Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves And Found Family
Spoiler Alert – This post will discuss the movie Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and might have some (mild) spoilers. You might wish to skip this post if you haven’t yet watched this movie.
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I have been catching up on movies we’ve missed and one of the movies I most wanted to watch was Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.
I had heard great things about this fantasy movie. Plus Chris Pine, according to rumor, writes romance (under a secret pen name).
Dungeons & Dragons did NOT disappoint. It was fun and light and has a happy ending (and dragons) And it made me cry. I was THAT emotionally involved.
It is also a great movie for writers who want to craft found family stories to study. (This isn’t much of a spoiler as the ‘Honor Among Thieves’ bit in the movie’s title tells us it is a found family story.)
The main characters are outcasts. Some of them are looking to reunite with biological family so there’s a solid exploration of biological vs found family. The group bonds more and more until they become a solid found family unit. At the end, most of them are together and the one member who isn’t physically with them is talked about so they are emotionally present. And we know they will meet up with this absent being in the future.
It meets all the major expectations for a found family story and it does this in a creative, fun way.
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Strive For Forever
This cyborg seeks to vanquish an ancient entity and save his curvy human female.
Euryale made a terrible mistake. She opened a container she shouldn’t have touched and released one of the oldest lifeforms in existence. That all-powerful entity is now utilizing her as its host body and is slowly draining her energy.
Soon, she’ll die.
Euryale has accepted this fate and is determined to use her remaining moments in the universe to save as many lives as she can.
Her plans do NOT include a smoldering-hot, poetry-wielding cyborg willing to decimate entire planets to save her.
While under the control of the Humanoid Alliance, Strive, a K Model cyborg, disobeyed direct orders and refused to kill on their behalf. If he hadn’t escaped their cruel clutches, his defiance would have led to his death.
The male knowingly risked that fate to save the lifespans of complete strangers.
There is nothing he wouldn’t do to protect Euryale. The curvy human female is his genetic match, the one being he is destined to defend.
And she is in danger.
Strive would break every vow, cross every boundary, risk absolutely everything to keep her from harm.
Including battle a deity no one has ever defeated.
***
Strive For Forever is Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.
It features an inspired cyborg, a joke-cracking scientist, and an all-powerful deity with plans of his own.
Buy Now:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/Strive-Forever-SciFi-Cyborg-Romance-ebook/dp/B0BSMXYHPC
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Strive-Forever-SciFi-Cyborg-Romance-ebook/dp/B0BSMXYHPC
Amazon AUS:
https://www.amazon.com.au/Strive-Forever-SciFi-Cyborg-Romance-ebook/dp/B0BSMXYHPC
Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/strive-for-forever/id6445480449
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/strive-for-forever-cynthia-sax/1142963331
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/strive-for-forever
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1322272
Topics: Movie Reviews | Comments Off on Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves And Found Family
Wonder Woman 1984 And Tightening Scenes
Spoiler Alert – This post will talk about Wonder Woman 1984 and it will involve spoilers. If you haven’t yet watched this movie, please consider skipping this post.
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I recently watched Wonder Woman 1984. We enjoyed it. It was light(er) and colorful and entertaining.
The script, however, did have major issues.
Some reading buddies have asked me in the past what I mean about a plot being ‘tight.’ That’s easiest illustrated by using a plot that ISN’T tight.
Wonder Woman 1984 is a great (or, rather, bad – grins) example of this.
At the beginning of the movie, for example, a jewelry store is being robbed. The thieves aren’t seeking to steal jewelry. They want the antiques being sold out of a back room.
That’s a very specific goal…especially for thieves who are portrayed as being inept and unsophisticated. They don’t seem to be the types to choose hard-to-resell antiquities over easy-to-fence diamonds and gold.
I assumed someone hired them. Yet they aren’t searching for a specific item when they rob the place and they clearly can’t take everything. Some of the items are too large to be easily or discreetly carried out of the store. They appeared to be stealing random sh*t.
If the thieves were hired by someone, we never find out who did that hiring. Or what that person was seeking to find.
We never see or hear about the thieves past that early scene. They are throwaway characters.
The two purposes of the scene seemed to be showcasing Wonder Woman’s powers and transferring the dream stone, via the FBI, to the Smithsonian where Wonder Woman works.
That’s a loosely written scene. It does the bare minimum, moves one plot point forward.
A tighter scene would have the thieves working for the villain or for an alternate villain. That they were chosen by the villain would relay things to us about this big baddie, about his connections, his personality, his goals.
We’d then see the thieves a few more times during the movie. The thieves might reveal or reflect more aspects of the villain.
Or maybe the thieves flip on the villain and align themselves with Wonder Woman. And then they reveal or reflects aspects of our heroine.
There are a gazillion other ways to make this scene do more. Maybe the happy little girl Wonder Woman saves appears in the world is going to Hell scene (instead of a random family). Or there is a running joke about shopping malls being dangerous.
That would tie this early scene to future scenes. It would mean more, would make the plot more cohesive, be ‘tighter’.
The movie would feel like one work of art instead of a series of random scenes.
***
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Under Strain
A damaged cyborg warrior is hunted by a peace-loving human female.
***
Strain is severely malfunctioning. The D Model cyborg was the sole survivor after a horrific decision was made by his cruel manufacturers. He hates all humans, and when he attacks one who is under his cyborg leader’s protection, he is reprimanded, stripped of his weapons, and told to watch and not actively participate in the next mission.
That mission takes place on a small remote planet. Its lush terrain should only be inhabited by the cyborgs they were sent to rescue, but Strain senses another presence on the surface. She is watching him, tracking him, hunting him.
A fully operational cyborg would end her lifespan.
Strain wants to claim her. Forever.
Kamyelle is the only one left of her kind. Warriors have killed the other nonviolent human inhabitants of her planet. She survived…barely…by hiding in the trees, observing her enemies, and covering herself with lifeform scan-concealing mud.
When a handsome, gray-skinned, brilliant-blue-eyed male arrives, surrounded by weapon-carrying warriors, she has to save him. Warriors harm and they kill. That is what they do.
She won’t allow them to hurt Strain.
***
Under Strain is a STANDALONE Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.
It features a broken warrior, a human female who thinks he’s perfect, and velociraptor-like dinosaurs who view them both as light, tasty snacks.
Buy Now:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08R322L7S
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08R322L7S
Amazon AUS:
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B08R322L7S
Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/under-strain/id1545957749
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/under-strain-cynthia-sax/1138505613
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/under-strain
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/10602
Topics: Movie Reviews | Comments Off on Wonder Woman 1984 And Tightening Scenes
SciFi Saturday News – Water On Mars, Realism In SciFi Movies And Star Wars Rumors Confirmed
I’m always looking for ideas for my next SciFi romance. Here are some of the inspiring real world stories I’ve seen this week.
Water On Mars
The big news was, of course, the photos of water on Mars.
“Dark, narrow, 100 metre-long streaks on Mars, believed to have been formed by flowing water, are seen in an image produced by NASA.”
The images in this article are sure to inspire you.
Ridley Scott And Realism In SciFi Movies
I love this interview with Ridley Scott
“The fantasy of space, which is now also a reality, is a marvelous platform and a form of theatre. Honestly, almost anything goes. But, if anything goes whether you do a play, a book or a film, you’ve got to actually make your own rule book and stick within the confines of the rules you make. So, if I’m doing space fantasy like Alien or Prometheus, I’ve got to draw up the sidelines of the rule book and stick within them. It’s still a fantasy because it’s never going to happen. (The Martian) is a lot easier because, actually, you can lean very heavily on the science in the book. This was a much more realistic movie.”
Possible NASA Projects For Launch In 2020
Want to tie your SciFi Romance into existing NASA projects? They’ve announced possible projects for launch in 2020.
“Among those selected for this stage of funding are the Near Earth Object Camera (NEOCam), which promises to discover “ten times more near-Earth objects” than have been discovered so far, and “Lucy,” which aims to scout Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids to learn more about the birth of our solar system.”
Admiral Ackbar Returning In Star Wars: The Force Awakens
The rumors that Admiral Ackbar, the fishlike character from the original Star Wars, is returning to The Force Awakens are confirmed. Tim Rose, the actor, is also raving about the movie.
“…if you were a fan of the original three, you’re going to absolutely love this one to bits.”
Star Trek Beyond Filming
Star Trek Beyond has started filming in Dubai. Why Dubai?
“I am always good for discovering new places and this is such a stunning city.” “I woke up this morning, opened up the blinds and looked out. It looks like whatever tomorrow will be. It’s future-land!”
Which SciFi stories are inspiring you?
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Half Man. Half Machine. All Hers.
Rage, the Humanoid Alliance’s most primitive cyborg, has two goals—kill all of the humans on his battle station and escape to the Homeland. The warrior has seen the darkness in others and in himself. He believes that’s all he’s been programmed to experience.
Until he meets Joan.
Joan, the battle station’s first female engineer, has one goal—survive long enough to help the big sexy cyborg plotting to kill her. Rage might not trust her but he wants her. She sees the passion in his eyes, the caring in his battle-worn hands, the gruff emotion in his voice.
When Joan survives the unthinkable, Rage’s priorities are tested. Is there enough room in this cyborg’s heart for both love and revenge?
Buy Now:
On Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Releasing-Rage-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B00ZOL1DRO
On ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-releasingrage-1850041-340.html
On B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/releasing-rage-cynthia-sax/1122455646
Topics: SciFi News | 2 Comments »
