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kMaps is a free offline navigational tool that will help you get around anywhere without an internet...
Banff Lake Louise Yoho GyPSy Guide
Travel and Navigation
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GyPSy Guide GPS driving tour of the Banff, Lake Louise and Yoho areas is a great way to the see some...
Merissa (12841 KP) rated Outliers (The Outliers #1) in Books
Apr 6, 2018
Outliers (The Outliers #1) by Kate L. Mary
Outliers is the first in a new dystopian series, where society is split into three separate groups with self-explanatory names. Indra works in the city, for one of the Sovereigns. She is quiet and does her work, trying to blend in as much as possible. To get home, she needs to walk the gauntlet through the Fortis village, before eventually reaching her own Outliers village. There is a love interest in her village called Bodhi, and a Fortis guard who you are not sure of, called Asa. These three, plus other characters, drive the book towards the unknown, the horrible, the shameful, and the hopeful.
This world is so well built and structured, everything fits perfectly. Outliers definitely have the shortest straw, and yet I want to learn more about the Fortis too. Asa is such a good representative of them, although there are some bad ones too! I was a bit worried this may turn into a love triangle, but instead, it was eloquently written in such a way that I never felt any of the usual exasperation where triangles are concerned. With a rich and in-depth storyline, this world did not want to let go, and I am highly anticipating the next release. I could talk about the story some more, but I know I wouldn't do it any justice.
An excellent dystopian story, full of detail, and wonderful characters. Absolutely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
This world is so well built and structured, everything fits perfectly. Outliers definitely have the shortest straw, and yet I want to learn more about the Fortis too. Asa is such a good representative of them, although there are some bad ones too! I was a bit worried this may turn into a love triangle, but instead, it was eloquently written in such a way that I never felt any of the usual exasperation where triangles are concerned. With a rich and in-depth storyline, this world did not want to let go, and I am highly anticipating the next release. I could talk about the story some more, but I know I wouldn't do it any justice.
An excellent dystopian story, full of detail, and wonderful characters. Absolutely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Deborah (162 KP) rated Daughters of Rome (The Empress of Rome, #2) in Books
Dec 21, 2018
This is the second book in Quinn's Rome series, but confusingly the action here takes place chronologically before the first one. The setting for this book is 69AD - the Year of the Four Emperors, so plenty of plotting and back stabbing all round.
Many of the characters in this novel did exist historically. Obviously the further back in time you go, the less information there is generally available about what actually went on, which I suppose is a good thing for the historical novelist! The novel centres around four female cousins; two sisters and their two first cousins to be precise. The sisters really did exist, although more is known about one than the other (this is clear when you have read the book and read the historical note at the end). The cousins are invented to drive the plot along; Lollia starts off almost like a WAG - seemingly a bit empty headed and marrying whoever is in favour that month, but she does develop into a more likeable, rounded character. While Diana is difficult to dislike she is a pretty flat character; she's beautiful and completely obsessed with horses and 'The Reds' chariot racing team - a bit like a football bore today I suppose! The sister-in law, Tullia, is another very one-dimensional character, probably best summed up as 'fishwife'.
Many events are based on historical fact, but there are some bits, like the cousins escaping from Rome, that seems a bit unrealistic.
Overall, I found this quite a quick (for a 400 page novel) and entertaining read, but I suspect that like Quinn's Mistress of Rome, I may well be pushed to remember any plot details in a few months time and I probably wouldn't read it again.
Many of the characters in this novel did exist historically. Obviously the further back in time you go, the less information there is generally available about what actually went on, which I suppose is a good thing for the historical novelist! The novel centres around four female cousins; two sisters and their two first cousins to be precise. The sisters really did exist, although more is known about one than the other (this is clear when you have read the book and read the historical note at the end). The cousins are invented to drive the plot along; Lollia starts off almost like a WAG - seemingly a bit empty headed and marrying whoever is in favour that month, but she does develop into a more likeable, rounded character. While Diana is difficult to dislike she is a pretty flat character; she's beautiful and completely obsessed with horses and 'The Reds' chariot racing team - a bit like a football bore today I suppose! The sister-in law, Tullia, is another very one-dimensional character, probably best summed up as 'fishwife'.
Many events are based on historical fact, but there are some bits, like the cousins escaping from Rome, that seems a bit unrealistic.
Overall, I found this quite a quick (for a 400 page novel) and entertaining read, but I suspect that like Quinn's Mistress of Rome, I may well be pushed to remember any plot details in a few months time and I probably wouldn't read it again.
Dictator, the Revolution, the Machine: A Political Account of Joseph Stalin
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It is a commonplace wisdom that from the authoritarian roots of the Bolshevik revolution in 1917...
The Wild and the Wicked: On Nature and Human Nature
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Most of us think that in order to be environmentalists, we have to love nature. Essentially, we...
TA
The Agile Marketer: Turning Customer Experience into Your Competitive Advantage
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The marketer's guide to modernizing platforms and practices Marketing in the digital era is a whole...
The Global Supply Chain: How Technology and Circular Thinking Transform Our Future: 2017
Book
This book provides readers an in-depth understanding of the inner mechanisms and principles of the...
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) in Movies
Jan 11, 2021
Maybe I'm a little numb to this franchise being bad in anyway at this point, because I low key loved this. It's unencumbered nonsense, but dammit it's entertaining.
That title is misleading too. It should be called "Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason on a boat, and then fucking around in a Manhattan sewer tunnel" but I absolutely commend the makers for trying something different with a new location. Jason on a cruise ship is actually a pretty neat visual.
This franchise has always been campy (pun fully intended) but Part VIII does really dial it up. Everything is so painfully 80s and over the top that not even Jason feel intimidating, which is doubly as frustrating considering Kane Hodder is back for another turn.
On top of this, the series strays even further from the formula of having at least one likable protagonist, with every character here just being plain unmemorable (apart from the boxing dude, that guy deserves all the praise for taking Jason on with his bare hands).
To drive the final nails into the coffin, the gore is once again really toned down, the make up effects on Jason's unmasked face are atrociously bad (his face looks like a soggy and battered piece of toast) which is a real shame after how fucking dope he looks in Part VII, and finally and arguably most importantly, this is the only entry in the core series that isn't scored by Harry Manfredini, which is just heresy in my book.
Despite all this, I still find Part VIII weirdly entertaining and enjoyable. Its doesn't get boring and should be watched knowing what's about to unfold - a tongue in cheek, 80s as balls silly slasher that has at least two instances of a girl doing extended electric guitar solos - it's better than Part III, fight me.
That title is misleading too. It should be called "Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason on a boat, and then fucking around in a Manhattan sewer tunnel" but I absolutely commend the makers for trying something different with a new location. Jason on a cruise ship is actually a pretty neat visual.
This franchise has always been campy (pun fully intended) but Part VIII does really dial it up. Everything is so painfully 80s and over the top that not even Jason feel intimidating, which is doubly as frustrating considering Kane Hodder is back for another turn.
On top of this, the series strays even further from the formula of having at least one likable protagonist, with every character here just being plain unmemorable (apart from the boxing dude, that guy deserves all the praise for taking Jason on with his bare hands).
To drive the final nails into the coffin, the gore is once again really toned down, the make up effects on Jason's unmasked face are atrociously bad (his face looks like a soggy and battered piece of toast) which is a real shame after how fucking dope he looks in Part VII, and finally and arguably most importantly, this is the only entry in the core series that isn't scored by Harry Manfredini, which is just heresy in my book.
Despite all this, I still find Part VIII weirdly entertaining and enjoyable. Its doesn't get boring and should be watched knowing what's about to unfold - a tongue in cheek, 80s as balls silly slasher that has at least two instances of a girl doing extended electric guitar solos - it's better than Part III, fight me.
Power PDF Pro - Create, View, Secure PDF Files
Utilities and Productivity
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Power PDF Pro is the Pro Version of Power PDF, a powerful tool to create, modify and view PDF...