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Hazel (2934 KP) rated Hope to Die (DI Adam Fawley #6) in Books
Aug 14, 2022
I have just finished the previous book in this series, The Whole Truth, and dived into this the 6th outing for DI Fawley and his team and, let me tell you, what a treat it is.
I have said it before and I will say it again, what an absolute cracker of a book this is and, once again, an excellent addition to this excellent series. Please be reassured that you don't have to have read the others as this works well as a standalone however, I recommend you do ... you won't be disappointed.
DI Fawley and his team are called after the violent death of an unidentified young man shot dead in an isolated farmhouse in an apparent burglary but things just don't add up and so begins a complex, challenging and thrilling investigation which uncovers secrets and lies and so, so much more.
Cara Hunter uses, very cleverly, other media to provide different perspectives to the story including Netflix and voicemail transcripts. This helps the story to flow and provides another element and makes it feel current and relevant. The only thing that I have a small quibble about is that some of this didn't work very well on my Kindle as it's quite small writing and I found myself constantly adjusting the font size but that may have been because I received an advance copy so I felt it was a small price to pay for what is an excellent addition to the way of telling the story.
Highly recommended to lovers of police procedurals with twists and turns that keep you guessing ... roll on number 7!
Many thanks to Penguin and NetGalley for enabling me to read Hope to Die and share my thoughts.
I have said it before and I will say it again, what an absolute cracker of a book this is and, once again, an excellent addition to this excellent series. Please be reassured that you don't have to have read the others as this works well as a standalone however, I recommend you do ... you won't be disappointed.
DI Fawley and his team are called after the violent death of an unidentified young man shot dead in an isolated farmhouse in an apparent burglary but things just don't add up and so begins a complex, challenging and thrilling investigation which uncovers secrets and lies and so, so much more.
Cara Hunter uses, very cleverly, other media to provide different perspectives to the story including Netflix and voicemail transcripts. This helps the story to flow and provides another element and makes it feel current and relevant. The only thing that I have a small quibble about is that some of this didn't work very well on my Kindle as it's quite small writing and I found myself constantly adjusting the font size but that may have been because I received an advance copy so I felt it was a small price to pay for what is an excellent addition to the way of telling the story.
Highly recommended to lovers of police procedurals with twists and turns that keep you guessing ... roll on number 7!
Many thanks to Penguin and NetGalley for enabling me to read Hope to Die and share my thoughts.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2165 KP) rated Dating Dead Men in Books
Mar 9, 2018
A call from her brother sends Wollie off on a wild ride while she's in the middle of a dating project and trying to help her greeting card store take off. Has her brother really witnessed a murder? Or is it his paranoid schizorenia acting up again? A twisty novel with great characters. Just pay attention at the beginning because a lot is thrown at you quickly.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/02/book-review-dating-dead-men-by-harley.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/02/book-review-dating-dead-men-by-harley.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Setup (2011)
3.0
Rate It
Movie
When Sonny (50 cent) is betrayed by is life long friend during a diamond heist and left for dead he...
Gareth von Kallenbach (977 KP) rated Dead Rising 3: Apocalypse Edition in Video Games
Jun 19, 2019
When I first learned that Dead Rising 3 would be coming to PC in an
Apocalypse edition, I was thrilled. I have not been one eager to jump on
the Xbox One bandwagon and prefer to play my games on PC.
Having enjoyed the first two games in the series, I eagerly loaded up the
game and jumped into a casual co-op game where a fellow gamer and I worked
our way through levels teaming with hordes of the undead.
Like the other games in the series, I was able to use various vehicles to
run down and force my way through the hordes and of course, anything on
the very big and detailed maps can become a weapon, while there are guns,
grenades, swords, and traditional weapons, players will also find teddy
bears, hubcaps, laptops, bricks, and countless other goodies to ward off
being the main course at a Zombie Buffet.
Players will also be able to gather items and plans so they can easily
craft weapons such as a combination power saw and sledgehammer which makes
short work of all those in your path.
Like the previous games, missions are assigned and cut scenes are used to
move the story along as players often have to locate and return various
items for characters so they will do something for you in return that
allows you to advance.
Having played both in solo mode and with a flesh and blood player, I can
tell you that I greatly prefer having another player on hand as they can
help you fight, navigate, and survive, which is key as there is not always
a helpful amount of food or drink around to help you replenish lost
health.
Since players can only manage a few weapons at a time in their inventory
and Items do destruct after a certain amount of use, being on the lookout
for the next weapon is key as I have been in extended fights when my
options ran dry and I was forced to run.
Graphically the game is solid but not what I would call cutting edge. My
biggest issue with the game was that due to the huge and frequent hordes,
there were times when I lagged almost to a standstill which was not
something that helped enhance my enjoyment of the game.
That being said, the variety of gameplay and the story of the game that
clearly let you know the clock was ticking on your window for survival
really added a sense of urgency to the game.
I enjoyed the free form variety of the game such as taking a muscle car
and executing a flip off of a ramp into a wall of fire to take down a
Zombie that was clinging to the car. Some would call this overkill, but
that is simply how I roll.
From multiple game modes to plenty of in game options, Dead Rising 3 is
tons of fun, now if only they could do something about the in game lag, we
would really have a winner, as it is now, it is a good game that could
have been great on PC.
http://sknr.net/2014/09/15/dead-rising-3-apocalypse-edition/
Apocalypse edition, I was thrilled. I have not been one eager to jump on
the Xbox One bandwagon and prefer to play my games on PC.
Having enjoyed the first two games in the series, I eagerly loaded up the
game and jumped into a casual co-op game where a fellow gamer and I worked
our way through levels teaming with hordes of the undead.
Like the other games in the series, I was able to use various vehicles to
run down and force my way through the hordes and of course, anything on
the very big and detailed maps can become a weapon, while there are guns,
grenades, swords, and traditional weapons, players will also find teddy
bears, hubcaps, laptops, bricks, and countless other goodies to ward off
being the main course at a Zombie Buffet.
Players will also be able to gather items and plans so they can easily
craft weapons such as a combination power saw and sledgehammer which makes
short work of all those in your path.
Like the previous games, missions are assigned and cut scenes are used to
move the story along as players often have to locate and return various
items for characters so they will do something for you in return that
allows you to advance.
Having played both in solo mode and with a flesh and blood player, I can
tell you that I greatly prefer having another player on hand as they can
help you fight, navigate, and survive, which is key as there is not always
a helpful amount of food or drink around to help you replenish lost
health.
Since players can only manage a few weapons at a time in their inventory
and Items do destruct after a certain amount of use, being on the lookout
for the next weapon is key as I have been in extended fights when my
options ran dry and I was forced to run.
Graphically the game is solid but not what I would call cutting edge. My
biggest issue with the game was that due to the huge and frequent hordes,
there were times when I lagged almost to a standstill which was not
something that helped enhance my enjoyment of the game.
That being said, the variety of gameplay and the story of the game that
clearly let you know the clock was ticking on your window for survival
really added a sense of urgency to the game.
I enjoyed the free form variety of the game such as taking a muscle car
and executing a flip off of a ramp into a wall of fire to take down a
Zombie that was clinging to the car. Some would call this overkill, but
that is simply how I roll.
From multiple game modes to plenty of in game options, Dead Rising 3 is
tons of fun, now if only they could do something about the in game lag, we
would really have a winner, as it is now, it is a good game that could
have been great on PC.
http://sknr.net/2014/09/15/dead-rising-3-apocalypse-edition/
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Upgrade (2018) in Movies
Feb 10, 2020
Seeking Revenge
Upgrade- directed by Liegh Whannell was a excellent, fantasic movie. Than combines sci-fi, action and horror into one movie. Think Robocop, Dredd and Terminator all combine into one movie with the horror espect.
The plot: A brutal mugging leaves Grey Trace paralyzed in the hospital and his beloved wife dead. A billionaire inventor soon offers Trace a cure -- an artificial intelligence implant called STEM that will enhance his body. Now able to walk, Grey finds that he also has superhuman strength and agility -- skills he uses to seek revenge against the thugs who destroyed his life.
If you like seek revenge movies like Dredd and Robocop than you will love this movie. Logan Marshall-Green is excellent and Leigh Whannell does a excellent job directing.
The plot: A brutal mugging leaves Grey Trace paralyzed in the hospital and his beloved wife dead. A billionaire inventor soon offers Trace a cure -- an artificial intelligence implant called STEM that will enhance his body. Now able to walk, Grey finds that he also has superhuman strength and agility -- skills he uses to seek revenge against the thugs who destroyed his life.
If you like seek revenge movies like Dredd and Robocop than you will love this movie. Logan Marshall-Green is excellent and Leigh Whannell does a excellent job directing.
Josh Burns (166 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of Vampyr in Video Games
Jun 21, 2019
Great story (2 more)
Great Atmosphere
Adaptive gameplay
Protect or Prey on the people of London in Vampyr
Vampyr is a mixed bag that may not be for everyone. It really depends on the types of games you like on this one (as with Until Dawn).
The game draws inspiration from a real epedemic called the Spanish Flu, which for whatever reason, gets way less attention than the Black Plague. You play as an esteemed doctor who gets turned into a vampire after returning to London from being in World War 1. The game just drips in atmosphere as you travel the nearly abandoned streets and docks. It channels gothic horror but with a tasteful dose of modern genre updates. It has a very good story that reminds of a bit of Mary Shelley's book Frankenstein in the fact that you do not like what you are, or what it has caused you to do.
Now, this game is largely what you make it to be. The people of London all have fleshed out backstories, personalities, and many offer side quests, trade options, or useful info on certain things. You can either bond with then and work to keep them healthy, or you can feed on them and grow stronger. Your choice on how you handle this can dramatically effect the game. You gain a large amount of experience from feeding on them, even more if you gain their trust first. If you take that route it can take the game from challanging to being easy. There is are a lot of options when leveling up, without feeding you will not be able to max everything out. Another thing that depends on play style, is that there is a ton of talking if you choose to help tje people and gain their trust. This isn't a requirement, however. So the game can be very deep and story driven with a lot of dialogue, or it can be more of an action game, depending on what you do.
On that note, as a pure action game, I'm not sure if it would hold up for most. The combat mechanics are quite basic, attack, dodge, and a few specials, and ranged attack with gun. It's fun enough when not taking the feeding route because you still have to be strategic but if you feed a lot and are extremely powerful, I don't see it being very fun.
The game also features light crafting in the form of upgrading weapons, making blood, stanima, and health injections (same as potions in most games) and medicine for the people. It's semi open and semi linear. You have a map that you can go anywhere on, but only in certain buildings and some streets are blocked off. In fact, navigation can be infuriating at times because of dead ends, doors that need to be unlocked from the other side, and objective markers sometimes being in the wrong spot on the map. I spent a half hour trying to get into a mansion before looking it up and finding out the marker was wrong and I was at the wrong building.
So in conclusion: if you like games like the 1st Mass Effect where story, characters and dialogue are the focus of the game with a healthy dose of combat that isn't amazing but gets the job done, then you'll love it. If you want to just run arpund and hack shit up, it might not be for you.
The game draws inspiration from a real epedemic called the Spanish Flu, which for whatever reason, gets way less attention than the Black Plague. You play as an esteemed doctor who gets turned into a vampire after returning to London from being in World War 1. The game just drips in atmosphere as you travel the nearly abandoned streets and docks. It channels gothic horror but with a tasteful dose of modern genre updates. It has a very good story that reminds of a bit of Mary Shelley's book Frankenstein in the fact that you do not like what you are, or what it has caused you to do.
Now, this game is largely what you make it to be. The people of London all have fleshed out backstories, personalities, and many offer side quests, trade options, or useful info on certain things. You can either bond with then and work to keep them healthy, or you can feed on them and grow stronger. Your choice on how you handle this can dramatically effect the game. You gain a large amount of experience from feeding on them, even more if you gain their trust first. If you take that route it can take the game from challanging to being easy. There is are a lot of options when leveling up, without feeding you will not be able to max everything out. Another thing that depends on play style, is that there is a ton of talking if you choose to help tje people and gain their trust. This isn't a requirement, however. So the game can be very deep and story driven with a lot of dialogue, or it can be more of an action game, depending on what you do.
On that note, as a pure action game, I'm not sure if it would hold up for most. The combat mechanics are quite basic, attack, dodge, and a few specials, and ranged attack with gun. It's fun enough when not taking the feeding route because you still have to be strategic but if you feed a lot and are extremely powerful, I don't see it being very fun.
The game also features light crafting in the form of upgrading weapons, making blood, stanima, and health injections (same as potions in most games) and medicine for the people. It's semi open and semi linear. You have a map that you can go anywhere on, but only in certain buildings and some streets are blocked off. In fact, navigation can be infuriating at times because of dead ends, doors that need to be unlocked from the other side, and objective markers sometimes being in the wrong spot on the map. I spent a half hour trying to get into a mansion before looking it up and finding out the marker was wrong and I was at the wrong building.
So in conclusion: if you like games like the 1st Mass Effect where story, characters and dialogue are the focus of the game with a healthy dose of combat that isn't amazing but gets the job done, then you'll love it. If you want to just run arpund and hack shit up, it might not be for you.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Chasing the Dragon in Books
Feb 14, 2024
28 of 220
ARC
Chasing the Dragon
By Mark Towse
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A town on its knees, dread's bony fingers wrapping around its throat and squeezing, death rattles soon to follow.
Drugs, filth, and a lack of human decency are starving it of hope.
Introducing Simon Dooley, our trauma-driven wannabe superhero, the relentless voice of his dead mother pleading with him to "end the chaos." Dressed in a leotard and armed only with a dozen dog poop bags, Simon's plight will find him falling in love and going head to head with the seediest characters walking the streets.
The town needed a hero... it got Reformo.
This was honestly such a fun read. This dude has some parental issues that’s for certain. So Simon decided on the advice of his dead mother that he’s going to clean house and the neighbourhood. So he invents Reformo the super hero everyone needs. Now all the way through this book I couldn’t stop laughing which when you’re on a bus full of people you get crazy looks. You can tell the author has poured everything into this book and it really has paid off. It’s dark, funny, bloody , violent and even a little emotional at the end there. Please read any trigger warnings as it does touch a few and it is dark and violent with some graphic details.
I was kindly given this to me by the author in return for an honest review.
ARC
Chasing the Dragon
By Mark Towse
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A town on its knees, dread's bony fingers wrapping around its throat and squeezing, death rattles soon to follow.
Drugs, filth, and a lack of human decency are starving it of hope.
Introducing Simon Dooley, our trauma-driven wannabe superhero, the relentless voice of his dead mother pleading with him to "end the chaos." Dressed in a leotard and armed only with a dozen dog poop bags, Simon's plight will find him falling in love and going head to head with the seediest characters walking the streets.
The town needed a hero... it got Reformo.
This was honestly such a fun read. This dude has some parental issues that’s for certain. So Simon decided on the advice of his dead mother that he’s going to clean house and the neighbourhood. So he invents Reformo the super hero everyone needs. Now all the way through this book I couldn’t stop laughing which when you’re on a bus full of people you get crazy looks. You can tell the author has poured everything into this book and it really has paid off. It’s dark, funny, bloody , violent and even a little emotional at the end there. Please read any trigger warnings as it does touch a few and it is dark and violent with some graphic details.
I was kindly given this to me by the author in return for an honest review.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Labyrinth in Tabletop Games
Sep 29, 2020
You know what’s super fun? Rediscovering one of your favorite childhood games. What’s even better is if the game itself lives up to your memories from when you were younger. Labyrinth is one of those games for me. My siblings and I played it a lot throughout our childhood, and it’s recently come back into my life. So does it still dazzle me after all of these years? Read on to find out!
Labyrinth is a game of tile placement and route building with a modular board in which you are trying to navigate the maze to collect various treasures. To setup the game, shuffle the maze tiles and place them randomly on the empty spaces of the board. There will be 1 tile left over. Shuffle the treasure cards and split them evenly between all players. Players may only look at the top card of their stack at a time. On your turn, you are trying to get your pawn to the tile showing the treasure from your card. You do this by shifting the board and creating new pathways through the maze. Take the extra tile, and add it to a row or column, effectively shifting the entire line in one direction. Once you have shifted the maze, move your pawn as far as possible along the open pathway. If you reach your treasure tile, flip over your card. You now look at the next card in your stack, and on your next turn will begin moving towards that tile. If you don’t reach your treasure tile, that is fine. Just try to set yourself up to reach it on your next turn! The game ends once a player has flipped over all of their treasure cards and returned their pawn to its starting position.
I loved Labyrinth as a kid, and I still love it as an adult. The gameplay is pretty engaging, and now that I’m older, I can appreciate the strategy required of the game way more. One of the most fun parts of the game is the act of shifting the tiles. It’s just fun to watch the rows shift, creating new pathways and trapping opponents in dead-end routes. Not just that, but the amount of strategy you need for success is crazy! You have to be thinking several turns in advance, trying to figure out how to shift the randomly set-up maze to your maximum benefit, while also trying to anticipate how your opponents might shift the maze as well. There really is no down-time in Labyrinth, and that keeps it exciting for such a simple game.
The one thing I do not necessarily like about Labyrinth is that you are only allowed to look at your top treasure card at a time. Sometimes you spend several turns getting to a treasure tile, just to look at your next card and realize that you passed through that tile several times on your way here. I guess it would probably make the game easier overall if you could see all of your cards at once and decide your path from there. Not that I necessarily want an easier game, it can just get frustrating sometimes when you have to be traveling back and forth across the board for every single card.
Labyrinth is definitely a game that I will keep in my collection forever. It was a childhood favorite of mine, and I still love to bring it out with my siblings for some good nostalgia coupled with brain-burning strategy. I can’t wait to have children of my own so that I can play this game with them as well. Just because it’s an old game, doesn’t mean that it’s a bad game! Give it a try if you haven’t, because I think you’ll love it. Purple Phoenix Games gives Labyrinth a twisting 8 / 12.
Labyrinth is a game of tile placement and route building with a modular board in which you are trying to navigate the maze to collect various treasures. To setup the game, shuffle the maze tiles and place them randomly on the empty spaces of the board. There will be 1 tile left over. Shuffle the treasure cards and split them evenly between all players. Players may only look at the top card of their stack at a time. On your turn, you are trying to get your pawn to the tile showing the treasure from your card. You do this by shifting the board and creating new pathways through the maze. Take the extra tile, and add it to a row or column, effectively shifting the entire line in one direction. Once you have shifted the maze, move your pawn as far as possible along the open pathway. If you reach your treasure tile, flip over your card. You now look at the next card in your stack, and on your next turn will begin moving towards that tile. If you don’t reach your treasure tile, that is fine. Just try to set yourself up to reach it on your next turn! The game ends once a player has flipped over all of their treasure cards and returned their pawn to its starting position.
I loved Labyrinth as a kid, and I still love it as an adult. The gameplay is pretty engaging, and now that I’m older, I can appreciate the strategy required of the game way more. One of the most fun parts of the game is the act of shifting the tiles. It’s just fun to watch the rows shift, creating new pathways and trapping opponents in dead-end routes. Not just that, but the amount of strategy you need for success is crazy! You have to be thinking several turns in advance, trying to figure out how to shift the randomly set-up maze to your maximum benefit, while also trying to anticipate how your opponents might shift the maze as well. There really is no down-time in Labyrinth, and that keeps it exciting for such a simple game.
The one thing I do not necessarily like about Labyrinth is that you are only allowed to look at your top treasure card at a time. Sometimes you spend several turns getting to a treasure tile, just to look at your next card and realize that you passed through that tile several times on your way here. I guess it would probably make the game easier overall if you could see all of your cards at once and decide your path from there. Not that I necessarily want an easier game, it can just get frustrating sometimes when you have to be traveling back and forth across the board for every single card.
Labyrinth is definitely a game that I will keep in my collection forever. It was a childhood favorite of mine, and I still love to bring it out with my siblings for some good nostalgia coupled with brain-burning strategy. I can’t wait to have children of my own so that I can play this game with them as well. Just because it’s an old game, doesn’t mean that it’s a bad game! Give it a try if you haven’t, because I think you’ll love it. Purple Phoenix Games gives Labyrinth a twisting 8 / 12.
When Lightning Strikes (1-800-Where-R-You, #1)
8.7
Rate It
Book
Jess Mastriani has never been what you'd call a typical Midwestern teenager—her extracurricular...
After You Die
Book
Dawn Prentice was already known to the Peterborough Hate Crimes Unit. The previous summer she had...