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ClareR (5827 KP) rated Star of the North in Books

May 3, 2018 (Updated May 3, 2018)

Star of the North

D. B. John | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry, Thriller

7.0

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

One of my favourite books of the year!

I feel like I’ve just stepped off a roller coaster - what a ride that was!!
Twelve years after her sister was kidnapped on a South Korean beach, Jenna, a Korean-American and a well-respected lecturer in North Korean studies, joins the CIA. She thinks that she may be able to track down her sister, who she believes is alive. Mrs Moon is a North Korean peasant, who builds a business after finding contraband food that was sent over by balloon from South Korea. Cho is a high ranking North Korean official who is found to have undesirable ancestors and is punished. These three storylines end up coming together so cleverly, in a story that is exciting and told at a breakneck speed. I loved it. This is one of those ‘un-put-downable’ books. The ending is so unexpected and explosive - just wow!! Honestly, this has ‘movie adaptation’ written all over it. And when you realise that this is all based on fact and true stories...
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for my copy!!

Kudos

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2294 KP) rated Mrs. Pollifax Pursued (Mrs. Pollifax, #11) in Books

Mar 9, 2018

The last thing Mrs. Pollifax expected to find that day was a young woman hiding in her closet. Kadi is afraid of the men who have been driving by in a van for the last couple of days, and Mrs. Pollifax’s efforts to sneak her out of the house end with both of them on the run. A call to Carstairs at the CIA leads them to an unusual safe house and another mystery. Are the two related?

This is a bit of an unusual entry in the series since it takes place mostly in the US and Carstairs plays a much more active part in the story. However, I like it for that change of pace. The plot relies a bit more on coincidence than is normal for the series (which is saying something), but all the various threads do wind up playing a part in the end. Overall, another great entry in the series.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2015/07/book-review-mrs-pollifax-pursued-by.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.

Kudos

David McK (3523 KP) rated Moonraker (James Bond, #3) in Books

Jan 30, 2019

I know I've seen it, but I don't really remember all the much about the 1979 Moonraker film (incidentally, the year I was born), other than that it starred Roger Moore (in his fourth role as James Bond), and that James Bond went into space.

James Bond does not go into space.

At least, not in the novel on which that film is (very loosely) based - or, more accurately, from which they took the title.

Instead, we have a Cold-War era spy thriller, with the Moonraker of the title really more of an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (an IBM) rather than the Space Shuttle of the movie. Nor is there CIA involvement, nor a battle-in-space, nor a madman setting out to wipe out all life on Earth ... you get the picture.

There are, however, elements of the novel that make it into future Bond movies, in particular the facial reconstructive surgery of 'Die Another Day' clearly picking up it's cue from the background given to the central antagonist of Drax, and just what happened to him during the war.

Kudos

Dean (6927 KP) rated Quantico - Season 2 in TV

Aug 11, 2019

Quantico - Season 2

2016 | Mystery

6.0

(3 Ratings)

TV Season Rating

1st half of the series (0 more)

Ending on a wimper (0 more)

A series of two halves

I loved the first series of Quantico so naturally looked forward to this. The first half of the series is similar to the first series. This time set at the CIA training school as they learn how to be an agent. Often going back and forth in time to present day. This time their is a convulted plot about a rogue group of agents working in the security service. Along with trying to find out who they are and what they want. I had quite a gap between watching the first and second half of the series. But the second half changes direction completely with a focus on some conspirators trying to bring around a far right takeover of government. Unfortunately it just became a bit of a slog to finish the series at 22 episodes. The first half was interesting but it got over complicated later on. The ending was very disappointing as well.

Kudos

Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Mission: Impossible (1996) in Movies

Apr 7, 2020

Mission: Impossible (1996)

1996 | Action, Mystery

7.5

(34 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Exploding Bubble Gum: The Start

Mission: Impossible- you cant have the month of "Tom Cruise" without this film franchise. This one started it all, the one with exploding bumble gun, the one with the close call, the one with a different face mask. The one that intudces Ethan Hunt and Luther Stickell. Such a excellent film, and franchise as a whole. Personally my favorite is the 3rd one, but i get to that eventually. For now lets start at the beginning.

The Plot: When U.S. government operative Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his mentor, Jim Phelps (Jon Voight), go on a covert assignment that takes a disastrous turn, Jim is killed, and Ethan becomes the prime murder suspect. Now a fugitive, Hunt recruits brilliant hacker Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) and maverick pilot Franz Krieger (Jean Reno) to help him sneak into a heavily guarded CIA building to retrieve a confidential computer file that will prove his innocence.

Like i said before a excellent film, a excellent start for a excellent franchise.