los Angeles, at Dynasty Typerwriter: The best Obi-Wan and Anakin performances you'll ever see, across the trilogy, with a host of great names around them.

Watching Jurassic Park for the millionth time, and I think it often goes unmentioned how good the kids' performances are in that movie. They could easily be a distracting, obnoxious presence (like the kids in the new Jurassic World movies), but they just behave like kids. Arianna Richards, in particular, has a couple of really great moments - the sheer panic and terror in her voice when she's telling Grant that "he left us! He left us!" and the look in her eyes when she sees the Raptor's silhouette as the kids are tucking into all the food.

Finally it happened. Karate manslaughter. How did it take six seasons? If Kwon didn't stab himself, I guess Kreese would have killed someone at some point. Because "this is war." This karate tournament for teenagers, full of silly gimmick matches, is war. I guess maybe it war, is if teenagers are being encouraged to knock each other out to get higher scores. I'm really not sure about CGI Pat Morita, as I'm never sure about any CGI used to recreate deceased actors. I guess this show can argue that the entire premise has been about honouring his most famous character. But Daniel absolutely needs to get the fuck over the fact that his heroic father figure wasn't perfect. Robby finally rising above the bait and not trying to fight Kwon? Well, that only took six seasons too. Of course, Tory then immediately does take the bait. The Russians were doping? Finally, some realism in this show that doesn't involve Amanda despairing of all the lunacy. The brawl was ridiculous. Why were the Russian team even still there, if they'd been disqualified? Why does a random "Oirish" girl hate Sam? Why is a giant, robot Ivan Drago allowed to be in the tournament at all (and why does go all Lennie Small when it comes to Sam)? Why does the Iron Dragon sensei hate Johnny so much? Just because they argued at the buffet? Also, Martin Kove is too old to be doing action scenes. They look really bad. But now that a kid died on live television, apparently broadcast around the world, the tournament will be cancelled, right? Right? Honestly, this show was a comedy in the early seasons, and still had some laughs littered in the melodrama in later seasons. But this episode was fucking hilarious, completely unintentionally. I was genuinely pissing myself with laughter for the whole last ten or twenty minutes.

The meta lines from Silver's lawyer about him wasting money on dojos and needing to think about his life outside karate wars were fun. The guy has completely lost it. Really feeling Kim Da-Eun in this one. "I am tired of all this off-the-mat nonsense." Too fucking right. Unfortunately, the on-the-mat stuff in season six has been even more nonsensical. More dumb karate gimmick matches, in this prestigious tournament. But some of the fighters on other teams are so clearly stunt people in their thirties. Also, hey, Tory can just completely stop in the middle of a fight to stare at her ex, too. And Robby and Kenny can both stop to have flashback memories. There definitely needs to be some consideration of the amount of brain trauma all these kids have experienced. Oh dear, Sam being nice to the tall, awkward guy means he now hates Miguel? Of course it does. The scene of everyone making up was nice, and it felt like one of those scenes where a lot of the emotion for the actors was very real. They've been doing this for years, a lot longer in real life than the time that's passed on the show. Also, "Mr. Miyagi's match ended in death?" What the fuck is this utter nonsense?

Amanda is honestly the only sane person in this show. Her reaction to Anthony and Kenny fighting is one of the few rational reactions anyone had in this episode. She's also practically the only person I liked in this entire episode. Well, except for Chozen, but he's just comic relief now so I guess he doesn't count. Robby and Tory refusing to communicate is exhausting, and Robby getting drunk so he could be taken advantage of by that other girl? Okay, sure. That's a cool storyline. Lack of consent is always fun, right? Also, Sam making the point that Robby doesn't drink was confirmation of a theory that the fandom has had all along. But the reason he doesn't drink is surely due to a lifetime of watching his mother abuse alcohol and knowing his dad did the same. Having him just get drunk because he's sad is a bit of a crappy writing move. Demetri is an arsehole, and now apparently one willing to entertain cheating on his girlfriend. That kind of figures, actually. Glad that Yasmine dumped him, because her being with him in the first place never made sense. Hawk telling him "if you don't like facing consequences, maybe don't do shitty things," was absolutely spot on. Kwon being endlessly belligerent is really annoying. Just go and have a good time somewhere, you dipshit. He's paper thin as a character, but I guess this is what happens when you take all the developed Cobra Kai characters and put them in Miyagi-Do. Okay, I also liked Johnny finally telling Miguel a few truths - that he loves him like a son, and he loves Carmen, and that Robby doesn't have anything else to look forward to, unlike Miguel. Do the writers of this show know how laxatives work? Like, at all? Also, Terry Silver back already? Sure.

"It's Barcelona, dipshit." Heh, Johnny being reliably ignorant is always fun. But they do speak Spanish in Barcelona, as well as Catalan. Why is the most prestigious karate tournament in the world full of silly gimmick events that look like they'd be at home in Gladiators? Knock your opponent off a bench? Knock your opponent off a platform? It's so silly. And the scripting and choreography of the second event was absolute dogshit tier. None of it made sense, other than as a vehicle for Miguel to be super cool and badass. Someone on Reddit said that Martin Kove now needs a stunt double just to walk, and that might be harsh but it's not far from the truth. He looks really aged and limited in these episodes. William Zabka's acting in the locker room talk was really good. You could feel his frustration and his internalised regrets. Shame no one listened. He was really good in this whole episode, and had to be, because the writing of much of it was really poor and focused on forced conflicts between the kids. How many times has Robby just stopped fighting to stare at someone? I think he needs to be checked for brain trauma. What did I say about Daniel? That he'd lose interest in his kids and this tournament as soon as he had a Mr. Miyagi thing to do? Had to laugh at the idea that "tourists never come" to the cathedral in the middle of the Gothic Quarter, just streets away from Las Rambla. It's only one of the most popular tourist spots in the entire city. Also, did Daniel lock a man into a room to be mauled to death by dogs?

This is honestly the dumbest show I've watched since Scorpion (though it is better written and acted). It's just so absurd, and season six is really leaning into it, recovering some of the comedy that season five lacked, but still keeping up the melodrama. This episode brought that melodrama in spades, with Robbie sad faced and following Tory around, while she's only able to be cryptic and vague, because god forbid anyone actually communicates. Meanwhile, the other Miyagi-Do kids immediately suspect Robby of duplicity because god forbid anyone actually communicates. And of course Robby loses because he stops fighting to stare at Tory. Of course he makes a series of bad decisions that will fuel discontent in Miguel. There is a guaranteed "I should have been captain!" argument coming up within the next couple of episodes. Daniel, of course, is instantly distracted by Mr Miyagi stuff and will surely stop paying any attention to the kids he's in charge of. The Sekai Taikai is supposed to be the pinnacle of karate competition, but it's just a clusterfuck mob fight, without points scoring? And the winners of one match immediately have to fight fresh opponents, using only their uneliminated fighters? I feel like the show hired some ex-WWE writers. And man, what I wouldn't give for at least one kid to just shrug off all the macho, belligerent posturing with a "whatever, dude." I was almost delighted when Robby ignored the Cobra Kai goading at the aquarium... but then he fell for it. As everyone in this show always does.

I think I've talked about my dislike for Xander several times in this thread, and in others, and I'm happy to say I agree with everything in that video. In fact, here's what I said about him four years ago in this thread: "I'm just watching an old episode, and Giles wants to kill Angelus because of what happened to Jenny. Xander, all self-righteous and gross says it's great and "don't forget, I've hated Angel long before you guys got on board, so I think I deserve some credit for being right." Fuck you, you creep. The only reason he hated Angel was because Angel was with Buffy, and now he's using the tragedy of Angel losing his soul, breaking Buffy's heart and killing someone they care about as an "I told you so" opportunity. Fucking Nice Guy weasel." And: "More absolute dickishness from him a couple of episodes later, when they find the curse and Xander says "the way I see it, you want to forget all about Ms. Calendar's murder so you can get your boyfriend back." Accidentally highlighting again his true reasons for hating Angel - "boyfriend". That, right there, should be a friendship ender. Sadly, I'm not too surprised that Joss Whedon thinks this is an acceptable and forgiveable way to act." Finally: "Next episode of Xander Harris is a Colossal Dick: him being "done with all that guilt" over cheating on Cordelia, in the episode right after he was caught. Then he gets pissy with Willow because she tells him he can't be casually touching her while she wants to make things up to Oz." He was just the absolute worst. His level of entitlement regarding Buffy (and later Willow) was completely awful. He acted as though having the hots for her meant she owed him something, which is just Nice Guy 101. Also, for anyone who was blissfully unaware - in the comic book adaptation that was a continuation of the show, he ends up getting together with Dawn. You know, the teen girl that he had a quasi-parental relationship to, who was fourteen when he was planning his wedding to Anya, who is the younger sister of his best friend who he used to be creepily obsessed with.

Unfortunately, the dregs of the fandom managed to find themselves in the ascendance when the sequels that followed TFA disappointed. Their very agenda-driven complaints have been adopted by lots of other fans too. I've seen far too many people saying Rey is a character without worth, who doesn't deserve another movie. I still think she was a great character, with bags of potential, but Disney mangled her in the last movie by diminishing her so they could boost Kylo Ren as the secondary protagonist (and completely diminishing Finn and Poe in the process). I still think Rian Johnson set up a great status quo at the end of The Last Jedi - Rey as the figurehead of the Rebellion, Kylo Ren as the new leader of The First Order, embittered and enraged by her rejection of him. But no, Disney had to listen to fans who wanted a white boy hero, and the 'shippers who see abuse as romance.

The intention with the tapes was they they would only be released after the deaths of the interviewees, so they would speak with honesty knowing they could never be held to account for what they said and did. But Boston College were mistaken or misleading, because the PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland) sued to gain access to some of them as part of criminal investigations. I don't think they were all published, and the remaining tapes were given to the interviewees to do with as they wished. A very small part, in the grand scheme of things. There were only 17 disappeared, in the over 3,500 people killed during the Troubles. I think most of those 17 were considered to have betrayed the IRA - like Joe Lynskey, Seamus and Kevin - so it was always a very sore spot because it was one side killing their own in such a secretive way. I don't think most people in the Republic think much about the north at all, unless they live near the border. Sinn Fein say they'll demand a referendum on a unified Ireland if they're ever elected to power in the south, and I'm sure there would be some nationalist pride if that ever came about, but the economics don't really make sense for the Republic. The north would cost them more money than it would bring in, and there are still Protestants in the north who feel more British than the British. I don't think the Republic would want to have to deal with them. In the north, in my experience (and I spend quite a bit of time in Northern Ireland), most people don't really care that much anymore. One of the big issues that sparked the Troubles was the inequality and lack of civil rights that Catholics had: Voting rights were tied to home ownership, and Catholics predominantly rented their houses while many more Protestants owned theirs. Protestants had access to better jobs, lived in better parts of the towns and cities and were dominant in local government and law enforcement (the Royal Ulster Constabulary was packed with men who were also involved with loyalist paramilitaries, similar to how police forces in the southern states of the US were full of Klan members). That's all gone now. The disparity between Catholics and Protestants is far smaller, and barely noticeable in most places, although rural areas that are less well off are still predominantly Catholic. Many schools are now integrated, so Catholic and Protestant kids have grown up alongside one another. And religious fervour in general has declined. The politics of the country is still quite polarised - with Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionist Party being the dominant forces - but most people just get on with their lives and don't think too much about whether they're ruled from London or from Dublin. About half of the deaths were civilians, the rest divided between military, police and terrorists on either side. But it wasn't just nationalist paramilitaries that carried out bombings, there were plenty of unionist paramilitaries too. I would also recommend the five-part BBC documentary, Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland, for a more complete picture. It's a fantastic series that interviews a whole range of people about their experiences, from paramilitary members on each side, to partisan civilians to people who refused to side with anyone, and British soldiers as well. Michael McConville, Jean's young son who loved pigeons, is one of the people interviewed.

All of these scenes with the older versions of the characters just show a lot of people trapped by the past. Unable to move on either because of guilt and trauma or because they're true believers or because they're bitter and angry and don't know how to do anything else. The Belfast Project was a chance for them all to unburden themselves, however truthful they wanted to be. Both Dolours and Brendan said Adams ordered Jean McConville's death. The story of Jean being an informer is something the IRA have maintained, but her kids have always pointed out she never went anywhere or talked to anyone, so never would have had much useful information. I appreciate that the show didn't accept everything Dolours said as gospel truth, that it pointed out that she was an addict and might have been blaming Adams out of revenge, or to get attention. And that both she and Brendan hated the peace process. I think most can conclude Adams was in it up to his beard, but there's no hard proof. It was Patrick Radden Keefe's conclusion that Marian Price killed Jean McConville. I think in the book he said she talked about how Pat was going to do it but couldn't, so the third person with them did it. A person Dolours refused to identify but did say was still alive. Radden Keefe figured that Marian is the only person that Dolours would lie to protect.

I feel a bit weird about this episode, because I know that Michael McConville, and perhaps some of his siblings, didn't want this story put on the screen. Not because they disagreed with the details, but because it just tears that old wound open again. Seeing them as kids was one thing, but seeing the adult McConvilles being played by actors made me a little uncomfortable. It's conflicting, because I think this is a story that needs to be told, and it can't be told without them, so where do you draw the line with unwilling participants? The feelings of betrayal amongst the old IRA guys when Adams' ceasefire deal was announced were understandable. I really felt it when Dolours said she felt like it was all for nothing, thinking about what she and Marian went through, and the things they did. Dolours seems to be one of the few who made a life for herself, who was able to move on, but she's trapped by the memories and the guilt. Things seem simpler for Marian and Brendan. Less guilt, more anger.

That line about "growing up and becoming respectable" in your thirties, as the posters of Gerry running for political office were on screen. Heh. Also "they didn't have anything to pin on me," because he was always careful to keep his hands clean. The jabs at Adams are getting more pointed. Then the very next moment, Gerry leaves the room and his cohort asks if Dolours will smuggle explosives. That sums up what I think most people believe is the reality of Gerry Adams, and then he goes on to deny he was ever a member of the IRA. The disagreement between Dolours and Marian over whether they should retire felt really well set up. Dolours was passionate about the cause, but Marian seemed pathologically driven. A true believer in the realest sense. I know Marian was still involved in nationalist violence as recently as 2011. It seems that, at least from Dolours' point of view, the trauma and guilt never really affected Marian. The amazing coincidence of Dolours watching a play starring Stephen Rea the night before the Old Bailey bombing was real. And her meeting him again gave her a completely new path to take in life. She must have seemed like a hugely romantic hero to a bunch of left wing artistic types. As for Helen McConville, trying to learn the truth and being lied to by a priest? Well, that's fifteen hundred years of Catholicism, right there. But now we're getting to the heart of the original mystery - what happened to Jean McConville and who ordered it. The older versions of the characters have been cast incredibly. If you told me the actor playing older Brendan was Anthony Boyle's dad, I'd believe you. But the older Gerry Adams looks uncomfortably like Alan Rickman.

The fact that the Price sisters were put in a men's prison is scandalous, and shows how vindictive and outraged the British legal system was by the bombing. Bomb Northern Ireland all you like, but England? That's utterly disgraceful! The hunger strikes were incredibly powerful statements. I can't imagine the willpower it took, and the faith that what they were doing did actually matter. The force feeding was another example of the casual inhumanity of the British government at the time. They couldn't let the strikers "win" either by acceding to their demands or by the strikers starving themselves to death, so that was the solution. Just try to wait them out. Bobby Sands is the most famous hunger striker, of course, because he was elected to parliament while on hunger strike, and ended up dying, along with nine other men, because Thatcher wouldn't allow her government to show basic humanity. That lack of humanity clearly extended to plenty of normal people as well. They did a good job of showing Dolours and Marians' declining health, both physical and mental, without asking the actresses to lose a load of weight. If I'd not known the story, I'd have been convinced that Marian was going to die, but I don't know the timing of the government caving was quite as dramatic as depicted here.

This episode was definitely a case of "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter." Bombing London was a horrendous act of aggression to English people, but it's hard not to see Dolours and Marian's reasoning - bombing Belfast and Derry barely makes the news, even in Northern Ireland. But bombing London would make the front page of every newspaper in the world, and it would put fear into English people who maybe don't give the tiniest shit about the Troubles. And it worked. I think it probably worked even more effectively when the ringleaders were two pretty, teenage sisters with a clear zeal for their cause. I can't imagine how scary it would be to drive from Holyhead (assuming that's where the ferry came in) to London in a car full of potentially unstable explosives. It's hard to believe anyone could keep their nerve for that whole journey. The logistics of the operation are interesting. Would they have been better staying in England for longer? Maybe splitting up and heading to different cities for a few days? The IRA did always call in their bomb threats (and I believed they started using codewords so the British authorities would know they were authentic) which is something, I guess. The worst atrocities were by splinter groups that didn't follow the same protocol - the Omagh bombing in 1998 that killed 29 people was carried out by the Real IRA.

Maybe Jean was a tout, maybe she was just trying to stay out of it, or maybe the fact that she was raised Protestant and married a Catholic meant she was always viewed with suspicion. But the way that Divis Flats turned its back on her children is so cold that it completely undermines all the chatter about how Divis Flats was a community where everyone looked out for one another. The focus on how Kitson and the British managed to turn people, and sow doubt and paranoia in the IRA was really interesting. When you only have a small number of fighters, a meagre collection of weapons, silence really is one of the most powerful weapons you can have. Especially when one side can do forensic testing to find out who has handled explosives and the other side has to carry out robberies just to have enough resources to keep fighting. Again, we have to take Brendan's account with some scepticism - he promised Seamus and Kevin that they could live, but Gerry sent them for execution. Maybe. I don't doubt that Gerry knew of every person sent for execution, but Brendan likely wasn't the bleeding heart he claims to have been. "Never put the men before the cause." "The men are the cause!" Interesting clash of perspectives, from a strategic planner and a front line soldier. But we're starting to see just how betrayed by Adams men like Brendan Hughes must have been - all that coldblooded ruthlessness, violence and killing, only for Adams to become a very wealthy politician. Seamus and Kevin's bodies were found and identified, in 2015.

As soon as they showed a big, amiable bald man and called him Joe, I remembered the part about Joe Lynskey from the book and knew it was going to be tough to watch. By all accounts, he was a popular guy in the IRA and he was close to Dolours and Marian Price. It really highlighted the ruthless nature of the IRA - no one talks, no one betrays their own. If they do, nothing can save them. Joe is still one of the Disappeared, and if there's anyone left who remembers where his body was buried, they've never said. Also another hint at Marian being more coldblooded and ruthless than Dolours. Although it should be noted that this is Dolours' version of the story. Marian hasn't ever talked about this, as far as I'm aware. Jean McConville helping the wounded soldier is one of the many things during the Troubles that's disputed. The IRA have said in the past that she was actually a spy for the British, her children have said she helped the soldier but some of them think that event happened weeks before her disappearance, some think it was just a day or two before. One of those things that will likely never be fully explained. Gerry refusing to admit he was Gerry Adams is straight from the book too - deny even the most basic information and it completely derails the interrogators because they get caught up in trying to force even that simple confession. As I said in the episode 2 thread, one of the reasons Adams gets to deny he was ever in the IRA is so the British government never has to admit they sat down in Whitehall with a terrorist.

Probably to avoid the prospect of one. Gerry Adams has always denied any involvement in the IRA, despite all the accounts from people who say he was heavily involved, and all the British and Irish intelligence that said he was a member. It's a fiction that everyone agrees to go along with to allow Adams to have a degree of legitimacy that his likely (very) criminal history wouldn't allow. And because the British government wanted to maintain its stance that it didn't negotiate with terrorists - "these aren't the IRA, they're Sinn Fein, a political party."

Really good second episode. Seeing Dolours and Marian become more involved in the struggle, and seeing hints at Marian's colder attitude, while Dolours is more conflicted but more of a thinker. I wonder how much of that is due to Dolours being the source of a lot of the information in the book? Anthony Boyle is a really good actor. He's been the best thing in almost any show I've seen him in. I hope he goes all the way to the top. The overhead shot in the scene of Brendan being chased by the British hit squad was really cool. It showed how those estates can be a maze, and how much of an advantage you have if you've got friendly faces behind every door, and possibly weapons hidden as well. This is how the IRA could continue to wage their campaign for thirty years, despite being outmanned, outgunned and with a fraction of the financial means. It was completely asymmetrical warfare, and the British had to resort to ever more brutal and unorthodox ways of fighting - kidnap, torture, assassination, tactics that were considered fine when deployed against the Mao-Mao in Kenya, but more controversial when used against white, English speaking people (even if they were Catholic).

The opening scene was powerful. I didn't think they'd start the show with Jean McConville, but I'm glad they did. The sheer terror of masked men turning up and dragging you away at gunpoint, your kids left behind. Even without context, it tells you about the darkness to come. Then the tone shifts to a completely different, earlier version of the Troubles - the idealism of the Catholic civil rights struggle, in the face of horrendous bigotry, and two teen girls who wanted a better future. I thought this episode showed the cycles of violence and hatred really well, and demonstrated what is probably inevitable when people are denied their human rights. I suppose the central question of this series (and of the book) is "was any of what the IRA did justified?" Coming from a Catholic family (with a socialist father who hated Thatcher's government for too many reasons to count), I know what I was told about it, and I think the answer will always depend on what side of the divide you fall on. The casting of Gerry Adams was spot on, and I really like Anthony Boyle so it's nice to see him getting a prominent role in a Northern Irish drama. From what I've read, the casting of Dolours and Marian is good too - Dolours more glamorous and charismatic, Marian more of a wallflower and follower.

I'm simultaneously excited and dreading this. I grew up in England during the Troubles, and it was never far from the headlines, although still fairly remote other than a few significant events - the Warrington bombing, the Manchester bombing (I heard the explosion from our house, over four miles away). My family are Irish Catholic, my fiancé is Northern Irish Protestant, and she's from Omagh, where the bomb in 1998 killed several people she knew. The story of the Troubles is one that absolutely needs to be told. The trailers are using the Price sisters as the selling point - two sweet looking girls who joined the IRA - but the other side of the story absolutely deserves to be told as well (and there are a couple of bits in the trailers which confirm it will be). Jean McConville and her family.

I always like contrasting Ross's list about Rachel to Joey's list about her: "She made me switch to light mayo. That's it!" But Ross and Rachel are what happens when TV writers are scared that people will get bored of their show if it doesn't have relationship drama. They never should have gotten back together after their second break-up, at the start of season four. In the real world, none of their friends would be encouraging them to get back together, like Phoebe constantly did. Two of your friends had a year-long relationship, six years ago, and the end of it almost destroyed the whole group? More than once? Oh yeah, let's encourage them to give it another go!

I think Chiana is just meant to be that alluring. Every male PK who meets her in the first season wants to bang her (can't really blame them) and she plays up to it, for the most part, so she can manipulate them. But also, I suppose irrevocable contamination is a very inconsistently applied judgement, and often used by superiors when convenient or advantageous. The commander of the Gammak base probably could have had Chiana as his "personal server" for as long as he liked... unless he pissed off Scorpius or another superior officer. The PKs are nothing if not hypocrites. Does Zhaan kiss him at some point in the first season? I may be misremembering. Or the Delvian who's manipulating his mind in Rhapsody in Blue? I always loved that moment between him and Chiana. it sets the baseline for their relationship, which I always considered analogous to "step-siblings who met as horny teens and never got to just bang it out." Chiana is trying to thank him (and the fact that's the only way she knows how is sad. Until she learns another way, by cooking them all a last meal) but she's also shooting her shot because she does like him. There are a lot of goodbyes in the finale, though, and it makes me wonder whether they weren't optimistic about a second season. But I love how much the characters have evolved over the course of the season, and that sincere, warm moments between any combination of them (even John and Rygel) feel earned and authentic.

I just finished Dead Man in a Ditch by Luke Arnold, the second in his series about a private investigator in a fantasy world that has lost all its magic, so all the magical beings - elves, werewolves, gnomes, dragons etc - have become mortal and normal (to sometimes terrible results). It's good read, and a lot of fun despite the world being so dark. Following up with something heavier, I started Pax: War and Peace in Rome's Golden Age by Tom Holland.