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Mekkin B. (122 KP) rated The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms in Books

Sep 9, 2017

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms

N.K. Jemisin | 2000 | Science Fiction/Fantasy

8.3

(3 Ratings)

Book Rating

Worldbuilding (1 more)

Thoughtful and Engaging Characters

Tight, compelling story set in an amazing fantasy world

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms has the kind of engaging plot and clear prose that makes it easy to get lost in. Jemisin's debut novel crafts a complex world that fans of traditional fantasy will love, while still being incredibly fresh and thoughtful. The worldbuilding engages in the complexities of colonialism and cultural difference in a way that makes the world feel alive and thrumming with conflict.

Yeine is a compelling protagonist and Nahadoth, her romantic interest, is sexy, dark, and tortured (like all good love interests should be.) It's 410 pages of pure fantasy fun.

The only nitpick I have is that I wish there was more of it. Seriously. The advice to writers is to start as late in the story as possible, but I wish more time had been spent building up Yeine's world and her relationship with her mother (who's death is pivotal to the plot), and with her own Kingdom of Darre. Instead the reader enters the story with Yeine already making her way to the city of Sky. This, for me, lessened the emotional impact of later reveals.

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated Yesterday (2019) in Movies

Jul 2, 2019 (Updated Jun 15, 2020)

Yesterday (2019)

2019 | Comedy, Fantasy, Music

7.3

(50 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Highly-anticipated high-concept collaboration between two of British cinema's biggest names doesn't really live up to expectations. Going-nowhere singer-songwriter falls off his bike during a mysterious black-out and when he wakes up discovers he is now living in a world where the Beatles have never existed. Fame and fortune naturally beckon, but will they come at the expense of The Important Things in Life?

It's a fascinating premise, but one the film largely ignores in favour of a very familiar rom-com storyline that doesn't do anything particularly interesting or engaging. You can't help wondering: what has happened to the world? How come (almost) nobody remembers the Fab Four? The whole point of this kind of story is surely for the absence of the Beatles to reveal, by implication, their greatness and significance, but the film suggests they can vanish leaving barely a ripple in terms of cultural or musical legacy. The results are intermittently amusing and occasionally interesting, but the film only succeeds at aiming low. Decent performances from the leads help; Kate McKinnon is good value as usual, but James Corden and Ed Sheeran are in it too.

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles (2019) in Movies

Dec 13, 2019

Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles (2019)

2019 | Documentary, Musical

9.0

(2 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Somewhat digressive documentary comes to celebrate Fiddler on the Roof, not critique it, as the title probably makes clear. Various interviewees recount the creation of the show, while others reflect on its cultural impact and continuing and enormous popularity (apparently there has been at least one performance somewhere in the world every single day since it first opened in 1964).

The stories and insights are interesting enough to keep you from wishing you'd just watched a DVD of the movie instead, and they have hunted up some fascinating footage to illustrate the film, ranging from the Temptations doing a very funky version of 'If I Were A Rich Man' to Lin-Manuel Miranda's wedding video. The film addresses the central paradox about this show - that something so very specific in time, place and outlook has such universal appeal and emotional power - but doesn't really attempt to explain it. This is probably quite wise, as it is one of the mysteries of great art. Worth a look if you like the show, which everyone with a heart and a soul who's actually seen it surely does.