Ever been bullied for being a geek?

Tony Lee

I've just read a blog post by writer Tony Lee that resonated with me, and I am sure with many others out there. Tony very kindly allowed me to blog about his post and link to it, and I would strongly recommend that if you have ever been bullied for being a geek or because you are/were the quiet boy/girl who isn't into sport, you should go to this link now, and then share it with all of your friends:


http://www.tonylee.co.uk/?p=359


The reason it resonated with me is that I too was not one of the cool kids at school. I was shy and very quiet, and much preferred reading and watching cartoons and films to joining the local or school sports teams. I did try hard at sport, but always seemed to fail dismally. I was also short and skinny. I was bullied as well, as I didn't fit in with the cool kids, and I hated much of my time at secondary school, but tended to keep that to myself and didn't talk about it. At my school it wasn't the done thing to complain about being bullied. Needless to say I have never been back since the day I sat my last A-Level.

Tony's blog post was inspired by a song by actress Felicia Day and The Guild. The song is called 'I'm The One That's Cool' and I downloaded it from itunes as soon as I heard it (see YouTube video at the end of this post). Geek culture, the kind of thing that Tony and I were picked on for liking, is now the new cool. The Avengers has become one of the best selling films of all time and millions of people tune in to watch each new season of Doctor Who. I do have one or two small regrets as far as being a geek is concerned: I had very little access to Marvel/DC comics and I never played D&D has a teen (I didn't know anyone who would play it with me), and all these years later I have still never played a RPG (and feel I have missed out, especially when I hear blogger friends and authors talking so animatedly about it).

Like Tony, my experiences as a teen have made me the person I am today. I hate bullying with a passion, and as a Head of Year for seven years at school I worked tirelessly to deal with any case that came my way. I also never judge a student for what they choose to wear, the music they like or the hobbies they have. I love geeking out with the boys, and have converted several to reading comics (several of my sixth formers now have standing orders with Forbidden Planet). And of course, I am doing everything I can at school to make reading cool.

As well as showcasing Tony Lee's blog post I want to add a little something to the quiet, shy kids out there. When I was a teenager the thought of any kind of public speaking filled me with abject terror, and I never dreamed I would one day be a teacher. These days I regularly present in assemblies of 240+ kids, or large groups of parents and staff, and do so with ease. I also DJ, and even though I am nervous before every event I do, once I am started I love it. I would say to any child like this not to worry about being shy, you can overcome it, but sometimes it takes a little time - I had been teaching for six years before I found the guts to lead an assembly!

Tony Lee is the writer of a multitude of comics and graphic novels, the most recent being a Doctor Who/Star trek crossover. Personally, I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of his MacGyver comic when it eventually hits the stores.

And here is the song that inspired his blog post:

Review: The Hunting Ground by Cliff McNish

When Elliott and his brother move into the old and crumbling Glebe House they don't expect to find themselves sharing it with ghosts. But soon sinister events are unfolding. An old diary reveals glimpses of the mansion's past - and of a terrible tragedy. An old woman talks to ghosts - but is she in fact being controlled by them? And what of the sinister East Wing - a hideous labyrinth devised by a truly twisted mind? Can Elliott and his family escape the clutches of Glebe House? Or will they end up trapped in the endless maze of corridors, forever hunted by the dead?

Tired of vampires? All zombied out? Not a fan of gore? If you love horror and can say yes to any or all of these then The Hunting Ground by Cliff McNish might be for you. With the success in cinemas of The Woman in Black is would appear that the more traditional ghost stories are gaining in popularity again. Already this year I have reviewed Michelle Harrison's Unrest and James Dawson's Hollow Pike, both of which rely heavily on the creep factor rather than blood splatter, and The Hunting Ground is another book in this vein.

The Hunting Ground was first released in 2011 by Orion's Children's Books, but was re-released earlier in 2012 as part of Orion's new YA imprint, Indigo. It certainly sits better in my mind as a book for teens as it is the kind of book from which nightmares are born.

I'm trying to think of a way to describe the plot without giving too much away, as much of the impact from this book comes from the tension that Cliff McNish skilfully builds as the story progresses, with the reader constantly guessing (and fearing) what might happen next. Too put it as concisely as possible, two boys and their father move into a run-down country mansion that is in dire need of renovation. Naturally, this being a ghost story, the house has quite a nasty history. A previous owner, Cullayn, was a vicious beast of a man, and unfortunately for boys the despicable atrocities he committed have left a mark on the house that could have dire consequences for them many years on.

The pace of the story was absolutely spot on in my opinion. Cliff McNish has pulses racing with his more terrifying scenes, but knows exactly when to pull back and give the reader a little respite, before ratcheting the fear actor up all over gain. In doing so the tension in the story builds constantly throughout the book, so that when we come to the climactic closing scenes we are little more than gibbering wrecks, jumping at the smallest noise.

Cliff McNish has again proved that he is a master of dark storytelling, and I am a little saddened that he is not as widely known as the other current masters of teen horror. Much as I enjoyed Hollow Pike by James Dawson I found The Hunting Ground to be a much scarier read and I have been pushing it with the horror fans at school ever since. McNish is able to tap into a reader's psyche and seem to take great delight in playing around with their primal fears. I am not easily scared but having read this well into the night I did then experience uncomfortable dreams where I was being chased through long, empty corridors by an unknown entity.

For confident older teen readers The Hunting Ground could make the perfect entry into some of the classic ghost/horror stories by the likes of Edgar Allen Poe and M.R. James or the brilliant The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. My thanks go to the lovely people at Orion for sending me a copy to review.

News: Redesigned US Covers for Philip Reeve's Predator Cities Books

Last week I posted images of the redesigned covers for what has been known as the Mortal Engines series by Philip Reeve, but from now on will be known as the Predator Cities Quartet. As I have just as many readers in the US these days I thought it only fair to showcase the redesigned covers for the US versions, as I have just spotted them on Philip's own blog. I know which ones I personally prefer - in my opinion these US covers are the perfect graphical embodiment of the pictures I have in my mind when I read these stories.