Stardust (2007)

Synopsis
Tristan lives in a 19th century countryside town which borders on the magical kingdom of Stormhold. He promises the village beauty that he'll venture to the magical kingdom to retrieve a fallen star to prove his love for her. Once he gets to the star he discovers it's not a lump of rock, but a young maiden called Yvaine. Tristan is not the only one who wants the star, three evil witches want to eat her heart because it will give them back their youth, and the sons of the dead king of Stormhold want the ruby Yvaine holds, because that will enable one of them to claim the throne.

Victorian Pharmacy

Historian Ruth Goodman of Victorian Farm fame is back, this time with Professor Nick Barber and PhD student Tom Quick. Together they recreate a Victorian Pharmacy in Blists Hill Victorian Town in Shropshire county, England. The series is made of four 60 minute episodes, and shows the 60 year evolution of the Victorian Pharmacy.

This evolution is so interesting I'll give a quick summary: In the early Victorian Era pharmacies were a novel idea, and anybody could trade as a pharmacist. Most cures were based on old beliefs and remedies. Addictive substances such as opium and cannabis were used in cures. Toxic

Thrillers: Mystery and Suspense

Thriller is a genre of literature that creates intense emotions, particularly those of apprehension and exhilaration, in short "thrills". There are many subgenres, such as the crime thriller, horror thriller, political thriller, paranoid thriller, spy thriller, and so on, but today I want to talk about the difference in how the story is revealed to the reader, the difference between Mystery Thrillers and Suspense Thrillers.

Steampunk Books

The Steampunk book genre is vast, it ranges from Historical Steampunk where the book is based in a real historical place and time, such as Victorian London, to Fantasy Steampunk where the action could take place anywhere, on another planet, a different dimension, or a fantasy world inhabited by fantastic creatures. The stories may include elements of the supernatural, time travel, or be based in a post apocalyptic future. Some people even include Victorian science fiction authors such as Jules Verne and H.G. Wells in the Steampunk genre.

Today I'm sharing a few links to lists of the best Steampunk books with a synopsis for each of them. But first of all an article by Matthew Delman, Chief Editor of Steampunk magazine Doctor Fantastique's Show of Wonders - Steampunk for the Uninitiated.

Victorian Farm

I wasn't planning on reviewing documentaries, however during my research I found so many interesting ones, I just had to share them. It's easy to find information about historic events and famous people, but finding information about the everyday life of Victorians is not. I want to base my novel in the city of London, however when I came across the Victorian Farm series I jumped at the chance of seeing how people in the countryside lived.

Victorian Farm has six episodes of 60 minutes, followed by Victorian Farm Christmas with three episodes. I was afraid it might just be people in period costume rearing farm animals, showing the birth of cute baby animals, and cultivating fields, but I was pleasantly surprised at the historical and technological detail. Click on the pictures to enlarge.

Steampunk Themed Wallpapers

Today I'd like to share some sites that have awesome Steampunk themed wallpapers. The three wallpapers I posted here are my absolute favourites!

Die of Curiosity, meet the Devil in the Details

All books and movies are based on simple concepts, and thus can be summarized in one or two sentences. In fact all books and movies have such a summary on their back cover. Once summarized they can usually be put in one or two categories. Take for example the category of 'revenge movies', the summary will probably be "Main character is wronged, he gets revenge on the perpetrators'. Adding a twist at the end will make