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Mostly Harmless
Mostly Harmless
Douglas Adams | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
6
8.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
The fifth (and final) book in Douglas Adam's <i>Hitch-hikers Guide</i> 'trilogy', this is a book that I have read many feel should never have been written.

This is a lot more serious than the previous novels, with the overall tone a lot darker than before: for example (and very early on) Arthur Dent is back to wandering the universe, after having the love of his life whisked away from him while traveling through Hyperspace while, in an alternate reality, Tricia ('Trillian') McMillan regrets not going off with Zaphod Beeblebrox. I have to say, as well, the novel also ends on rather a down-beat note!
  
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Merissa (11622 KP) rated Hunted (Dark Reflections #2) in Books

Apr 6, 2023 (Updated Apr 10, 2023)  
Hunted (Dark Reflections #2)
Hunted (Dark Reflections #2)
Dean Murray | 2014 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Bound took you into the alternate reality of Sanctuary's shifters. Hunted shows you Adri's story where her father and sister didn't die.

The best thing about these books is that you see and recognise characters from the Reflections series. Some parts may change but some, like in Adri's case, her core remains the same. The worst thing about these books is that I recognise a name and can't help but think about what sort of character they were in the 'other' reality. I say the worst thing but this is in no way a bad thing as it keeps the story fresh and very entertaining.

This book kept me turning the pages, unwilling to put it down until I had read 'just one more chapter'. You would think that I should know by now not to start one of Dean's books in the evening as it always ends up with me going to bed late!

Good luck to Adri with her training and I can't wait for her and Alec to meet in this reality. Highly recommended to Dean Murray/Eldon Murphy fans.
 
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
 
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
September 10, 2016
  
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Sarah (7798 KP) rated Priest (2011) in Movies

Oct 8, 2018  
Priest  (2011)
Priest (2011)
2011 | Action, Fantasy, Horror
4
7.1 (34 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Stylish but badly executed
This film was such a disappointment. On paper the premise of priests versus vampires sounds like it could be fairly promising, but sadly in reality they just don’t manage to pull it off. Some of the set and costume design is quite good and the cgi is a lot better than I ever would’ve thought on something like this. However the plot is horrendous. It doesn’t make a massive amount of sense and has a very short run time to fit in any explanation. The ending too is also over far too quickly. It touches on how a alternate dystopian future would look if governed by the Church, and this for me was the most interesting part of this entire film. The problem is that they barely touch on this side which is such a shame.
  
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David McK (3180 KP) rated Backwards (Red Dwarf #4) in Books

Jan 28, 2019 (Updated Sep 17, 2019)  
Backwards (Red Dwarf #4)
Backwards (Red Dwarf #4)
Rob Grant | 1996 | Humor & Comedy, Science Fiction/Fantasy
5
7.2 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
The third Red Dwarf book, picking up from where the previous entry ('Better Than Life) left off, with Dave Lister on earth in an alternate reality where time runs backwards.

More so than either of the previous two books, this novel has a plot all of its own, with that plot containing elements of the TV show on which it is based. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the final portion of the book, which takes the episode 'Gunmen of the Apocalypse' as it's basis. The novel also has a role to play for 'Ace' Rimmer, tracing how his life differed from Arnold Rimmer's back to a single event in his childhood.

Written by only one of the two authors responsible for the previous books, this is also not quite as funny as either of those books.
  
Tongues of Serpents (Temeraire #6)
Tongues of Serpents (Temeraire #6)
Naomi Novik | 2010 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
5
8.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
On paper this book ticks all the boxes for one that I should like: Alternate history, historical setting and dragons.

Unfortunately the reality for me fell well short fo what I felt could be acheived. This is the first book by Novik I have read and perhaps starting at number 6 means I am missing something, but this just failed to gel.

The concept of the dragons being a reality and influencing history was one that was easy to grasp but so very little was done with it. The dragons themselves are quite dull - far from the spectacular beast of legend they have little interesting to do and virtually no personality. There is also not a great deal of plot strung out very thinly involving a chase across Australia, but it takes so long to get going and the chase is repettitive and didn't capture my imagination.

There are some sparks of good ideas here - the smuggling, the political issues in Sydney (caused by the governer - a certain Captain Bligh) - but they end up undeveloped and drowned by the plodding narrative which doesn't seem to want to examine anything that doesn't involve the dragons.

The central idea may have promise in other books of the series, just not this one. Sorry Naomi