I haven’t done a fan art post for awhile, and considering my interests lately it seemed logical to put together some great images of our favorite God of Mischief, Loki Laufeyson (or Odinson, if you prefer):
A collection of images wouldn’t be complete without Loki in the Horns (although they’re kind of cropped out here). I like his magisterial, slightly condescending look in this one.
Feyjane on Deviantart.com
The Jotun within wants out!
Kerdzevadzarte on Deviant Art
I’m not sure what’s going on here, but it’s a striking portrait of Jotun Loki.
Undying, by Hazel Jankowski
The King of Jotunheim is magnificent.
Love is a dagger…
Boom Da Funk on Twitter
There’s something about TVA Loki that I just adore–maybe it’s the fact that he can make those boring suits look fabulous, lol.
jcateart
I love every incarnation of Loki, no matter what universe he’s in, and these artists captured some of my favorite aspects of him. What do you think of these images? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!
In books this week, I’ve finished Loki: Where Mischief Lies on my Kindle. I’ve since ordered the sequel called Loki: Where Mischief Ends, and since it’s only available in paperback, I ordered the first book in paperback, too, for a matching set, lol. Can’t wait to start the second book.
I’m about two-thirds done with The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. I love this book; it’s lovely and strange and keeps you wondering “What is the truth?” I’ll probably finish it by Monday, when we have our first book club meeting about it.
Well, unfortunately I’ve set Revan aside for now. I’m just not into it right now. It’s the first time in over a year and a half I’m not reading a Star Wars book. I’d been looking forward to Queen’s Hope, by E.K. Johnston, the third in a Padme Amidala trilogy. It was originally set to come out this November, but it’s been pushed up to April 2022. 😦 So now I’m not sure what’s next for Star Wars reading. Stay tuned.
The Elder was one my favorite shorts from Visions. I love this Jedi Master (whose name I can’t remember, lol). He reminds me of Qui Gon Jinn, who is one of my favorite Jedi.
So I’ve just finished watching Visions, and it was…interesting. As I’ve said before, I’m not an anime fan, so it was mostly out of curiosity that I watched. And as I suspected, it was hit or miss with me. There were a few that were quite good and that I enjoyed: The Duel, The Ninth Jedi, and The Elder were my particular favorites. Only one was painful to watch, and that was Tatooine Rhapsody. Unbearable, lol. The rest were fine, but didn’t wow me overmuch. I know there’s a novel called Ronin that will continue the story began in The Duel, and it may end up on my Star Wars reading list. We’ll see. I’m probably going to do a brief post of my thoughts on each short sometime soon.
So, Marvel: I absolutely loved the latest What If? episode, about party boy Thor. It was light and funny, and Frost Giant Loki is probably the best thing ever, lol. But it really punctuates how relationships have a huge impact on who we become. Without Loki as a mischievous brother competing with him for their father’s attention, it was Thor who became the mischievous, irresponsible one. And his relationship with Frost Giant Loki, his “brother from another mother” is swell. And Loki actually seems happy for once (thank you, Marvel!). I got a hoot out of Captain Marvel’s “Hey Whitesnake!” which you probably won’t get unless you’re familiar with 80’s hair bands. It was just a fun romp, the total opposite of the tragic Dr. Strange episode (which I also loved). This show can really do anything, and it’s gold, lol. Oh, and I have no idea what those robots at the end were. Even the Watcher was surprised.
This made my heart happy.
So my X-Men marathon isn’t quite complete, but I’ve watched all the major X-Men-centric movies, up through Dark Phoenix. I haven’t watched The Wolverine, Logan, or the Deadpool movies yet. Since they’re not on Disney+ I have to pay for them individually on Youtube, which is fine, but I’ll space those out more. Really enjoying these movies, no matter how corny some may be. I’ll watch anything with Fassbender in it, lol.
Finally, I just want to do a shout-out to our lovely Ewan McGregor for winning the Emmy for Halston. The series isn’t for everyone, but I loved it, and there’s no denying he fully deserved the award for his amazing performance.
That’s it for this week. What’s been entertaining you lately? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!
I was thrilled to see recently some revealed covers for the next wave of High Republic books that will be coming out starting in January 2022, and thought I’d share them here. To recap, here are the first two waves of Phase One (Called the Light of the Jedi):
Phase One, Wave One:
Light of the Jedi (Adult), by Charles Soule
Into the Dark (YA), by Claudia Gray
A Test of Courage (Middle Grade), by Justina Ireland
Phase One, Wave Two:
The Rising Storm (Adult), by Cavan Scott
Out of the Shadows (YA), by Justina Ireland
Race to Crashpoint Tower (Middle Grade), by Daniel Jose Older
I’ve read all of the Adult and YA books, but only one of the Middle Grade books, A Test of Courage, and only because I accidentally ordered it on Kindle, lol. It was actually pretty good! Here’s the next upcoming wave:
Phase One, Wave Three
This is the Adult novel. Looks like Stellan Gios, Orla Jareni, Bell Zettifar, Burryaga and Indeera Stokes.
Young Adult novel. I believe that’s Padawan Reath Silas and his master, Cohmac Vitus.
Middle Grade novel. Vernestra Rwoh and her Padawan Imri.
There’s a ton of High Republic comics out there, too, but I don’t read those. I try to keep up with the events in them, but I can’t always do that. One I’d love to read, however, is this upcoming comic with Marchion Ro in it. He’s a fascinating character, and I’d love to know more about him.
That’s Loden Greatstorm’s lightsaber, by the way. Thief!
The three Phases of the High Republic are:
Phase One: Light of the Jedi
Phase Two: Quest of the Jedi
Phase Three: Trial of the Jedi
Each Phase has three waves, I’m assuming, so that means a lot more High Republic books, and a lot more great stories! What I really love about the High Republic is that it focuses on the Jedi, for the most part, which is my favorite part of Star Wars. Anything Jedi, and I’m on board, lol.
What do you think of these covers? Do you like the High Republic books? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!
So my book club picked a new book to read this coming month, and it’s The Snow Child, by Eowyn Ivey (and yes, she was named after the Tolkien character). It was a finalist for the Pulitzer in Fiction, and it’s about a childless homesteading couple in Alaska in 1920. Life is hard, but in a moment of levity they build a snow child during a snowstorm. The next day, the snow child is gone, but a real child appears seemingly out of nowhere to enter their lives. It just sounded intriguing and magical to me, and I’m a few chapters in and I like it already. I can’t wait to dig deeper into this story and find out what happens.
I’m sad to say I haven’t gotten very far in the Star Wars book Revan. It just hasn’t captured me, at least not yet. I’m going to continue trying to get through it, just out of pure stubbornness, but we’ll see how it goes.
Another book that I’ve been reading that definitely captures me is Loki: Where Mischief Lies, by Mackenzie Lee. I read it a few months back and really enjoyed it. I’ve since read a few other Loki books and want to write a post about them, but wanted to refresh my memory on this one. I’d also like to read the sequel soon, called Loki: Where Mischief Ends. These are books about Marvel Loki, who we all know and love, and really is my favorite version of Loki, though he’s only very loosely based on mythological Loki (who is also quite fun and naughty, of course).
In other Marvel news, the latest What If? episode concerns Killmonger. I never liked Killmonger at all, and I still don’t. What a jerk, lol. Like every episode, it was still quite good, but the only question I have is….then what? Pepper and Shuri are on to Killmonger, and that’s great, but I want to know what happens. And because Tony is dead (again) does that mean they’re doomed by Thanos? Probably, like all the other timelines. We need Tony to snap his fingers.
In my X-Men marathon (in release date order), I just finished X-Men: First Class, the first one with the young Charles Xavier and Magneto, played by the lovelies James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender. I loved it, though it introduced a few inconsistencies with the original movies; I can live with them, though. Next is The Wolverine (not to be confused with X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which came just before this–also great). I’m really enjoying this marathon!
Lastly, I want to mention the Hawkeye trailer. I’m so happy that Hawkeye is getting his own show, he’s one of my favorites. I think it takes place when Clint absents himself from the Avengers during Infinity War to be with his family. But of course, it’s not all domestic bliss, as he seems to be pulled away from them by more bad guys. And he’s training someone new to take his place. I love the Christmas vibes; and is that an Avengers musical I see? Lol. Awesome. I think this one will be somewhere below Loki and Wandavision, but above The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Can’t wait!
That’s it this week. What’s been entertaining you? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!
It’s no secret I LOVED the Loki series, and I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about it, lol. Some of the things that I think about concerns Sylvie, and while we all still have questions about her and her life, I thought I’d articulate mine here:
Did Sylvie have Thor for a brother? We only have a little bit of information about Sylvie’s childhood, and she herself says she doesn’t remember a lot. One thing she doesn’t mention is Thor for a brother. In fact, I get the feeling she was an only child. Adopted, yes, and Odin and Frigga told her she was adopted (unlike Loki). But she never talks about siblings, which is something I think she’d remember. Without a brother like Thor to compete with (as Loki did continuously), her childhood was probably idyllic. Probably why she’s so furious it was taken away from her, understandably.
What was Sylvie’s nexus event? This is an obvious question that we have no answer for, but we can speculate. She must have done something to cause the TVA to come after her. I’ve seen fans consider the idea that Sylvie (probably as a result of her happy childhood; see above) was on track to be a good Loki–in other words, a Loki who doesn’t cause trouble, who isn’t a villain that makes others become their best selves. And the Sacred Timeline demanded that Loki do this, that he/she be the villain. I feel like there’s more to it than that, though. Sylvie asks Renslayer what her nexus event was, and Renslayer replies, “I don’t remember.” But we know darn well she remembers, she’s just not saying. Ironically, if Sylvie was going to be a good Loki, it’s that very thing that causes the TVA to rip her from her childhood and create the vengeful, perhaps even selfish, being that she is. They created a monster that tore them down, out of something good.
Does Sylvie really love Loki? Clearly, the mission has always been more important to Sylvie than anything or anyone else. She’s focused like a laser on her vengeance. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t have feelings for Loki (grudgingly). But it seemed to me at first that Loki had more feelings for her than she had for him, and it didn’t bode well. I just knew his heart was going to get broken, lol. When Loki gets pruned right in front of her, there’s almost no emotion on her face. And he was just about to bear his soul to her, and she had no idea what he was talking about, lol. Later, when she’s talking to Renslayer, Renslayer says “What if I told you we could get Loki back?” Sylvie says she doesn’t believe her, but even so, how will that help her find who’s behind the TVA? Or when she’s in the car with Mobius, and he says maybe Loki is still alive, she replies “It doesn’t matter.” She’s so focused on the mission, I just don’t see any room for love. Yeah, she kisses him, but was it real or just to distract him while she grabbed the tempad to throw him back to the TVA? Believe me, my sentimental heart wants to believe that she does love him–in her own way, I guess. But Loki wanted nothing more than for her to be okay, and she–well, she threw him away. It all makes me want to get on board with the Loki/Mobius shippers, lol. On the other hand, when Renslayer asks her if she has any good memories, Sylvie replies “Just one, really.” And we’re to assume it was the moment she and Loki held hands and looked into each other’s eyes on Lamentis, seconds away from destruction and death. So my verdict is that she cares for him, but isn’t willing to go any farther than that, at least until the mission was finished–when she killed He Who Remains. But after? We’ll have to see in Season Two!
Those are my main questions about Sylvie, and I really hope we get more answers and insight in Season Two. Hurry up, Disney+!
Since I finished four books last week, I had some decisions to make on what I wanted to read next. With all the hype about the rebooted KOTOR game coming out, I decided it was time for me to delve into that era of Star Wars. So I ordered the book Revan, and I’m a few chapters in. Too soon to really make any pronouncements, but people keep telling me I’ll love it. I hope so! I’m not a gamer, so I’ve never played the game and don’t know much about that period; the book will be my source for the story.
I also started and finished the second book in Lyra Wolf’s Loki series called The Order of Chaos. I’m really enjoying this series, and this second installment had me ripping through the chapters, much more quickly than the first book (although that was quite good, too). This one sees Loki escaping from his 500-year torment of dripping snake venom, bent on getting revenge on the gods through Ragnorok–until he finds out Sigyn is still alive. Then he must work to stop what’s already in motion, meeting up with his children along the way–Hel in the Underworld, Fenrir the Wolf, and Jormangandr the Snake; all the while trying to win Sigyn back from an Elf named Falael (who Loki calls “Falafel”). For me it was a real page-turner.
In Marvel, the What If? episode with Stephen Strange was so good I had to rewatch Dr. Strange. It really is quite wonderful, and I can’t wait for the next Dr. Strange movie (next March, I think?). He shows up in the Spiderman movie in November, too, but there’s something afoot there, lol. Can’t wait to find out what it is.
The latest What If? was….interesting. I suppose it had to happen sometime–zombies. I was a Walking Dead fan for awhile, and have nothing against zombies, but it just seems like a cliched sort of subject these days. But after I rolled my eyes, I settled in to watch and enjoyed it nonetheless. I especially loved Scott Lange’s head with Dr. Strange’s cape, lol. This is really turning out to be a fun show.
So I was casting around for another show to watch that fit my mood and was scrolling through Disney+ (the only streaming service I have) and decided to do another Marvel movie marathon but this time with X-Men. I had seen the first X-Men movie in 2000 (wow–21 years ago!) and it was one of the very few “comic book” movies I’d ever watched. I remember really liking it; I loved how it showcased people who are born differently and the discrimination they face because of it. I might have seen the second one, but not many more after that. But now I want to watch all of them! I watched the first one the other night, and really enjoyed it. It helped that there are some fabulous actors involved that I just love (Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan, and Hugh Jackman, just to name a few). So really looking forward to getting these Marvel “Legacy” movies under my belt! Not sure about the Fantastic Four yet–we’ll see, lol. But once I’m done with watching X-Men, I’ll do a post on what I thought of each film (briefly), similar to what I did with my last Marvel movie marathon.
Looking ahead to some Star Wars shows, I’ll probably check out the Lego Halloween special Terrifying Tales. I’m not a huge Lego fan, but I loved the Holiday Special last year, and if this one is anything like that, it’ll be great. It centers around Poe Dameron, who I had wanted more of in the Holiday one, he was so funny. And of course, there’s Visions. Again, not a huge anime fan, but I’ll be tuning in out of curiosity.
So that’s it for now. Hope you have a great weekend and see you next time!
Way back when (in the 90’s) I was obsessed with my first high fantasy series of books called The Wheel of Time, by Robert Jordan. I picked up the first book of the series, The Eye of the World, and was enthralled. The first few books were already out, and I eagerly and quickly devoured them, one after another, getting caught up in the drama and magic of Aes Sedai, the Dragon Reborn, the One Power, and all the great characters that made this series so fun.
The original cover of the first book in the series.
The series ended up being fourteen books long, but I only made it through 6 or 7, if I remember correctly. I loved them, but I was getting impatient for closure, and it just seemed like it was never going to end, questions were never going to be answered, and things were just getting more complicated and confusing than ever, lol. So I let it go, and moved on to other things, other books, other fantasy series. But The Wheel of Time remains an important milestone in my love for fantasy. That’s why I’m thrilled to see it finally being brought to life in a TV series on Amazon Prime. Do I have Amazon Prime? No. Will I get it to watch this series? Maybe, lol.
I’ve watched the teaser trailer, and it looks like quite the spectacle. Will it be good? I hope so. It looks promising. Does it make me want to re-read the books, perhaps even finish the series? Maybe if it wasn’t fourteen books! (The author, Robert Jordan, died before he could finish the series; Brandon Sanderson had to take his ideas and finish it for him).
Here’s the teaser trailer:
The series has a release date of November 19th, 2021.
Have you read The Wheel of Time? Do you plan on watching the show? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!
So I finally caught up with all of my reading and finished four, count ’em, four books this week!
Out of the Shadows, by Justina Ireland. I finally finished this YA High Republic Star Wars book, mainly featuring young Jedi Knight Vernestra Rwoh and a young hauler named Sylvestri Yarrow. I’m really enjoying the High Republic stories, and this one’s not bad, but I also felt it was kind of all over the place. There seemed to be a lot going on, and yet nothing really seemed to happen, if that makes sense. There was a lot of characterization, which I like, but the plot was a bit dull, concerning a possible Nihil weapon being built in an out of the way sector of space. But it’s about Jedi, which is what I love about the High Republic, so I’ll keep reading!
Freefall, by Alex Segura. This is the other YA Star Wars novel I’ve been working through, this one about a young Poe Dameron and his time with the Spice Runners of Kijimi. This one was fine, as well, a solid story about 16-year-old Poe wanting to get away from the boredom of Yavin 4 and kind of accidentally getting involved in the Spice Runner organization. The only reason he really stays is because of Zorii Bliss, but she is clearly more invested in the group than he is. It’s a decent coming of age story for Poe, when he finally decides what path he wants to pursue in his life.
Truth and Other Lies, by Lyra Wolf. This is the latest Loki novel I’ve read, and it concerns mythical Loki and his relationships with the other gods of Asgard. This one is borderline paranormal romance, and it seems Loki’s slept with quite a few of them, including Sif, Thor’s wife, and Odin himself. But it’s when he meets the human woman Sygin that he falls head over heels. It’s also a sign that Ragnorok is coming, with Loki at its center, as The Destroyer of Worlds. Quite entertaining, actually. It’s the first of a trilogy, and I’ll be starting the second book, The Order of Chaos, soon. Here Loki is ginger-haired and green-eyed, incredibly vain but witty and passionate.
I Was Anastasia, by Ariel Lawhon. This is a novel my book club is reading, and it’s split between the events leading up to the murder of the Romanov family in 1918, and the story of Anna Anderson, the woman who claimed to be Anastasia. Since Anderson was proven a fraud in 2007 through DNA results, the book was less about “is she or isn’t she?” and more about “how in the world did this woman pretend to be Anastasia for 60 years? And why?” Although I was more interested in the real Anastasia and the lead-up to the murders, this was an interesting and ultimately heartbreaking read, for both Anastasias.
With all these books finished, what’s next? Well, the next Loki book, as I mentioned, as well as the next book club book, which we’ll choose in a few days. But I was also thinking about exploring the Old Republic in the Star Wars universe. I haven’t done that yet, and since there will be no more High Republic books out until January (except the comics) I thought it was high time. So I’ve ordered the first Revan book by Drew Karpyshyn. I think I’m ready to dive into that era of Star Wars.
On the Marvel front, I watched All Hail the King, a short (15 min) film with the Mandarin aka Trevor Slattery, the “villain”/actor from Ironman 3, and his time in prison. At first it seemed kind of pointless, if diverting, but then it got to the point in linking to the new Marvel movie Shang Chi and the Ten Rings. Oh, okay. So there’s that. (I haven’t seen Shang Chi yet, and probably won’t until it comes out on Disney+. But don’t quote me on that).
Dr. Strange prepares to face….Dr. Strange.
I much more enjoyed the new What If? episode with Dr. Strange. These shows have been fun and entertaining, with characters switching roles or what have you, but this one was really quite moving and heartbreaking. Besides Loki, Dr. Strange is my favorite Marvel character, and this is my favorite What If? by far. This one wasn’t so much about a hero turning evil (although that’s what happens), but about grief and the impact it has on an individual, and the entire universe. Really good stuff. I’m just wondering who the heck The Watcher is, to be honest. What’s his purpose? He can’t interfere, he can’t change things. He’s not a god, as he tells Dr. Strange, the first time he’s actually spoken to anyone he watches. I guess he’s just a celestial observer of some sort, lol.
Finally, in my quest to acquaint myself with more Tom Hiddleston work, I discovered a gem called OnlyLovers Left Alive. TH and his Marvel co-star Tilda Swinton (The Sorceress Supreme–who happened to show up in the What If episode above) are modern-day vampires that have been alive for several centuries. Now, I haven’t been into vampires since Anne Rice in the 90s, but this film was really quite fabulous. It meanders along like a dream, with Adam and Eve (yeah, those are their names, lol) doing their vampire thing–Adam is a musician, creating music (anonymously) and tinkering with technology in an abandoned part of Detroit, while his wife Eve lives in Tangier with her multitudes of books, hanging out with her vampire friend Christopher Marlowe (yeah, that one) who apparently wrote all of Shakespeare’s works. They don’t kill people for blood (not anymore, anyway) and have to find it some other way, especially since most people these days have contaminated blood (alcohol, drugs, chemicals, etc.) Mostly they just hang around and listen to music and talk about Life and stuff. But then Eve’s wild sister Ava shows up and causes trouble. I absolutely loved it! Hipster vampires, lol. Oh, and I love how Adam calls humans “zombies.”
Adam and Eve chillin’.
That’s it for this week. What’s been entertaining you? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!
Your source for everything Obi-Wan Kenobi. This is the companion blog to the @AllThingsKenobi Twitter. Because our love doesn't always fit into 280 characters.
Star Wars and Other Obsessions 