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Christine A. (965 KP) rated Small Spaces (Small Spaces #1) in Books

Jul 24, 2019  
Small Spaces (Small Spaces #1)
Small Spaces (Small Spaces #1)
Katherine Arden | 2018 | Children, Horror, Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.5 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Fantasy Horror Book marketed for middle school/middle grades
‏I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

Katherine Arden is best known for her adult/young adult fantasy novel, The Bear and the Nightingale. With Small Spaces, Katherine Arden ventures into writing for middle school-aged children. This creepy horror book brought me back to my childhood where I stayed up late reading Lois Duncan, Richard Peck, and Joan Lowery Nixon. Those authors, among others, wrote horror books for children that were able to scare you without being gory.

The description of Small Spaces brought to mind the movie Jeepers Creepers 2 - a school bus full of children breaks down and they are in danger of something in the night/dark. That is where the similarities end. Arden teams up 3 students who are classmates but not friends. They leave the bus for the safety of the forest...

This story is tame compared to many of the horror movies children have seen in recent years. It is the innocence of the story while being scary and suspenseful that makes it such an interesting read.

Small Spaces is the first book in her Small Spaces series. The 2nd, Dead Voices, has a release date of August 27, 2019. I preordered it and will review it as soon as possible.

This 200-word review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 7/24/19.
  
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Night Reader Reviews (683 KP) rated The Dark Prince: The Beginning in Books

Jan 10, 2020  
The Dark Prince: The Beginning
The Dark Prince: The Beginning
Kyle Jackson | 2019 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
What I liked best was that while I thought the story would drop Lex’s mother in favor of Lex himself I was surprised to find it just branched off instead. (0 more)
What I did not like all that much was once Lex’s brothers go to war the book seriously begins to drag. (0 more)
Honest Review for Free Copy of Book
The Dark Prince by Kyle Jackson contains elves, both dark, and light (but not the kind that helps Santa), can be found as main characters in this story. There are also dwarves, gods, dragons, and fae. Demons from the lower planes even make large appearances at various times.

The first book in The Dark Prince series introduces readers to Prince Lexxendae Tal’ Dier, a half-dark elf and half demi-god. His mother is Xeron, a demi-goddess exiled to the mortal plane by the other gods due to her being cruel to humans. She ends up marrying the King of the dark elves and gives him three sons. Price Lexxendae is the eldest of the three princes but he wars with his other evil personality. With the help of Segromor, a necromancer, and a friend of his father, Lexxendae learns how to create a mental barrier to hold back his evil side.

Xeron frames Lexxendae for the murder of his father in an attempt to get Lexxendae out of her way in her quest for more power. Segromor saves Lexxendae and sets him on a great quest for a legendary weapon that can kill a god. While Lexxendae is on his journey and making some surprising new friends his brothers are reluctantly teaming up to fight a new evil that threatens the entire island. Xeron is slowly losing her mind and questioning her choices in turning away or destroying everyone who cared about her and tried to get close to her. Meanwhile, on the realm of the gods they are watching all this unfold on their human children and some are starting to talk of rebelling.

What I liked best was that while I thought the story would drop Lex’s mother in favor of Lex himself I was surprised to find it just branched off instead. Lex’s mother played an important role in the entire story. Also seeing what the Gods were thinking about regarding the events playing out on Earth was interesting. Even though the Gods sent Lex’s mother to Earth they still regularly watched her instead of just leaving the humans to our fate. What I did not like all that much was once Lex’s brothers go to war the book seriously begins to drag. Lex’s journey keeps its pace nicely yet the rest of the book seems to lose its speed. There were also numerous places where the tense of words was so wrong that it was extremely obvious, even to me.

The target readers for this book are teens and young adults who enjoy fantasy. Even though the story is about a Prince it is not a mushy love story in any way and it will interest most anyone. There is one minor sex scene that readers should be aware of. Overall I give this book a rating of 3 out of 4. This book contains all the elements of most fantasy stories. The plotline is strong while multiple branches are being told at the same time. The war slowing down the pace of the book and the errors that even I noticed is why I did not give the book a perfect score.

https://www.facebook.com/nightreaderreviews
  
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LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Pan's Labyrinth (2006) in Movies

Oct 12, 2020  
Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
2006 | Fantasy
10
8.1 (91 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
I honestly can't think of a single thing I don't like about Pan's Labyrinth. From start to finish, it's arguably one of the most captivating pieces of cinema ever put to screen.

Guillermo del Toro once again proves his visionary status, with some superbly well realised creature designs. The dark fantasy element of Pan's Labyrinth is vividly otherworldly, and visually unique. Doug Jones portrays both Fauno and The Pale Man, two creatures that immediately earned a place in iconic movie monsters standing. The Pale Man in particular is utterly terrifying.
Ofelia is the young girl who embarks on this fantasy adventure, and actor Ivana Baquero is a delightful presence throughout the movie.

Of course, a bigger chunk of the runtime is taken up by what's happening in the real world. Set in Spain, in the early years of the Francoist period, it's a gritty narrative that touches upon war and dictatorship.
The dictator in this case is Captain Vidal, Ofelia's new stepfather and soon to be biological father of her unborn brother. His contempt towards Ofelia is unpleasant, and he has little regard for anyone's life but his own and his unborn son (nothing like a case of family lineage and mantle carrying to get the misogynistic juices flowing eh?).
He's played with despicabe glee by Sergi López, an actor who I believe was more known in Spain for his comedic work prior to this, so hats off to him. Vidal is one of the most easy-to-hate characters I've ever seen!
The collision of these two opposing world's and cinema styles is fantastic, and is paced perfectly, the fantasy sequences being a brilliant burst of magic, within a compelling and tense war story, all complimented by a beautiful music score.

Pan's Labyrinth is full of wonder and emotion, both fantastical and harrowing. It's a straight up masterpiece that easily makes my top 20 films of all time, maybe even top 10!