I’ve just finished re-watching Blade Runner for probably the 3rd or 4th time as this post’s title can attest to. It’s been years since I last saw the film so it was interesting to re-experience it. Frankly, to be honest, I’m surprised that it had maintained its popularity over the years. It’s just such an odd film, even by 80’s standards that I’m not surprised it’s critical reception was mixed on release or that it didn’t do terribly well in the box office.

I mean the film excels visually. It’s just incredibly atmospheric. It looks, feels, and sounds authentic and even beautiful in its own way. I looked up the awards its won and wasn’t surprised to find they were all for the film’s technical prowess.

That said, even after a few different viewings, it’s hard to understand what’s going on despite the plot moving so slowly. Maybe that’s just a result of me never feeling terribly engaged by it. It doesn’t help that the ending leaves more questions than answers, which isn’t something I’m generally fond of. I’m hesitant to write more on this, after having only seen it a couple of times, and with little time to think on it as I’m guessing this is one of those films/stories that improves itself with more time, thought and views.

Penumbra will be going out to test readers today. It’s exhilarating to know that I’m making progress, but terrifying to think of what I’ve been working on going out for others to read. My children are both small but I have a feeling that this will be like sending them out into the world for the first time… though naturally on a much smaller scale. I’m excited about the prospect of dedicating some time to part 2 now though and where that will bring the story.

I’m about halfway through the first in The Legend of Drizzt series by RA Salvatore. I’ve never read anything by Salvatore before but he’s been such a prolific fantasy author of the past fifteen years, I felt it necessary to sample his work. I didn’t know where to start, so I began with Homeland. In retrospect I may have done myself a disservice as I know now that, the first trilogy in the series is the Icewind Dale series. Despite that, I’ve enjoyed the book well enough. It’s not a story with a mass of depth necessarily, but Salvatore has an excellence for world building. He makes his fantasy world feel real and lived in, which is a remarkable achievement.

It’s remarkable to look up the bibliography of authors like Salvatore or Stephen King. These are men that can just write. To have written and published literally hundreds of novels is an idea that is just daunting. As I write and as I come up with ideas for future works, I can’t fathom where the ideas come from to publish hundreds of works. Maybe, years from now I’ll look back on that statement and shake my head at my ignorance. But we’ll see.