#mark stay

[cherylmmbookblog]

#BlogTour Babes in the Wood by Mark Stay

#BlogTour Babes in the Wood by Mark Stay

 It’s my turn on the BlogTour Babes in the Wood by Mark Stay – this is the second book in the Witches of Woodville trilogy. About the Author Mark Stay co-wrote the screenplay for Robot Overlords which became a movie with Sir Ben Kingsley and Gillian Anderson, and premiered at the 58th London Film Festival. He is co-presenter of the Bestseller Experiment podcast and has worked in bookselling and…

[rosemariecawkwell]

Review: The Crow Folk, by Mark Stay

Review: The Crow Folk, by Mark Stay

04 February 2021 | Paperback Original | £8.99 Faye Bright always felt a little bit different. And today she’s found out why. She’s just stumbled across her late mother’s diary which includes not only a spiffing recipe for jam roly-poly, but spells, incantations, runes and recitations… a witch’s notebook. And Faye has inherited her mother’s abilities. Just in time, too. The Crow Folk are…

[theirresponsiblereader]

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Back to Reality: A Novel (Audiobook) by Mark Stay & Mark Oliver, Kim Bretton

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Back to Reality: A Novel (Audiobook) by Mark Stay & Mark Oliver, Kim Bretton @bestsellerxp @LifeBookish

Today I’m pleased to welcome the Book Tour for the delightful audiobook of Back to Reality by Mark Stay & Mark Oliver, Kim Bretton (Narrator). Following this spotlight post, I’ll be giving my take on the novel here in a bit. But let’s start by learning a little about this here book, okay?

Book Details:

Book Title: Back to Reality by Mark Stay & Mark Oliver, Kim Bretton (Narrator) Release date:…

[fearsmagazine]

ROBOT OVERLORDS - Review

By:  Mark Stay Publisher:  Gollancz, an imprint of Orion Publishing Paperback: $14.95 ISBN-10: 1-4732-0486-0

Rating: *****

Synopsis:  It’s been three years since Earth was conquered by an alien robotic force. They have promised the world they will only be on earth for a limited time and will leave once their mission is complete. They have one rule - STAY IN YOUR HOMES. If humans, regardless of age, step over the threshold they get one warning before the countdown begins. The final outcome is vaporization by a massive robot Sentry, or a crawling Sniper, or a flying Drone.

The last time Sean Flynn saw his father, an RAF pilot, was as he was heading out the door to fight in the war against the robots. Sean is convinced his father is still alive. When he and his friends accidently discover a way to disable the robots' implants, they set off on a quest to find Sean’s father and rumors of a resistance. Their journey brings them face to face with the might of the robot overlords, the humans who serve them, and the dark secret their metallic imprisoners  are hiding.

Review: Author Mark Stay’s ROBOT OVERLORDS was a screenplay before he embarked on the novelization. I’ve not had the pleasure to read Stay’s screenplay, but regardless his novel proves to be a delightful and engaging contemporary work of science fiction.

An avid reader of the genre, Stay’s novel clearly embraces the science fiction tradition as its contemporary setting and characters struggle to overcome an alien force reminiscent of such literary classics as John Christopher's The Tripods series or John Wyndham's The Day of the Triffids or The Midwich Cuckoos. It’s contemporary tones are grounded in the classic British literary roots as his underlying style often takes on a Dickinsonian flair. I enjoyed Stay’s inventiveness through his story’s ability to have these high tech machines that  come across as having this clunkiness, and in making them earthy adds a Steampunk flavor the mechanized characters. His descriptions of this alien technology takes on a Jules Verne's aspect. The tale takes place three years into the robot occupation, but there are still contemporary elements in this alien occupied universe that establishes the time period of the plot. His prose brings the world of ROBOT OVERLORDS to life in the reader’s imagination.

The story of Sean Flynn starts from a place where we feel that this is a young adult science fiction tale but Stacy quickly begins to weave in darker overtones and adult characters to give the novel a broader appeal, in much the same way many adults embraced the Hunger Games trilogy. His characters are clearly defined and each possesses a unique voices within the narrative that sets them apart in the reader’s imagination. While there are some wonderful adult characters the figure this is Sean Flynn’s story. There is an excellent character arch where the reader gets a clear sense of the character's growth and he is forced to deal with the novel’s many villians.

Stay adds a double encore to the novel.  The first is a short story that provides an origin story for the robotic interface that attempts to put on a human vestige. It’s a wonderful compendium piece that dovetails nicely into the the narrative. While it is kind of prequel, I found it well placed coming after the novel. Stay also offers readers his diary from the film production. If you've ever wondered what the filmmaking process is like, this is an excellent inside glimpse into the trials and tribulations of what transpires as chronicled through the screenwriter’s eyes. He offers some interesting and entertaining insight.

ROBOT OVERLORDS is an entertaining and epic science fiction tale with a broad audience appeal. This nicely crafted tale of a dystopian tale of earth’s alien robotic occupation will leave the reader with a desire to seek out the film of the same title, and also looking forward to Stay’s next literary endeavor.

Publisher’s Site:  www.ipgbook.com/robot-overlords-products-9781473204867.php?page_id=21 Author Site: unusuallytallstories.com Reviewed by Joseph B Mauceri

[operationcondor]

Robot Overlords Movie Review

Is it the script, the director or the cast that makes a good movie? A combination? All of them? If one aspect isn’t up to scratch can the other two save it?

The short answer with Robot Overlords is no, no they can’t.

Three years ago from a distant, unspecified, galaxy, robots invaded Earth. The subsequent war, of which you see nothing, lasted just 11 days. We join the action on day 1264 of the invasion to find a bunch of kids/teenagers and their mum, Gillian Anderson, in their house, which they can’t leave, ‘assisted’ by Ben Kingsley who is a ‘spokesperson’ for the robots.

All humans, we’re told, have an implant in their neck which seems to do nothing other than tell the robots if people leave their homes, something they’re not allowed to do. These implants are huge flashing lights, in case you’re interested.

Obviously the kids find a way to disable these implants and set-out to find one of their fathers who is missing. One of the kids, on the journey to find their father, inadvertently ends up gaining the power to control the robots and, well, I’m sure you can guess the rest.

I don’t know what the budget was for the movie but something tells me the majority went on the very decent cast. Besides Anderson and Kingsley there’s Callan McAuliffe (The Great Gatsby, I Am Number Four), Steven Mackintosh (Kick-Ass 2, Underworld) and Geraldine James (Utopia, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo).

The trouble is there’s nothing they can do about the awful writing they’re given to work with (Mark Stay and Jon Wright, also the director, wrote the screenplay). The dialogue is hammy at best, particularly Kingsley’s, which makes him look ordinary which is quite some feet!

The whole thing has the feel of a Doctor Who TV special from the 60’s, with special effects to match. I would say this is a low budget film but given the cast I’m not sure I can. Perhaps it’s an advert for the Isle of Man who seemed to have stumped up some of the budget, except that you hardly get to see any of the place and some of it was filmed in Northern Ireland.

You don’t see this invasion in any other part of the world, there doesn’t seem to be any resistance to the invasion, it’s not explained how people get food if they’re not allowed to leave their homes, seriously no-one has done what they do to disable the implants? How’d they get the implants into everyone’s necks if they can’t scan them all at once? What’s the point of the implants?

Are just some of the questions you’ll find yourself asking. Also, a Spitfire? Really? Where do they take off when we’re told they’re in a valley? And no that’s not a spoiler in case you’re wondering.

There’s key information we’re only told towards the end of the film, so that thing you’re thinking, about mobile phones or, I don’t know say, the internet, does get explained…eventually.

So what I guess I’m saying is, don’t watch it, it’s not enjoyable, it’s just irritating. However, don’t let that put you off from one of Jon Wright’s other directorial turns, Grabbers (2012), which is a laugh of a movie in the same vein as James Gunn’s Slither though not as good obviously.

[darkmatterzine]

Robot Overlords by Mark Stay (novel)

Robot Overlords by Mark Stay (novel) — a review by Nalini Haynes

A review by Nalini Haynes.

“I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords.”

There will be spoilers late in the review. There’s an alert below.

According to the novel cover, Robot Overlords is a new motion picture; I’m surprised publishers still call movies “motion pictures”. The cover also advertises that “it expands on the story with additional action, characters…”

Sean recounts how the Robot…

[rinconcinematico]

La Tierra está bajo el control de robots en 'Robot Overlords'

La Tierra está bajo el control de robots en ‘Robot Overlords’

Una nueva cinta sobre robots intentando hacerse con el control de la Tierra llegará a la pantalla grande, y esta vez con la presencia de dos grandes actores: Gillian Anderson y Ben Kingsley.

Robot Overlords nos trae una historia en la que la Tierra ha sido invadida desde hace años por robots provenientes de otra galaxia, quienes ponen a prueba la capacidad de resistencia de la humanidad. Para…