Search
Search results
Anne (15117 KP) rated A House of Rage and Sorrow (The Celestial Trilogy, #2) in Books
Nov 4, 2019
I'd say this was probably about a 4 star read for me. I have been looking forward to this book after reading A Spark of White Fire, the previous book, which was an amazing 5 stars for me. This book is more or less a retelling of the Mahabarata in Space and it's different because it's written based from Hindu Mythology, which I don't read a lot of, but have always wanted to read and know more about it.
This book was harder to read for me than the first because it was more emotional than the first, maybe a bit more dark and heavy, but it had to be for where the story's going and with where the story was in the first book. I had a major book hangover from the first book, but the book hangover isn't quite as bad this time. I'm more nervous about reading what comes next because it got pretty intense and emotional during this one.
It picks up right where it left off from the ending of the second book, flows well with the transition, but if you haven't read the first book, you might not get what's going on so I would recommend reading the previous book first before this one.
Without getting too spoilery here, the twins are even more at odds here in this book, Esmae, and Alexi, because of fighting over Kali and who gets to be the ruler and especially because of what happened with the duel and Rama. Oh man, that was a hard part of the story, that's part of why this book is so hard because of what happened with Rama. More family info, dynamics, and things develop and come to light throughout this book and the romance develops more between certain characters like Max and Esmae. There's a lot of information and feelings that are covered in this book and it deals with a lot of grief, sadness, anger with the fighting and everything that's happened, is going on and is going to happen.
I didn't like it as much as the first book because it was so heavy and dark from the emotional standpoint, but it kind of had to be that way in this part of the story. There was also a few instances of profanity/language that bothered me because I prefer to read stories without language and such when possible. Other than that, it was a well written good book that I would recommend to others especially if you loved the first one, which if you haven't read the first one, you should. Also if you want to read a Sci-Fi and Fantasy story in space that is a retelling and involves the Mahabarata and Hindu Mythology then you should read it.
This book was harder to read for me than the first because it was more emotional than the first, maybe a bit more dark and heavy, but it had to be for where the story's going and with where the story was in the first book. I had a major book hangover from the first book, but the book hangover isn't quite as bad this time. I'm more nervous about reading what comes next because it got pretty intense and emotional during this one.
It picks up right where it left off from the ending of the second book, flows well with the transition, but if you haven't read the first book, you might not get what's going on so I would recommend reading the previous book first before this one.
Without getting too spoilery here, the twins are even more at odds here in this book, Esmae, and Alexi, because of fighting over Kali and who gets to be the ruler and especially because of what happened with the duel and Rama. Oh man, that was a hard part of the story, that's part of why this book is so hard because of what happened with Rama. More family info, dynamics, and things develop and come to light throughout this book and the romance develops more between certain characters like Max and Esmae. There's a lot of information and feelings that are covered in this book and it deals with a lot of grief, sadness, anger with the fighting and everything that's happened, is going on and is going to happen.
I didn't like it as much as the first book because it was so heavy and dark from the emotional standpoint, but it kind of had to be that way in this part of the story. There was also a few instances of profanity/language that bothered me because I prefer to read stories without language and such when possible. Other than that, it was a well written good book that I would recommend to others especially if you loved the first one, which if you haven't read the first one, you should. Also if you want to read a Sci-Fi and Fantasy story in space that is a retelling and involves the Mahabarata and Hindu Mythology then you should read it.
Hello, Startup: A Programmer's Guide to Building Products, Technologies, and Teams
Book
This book is the "Hello, World" tutorial for building products, technologies, and teams in a startup...
Education in Times of Environmental Crises: Teaching Children to be Agents of Change
Book
The core assumption of this book is the interconnectedness of humans and nature, and that the future...
CT
Courting the People: Public Interest Litigation in Post-Emergency India
Book
Based on empirical research, this book shows how public interest litigation (PIL) grants the...
Rainbow Rowell basically wrote fanfiction which was based on her book Fangirl, which I was completely up for. I loved Cath’s little snippets of fanfiction throughout the book so to read a whole book of it?! Yes please!
I completely fell in love with Simon and Baez in Fangirl, so I was really excited to finally be able to read some more of their story.
I don’t think it quite lived up to my expectations, though. Through Fangirl, I can remember thinking that the Simon Snow books just sounded like a rip off of Harry Potter which I was okay with because it wasn’t the main plot of the book. But then reading Carry On was just like reading some Harry Potter fanfiction which I hadn’t been expecting and I found quite disappointing.
I was hoping for more of an original plot but this retelling of the ‘chosen one’ plot just really didn’t work as an ‘original’ story.
Overall I feel that it could have been written better. I enjoy reading fanfics which is why this is still a 3 from me, but for an author as good as Rainbow Rowell, it was a bit disappointing.
I completely fell in love with Simon and Baez in Fangirl, so I was really excited to finally be able to read some more of their story.
I don’t think it quite lived up to my expectations, though. Through Fangirl, I can remember thinking that the Simon Snow books just sounded like a rip off of Harry Potter which I was okay with because it wasn’t the main plot of the book. But then reading Carry On was just like reading some Harry Potter fanfiction which I hadn’t been expecting and I found quite disappointing.
I was hoping for more of an original plot but this retelling of the ‘chosen one’ plot just really didn’t work as an ‘original’ story.
Overall I feel that it could have been written better. I enjoy reading fanfics which is why this is still a 3 from me, but for an author as good as Rainbow Rowell, it was a bit disappointing.
Awix (3310 KP) rated The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) in Movies
Mar 2, 2018 (Updated Mar 2, 2018)
A career that spanned over forty-five years, included nearly seventy movies, and featured the same accent every single time came to an end with this, Sean Connery's final on-screen appearance, in a would-be blockbuster based on Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's idiosyncratic comic series. The original heroes of pulp fiction are assembled to battle a mysterious villain with plans for world domination.
Connery had one of his massive spats with the director and virtually disowned the movie, but it's not really as bad as all that. It's not nearly as subtle, dark or clever as the comic book, obviously, and there's a horrendous moment in the second act where the whole thing grinds to a halt, but the effects are never less than competent, and the art direction is good. In the Marvel age of movies this is not without interest, making clear as it does the debt comic book heroes owe to the characters of an earlier age. Inevitably a bit of a disappointment, but not even the worst superhero movie of 2003.
Connery had one of his massive spats with the director and virtually disowned the movie, but it's not really as bad as all that. It's not nearly as subtle, dark or clever as the comic book, obviously, and there's a horrendous moment in the second act where the whole thing grinds to a halt, but the effects are never less than competent, and the art direction is good. In the Marvel age of movies this is not without interest, making clear as it does the debt comic book heroes owe to the characters of an earlier age. Inevitably a bit of a disappointment, but not even the worst superhero movie of 2003.
Astrophysics at Very High Energies: Swiss Society for Astrophysics and Astronomy
Felix A. Aharonian, Lars Bergstrom, Charles D. Dermer and Roland Walter
Book
With the success of Cherenkov Astronomy and more recently with the launch of NASA's Fermi mission,...
Practical Guide to Rock Tunneling
Book
This Practical Guide to Rock Tunneling fills an important void in the literature for a practical...
The Angola Prison Seminary: Effects of Faith-Based Ministry on Identity Transformation, Desistance, and Rehabilitation
Michael Hallett, Joshua Hays, Byron R. Johnson and Sung Joon Jang
Book
Corrections officials faced with rising populations and shrinking budgets have increasingly welcomed...
Awix (3310 KP) rated Raise the Titanic (1980) in Movies
Apr 19, 2020
Turgid, non-thrilling thriller based on a book by Clive Cussler (who hated the adaptation). US defence agencies invent a new missile defence system, but the minerals needed to make it work are all in a safe on the Titanic, which is at the bottom of the Atlantic (as you may have heard). Maverick action-man and salvage expert Dirk Pitts (Jordan) is put in charge of undoing all James Cameron's hard work and refloating the thing.
One of those movies which mistakes a diverting idea for a viable plot - the whys, hows and wherefores of the operation are not that interesting or credible and the film is sluggish and low on action. Most of the special effects and modelwork are also very poor (a long way sub-Gerry Anderson). Half-decent twist at the end, but hardly enough to make up for the fact that most of it is very limp and boring.
One of those movies which mistakes a diverting idea for a viable plot - the whys, hows and wherefores of the operation are not that interesting or credible and the film is sluggish and low on action. Most of the special effects and modelwork are also very poor (a long way sub-Gerry Anderson). Half-decent twist at the end, but hardly enough to make up for the fact that most of it is very limp and boring.