My Old Lady - 2014 film written, produced and directed by Israel Horovitz - There is a curious practice in France relating to real estate. The French call it ‘viager’ and it works in a similar fashion to a reverse mortgage, but without using a bank. Both systems are based on the equity inherent in …
Author: richardsleftbank
Retired, when in a late life crisis, began to write - started a blog and now, three novels later, the rest still isn't history.
GOOD OMENS THREE
Good Omens 3 -Amazon MGM, BBC Studios and Narrativia, 2026, Directed by Rachel Talalay - If you read the Pratchett & Gaiman book ‘Good Omens’ you likely waited with eager anticipation for the release of the mini-series. With a classic fantasy book upon which to write the screenplay and a cast that included Michael Sheen …
PAX RUMPUS
OH FRABJOUS DAY! CALLOOH! CALLAY! - WE CHORTLE IN OUR JOY for His Holiness Ronald Rump: Pontiff of the universe, World’s Greatest Comedian, PREZ for Life and Prince of Peace has MADE A DEAL to end ‘Murca’s war against I-Rain - sort of… Details are scarce but it appears that I-Rain and ‘Murica finally agreed …
The Skeleton Key by Erin Kelly
The Skeleton Key by Erin Kelly - Hodder & Stoughton 2022 - Not to be confused with the 2005 horror film of the same name, Erin Kelly’s inspiration for ‘The Skeleton Key’ was drawn from a unique book called ‘Masquerade’ by Kit Williams, published in Britain in 1979. The book was a collection of pictures …
MONKEY BEACH BY EDEN ROBINSON
MONKEY BEACH BY EDEN ROBINSON - Knopf, 2000 - Eden Robinson is a First Nations’ writer whose work explores fiction through the lens of her culture and lived experience. My wife’s book club had this on their reading list and there were a few readers that didn’t like the ‘non-lineal’ style of the narrative. …
AKIN BY EMMA DONAGHUE
AKIN BY EMMA DONAGHUE, HarperCollins 2019 - Noah Selvaggio, a widower living in New York, is within days of turning eighty. Noah’s father was a famous photographer whose work is now valuable and often found in museums. Noah’s sister Fernande, mother of Victor, died recently, leaving Noah an envelope with some photos taken in …
DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL BY MATT DINNIMAN
DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL BY MATT DINNIMAN, ACE 2020 - I’d have to guess that Matt Dinniman spent a good part of his spare time playing video games and ‘Dungeons and Dragons’. Aside from the gaming world, Dungeon Crawler Carl seems to draw a little inspiration from Bancroft’s ‘Senlin Ascends’, Collins ‘Hunger Games’, television’s ‘Survivor’ or …
ABORIGINAL TITLE
I looked across the street and coveted my neighbor’s house. One side of the house had an ocean front, on the other side I saw a fishing pond and they had a creek running through acres of forested land surrounding it. They’ve lived there longer than anyone else and call themselves ‘FIRST NEIGHBOURS’. So …
THE GREAT AI CONUNDRUM
It’s SO EXCITING!!! AI and robotics are revolutionizing work and we’re ALL GOING TO BECOME REDUNDANT. Tech giants are leading the way - FIRING EMPLOYEES BY THE THOUSANDS to help pay for new facilities that use the TRILLIONS of watts of electricity needed to feed AI. This, of course, IS GOOD NEWS for those who …
SERAPHINA BY RACHEL HARTMAN
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman 2012 Doubleday In Hartman’s fantasy world, there have been forty years of an uneasy peace between human people and their traditional enemy, the dragons. While in their natural state, the dragons have all the traditional trappings: wings, scales, massive bodies and the ability to breathe fire. The new twist in this …
Richard's Left Bank 