PIG and an Update

The first post on here in a while, due to limited time forcing prioritization of the novels and not the blog. You know how it goes: when constraints come calling, find what's more fulfilling and cut the rest. That said, I've been filling up a backlog, and life is re-orienting itself along a more stable path now, so here we go.

First up, a couple quick updates:

Revolution's Rise and Liberator's Light are both out and available everywhere in ebook and paperback. These two complete the four volume superhero sci-fi series The Hero's Code. They're fun, action-filled, and wound up containing more cool characters than I expected in the writing of them.

Also, big robots, which are always a good time.

Next up, I'm working through the sequels to The Farthest Star, which you'll see coming out over the next couple months as I work back into a more regular release cadence.

In case you've missed it, The Farthest Star is a far future sci-fi story about an android waking up on a giant ship seemingly adrift in the cosmos, and he's tasked with saving the last humans on board.

After that, well, I'm sure I'll have more for you in not too long. Stay tuned!

And now, for a word about a particular movie about a particular pig:

Every so often there comes an actor that compels you to notice what they make. For some, it’s because they deliver one stirring turn after another, rising up a role to new heights or sparking some emotion you didn’t know you could feel. For others, it’s because the actor themselves are so fascinating, so likely to deliver a remarkable experience their movies become, if not appointment viewing, then sure-fire afternoon curiosities.

Nicolas Cage has become one of those latter actors. He’s liable to turn up in the most random movies, from horror classic remakes like The Wicker Man to straight up dramatic fair like this post’s subject, Pig. Squeezed in between are all manner of action movie magic.

Pig is a study in the singular, a jaunt through Portland and the Oregon wilderness with a ramshackle, busted man just looking for his kidnapped truffle pig. The side characters don’t really matter save to color in Cage’s character. There’s some melodramatic backstory shuffled in there to generate some sympathy.

But what matters is the hulking figure Cage portrays. A sort of sad John Wick, one out on a hunt using the skills he knows to get what he’s looking for. There’s no gunplay here, and violence plays out mostly on the periphery save for one strange scene. In other words, Cage confronts his foes with harsh judgment and they wilt before him.

Does a slow-mo cooking sequence, Cage eating some truffle from the dirt, and a yellow Camaro getting kicked justify a movie?

Nah.

Does the plot justify this movie?

Meh.

Does Nick Cage, blasted over with dried blood, a stiff upper lip, and a gnarled mess of hair warrant your time traipsing through a culinary underworld?

Quite possibly!

I know it worked for me, but I’m a sucker for the curious, the creative, and the Cage.