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Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated A Blade So Black in Books

Mar 21, 2019  
A Blade So Black
A Blade So Black
L.L. McKinney | 2018 | Young Adult (YA)
9
5.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
I've seen the point brought up that so many fantasy protagonists have really neglectful parents. Who lets their kid be gone for an unknown amount of time doing something "important" that their kid refuses to tell them about because it's a "secret"? This book makes a point of how NOT neglectful Alice's mother is. The blurb calls her overprotective, but really it's just normal protective. Alice's mom just wants to know her daughter hasn't been shot by the police when she's gone for 24 hours and not answering her phone, that seems normal to me! I actually enjoyed how that was different than a lot of fantasy YA, even if it's really a small sideplot.

In the main plot, Alice is a Dreamwalker, wielding Figment Blades and her own Muchness to kill the Nightmares that try to cross from Wonderland to our world. Her mentor is Addison Hatta, an exile from Wonderland who's been charged to guard his Gateway and train new Dreamwalkers. Along the way we meet two more Dreamwalkers, more exiled Wonderlanders, and learn a bit about the war in Wonderland and why they're exiled but still charged with such an important mission as guiding the Gateways between our world and theirs.

About the only thing I didn't like about this book was how it left so many questions unanswered at the end. We got a cliffhanger to lead us into the sequel, A Dream So Dark, but it isn't due out until September! I'm also wondering where the Cheshire Cat is - he's too instrumental a character to leave out, I would think - but I have a few possible ideas about where the author is going with that, so I'm anxious for the sequel, to see if I'm right.

A Blade So Black is a very unique take on Wonderland by a POC author, starring a POC heroine. There's also an adorable lesbian couple as side characters. With minority racial representation, a fairy tale base, and a splash of LGBT+ rep, this book checked a lot of the boxes I look for in my fantasy. It wasn't the best YA fantasy that I've read in the last year, but it was definitely fun!

You can read all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
  
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Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Kings or Pawns (Steps of Power #1) in Books

Nov 18, 2019  
Kings or Pawns (Steps of Power #1)
Kings or Pawns (Steps of Power #1)
J.J. Sherwood | 2016 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Thriller
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book contains the usual staple fantasy races: elves, humans, dwarves, centaurs. There are epic battles and bold heroes, princesses in peril and magic. There is even a map at the front.

But that is where any similarity between this book and most other epic fantasy novels ends. Sherwood tells the tale of an elven country that has become corrupt with a ruling council who make decisions for reasons of profit, driving the rightful kings away and installing a puppet regime. Meanwhile the country is facing a war led by a brilliant defector.

When his father, the king, dies young Prince Hairem is determined to stand up to the council and stop the rot. But the council has ruled for hundreds of years, how can he possibly change things? Meanwhile Jikun, the general of the army must obey the council's wishes, even if the orders will only lead to destruction.

Sherwood starts with a few scenes and set pieces and gradually introduces the key players; Jikun is bold and brilliant but has a lot of inner demons which threaten to destroy him. Hairem is idealistic but naive.

The machinations of the council are real House of Cards type stuff, every way that Hairem tries to exert his authority blunted and diverted by the wily council members, who simultaneously try to make out they are on his side. As a political thriller this works amazingly well despite being set in a fantasy world; the descriptions and characters are perfectly pitched. It seems that pretty much everybody has dark secrets which everybody else is either trying to discover or use to their advantage.

There are scenes of action too, with Jikun and the army and also Sellemar mounting a daring raid into enemy territory plus duels and assasination attempts. This book really does have everything packed into it and the ending is both shocking and perfectly balanced to allow for further books in the series while satisfyingly closing a number of plot threads.

I was expecting a fairly standard fantasy book when I started this; what I got was an absolute gem that just begged to be read. A total masterpiece.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated Bright (2017) in Movies

Feb 8, 2018 (Updated Feb 8, 2018)  
Bright (2017)
Bright (2017)
2017 | Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
6
7.2 (140 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Orcz in da Hood
Fantasy-cop movie mash-up which probably sounded cool at the pitch meeting but doesn't really work as a full movie. Will Smith plays a careworn LA street cop saddled with an Orc (Joel Edgerton) as his partner, as this is a world where humans and fantasy creatures co-exist. The two of them end up contending with the anti-Orc racism of the LAPD and a cult of evil Elves seeking to use a magic wand to bring about the end of the world (Noomi Rapace and her cheekbones are well-cast as the baddie).

David Ayer seems much more comfortable handling the cop movie angle than the fantasy, but then at least this bit of the script actually makes a degree of sense. The movie no offers no clues as to how a world with Dark Lords and dragons and near-omnipotent magic wands ended up so closely resembling our own, with roughly the same history, countries, and cities (they even have Uber, for God's sake). And you have to wonder what kind of social commentary writer Max Landis is intent on when he implicitly draws parallels between Orcs (strong, dim, violent) and real-world ethnic groups.

Looking on the (wait for it) bright side, there is some snappy dialogue and good performances from Smith and (particularly) Edgerton, and most of the action is well-staged. One of those movies that works better if you just don't think about it, but let it wash over you; apparently a sequel is in the works and maybe they will address some of these issues there. David Ayer should definitely stick to writing his own scripts in future, though.
  
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Darksoul (1 KP) rated Deadpool 2 (2018) in Movies

Feb 16, 2019  
Deadpool 2 (2018)
Deadpool 2 (2018)
2018 | Action, Comedy
8
8.5 (283 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
The witt.. the comedy... the violence the dark side of the marvel world with a twist of Attitude. (0 more)
Didnt really have anything bad to say on it to be totaly honest. (0 more)
Loved it
I loved the film and its good to see some1 picking up the marvel slack an goin totaly darkside with this character and just shoving it in the piblic eye for all to see how good an darkside it can go.

Good cast with all good parts. Absolutely funny as Fu*k in my eyes.

Without goin to much into the movie as im sure you know its hard to dodge movie trailers now days so im sure u knkw what the films based about so id def say if u aint seen this film yet an want nice easy to watch a comedy violence fantasy action movie then this is 1 for you.