Wednesday 28 January 2015

VIDEO GAME NEWS: Mortal Kombat X: Reptile Gameplay - Warner Brothers Interactive



Hail Mighty Readers and Followers of the Calloused Thumbs,
We're huge fans of Mortal Kombat and with the latest release coming to consoles on 14/04/15 we can't wait to start kicking butt and taking names.

Lady Eleanor is already hard in training to hand out some real ass kicking as well as to beat me into submission.

Whilst we would love to show you the new trailer, due to restrictions we can only link to the one that has been released through official channel's so please click the linky and enjoy seeing how Reptile plays:

MORTAL KOMBAT X: REPTILE GAMEPLAY

All the best and may luck favour you on th ebattlefield,



Gareth and Lady Eleanor

Tuesday 27 January 2015

DVD FORTHCOMING REVIEWS: Dracula Untold and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Hail Mighty Readers and Followers of the Calloused Thumbs,
Today we reveal two films that are coming out shortly that we've chosen to review and we're getting pretty excited.  Lady Eleanor is grabbing the popcorn, I'm grabbing the drinks and we're preparing for a couple of nights of high screen entertainment.


 The first film that we'll be reviewing is the forthcoming Dracula Untold:


which is released on DVD, Blu-Ray on 9th February.


The second which we're currently awaiting confrimation on is the new Michael Bay Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles which is released on DVD and Blu-Ray on 16th February:


We hope you'll join us soon to see what we think of these two films.




Gareth and Lady Eleanor

Friday 16 January 2015

URBAN FANTASY REVIEW: The Invisible Library - Genevieve Cogman

Release Date: 15/01/15
Publisher: Tor/Pan Macmillan UK

SYNOPSIS:

Irene must be at the top of her game or she'll be off the case - permanently...Irene is a professional spy for the mysterious Library, which harvests fiction from different realities. And along with her enigmatic assistant Kai, she's posted to an alternative London. Their mission - to retrieve a dangerous book. But when they arrive, it's already been stolen. London's underground factions seem prepared to fight to the very death to find her book. Adding to the jeopardy, this world is chaos-infested - the laws of nature bent to allow supernatural creatures and unpredictable magic. Irene's new assistant is also hiding secrets of his own. Soon, she's up to her eyebrows in a heady mix of danger, clues and secret societies. Yet failure is not an option - the nature of reality itself is at stake.


REVIEW:

Ah the world of magic, burgalry and of course kick ass action through a multitude of alternate worlds as Librarian extraordinaire Irene as she uses not only smarts but quick actions to help her achieve her goals. Its definitely quirky, has a great principle character and for me, gave me a book that was a sheer joy to spend time with.

Back this up with solid prose alongside great pace all round gives you a great experience. I’ll definitely be looking forward to the second outing.



Thursday 15 January 2015

FANTASY REVIEW: The Unhewn Throne 2: The Providence of Fire - Brian Staveley

Release Date: 15/01/15
Publisher:  Tor/Pan Macmillan UK

SYNOPSIS:

War is coming, secrets multiply and betrayal waits in the wings...The Annurian Empire's ruling family must be vigilant, as the conspiracy against them deepens. Having discovered her father's assassin, Adare flees the Dawn Palace in search of allies. But few trust her, until she seems marked by the people's goddess in an ordeal of flame. As Adare struggles to unite Annur, unrest breeds rival armies - then barbarian hordes threaten to invade. And unknown to Adare, her brother Valyn has fallen in with forces mustering at the empire's borders. The terrible choices they face could make war between them inevitable. Fighting his own battles is their brother Kaden, rightful heir to the Unhewn Throne, who has infiltrated the Annurian capital with two strange companions. While imperial forces prepare to defend a far-distant front, Kaden's actions could save the empire, or destroy it. Book One, The Emperor's Blades, was on the list of BuzzFeed.com's most-anticipated SF/F reads for 2014 and also on the Fantasy Faction blog for most anticipated fantasy for 2014.


REVIEW:

The second title from Brian and whilst the first one blew me away, its always the second that is, for me the teller, as to whether the author can cope with the pressures of writing to a deadline. It’s a tricky hurdle to conquer and for many they fall at it, yet not only does Brian manage to clear it, but he does it with plenty of space below as the sheer quality not only exists but exudes from within the covers.

Its crisp writing, the characters outstanding and when added to an overall arc that just keeps giving the reader more and more all round leaves you with not just a glowing feeling but the type of confusion about where all the times gone. Add to this characters that you not only just want to spend time around but would love to buy a pint for all round, alongside their outstanding dialogue makes the third title a hell of a long wait.