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You Die When You Die
You Die When You Die
Angus Watson | 2017 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Fantastic witty pre-historic Viking / Native American fantasy
This is the alternative-reality story of the Hardworkers, a small clan of Viking descendants in pre-Columbian North America. A mentally-damaged young boy in the clan has a premonition that the village will be attacked and they should head west. When the village is indeed attacked by natives (who themselves had a premonition of these Vikings ending the world), the clan quickly up-sticks and head off.
There follows a brilliant, exciting, funny story of this small clan with mixed abilities (some well trained warriors, some powerful yet cowardly warlocks, some useless wastes of space) travelling across North America, hunted by the magically-enhanced warriors sent to end them, and meeting numerous clans and tribes along the way.
The wonderful merging of plausible pre-history America and a more familiar fantasy setting (prophecies, evil empires, warriors) results in this superb story. The dialogue is witty and funny, the world is familiar yet strange enough to make you think, and the action sequences are fantastically narrated, often from different viewpoints.
The characters are all very well crafted and unique, and their interactions and conflicts really spur this story on.
I would urge anyone keen on fantasy to read this book. While the cover, and title, may suggest it is a brutal slobberknocker of a book, it is actually very clever, funny and thrilling.
I cannot wait to jump in to the next book in this trilogy. Wootah!!!
  
The War of the Worlds
The War of the Worlds
2019 | Drama, Sci-Fi
Grisly non-adaptation of the immortal H.G. Wells story retains the same basic premise and the very occasional moment, but essentially scoops out the innards of the actual novel and replaces them with indescribably turgid attempts to (I would guess) update the story and make it relevant to the modern world.

Part of a grim tradition where BBC attempts to adapt SF, fantasy and horror classics operate to different standards than when they are tackling Austen or Dickens. If the team who perpetrated War of the Worlds got their hands on Pride and Prejudice, it would end up being a lesbian romance between the Bennets' maid and one of the minor daughters, performed on ice, with a frame story concerning the Boer war. It's not just that it does the book badly, it genuinely doesn't seem interested in it at all. Someone gets a leaden, clumsy speech articulating the subtext of the novel (how to adapt a great book for the hard-of-thinking) but as to what this version of the story is supposed to be about or why we should care at all... It takes real skill and determination to screw up a classic piece of literature quite this badly.
  
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Young Jean Lee recommended Le Bonheur (1965) in Movies (curated)

 
Le Bonheur (1965)
Le Bonheur (1965)
1965 | Drama, Romance
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"I love, love, love this film. From the opening credits, with the sunflowers and jump cuts, to the sociopathically ruthless ending, Varda keeps me on her hook. This film represents my worst nightmare vision of the world. Its characters are, for me, the most terrifying types in existence: people so saturated with complacency and narcissism that they are blithely amoral in their pursuit of more and more joy. At the end, when François and his new wife/childcare-provider walk off in their matching autumn-colored sweaters, I’m on the floor in a fetal position. There are a lot of little gifts in the film to help counteract the trauma: the dissolves to primary colors, the jump cuts, the woman in a red dress kissing the man hello in the café, the bright green drink on the table. The Renoir-inspired design and peppy Mozart score make the nightmare pop in an unsettling way."

Source
  
    Flashlight & Morse Utility

    Flashlight & Morse Utility

    Utilities and Photo & Video

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    -Light, Morse and Strobe -Brightness Adjustment -Screen Lock Super fast start of the flashlight!!! ...