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David McK (3425 KP) rated Magician in Books

Jul 24, 2022  
Magician
Magician
Raymond E. Feist | 1982 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
6
8.5 (8 Ratings)
Book Rating
The first novel (later broken into 2 parts?) in Raymond e feist's so-called Riftwar saga; this definitely falls under what I term as epic fantasy as it spans more than a decade, and all the political and personal changes that occur during that time of war, complete with ye olde 'person of unknown origin finding their place in the world'.

You know, the way a lot of fatnsy stories do? Think Luke Skywalker, from the back-planet of Tattoine, or Frodo Baggins from Bagend, to name but two.

Rags to riches, basically.

Anyway, perhaps the key protagonist of this is the keep boy Pug, who, over the course of the story - finds himself a native of two worlds - that's where the 'Rift' from Riftwar comes in, as a magical rift in space connects them - during a time of war between those two planes.

He's not the only protagonist; just the main one - there's also his childhood friend Tomas, the princes Arutha and Lyam, the princess Carline, the magician Kulgan - but Pug is, to my mind, the key character, with most of those other characters introduced through their relationship to him.

Others have commented on the writing style employed by Feist - it may seem 'basic', however that in itself is no bad thing (and, remember, this book is now decades old) as Feist gives you just enough information to envisage your own world. A bit more, perhaps, than the thumbnail sketches of Terry Pratchett (incidentally, one of my favourite authors), but nowhere near the level of detail that JRR Tolkien that could make The Lord of The Rings, well, a bit of a slog at times!
  
Terminator Genisys (2015)
Terminator Genisys (2015)
2015 | Action
The Terminator franchise has been as relentless and unstoppable as the series namesake. The first two films written and directed by James Cameron are cinematic icons and made many of the ten best lists when they were released.

The subsequent two films that lacked any input from Cameron and as such paled in comparison with the most recent, “Terminator Salvation” failing to achieve the success of the previous films in the series.

Undaunted, the series is back with “Terminator Genisys”, the first in a planned trilogy before the rights to the series revert back to James Cameron.

The new film shows parts of the final battle by the human resistance as they finally defeat the deadly Skynet system but as fans of the series know, learn that a Terminator was sent back to stop humanities savior John Connor (Jason Clarke), from being born.

As fans known, loyal soldier Kyle Reese (jai Courtney) volunteers to travel back to 1984 to save Sara Connor (Emilia Clarke) and preserve the future but upon his arrival in 1984, Reese learns that the mission he has been sent on has changed.

Someone has sent a Terminator back to protect a younger Sarah when she was a child and as such, this Sara is not the naïve waitress Reese had been expecting, rather she is a battle hardened and strong willed woman with a Terminator protector she named “Pops” played by series icon Arnold Schwarzenegger.

This is where any similarities to the original films end as what initially sets up to be moments from the first two films revisited in a new timeline quickly changes and moves to 2017 where Sara, Reese, and Pops, learn that Skynet is about to go live and accomplish the start of Judgement Day which puts the heroes in a race against time and overwhelming odds to save humanity.
This time however there are several new wrinkles to the mix as well as some epic action sequences that have been sorely missing from the series since Cameron’s departure. The 3D effects are solid but note that they are converted from a 2D source and the film was not shot with 3D cameras.

What really worked well for me was the fact that the film is very respectful to the source material and while telling a new chapter to the story does not do much to undermine the impact and the legacy of the first two films. It was reported that James Cameron himself has endorsed this film and had called it the third film in the series.
The action is solid from an epic bus chase to intense firefights across the timelines the film grabs your attention the way the best summer films do and takes you on an epic thrill ride. Action and effects aside, what really makes the film work is the cast. The characters are strong and well portrayed and mix humanity, empathy, and self-sacrifice in the manner to which the characters have been established.

Reese and Sara are strong and determined and in a twist, have a more complicated relationship in this timeline than had been previously established. Of course the star of the film is Schwarzenegger and he knows this character inside and out. From the stoic and intense action sequences to the rivalry and distrust he and Reese share which grows into a solid respect. Arnold knows what audiences want and delivers it again and again. Despite the years, he still remains the backbone of the series and it is great to see him back in form.
While some may have issues with a rebooted timeline to propel future films, there were enough great moments in the film and plenty of entertainments for me not only to recommend the film, but to say bring on the next chapter.

http://sknr.net/2015/07/01/terminator-genisys/
  
Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
2018 | Action, Sci-Fi
Yes Infinity War was good... but for me, Ant-Man And The Wasp was better. Yes IW was epic and devastating, but out of the two I didn't have any quibbles about this one. The CGI was what really did it for me. In IW Thanos' minions looked terrible, even when you take into consideration that they're aliens. But seeing the CGI in the flashback scenes in this one I was impressed at how real it all looked.

This is another film that makes me wish companies would think before they make their trailers. Fallout showed you a trailer that makes it look like Cavill is fighting Cruise and gives away a plot point that, at that point in the actual film, isn't certain. Fallen Kingdom shows you the shot of our giant aquatic friend playing with surfers, which in the actual movie doesn't happen until the closing scenes. In one of the Ant-Man trailers we see what amounts to the end of credits scene... yes there are things that are added to fit with the MCU timeline, but I don't feel like that really makes any difference to the situation. I also think that they should have left the shrinking building out of the trailers to give that a bigger impact in the release.

As far as the movies of the MCU go there are definitely some that are on the funnier side, and this fits that bill. Paul Rudd is obviously still a little goofy, and has an amazing montage sequence as he battles with his last few days of house arrest. But the real comedic star of this for me was Michael Peña. Lovable and an absolute gem. His face when he gets his hands on the Hot Wheels case... kid in a candy store. I truly hope that he survived the dusting of Infinity War. Pipe dreams I know, but I'm hoping he makes it through so he can Neville Longbottom Thanos.

To briefly cover the mid credit scene, which obviously left me with my jaw dropped a bit. There's one thing I'm wondering about, Scott says... "our new ghost friend"... now initially you'd think that he's talking about Ava, but she went off separately at the end of the film and it's got to take a fairly long time to make a new Quantum Tunnel, so could he be talking about someone else?

I still don't quite understand the decision to release this after IW considering the film itself is based before in the timeline, the only thing requiring it to be that way were the after credit scenes. Bit of a shame as I feel like after the epic nature of IW this has suffered as it's not on the same world ending and story completing level
  
    Gods Of Rome

    Gods Of Rome

    Games

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    An epic fighting game set in an age of myth and legend that shows you exactly what your mobile...

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Kara Skinner (332 KP) rated Dreamz in Books

Jun 12, 2019  
Dreamz
Dreamz
A. R. Von | 2013 | Dystopia, Fiction & Poetry, Paranormal
6
7.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopian

Word Count: 12,470

Average Goodreads Rating: 4.54/5 stars

My rating: 3/5 stars

To be honest, I automatically started to dislike this book because “Dreams” is spelled with a Z. And while it was okay, it was not as good as it could have been.

Wunder has been dreaming about a man for as long as she can remember, always the same man. The dreams leave her aroused to no end at night. Unfortunately, this man doesn’t exist in her life, at least not yet. But her love life is nonexistent and thanks to her being half zombie, that’s not going to change any time soon.

Little does she know that her dream man exists and his name is Pete. Not only does he exist, but he’s been dreaming about her as well. Pete is also half zombie and lives in the next town over with his uncle. When he moves to Wunder’s town to recover from a huge zombie attack, will they finally get to meet in real life?

You can get this book for free on Smashwords.

I have such mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, it’s a cool story with some damn good world-building. The explanation behind a half zombie, half human is actually logical, or as logical as anything to do with zombies is. This also sets up a lot of potential plotlines for the other books in the series, all of them sounding interesting. And the Resilient Infected Police, or RIP, have a fantastic name.

Also, I can always appreciate a bad-ass girl who knows how to kick some ass, zombie or otherwise.

But learn to fricking edit.

Aside from the grammatical and punctuational atrocities that made my eyes widen in horror while I was reading this, there are so many strange things in this story that aren’t even rookie mistakes. This story is as loose as your post Taco Bell shit.

Never mind the crazy summaries and excessive telling instead of showing. I’ve seen that so many times by now, I’m almost immune to that. What I haven’t seen is a fucking tree fetish.

Yes, ladies and gents, you read that right. Either Wunder loves trees a little too much, or the author does. Why else would Wunder interrupt her retelling of a very hot and kinky sex dream to describe at length the tree she’s tied to, when she first saw it, and how beautiful she thinks it is.

Damn, Wunder, get back to how your sexy dream man is dominating you. I don’t have patience for this arousal-killing nature shit.

Also, A. R. Von got so distracted with setting the stage for future plot lines that she totally forgot to dazzle the reader with the current plot. There was an awful lot of talk about how Pete’s town attracts zombies a lot more than normal towns do, and about the life test they have to take every month to make sure the people aren’t dead, although I feel like the rotting flesh would give it away. (Also how does a person keep their zombie side secret when being blood tested monthly for proof of life? Asking for a friend).

But the current plot of restless RIP agents going to save a town from a hoard of zombies while having kinky dreams is sadly neglected. The exchange between Wunder and her friend feels more like a free write than a final draft and the epic battle is slow-paced and anti-climactic.

Then at the end, Pete asks his uncle about Wunder, and Pete is able to tell him all about Wunder’s famous reputation of being an all-around badass, which brings up the question: how does Pete, who lives with his uncle and works with his uncle in the RIP not know even a little bit about Wunder’s existence when his uncle is able to recognize her on sight and gush about how awesome she is?

But I do like Pete and Wunder. Wunder is a bad-ass and Pete is sexy as hell. The chemistry between them is great. While there’s only a promise of a love connection in this book, I do believe they have a very juicy love story ahead of them.

Unfortunately the story needs massive editing and the dialogue and action often feels forced. I’m tempted to read the next book in the series, just to see how the love story plays out, but I doubt I will because I have a feeling the other stories are as unedited as this one was. But if you still want to check it out, you can get it for free on Smashwords.
  
Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1)
Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1)
Leigh Bardugo | 2012 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
Bream Reading Club Reviews of Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Total Stars out of 5: 3 Stars

The first book in the Grisha Trilogy was full of promise. Dynamic and different, full of interesting places and characters, it ended on a cliff hanger pulling the reader in to read book two. Unfortunately as it often is with cases like this, the first book was great and the rest was not.
We are introduced to Alina and Mal, orphans who are raised together in the same orphanage. Some of our members assumed their affection was more familial so their stilted and lengthy romance felt awkward and though the rest of us ‘saw it coming’ it still felt contrived. Their love story we assumed was supposed to be something truly epic, a love that overcome all odds, but by book three we were still left wanting, perhaps the author changed her mind half way, leaving the reader sadly unfulfilled.

Alina is discovered to be the long awaited for ‘Sun Summoner’ the one the Darkling has been waiting for. The Darkling is a very interesting character, one with depth and personality. For a little while one almost looks forward to the relationship beginning to form between Alina and him, but that hope is for nought. It felt as if the author was afraid to let these two characters have a night in the same bed, and veered away from it instead of facing it head on. The light and dark of their respective powers draw these two together, but any chance of them bonding is ripped away with an old lady called Bhagra compelling Alina to run away, revealing what the Darkling really is.
Alina made good her escape but not for long. The Darkling’s powers are overwhelming and she is soon back in his grasp. The books ends with Alina managing to take control again of her own power and saves Mal’s life while sacrificing other Grisha in the process.

If you’ve noticed how Mal is not spoken about a whole lot in this review it is because his character is undeveloped. He is supposed to be the ‘hero’ in this story but all we saw of him was a square. He is immature and all the members agreed that Mal was short changed when it came to putting him on paper.

For all its promise, it did not deliver.
  
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
2019 | Sci-Fi, Thriller
End of a Generation
Marvel's Avengers: Endgame is a 2019 superhero movie produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The film was directed by the Russo brothers (Anthony and Joe), written by Christopher Markus and Stephen Mcfeely and starred an All-star cast of actors. It is a sequel to Avengers: Infinity War and is the 22nd film in the MCU.


Three weeks after the events of Avengers: Infinity War, what's left of the Avengers are coping with their loss in their own ways. With so many gone, the world itself has changed and become a different place. Many struggle to move on or move forward, others try to keep busy continuing to fight crime/criminals. Thanos is gone and his location can't be found by any deep space satellite or advanced technology that Earth has. However in their darkest moment a glimmer of hope emerges when information outside of Earth comes into play with Thanos possible location. They form a plan and maybe just maybe, have a chance to get their hands on the Infinity stones and bring their friends back. But this time there will be even less of them to fight the all powerful Thanos.


This movie was epic. This film definitely lived up to all the hype. Already a phenomenal success financially, it made 1.2 billion opening weekend. This film was also a success in story telling being the finality of a story being told in over 20 films. It was very emotional with lots of action and pretty satisfying. Very somber in the beginning, especially with how the last installment in the franchise went. I really thought that i knew how the beginning of the film would play out but they really gave the audience some twists early on and throughout. And they also made sure it had plenty of "fan service", giving the fans a lot of what they wanted. Not a lot more that i can say without spoilers but I was really thrown for a loop with a couple of characters mainly Thor and Hulk. This movie gets my "Must See Seal of Approval" and I give it an 8.


I almost gave it a 9, but I felt Infinity War was better and certain Avengers acted out of character. Also a pretty confusing plot device that plays a very important role in how the movie unfolds.