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Terri Wiltshire (21 KP) rated The Lord of the Rings in Books

Sep 1, 2019  
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
J.R.R. Tolkien | 1954 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.5 (64 Ratings)
Book Rating
Tolkein created a complete detailed universe complete with its own mythology and lore (2 more)
Varied and rounded characters
Epic journey of good verses evil and the grey areas in between
You will become obsessed...it is difficult not to fall in love with the world and it's characters (0 more)
Masterpiece
There is little I can say that has not already been said about The Lord of the Rings. It is an epic story of friendship, love, betrayal, war and essentially a coming of age journey. Middle earth and all its inhabitants come alive in your hands...you are transported to a world in chaos, a world of change where nothing is certain. Battle with dwarfs and elves, fight along side men who are impossibly brave and flawed and cry as the tiniest of people carry the biggest of burdens.
This book and the subsequent movies based on the world have been well quoted and are almost inbedded in British culture.
I envy those who haven't read them yet..you have a fantastic journey ahead. It will not be easy (this is not light reading) but it will be more than worth it. Enjoy, and give the elves my love.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated The Day of the Triffids in Books

Sep 5, 2019  
The Day of the Triffids
The Day of the Triffids
John Wyndham | 1951 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
7.6 (8 Ratings)
Book Rating
Famous and highly influential British catastrophe novel. The collapse of global civilisation, after what appears to be an encounter with a comet blinds the majority of the world's population, is made even worse by the existence of sentient, mobile, lethal carnivorous plants, genetically engineered before the disaster. It sounds schlocky written down like that - and most screen adaptations end up that way - but Wyndham's dry, cultured, understated voice means this is a chillingly plausible and deeply affecting depiction of the end of the world.

In some ways this is very much of its time, but in others it is a remarkably prescient book, touching on issues such as the weaponisation of satellites and genetically-modified foodstuffs. It is also a vehicle for Wyndham to explore some of the key issues of his novels - the moral decisions faced by survivors, and the conflict between the individual and the collective. The structure of the plot is somewhat idiosyncratic, and accusations that this is the kind of catastrophe where the really bad stuff just happens to other people may have some weight to them, but this is an immensely readable and thought-provoking book which still feels relevant today.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated The World in Winter in Books

Sep 5, 2019  
The World in Winter
The World in Winter
John Christopher | 1962 | Dystopia, Science Fiction/Fantasy
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Christopher's tale of the onset of a new ice age and its consequences is told with his usual clarity and strength of characterisation. The sun dims slightly; northern Europe vanishes under ice and snow, and the wealthy and powerful relocate to closer to the equator.

What makes the book a bit problematic for a modern reader is that some of the attitudes in it feel uncomfortably close to outright racism - it almost feels like a cautionary parable about what would happen if the traditional colonial roles were reversed and Africans were in a position of power over Europeans. That the book is a product of the era when the British Empire was dissolving is obvious, and the racial attitudes do impact on the story - protagonist and antagonist form an alliance at the end, despite a long history of bitter conflict between them, simply because they are both white men and the alternative is to allow Africans to dominate the UK. While the book should be considered in the context of its time, it still leaves a very sour taste in the mouth, quite unlike any of the author's other books.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) in Movies

May 14, 2020  
Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
1994 | Comedy, Drama, Romance
9
7.4 (24 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
It's easy to forget what an unstoppable cultural juggernaut Four Weddings was for most of the summer of 1994: cinemas sold out for weeks on end (it was still playing in a few screens when it came out on VHS), careers were launched by it, sales of Auden soared, and the theme tune was number one for about three months. And watching it again it can be difficult to see just why it was such a smash: bits of it feel very dated, it sort of offers a tourist's eye view of England as inhabited largely by rich posh people, and Andie McDowell is a bit teaky in a crucial role.

However, this is to overlook how dire most British comedy films of the early 90s were and how fresh and funny this felt. The jokes here are frequent and good, but the characters are not cartoons and when the film skirts darker moments it does so with sincerity. It is neatly written and very well performed; the people who became stars off the back of this movie generally deserved it. Very watchable and entertaining even a quarter-century on.