Sci-Fi/Fantasy Pick of the Week: Doctor Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog!

Summary

The story of Dr. Horrible's attempts to get into the Evil League of Evil, while trying to romance love interest Penny, and defeat his nemesis, Captain Hammer.

Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day, and Nathan Fillion. What more could a geek girl want? This series was created for the internet by Joss Whedon and consists of three short 14 minute episodes. The acting is superb, and the story is by turns both hilarious and heart-breaking. Doctor Horrible's feud with Captain Hammer will have you in stitches ("The hammer is my penis."), and his clumsy attempts to seduce Penny will tug at your heart. It's an amazing mini-series, so worth the time to watch.

This series is available from several places! Buy it - you won't regret it.

Polish pick inspired by this POTW: For Doctor Horrible's Freeze Ray, China Glaze Frostbite, one of my favourite icy blue polishes.

Sci-Fi/Fantasy Pick of the Week: The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins

With all the hype surrounding the opening of the movie, this is pretty much a given for today's POTW.

The Hunger Games is set in a dystopian North America of the future, where all power is held by the Capitol, the city at the center of twelve districts. The story revolves around Katniss, a 16 year old girl who's one of 24 selected to compete in the yearly Hunger Games, a fight to the death.

I'm a sucker for a strong female character, and Katniss delivers this in spades. This is no shrinking violet, waiting for her prince to rescue her; she's her own person, and ready and able to save herself. She has little time or inclination to romance, and there's very little of anything romantic in this book.

Technically this book falls into the young adult category, but the dark plot, gory deaths, and lack of romance put it far from the likes of most teen books with female leads. For all that, it's a quick, engaging read - I finished it in two days, unable to put it down.

This series is available on Amazon.com, and is surprisingly reasonable at $18 for the trilogy.

Polish pick inspired by this POTW: How could it be anything but the very collection that takes its inspiration from this series? The China Glaze Colors from the Capitol collection.

Sci-Fi/Fantasy Pick of the Week: Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

Summary

For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the "Sliver of Infinity," reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler's most hellish prison. Kelsier "snapped" and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark.

Kelsier recruited the underworld's elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Only then does he reveal his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot.

But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel's plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. Like him, she's a half-Skaa orphan, but she's lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets, and gotten it. She will have to learn to trust, if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed.

Brandon Sanderson is one of my favourite writers - I've loved all his books. This book, the first from the Mistborn trilogy, was my introduction to his writing; since then I've rapidly consumed everything he's put out. His main talent lies in creating entire worlds, complete with magic, religion, and custom that are believable and engaging. This book does have flaws, but Sanderson's writing keeps you reading despite the stilted dialogue and somewhat cliche characters.

This series is available on Amazon.com. Note: this is my affiliate link. If you prefer, you can go directly to the item here.

Polish pick inspired by this POTW: For the ash and smoke choked planet of Scadrial, China Glaze Smoke & Ashes from the Hunger Games collection.

Sci-Fi/Fantasy Pick of the Week: George RR Martin's A Game of Thrones

Summary:

The first volume of George R R Martin’s glorious high fantasy tells the tragic story of treachery, greed and war that threatens the unity of the Seven Kingdoms. Martin unfolds with astonishing skill a tale of truly epic dimensions, a story of treachery and ambition, love and magic. Set in a fabulous world scarred by battle and catastrophe over 8000 years of recorded history, it tells of the deeds of men and women locked in the deadliest of conflicts and of the terrible legacy they will leave their children.

In the game of thrones, you win or you die.

Before it was a hit series on HBO, George RR Martin's Game of Thrones was a best-selling novel that captivated many. Rich characters, complicated storylines, and crazy plot twists will keep you turning the pages of this hefty tome. There's a surprising lack of magic in this fantasy book, which relies more on its well-crafted characters and plotlines - it reads more like an alternate middle ages than Dungeons and Dragons.

If you enjoyed the series, you'll LOVE the book!

This book is available on Amazon.com. Note: this is my affiliate link. If you prefer, you can go directly to the item here.

Polish pick inspired by this POTW: A nod to the series title, A Song of Ice and Fire - Essie Shine of the Times.

Sci-Fi/Fantasy Pick of the Week: Joss Whedon's Firefly

Summary

Five hundred years in the future there's a whole new frontier, and the crew of the Firefly-class spaceship Serenity is eager to stake a claim on the action. They'll take any job, legal or illegal, to keep fuel in the tanks and food on the table. But things get a bit more complicated after they take on a passenger wanted by the new totalitarian Alliance regime. Now they find themselves on the run, desperate to steer clear of Alliance ships and the flesh-eating Reavers who live on the fringes of space.

Cowboys in outer space. What could be better? This series only lasted one short season, but inspired legions of fans. I've re-watched the entire series about oh, a dozen times, and introduced it to a lot of friends. The characters worm their way into your hearts with heartfelt performances and clever dialogue that could only have come from Joss Whedon.

Give it a chance and you'll be with the rest of us, lamenting that this show wasn't renewed.

This series is available on Amazon.com. Note: this is my affiliate link. If you prefer, you can go directly to the item here.

Polish pick inspired by this POTW: I have to give a nod to the Browncoats here - Cult Nails Tulum.

Sci-Fi/Fantasy Pick of the Week: Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison

Summary

Rachel Morgan, witch and bounty hunter with the Inderland Runner Services, is one of the best at apprehending supernatural lawbreakers throughout Cincinnati, but when it comes to following the rules, she falls desperately short. Determined to buck the system, she quits and takes off on the run with an I.S. contract on her head and is reluctantly forced to team up with Ivy, Inderland's best runner... and a living vampire. But this witch is way out of her league, and to clear her name, Rachel must evade shape-changing assassins, outwit a powerful businessman/crime lord, and survive a vicious underground fight-to-the-death... not to mention her own roommate.

Dead Witch Walking is book one of Kim Harrison's Hollows series - I've read them all and pre-ordered the latest one as soon as it was available. It falls straight into the urban fantasy category, with a bit of a romantic bent. Pixies, vampires, and witches abound!

This story is pure fun, plain and simple. It's easy reading, with characters that really engage you in the story - you end up loving them!

This book is available on Amazon.com. Note: this is my affiliate link. If you prefer, you can go directly to the item here.


Polish pick inspired by this POTW: in honour of Rachel's love of black leather boots, China Glaze Liquid Leather.

Sci-Fi/Fantasy Pick of the Week: The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett

This is something new for my blog: a weekly recommendation of a sci-fi/fantasy novel or movie.

To kick things off, I wanted to feature the book that inspired the name of my blog: The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett.

The Colour of Magic is the first novel of the Discworld series, an incredibly entertaining and well-written spin into the fantasy Discworld, a large disc balanced on top of four elephants, balanced on top of the Great A'Tuin, an enormous turtle. The colour referenced in the title is Octarine, a colour only visible to wizards, and is described as a fluorescent greenish-yellow purple. I've yet to find a nail polish to match that colour, but Scrangie by RBL comes as close as it can get!

This is the story of Twoflower, the first tourist ever to visit Ankh-Morpork, and his subsequent adventures with the failed wizard Rincewind. Relying heavily on satire and wit, this book is a fantastic light read for anyone who enjoys a good laugh.

Don't be put off by the fact that it's classified as Fantasy - just about anyone who enjoys comedy will love this book!

This book is available on Amazon.com. Note: this is my affiliate link. If you prefer, you can go directly to the item here.

Polish pick inspired by this POTW: As close as we'll get to Octarine on this planet: Scrangie by Rescue Beauty Lounge.