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Natacha (374 KP) rated The Beauty of Darkness (The Remnant Chronicles #3) in Books
Jul 9, 2019 (Updated Jul 13, 2019)
Contains spoilers, click to show
That was one of the hardest books I had to rate and review. The reason is that the adult part of me had very specific expectations while my young teenager self was reminding me that this is a YA book. More details.
Things that I liked:
-Lia is taking control of her destiny and do everything she can to save her people. As with the previous books is a strong female character, with personality and a big heart.
- We keep seeing how Lia is still attached to Venda and is also willing to help them. Is not just about saving her people but it's also about saving the people of Venda from their tyrant.
-Nice twists regarding Kaden past.
-Nice twists regarding Lia family
-I liked Lia's and her family dynamic.
Things my teenager self liked:
-Everybody gets a happy ending. Every main character survives and every one of them found love. A classic fairy tale ending.
Things I didn't like:
-Everybody gets a happy ending. Every main character survives and every one of them found love. A classic fairy tale ending... As an adult, I really didn't like that. First of all, if you have a love triangle and for two books you are telling us how much both Rafe and Kaden are sooooo deeply in love with Lia you don't get to just make Kaden fall in love with Pauline out of the blue and forget about Lia and just be besties. NO. I want my heart to be broken. I had mentally prepared myself for him to die or at the end to de like "I can be around you if you are not mine" and just leave. The author had an amazing opportunity to break our hearts but not... It's a YA book we can't do that. I sound like a crazy person I know...
-I felt this book was slower than it should have been. I was 40 pages from the end and this big battle between the ferocious army of Venda haven't even started. We had a big build-up from the previous book and I wanted an epic battle with twists and turns but it didn't happen.
-For 3 book we were told that Lia would have to "sacrifice" herself for the greater good. Well, that didn't happen either. Well, she "sacrificed" because she became the queen of Venda and couldn't be with Rafe. Ok, I can deal with that but then at the end, Lia and Rafe are "we love each other so we'll make it work", sooo... where is the sacrifice? Again a great opportunity to break our hearts but no... we went with the happy ending.
As I said this is a YA book so I'm perfectly aware of the author choices and I respect them. As a teenager, this would have probably been a 10/10. But if this final book was written for an adult audience it could have been heartbreaking and amazing.
Things that I liked:
-Lia is taking control of her destiny and do everything she can to save her people. As with the previous books is a strong female character, with personality and a big heart.
- We keep seeing how Lia is still attached to Venda and is also willing to help them. Is not just about saving her people but it's also about saving the people of Venda from their tyrant.
-Nice twists regarding Kaden past.
-Nice twists regarding Lia family
-I liked Lia's and her family dynamic.
Things my teenager self liked:
-Everybody gets a happy ending. Every main character survives and every one of them found love. A classic fairy tale ending.
Things I didn't like:
-Everybody gets a happy ending. Every main character survives and every one of them found love. A classic fairy tale ending... As an adult, I really didn't like that. First of all, if you have a love triangle and for two books you are telling us how much both Rafe and Kaden are sooooo deeply in love with Lia you don't get to just make Kaden fall in love with Pauline out of the blue and forget about Lia and just be besties. NO. I want my heart to be broken. I had mentally prepared myself for him to die or at the end to de like "I can be around you if you are not mine" and just leave. The author had an amazing opportunity to break our hearts but not... It's a YA book we can't do that. I sound like a crazy person I know...
-I felt this book was slower than it should have been. I was 40 pages from the end and this big battle between the ferocious army of Venda haven't even started. We had a big build-up from the previous book and I wanted an epic battle with twists and turns but it didn't happen.
-For 3 book we were told that Lia would have to "sacrifice" herself for the greater good. Well, that didn't happen either. Well, she "sacrificed" because she became the queen of Venda and couldn't be with Rafe. Ok, I can deal with that but then at the end, Lia and Rafe are "we love each other so we'll make it work", sooo... where is the sacrifice? Again a great opportunity to break our hearts but no... we went with the happy ending.
As I said this is a YA book so I'm perfectly aware of the author choices and I respect them. As a teenager, this would have probably been a 10/10. But if this final book was written for an adult audience it could have been heartbreaking and amazing.
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated Eona: The Last Dragoneye (Eon, #2) in Books
Jan 23, 2020
Apparently when Eona and Co. are on the run, things get mighty interesting and there's almost never a dull moment. There's the ten dead Dragoneyes, an entire army of Sethon's supposed minions (who knows if they're actually loyal to the dude, anyways?), and a supposed-to-be emperor by the name of Kygo who's also on the run from being brutally murdered as well.
Goodman starts out the whopping 600-paged book with a "primary" source from Teacher Prahn, quickly summarizing the events at the imperial palace in the ending of Eon, and it's helpful for those who haven't the first book in a long while (unless you have a fantastic memory, which I sometimes have. Epiphany!). The second and last book to the duology starts out shortly after those events, with Eona and her friends on the run from Sethon and the hunt for Kygo. Goodman brings us outside of the imperial palace and into other parts of the Empire of Celestial Dragons, places that were briefly mentioned in book one and now play a bigger role in book two.
I personally disliked Eona back when she was Eon, and I don't like her any better as a girl either. Back as Eon, Eona just seemed to desperate to fit in and trying to prove herself worthy – those sun drug scenes? The worst of Eon. I even vowed to DNF this book if Eona decided to run around with the sun drug again; it was that bad.
In a way, I do like Eona: she's not desperate, she's <s>Taylor Swift</s> fearless (all those odds stacked against her!) – she's a lot better when compared to Eon, when she trying to fully disguise herself as a guy and being a slinky. Eona just argues a lot with Kygo when she finally finds him, and I mean a huge emphasis on "argues a lot." I'm pretty sure if I get a dollar for every time they argued, I could actually pay my rent. Though compared to the <s>lovely</s> love triangle with Ido (thank you, so-called prophecy), I fully ship Kygo and Eona, even though Eona seems very mopey when it comes to whether or not Kygo truly loves her.
<blockquote>"What if I said you could have either me or my power? Which one would you choose?"</blockquote>
Eona certainly makes up for the many dull moments in pacing from its predecessor, where the beginning is a little interesting, the middle is extremely draggy and the decent ending is very fast and rapid. The pacing in the final book of Goodman's Eon duology is much better and engrossing, bringing us a fantastic end to two very long books.
-----------------
Original Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Review originally posted at <a href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/2015/01/review-eona-by-alison-goodman.html">Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
<a href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cG5gfBqJVzk/VA5BIojjZ9I/AAAAAAAAD1g/7srLUfpAGEU/s1600/banner.png"; /></a>
Goodman starts out the whopping 600-paged book with a "primary" source from Teacher Prahn, quickly summarizing the events at the imperial palace in the ending of Eon, and it's helpful for those who haven't the first book in a long while (unless you have a fantastic memory, which I sometimes have. Epiphany!). The second and last book to the duology starts out shortly after those events, with Eona and her friends on the run from Sethon and the hunt for Kygo. Goodman brings us outside of the imperial palace and into other parts of the Empire of Celestial Dragons, places that were briefly mentioned in book one and now play a bigger role in book two.
I personally disliked Eona back when she was Eon, and I don't like her any better as a girl either. Back as Eon, Eona just seemed to desperate to fit in and trying to prove herself worthy – those sun drug scenes? The worst of Eon. I even vowed to DNF this book if Eona decided to run around with the sun drug again; it was that bad.
In a way, I do like Eona: she's not desperate, she's <s>Taylor Swift</s> fearless (all those odds stacked against her!) – she's a lot better when compared to Eon, when she trying to fully disguise herself as a guy and being a slinky. Eona just argues a lot with Kygo when she finally finds him, and I mean a huge emphasis on "argues a lot." I'm pretty sure if I get a dollar for every time they argued, I could actually pay my rent. Though compared to the <s>lovely</s> love triangle with Ido (thank you, so-called prophecy), I fully ship Kygo and Eona, even though Eona seems very mopey when it comes to whether or not Kygo truly loves her.
<blockquote>"What if I said you could have either me or my power? Which one would you choose?"</blockquote>
Eona certainly makes up for the many dull moments in pacing from its predecessor, where the beginning is a little interesting, the middle is extremely draggy and the decent ending is very fast and rapid. The pacing in the final book of Goodman's Eon duology is much better and engrossing, bringing us a fantastic end to two very long books.
-----------------
Original Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Review originally posted at <a href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/2015/01/review-eona-by-alison-goodman.html">Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
<a href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cG5gfBqJVzk/VA5BIojjZ9I/AAAAAAAAD1g/7srLUfpAGEU/s1600/banner.png"; /></a>
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Free State of Jones (2016) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
When we look at the Civil War period, we are often confronted with numbers: the numbers of the dead, the numbers of those fighting, the pay, the amount of bullets and munitions used. One thing we rarely discuss is depth with regard to the people and circumstances surrounding the war. We are concerned with particular battles and what major leaders were victorious or fell. We, either through school or the collective of movies created about the period, do not get to see the people for who they are and the variables surrounding their existence during this period. We do not have the ability to comprehend how the war affected them in losing their property, loved ones, or even how they face starvation and violence. We don’t get the chance to see slaves other than a myopic, generalized representation that doesn’t show us how they were able to survive in the face of danger multiple sides. The Free State of Jones corrects many of the mistakes and missed opportunities of previous films, of which there are many, that deal with slavery, the Civil War, the Reconstruction Era, and the South.
In The Free State of Jones, Matthew McConaughey plays Newt Knight a southerner who begins to see the hypocrisy of the Civil War and deserts from the Confederate Military. Upon his return he seeks to support his relatives and neighbors who are being taken advantage of by the Confederacy. His movement grows to where he and an army of men and women of different backgrounds begin fighting back against the Confederacy in the attempt to assert their autonomy and sovereignty.
The film is beautifully shot and allows for the display of serenity during all of the chaos that is shown throughout. One strength that director Gary Ross demonstrates is his ability to demonstrate that there were many layers to the War. Slavery is the central theme and he goes beyond this to show how much race played into the war and its lasting effect that we are still dealing with today. He points out through the film that we had a moment to be a transformative nation, but there were so many people who wanted to the status quo to remain that they prevented any and all social progress that seemed to threaten their perceived social standing. With respect to slavery, Free State gives voices to slaves and Freedmen during the period rather than having them on the periphery or invisible all together. The film offers an authenticity and depth that many films of this period are fearful or reluctant to engage in. There is warfare, there is violence, there is struggle, but the film offers more. It shows humanity. It demonstrates how people recognized what was wrong and took a stand. It also does not play with the history in order to have issues romanticized. It is honest in its application and for some, that will not sit well.
In The Free State of Jones, Matthew McConaughey plays Newt Knight a southerner who begins to see the hypocrisy of the Civil War and deserts from the Confederate Military. Upon his return he seeks to support his relatives and neighbors who are being taken advantage of by the Confederacy. His movement grows to where he and an army of men and women of different backgrounds begin fighting back against the Confederacy in the attempt to assert their autonomy and sovereignty.
The film is beautifully shot and allows for the display of serenity during all of the chaos that is shown throughout. One strength that director Gary Ross demonstrates is his ability to demonstrate that there were many layers to the War. Slavery is the central theme and he goes beyond this to show how much race played into the war and its lasting effect that we are still dealing with today. He points out through the film that we had a moment to be a transformative nation, but there were so many people who wanted to the status quo to remain that they prevented any and all social progress that seemed to threaten their perceived social standing. With respect to slavery, Free State gives voices to slaves and Freedmen during the period rather than having them on the periphery or invisible all together. The film offers an authenticity and depth that many films of this period are fearful or reluctant to engage in. There is warfare, there is violence, there is struggle, but the film offers more. It shows humanity. It demonstrates how people recognized what was wrong and took a stand. It also does not play with the history in order to have issues romanticized. It is honest in its application and for some, that will not sit well.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Dracula Untold (2014) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
The latest Dracula movie attempts to honor an ancient story while adding some new spice and bringing the usual graphics flair we’ve come to expect from Hollywood, but falls short.
Dracula Untold, as the name implies, is an origin story for the pop culture father-of-all-vampires. Luke Evans bears the mantle of Prince Vlad Tepes of the Dracula Clan. (Not Count, but Prince.) What about the King, you ask? Well, they didn’t cover this, but there is no King.
Luke Evans is one of my favorite actors in Hollywood right now, and he does this role justice. The rest of the cast contributed solid performances as well, as best they could with sub par script, and poor direction. Charles Dance was a particular pleasure to witness.
This film is Gary Shore’s directorial debut, and it’s easy to see the marks of a neophyte director. Had it been in the hands of someone more experienced, it would have been a juggernaut of a Fall film. Even so, he did pretty well enough, all things considered. According to his work history, Shore was an electrician until 1998, then disappeared until 2014. This is his second film so far this year.
Dracula Untold opens with the story of Vlad the Impaler, as told by his son. Vlad was shipped off to the Turks to become a trained and conditioned weapon. He earned his title by impaling an entire village for the Turkish army. Vlad was a deadly force on the battlefield, but they eventually allowed him to go home, where he could start a family and rule Transylvania. It is painfully obvious that the usual blood-thirsty character was meant to become a hero for this new tale.
The Turks return to take more boys, like they did him, but he refuses. This draws the Turks’ ire, and they demand retribution for the insult and insubordination. Desperate, he seeks out a monster in the mountains who was the REAL first vampire — a man who made a deal with a demon.
Vlad is granted temporary powers, paying a heavy price in the process. After this, the story really ramps up.
This film left me feeling as if something was missing. I attribute this to missing explanations, plot holes (like the lack of King), and several other missteps. Normally, I can look past plot holes. A strong enough movie will keep me from noticing them until I’m rethinking it later. In this case, they were too distracting. The music was unimpressive and not at all memorable. The one liners were forced and distracting, instead of powerful and emotional.
This movie is worth seeing if you’re a fan of vampires in general or Dracula in particular. That said, I wouldn’t advise high expectations. Great aspects were abundant, but there were just as many failings. If you feel compelled to see it, wait until you can see it at home, and save the money.
Dracula Untold, as the name implies, is an origin story for the pop culture father-of-all-vampires. Luke Evans bears the mantle of Prince Vlad Tepes of the Dracula Clan. (Not Count, but Prince.) What about the King, you ask? Well, they didn’t cover this, but there is no King.
Luke Evans is one of my favorite actors in Hollywood right now, and he does this role justice. The rest of the cast contributed solid performances as well, as best they could with sub par script, and poor direction. Charles Dance was a particular pleasure to witness.
This film is Gary Shore’s directorial debut, and it’s easy to see the marks of a neophyte director. Had it been in the hands of someone more experienced, it would have been a juggernaut of a Fall film. Even so, he did pretty well enough, all things considered. According to his work history, Shore was an electrician until 1998, then disappeared until 2014. This is his second film so far this year.
Dracula Untold opens with the story of Vlad the Impaler, as told by his son. Vlad was shipped off to the Turks to become a trained and conditioned weapon. He earned his title by impaling an entire village for the Turkish army. Vlad was a deadly force on the battlefield, but they eventually allowed him to go home, where he could start a family and rule Transylvania. It is painfully obvious that the usual blood-thirsty character was meant to become a hero for this new tale.
The Turks return to take more boys, like they did him, but he refuses. This draws the Turks’ ire, and they demand retribution for the insult and insubordination. Desperate, he seeks out a monster in the mountains who was the REAL first vampire — a man who made a deal with a demon.
Vlad is granted temporary powers, paying a heavy price in the process. After this, the story really ramps up.
This film left me feeling as if something was missing. I attribute this to missing explanations, plot holes (like the lack of King), and several other missteps. Normally, I can look past plot holes. A strong enough movie will keep me from noticing them until I’m rethinking it later. In this case, they were too distracting. The music was unimpressive and not at all memorable. The one liners were forced and distracting, instead of powerful and emotional.
This movie is worth seeing if you’re a fan of vampires in general or Dracula in particular. That said, I wouldn’t advise high expectations. Great aspects were abundant, but there were just as many failings. If you feel compelled to see it, wait until you can see it at home, and save the money.
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Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated The Mitchells vs The Machines (2021) in Movies
Aug 11, 2021
I was originally going to post a round up of films I'd seen a just give a quick overview of my thoughts. But as I started writing, this review got longer and longer as I realised that it was okay for me to bore you with me frothing at the mouth with excitement.
Having seen the Connected trailer, as it was previously called, I knew I wanted to see it, and I was fairly certain I was going to enjoy it. It looked funny with some great characters and a nice bit of family drama thrown in. I don't think I was really prepared for how much I was going to enjoy it though.
In a last ditch attempt to spend time with his daughter before she heads off to college, Rick cancels her travel plans in favour of a family road trip. The tensions run high in the car, but that's nothing compared with the robopocalypse that's about to erupt around them... and if the pressure of family bonding wasn't enough, just wait until you're humanities last hope.
The idea behind The Mitchells vs the Machines is really quite nice. Being constantly connected to their devices has meant the divide between tech-phobic dad and digital creative daughter is growing by the day, and all she wants to do is get away. It does make you think about the way you interact with devices, and how reliant on them we've become... but we're not quite at the robot uprising so far... just keep an eye on Alexa.
The Mitchell family voice cast worked great together. I adore Maya Rudolph, and combined with just the right amount of dad from Danny McBride, they made a well balanced parental unit. And Katie (voiced by Abbi Jacobson, who also voices Bean in Disenchantment) was the perfect balance of stubborn teen and living sister.
Of course the obvious MVP of the film is Monchi the dog, voiced by Doug the pug. I will hear no arguments on this point... admittedly, mum does make a last minute surge for the top spot, but Monchi was consistent throughout.
Sony have managed to create a very amusing apocalyptic world. The robot army is great, and the personalities they display are so amusing, but even the other machines within the film have wonderful quirky little characters. The design in the world is magnificent, and well thought out, particularly when we get to the climax of the film.
I genuinely don't have a bad word to say about this film, it was action packed with something for everyone. There's speculation about a second film I believe, but I hope that doesn't develop into anything. Mitchells vs the Machines was a great standalone film, and there's no real follow up potential as it is. Take the win, pick up another idea and run with it.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/08/the-mitchells-vs-machines-movie-review.html
Having seen the Connected trailer, as it was previously called, I knew I wanted to see it, and I was fairly certain I was going to enjoy it. It looked funny with some great characters and a nice bit of family drama thrown in. I don't think I was really prepared for how much I was going to enjoy it though.
In a last ditch attempt to spend time with his daughter before she heads off to college, Rick cancels her travel plans in favour of a family road trip. The tensions run high in the car, but that's nothing compared with the robopocalypse that's about to erupt around them... and if the pressure of family bonding wasn't enough, just wait until you're humanities last hope.
The idea behind The Mitchells vs the Machines is really quite nice. Being constantly connected to their devices has meant the divide between tech-phobic dad and digital creative daughter is growing by the day, and all she wants to do is get away. It does make you think about the way you interact with devices, and how reliant on them we've become... but we're not quite at the robot uprising so far... just keep an eye on Alexa.
The Mitchell family voice cast worked great together. I adore Maya Rudolph, and combined with just the right amount of dad from Danny McBride, they made a well balanced parental unit. And Katie (voiced by Abbi Jacobson, who also voices Bean in Disenchantment) was the perfect balance of stubborn teen and living sister.
Of course the obvious MVP of the film is Monchi the dog, voiced by Doug the pug. I will hear no arguments on this point... admittedly, mum does make a last minute surge for the top spot, but Monchi was consistent throughout.
Sony have managed to create a very amusing apocalyptic world. The robot army is great, and the personalities they display are so amusing, but even the other machines within the film have wonderful quirky little characters. The design in the world is magnificent, and well thought out, particularly when we get to the climax of the film.
I genuinely don't have a bad word to say about this film, it was action packed with something for everyone. There's speculation about a second film I believe, but I hope that doesn't develop into anything. Mitchells vs the Machines was a great standalone film, and there's no real follow up potential as it is. Take the win, pick up another idea and run with it.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/08/the-mitchells-vs-machines-movie-review.html
Eleanor Luhar (47 KP) rated The Outs in Books
Jun 24, 2019
Well this was... an interesting read...
Just gonna quickly put a little trigger warning in here, as there is graphic and emotional descriptions of depression and suicide. But the story isn't about these things, and they aren't properly talked about until far later in the novel.
You're thrown right into the deep end from page one, having to put the pieces together as the plot progresses. We meet one of our protagonists, Caleb, in an unfamiliar room with mysterious men and a random little girl. He ends up taking her with him as he runs, trying to figure out what he did during the Outs.
The Outs are kinda confusing. They're moments in time where electrical appliances all fail, and anything that happens is forgotten as soon as the Outs end. Oh, and anyone killed during the Outs is resurrected from the dead.
I'm really not sure how to describe this book. The plot is super confusing - Caleb and his aphasic friend, Kitzi, take this weird little girl (Amanda) who somehow has powers over everyone and everything, in an attempt to stop Deeds and his army of Deadheaders. Caleb has a psychopathic voice in his head called Crimes, Amanda's dreams come true, Kitzi's suicide happens to have taken place at the same time the Outs started, she can smell the truth - and somehow they're all connected to the Outs? These three individuals - and many others along the way - each have a big part in what is happening. But how?
Honestly, I cannot explain it. There are so many little ties and strings throughout this book that all add up, and I couldn't possibly include them all.
It definitely is a unique book. The idea is pretty good, too - the whole "nightmares becoming real" and all. But I just didn't connect; I don't know if it was the pacing or what, but I just didn't feel involved in it.
I feel like I should've been able to sympathise with the characters more - they had good backstories, emotional and family issues that different people should be able to relate to. And the narration following Kitzi often makes references to comic books which I personally really appreciated. But I just didn't quite feel them. Maybe it's just me - there's nothing wrong with the writing in particular, so maybe it's just personal preference. I don't know.
I had a few typos in my copy but I received an ARC, not a final copy, so that shouldn't affect anyone buying the book. I loved the cover, and the art at each chapter start was great. Also, the inclusion of "Notes From Last Night" (a site where people recorded notes during the outs for after they forget) was awesome, too. It added a whole other dimension to the world, an extra little bit of interest.
I wanted to like this, I really did. And I didn't dislike it - but it didn't feel like anything special to me. 3 stars for The Outs.
Just gonna quickly put a little trigger warning in here, as there is graphic and emotional descriptions of depression and suicide. But the story isn't about these things, and they aren't properly talked about until far later in the novel.
You're thrown right into the deep end from page one, having to put the pieces together as the plot progresses. We meet one of our protagonists, Caleb, in an unfamiliar room with mysterious men and a random little girl. He ends up taking her with him as he runs, trying to figure out what he did during the Outs.
The Outs are kinda confusing. They're moments in time where electrical appliances all fail, and anything that happens is forgotten as soon as the Outs end. Oh, and anyone killed during the Outs is resurrected from the dead.
I'm really not sure how to describe this book. The plot is super confusing - Caleb and his aphasic friend, Kitzi, take this weird little girl (Amanda) who somehow has powers over everyone and everything, in an attempt to stop Deeds and his army of Deadheaders. Caleb has a psychopathic voice in his head called Crimes, Amanda's dreams come true, Kitzi's suicide happens to have taken place at the same time the Outs started, she can smell the truth - and somehow they're all connected to the Outs? These three individuals - and many others along the way - each have a big part in what is happening. But how?
Honestly, I cannot explain it. There are so many little ties and strings throughout this book that all add up, and I couldn't possibly include them all.
It definitely is a unique book. The idea is pretty good, too - the whole "nightmares becoming real" and all. But I just didn't connect; I don't know if it was the pacing or what, but I just didn't feel involved in it.
I feel like I should've been able to sympathise with the characters more - they had good backstories, emotional and family issues that different people should be able to relate to. And the narration following Kitzi often makes references to comic books which I personally really appreciated. But I just didn't quite feel them. Maybe it's just me - there's nothing wrong with the writing in particular, so maybe it's just personal preference. I don't know.
I had a few typos in my copy but I received an ARC, not a final copy, so that shouldn't affect anyone buying the book. I loved the cover, and the art at each chapter start was great. Also, the inclusion of "Notes From Last Night" (a site where people recorded notes during the outs for after they forget) was awesome, too. It added a whole other dimension to the world, an extra little bit of interest.
I wanted to like this, I really did. And I didn't dislike it - but it didn't feel like anything special to me. 3 stars for The Outs.