Frayed Branches

Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King: A Mystery, A Character Study, and A Race Against Time If you’re big on the horror genre—or just big on books in general—chance is you’ve heard of Stephen King. Many of his books feature elements of supernatural terror, often bringing dysphoria to fictional towns in Maine like Castle Rock and Derry. Not all of King’s works are focused on paranormal terrors, however. His serial novel The Green Mile utilized some elements of supernatural events, but for the most part did so without elements of horror invoked. Instead, those events were more elevated in how the unnatural can impact reality or our perceptions of the world. His novella Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption remained grounded in reality, lacking the supernatural qualities that often identify with King’s tales. And, true to that reality, there is the first book in King’s Bill Hodges’ Trilogy, titled Mr. Mercedes . A self-described “hard-boiled detective book,” this novel differs vastly from ...

Your Honor : Sins of the Father, Sins of the Son The initial impact I get from every show involving judges and juries is that, somehow, the show will swing either one of two ways. On one end, I anticipate occasional justice and honor from our protagonists, doing what they do in order to preserve the law against those who seek to water it down for their own nefarious purposes. On the other end, I also occasionally expect these kinds of shows to go down paths of corruption, often through story-based justifications that don’t always feel well-earned. I won’t name names, but there are some pieces of media out there involving law corruption that attempt to do so without much in mind outside of the initial corruptive elements. Not every show can be a Better Call Saul , where the slow buildup of those negative elements of the law—coupled with stellar characters—keeps audiences on the edge of their seats. And while no underrated Breaking Bad spin-off, Showtime’s latest miniseries, Your Honor ...

 Dark Waters: A True Thriller Everyone Should See I try not to make recommendations for different films lightly. Whenever I see a really great film, no matter what it’s about, I have to think about whether or not the film is worth seeing from a broad perspective, or for people looking for a specific story. Todd Haynes’ 2019 film Dark Waters , however, proves that there is an exception to every rule. Because this is a film that everyone should see. Not only because it’s a true story that remains accurate to the reality of everything that transpired in parallel to real life, but also because this is the scariest film I’ve ever seen. There has never been a more horrifying, paranoia-infused movie than this. My heart was beating fast throughout the final half of the film, resonating with me in ways very few films ever have, perhaps for the first time in years. If that description doesn’t sound like the kind of film you’d like to watch, I implore you to think otherwise. Because Dark Wate...

The Fires of Jubilee : The Spark of Nat Turner   Slavery’s echo has been entrenched in American history since the nation’s birth. Its historical influence on culture and society cannot be ignored, especially at a time where activists have shone light on the social injustices plaguing the nation even to this day. While society itself has harbored oppressive attributes for centuries, the people whom societal injustice has impacted have always found a way to fight back. Even in situations that seem hopeless, people still find a way to rage against the injustices wrought upon them by a world that does not prioritize the humanity of those deemed to be at the bottom. One of the most memorable rebels in American history—one who changed the course of the country and may have acted as the first domino leading to the Civil War and the abolition of slavery—was Nat Turner. And his story of revolution is well-documented in Stephen B. Oates’ The Fires of Jubilee: Nat Turner’s Fierce Rebellion . ...