Book Review - The Wizard's Butler by Nathan Lowell

I'm not a fan of most fantasty, but I do like magic in the modern world and I like reading about occupations I've heard little about.

The Wizard's Butler by Nathan Lowell is a contemporary fantasy book telling the story of a man who becomes a butler for an old man claiming to be a wizard. It is available as an eBook, Audiobook, and those paper things your grandparents used to read.

The Good

Premise. The premise is really unusual. While I've read several stories of magic users in the current time, I've read very few about a traditional butler in a modern times, and it is the butler angle that makes this a unique and enjoyable story. The magic is done well too, but it nothing special or unusual.

Characters. The characters are all really interesting by themselves but also have great chemistry with each other.

Story. The main plot is a greedy relative trying to steal a dying relative's estate, but the twists of a butler and magic elevate it to a different type of story and experience. It moves at a good, gentle pace giving the reader time to enjoy the peculiar parts of this world and the characters' histories. I never found myself getting bored.

Details. The author includes a lot of details about the mansion where this story takes place and the role of butler for such an estate. Before reading this I didn't think the daily routines of a butler could be interesting, but the author found a way to make it fascinating.

The Bad

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What I Would Like to Have Seen

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Overall

The Wizard's Butler by Nathan Lowell is a contemporary fantasy book telling the story of a man who becomes a butler for an old man claiming to be a wizard. It is available as an eBook, Audiobook, and those paper things your grandparents used to read. The premise is really unusual. While I've read several stories of magic users in the current time, I've read very few about a traditional butler in a modern times, and it is the butler angle that makes this a unique and enjoyable story. The magic is done well too, but it nothing special or unusual. The main plot is a greedy relative trying to steal a dying relative's estate, but the twists of a butler and magic elevate it to a different type of story and experience. It moves at a good, gentle pace giving the reader time to enjoy the peculiar parts of this world and the characters' histories. I never found myself getting bored. The characters are all really interesting by themselves but also have great chemistry with each other. The author includes many details about the mansion where this story takes place and the role of butler for such an estate. Before reading this I didn't think the daily routines of a butler could be interesting, but the author found a way to make it fascinating. I highly recommend this book and give it 4.5 out of 5 eReaders.

    
 

Movie Review - Venom: Let There Be Carnage

I love comic books, but I've never like the Venom character in comics. When I heard he was getting his own movie a few years ago, I was not at all excited. But the trailer looked pretty cool so I went and saw it and absolutely loved it! I was excited to hear a sequel was coming, but also a little worried: would it live up to the first film's high standard, or would it be a disappointing money grab?

Venom: Let There Be Carnage is a 2021 live-action action horror movie based on characters from Marvel Comics. It is rated PG-13 for violence and language and is appropriate for teens and up.

The Good

What a Sequel Should Be. Most sequels are poor remakes of the first movie with more action, more special effects, and less story. This movie was a true continuation of the first. It didn't try to bring dead or irrelevant characters from the first movie back. It did show us how the characters had grown and progressed in the time since the first movie in a way that was consistent with what had already been established. And it introduced new characters and situations that fit the world already created.

Actors. This movie could not have been better cast. Everyone fit his or her role perfectly.

Characters. The characters were so entertaining and had such enjoyable chemistry between each other. I want more.

Story. The story was so tight and logical. Someone spent sometime writing it. The pacing was perfect; the movie never dragged.

 

The Bad

Too Short. While I appreciate the movie was trimmed down to only the essential story and this prevented any lag, I still felt there was more story to tell and we were cheated of it. 

 

Overall

Venom: Let There Be Carnage is a 2021 live-action action horror movie based on characters from Marvel Comics. It is rated PG-13 for violence and language and is appropriate for teens and up. Most sequels are poor remakes of the first movie with more action, more special effects, and less story. This movie was a true continuation of the first. It didn't try to bring dead or irrelevant characters from the first movie back. It did show us how the characters had grown and progressed in the time since the first movie in a way that was consistent with what had already been established. And it introduced new characters and situations that fit the world already created. This movie could not have been better cast. Everyone fit his or her role perfectly. The characters were so entertaining and had such enjoyable chemistry between each other. I want more. The story was so tight and logical. Someone spent sometime writing it. While I appreciate the movie was trimmed down to only the essential story and this prevented any lag, I still felt there was more story to tell and we were cheated of it. The pacing was perfect; the movie never dragged. I highly recommend this film and give it 4.5 out of 5 Boxes of Popcorn.