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Merissa (12817 KP) rated Exiles & Empire (The Immortals #3) in Books

Jun 24, 2019

Exiles & Empire (The Immortals #3)

Cheryl S. Mackey | 2019 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)

6.5

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

Exiles & Empire (The Immortals #3) by Cheryl Mackey

Exiles & Empire is the third book in The Immortals series. This is a prequel series that leads onto The Destiny series, the first book of which is already available.

We reunite with our main four characters in the midst of a battle. Old acquaintances are there, but you are unsure if they are friend to foe to start with. Time is running out for our characters as Rodon appears to get stronger with every meeting. By contrast, Emaranthe appears more fragile and small, although still very strong. The mystery deepens around Emaranthe, and Ivo is desperately worried about the woman he loves. As for Jaeger, he allows himself to feel again - just slightly - although this doesn't have a happy outcome.

An exciting story that is once again packed full of action, intrigue, dilemmas, and suspense. The writing is descriptive and on point. There were no editing or grammatical errors that I noticed. The creativity of Ms. Mackey knows no bounds, and this book continues the story along nicely, whilst still leaving you wanting more.

For an epic fantasy that is full of action, I have no hesitation in recommending this book, although you will need to start at the beginning of the series for it to make sense!

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!

Kudos

Jordan Binkerd (567 KP) rated Excalibur (1981) in Movies

Sep 4, 2019

Excalibur (1981)

1981 | Action, Sci-Fi

7.7

(10 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Lush, beautiful visuals (1 more)

Stellar performances from all involved

Long movie, but feels like it rushes from highlight to highlight without fleshing out the story. (1 more)

More mythic fantasy of "knights in shining armor" as my younger self would have conceived it than anything grounded in reality.

Long on visuals, short on narrative cohesion and characterization

Excalibur is a classic, and deservedly so. The visuals and performances from the entire cast are outstanding, and you get to see early appearances from the likes of a then-unknown Patrick Stewart or Liam Neeson. The film is epic in scope, and that's part of the problem--in trying to tell the entire Arthurian legend, the film only has time (even at nearly two and a half hours) to hit the highlights without adding sufficient connective tissue to make sure that we care about the characters. Then there's the fact that the film caters to more of a child's fantasy version of knights in shining armor than anything else. I don't mind the anachronism of plate armor in the "dark ages," but characters living in their plate day on and day out, in peacetime, in the middle of their fortress? That crap is uncomfortable! Ten year old me would have bought that reality, but this film would have been (and in fact specifically WAS) denied to ten year old me based on the nudity and gore. I'm not asking for gritty realism, but I also wasn't expecting a return to the fantasties of my youth. Worth seeing, to be sure, but not timeless or without it's flaws.