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Ross (3284 KP) rated Dead Man's Steel in Books

Oct 4, 2017

Dead Man's Steel

Luke Scull | 2016 | Science Fiction/Fantasy

10.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Outstanding conclusion to this trilogy. I was worried about the number of story threads and loose ends at the end of the Sword of the North and how these could satisfactorily be resolved in 400 pages. I was not disappointed.
The story not only starts to close off loose ends but new threads start up.
The one-time residents of the continent decide to return and Reckon the human race.
Meanwhile a horde of demons has started to break through a rift in the highlands and need to be stopped while they still can.
And there is a dragon.
There are a lot of sad endings for characters I had come to love/loathe and love reading about. Some of these are a long time coming (it seems almost every chapter involving Brodar Kayne has him on the verge of death at the end).
Quite simply an awesome ending to one of the best fantasy series I have read in a long time.
I am tempted to end with the words "better than Abercrombie" but I am not sure I can. Oh I have.

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964) in Movies

Feb 12, 2019

Archetypal Toho monster mash with exuberant men-in-suits wrestling and an all-over-the-place plot - Flying Saucer enthusiasts predict the apocalypse, a Himalayan princess survives an assassination attempt when she is possessed by the spirit of a Venusian (or Martian, depending on which version you watch), a mysterious meteorite hatches out Ghidorah the three-headed space dragon. Earth's fate depends on the ability of a caterpillar to persuade a nuclear dinosaur and a giant pterodactyl to work together.

Lots of fun if you enjoy this sort of thing, with many incidental pleasures - not least the startling shades-and-ruff outfit adopted by the chief villain at one point. Not quite as jokey in tone as King Kong Vs Godzilla, but still notably lighter than most of the previous films in the series - the various monsters are treated more as characters than before, too (there's a fairly lengthy conversation between Mothra, Rodan and Godzilla). Calling this the mid-60s Japanese version of The Avengers is probably stretching a point, but it's certainly one of the better early Godzilla movies; hopefully the forthcoming American take on these characters will be as much fun.

Kudos

Sarah (7798 KP) rated The Girl in the Spider's Web (2018) in Movies

Jul 21, 2019

The Girl in the Spider's Web (2018)

2018 | Crime, Drama, Thriller

6.2

(27 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Lackluster

I'm really not sure what prompted them to make this film. Instead of following on from the American version of Dragon Tattoo, they've instead chosen to skip the other 2 books in the original trilogy and go to what is probably the weakest book in the Lisbeth Salander series so far. And sadly, the film isnt any better.

Claire Foy is probably the only real highlight of this film as she's really rather good as Lisbeth. The rest of the cast are alright but nothing special though. There also doesn't appear to be much chemistry between Lisbeth and Mikhael and their conversations and interactions in this film are really rather dull and meaningless. And then there's the plot itself. Similar to the book, the plot is quite convoluted and a little over the top. And actually rather boring and lacklustre. There are some bits of action thrown in but not enough to hold interest and this film feels like it drags on for far too long. This is yet another unnecessary film made worse by the fact that they havent even bothered to follow the series in order.

Kudos

Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Dragonsinger (Pern: Harper Hall, #2) in Books

Nov 12, 2019

Dragonsinger is the second of the Harper Hall books and continues the story of singer Menolly as she becomes an established and accomplished harper on the world of Pern.

As usual with the Pern novels the way that ordinary life fits together is well described and the characters McCaffrey uses here are very well developed and incredibly three dimensional. It's a world that almost seems close enough to touch.

As with Dragonsong, having a book that does not focus on the rarified world of the dragonriders is refreshing showing a different take on the world, even if it is still a position of privilege in one of the most respected professions on the world.

However for me this does suffer the same weakness of the other books that are in essence a periphery to the dragon-centric stories: they don't move the overall story arc forward and as such are a pleasant enough read but ultimately not as satisfying as some of the other books. And anyone who finds characters being relentlessly talented and nice to each other grating won't appreciate a lot of the story. Still a good read though.