Hello everyone. I skipped last month’s Favourites blog post because:
A. I forgot.
B. I was busy working on The Sky Cult, which is now a Best-Freakin’-Seller.
Anyway, just to save time, add content and hopefully not forget a second time to upload a blog, here are my December and January favourites:
Darth Bane Books:
Oh. My. God. How did I not discover these books earlier? A trilogy by Drew Karpyshyn detailing the adventures of one of the most bad-ass Star Wars characters in existence. Honestly, I was a Bane lover (that would be the Darth version, not the Batman one) since I became a Star Wars fan, but reading these made me extra sad that Disney did not pick up the Expanded Universe for content for its Sequel Trilogy movies.
I’m going to leave a link to the first in the trilogy right here. This is not an affiliate link and I don’t make any money – they are that good.
The Princess Diarist:
Keeping on the Star Wars theme (I’m a fan, in case you hadn’t noticed), next on my list is the latest (and sadly, last) book by the immortal Carrie Fisher. I bought this book only a few hours after news broke of her passing, which made reading this that much more meaningful.
Fisher is a true wordsmith, rapier-sharp with her wit, and just an all-round badass.
Again, link right here – buy it, you won’t be sorry.
Bartitsu:
I love martial arts – I’ve been practicing some form or another since I was 14, and it gives me great joy to read reviews that say how much the fight scenes pop out.
So when I began researching the 20th Century for inspiration for Esper Files, I came across the word Bartitsu – an amalgamation of Jujitsu (a Japanese umbrella term for martial arts focusing locks and throws, but modern version also add strikes) and Barton-Wright, the name of the gentleman who created the style.
Bartitsu, in layman’s terms because I am by no means an expert on the subject, is thought to be the first ever hybrid martial art, combining Japanese Jujitsu, French Savate kickboxing, British Bare-Knuckle boxing, La Canne (a French cane fighting style), Singlestick (a British sport believed to have roots in naval sword fighting) and Vigny Cane fighting (basically a Swiss arms-master named Vigny taught people how to hit with a walking stick).
What I like about this is that Barton-Wright marketed this martial art as Self-Defense for the Gentleman, giving us a perfect window to London (and the rest of the world I suppose) in those times: the rich, well-dressed, cane-waving, top-hat sporting, high class aristocrats, and the poor, grimy, dirty, scrapping-for-every-penny, peasants.
Either way, expect Bartitsu to make an appearance in Book 3 (which I am working on right now, get off my back!)
Oh, and I also bought a cane to practice with, although it did take 3 months to arrive and was way too overpriced, and not at all ideal for training. (Sorry, no link for products that irked me).
Batman Animated Movies:
Lately I’ve been on a DC Universe kick. I’ve discovered that I really, really, really, like Batman, and Nightwing. I’ve been watching a whole slew of Batman movies, from The Killing Joke, to Bad Blood, Batman Vs. Robin, The Dark Knight Returns and under the Red Hood.
As I write this I have two other tabs open, one for Season 2 of Batman Beyond, and the other for Young Justice, both of which I am devouring at the moment. The latter, in particular, is awesome because it related to my research of superhero teams (but without Superman, whom I dislike with a burning passion – I can barely tolerate Superboy, but he’s okay since he’s countered by more awesome characters like Dick Grayson, Aqualad and Kid Flash. Oh, and Tigress/Artemis – she’s freakin’ awesome)
Growing up, I’ve been more exposed to the Marvel universe, so now I’ve started delving into the DC side of things. I have yet to be disappointed (recent silver screen movies not withstanding).
And there it is, my favorites for December and January. What were some awesome things for you this month? Leave them in the comments below.
Egan