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Ross (3284 KP) rated Dispel Illusion in Books

Jan 3, 2020  
Dispel Illusion
Dispel Illusion
Mark Lawrence | 2019 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A consistent end to the trilogy
The D&D time-travel series comes to and end with this third book. Here the action is split between a timeline in the 90s following the first two books, with a future narrative of Nick's adult life in the 2000s and 2010s, and finishing up with a retelling of the events of the first book, from "future Nick's" PoV.
I still have issues with the science, multiverse and time-travel execution here as with the first books, but appreciate the way the story was woven together. Some of Lawrence's fantasy books have the different timeline feature and once again he expertly weaves them together so the overall story emerges at a good pace.
At one point, I thought the book was going to go down the Bill & Ted route as a cop-out ("in the future we will come back to this point and leave this key here and voila here it is") but this was actually quite well handled and wasn't the cop-out I feared.
The book benefits from a more stretched timeline as we see significant events from Nick's adult life, rather than dwelling on his teenage years solely. Likewise there is more of a focus on the D&D, which was somewhat lacking in book 2, and with key learnings from that featuring in the real world storyline.
Overall, I think I enjoyed this series, but I have my hang-ups about time-travel and multiverse theories in general. A good bit of escapism, if a little heavy on the pretend science at times.
  
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Kate Nash recommended track Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana in Icon by Nirvana in Music (curated)

 
Icon by Nirvana
Icon by Nirvana
2010 | Rock
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I feel like everyone has this on their list of songs, because who doesn’t remember hearing this and just being like ‘Wow, I feel so amazing right now!’ I got a tape and it was all different songs - it had Sum 41, Blink-182, Papa Roach, Fred Durst and Nirvana. ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ satisfied every single inch of me and it really hit every nerve. It’s the most complete pop song ever, you’re just ‘Oh my god, this is probably the best song ever written.’ “Like the Britney song, it was a perfect song for me. ‘...Baby One More Time’ and ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ are perfect pop songs, they’re from completely different worlds, but worlds that are important for a teenager to have a connection to. As an adult it’s still an important connection for me to have, that’s the thing with these magical songs, I feel exactly the same way when I hear ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ now. It’s always satisfying and I never want to turn it off. I’ve heard these songs so many times and they always feel as good. “It’s been a soundtrack to so many times and I also discovered so many of Nirvana’s albums and grew to love them as an adult in a completely different way than as a child. I’ve danced to it in clubs so many times; on tour, before a show, after a show and I’ve played it in the club before shows, so that the audience will hear it. There’s certain songs that I like to play to get people going and this is one of them."

Source
  
Cars 3 (2017)
Cars 3 (2017)
2017 | Animation, Comedy, Family
There was me thinking that seeing Cars 3 on a Friday morning when most of the schools are still in sessions would be a nice and peaceful affair... *insert annoyed face here* Sadly, this was not the case and I was the only person in the screen without a child. There were probably only about twenty of us there... but still, when are they going to do adult only screenings of things?! Anyway, enough of that.

Lightning McQueen and his fellow racers have been enjoying the road together for a long time. So when the newcomers start to make waves it means there are hard decisions ahead. McQueen isn't ready to take his last pit stop though and so he has to train harder, and smarter, if he's going to beat his new high-tech competition.

With the help of Cruz Ramirez, he could be about to start the next phase of his career. But is it enough to beat Jackson Storm?..

Pixar have made another winner with this one. I'm not even sure how they manage to make me cry at animated cars... damn you Pixar, I never have enough tissues.

Cars is the least successful of the Pixar franchises. Don't shoot the messenger, I checked on box office sales. (It's not the worst performing film if that's any consolation, but it was fairly close.) But even Pixar's worst is still pretty amazing. Their films are all round fun, they have the ups and downs of any adult films, PLUS you always get an amazing short to go with it. Here's a quick trailer for Lou.
  
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A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire (Blood and Ash #2)
A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire (Blood and Ash #2)
Jennifer L. Armentrout | 2020 | Dystopia, Erotica, Paranormal, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Continues right where the first book left off (0 more)
The fighting scenes get tedious to read. (0 more)
Surprisingly Good *Not The Teen Novel It Is Made Out To Be....Adult Content*
So much like the first book in the series, this one has a lot of adult content. That's as far as the warning is going to go this time.

I was pleasantly surprised when I opened this book and found that the first sentence in this one was the last sentence in the previous book. The transition from one book to another was so flawless that they actually could just be part one and two of the same book.

Right away we join Poppy on her journey away from the Ascended and towards Atlantia and her uncertain future. Casteel and Poppy are slowly navigating their relationship and trying to establish where they stand with each other and how far they are willing to take things. This is hard to accomplish when it seems like every time they turn around they face one problem after another be it Ascended, Craven, Descenters, or even unhappy and nervous Atlantians and Wolven.

No punches are pulled (literally) in this second Blood and Ash novel. The twists and turns are just as surprising as in the first if not a bit more confusing than before. While it is not quite as good as the first one because it falls into the trap that many fantasy books do when there are battles and the description of them causes that battle to drag on. However, that did not take too much away from how enjoyable this book is.
  
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Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated One Of Us (2017) in Movies

Oct 24, 2017 (Updated Oct 24, 2017)  
One Of Us (2017)
One Of Us (2017)
2017 | Documentary
How religious dogma can appear under any situation
A heartbreaking documentary following three ex-Hasidic Jews, who are attempting to fight fanaticism within the ultra-orthodox community. From ex-communication, to rape, abuse, and kangaroo justice, the film shows how a wall of secrecy allows discrimination and zealotry to thrive.

In one story, a woman with seven children, who was abused by her husband and even at one point was run down whilst on her bicycle, because she tried to get a divorce through the court system. It's grim to say the least. Another young adult describes being raped as a child by a teacher, who was allowed to continue to work despite the claims.

The documentary is truly shocking and shows that extremism is reactive and can breed under any society and circumstance.
  
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Suswatibasu (1703 KP) Oct 25, 2017

I'm a big fan of some of the Netflix documentaries, they're rather outstanding just because the content is very different.