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Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Silverthorn in Books
Nov 25, 2019
When Princess Anita is poisoned, Prince Arutha needs to find the antidote but to avoid suspicion must do so secretly. Assembling a small band of his most trusted companions he heads off to search out Silverthorn, the only known cure for the poison.
Magician was a sprawling epic fantasy tale, spun out of role playing sessions with its own self contained story. In itself it is impressive but in coming up with the sequal (and the third book to make them a trilogy) Feist really shows his flair for story telling. This book is a self-contained quest in its own right but also part of a bigger whole, a feature that would result in a very long series of books.
And what a story it is. Again influenced by the Friday night role playing sessions our heroes are a varied band, each with their own strengths, who must use all their skill and abilities to discover and return the antidote. But what they discover on the way reveals a much more powerful threat to the Kingdom of the Isles.
The characters are strong and likeable, the set pieces enthralling and well written. Okay so it's not stunningly original relying on a lot fantasy tropes and owing a huge debt to Tolkien but it is rarely derivative, always taking its own path so this doesn't detract from it in the end.
This trilogy of Magician, Silverthorn and A Darkness At Sethanon form an almost perfect epic fantasy trilogy that for my money is just as essential as The Lord Of The Rings for fantasy buffs.
Magician was a sprawling epic fantasy tale, spun out of role playing sessions with its own self contained story. In itself it is impressive but in coming up with the sequal (and the third book to make them a trilogy) Feist really shows his flair for story telling. This book is a self-contained quest in its own right but also part of a bigger whole, a feature that would result in a very long series of books.
And what a story it is. Again influenced by the Friday night role playing sessions our heroes are a varied band, each with their own strengths, who must use all their skill and abilities to discover and return the antidote. But what they discover on the way reveals a much more powerful threat to the Kingdom of the Isles.
The characters are strong and likeable, the set pieces enthralling and well written. Okay so it's not stunningly original relying on a lot fantasy tropes and owing a huge debt to Tolkien but it is rarely derivative, always taking its own path so this doesn't detract from it in the end.
This trilogy of Magician, Silverthorn and A Darkness At Sethanon form an almost perfect epic fantasy trilogy that for my money is just as essential as The Lord Of The Rings for fantasy buffs.
Glittery Sawa (5 KP) rated Throne of Glass in Books
Jan 5, 2018
Characters (1 more)
Storyline
Unexpected Start, Engaging Content, Epic Story
Contains spoilers, click to show
I am going to be completely honest when I started Throne of Glass, I was a little bored. The beginning of the book had a slow start and I had trouble getting started with the book. Boy am I glad that I stuck with it!! The story revolves around 3 Main Characters to Start Celaena Sardothien, Prince Dorian Havilliard, and Captain Chaol Westfall.
***** SPOILERS BELOW!! ******
Dorian starts by getting Celaena out of Prison, Where she was placed for being an Assassin by Dorian's father. Dorian enlists Celaena to become his assassin in a competition given by his father. She must beat all other contestants and then serve as the King's Assassin for 5 years to gain her freedom. The book has intrigue, action, little bit of love, and it keeps you hooked to the page.
Once the story gets going you will not be able to put the book down. I'll let you know to buy all of the series at once if you can because You will immediately want to pick up the next book in the series once you are done the first.
***** SPOILERS BELOW!! ******
Dorian starts by getting Celaena out of Prison, Where she was placed for being an Assassin by Dorian's father. Dorian enlists Celaena to become his assassin in a competition given by his father. She must beat all other contestants and then serve as the King's Assassin for 5 years to gain her freedom. The book has intrigue, action, little bit of love, and it keeps you hooked to the page.
Once the story gets going you will not be able to put the book down. I'll let you know to buy all of the series at once if you can because You will immediately want to pick up the next book in the series once you are done the first.
Sarah (7798 KP) rated Salem's Lot in Books
Sep 14, 2018
King's fantastic take on vampires
Despite being a massive King fan, I've never read Salem's Lot. Its just one of his books that it never occurred to me to read, until i started to collect his entire works and read everything I hadn't read before.
I never knew that this book was about vampires, and whilst this becomes fairly obvious quite early into the book, it was a pleasant surprise. As with most of King's books, this is extremely well written, and has his usual mix of varied and interesting characters, with the writing style split between all of them. There are some good and obvious references to Dracula in this, but its a fantastic modern(ish - 1970s) take on a classic vampire story. And unusually for King, this story isn't an epic novel like some of his others. It doesn't seem to go into as much detail either storywise and characterwise as some of his other bigger novels (The Stand, Needful Things etc), and this is really my only criticism. The story is still detailed and a very good, it just isn't what I'd come to expect from a King novel especially with a plot like this.
I never knew that this book was about vampires, and whilst this becomes fairly obvious quite early into the book, it was a pleasant surprise. As with most of King's books, this is extremely well written, and has his usual mix of varied and interesting characters, with the writing style split between all of them. There are some good and obvious references to Dracula in this, but its a fantastic modern(ish - 1970s) take on a classic vampire story. And unusually for King, this story isn't an epic novel like some of his others. It doesn't seem to go into as much detail either storywise and characterwise as some of his other bigger novels (The Stand, Needful Things etc), and this is really my only criticism. The story is still detailed and a very good, it just isn't what I'd come to expect from a King novel especially with a plot like this.
Road to Valour: Gino Bartali - Tour De France Legend and World War Two Hero
Aili McConnon and Andres McConnon
Book
An Italian SCHINDLER'S LIST, this is the inspirational story of Gino Bartali, who made the greatest...
Belonging: the Story of the Jews, 1492-1900
Book
The Jewish story is a history that is about, and for, all of us. And in our own time of anxious...
History Religion
Perfect Genesis: Adolescence
9.0
Rate It
Book
Perfect Genesis is a science fiction, fantasy epic that tells the story of Leonardo Khalid. The year...
Sarah (7798 KP) rated The Talisman in Books
Mar 27, 2019
A great read
Whenever I pick up a door stop of a Stephen King novel, I always expect great things as most of his epic novels are fantastically good. And for the most part, The Talisman definitely meets expectations.
It's a great fantasy story filled with all manner of concepts including alternate worlds, werewolves, wizards etc and it does well to blend all of these together into a cohesive story without becoming too convoluted. Jack is an endearing main character and develops well over the course of the story, and all of the other characters too are in their own ways intriguing, even Morgan Sloat as the bad guy. This story really reminds me of The Dark Tower series, which isn't a bad thing as it had a similar quest type theme. My only criticisms are that it seems to drag a little towards the very end, which isn't good for a 700 page book. And also I've never read any Peter Straub, but I could tell reading this the parts that weren't all King, and I think the story might have been worse off for it. When you've read as many of King's books as i have, you can tell his narrative apart and whilst it's still a very good book, I would've been interested to see how this book would've turned out if it had been written by him alone.
That said, I feel like I need to read the sequel now in the hope it's just as good!
It's a great fantasy story filled with all manner of concepts including alternate worlds, werewolves, wizards etc and it does well to blend all of these together into a cohesive story without becoming too convoluted. Jack is an endearing main character and develops well over the course of the story, and all of the other characters too are in their own ways intriguing, even Morgan Sloat as the bad guy. This story really reminds me of The Dark Tower series, which isn't a bad thing as it had a similar quest type theme. My only criticisms are that it seems to drag a little towards the very end, which isn't good for a 700 page book. And also I've never read any Peter Straub, but I could tell reading this the parts that weren't all King, and I think the story might have been worse off for it. When you've read as many of King's books as i have, you can tell his narrative apart and whilst it's still a very good book, I would've been interested to see how this book would've turned out if it had been written by him alone.
That said, I feel like I need to read the sequel now in the hope it's just as good!
Merissa (12055 KP) rated Water Weaver (Wraidd Elfennol #2) in Books
Jun 24, 2017
Water Weaver (Wraidd Elfennol #1) by Morgan Sheppard
This book has certainly earned the #Epic tag - at over 600 pages this is a book that you can submerge yourself into. However, it certainly doesn't feel like that amount when you are reading it as the pages almost turn themselves as the story carries you along.
The characters are all well-developed and grow throughout the story as they have to learn how to work together, using and acknowledging their strengths and weaknesses. There are not only the four human main characters, but also we have four animal Life Partners too, who all have their own individual characters and quirks.
With a smooth and flowing pace and a gentle tone, this book is suitable for all ages, with no grammatical errors or spelling mistakes that I noticed. Highly recommended.
* I received this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
The characters are all well-developed and grow throughout the story as they have to learn how to work together, using and acknowledging their strengths and weaknesses. There are not only the four human main characters, but also we have four animal Life Partners too, who all have their own individual characters and quirks.
With a smooth and flowing pace and a gentle tone, this book is suitable for all ages, with no grammatical errors or spelling mistakes that I noticed. Highly recommended.
* I received this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Sheridan (209 KP) rated Chappie (2015) in Movies
Jul 12, 2017
Cast (3 more)
CGI
Storyline
AI Concept is Ace
A Cult Classic
From the same director that brought us, District 9 and Elysium. We have the masterpiece that is Chappie. I can't express how much love I have for this film. So much love. The cast is ace, the CGI is incredible and the story...oh man the story is a work of art. Sigourney Weaver known as the alien go-to lady, plays an interesting role in this film, I liked her portrayal of the CEO. Hugh Jackman *sigh* I adore him and he shines in this role (as always) but he unfortunately plays a total a**hole :( Yo-Landi and Ninja the world's worst parents but in the best way :) (They both members of the band Die Antwoord, which has some top tracks, well worth a listen) Overall, this is just an epic film. Watch it. You won't be disappointed!
Vegas (725 KP) rated the Xbox One version of Red Dead Redemption 2 in Video Games
Jul 7, 2019 (Updated Jul 8, 2019)
The story (1 more)
The gameplay
Improvement on the original
The long awaited sequel (prequel) to red dead doesn't disappoint in the solo game, the story is an epic adventure travelling through the open plains to the growing towns and cities, railroads, carriages, and horseback are all ways of getting around the massive map. Build up your camp, help the gang, or rob stores and banks the choice is yours, you can even spend time fishing or hunting...
The cast of characters you meet are diverse, funny, serious, violent or just odd but whoever you meet, you do find yourself caring one way or another about the people in the game you interact with...
I will say I did struggle to get as engaged in the multi player game side of it, but that is just a personal thing as I do prefer solo gaming...
For shear enjoyment aspect and length of game, this is one of the best games of recent times.
The cast of characters you meet are diverse, funny, serious, violent or just odd but whoever you meet, you do find yourself caring one way or another about the people in the game you interact with...
I will say I did struggle to get as engaged in the multi player game side of it, but that is just a personal thing as I do prefer solo gaming...
For shear enjoyment aspect and length of game, this is one of the best games of recent times.