Geek of Oz

If there's one thing Brandon Sanderson is a master of, it's world-building. If there's a second thing, it's genre-mashing. If there's a third, it's probably something obscure, like mini-golfing or cake decorating. Picking up a year after where The Alloy of Law left off, Shadows of Self  continues fleshing out the wild west-styled world of Mistborn, centuries after the climax of the original trilogy. It's the same kind of 'swallow metal and gain superpowers' schtick, but alongside bowler hats, carriages and magic-aided revolvers. Kinda like that awesomely terrible Wild Wild West  film with Will Smith, except the giant metal spider is replaced by people in evening wear who can fly and slow time. So, y'know, better. Nobleman and part-time law enforcer Waxillium Ladrian has a problem; namely, his uncle, who's secretly the head of an evil crime syndicate controlling the city of Elendel in the middle of a protracted period of civil unrest. Whi...

This week we have the core foursome back together, and we celebrate our 10th episode! This week we discuss the latest news, the latest trailer for that small indie film Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, and Back To The Future Day (which was last week). We then delve back to our various childhoods to discuss if the things we liked as kids have survived the passage of time and still gather some form of enjoyment today. As always it would make our day if you could take a couple of minutes to rate and review us on iTunes or drop us some feedback below! Really keen to have your input in the show. -Billy This week's discussion topic:  When you were young – Things you liked as a kid/ do they still hold up now? Get it from Podomatic here Get it from Itunes here Billy (@Aqualec, billy@geekofoz.com) Read:  Star Wars: Shattered Empire #4 Watch : Netflix, Pokemon Play:  Transformers: Devastation Chris (@ChrisComerford3,   chr...

SUCKER is based on the award-winning, smash hit stage show by Lawrence Leung. Leung co-wrote the feature film adaptation with director Ben Chessell. The comedic coming of age story stars YouTube sensation John Luc (who has more than 2.3 million YouTube subscribers globally), rising star Lily Sullivan (Camp, Mental) and Timothy Spall (Harry Potter, Mr Turner). Other cast members include Jacek Koman, Kat Stewart and Shaun Micallef. A fresh take on a classic con tale, SUCKER is the first Australian feature film to cast a YouTube star in a lead role, and is loosely based on Leung’s late teenage years. SUCKER  will be released in series with a series of Q&A events across the country from December 1st at select Hoyts cinemas. Both John Luc and Lawrence Leung will be touring. Tickets are on sale now. Hoyts locations include: Tuesday 1st December - Hoyts Eastland (VIC) Wednesday 2nd December - Hoyts Melbourne Central (VIC) Thursday 3rd December - Hoyts Broadway (NSW)...

Hello, readers. This is a review about a book that a reviewer read. It may have been a book that you yourself have read. It may have been a book that you yourself have not read. It may have been a book designed to bring about the destruction of the known universe simply through the mere fact of its existence. It is sometimes hard to know these things. Whatever the book may be, you should know that the review of this book will contain NO SPOILERS, the declaration of which is capitalised because it is Important. Things that are Important are always capitalised, except for the word capitalised itself, which is not capitalised, even though it is Important. Have you ever noticed that? And now, a word from our reviewer. --- I'll be upfront straight away: Welcome to Night Vale: A Novel is, I feel, more of a book for fans of the long-running podcast than anything else. It's not entirely inaccessible for those who haven't heard it, but it'll be tough going for most; t...

Ever had an imaginary friend? Stephen Leeds has several, but they're not quite imaginary. Working as a contractor for tough jobs whilst evading eager journalists and psychologists in a house built for forty, Leeds - known colloquially as "Legion" - has it tough. Mostly because he has a strange kind of multiple personality disorder; different parts of his mind - or "aspects" - spin off and form separate people, which he can then see as hallucinations. The aspects have distinct personalities and backstories, formed fully in his brain either whenever he requires a certain skill, or when the aspects just feel like it. His mental state is so fragile that he has to imagine his aspects as real people, otherwise he'll go completely crazy rather than just partially. That makes him perfect for a job hunting a stolen corpse that contains the secret to human DNA memory storage, right? Despite being a humungous Brandon Sanderson fan, I'd never checked out the o...

Alice in Wonderland is quite possibly the most famous children's book in existence. That's a pretty bold statement in a world where stories like the Narnia books and the Harry Potter series exist, but I'd argue Alice is to kids' stories what The Lord of the Rings is to fantasy. It's one of the archetypal books, still beloved today and constantly reinterpreted. The hallowed status afforded Alice in Wonderland therefore makes reading a book like After Alice quite difficult. To link to Lord of the Rings again, it's almost equivocal to some people's complaints about last year's Shadow of Mordor ; introducing a newly-framed story in an existing one that's well-regarded and part of the genre's DNA? Or, moreover, using that new story to try and deconstruct part of the old one? You're either very brave or as mad as a hatter; given where After Alice takes place, you're probably the latter. The premise is simple; not long after Alic...

THE WALKING DEAD: SEASON 6: OWN IT FIRST IN DIGITAL HD Season Five of “ The Walking Dead ” saw our group being formed into consummate survivors by the world around them... nearly making some of them into villains. To make it as far as they have – to have persevered through all of their heartbreaking challenges – they have evolved into incredibly powerful people. But who have they become? The last five episodes of Season Five answered that question with Rick accepting an approach of unapologetic brutality in murdering Pete, a fellow Alexandrian. Season Six starts with Alexandria's safety shattered by multiple threats. To make it, the people of Alexandria will need to catch up with our survivors’ hardness while many of Rick’s people will need to take a step back from the violence and pragmatism they've needed to embrace. These reversals won't happen easily, or without conflict. But now Rick’s group is fighting for something more than survival... They'r...

Hey guys! This latest episode of Read, Watch, Play! comes to you from the hallowed halls of EB Expo. We get hands on with a whole bunch of games and then talk to you about them. That's pretty much it so dig in!     Get it from Itunes   here     Get it from Podomatic  here As always, if you like what we do please subscribe, rate and review us on iTunes or send us some feedback!

For the first time, see the unseen in PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: THE GHOST DIMENSION – the horrifying conclusion to the Paranormal Activity films. To celebrate the release of PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: THE GHOST DIMENSION we are giving you the chance to win 1 of 5 prize packs which include tickets to the film, phone case, self stirring mug and photosensitive T-Shirt. To go in the draw, all you have to do is punch in your details below and hit submit. It couldn’t be any easier to win. facebook.com/ParanormalactivityAU paranormalactivitymovie.com.au twitter.com/ParamountAU #ParanormalActivity ONLY AT THE MOVIES OCTOBER 22 Loading...

Welcome to BINGE-READ MANGA! On the first Tuesday of every month, Geek of Oz reviews a manga with a back catalogue and tells you why it's worth binging, Netflix-style. ______________________________________________________________________________ Ever had a teacher you really disliked, and wanted to get rid of? These guys do. Quite a bit.   THE STORY AND CHARACTERS Assassination Classroom is crazy. Seriously crazy. But also heartwarming. It's weird that way. After blowing up part of the moon, a sentient octopus-monster (who is later named Koro-sensei) arrives on Earth and demands to teach a class at a high school, or else he'll destroy the world in a year. The students of Koro-sensei's Class 3-E, tempted by a hefty bounty from the government, set about spending every day trying to kill him. Given that he can move at Mach 20 and is impervious to most guns, poisons and explosives, trying is the operative word there. AC has a premise that is, as shown ab...

DISCLAIMER: As with our other Journey to the Force Awakens reviews, images will be taken from publicity stills for the new movie. This review will contain NO SPOILERS for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. __________________________________________________________________________ The acronym 'YA' (Young Adult) carries a bit of a stigma in some literary circles. As the median between kids' and 'adult books, YA can be seen as softer, less interesting and only appealing to a niche demographic of teens and early 20s. That is, it can be seen as such if you're not willing to ignore such rigid styles of classification and enjoy a book entirely on its own merits. I mention this because I was hesitant about diving into Lost Stars . My past experience with 'younger' Star Wars titles - in particular those awful Young Jedi Knights books from back in the day - had given me trepidation for current ones. All those kinds of books felt diluted, as if some of the w...