DARKMATTERS - The Mind of Matt

You met me at a very strange time in my life...

Read my novel: Complete Darkness

Listen to the PODCAST I co-host: Hosts in the Shell

Thursday, January 26, 2023

Matt gets The Second Last Communiqué (review)



The Second Last Communiqué

D.J. Hall 

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)


"As  the aging woman  woke  to  the  sounds  of  magpies warbling  outside  her  bedroom  window,  she  unhurriedly sat  herself  up  in  her  bed,  opened  the  side  table  drawer, took out her puffer, and inhaled her asthma medication."



So a barista, an ex-nazi SS scientist, and a heroin addict walk into a bar… Well, I say ‘bar’, I mean a mystery where they form the strangest of relationships as they are overtaken by incomprehensible realms and events.


Yes, we’re back in the weird, wacky, and pretty wonderful world of D.J. Hall… Not content with his oddball Third Last Communiqué - he’s back with the, erm *checks notes, Second Last Communiqué (to be honest I don’t know why it’s called that).


Anyway, James is back and here is the owner of a coffee establishment in the centre of the city of Melbourne. He’s a friendly type but little does he know that his latest pal is a time-spanning SS Nazi officer / murdering degenerate.


James enlists the help of his lover Lucy, a down-and-out junkie (trigger warning hard drug use), and to their

bewilderment, the couple discovers they are exceptional human beings. How you ask? Well they start to receive mathematical and engineering miracle theories - that take over the everyday things they see. But where these are coming from is unclear. James is tempted into trying heroin by Lucy and has an out-of-body experience as a Jewish concentration camp inmate.


As murders pile up around them, Lucy and James will eventually stand on the precipice of calamity as their lives come under the control of a sadistic madman who has unintentionally stumbled upon the elixir of eternal life.


If that all sounds like your cup of tea, and I can vouch that it’s as nutty and fun as it sounds - packing adult content violence and sex scenes along the way - get in on this action today!


Who is D. J. Hall?

D. J. or Darrell to his mates was born in the UK and now lives in Australia, married with two children and four grandchildren. He resides in a small hamlet on the Southeast coast of the Mornington Peninsula.

He's been employed at the Herald and Weekly Times, a major Australian newspaper, for numerous years. Also, having been an artist during this time, he allowed his imagination to expand by proceeding to bizarre narratives, leading to many exhibitions over the years. When covid hit, he decided to take another direction using his unique ideas. So Darrell chose to take up writing for no reason
other than he’d never done it before. And to his astonishment, like a tap being turned
on, the narratives just poured out and still are.

During this period, Darrell has had one published novel: The Third Last Communique, and has also illustrated several children’s books.

Buy The Second Last Communique 


Out of a potential 5 - you have to go with a Darkmatters:

ööö
ö1/2

(4.5 - The Commuigues are getting better each time!)



>>> Imagine a world where the earth is becoming hell?

Click below to find out in my dark sci-fi novel...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Darkness-Darkmatters-Matt-Adcock/dp/0957338775

 

This post is part of the magnificent ZOOLOO Book Blog Tours...



Wednesday, January 25, 2023

Matt has Seven Days To Die (review)


Seven Days To Die 

Michelle Kidd (@AuthorKidd)

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@cleric20)


“The wine began to seep effortlessly into Isabel’s blood stream, its numbing effect finally allowing a wave of relaxation to take hold. Leaning back in the soft leather armchair, she glanced around Anthony’s living room. It was elegant and stylish, nothing cheap or out of place. She could instantly tell he must be doing well for himself…”

The world (and most charity shops) are increasingly full of Detective-em-up books and yet here is another to add to the pile… But wait, before you groan – this is a cut above your average crime novel and certainly one worth seeking out if you’re a fan of the macabre serial killer genre. Whilst initially I was hoping this was a novelization of the great zombie survival PlayStation game Seven Days To Die - finding that it's a rare crime banger makes up for it.

Yes, what makes Seven Days To Die stand out is the expert craft of author Michelle Kidd who obviously has a delightfully sick mind!

This is the tale of DI Jack MacIntosh who is a great lead in this twisty thriller, set against a brutal killer who strangles young women and leaves their bodies strewn across London’s parks. A kinky killer who leaves his next victim’s shoe beside the body of his last one. Detective MacIntosh has seven days to find the truth.

It begins with the body of a young woman being discovered in Hyde Park - wearing only one shoe and near her a black stiletto, but this doesn’t belong to the victim.

What becomes apparent is the killer is taunting his pursuers – as two days later, another young woman is found strangled in nearby Green Park. Wearing just one shoe — you guessed it - the matching stiletto. And nearby is a low-heeled court shoe – potentially belonging to the next victim!

Cue a race against time that will have you tearing through the book to find out if the killer can be identified and caught – or is London in for a long haul of shoeless victims?

Jack MacIntosh is the sort of cop you’ll get along with straight away if you’re into crime books – a decent bloke trying to do the right thing but struggling with demons of his own too, not adverse to getting into scrapes with his superiors, etc... Kidd writes with an easy descriptive style and her world feels believable – packed with nice touches that could come across as cliches in less capable hands but here add to the flavour of the piece.

I’d certainly like to see DI MacIntosh get a TV show of his own one day!!


The mind behind the crimes

Who is Michelle Kidd?

Michelle Kidd is a crime fiction author best known for the DI Jack MacIntosh and DI Nicki Hardcastle series. Michelle qualified as a legal executive in the early 1990s, spending ten years practicing civil and criminal litigation.

But the dream to write was never far from her mind and in 2008 she began writing the first book in what would later become the DI Jack MacIntosh series. 

Michelle now works full-time for the NHS and lives in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.
She enjoys reading, wine, and cats — not necessarily in that order.


Out of a potential 5 - you have to go with a Darkmatters:

ööö
ö
ö

(5 - Detective-em-up that delivers the goods)
Follow Michelle (not in creepy way) at: 
Website : www.michellekiddauthor.com


>>> Imagine a world where the earth is becoming hell?

Click below to find out in my dark sci-fi novel...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Darkness-Darkmatters-Matt-Adcock/dp/0957338775

 

This post is part of the magnificent ZOOLOO Book Blog Tours...


Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Matt receives The Third Last Communique (review)

 



The Third Last Communique 

D.J. Hall 

Reviewed by Matt Adcock 

“He's locked himself in the toilet,” Sebastian said nervously. 

“What exactly happened?” Erika said as she steadied herself against the bar. 

“Don't know. We were having a couple of beers and a bit of a laugh, then all of a sudden, James went very quiet.” 

“What's up mate?” I said; he just stared at me will strange-like then he slowly got up and went to the loo.” 

Strange things are afoot in this oddball sci-fi which brings together 3 people – each with unique gifts. 

First, there’s James – the silent loo-goer from the extract above. He’s you average everyday Australian family man, but his nights have started getting disturbed – because he is being visited by an unknown entity!? 

Then there is Haloke, a female native American astronaut, who unwittingly gets caught up in the most bizarre of hoaxes after discovering a Coca-Cola can on the surface of Mars. 

And thirdly - Nadeeka, a little girl living in a small fishing village in Sri Lanka, who suffers horrendous injuries after stepping on a landmine while playing on a banana plantation. 

I know what you’re probably thinking… Something like ‘what the hell sort of tale could bring these folks from totally different backgrounds together?’ And if they do meet - in the most extraordinary of circumstances – what in the Third Communique is going to happen? 

The mind behind the madness...


I won’t spoil it for you, I’ll just say that the three individuals discover new mind-bending knowledge that could change the world as we know it forever. 

The plot sees James committed to a psychiatric prison where he nosedives into mental chaos after a freaky discovery. Meanwhile a post-Mars Haloke finds life becomes intolerable, as the press and the U. S. Government hound and scrutinise her relentlessly over her suspected involvement in the embarrassing episode that had occurred on the red planet. Might turning to booze help? Or seeking refuge with her grandfather on a Navajo Indian reservation? I can’t see it going well. But spare a thought for poor Nadeeka, recovering in hospital from the loss of both her legs… 

It’s James that is the linchpin to this strange tale of futuristic intrigue that jumps times and places in the most unexpected ways. 

But is it any good? 

Oh yes – D. J. Hall writes with a slightly demented style that works really well for such a left-field tale. 

If you take this trip there will be hard drug use, unexplainable art genius, many and varied conversations and lots to make you think. 

The good news? 

There is more to come as this Communique is followed by (yes you guessed it) Yes The Second Last Communique!! Review of that coming on Thursday…

Buy The Third Communique 

Out of a potential 5 - you have to go with a Darkmatters:

ööö
ö

(4 - Get in on the sci-fi messaging!)



>>> Imagine a world where the earth is becoming hell?

Click below to find out in my dark sci-fi novel...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Darkness-Darkmatters-Matt-Adcock/dp/0957338775

 

This post is part of the magnificent ZOOLOO Book Blog Tours...





Friday, January 13, 2023

Look through my LetterBoxd

 WHAT IS MATT WATCHING?

This week's viewing for @Cleric20

This year I've started logging film watches on LetterBoxd - it's a fun and simple platform to leave quick reactions. So if you're looking at this blog and thinking 'I guess Matt doesn't watch many films' - jump over to my page on LetterBoxd and you'll find out :) Here's a LINK


Robbie steals the show

Of the films experienced so far in 2023, Babylon is the standout - sure I know a lot of people hate it but I was completely engrossed and loved the whole bloated decadent spectacle!!


Paul Mescal, Frankie Corio - both excellent!

Aftersun was excellent - a sad and poignant tale of father/daughter bonding and living a life without knowing where it's going...


Cult Baddie

The Long Dark Trail had potential, it has a decent premise but just doesn't deliver on it. Certainly not awful but probably only really for those who simply must have some half-baked folky horror.


She wants to play with you...

Surprise of the week was M3GAN which brought a strong new killer toy to the party and was a lot of fun [my review].


>>> Imagine a future where we map Hell by mistake?

Click below to find out what happens...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Darkness-Darkmatters-Matt-Adcock/dp/0957338775





Thursday, January 12, 2023

Matt meets M3gan (review)


M3GAN (15)

Dir. Gerald Johnstone

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)


"This is the part where you run!"


Got a new pal. Her name is M3GAN... She's not like other girls.

From the folks at Blumhouse who have obviously been watching the Child's Play films or TV series and thought - this is fine but what if Chucky was a super advance AI female doll?

So here is M3GAN - she's a marvel of artificial intelligence, a toy so real she can be a child's greatest companion and a parent's greatest ally. Designed by Gemma (Allison 'Get Out' Williams), a brilliant roboticist, M3GAN can listen, watch and learn as it plays the role of friend and teacher, playmate, and protector. 

But complications arise when Gemma has to take in her 8-year-old niece Cady (Violet McGraw). Deciding that Cady would make the perfect pilot child to test the prototype M3GAN on - things seem to go well but when Cady gets threatened, there are, erm, consequences.


As a film, M3GAN is a lot of fun. Helped by a smart script and just enough nastiness - this is new killer-toy-em-up is worth a watch if only to see the robot doll doing a fun dance before going on a mini-killing rampage.

Amie Donald plays M3GAN and does a good job at moving like a machine. My fav bit was when the inescapable climactic battle sees M3GAN damaged and looking a bit more Terminator than woke Barbie. 

Word is a sequel is already on the way, please God may we one day get a M3GAN vs Chucky film!!


Out of a potential 5, you have to go with a Darkmatters:

ööö1/2

(3.5 - Doll fear gets an upgrade
)

Awesomeness öööö – some killer set pieces

Laughs ö
öö – dark humour throughout 

Horror öö
ö – moderate grimness in places 

Spiritual Enlightenment öö - emotionally bonding with an AI works


>>> Imagine a world where the earth is becoming hell?

Click below to find out in my dark sci-fi novel...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Darkness-Darkmatters-Matt-Adcock/dp/0957338775