Author: markswritingcorner

Mark Ahern was born in 1979 and is from Ireland. He attained a Degree in Commerce from UCD in 2000 and a Masters in European Studies in 2001. He has written three novels to date encompassing science fiction and thrillers. At times Mark has used his experiences as an individual with a disability to write from a truly unique perspective. "Chronicles of Martan" which is his sole science fiction work to date, is an epic space odyssey inspired by his love of Star Wars. This was followed by "Not the Usual Suspect" and "Paradigm". His current project is called "The Irish Ripper" and should be available late 2019.

Kiera Knightley Shines in ‘The Woman in Cabin 10’ Review

Hello readers, I hope you are having a delightful day. I watched this film earlier today based on a book by the same name, and thought it was worth writing about.

Investigative Detective Blacklock, played by the still very beautiful Kiera Knightley, is going through a hard time. A source for one of her stories was recently murdered. So, she takes the opportunity to follow up on a fluff piece about a group of wealthy people, who will make a contribution to cancer research after one of them gets a terminal prognosis. Little does she realize that an ex is also on the boat.

I did wonder if they could make this film, with most of the action happening on a large yacht. But it pulls it off. Things go into high gear when our investigator sees a body in the water from Cabin 10. The only problem is that they don’t find it, and nobody is missing. Did she really see a body, or did her mind conjure it up? The rest of the people on the ship are definitely convinced it is.

What follows is a thriller full of intrigue and menace. Will our intrepid heroine figure it all out? It all makes sense at just the right time, turning into a classic tale of backstabbing and revenge.

As of October 2025, this film can be viewed on Netflix. I give it four stars out of five.

Have you seen it?

What did you think? Let me know in the comments.

Distant Love (Part 40)

Derek drives his wheelchair into position in the middle of the deck. Clamps lock onto the wheelchair as a belt closes around his torso.

There is a large computer monitor in front of him showing the grey hangar door blocking their exit. The rest of the deck is full of red leather seats and various computers that combine into an AI hive mind known as “The Ship”.

He looks to see that Maeve is strapped in, then issues the command to the ship’s computer to initiate take-off.

The ship replies, “Good to see you, Derek. And I see you have a guest. Initializing the thrusters.”

Derek feels the ship rattling. Then it stops dead.

“What happened?” Maeve yelps.

“The station has given a counter order,” the station replies matter-of-factly.

Everything is going exactly as Derek foresaw, “Issuing Emergency Order 563.”

The thrusters ignite one more, and the hangar door opens to reveal the lunar landscape.

Then, they lift off. Earth comes into view, a blue dot in the vastness of space. The orbiting space habitats are invisible at this distance.

A buzzing sound comes over the communications array.

Then Derek hears Nathalie’s voice. “What are you doing, Derek? This is crazy. You need to come back right now!”

Distant Love (Part 39)

The hail of fire stops their pursuers. On reaching the end of the corridor, they are met by another lift, except it’s locked this time.

“You need to enter the code – zero, three, four, five. A perk of the job,” Derek roars as he opens fire once more.

Maeve taps the code in, and the door swings open. “Let’s go, Derek!”.

The door closes as Derek makes it through, “We’re going to the top level.”

Maeve presses the relevant button, then plants a kiss on his lips. “Thank you for saving me.”

The lift door opens, and they exit into a large hangar. There is a stench of oil.

“There she is, Maeve. Right in front of us, the red one. My mother left her to me, but up till now, there was nowhere I wanted to go. Not till I met you.”

They hurry over the ship. A device in Derek’s chair signals for the cargo bay ramp to go down. Derek drives onto the ramps, with Maeve close behind as he hears shouting in the distance. He can feel his heart beating. “Maeve, follow me to the deck and strap yourself in pronto. We need to get off this base.”

Distant Love (Part 38)

The lift door opens. Derek is sitting in his electric wheelchair and pointing a Swazi hand laser at one of the guards. Its sleek design is unmistakable; it has the power to disintegrate those in front of it. “I’m here for you Maeve.”

His hand motions for the two guards to get out. They look at each other in disbelief before raising their hands and exiting. A guard tosses the keys of the handcuffs to Maeve, who takes them off.

Derek reverses into the lift, all the time keeping them in his sights, “It’s nothing personal. Now run!”

They turn and sprint away as the lift door closes.

Maeve hugs him, “What now?”

“Press Floor 7, we don’t have much time.”

An alarm blares as the lift rises. The lift door opens, revealing a long, white corridor. “Maeve, you need to sprint. The wheelchair will keep up with you. Now, run.”

Sure enough, he kept by her side. The sound of people shouting comes from behind.

“I’m putting the wheelchair on auto. Keep going as fast as you can, Maeve.”

She looks over to see his seat turning around to the other side of the direction he is travelling in. He opens fire.

Review of Monster: The Ed Gein Story

My dear readers, I’ll make no bones about it. If you are of a weak disposition to gore, then you should stop reading here. This series recently dropped on Netflix. It is a dramatization of the life of the notorious Edward Theodore Gein, also known as The Butcher of Plainfield.

In reality, he was convicted of two murders and suspected of a further seven. The reason he entered into the mainstream consciousness is the grave robbing and what he did with the bodies afterwards, using skulls as bowls and skin to make lamps. All horrifying to the normal human mind. It is thought that he suffered from a deep psychosis.

It is important to remember that this is a dramatization. Therefore, it cannot be considered to be all factual. Well, certain parts of it, anyway.

The series contains eight episodes. Charlie Hunnam plays Ed. The first thing I noticed was his nice, soft voice. Not the voice you would expect from a killer. The first episode details Ed’s relationship with his mother. She played a crucial role in his development, isolating him from the wider world and indoctrinating him in biblical verse. He ends up caring for her for her after a stroke, then is left bereft after her death.

This is when things turn ever more sinister as he begins grave robbing. He believes one of the cadavers is his mother, back home with him again.

I enjoyed watching the series, but at times I had to switch from its macabre scenes.

The relationship between Gein and his girlfriend Adeline, doesn’t ring true. In the series, she lives next door and is not horrified by his antics. It seems very unlikely that there would be two such characters in a small, sparsely populated area.

The last episode is very strange, stuck somewhere between being respectful to a mentally ill man and glorifying his disturbing deeds.

Monster: The Ed Gein Story gets 3.5 stars out of five from me.

Have you seen this series?

What are your thoughts?

Why Wednesday Season 2 is Worth Your Time

Dear readers, it is great to be back here with you again. For those who may not remember, or dare I say it, may not have read it, I thoroughly enjoyed the first series of “Wednesday”. The second season was recently released on Netflix, which is playing a blinder at the moment.

There has been quite a delay since the first series. Somewhat ironically, considering the black comedy, Jenna Ortega, who plays Wednesday, did not wish to return. She was not impressed with the rest of her team, and apparently had to come up with a considerable amount of her own dialogue and improvisations. Then, it became a huge hit. I’m sure this gave her much more power to get things done the way she wanted.

So what did I think of Season 2?

One word – excellent. And this from a man mid-forties about a bunch of mostly female high schoolers in a supernatural mystery comedy.

The first series turned Ortega into a worldwide star, and she is just as good in series two. In fact, her skills may even be more challenged in this one, where bodies are temporarily swapped. A powerful dynamic in Series Two is the relationship between Wednesday and her mother, who is played by the legendary Catherine Zeta-Jones. There is a certain warmth underneath the coldness as they try to outwit one another. Wednesday, so she can break free, and fear on her mother’s side that she pushes things too far. A pivotal moment is a veiled sword fight between them to determine if Wednesday gets her psychic knowledge book back.

Pugsley becomes a more central character in Series 2. He has a much greater wish to be loved than Wednesday. It hurts when he is rejected, and he ends up making a very unusual friend, even by the standards of the Addams family.

Another character who lights up this series is Enid, played by the delightful Emma Myers. Enid is an unforgettable character who plays an important counterpoint to the deadpan Wednesday.

Five stars out of five from me. Now, go watch some TV!

So, have you seen it, and what did you think?

Distant Love (Part 37)

Maeve wakes up to the sound of other prisoners shouting for their breakfast. They arrived the previous night and insisted on making their presence felt.

Her thoughts turned to Derek, and she wished she could see him once more. Checking on his location, she smiles. He is back on the base.

There is a knock on her cell door.

“Yes?”

The door opens, the knock merely allowing a few seconds to get ready.

They need not have worried. She slept ready. All she needed was a comb for her long hair.

Today, she was to be brought before the lunar judge to plead, either “guilty” or “not guilty.” Her lawyer had strongly advised against fighting it: “You could be free in as little as ten years.”

So, in her mind, there was little. Ten years it would be.

Two nervous officers entered – a male and a female. They both stern.

The woman spoke, “Maeve, please come with us.”

Maeve nods and follows them out. It is a path she has become familiar with.

The other prisoners screech at them through the bars. Tears roll down Maeve’s face as they enter a long corridor with an escalator that brings them up a level.

Distant Love (Part 36)

Maeve’s movements are easy to track. She is connected to the lunar net. It is about predicting where she will be brought next. Derek needs to be there in advance, and at exactly the right time.

He continues his usual routine. All the time plotting. Nathalie seems to sense something is afoot.

“Still thinking about her, Derek?”

And, “there are other girls.”

He frowns, telling her that he’s okay. She would try to stop him, there’s no doubt about it.

At four o’clock, he leaves work early and heads to the tavern in Delta B. It’s a long journey and involves travelling between habitats, separated by hundreds of miles on the Lunar Express. It’s just the same as a train on Earth, except its passage is enclosed in regolith.

Derek hasn’t done this before, but there is no other option.

******

Maeves looks out at the cratered lunar surface from her cell. This is not how she thought she’d end up. She can see the Earth in the distance. So much opportunity gone. Her lawyer thinks her defence is futile, even if she never did anything wrong. Nobody believes her, except Derek. And he seems to be leaving her when she scans his position.

She lies down on the cold cell floor, a solitary pillow her only comfort.

Review of the Netflix Series”The House of Guinness”

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is rare that I get to review something Ireland-related, but this is one of those times. A pint of Guinness and the famous brewery are synonymous with Ireland, nearly as much as the Catholic Church, GAA, and the Irish language.

The doors to the brewery are iconic. I’m sure all native Dubliners would know their location.

This series is a work of fiction, inspired by real events. Set in the 1880s, following the lives of the grandchildren of the founder of the brewery after the death of their father. It was created by the same people as “Peaky Blinders”.

The scenes of old Georgian Dublin are quite simply mesmerizing. It is recognizable, and yet so different. Unfortunately, much of Georgian and old Viking Dublin was later demolished. It captures Ireland and Irish people well, but there are times when it’s easy to tell the pure fiction.

An example is the opening fight scene at a funeral. That would never happen – Irish people love funerals, much better to silently say poisonous mutterings. It wouldn’t make for great TV, though, except as comedy, perhaps.

Anthony Boyle delivers a standout performance as Arthur Guinness, portrayed as a cunning, intelligent, and fierce individual. He happens to be gay, a criminal offence of a grave nature at the time, which adds to the intrigue.

This is a great drama. If you have Netflix, watch it tonight. If not, get it tomorrow.

Five stars out of five from me.

Distant Love (Part 35)

Timothy found himself lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling once more. He is due back at work within the hour, but is having difficulty processing what has happened.

Maeve’s family was involved in drugs. How did she not know? It was a large ship, though.

Arguments continue back and forth in his mangled mind.

He thinks back to that time, many years ago, when he considered ending it all. He had been told the week before by a serious-looking consultant decked out in white attire that nanotechnology would not be able to make him walk again. It had been a shock to find out that he’s part of a rare breed whose body turns on the nanonites. The emotional toil took time to build, but then exploded.

Maeve had been there for him, apparently sensitive to his despair even if he never told her exactly why. Hour after hour of mindless chatter helped him through those dark times.

It’s my turn to help her.

An idea springs to mind. His adoptive Mum left him a ship. He could leave the lunar system with her. Looking up the current position of La Madame, the final pieces of a possible plan fall into place.