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Hazel (1853 KP) rated Fanya in the Underworld in Books
Dec 6, 2018
I was sent a copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Author Jordan Elizabeth has written many stories for young adults of all sorts of genres. With Fanya in the Underworld, Jordan tackles steampunk fiction with elements of fantasy and the paranormal. Set in Alaska during the 19th century when the state was still owned by Tsarist Russia, humans rely on steamtech and spirit magic to fuel their industrious cities.
The story begins shortly after the death of Fanya's father, leaving her as heir to his estate. Unfortunately, her step-mother has overruled her right to her inheritance. By making a fuss to the council, Fanya inadvertently puts both her life and the life of her younger sister in danger. Desperate to protect her sister from the clutches of a mysterious Englishman, Fanya finds herself in the wilderness where the indigenous, magical folk live. Despite having lived in a city her entire life, Fanya soon discovers she has far more in common with the people in the untamed wild.
Whilst a work of imaginative fiction, Fanya in the Underworld works with the historical truth about settlers moving to Alaska, Canada and the United States. Those from Europe who travelled to North America drove out the indigenous folk, destroyed their land and culture and deemed them to be lesser beings. The same has occurred in this novel in which the natives are banned from the cities, treated like animals and even murdered just for being who they are.
By caring so much about her sister, Fanya discovers the truth about the way the cities developed and is shocked by the revelation. Although her sister is at the forefront of her mind, her actions cause huge changes in Alaska resulting in a favourable, although unpredictable, conclusion.
Jordan Elizabeth draws the reader into the steampunk world of Tsarist Alaska. With the aid of illustrations by Aaron Siddal, Fanya in the Underworld is an exciting story unlike any written before. Unique characters, unique scenarios, and a fantastic ending, what more could anyone want?
Author Jordan Elizabeth has written many stories for young adults of all sorts of genres. With Fanya in the Underworld, Jordan tackles steampunk fiction with elements of fantasy and the paranormal. Set in Alaska during the 19th century when the state was still owned by Tsarist Russia, humans rely on steamtech and spirit magic to fuel their industrious cities.
The story begins shortly after the death of Fanya's father, leaving her as heir to his estate. Unfortunately, her step-mother has overruled her right to her inheritance. By making a fuss to the council, Fanya inadvertently puts both her life and the life of her younger sister in danger. Desperate to protect her sister from the clutches of a mysterious Englishman, Fanya finds herself in the wilderness where the indigenous, magical folk live. Despite having lived in a city her entire life, Fanya soon discovers she has far more in common with the people in the untamed wild.
Whilst a work of imaginative fiction, Fanya in the Underworld works with the historical truth about settlers moving to Alaska, Canada and the United States. Those from Europe who travelled to North America drove out the indigenous folk, destroyed their land and culture and deemed them to be lesser beings. The same has occurred in this novel in which the natives are banned from the cities, treated like animals and even murdered just for being who they are.
By caring so much about her sister, Fanya discovers the truth about the way the cities developed and is shocked by the revelation. Although her sister is at the forefront of her mind, her actions cause huge changes in Alaska resulting in a favourable, although unpredictable, conclusion.
Jordan Elizabeth draws the reader into the steampunk world of Tsarist Alaska. With the aid of illustrations by Aaron Siddal, Fanya in the Underworld is an exciting story unlike any written before. Unique characters, unique scenarios, and a fantastic ending, what more could anyone want?
Neon's Nerd Nexus (360 KP) rated Brightburn (2019) in Movies
Jun 19, 2019
Super Nasty
Brightburn is a short film that moves at a blistering pace but its the calm moments where the movie truly shines. Brightburn successfully turns the entire superhero genre on its head going almost full horror movie on us & while it does fall into the trap of using to many horror cliches its a really interesting, fun & stand out movie. If I were to compare it I'd say its a mix of A Quiet Place, Midnight Special & The Children leaning towards the horror side of things more than anything else but there are sprinkles of Scifi & obviously dabs of Superhero here & there. Visually its such a looker the screen often painted fully in deep inky blackness with the only thing breaking it up being the warm glow of natural light coming from a lamp or street light. This not only helps create great atmosphere but heightens tension by limiting the viewers vision perfectly. There are neat swaps between camera techniques too eg from an almost raw found footage style to a really cool slightly obstructed first person scene. Action doesnt disapoint & the film makes the viewer wait for its violence & big pay offs making it more impactful when it finally hits. Acting is great & Elizabeth Banks clearly steals the show here. Theres a running comparison of Brandon to predatory animals such as a wasp, jellyfish or Wolf & I found the creepiest elements of the film were the slower paced scenes where we see him discover, adapt & learn how to evolve into a more successful killing machine (ie studying human anatomy) & also the impact of his actions begin to tear up his happy home & constantly disappoint his loving parents. Theres a big metaphore about adoption & the difficulties it can bring for both the new parents & the child (especially when the child hits the age where questions need to be answered) & at one point I wondered if that was really the overall message the film was actually trying to relay because this scene was so full of realistic emotion. Brightburn at times can be very predictable & show its budget constrains too but as a first film I really did dig its format & would definitely like to see a sequel or two to it for sure.
mmb02191 (81 KP) rated the PC version of Kingdom Come Deliverance in Video Games
Jan 24, 2019
Story (3 more)
Skill Tree
Historical accuracy
Characters
New favorite game
This game, right from the beginning, is beautiful, immersive, and really freaking hard (but in the best of ways).
You start out as Henry, and you suck. At everything. I fell off my horse a couple times, can't read, died immediately when trying to fight a soldier. It was great.
This game isn't your usual game where you're a hero expected to beat some evil force. Truth is, you're a peasant, and no one outside of Skalitz (your home town) really likes you all that much.
You don't know how to really do anything, from the obvious like swordfighting (you're a peasant...) to things like reading and even speech (convincing people of things)
This game has such a realistic leveling up system. You get better at skills the more you practice them, just like in real life.
At the beginning, Henry barely knows how to hold a bow, it going all over the screen and the arrows going definitely NOT where you want them to go. It would take my 20 shots to kill a stationary rabbit....
But you get better. You improve. Henry learns through hard work and sweat. His hand steadies, his aim improves (with help from you of course!) and soon you're catching plenty of (illegally poached) animals.
Unlike many games, fighting is not always the answer. Sometimes you have to be creative with your solutions to issues instead of just swinging a sword. Maybe persuade the guard to let you go, or bribe him.
Another mechanic that is very realistic, you have to make sure Henry takes care of himself. He needs to eat and sleep, but shouldn't overeat or drink, or he will feel sluggish. If you're in a fight and covered with blood, people aren't going to trust you, and are going to freak out a little. Make sure you keep Henry clean! There are water troughs that you can find to splash some water on yourself, or go to a bathhouse for a more thorough cleaning.
Overall, this is the best game I have ever played. There is always something to do, and once I am playing, I can't stop.
You start out as Henry, and you suck. At everything. I fell off my horse a couple times, can't read, died immediately when trying to fight a soldier. It was great.
This game isn't your usual game where you're a hero expected to beat some evil force. Truth is, you're a peasant, and no one outside of Skalitz (your home town) really likes you all that much.
You don't know how to really do anything, from the obvious like swordfighting (you're a peasant...) to things like reading and even speech (convincing people of things)
This game has such a realistic leveling up system. You get better at skills the more you practice them, just like in real life.
At the beginning, Henry barely knows how to hold a bow, it going all over the screen and the arrows going definitely NOT where you want them to go. It would take my 20 shots to kill a stationary rabbit....
But you get better. You improve. Henry learns through hard work and sweat. His hand steadies, his aim improves (with help from you of course!) and soon you're catching plenty of (illegally poached) animals.
Unlike many games, fighting is not always the answer. Sometimes you have to be creative with your solutions to issues instead of just swinging a sword. Maybe persuade the guard to let you go, or bribe him.
Another mechanic that is very realistic, you have to make sure Henry takes care of himself. He needs to eat and sleep, but shouldn't overeat or drink, or he will feel sluggish. If you're in a fight and covered with blood, people aren't going to trust you, and are going to freak out a little. Make sure you keep Henry clean! There are water troughs that you can find to splash some water on yourself, or go to a bathhouse for a more thorough cleaning.
Overall, this is the best game I have ever played. There is always something to do, and once I am playing, I can't stop.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Dark Waters (2019) in Movies
Nov 28, 2019
Dark Waters, the screenplay developed from the New York Times Magazine article: The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare. The article tells of Robert Bilott (Mark Ruffalo), a corporate environmental lawyer, who headed the years long battle against DuPont in one of the landmark cases that held the company accountable for their actions.
Bilott, is visited by a farmer, Wilbur Tennant (Jim Azelvandre), who was an acquaintance of his Grandmother. As a child, he visited her home in West Virginia during the summers and had fond memories of that farm. Robert, having worked with DuPont on many cases, felt confident that he would be able to sort out the situation for Tennant. What he does not realize until he visits Wilbur’s farm is that the situation is more dire than he had known.
Wilbur had arrived with multiple VHS tapes recording the various issues that were happening to his farm animals. Bilott witnesses the mass graves that littered Tennant’s farm from his herd that had died from various illnesses. Wilbur is convinced that the reason is the dump that DuPont has created next to his property.
Mark Ruffalo’s portrayal of Bilott is an exercise in subtlety. He becomes more purpose driven once his investigation and research in the information that DuPont had sent due to discovery. Anne Hathaway plays Sarah Bilott, Robert’s wife and steadfast partner. Over the years, Sarah had been supportive, however as the case drags on and Rob’s pay gets cut repeatedly, the strain begins to show.
This film has a stellar cast. From Tim Robbins, as Tom Terp, the managing partner at the firm, Victor Garber as DuPont’s in-house counsel. Mare Winningham as Darlene Kiger, a lead plaintiff in the class action suit and Bill Pullman as Harry Dietzler, lead counsel for the plaintiffs.
This movie has the quality that awards season loves. It is a David vs. Goliath, under dog wins story. Mark Ruffalo does a great portrayal of a man who initially does not want to pursue the case, then shifts to the defender of the people.
This movie is along the lines of Erin Brockovich and Norma Rae.
4.5 out of 5 Stars
Bilott, is visited by a farmer, Wilbur Tennant (Jim Azelvandre), who was an acquaintance of his Grandmother. As a child, he visited her home in West Virginia during the summers and had fond memories of that farm. Robert, having worked with DuPont on many cases, felt confident that he would be able to sort out the situation for Tennant. What he does not realize until he visits Wilbur’s farm is that the situation is more dire than he had known.
Wilbur had arrived with multiple VHS tapes recording the various issues that were happening to his farm animals. Bilott witnesses the mass graves that littered Tennant’s farm from his herd that had died from various illnesses. Wilbur is convinced that the reason is the dump that DuPont has created next to his property.
Mark Ruffalo’s portrayal of Bilott is an exercise in subtlety. He becomes more purpose driven once his investigation and research in the information that DuPont had sent due to discovery. Anne Hathaway plays Sarah Bilott, Robert’s wife and steadfast partner. Over the years, Sarah had been supportive, however as the case drags on and Rob’s pay gets cut repeatedly, the strain begins to show.
This film has a stellar cast. From Tim Robbins, as Tom Terp, the managing partner at the firm, Victor Garber as DuPont’s in-house counsel. Mare Winningham as Darlene Kiger, a lead plaintiff in the class action suit and Bill Pullman as Harry Dietzler, lead counsel for the plaintiffs.
This movie has the quality that awards season loves. It is a David vs. Goliath, under dog wins story. Mark Ruffalo does a great portrayal of a man who initially does not want to pursue the case, then shifts to the defender of the people.
This movie is along the lines of Erin Brockovich and Norma Rae.
4.5 out of 5 Stars
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