Author Archives: D.A Lascelles

[AW Blog chain] Rainy Days

12 Monday Mar 2012

Posted by in Musings, Wierdness

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Taking a break from Vampires for a moment to talk about Rainy days (can we squeeze in a link there? Well, er, Vampires can’t cross running water and, er, ok, I’ll stop trying and just blatantly jump out of topic for this one…). Rainy Days is the topic of this month’s Absolute Write Blog Chain.

As several of the Brits on AW have commented, this is a topic we can do. We are renowned for our weather. While the US has tornadoes and hurricanes and Windy Cities and Kansas and the famous New York snows and all that dramatic weather, we have our famous ability to talk about it. And, for all that it is a stereotype and a cliche, it is true. We Brits do indeed talk about the weather a lot. Especially the rain. Because it does it so bloody much here.

Paphos castle in Cyprus. Do I need to point out how convenient it was for the beach?

It’s true. In fact, there is compelling and irrefutable historical evidence* that the true and sole reason for the Crusades was so that Richard I would have an excuse to build a series of castles on ‘critical tactical locations in the Middle East’ which also happened to be on sunny islands in the Mediterranean with easy access to the beach and a short hop across the bay to the local tavernas. You see, we love our wonderfully rainy weather so much that we declare long and pointless wars in sunny climes just to get away from it so we can talk about it to foreigners in their own language** Holidaying Brits the world over should be proud that they are maintaining a tradition of avoiding the rain which has been practised since the Middle Ages. Including the creating carnage on the beaches aspect.

But apropos of the above, I have an even greater reason to talk about the rain than the average Brit because I live in Manchester, a city which has its own sinister micro-climate which ensures that it rains here more than any other place in the UK (with the possible exception of parts of Wales but general concensus there is that the gods have a grudge). Manchester is, in my opinion, the place that William Gibson was really describing when he talks about Night City in Neuromancer. A place so grim and damp that it could be argued it was directly responsible for Communism because of the effect it had on Marx and Engels. Put it this way, we have a Roller Derby team*** who call themselves ‘The Rainy City Rollergirls’. That has to mean something with regards to our association with the wetter of the weather phenomena…

So it was with great surprise that, in the middle of last month, I read a headline which said that the UK was potentially about to suffer drought (apologies for the Daily Mail link here…). This was in a week in which I had spent several hours standing at open bus stops while the heavens poured down upon me, when my usually reliable waterproof coat failed in its primary function due to the sheer volume of water that was hitting it and when we did not see a hint of blue sky at all even once it had stopped (temporarily) raining. Of course, in typical media bias, the newspapers were actually talking about a situation in which some people who lived in the south east (which has the lowest rainfall, the least number of reservoirs and the highest population) might have to reduce their water usage by not using hosepipes rather than

This is a proper, serious drought and one which deserves attention...

what I would call a real ‘drought’ which has a more cracked earth and dessicated rivers feel to it. Still, it made me think about the UK’s relationship with rain. We hate it, we try to get away from it, we hide away under waterproof coats and yet it is actually a very essential environmental feature. Without it, we die. On a less dramatic note, without it there would be no ‘green and pleasant land’ for poets to witter on about (and also no daffodils, which may be a relief for those who are no fan of Wordsworth). Rain is like the unwelcome member of the family who we have to invite to our parties but shun when he arrives. With the environment changing so dramatically at the moment, maybe it is time to embrace mad old Uncle Deluge and appreciate him while we can. Perhaps next time it rains, more people might leave their hoods off and turn their faces to the clouds to feel the water run down their faces for the sheer joy of celebrating the fact that it still rains and so we might continue to live for another decade or so? Perhaps…

Hmmm, got a bit environmental there for a moment… do excuse me….

There, see, perfect view of the train lines. Look at that and tell me it wasn't planned that way...

*Absolutely convincing evidence which I cannot, for reasons I cannot explain, show to you at this point in time but trust me it is compelling and irrefutable and comes from the same reliable source as the evidence that proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that William Rufus built Newcastle Keep close to where Newcastle Central train station was to (eventually) be built in order so he would have a great view for his obsession with train spotting. They planned a long way ahead these Normans, you know…

** Which always seem to sound almost exactly like English but spoken really loudly and slowly.

*** I have no idea how we acquired a Roller Derby team or even how it came to be a sport in the UK, I blame Drew Barrymore… though I have noticed very few men complain about a sport which sees young women skating aggresively around a ring as being ‘not cricket’ but then, maybe I am reading the wrong newspapers. It took a lot longer than this for us to discover ‘American Not at all Football’ and ‘Baseball’ to the extent of having our own teams so clearly the trick in exporting sports is to ensure plenty of sexy young women in your teams…

Participants and posts:

Please feel free to check out these other great blog posts which form part of this chain.

orion_mk3 – http://nonexistentbooks.wordpress.com (link to this month’s post)

Bogna – http://bemaslanka.wordpress.com (link to this month’s post)

Ralph Pines – http://ralfast.wordpress.com (link to this month’s post)

pyrosama – http://matrix-hole.blogspot.com (link to this month’s post)

Nissie – http://www.paperheroes.net (link to this month’s post)

Lyra Jean – http://beyondtourism.wordpress.com (link to this month’s post)

Domoviye – http://working-in-china.com (link to this month’s post)

magicmint – http://www.loneswing.com (link to this month’s post)

areteus – https://lurkingmusings.wordpress.com (link to this month’s post)

julzperri – http://www.fishandfrivolity.blogspot.com (link to this month’s post)

hillaryjacques – http://hillaryjacques.blogspot.com (link to this month’s post)

AFord – http://af12.webs.com (link to this month’s post)

Tomspy77 – http://thomas-willam-spychalski.webs.com (link to this month’s post)

ronbwriting – http://ronbwriting.blogspot.com (link to this month’s post)

randi.lee – http://emotionalnovel.blogspot.com (link to this month’s post)

J. W. Alden – http://www.authoralden.com (link to this month’s post)

SuzanneSeese – http://www.viewofsue.blogspot.com (link to this month’s post)

Turndog-Millionaire – http://turndog-millionaire.com (link to this month’s post)

[Vampire Month] Writing in Character by Rebekah Harrington

09 Friday Mar 2012

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This was supposed to go up yesterday but events conspired against me… I blame solar storms. After all, you can’t post about Vampires when there is a lot of solar activity around…

Writing in Character

By Rebeka Harrington

First up let’s get the shameless self-promotion out of the way… Check out my character blog at www.vampiresrevealed.com. The reason I mention that is because I want to talk about writing in character.

There are many ways a writer might use when trying to develop a new character. One popular method is to draw up a character ‘sheet’, outlining the character’s appearance and traits which make them unique. I tried this and it didn’t work very well for me, maybe I’m a bad writer. (The jury is still out on that one.)

What does work exceedingly well for me is ‘talking’ to my characters. Also I am blessed/cursed (you decide) with movies playing inside my head, my characters having the leading roles.  You’re probably starting to wonder if I’m not a little crazy, I guess the jury hasn’t quite made a decision on that one either.

Originally when I started writing a blog in character, it was my way of getting the conversation started with Bektamun. (Bektamun is a 3000 year old female vampire and is the focus of my debut title “Vampires Revealed.”) At first there was a blurring between the lines as to what was my opinion or Bektamun’s.  Now though it is easy for me to determine what Bektamun’s thoughts or reactions would be in any given situation.

Because my writing focuses on vampires and their role in the world, writing in character as Bektamun has been vital in the development of ‘my’ vampire mythology.  The more I write in character as Bektamun the easier it is for me to understand where things fit in ‘her world’. This in turn makes it easier for me to write an engrossing and believable environment for my readers.

Also as a part of my character blog I keep short biographies of major characters. This has made it much easier for me to spot strengths, weaknesses and motivation in my characters. It also provides light entertainment and character insight for my readers.

So what is the point of all this rambling?

While there are many ways you might use to create unique, memorable and believable characters; ultimately you must choose what is right for you. If I hadn’t surrendered to the craziness perhaps Bektamun’s voice would never have been heard.

[Vampire Month] Rebekah Harrington Interview

06 Tuesday Mar 2012

Posted by in Guest posts

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First up for Vampire month is Australian writer Rebekah Harrington. This post sees her answers to my indepth interview. Look out for her guest blog post on Thursday

Raised in country Victoria, Rebeka started her writing career working for the local newspaper as a teenager. While she decided not to pursue this as a career, she has always enjoyed writing and being creative

With so many varied interests and eclectic taste in most things, Rebeka enjoys incorporating all of them in her writing. She particularly enjoys writing about vampires.

Rebeka seeks to define and explain vampires in a way not done before. This has been achieved with her debut title “Vampires Revealed”. Following titles will revolve around exploring the world and characters created in her first release.

Currently Rebeka lives inMelbournewith her “demented” but lovable cat, dividing her time between writing and managing a small boutique entertainment agency.

What is the earliest memory you have of writing? What did you write about?

In primary school, maybe about Grade 1 or 2. I wrote about a wizard with a magic ‘finger’. The wizard was having such a giggle at walking around ‘zapping’ people with a tail, rabbit ears and the like.

When did you decide to become a professional writer? Why did you take this step?

I’m not sure I actually made that decision, my writing made it for me. When I returned to writing it was because I had time to devote to it. It was only when others enjoyed my work and encouraged me to publish that I took that step.

Even now I don’t think I would class myself as a ‘professional’ writer. I write because I enjoy it and apparently my readers do too.

What would you consider to be your greatest strength as a writer? What about your greatest weakness? How do you overcome this weakness?

Hmm that is really tough to answer. If I had to pick one thing as a strength, it would be my ability to ‘channel’ a character. This might sound crazy (maybe I am) but not only do I talk to my characters, but their lives play through my mind like a movie. When I’m writing describing something it really is exactly that. I see characters and scenarios in my mind long before I start to put pen to paper. This makes my characters much more real for me and I hope for my readers too.

My weakness as a writer is remembering I’m writing fiction. Too often I fall into the trap of writing too succinctly. This is a direct result of my training as a journalist. Why use 100 words when 10 will do? So sometimes I forget that I need to add descriptions and nuance for the benefit of the reader. But I’m working on it!

 Tell us about the place where you live. Have you ever derived any inspiration from your home or from anywhere you have visited?

I live in Melbourne, Australia which according to the ‘experts’ is one of the world’s most liveable cities. Australia in general is a fantastic place to live. The stereotype ‘laid back Aussie’ is well-deserved, and I’m no exception.

We have brain melting summers and freezing cold winters. We can proudly boast some of the most dangerous and poisonous creatures on the planet. Never a dull moment in the Land Down Under. 

When I’m writing I try to avoid making cultural references, only fellow Aussies would be familiar with colloquialisms.

Which book, if any, would you consider to be your greatest influence and inspiration?

There is no one particular book, but certainly Alexandre Dumas is easily my greatest influence. A lot of his early work was written in serial for newspapers, for which he was paid per word. Hence the reason his writing is verbose to the extreme. However he never seems to get bogged down and bore the reader. If I can ever write half as well as him I will be ecstatic.

What drove you to write about Vampires?

Selfish curiosity pure and simple. I was not happy with how many assumptions are made about vampires and the complete lack of explanation in most vampire fiction. All the myths are just accepted as fact, no one seemed to dare challenge that. (Don’t get me started on vampires that sparkle.)

So when I had the time I collated every question I could think of, all the myth and everything I could lay my hands on relating to what we accept as ‘vampire portrayal’.

Then there is the one-dimensional view of vampires – they drink blood. To focus on vampires only as blood drinkers is like summing up humanity as oxygen thieves. I simply couldn’t believe that blood was the only thing that motivated vampires.

Given that I couldn’t really find my answers or any satisfaction elsewhere, I decided to do it myself.

What do you think is the attraction for Vampire fiction? Why is it such a popular topic?

You’re really not going to be happy if I say ‘I have no idea’.

I think escapism plays a big part in their appeal. The opportunity to take a journey with someone who is powerful, charismatic and more than just a little enigmatic. They are so unlike humans, but because they look human we want to relate to them. Sometimes this happens with dire consequences and sometimes not. All depends on the author.

For me it’s about observing and scrutinising humanity from a unique perspective. Who else can sit in judgement of mankind if not a superior being like a vampire?

In a fight between all the greatest Vampires of fiction, who do you think would come out on top?

Anne Rice’s ‘Lestat’ would give most a run for their money. Although I’d like to think my ‘Bektamun’ would easily put him on his backside.

‘Spike’ from Buffy or Eric (Sookie Stackhouse series) would certainly wreak havoc while charming the pants off more than few in the meantime.

It would be fun to see… Could someone arrange that please?

What about in some other contest such as sexiness or dress sense? Who would win that one?

Charlaine Harris really hit the mark when she created Eric, he makes even me weak at the knees and I don’t bat for that team if you know what I mean. I think Eric epitomises the allure of vampires. Old, powerful and infinitely devious all packed into a gorgeous Viking warrior. Forget the TV show (True Blood), when you read Eric you can see/feel his age and demeanour in the way he deals with people.

Ok, time for me to stop drooling.

 How well do you think your character would fare against the winner(s) of the above?

I’d like to think Bektamun could make mincemeat of any vampire which crossed her path. But considering there are few female vampires as lead characters (books, movie or TV) there is no benchmark to measure against.

In any case, Bektamun would go down fighting.

Tell us the basic premise behind your latest novel.

My current release “Vampires Revealed” is an autobiographical mocumentary, narrated by Bektamun. She is 3000 years old and wants to let humans in on the fact vampires are real. Not only that, she goes to great lengths to explain in a way humans can understand what it is like to be a vampire.

It has been described as a “manual for vampires’. While there is some rather tedious information to be conveyed, Bektamun keeps you interested by relating some of her experiences and encounters.

In Vampires Revealed, Bektamun introduced several characters. My next book (which I am desperately trying to find time to finish) starts to explore some of those characters and discloses more of Bektamun’s history.

Vampire Month

01 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by in Guest posts, Publicity, Reviews

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The big grand-daddy of all Vampires. Christopher Lee as Dracula.

This month is Vampire month on this blog.

What? You say March is a stupid time for Vampire month? You think that maybe it should be another month, like October? Well, on this blog we don’t follow trends we make them and I reckon that this time next year EVERY blog will call March ‘Vampire Month’ and I will take the credit for starting a whole new social trend.

Well, that or, you know, the rest of the internet will just carry on doing what it always does and not be affected at all by what I say or do.

So, why is it Vampire month here? Well, over the next month I will be featuring articles and interviews with three writers of Vampire fiction starting next week with Rebekah Harrington, author of Vampires Revealed. This will be followed by Ninfa Hayes, author of the upcoming novella Bites. Finally, Skyla Dawn Cameron, author of Bloodlines* and the newly released Lineage, will weigh in with her opinions. In these articles we seek to understand the underlying appeal of Vampires, their psychology and motivation and, most importantly of all, who would win in a fight: Lestat or Edward…

So, that is three writers, in three different continents, writing about Vampires in three different ways… Should be something to look forward too…

*If you remember, I reviewed Bloodlines here: http://www.epublishabook.com/2011/10/28/book-review-bloodlines-by-skyla-dawn-cameron/#axzz1nuXKfHgn feel free to go back there to be reminded about how awesome I thought it was…

Second Chances [AW February blog chain]

21 Tuesday Feb 2012

Posted by in Musings, Wierdness

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So, the topic of this months blog chain for the AW forum is Second chances. I had to have a bit of a think about this topic as I actually could not think of an occasion where I could honestly say I remembered my being given a second chance. I am sure there were actually lots of occasions but my memory was not presenting them to me in an easy to access way. I suppose I could have talked about how I realised that I had actually met my wife several years before meeting her ‘for the first time’ but that seems a little too personal for a writing blog and, besides, I am not sure it quite fits the topic as intended. So, I was a little stuck…

Then it occured to me that this is the AW blog chain and late last year the AW moderators announced an anthology for members to submit to and I remembered that I had a second chance right there in that process.

First, some history…

Macallister Stone, the overall owner and moderator of Absolute Write announced a call for submissions for a speculative fiction anthology by members of the AW Forums. This thread became one of the longest forum posts in history* and currently stands at 3244 posts. I talk about it in an earlier post Mistress of Suspense. Flush with recent success in publishing (i.e. one short story published…)I decided to risk my luck against the no doubt thousands of really very good writers and see if I couldn’t get a story into that anthology. So, I tidied up Dances with Drums, a story set in a world I created for the LRP game Waypoint. It was SF(ish) and I was rather proud of it, though it had yet to be picked up. I sent this off and hoped for the best.

It got rejected.

But there were some rather nice comments given, including one which said that the world building was interesting and very well done. I had some problems with trying to give too much information in one sentence, however…

Given that the deadline was still far away and the rules allowed for this, I decided to throw another hat into the ring and sent off An Element of Desire, my contemporary fantasy which had also not yet found a home.

This, my second chance, fared somewhat better. I got a response saying that they really, really liked this and that it was being put forward to the ‘second round’. At this point, it basically came down to what space there was available for the stories to fit in the anthology. I was tentatively optimistic…

At this point MacAllister showed the world how she was a Mistress of Suspense (see the thread and my post for the full story) as she kept us all on tenterhooks for ages while, slowly, the second rounders were whittled down to a list that fitted into a normal sized anthology.

I didn’t make the final cut. Sometimes second chances don’t come out either. However, this showed me that there was a market for the things that I write. All I need to do is polish it up – tidy up some issues with grammar, for example. The one sale was not just a random fluke. Both stories went out to beta readers as soon as they were rejected and I am in the middle of revising them both for submission to other markets sometime in the near future. In the meantime, I am writing other things…

If you want to read the final anthology, it is now available for you to buy from a number of locations, all of which are linked from this url:

http://absolutewrite.com/absolute-visions/

When you buy it and read it, remember that these were the stories which beat my exceptional efforts. Therefore, they must be absolutely phenomenal…

*Well the longest I have ever seen…

If you want to follow and comment on the other posters in this blog chain, feel free to click the links below…

Turndog-Millionaire – http://turndog-millionaire.com/ (link to this month’s post)
orion_mk3 – http://nonexistentbooks.wordpress.com (link to this month’s post)
Ralph Pines – http://ralfast.wordpress.com/ (link to this month’s post)
magicmint – http://www.loneswing.com/ (link to this month’s post)
Tomspy77 – http://thomaswillamspychalski.wordpress.com/ (link to this month’s post)
LilGreenBookworm – http://themayhemofwritingsahm-style.blogspot.com/ (link to this month’s post)
LiterateParakeet – http://lesliesillusions.blogspot.com/ (link to this month’s post)
AFord – http://af12.webs.com/ (link to this month’s post)
writingismypassion – http://charityfaye.blogspot.com/ (link to this month’s post)
SuzanneSeese – http://www.viewofsue.blogspot.com/ (link to this month’s post)
Bogna – http://bemaslanka.wordpress.com/ (link to this month’s post)
kiwiviktor81 – http://storygenerator.net/ (link to this month’s post)
randi.lee – http://emotionalnovel.blogspot.com/ (link to this month’s post)
These Mean Streets – http://ohno-anotherwritingblog.blogspot.com/ (link to this month’s post)
areteus – https://lurkingmusings.wordpress.com/ (link to this month’s post)
Domoviye – http://living-working-in-china.blogspot.com/ (link to this month’s post)
pyrosama – http://matrix-hole.blogspot.com/ (link to this month’s post)
julzperri – http://www.fishandfrivolity.blogspot.com/ (link to this month’s post)
Nissie – http://www.paperheroes.net/ (link to this month’s post)
in_one – http://quirkythomas.blogspot.com/ (link to this month’s post)
sambgood – http://www.samanthabagood.com/ (link to this month’s post)

[Review] Being Human 1955

13 Monday Feb 2012

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My review of this week’s Being Human episode (Being Human: 1955 which so sounds like it should be a spin off series…) is now up for all to read on the Cult Britannia website. Feel free to pop over there and leave a comment saying what you thought of the episode or leave a comment or two here.

After a couple of comments on last week’s review, you may like to know that this week’s is guaranteed spoiler free. It is, however, still high in polyunsaturated comedy ritual magic which studies* have found may be linked to some disease or other. I suggest a diet of fish high in Omega 3s to overcome this.

*Well, vague, wibbly wobbly concerns turned into tabloid hysteria. Comedy ritual magic may also have caused the current ‘snowpocalypse’ according to some bloke I met in the pub yesterday. If a second bloke confirms it, I’ll be sure to let the Daily Mail know…

Guest Post: What’s in a Name

07 Tuesday Feb 2012

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I’ve been and gone and done it again… posted on another site…

This time I posted on the #amwriting site:

What’s in a name?

I talk about ways to overcome a very specific form of writer’s block that comes from trying to work out what to call your characters and invite you all to share your methods in the comments section…

Review – Being Human: Eve of the War (SE4 Ep 1)

06 Monday Feb 2012

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As you are all well aware by now (well, at least I hope you are…) I’ve done regular reviews of self published books over at the epublish a book site. I also occasionally on this blog comment on films, TV and other SFF stuff that I hear about and have an opinion on. Well, now I have expanded that small empire of reviewage into something a little bigger. A sort of medium sized, semi detached empirette with a bigger garden and room for an extension…

In other words, I am now doing reviews for Cult Britannia, a website all about British cult TV, and my first review can be seen if you click the direct link below:

http://www.cultbritannia.co.uk/2012/02/06/being-human-eve-of-the-war-review/

As things currently stand, I will be doing reviews of the first two episodes of Being Human series 4 at least. I may be doing reviews of other episodes in the series and possibly reviews of other shows and general opinion articles as things progress. Feel free to pop on over there and see what I had to say about episode one and leave a comment if you disagree with me (or even if you agree with me…).

Attack the Chavs

26 Thursday Jan 2012

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This month I have mostly been expanding my geek. In particular, thanks to Christmas related acquisitions, I have been exploring the role of the Chav in geek culture.

Now, you’d think that Chavs had no place in Geekdom. In terms of social norms, they are about as far removed as you can possibly get. It’s not even a case of Capulets and Montagues, for they are not ‘both alike in dignity’, but rather a case of Capulets and Daleks in that one is a bunch of brawling, blinged up aliens from outer space and the other ones are Daleks*. However, it does seem as if there is a fashion for chav culture in geeky stuff. It may have begun with the character of Rose Tyler in Doctor Who, that is certainly the earliest I remember any reference to it, but it has since grown into other places. Two in particular I would like to talk about are Misfits and Attack the Block.

I’ve been watching the first two series of Misfits (please, no spoilers for season 3!). For those who don’t know, it is a Channel 4 creation covering the stories of a group of young offenders who inadvertently manage to acquire superpowers through the medium of a ‘weird storm’. Unlike classic superhero tropes, where the superpower also seems to bring with it a strange mental disease which makes them think it would be a great idea to dress up in a silly costume and go out fighting crime, our young offenders are more inclined to keep their heads down and hope to avoid being caught for numerous crimes they commit (often by accident) after they acquire their powers**. In this it has similarities to NBC’s Heroes, another example of a trend to ground the superhero in modern clothes instead of lycra, but without the overt wealth and power of the characters in this American series. In Misfits, we have a mix of many classic British TV shows. There are elements of teen dramas like Hollyoaks and Skins***, the ‘scummy underclass’ bits of Shameless, bits that are reminiscent of Queer as Folk and a nice line in sarcastic humour which hits many of the geek buttons (as well as some geek references).

What I found fascinating about this programme from a writer’s point of view is the way in which the characters are portrayed. The writers manage to make them sympathetic without losing any of the edge. They do some terrible things, get into a lot of trouble, have sex and take drugs all over the place and this is all after they have been arrested and charged for ASBO worthy crimes and yet you still feel for them and see them as three dimensional characters rather than thin ciphers. I think part of this is based on the concept of the antihero, which I will talk about in more detail later. They are classic antihero material – managing to come out doing the right thing despite not starting out with necessarily those intentions. As I said above, they don’t want to save the world or even stop people with rogue powers causing trouble for the community but they often end up doing just that in the end. Sometimes, they have to do really bad things in order to ‘do the right thing’ and that is another trait of the antihero – they are often followers of the maxim that the end justifies the means.

Attack the Block was the other chav/underclass geekery I sampled recently. This is an alien invasion story but instead of being set in a far distant, alien planet or somewhere even more outre (like America) this is set on a council estate in London. From the publicity you expect a far more comedic venture. It compares itself with Shaun of the Dead for a start and even has that film’s ‘comic sidekick’ Nick Frost in it. With this marketing, you expect a lot more blatant humour but while there is comedy in this, the overall effect is more Dog Soldiers, with its grim and violent gallows humour, than the occasionally slapstick Shaun of the Dead**** Nick Frost, despite being billed quite highly, for example, is barely in this – gaining less screen time than the female lead (Jodie Whittaker) who gets barely any billing. Instead, the heroic focus falls onto a gang of juvenile delinquents and in particular on their leader, Moses. John Boyega plays Moses with a great deal of talent. He starts off as a fairly unlikable character. He’s the archetype of the ‘hoodie wearing juvenile delinquent’ that the Daily Mail is always talking about. As the film progresses we see the layers of this laconic and brooding character get peeled away and we slowly begin to see him in a more sympathetic light. Finally, as the film draws to a close, he is revealed to be the true hero of the film with possibly one of the best ‘hero shots’ ever as he walks out of a lift, wielding a weapon.

What I found interesting about Moses is how he compares with Shaun of the Dead’s Shaun. The two are typical of an anti hero and a hero. In the case of Shaun, in order to become the hero he has to overcome his middle class uncertainties and focus on a goal – that of surviving a night of Zombie hell. Much of what he has to overcome is fear of what others think of him. This to my mind places him firmly in the role of a hero. Moses, on the other hand, has different internal conflicts. He has to come to terms with the bad things he has done in the past, fight the darkness within and overcome prejudice and assumptions about his character by others before he can be the hero. This makes him more of an antihero, someone who starts out almost appearing to be a villain but who undergoes a process of change which reveals him to be not what was first assumed. The same applies to the characters in Misfits. Again, they begin as criminals with a variety of bad deeds to their names (and continue to perform many of these bad deeds throughout) but, through luck mostly, they are placed in a position where they get the chance to be heroic.

I do wonder if this is the current appeal of the Chav in geekdom. The chance to see what is a fairly well used and rather negative stereotype being subverted by good writing and acting into something actually quite positive.

*Humour. Sort of.

** Particularly, the murder of two probation officers.

*** The explicit sex scenes and rampant drug taking among the teen generation being the main link here.

**** Though there are geek references galore in this from references to Aliens to several subtle nods to famous SF writers in the street and block names. Press pause when you see the map of the block flash up (very briefly) on screen. Someone spent a lot of time and effort designing that map specifically so that geeks would press pause and have mini geekgasms. Do not disappoint them.