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Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated Gates of Thread and Stone (Gates of Thread and Stone #1) in Books

Jan 23, 2020

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Much as I actually read the synopsis once when I first saw it months ago on Goodreads and then again before I clicked "Read Now" on Netgalley, I ended up forgetting the synopsis entirely by the time I started.

Except for one word: Labyrinth. Needless to say, I actually thought for awhile that Gates of Thread and Stone would be about a labyrinth. The Labyrinth of the Greek myths, per say, and when I actually read Gates of Thread of Stone, I checked the synopsis again to set myself on the right track (because when there's no one being sent as sacrifice, you know there's something wrong).

Gates of Thread and Stone is really about a girl named Kai living with her "brother," Reev, in a place called the Labyrinth, named so by its maze-like structure, and where the lowest of the lowest in Ninurta live out their daily lives. But one day, Reev disappears just like many others and Kai is determined to find her brother.

There's something about Gates of Thread and Stone that I really like. It's definitely not the world, even though I highly enjoyed Lee's world-building each section (East Quarter, White Court, Void, Outlands, etc.) in Ninurta were set apart from one another and most even had their own nicknames (East Quarter = Labyrinth, North Quarter = Purgatory). It's most certainly not the amount of possible f-bombs in here as well, or what I'll assume as f-bombs, because "drek" by itself is certainly not sounding like crap or hell.

The characters were tolerable Kai is a determined and persistent character who has an admirable strength and may sometimes be a little feisty. Irra is perhaps one of my favorite characters by far, being a dramatic yet eccentric advisor in assisting Kai and Avan finding Reev. In fact... he's a bit of an oddity compared to the other Infinites, who seem to be similar to gods and goddesses based on their description.

The plot was a little predictable and I was just waiting for a couple of parts to play out (I really should stop being Sherlock Holmes and just enjoy reading the book, but I can't help myself). While the end is similar to the end of Senshi and the beginning of Shinobi and doesn't seem to have a bigger plot that spans over to the sequel or more books.

Now that I actually took the time to write all that down, maybe it's the world-building that I liked the most. With the ending of Gates of Thread and Stone seeming to be a solid ending, I may read the sequel just to for the pure fun of seeing what Ninurta will be like.

<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-gates-of-thread-and-stone-by-lori-m-lee/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>

Kudos

Zombie (The Cursed Manuscripts)

Iain Rob Wright

7.0 (2 Ratings) Rate It

Book

On December 21, 2012, according to the Mayan Calendar, the world was supposed to end. It didn't. But...

Nicholas Sparks recommended Toy Story (1995) in Movies (curated)

Toy Story (1995)

1995 | Animation, Comedy, Family

8.8

(119 Ratings)

Movie Favorite

"We’re going to go with number four, Toy Story. Of course, the first computer animated film. Wildly original in concept, in creation, in everything about it. And it is a kids movie that resonated with adults because you cover things like betrayal or jealousy, all set within this small, childlike world. It had me in stitches toward the end as they’re trying to catch the moving van and faces are blowing, and it all goes bad, and they light the rocket with Buzz’s helmet. They worked together to get back to Andy, get back to the box. And there was just something magical about that as a kids movie that felt entirely fresh at the time. And of course Pixar is… Have they ever done anything that’s not exceptional? Not that I know of, but this was the first. and we like to talk about computer animation, which was incredible and groundbreaking at the time, but if you look at the dialogue and the performances… Again, it’s Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, and all of the other characters. It was magical."

Source

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001) in Movies

Feb 17, 2018 (Updated Feb 17, 2018)

Four's a crowd

Twenty-sixth Godzilla movie (also eleventh Mothra movie, eighth Ghidorah movie and third Baragon movie, in case anyone's counting) recruits director Shusuke Kaneko, helmsman of the brilliant 90s Gamera trilogy; results are (perhaps inevitably) disappointing. A new incarnation of Godzilla threatens Japan, but a young tabloid TV journalist encounters a mysterious old man in an equestrian safety helmet who tells her of three legendary Guardian Monsters who will defend the country against this menace (Baragon is also a Guardian Monster but not famous enough to get his name in the title).

Some interesting innovations: first film to address (even obliquely) issues of Japanese culpability for events of the Second World War, first film where King Ghidorah is a good guy, first film with a scene set in Godzilla's intestinal tract. However, the end result is let down by a fatally uncertain tone - seemingly serious scenes of death and carnage are intercut with knockabout cheesy humour and in-jokes (in the English dub at least). The retro feel of the movie, hearkening back to the 60s films of the series, is not unwelcome, but its take on the formula is just plain weird. Most importantly it lacks the mythic grandeur of the Kaneko Gamera trilogy. Still better than the films which immediately preceded it, though.