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The Snowden Files: The Inside Story of the World's Most Wanted Man
Book
Edward Snowden, a young computer genius working for America's National Security Agency, blew the...
A Monkey at the Window: Selected Poems
Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi and Mark Ford
Book
Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi is one of the leading African poets writing in Arabic today. Famous in his native...
Signs for Lost Children
Book
Only weeks into their marriage a young couple embark on a six-month period of separation. Tom...
Batman: Return to Arkham
8.7
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Video Game
Batman: Return to Arkham, developed by Virtuos, features remastered versions of Arkham Asylum and...
Batman: Return To Arkham
Dana (24 KP) rated A Madness So Discreet in Books
Mar 23, 2018
I am going to start off with a trigger warning because if you are not comfortable reading books that have to do with insanity, sexual assault, or murder, you should not read this book. As much as I love it, I understand that it is not for everyone, so if you have any of these triggers, please, read at your own risk.
Okay, now to start the review. This book is incredibly dark, mainly because of the issues talked about in the previous paragraph. But in this darkness, there is a lot of hidden strength which is one of the reasons I am giving this book a 4.5 star review.
There will be some spoilers in this paragraph for the plot, so if you want to avoid those, skip to the paragraph that starts with "Now." The main character, Grace Mae, goes through a lot that happen before the book even starts. We, the audience, start off very confused in the middle of an asylum with a female character who does not seem like she is crazy. And that is for a good reason: because she is not. Grace has found herself pregnant without being wed in a time where this is the worst thing a woman can do, so her family ships her off to an asylum full of people who are both "normal" like her and also some people who actually need to be there. The first asylum she is in is a cruel place where she is still under the watchful eye of her father, the man who put her in this situation.
Though she is in a situation that is less than ideal, she is still able to find strength in everything she does. She is quite possibly the strongest character I have read about in a while because she has been through this trauma and is still able to act. She has been stuck in this horrible situation, both at home (in the end) and at both of the asylums, and she is still able to make a difference. I love how much agency Grace has. She knows she has to act because nobody else will. It is much like the horrible situation with her father, she knows she has to be the one to do something to save herself from him. She acts when others stand still because nobody acted on her behalf. This goes with the act of her killing the killer, because nobody else will.
Now, the other characters in the asylum and out are quite interesting as well. The doctor's sister is such a gem. She is so passionate and manipulative, but she actually cares for Grace and her brother, something we do not see much.
Elizabeth is so kind and caring, if a bit cooky, but she is able to understand and help Grace when other people would have only discounted her.
Nell was a very sad character. Knowing why she was in the asylum, even though she wasn't crazy, broke my heart, but she does things on her own terms without thinking about how other people perceive her.
Thornhollow was one of my favorite characters because he treated Grace as an equal. He has little to no empathy and relies on Grace to be that set of eyes for hi. He is aloof, but he knows he need help. He is driven to help others in their plights, we see that with the murdered girls and Grace. But my favorite thing is how much of an equal he sees Grace as. He does not see her as sick, but someone with a gift that can help people. I also love that there is absolutely no romance between him and Grace. It is so refreshing to see a balanced relationship without having them be romantic partners.
The director of the asylum in Ohio was amazing. She just wanted to help the patients do their best to get better. I appreciated it a lot.
Grace's father is a skeevy dirt bag and he got just what he deserved.
Grace is a protector, we see that both in the asylums, on the cases, and when she is worrying about her sister. And this is not a bad thing. At the trial, she braves her horrors to keep her sister safe, which is not something too many people do in books, or real life for that manner. She does not avoid, but attacks problems head on and once she finds something that is not just, she works her hardest to fight against that injustice.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I only took off half a star because there are some issues I have with the ending, but I loved it and it has become one of my favorites.
Okay, now to start the review. This book is incredibly dark, mainly because of the issues talked about in the previous paragraph. But in this darkness, there is a lot of hidden strength which is one of the reasons I am giving this book a 4.5 star review.
There will be some spoilers in this paragraph for the plot, so if you want to avoid those, skip to the paragraph that starts with "Now." The main character, Grace Mae, goes through a lot that happen before the book even starts. We, the audience, start off very confused in the middle of an asylum with a female character who does not seem like she is crazy. And that is for a good reason: because she is not. Grace has found herself pregnant without being wed in a time where this is the worst thing a woman can do, so her family ships her off to an asylum full of people who are both "normal" like her and also some people who actually need to be there. The first asylum she is in is a cruel place where she is still under the watchful eye of her father, the man who put her in this situation.
Though she is in a situation that is less than ideal, she is still able to find strength in everything she does. She is quite possibly the strongest character I have read about in a while because she has been through this trauma and is still able to act. She has been stuck in this horrible situation, both at home (in the end) and at both of the asylums, and she is still able to make a difference. I love how much agency Grace has. She knows she has to act because nobody else will. It is much like the horrible situation with her father, she knows she has to be the one to do something to save herself from him. She acts when others stand still because nobody acted on her behalf. This goes with the act of her killing the killer, because nobody else will.
Now, the other characters in the asylum and out are quite interesting as well. The doctor's sister is such a gem. She is so passionate and manipulative, but she actually cares for Grace and her brother, something we do not see much.
Elizabeth is so kind and caring, if a bit cooky, but she is able to understand and help Grace when other people would have only discounted her.
Nell was a very sad character. Knowing why she was in the asylum, even though she wasn't crazy, broke my heart, but she does things on her own terms without thinking about how other people perceive her.
Thornhollow was one of my favorite characters because he treated Grace as an equal. He has little to no empathy and relies on Grace to be that set of eyes for hi. He is aloof, but he knows he need help. He is driven to help others in their plights, we see that with the murdered girls and Grace. But my favorite thing is how much of an equal he sees Grace as. He does not see her as sick, but someone with a gift that can help people. I also love that there is absolutely no romance between him and Grace. It is so refreshing to see a balanced relationship without having them be romantic partners.
The director of the asylum in Ohio was amazing. She just wanted to help the patients do their best to get better. I appreciated it a lot.
Grace's father is a skeevy dirt bag and he got just what he deserved.
Grace is a protector, we see that both in the asylums, on the cases, and when she is worrying about her sister. And this is not a bad thing. At the trial, she braves her horrors to keep her sister safe, which is not something too many people do in books, or real life for that manner. She does not avoid, but attacks problems head on and once she finds something that is not just, she works her hardest to fight against that injustice.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I only took off half a star because there are some issues I have with the ending, but I loved it and it has become one of my favorites.
Portraits of the Insane: Theodore Gericault and the Subject of Psychotherapy
Book
In the early 1820s, in the gloomy aftermath of the 1789 Revolution and the Napoleonic wars, the...
Book Divas (227 KP) rated Asylum (Asylum, #1) in Books
Dec 12, 2017
I cannot begin to express just how much I loved reading this book. I wasn't even halfway through it and I had already purchased the second book in this series.
This is truly a creepy read as it blends young adults, an old and abandoned asylum with portions of it turned into dorm rooms, vintage pictures and of course an eerily paranormal factor. Edge of your seat, spine tingling read that pulls you in right from the very beginning and overwhelms your senses with a strong story line, well developed characters and the world building was fantastic.
I can't wait to start reading the second book as I must say that I was completely impressed by the author's skill at storytelling and the goosebumps I got while reading this book.
This is truly a creepy read as it blends young adults, an old and abandoned asylum with portions of it turned into dorm rooms, vintage pictures and of course an eerily paranormal factor. Edge of your seat, spine tingling read that pulls you in right from the very beginning and overwhelms your senses with a strong story line, well developed characters and the world building was fantastic.
I can't wait to start reading the second book as I must say that I was completely impressed by the author's skill at storytelling and the goosebumps I got while reading this book.
Madbatdan82 (341 KP) rated The Funhouse Massacre (2015) in Movies
Apr 20, 2019
A film that's really fun....house
I stumbled onto this by accident. What a happy accident. The story is fairly average, group of friends go to a Halloween funhouse attraction based on local serial killers - the very same killers who have just escaped from a local asylum. Plenty of stalk and slash happens as the killers now there way through the unexpecting guests. What's not average is the gore which is unbelievably good for a low budget horror. Also good is the comedy - this film is genuinely quite funny with the sheriff's deputy and 'machete' being highlights. It's not going to win any awards or blow anyone away but for a 90 min black comedy gorefest you will not be disappointed!!
Awix (3310 KP) rated Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974) in Movies
Feb 24, 2018
Mayhem at the Lunatic Asylum
Above-average Hammer Frankenstein film makes up for the previous movie (a lousy reboot), finishes the series on a high note. Shane Briant is packed off to the looney bin for doing cover versions of Frankenstein's experiments, meets his hero, they team up.
Atmospheric and well-thought-through Frankenstein movie, good cast too. The actual creature looks like Bigfoot, which is a little odd to say the least, but the movie has moments of both subtlety and poignancy as it goes on. Peter Cushing rocks the joint in his last appearance as Frankenstein, managing to be both witty and chilling. Finishes with a very atypical but impressively ominous climax. One of the better late-period Hammers, and a worthy conclusion to both this series and Terence Fisher's career.
Atmospheric and well-thought-through Frankenstein movie, good cast too. The actual creature looks like Bigfoot, which is a little odd to say the least, but the movie has moments of both subtlety and poignancy as it goes on. Peter Cushing rocks the joint in his last appearance as Frankenstein, managing to be both witty and chilling. Finishes with a very atypical but impressively ominous climax. One of the better late-period Hammers, and a worthy conclusion to both this series and Terence Fisher's career.