Scorpion by Christian Cantrell – Book Review

Scorpion by Christian Cantrell – Book Cover

The pace of the cross-border killing spree is picking up fast. But the motive? Murky at best. The only clue comes in the form of cryptic four-digit number sequences tattooed on the victims’ bodies. CIA analyst Quinn Mitchell has never faced a tougher assignment. Scorpion, Christian Cantrell’s philosophical techno-thriller, offers a glimpse into the brutal future knocking at our door.

The Future Is Now

Just a stone’s throw away. And yes—it’s just as ugly as we imagined. Scorpion could be set five years from now. Or ten. Or the day after tomorrow. The staggering pace of technological advancement has already brought the achievements of the near future into view. And artificial intelligence—as we’re already experiencing—is changing everything, day by day.

Christian Cantrell—an engineer and software developer in civilian life—offers a vision that’s filled with both the familiar and the unknown. The tech and gadgets in Scorpion are so convincingly real, you’ll find yourself wondering whether you read about them here first—or in yesterday’s news.

In any case, they’re surrounded by the gentle warmth of familiarity—and thankfully, by credibility as well. That’s where many future-set thrillers stumble right out of the gate, either trying to say too much or trying to say it all at once.

But there’s one thing you definitely haven’t heard of: no one has ever received a message from the future. (Or at least, no one’s been willing to admit it—so far.)

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Killing Gunther (2017) – Film Review

Killing Gunther (2017) movie poster

Blake, a hitman, decides—for reasons that are as baffling to himself as they are to everyone else—that he’s going to kill Gunther, the coolest assassin in the game. To pull off this major job, he assembles a ragtag crew of fellow assassins. Oh, and he also ropes in a documentary film crew—obviously, just to ensure his failure is recorded for posterity. Featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger among the cast, Killing Gunther not only parodies the action-movie genre with its icy-cold, badass killers but also hilariously mocks itself in the process.

Budget Hitmen for a Bargain

The problem? Everyone in Blake’s team is an idiot. Or a loser. Or both an idiot and a loser. And not the funny kind, mind you—just lame. And painfully dull. Watching this sorry excuse for a crew bumble through their mission, you can’t help but think that if you ever needed to take someone out, you’d be far better off doing it yourself.

Taran Killam’s action-comedy never takes itself seriously, which isn’t necessarily a strength in a film about assassins. Especially during scenes where, you know, they’re supposed to be killing someone. In Killing Gunther, they’re always trying to kill someone—and that someone is, of course, Gunther.

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