Lenni Reviews: "Spell Cat" by Tara Lain

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*This book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated for 18+

Professor Killian Barth teaches the history of witchcraft and has a unique perspective on the matter considering he is indeed a witch. He is the most powerful male witch to come along in generations.  Keeping his identity a secret from regular humans, he catches the eye of the quantum physics professor; Blane Genneau. Their attraction is instant but Killian is being forced to marry another witch, Lavender, in order to save the witch race by pumping out magical children. But not only is Killian gay, Lavender is in love with someone else, and Killian finds the magnetism between him and Blane is too strong to resist. There's also the added rub that if a witch sleeps with a human, it will drain the witch's power away. Can Killian find a way to not only be with the one he loves but overcome prejudice against humans, find a way to save his race, and convince a man of science to believe magic is real?

First off, I have to point out that Lain made Lavender a likable character. It's so easy to fall into that trope of one of the people in the forced marriage being a complete horror to make the main character look even more put upon. But Lavender is a kind, sweet person and even tries to help Killian whenever she can. That was very refreshing.

While this book was decently written and cute, sometimes it felt a little contrived. It has this fanfiction like quality to it where everyone is too perfect, too pretty, and sex literally tears the skies apart it's so good. I mean, geez, nobody even had an interesting mole or tattoo... I also would have liked to see the fantasy elements explored more. I know that they're technically supposed to take a back seat to the romance but there are some interesting concepts here that I felt were glossed over to get the couple where they needed to be. But I do give this book credit for turning a couple tropes on their heads, having some fun characters and steamy romance scenes. 3 out of 5.

Lenni Reviews: "Deadlight Jack" by Mark Onspaugh

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Jimmy Kalmaku and George Watters may seem like any other old retirees, but they are both supernatural heroes who saved the world. When George’s grandson vanishes while on vacation in the Louisiana bayou, both men must use their abilities to the utmost in order to defeat the terrifying Deadlight Jack.

This book is like Murder She Wrote or Columbo except with demons and old men using magic. George and Jimmy's rapport is a pleasure to read. You can tell they're old friends and are just the best. About 10% George says the line: "The only pickups I'm gonna be making are of pretty girls who like jazz and want to go dancing with the area's black Astaire."

"Too cute!!"

I found myself chuckling and smiling whenever they talked. I did find it amusing how people kept mistaking them for a gay couple (especially considering how much gay smut romance I read...) and that joke is thankfully not overused. It would have been really easy to use that gag to DEATH but Onspaugh kept it at the level such things should be in real life; not that big a deal.

Deadlight Jack is legitimately horrifying; so when the actual plot gets going it's tense and exciting. The humor is still there but you feel that impending danger. The ending may have been a little deus ex machina but you're having so much fun, it's acceptable. I can tell so much love was put in this book. This is George and Jimmy's second adventure (I plan to read the first just for fun) and the epilogue makes noise about a possible third. I sure hope that's true because I am totally on board. 4.7 out of 5.

Dragonball Super English Dub to Premiere on Toonami

Dragon Ball fans everywhere just received the biggest gift of the holiday season. Toei Animation Inc., Funimation©Entertainment and Adult Swim are pleased to announce their partnership to bring “Dragon Ball Super” to TV audiences starting next January. “Dragon Ball Super” is the first new storyline in more than 18 years from original creator Akira Toriyama and the Dragon Ball franchise, which was first introduced to the U.S. more than 20 years ago. Adult Swim will begin airing the U.S. English dub of “Dragon Ball Super” Season 1 during the Toonami block starting on January 7, 2017 at 8 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. ET. Season 1, which totals 26 episodes, encompasses the Battle of Gods and Resurrection ‘F’ story arcs. New episodes of “Dragon Ball Super” will air each Saturday.

”Dragon Ball Super” is more than the latest adventure in the Dragon Ball saga – It’s a collaboration between the series original creator, Akira Toriyama and a passionate team of men and women who are both longtime partners and talented newcomers. “Dragon Ball Super” comes with everything viewers can hope for after waiting 18 long years for a new series – impressible dangers to overcome, the reuniting of beloved characters, and new additions to the mythos that will rock Dragon Ball’s very foundation,” said Masayuki Endo, President and CEO of Toei Animation Inc. “We are very excited to return “Dragon Ball Super” to its U.S. broadcast home on Adult Swim.”

“Toonami and the Dragon Ball franchise have a long and storied history together in the U.S.,” said Jason DeMarco, senior vice president of on-air for Adult Swim. “We are thrilled to be premiering “Dragon Ball Super” to our audience and keeping Dragon Ball on Toonami!”

Funimation will be producing the U.S. English dub of “Dragon Ball Super” that will air on Toonami The “Dragon Ball Super” cast features veteran voice actors from previous Dragon Ball series including Seán Schemmel (Goku), Christopher R. Sabat (Vegeta), Jason Douglas (Beerus), Ian Sinclair (Whis) and Sonny Strait (Krillin) – all of whom starred in last year’s hit movie “Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’,” which became the 9th highest grossing anime film of all time in U.S.A..

“We’re extremely pleased to join with Toei Animation in this broadcast partnership with Adult Swim to bring “Dragon Ball Super” to a whole new generation of TV audiences,” said Gen Fukunaga, CEO and founder of Funimation. “I have no doubt that ‘Dragon Ball Super’ will eclipse the television success of the original Dragon Ball series that first aired here more than 20 years ago when anime was still new to the U.S. Those kids that grew up watching Dragon Ball now have kids of their own.”

As part of the English dub production and in advance of the broadcast television premiere, a new DragonBallSuperOfficial.com website has been launched that serves as a hub for all things Dragon Ball. The site will feature exclusive content, videos, graphics and character bios as well as the latest news on the franchise.

 Series Synopsis

With Majin Buu defeated, Goku has taken a completely new role as…a radish farmer?! With Earth at peace, our heroes have settled into normal lives. But they can’t get too comfortable. Far away, the powerful God of Destruction, Beerus, awakens to a prophecy revealing his demise at the hands of an even more formidable being. When his search for the Saiyan God brings him to Earth, can Goku and his friends take on their strongest foe yet?

Aniplex of America Sets Nationwide Release Date for SAO Movie

Aniplex of America Inc. announced today that the nationwide release of the highly anticipated feature film Sword Art Online the Movie -Ordinal Scale-
will take place on March 9, 2017. Details on theater locations and tickets for the nationwide release will be announced at a later date on the official homepage (www.sao-movie.net/us). Sword Art Online the Movie -Ordinal Scale- will be distributed by ELEVEN ARTS in the original Japanese audio with English subtitles.

About Sword Art Online:

The animated TV series Sword Art Online is based on author Reki Kawahara’s light novel in which the protagonist Kirito fights to survive in the mysterious next-gen VRMMORPG called “Sword Art Online.” Since the first volume of the novel was published in April 2009, the series has proved extremely popular, with cumulative sales exceeding 12.5 million units in Japan and 19 million worldwide, spawning two TV anime adaptations, video games, comic books, and merchandise.

Story of Sword Art Online the Movie -Ordinal Scale-:

In 2022, the world of virtual reality was upended by the arrival of a new invention from a genius programmer, Akihiko Kayaba, called NerveGear. It was the first full-dive system, and with it, came endless possibilities to VRMMORPGs.

In 2026, a new device called the Augma is developed to compete against the NerveGear and its successor, the Amusphere. A next-gen wearable device, the Augma doesn’t have a full-dive function like its predecessors. Instead, it uses Augmented Reality (AR) to get players into the game. It is safe, user-friendly and lets users play while they are conscious, making it an instant hit on the market. The most popular game on the system is “Ordinal Scale” (aka: OS), an ARMMORPG developed exclusively for the Augma.

Asuna and the gang have already been playing OS for a while, by the time Kirito decides to join them. They’re about to find out that Ordinal Scale isn’t all fun and games...

For details on Sword Art Online the Movie -Ordinal Scale-, please visit: www.sao-movie.net/us

STAFF

Original Story: Reki Kawahara (Dengeki Bunko)

Director: Tomohiko Ito

Character Design & Chief Animation Director: Shingo Adachi

Prop Design: Tomoya Nishiguchi

Art Director: Takayuki Nagashima

Art Setting: Yoshinori Shiozawa

Concept Art: Sotaro Hori

CGI Director: Ryuta Undo

Sound Director: Yoshikazu Iwanami

Animation Production: A-1 Pictures

Produced by: SAO MOVIE Project

Character Design Concept: abec

Script: Reki Kawahara/Tomohiko Ito

Monster Design: Ryuta Yanagi

UI Design: Satoshi Watsuji

Art Supervision:Yusuke Takeda

Color Design: Satoshi Hashimoto

Director of Photography: Kentaro Waki

Editing: Shigeru Nishiyama

Music: Yuki Kajiura

CAST

Kirito: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka

Asuna: Haruka Tomatsu

Yui: Kanae Ito

Leafa: Ayana Taketatsu

Silica: Rina Hidaka

Lisbeth: Ayahi Takagaki

Sinon: Miyuki Sawashiro

Klein: Hiroaki Hirata

Agil: Hiroki Yasumoto

Akihiko Kayaba: Koichi Yamadera

Gameacon 2016 (indie game con)

Hey O&G fans, are you a indie game fan? Do you like to meet and pick the brain of game developers? Would you like to embarrass a friend in smash bros. in front of strangers for bragging rights (LOL)? GameAcon is for you!

Gameacon is the only conference of its kind — one that combines the business-to-business networking and educational opportunities of the GDC with the entertainment and public feedback aspects of Magfest or Pax. And it all focuses exclusively on independent game developers from around the world. Our mission is to promote independent artists in game creation by providing a space for them to showcase their work, the opportunity to reach an audience who craves to see it, and a forum to learn from each other. (from gameacon webpage)

Gameaconwas held this past weekend at the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City. developers got an opportunity to show games that they are working on to potential players.

Panels

Speakers present at the event were Jon Jones, Content Curator at Epic Games, Nick Landry from Microsoft, and Andy Hess from Unreal. The panels and roundtable discussions ranged from topics like art direction in games, how to develop prototypes. Fans and future game developers got a chance to ask question and get some insight into the game industry.

Game Room

Deadpool The Duck #1

PRESS RELEASE

What do you get when you take one cynical anthropomorphic duck (named Howard) and cross it with the smelliest (and most annoying) mercenary in the Marvel Universe? DEADPOOL THE DUCK #1! Coming to comic shops and digital devices everywhere on Janurary 4th, its high-stakes avian antics as two of Marvel’s most beloved, and crass, heroes merge for an all-new series brought to you by Stuart Moore (CLOAK & DAGGER, THANOS: DEATH SENTENCE Novel) and Jacopo Camagni (DEADPOOL’s SECRET SECRET WARS).

When Deadpool is sent on a mission from S.H.I.E.L.D. to capture a high-profile E.T. that is rampaging across the high plains, the snatch-and-grab turns out to be much more complicated than the Merc with a Mouth anticipated. One unfortunate wrong place at the wrong time accident later leaves Deadpool and Howard fighting for control as the newest mercenary of the Marvel Universe!

So strap in, break out your chimichangas and crusty bread scraps and hang on! Because you’re in for: rabid raccoons, secret laboratories, cramped spaceships, evil corporations, gastric distress, and S.H.I.E.L.D. Did we mention that’s only issue one?! Flap your wings over to your local comic shop on January 4th to get your hands on DEADPOOL THE DUCK #1!

Valliant teases its upcoming XO Manowar movie

Despite the story of the Valiant Universe’s cornerstone character coming to a true conclusion with the final issue of his self-titled comic in September of 2016, the armored hero known as X-O Manowar is poised to return in as the lead in an all-new series early next year.

Today, Valiant Entertainment teases the next chapter in the saga of X-O Manowar with a new piece of art. But will Aric of Dacia once again don the iconic armor, or is there a new hero waiting to take up the mantle? After all, when it comes to superhero comics, a character’s story is never truly over, but heroic legacies can be the stuff legends — and franchises — are made of.

Whatever the answer, readers will learn more when “X-O Manowar” #1 arrives in March 2017, just in time to celebrate the character’s 25th Anniversary. The creative team has not yet been announced, but the teaser art (below) announcing the upcoming series is by Monika Palosz.