January 2023 Recommended Reading and Viewing

[Coír Draoi Ceítien]

Happy New Year, everyone! I apologize for the lateness.

So winter is officially here, but at least in the States, the days are slowly getting longer already. I sincerely hope that, with everything going on in the world, we will reach a point of relative peace.

I thought a bit about what to recommend this month, and I decided to go with a couple rather dark entries this time, perhaps suited for those cold winter nights.


Reading: The Witches (1983) by Roald Dahl

This a rather late title in Dahl's catalog and arguably the darkest, being centered on witches - REAL witches, who are loathsome, human-like creatures who take delight in killing and torturing children. The plot follows an English boy and his Norwegian grandmother, who stumble upon a plot by the Grand High Witch to turn all of the children in the world into mice. Called misogynistic by some and frowned upon by some parents due to its macabre streak, the book is nevertheless a devilish dark fantasy that's delightful in its own way for both children and adults.

Trade: https://www.amazon.com/Witches-Roald-Dahl/dp/014241011X/
Hardcover: https://www.amazon.com/Witches-Roald-Dahl/dp/1984837168/
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Witches-Roald-Dahl-ebook/dp/B00INIYHJQ/



Viewing: The Dark Crystal (Jim Henson and Frank Oz, 1982)

Having done Muppet-related works for years, Jim Henson took a stab at epic fantasy with this film, which featured a cast made completely of puppet creatures with a voice cast outside of the usual Muppet troupe. An elf-like lad named Jen is sent to find a shard of a large magic crystal whose shattering has given rise to the cruel vulture-like Skeksis, who use the crystal to extend their own lives, while their good counterparts, the Mystics, seek the ways of peace; to heal the land, Jen has to return the shard to the crystal before the conjunction of the planet's three suns, while the Skeksis - responsible for the near-extinction of Jen's race - seek him out for their own ends. Considerably darker in tone than any of Henson's previous works, this is a film that would probably scare younger children, but it is a rich story with incredible puppetry and lavish costumes, designed by illustrator Brian Froud, set against marvelous landscapes. It is well deserving of its cult status.

DVD: https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Crystal-Kathryn-Mullen/dp/B00000JPH6/
Blu-Ray: https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Crystal-Blu-ray-Jim-Henson/dp/B0016BWACI/
4K: https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Crystal-Blu-ray-Kathryn-Mullen/dp/B077ZQMVQZ/
Amazon Video: https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Crystal-Stephen-Garlick/dp/B008Y6M3KW/


Once again, have a Happy New Year!