Books on Film: THE NIGHT AGENT by Matthew Quirk

I’ve been a fan of Matthew Quirk‘s thrillers ever since I blitzed through an ARC of his debut, The 500. I read it in a single sitting, staying up well into the wee hours of the morning — at the time, we were living in a bedsit, so I read it all sitting on the floor in our bathroom, so my partner could sleep undisturbed. Anyway, on March 23rd, Netflix are due to release the ten-episode television adaptation of The Night Agent! Somehow, I managed to either miss or forget that it was being adapted, but I am very much looking forward to seeing what they’ve come up with.

Originally published in 2019, here’s the synopsis:

To save America from a catastrophic betrayal, an FBI agent must stop a Russian mole in the White House…

No one is more surprised than FBI Agent Peter Sutherland when he’s tapped to work in the White House Situation Room. When Peter was a boy, his father was suspected of selling secrets to the Russians — a breach that cost him his career, his reputation, and eventually his life. Now Peter’s job is monitoring an emergency line for a call that has not — and might never — come.

Until tonight.

At 1:05 a.m. the phone rings. A terrified young woman named Rose tells Peter that two people have just been murdered and that the killer might still be in the house with her. One of the victims gave her this phone number with urgent instructions: “Tell them OSPREY was right. It’s happening…” The call thrusts Peter into the heart of a conspiracy years in the making, involving a Russian mole at the highest levels of the U.S. government. Anyone in the White House could be the traitor. Anyone could be corrupted. To save the nation, Peter must take the rules into his own hands, question everything, and trust no one.

The Night Agent is published in North America by William Morrow, and in the UK by Aries/Head of Zeus. Continue reading

Books on Film: THE GRAY MAN by Mark Greaney

This past week, Netflix dropped the movie adaptation of Mark Greaney‘s The Gray Man. The movie is based on the first book in the action/thriller/espionage series — one that I have been very eager to try (yet have inexplicably not yet got around to, despite owning the first handful of novels). Time permitting, I hope to get to the movie this week. Here’s the book’s synopsis:

GreaneyM-GM1-GrayManUS_TieInTo those who lurk in the shadows, he’s known as the Gray Man. He is a legend in the covert realm, moving silently from job to job, accomplishing the impossible and then fading away. And he always hits his target. Always.

But there are forces more lethal than Gentry in the world. Forces like money. And power. And there are men who hold these as the only currency worth fighting for. And in their eyes, Gentry has just outlived his usefulness.

But Court Gentry is going to prove that, for him, there’s no gray area between killing for a living and killing to stay alive…

Directed by the Russo Brothers, and starring Ryan Gosling (as “Six”), Chris Evans (“Lloyd Hansen”), Ana de Armas (Dani Miranda), and Billy Bob Thornton (“Fitzroy”), it’s up on Netflix now!

Mark Greaney’s The Gray Man is out now, published by Berkley in North America and Sphere in the UK.

Also on CR: Interview with Mark Greaney (2019); Excerpt from One Minute Out

The Gray Man IMDb
Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Twitter

Books on Film: THE SANDMAN by Neil Gaiman

Upon escaping after decades of imprisonment by a mortal wizard, Dream, the personification of dreams, sets about to reclaim his lost equipment.

The trailer for Netflix’s long-awaited, highly-anticipated adaptation of Neil Gaiman‘s The Sandman was unveiled at ComicCon yesterday. My interest, already very high, has only increased. Can’t wait to watch this!

The comic series, which was illustrated by Sam Keith, is published by DC Comics (originally Vertigo), and is available in newly re-issued and re-coloured collected editions, as well as the Absolute Sandman and Annotated Sandman editions. Here’s the synopsis for Preludes & Nocturnes, the first volume in the series (which I highly recommend):

In PRELUDES and NOCTURNES, collecting issues #1-8, an occultist attempting to capture Death to bargain for eternal life traps Death’s younger brother Dream instead. After his 70-year imprisonment and eventual escape, Morpheus goes on a quest for his lost objects of power. On his arduous journey Morpheus encounters Lucifer, John Constantine and an all-powerful madman. This book also includes the story “The Sound of Her Wings” which introduces the pragmatic, perky Death.

The Sandman IMDb, Twitter
Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Twitter

Sandman-Poster

Music: TOSS A COIN TO YOUR WITCHER, a Metal Version…

Well, this is pretty cool: Trivium frontman Matt Heafy has recorded a metal cover of “Toss a Coin to Your Witcher”. It works rather well, too. The song is the catchy-AF song from The Witcher TV adaptation.

You can watch Season 1 of The Witcher on Netflix. Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher novels are published by Orbit in North America and Gollancz in the UK. Trivium’s latest album, What the Dead Men Say, is out now via Roadrunner Records. The title track is the latest single, and you can watch the video for that, below:

Upcoming: THE OLD GUARD (Netflix)

As far as I can tell, this movie has not been getting a lot of attention. I can’t remember when I first learned of it, but I think it was when I spotted some stills quite some times ago, on Twitter. Aside from a few other people sharing the trailer and stating similar surprise at its low-visibility, Netflix’s upcoming movie The Old Guard seems to be skimming along with minimal attention. This is quite surprising. Continue reading

Upcoming: RAISING DION (Netflix)

The trailer for Raising Dion dropped today. It’s a new super-hero show executive-produced by the ever-excellent Michael B. Jordan (The Wire, Black Panther, Friday Night Lights, Creed, etc.). It looks really cool:

Here’s the official synopsis:

A young boy struggling to control his newfound powers. A single mom fighting the odds to keep her son safe. Secrets, conspiracies, mysteries, all dangerously swarming around one family…

Starring Ja’Siah Young and Alisha Wainwright, Raising Dion launches October 4th, only on Netflix.

New ALTERED CARBON trailer!

Netflix has released a new trailer for its upcoming adaptation of Richard K. Morgan’s Altered Carbon! My anticipation levels for this series are very high (I’ve mentioned before on CR that the novel carries much of the blame for getting me into sci-fi), and this trailer further ramped up my impatience. Here it is:

Here’s the official synopsis for the series:

In the distant future, human consciousness can be digitized and downloaded into different bodies. Brought back to life after 250 years by Laurens Bancroft (James Purefoy) the richest man on Earth, ex-Envoy soldier Takeshi Kovacs (Joel Kinnaman / Will Yun Lee) must solve Bancroft’s attempted murder for the chance to live again in a world he doesn’t recognize.

Altered Carbon releases on February 2nd, 2018. In the meantime, the novel is published by Gollancz in the UK, and Del Rey in North America (a new, series tie-in edition will be released in February).

MorganR-TK1-AlteredCarbon

Upcoming: ALTERED CARBON (Netflix)

Richard K. Morgan shared the above trailer on Twitter, and it kind of made my day. This coming February, Netflix will release Altered Carbon, their TV adaptation of Richard Morgan’s novel of the same name. I am very much looking forward to this. Continue reading