Download The Birds Began to Sing FREE – for five days only!

Posted on April 30, 2018 by simondillon

I love a good, satisfying, emotionally resonant twist ending in a thriller, especially one that you immediately realise ought to have been obvious all along, yet somehow you didn’t see it coming.

My mystery thriller The Birds Began to Sing has such an ending (don’t just take my word for it, check out the five star reviews here). It’s the story of Alice Darnell, an aspiring novelist who enters a mysterious writing competition at a remote mansion. She and other writers pen their own endings for an incomplete, unpublished manuscript written by a very famous deceased author. The winner of the competition will have their ending published, along with their own novel.

However, once Alice arrives at the mansion, weird stuff starts to happen…

Download your copy of The Birds Began to Sing FREE from Amazon Kindle here, for the next five days only.

Coming soon, later and perhaps never…

Posted on April 28, 2018 by simondillon

Here’s an update on all the unpublished novels I have written, and when you can expect to read them.

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The Spectre of Springwell Forest – This 1970s set ghostly and gothic nail-biter for grown-ups will be my next release, one way (mainstream publication) or the other (self-publishing). All I will say at this point is that it involves a sinister painting and an equally sinister abandoned railway tunnel. Expect an announcement soon.

The Faerie Gate – A long delayed “horror story for children” that will hopefully appear at the back end of this year. It’s the scariest novel I’ve written that is primarily aimed at children, and I really push the envelope in that respect. But this dark fairy tale is also a very compassionate story, about a young adolescent coming to terms with the separation of her parents.

The Deviant Prophet – Another dark fairy tale, but this time for adults. Fantasy and reality clash in a disturbing tale of religious oppression amid a vivid and surreal world parallel to our own. Incidentally, the initial inspiration for this came from a close friend’s extraordinary dreams. My projected release for this is early 2019.

Ravenseed – And the title is out of the bag… Yes, this is the Dark Ages set fantasy novel I have just finished (the first draft, at any rate). It’s a brooding, melancholy tale of knights, sorcerers and enchantment, simmering with love, lust, betrayal and revenge. Alongside the Dark Ages story is a parallel framing story set in the present. I think it’s rather good, and I hope to have it under your noses sometime in 2019.

The Irresistible Summons – Another spooky novel for grown-ups, this one set mostly in a haunted office building in London. Ghostly mystery meets digital horror as a shocking secret is uncovered by a television producer commissioned to make a corporate video for a software company. Projected release date? Late 2019 at the earliest.

The Wormcutter – I wrote this detective thriller/horror hybrid in 2007 (based on an idea I had researched and prepared on and off since 1996). What begins as an apparently open and shut murder investigation escalates into a humdinger of a conspiracy involving the Freemasons and much more… until it ends up in the most disturbing territory I have ever explored in a novel. Definitely 18 certificate stuff, if it ever gets made into a film. Projected release date? Possibly 2020, if not sooner.

The Balliol Conspiracy – This old fashioned, Hitchcockian romantic thriller is a conspiracy story of a different kind (much more PG territory, unlike The Wormcutter), and something of a change of pace for me when I wrote it. A strong, suspenseful central mystery results in an historic fact based treasure hunt, leading to a new lease of life for the bereaved protagonist. Projected release date? Depends if I think it’s any good when I re-read it, but possibly 2020.

Goldeweed – This is an epic, three volume fantasy saga I have been shaping on and off for almost eighteen years. Set in a vast imagined realm on many different planes of reality, it details three love stories that play out against an apocalyptic backdrop at the end of an era. Currently longer than War and Peace, it’s a tale I have rewritten and tinkered with for some time, and I’m still not entirely happy with. Projected release date? When I honestly think it can stand alongside The Lord of the Rings (so possibly never).

A Statement of Disbelief – A satirical novel set in the dubious world of Christian television fundraising. Projected release date? Probably never, but it was very fun and cathartic to write.

I’m presently working on my next novel, a dystopian tale set slightly in the future entitled… No, I’m hanging onto that title for now. Watch this space.

Film Review – Avengers Infinity War

Posted on April 27, 2018 by simondillon

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A better title for Avengers Infinity War might be Now That’s What I Call Marvel, or The Lord of the Infinity Stones. This film feels like a compilation album of greatest superhero hits on the scale of Tolkien’s masterpiece. As with all Now albums, there are bits I like and bits I’m less keen on. Also, you really do have to have seen the others, or the film won’t make a lick of sense. Most of the other Marvel outings have a good standalone quality, but not this one.

All that said, directors Joe and Anthony Russo do enough consistently right to make this overblown spectacle worthwhile. I won’t say too much about the plot to avoid spoilers, but essentially uber-villain, Thanos, finally graduates from string-pulling background detail to full blown antagonist. He wants to obtain all six infinity stones, so he can wipe out half the Universe in a lunatic act of galactic population control. As ever it’s up to the Avengers to stop him, but do they stand a chance in their post Civil War fractured line-ups?

Thanos is one of the film’s chief strengths. He is essentially a science fiction personification of a popular Illuminati conspiracy theory about radically cutting unsustainable populations (google “Georgia Guidestones population reduction” if you’re curious). He is well established as a serious threat from the very first scene, and his misguided desire to play God is interesting, as is his relationship with his adopted daughter.

The Avengers and their allies (including the Guardians of the Galaxy) are divided into a number of amusing configurations to deal with the various subplots; Thor with Rocket Racoon (who he amusingly calls “rabbit”), Peter Quill and the other guardians with Iron Man, Spider-man and Dr Strange, and Captain America with Bruce Banner, Vision, Scarlet Witch, War Machine and Black Widow. Eventually other Marvel heroes, including Black Panther, get drawn into the conflict.

Witty banter is in good supply, and the action sequences and visual effects are as thrilling as one might expect. However, the juggling of subplots doesn’t always work. Some of the shifts in tone are jarring, and inevitably some much loved characters are underused (this time Captain America gets the short end of the stick). On the plus side, the cast all do great jobs in roles that they are now very used to, with the likes of Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey Jr, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Ruffalo, Elizabeth Olson, Zoe Saldana, Tom Holland, Paul Bettany, Chris Pratt and Josh Brolin particularly on form.

(MAJOR SPOILER AHEAD – Don’t read on unless you have seen the film.)

Avengers Infinity War wants to end with a shock, but instead it comes off as a story crying wolf. In the finale, the film ruthlessly dispenses with the likes of Dr Strange, Spider-man, Black Panther, Peter Quill and many others, but we already know these characters are set to return in sequels. Therefore, it lacks dramatic heft and comes off as a cheat. A much more dramatic way to end the film would have been for Thanos to gain all six stones, click his fingers to wipe out half the Universe, and cut to black amid sounds of panic. The Russo Brothers missed a trick here, I feel.

In final analysis, Avengers Infinity War is an entertaining mega-spectacle, albeit a flawed one. Fans will find much to praise, those with a critical eye will find plenty of problems, and the uninitiated will get hopelessly lost.

Film Review – Ghost Stories

Posted on April 24, 2018 by simondillon

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There’s nothing in this horror anthology that genre fans won’t have seen before. However, Ghost Stories, adapted by writers/directors Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson from their stage play, is nonetheless an efficiently entertaining film, delivering a moderate amount of chills, shocks and twists.

Spook debunking TV presenter Phillip Goodman (Nyman) is contacted by a fellow, older arch-sceptic, who had mysteriously disappeared some years previously. He challenges Goodman to investigate three hauntings, and explain them rationally. Goodman does this, looking into a scary abandoned asylum, a peculiar demonic manifestation in a forest, and a third spectral encounter involving a rich man’s dead wife. Then things get weird.

Ghost Stories owes its biggest debt to superb horror anthology Dead of Night (a rare non-comedy Ealing project from 1945), but also draws inspiration from Jacques Tourneur’s Night of the Demon, as well as every psychiatric hospital shocker from The Cabinet of Caligari to Shutter Island. It’s well acted, from a cast that also includes Paul Whitehouse, Alex Lawther and a scene-stealing Martin Freeman. The transition from stage to screen works fairly well. In addition, themes of repressed guilt and faith versus scepticism are touched on, though not in ways that are especially profound.

All things considered, Ghost Stories is well worth a look if this is your cup of tea.

Download Love vs Honour FREE – for five days only!

Posted on April 23, 2018 by simondillon

Teenage romance isn’t a genre I generally dabble in, but I did write Love vs Honour – a tale of star-crossed teenage lovers with a religious twist. It begins as a conventional romance, with a holiday attraction leading to something more serious, but then it takes an unusual turn, as protagonists Johnny and Sabina try to appease their religious parents by pretending to convert to Islam and Christianity respectively. A tangled web of deception ensues, building to a much darker final act.

Download your FREE copy of Love vs Honour from Amazon Kindle here – for the next five days only.

Marvel Movies rated least to greatest

Posted on April 20, 2018 by simondillon

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The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a genuinely extraordinary popular cinematic phenomenon. Consistently entertaining, playful and ambitious, it comprises many well-known and less well-known superheroes, connecting their stories through film and TV series in ways previously considered impossible.

Since its inception, others have tried to copy the “universe” formula (with varying degrees of success), but what Marvel Head Kevin Feige has achieved is really quite unprecedented, leading to a string of critically well-received and massively financially successful blockbusters. It’s not been without controversy (I’d still be interested to see Edgar Wright’s version of Antman), but I think children today will look back on the Marvel Universe between 2008 and the present in the same way my generation reveres the heyday of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.

To celebrate the upcoming release of Avengers: Infinity War, I have decided to rank the Marvel movies (ignoring the TV series, of which Jessica Jones is my favourite, for the record) from least to greatest (so far). Just to be clear: this list only comprises films made exclusively under the Marvel banner, so X-Men films are not included, nor any Spider-man films made prior to the most recent instalment, once Marvel regained full rights to the character).

18. The Incredible Hulk

17. Iron Man 2

16. Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2

15. Thor: The Dark World

14. Avengers: Age of Ultron

13. Ant-Man

12. Iron Man

11. Doctor Strange

10. Thor: Ragnarok

9. Spider-man: Homecoming

8. Iron Man 3

7. Black Panther

6. Captain America: The First Avenger

And my thoughts in detail on the top five:

5. Thor – This and the first Captain America film are virtually neck-and-neck in competing for the number five slot. The poignant, A Matter of Life and Death inspired finale of the latter almost, almost tips the scales in its favour, but Thor ends up winning on the strength of its well-motivated villain (Loki). A glorious mix of Shakespearean gravitas in the Asgard scenes, and fish-out-of-water comedy in the Earth scenes, Thor is a fun, romantic, exciting concoction, very nicely directed by Kenneth Branagh (check out those Dutch angles). Some great messages about humility too, and, at one point, a well-deployed Christian allegory of sacrifice and resurrection.

4. Guardians of the Galaxy – What I love about this film is the way it doesn’t aspire to be Star Wars. It aspires, in a determinedly lowbrow way, to be Roger Corman’s Battle Beyond the Stars. As a result, this surreal, irreverent and frankly downright bonkers premise of mismatched alien (plus token human) rogues is a lot of fun. The villain is rather one-note, but it hardly matters with this much witty banter, mostly between the hilarious Groot and Rocket Racoon. I love the latter’s hilarious, scathingly insensitive, yet truthful speech after another character tries to excuse his poorly judged actions by blaming past bereavement (“Oh, boo-hoo! We’ve all got dead people!”). Plus the backstory about Starlord’s mother is surprisingly moving. There aren’t enough films about the importance of mothers.

3. Avengers Assemble – They fight each other, then they fight the baddie. Essentially that sums up the plot of the first Avengers movie, as Captain America, Thor, Hulk and Iron Man join forces with Nick Fury, Black Widow, Hawkeye and the rest of SHIELD to fight Loki and a bunch of fairly nondescript alien invaders. The film is exhilarating and fun, if borderline relentless, but the witty banter between characters ensures the line into interminable action scene fatigue is never crossed.

2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – For me, the Captain America films are the jewel in the crown of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and this entry comes very close to topping the list. I love the 1970s conspiracy thriller feel of the film (and the casting of Robert Redford is a knowing nod in that direction), but what makes this even more effective for me is the spiritual undertone. Take out the word “Hydra” and insert “Antichrist” and you have a Biblical End Times scenario for Captain America to overcome (as he astutely observes, “This isn’t freedom. This is fear”). There are stunning action scenes (the attack on Nick Fury, the lift fight and the Winter Soldier fight just before his identity is revealed, rate as some of the most thrilling in the Marvel back catalogue). However the moral heart of this film, for me, comes when a SHIELD employee bravely refuses, at gunpoint, to launch the helicarriers that will wipe out millions (especially courageous, given that he doesn’t have the benefit of Captain America’s powers, and will almost certainly die for his defiance). I have had long conversations with my children about the heroism of this character’s uncompromising and inspirational stand, as I know this sequence had a great impact on them.

1. Captain America: Civil War – After repeated viewings, I have come to the conclusion that this is the best Marvel movie. The premise is brilliant, because both Iron Man and Captain America’s points of view on the issue of whether the Avengers should have government oversight have a certain validity (although for the record, I fall on Captain America’s side of the debate). A lesser film would have wimped out on their schism, and had them join forces at the end to fight some kind of uber-villain, but instead this has the courage to see the idea through to the bitter end in the emotionally resonant finale. The Russo Brothers direct superbly, not only in the justly celebrated action scenes (the fight in the airport is a stand-out) but also in the smaller moments. I actually find the sequence at Peggy’s funeral very moving, especially in the way it then cements Captain America’s uncompromising position. On top of that, their choice to make Black Panther an integral part of the narrative is very wise, considering he is (or was) a less well-known character. By contrast, relegating Spider-man to comic relief is equally wise, considering he is far more well-known.

Factual Veracity Bores

Posted on April 13, 2018 by simondillon

We’ve all met them: the railway enthusiast who moans about the wrong carriages being pulled by the wrong steam train in a period drama. The music buff who points out that particular Rolling Stones track wasn’t released in 1970, when the film is set. Or the weapons expert who couldn’t enjoy James Bond because the gun isn’t capable of firing that many bullets without reloading, the scientist who points out laser sound effects in Star Wars couldn’t be heard in the vacuum of space, etc, etc.

Take a bow, factual veracity bores.

I recently read an extensive article criticising Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk by pointing out, in eye-wateringly anal detail, that the film was rubbish because certain military sea vessels were not in use in 1940, but only from 1941. Well, that’s ruined my favourite film of last year…

Sarcasm aside, do factual veracity bores ever have a point? Well, most of the time I’d say no. Even films like JFK, which play very fast and loose with real events, I’m still inclined to give the benefit of the doubt if they are dramatically satisfying. Never let the facts get in the way of a damn good film.

And yet… every so often, I do draw the line. U-571 was a film that attempted to rewrite history in a particularly outrageous way by claiming that Americans were responsible for capturing an Enigma machine from a German submarine in World War II – an incident that helped turn the tide of the conflict. The film is loosely based on an incident where the British navy captured said Enigma machine (and more importantly code books) from a German U-boat at a point before the Americans even entered the war. When the film was released, Tony Blair told Parliament the film was an insult to the British navy, and those who fought and died in the incident. I agree with him. It’s also a dreadful film on many other levels, and the most honest thing about it is the tagline (“Nine men are about to change history.”).

Ultimately the deciding factors for whether factual veracity bores have a point are:

1) Can you suspend disbelief? Removing laser blast sounds from Star Wars would be scientifically accurate, but from an artistic point of view, it would utterly undermine the romantic, mythical tone of the film. I feel sorry for anyone who can’t suspend disbelief in that way.

2) In the case of historical details, are they merely small nits (the wrong piece of music here, the wrong steam train carriage there), or are they changes that could be considered offensive to the real people involved? Regarding the U-571 case, having the Americans capture the Enigma machine instead of the British is as absurd as having a film about a platoon of plucky covert-ops Brits single-handedly winning the Vietnam War.

3) Another question for films based on fact: Is it true to the spirit of what took place? Dramatic licence will always be necessary to craft a great story, so accepting that, does the film raise the issues and concerns raised by the true events, even if the true events occurred differently and less dramatically? If the answer is yes, then I don’t think there is a problem. If, say, In the Name of the Father ended as it did in real life, there would be no fiery courtroom speech from Emma Thompson, and the ending of the film would be a damp squib, even though the outcome would be the same. Or take the tense escapes at the finales of Argo or The Sound of Music. Neither proved such close, nerve-shredding calls in real life, but would a simple flight out of Iran, or train to Switzerland being nearly as satisfying as a cinematic third act? Of course not.

Film Review – Isle of Dogs

Posted on April 11, 2018 by simondillon

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Fans of Wes Anderson’s uniquely eccentric oeuvre will find plenty to enjoy in Isle of Dogs, his second foray into stop-motion animation following Fantastic Mr Fox.

Essentially a story about a boy’s search for his lost dog, the twist here is that it is set in future Japan, where dogs have been outlawed and exiled to “Trash Island”, due a virus that dogs have contracted that humans fear could turn against them. Amusingly and cleverly, whilst the human characters speak in their native languages (often untranslated), we are informed, with typical Anderson idiosyncrasy, that barks have been “translated”, so all the dogs speak English.

An incredible cast including Bryan Cranston, Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johansson, Harvey Keitel, F Murray Abraham, Greta Gerwig, Yoko Ono, Tilda Swinton, Ken Watanabe, Francis McDormand, Bill Murray, Koyu Rankin and Edward Norton lend their vocals to good effect, and Alexandre Desplat contributes a clever, percussive music score. The animation has an agreeably tactile, scraggy edge to it, achieved by Anderson moving the characters every other frame, rather than every frame. It’s visually stunning, with occasional edgier, more gruesome imagery that doesn’t go so far as to make it unsuitable for children, but clearly delineates the film as non-Disney.

The subtext of the film appears to be a comment about immigration and the lies and propaganda that often surround that issue. However, it doesn’t come off as overly political. In the end, it can just be read as a story about a boy and his dog.

Quirky, offbeat and visually arresting, Isle of Dogs certainly isn’t going to win Anderson any new fans, but those who like his work will doubtless find plenty to please them.

Download The Thistlewood Curse FREE – for one day only!

Posted on April 10, 2018 by simondillon

Today only! Download The Thistlewood Curse absolutely FREE from Amazon Kindle.

The Thistlewood Curse is a riveting supernatural thriller featuring a young detective and her lifelong friend, a paranormal investigator who specialises in astral projection. With a page-turning central mystery guaranteed to keep you guessing until the terrifying finale, don’t miss your chance to check it out absolutely FREE.

Here is the blurb from the back of the novel:

Can a ghost murder the living?

Lawrence Crane’s powers of astral projection are put to the ultimate test when he and his lifelong friend Detective Laura Buchan investigate a mysterious death on Lundy Island.

Sensing a dark power at work, they attempt to identify a human assassin under the control of supernatural evil.

But can they escape a terrifying, centuries-old curse?

Here’s a sample of the five-star reviews from Amazon readers:

“Everyone is a suspect… I usually can figure it out, but this was complex and kept me guessing… intensifying the scary aspects of the story because the murderer is so close and can strike anyone at any time.” – A Critical Reader

“Simon Dillon’s streak continues with another cracking book! The authors storytelling is top notch with the twists, turns and suspense covering the book with glue, that is to say, you can’t put it down.” – CaptainMJL

“This one will certainly leave you with “novel hangover,” still reeling from the emotional storm that just picked you up and spit you out. It was engaging, captivating, and immersive from the very beginning, and the plot twists were a pleasant surprise.” – Amazon Customer

“This wonderful thrilling novel is full of unexpected turns and reveals such a vast world of the spiritual realm. Surprisingly refreshing to read a detective mystery from a different aspect not only in the physical being.” – Liran

Download your FREE copy of The Thistlewood Curse here.

Star Trek – my ten favourite episodes

Posted on April 7, 2018 by simondillon

I am presently introducing my youngest son to Star Trek, beginning, obviously, with the original series. He loves it, and I am once again struck by the ground-breaking brilliance of some of those early episodes. Yes, today they look very lo-fi, but the superb characterisation and imaginative plots remain as potent as ever.

The genius of Gene Roddenberry’s original Star Trek, which has never really been topped in later versions, is the stark choices faced between logic (personified by Mr Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy) and emotion (personified by Dr McCoy, played by DeForest Kelley), with Captain Kirk (personifying action, played by William Shatner) always having to choose between the two in any given crisis, or else find a compromise.

The high point in any Star Trek education is the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and I will brook no argument with that. My son and I will get to that in due course, but leaving that and the other films aside (not to mention later crews, spin-offs and so on), here are my ten favourite episodes from Gene Roddenberry’s original and still wonderful series.

10. The Devil in the Dark – When mining colonists keep getting horribly killed by a silicon based lifeform, it’s up to the Enterprise crew to try and resolve the matter. Never mind the fact that said lifeform resembles someone hiding under a shaggy rug, this is one of the great “life, but not as we know it” episodes, complete with memorable mind-meld scene and some great McCoy lines (“I’m a doctor, not a bricklayer”).

9. Mirror Mirror – A quintessential parallel universe episode, featuring a fascist alternative Enterprise in which backstabbing, one-upmanship and brutal assassination – not to mention human interplanetary tyranny – is commonplace. Parallel Spock’s evil beard is meant to mark him out as a bad egg, although by the end of the episode his character proves rather more nuanced.

8. Spectre of the Gun – After ending up at the wrong end of an alien death sentence, Kirk and crew find themselves in a simulation of the gunfight at the OK Corral, in the old west. Unfortunately, they are meant to be the Clantons, and the Earps are their executioners.

7. The Naked Time – A fun episode whereby an alien virus infects the crew of the Enterprise, causing them to unleash repressed emotions and passions. It’s particularly notable for a scene where Spock desperately tries not to cry, Sulu fencing, and Chief Engineer Scotty’s classic line: “I cannae change the laws of physics!”

6. Arena – After a territory skirmish with reptilian aliens called the Gorn, another far more highly advanced alien race called the Metrons, who claim to abhor violence, insists the humans and Gorn settle their differences in a gladiatorial death match. Kirk defeats the Gorn by essentially reinventing gunpowder using minerals on the planet he is placed on by the Metrons. This is a faults-on-both-sides narrative is very much in keeping with Roddenberry’s humanitarian philosophy inherent in much of Star Trek.

5. The Trouble with the Tribbles – A lighter, more comedic episode involves shore leave on a space station, Klingons, and a race of small cute, furry aliens that multiply at an alarming rate. Scotty’s solution to the infestation of the Enterprise, ie beaming them over to the Klingons, is particularly amusing.

4. The Menagerie – The only two-part story in the original Star Trek, this features flashback footage from the discarded pilot, The Cage, and introduces us to the original Captain of the Enterprise, Captain Pike (played the excellent Jeffrey Hunter). A mutiny plot provides the narrative framework for a fascinating tale of alien abduction, with a (for its time) surprisingly sexual undertone, including the notorious green skinned Orion slave girl.

3. Amok Time – Vulcan mating season hits (so to speak), and Spock has to return to Vulcan to marry his betrothed. Kirk and McCoy accompany, but fail to understand just what observing and participating in the Vulcan marriage ritual may entail. The sequence where the normally logical, unemotional Spock regresses to a pre-logic state of repressed Vulcan savagery, and has to fight Kirk in a death match, is justly celebrated.

2. Balance of Terror – A gem of an episode that foreshadows the “Hornblower in Space” thrills of Wrath of Khan, in its tale of the Enterprise encountering a fiendishly clever Romulan warship commander. Unlike Wrath of Khan however, as Kirk and his adversary attempt to outwit one another, a curious mutual respect develops between both parties

1. The City on the Edge of Forever – My absolute favourite episode features a temporarily insane McCoy thrown back in time to the 1930s. History is changed in a disastrous way, and it’s up to Kirk and Spock to go back, find McCoy, and put things right. However, events are complicated when Kirk falls in love with Edith Keeler (Joan Collins). Edith runs a homeless shelter during the Great Depression, but she is also a prescient visionary, whose future influence proves pivotal. There are some superb moments of Kirk/Spock humour, but the central tragic love story is what makes The City on the Edge of Forever so memorable. William Shatner is often unfairly berated as a hammy actor, but the final scene, where Kirk mutters “Let’s get the hell out of here…” is a masterclass of bitterly understated suppressed grief.

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Monthly Archives: April 2018