Film and Book Reviews for 2012
Films released in 2012
In a fantasy Scotland full of bears, kilts, and haggis, Princess Merida fights for the right to decide her own fate.
The odds are against Katniss when she volunteers to take part in a vicious televised fight to the death.
Marvel superheroes team up to save the world from Loki and his exceptionally bad taste in headgear.
Barnabas Collins may be a bloodthirsty vampire, but he always puts his family first.
Earth is once again in danger from alien attack, but Agent J is on his own unless he can go back in time and save a young Agent K.
Snow White does battle with a vain, evil queen obsessed with expensive and ridiculous couture.
Does my kingdom look big in this? Queen Ravenna gets upset when her magic mirror doesn't tell her what she wants to hear.
Five friends take a break at an isolated cabin in the woods, where dark forces start to lay into them.
Bilbo Baggins leaves his comfy home to go on an adventure, little realising how much it will change him. But storm clouds are gathering over Middle Earth as he joins the quest to retake the dwarf homeland. The first in a trilogy.
Bella and Edward fight for their family against ancient vampires who will destroy those they declare to be abominations.
The Greek gods are losing their powers, and Titans want revenge for their long imprisonment. The sequel to Clash of the Titans.
Books published in 2012
In a world of looping rails stretching to the horizon, a young man sets out to discover what is at the end of the tracks.
When the Detonations hit, those unprotected were left with horrifying mutations. The Pure inside the Dome were the lucky few. But is anyone safe and untainted in this post-apocalyptic world?
A rogue spirit is possessing the souls of the living in London, causing havoc. Emily must find the culprit, save her friends, and deal with the grief of falling in love with a ghost. The second volume in the Emily Chambers Spirit Medium Trilogy.
The world of Shale is about to fall to darkness, but the remedy seems worse than the sickness. The second book of The Nightbound Land.
A short story collection featuring giant spiders, people who keep hearts in plastic boxes, a woman who gives birth to furniture, and other strange situations.
An exploration of the psychology of action and its effects on our mood, mindset, and habits.
This book explores the science of self-control, and examines the evidence for many methods for boosting willpower.
A young woman returns to her family after a long absence. But can she walk back into her old life after all she has seen?
Alexia is soulless, which means she stands between the supernatural world and the human one. A graphic novel.
A smart zombie tries to sort out her love life, but it's more complicated than usual when the world is about to end. The fourth iZombie graphic novel.
A cursed woman becomes a governess to a very peculiar child in this dark fairytale.
Tanyana wonders who she can trust with her secrets when even her body seems intent on betraying her. The second in The Veiled Worlds series.
In an alternative Elizabethan England magic and treachery abound, and the theatrical players are not the only ones putting on an act.
Spirit medium Emily is faced with losing her beloved ghost, Jacob, along with her only income, unless she can solve the mystery of the fading spirit world and disappearing ghosts. The third book in the Emily Chambers Spirit Medium trilogy.
Superheroes, robots and strange memory blocks baffle a private eye in this retro mystery.
An examination of how data in clinical trials is polluted and the factors corrupting modern medicine.
Trouble is brewing for the thief who once stole a giant, and his developing conscience is not helping him to escape it. Book two of the Tales of Easie Damasco.
A privileged young woman goes searching for the reason her life is charmed, but her curiosity takes her to another world, and mortal danger.
Half of America has been overrun by zombies. So why has one man ignored the evacuation order and stayed to put them down?
An anthology of travel stories exploring strange and uncharted reaches of the world.
In the future robots have the ability to reproduce and think for themselves. But how long can mankind get away with treating thinking, feeling beings as property?
One world has already fallen to the darkness, and the people responsible have more than one universe to hide in. The second part of the Ragnarok trilogy.
A young woman tries to hide her identity, whilst her home on the skeleton of a dragon is threatened in this young adult novella.
A group of people strike westwards in search of justice, revenge, their abducted families, or simply a way to earn a living. A stand-alone novel set in the world of the First Law series.
Warden reluctantly sets out to find a missing woman. The second in the Low Town series.
A beautiful assassin must secure her freedom by winning a contest against other thieves and killers. But a year as a slave has left her weakened and out of practice.
A young reporter wonders whether he has been handed a gift or a curse in this modern-day werewolf story.
New Orleans at the time of Hurricane Katrina was already hairy, without voodoo and undead pirates to spice it up.
A child is born to two fugitives on opposite sides of a galactic conflict in a futuristic universe of magic and high technology. A graphic novel.
This murder mystery horror novella pays tribute to Vincent Price.
Werewolves and other supernatural creatures are affected by a curse that stops them from using their powers. A graphic novel.
Lizards, aliens, robots and spies are some of the players in a high stakes shadow game for the future of the empire. The third in the Bookman series.
A group of crooks plan to rob the most dangerous villain of them all in order to save one of their own. But they are out of practice and unprofessional. Can they get away with it? A graphic novel.
An anthology of creepy stories from the imaginations of Gary McMahon, Alison Littlewood, Reggie Oliver, Simon Clark, Simon Kurt Unsworth, Gary Fry, Ramsey Campbell, and others.
Easie Damasco will steal anything not nailed down and a few things that are, even a giant.
A battlefield looter is forced to reevaluate his life when he is set the task of finding a king for the dead.
When a wizard is killed an old lady sets out to find the truth, even if she has to leave this world to uncover it. Vampires, tentacled terrors and potty mouths beware!
An angel gets on the case of a missing soul. The first in the Bobby Dollar series.
A Cessna pilot searches for human connection at the end of the world, but when survival is at stake the normal rules of civilisation fall by the wayside.
An anthology of strange stories based in a town of gunslingers, rough justice and broken dreams.
A young queen discovers that her people are endangered by the legacy of a tyrant. The third novel in the Graceling Realm series.
Miriam Black can see how people will die, but her gift is a curse if she can't change anyone's fate.
Alice gets caught up in a world of warring angels in this urban fantasy novel.
When Mack was young her mother left her with a pack of shifters in Cornwall, to raise as their own. When a vile murder disrupts their rural life, Mack must carefully hide her identity and keep everyone else safe, while she tries to solve the mystery.
Passengers on the Titanic have more than shipwreck to deal with when come to prey on them.
A fairytale castle opens its doors to refugees, misfits, and eccentrics. They all have stories to tell. A graphic novel.
This graphic novel tells the story of a child vampire destined never to grow to adulthood.
This anthology of speculative fiction features stories on a theme of dark currents, whether they are electrical, nautical, or something else entirely.
What's an evil genius to do when he gets bored of being overlord of a whole planet?
Quantum entanglement allows astronauts to explore the galaxy and make first contact with bizarre extraterrestrial civilisations.
When Ali Baba finds two Sleeping Beauties, he has no idea which one he should wake with a kiss. A graphic novel featuring the characters from Fables.
A convent-trained assassin roots out plots at the 15th century Breton court. Book one of the His Fair Assassin series.
The neurologist Oliver Sacks examines the varied reasons why people may sense things that aren't there.
The Neandertals were an evolutionary offshoot that died out. But what did they have in common with us, and what were they really like?
A refugee magistrate flees to a space station that has seen better days, and puts herself at the mercy of her extended family in this novella. Part of the Xuya universe series.
An outbreak of shambling zombies in the town of Eugene has Gwen and her friends hunting for allies. This graphic novel is the third in the iZombie series.
A pair of detectives take on a cult of monsters that lurk under the streets of San Francisco.
A group of mercenaries hunt for gold in a poisoned desert, but something else is waiting for them.
Have you ever felt that machines were in charge of your life, instead of helping to make it easier?
In these short stories magic is sometimes for show, but often dangerous and unpredictable. This anthology features stories by authors such as Will Hill, Allison Littlewood, Lou Morgan, Dan Abnett, and Storm Constantine.
A hard-up documentary maker investigates a sinister 70s cult, only to discover that its horrors are not all in the past.
A Fallen angel is attracted to a man who should be her sworn enemy. The second in the Renegade Angels series.
He's the top angel, in charge of keeping all the other angels in line. So why is Adrian Mitchell trying to seduce a mortal woman?
A history student gets the chance to study Scotland, and finds it bonnier than she expected when she meets an angel. The second in the Lost Angels series.
A New York man struggles with his new role as a stay-at-home father in this werewolf novel.
An anthology of ghost stories written by female authors past and present. There are stories by Lisa Tuttle, Muriel Gray, Alex Bell, Gail Z. Martin, Sarah Langan, Mary Cholmondeley, and others.
Matthew and Diana time travel to Elizabethan England to track down a manuscript witches and vampires are fighting over. The second in the All Souls trilogy.
A shifty Nibelung raises the hero Siegfried in ignorance of the fate Odin intends for him. A graphic novel.
Three childhood friends return to the Concrete Grove to banish their childhood demons. The second book in the Concrete Grove series.
Nelson Jent believes he is an overweight failure, until he dials for help and finds himself transformed into a series of oddball heroes. A graphic novel.
A series of murders threaten the fragile peace between vampires, mages, and the other dark races. The fourth in the Sabina Kane series.
Juggling vampire and shapeshifter relationships whilst hunting down fang-happy leaderless undead keeps Anita Blake busy in the 21st book in the series.
A remote island community is transformed by the arrival of women from the sea. But their magic and beauty comes at a cost.
A woman replaces her heart with a clock, a child is given a martyr for her birthday, and a woman discovers a lost manuscript written inside her skin in this collection of short stories.
A boy with MS gets the chance to become a superhero, but the power comes at a high cost. A graphic novel.
A tree tells a pair of young lovers that they must not see each other. The first in The Ferryman and the Flame series.
