Rob Masters

 A little while ago I announced that I'd finished " Scout and Shaman". Then a voice spoke to me, and I am finding that I am committing Sequel. So say 'Hi' to Joyful Finder, a descendent of the characters in the original story. I hope you enjoy " Shaman Scout ".

This story is one that I thought I had finished. Then one of the characters started poking me, and telling me that there needed to be more. Finder tells me it is done, for now at least. So here is what I think is the complete story of Lorn, Scout Explorer and Finder-of-Unnoticed-Details, Shaman. https://rdmasters.lympago.com/p/scout-and-shaman.html Diligent readers Of A Certain Age may well have suspicions about the larger universe that the story is set in. I will neither confirm nor deny this resemblance. Anyway, I filed the serial numbers off, and gave it a new coat of paint. 

This week takes us back to one of the granddaddies of SFF music videos, and Yes' "Owner of a Lonely Heart". Set in a dystopian version of Thatcherite England (yes, it could have been worse), our hero is snatched off the street for reasons unknown, and sentenced to a fate uncertain, and make his escape. Or has it happend at all? A classic song, and a classic SFF theme.

I've been collecting SFF themed music videos for a while. Some heavily so, some only slightly. And a few that are, well, special . Now, I'm going to share them, sometimes with some commentary, often not. First off the rank is the Sliding Doors inspired 'Have We Met Before', by the now disbanded group 'Chairlift'. Enjoy!

We finally got around to seeing the 2019 Hellboy movie. The one without del Toro and Perlman. Instead we get Neil Marshall and David Harbour. As an added bonus, we also get Lovejoy - I mean Ian McShane - as Prof Broom, and Thomas Haden Church as Lobster Johnson. This is not like the earlier movies - it is much, *much* closer to Mike Mignola's graphic novels in feel, and this is reflected in the R-18 rating. Mike's novels have a very distinctive flow to them, and are meticulously researched. This movie reflects that research and the somewhat odd pacing, which some people may find a little off-putting. The research takes you across a dozen mythologies and legends, and binds  them together to make a magical tapestry of horror and wonder. The pacing leaves you breathless when you are expecting respite, and still gives you a few moments to catch your breath - but  by the time you've realised it, it is too late. Laws of physics are routinely ignored - and the  characters are...