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"I put the car in gear. Made a spur-of-the-moment decision that would change my life. 'Let's go and surprise Mummy.'"
This was an odd book that messes with your head as much as all the insane events seem to do to Joe's. It got off to a slow start for me, and I almost didn't keep reading, but I have a terrible time putting any book in a "DNF" pile, and of course, this one picked up and got pretty exciting about halfway through. (This only adds to my inability to ever not finish a book.)
The main shtick with this one is sort of an unreliable narrator/unreliable plot, as you really don't know who or what to believe as you read. Hence the title, obviously. As it all happens we have Joe, who sort of bumbles along, our hapless narrator, who seems to think he's in control, but really, just no. Poor guy, he's certainly not the brightest--just this clueless guy whom I had a tough time rooting for, hence my inability to really get into the book.
Yes, most of the cast of characters around him are lying to him in some fashion, but still. After Joe leaves Ben in the parking garage to save William, he finds some weird and cryptic posts on his Facebook page, because (of course) he lost his (unlocked) cell phone during his altercation with (obviously tech-savvy) Ben who runs (wait for it) a technology firm. Then Melissa reveals to him that the wealthy Ben has been pining after her for ages, despite that fact that Ben's wife, Beth, is Melissa's best friend. Things unravel from there. I'll admit that they don't necessarily happen predictably, but they do happen in a crazy fashion, so be prepared to suspend a lot of your disbelief.
The book is kind of wild, a little creepy, and there's a good twist at the end, which bumped my rating up a half bomb. This wasn't a particularly fun read for me--it sort of stressed me out--and I didn't really like any of the characters, but once it picked it up, it was at least interesting.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review (thank you!).
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Hive Carbon in Tabletop Games
Jun 12, 2019
DISCLAIMER: There are few versions of Hive, but we will be using the Carbon edition for our review. This includes the ladybug and the mosquito pieces. -T
Hive is a Chess-style abstract game (with a way better skin/theme) where you take control of an army of insects that are trying to enclose your opponent’s Queen Bee. The different insect species have different move abilities that you must employ efficiently in order to win the skirmish. I won’t go through each bug’s movement here, but each one has very interesting movement rules and they make logical sense… well, to me at least. Ok I will give you a couple moves for examples. The Queen Bee can only move one space on her turn. Queen Bees are the biggest bees in the hive, so it makes sense that she would move slowly. The Grasshopper does not move like other insects because they hop over tiles in a straight line and end up at the end of the line. Makes sense. This is the game. Use your bugs and their varying movement styles to trap the Queen Bee and take victory.
Components. This is so easy. This game is a box, a travel case, and a bunch of hexagonal bakelite tiles. The box is a normal box that holds the bag, which holds the tiles. Or you can ditch the bag and just use the box. Or you can ditch the box and just use the bag. I kept both. The bag is good quality. The tiles are big and chunky and wonderful and they just feel so good to hold and place and move. I love bakelite components. A+ from me!
What about the game play? Well, I am not really a huge Chess fan. I can certainly see why people go crazy over it, but it never really clicked for me. This, however, clicks for me juuuuuuust fine. I love the different bugs and figuring out how best to move them. I love being able to be tactical while also still using an overarching strategy. I love watching the reactions when my opponents realize they have been beat. I really just love love love this game. I had it once upon a time, sold it at BGG auction, then missed it so much I had to get it again (at a gamer garage sale). I will never part with it again.
This is not my favorite Chess replacement (see Onitama), but it’s an excellent one. I am not alone in my assessment as you see Purple Phoenix Games gives Hive Carbon a buzzing 9 / 12.
https://purplephoenixgames.wordpress.com/2019/05/23/hive-carbon-review/
Lee (2222 KP) rated Bumblebee (2018) in Movies
Dec 17, 2018 (Updated Dec 17, 2018)
We kick things off with a pretty impressive, jaw dropping opener though, as we witness the dramatic fall of Cybertron. Sustaining heavy damage from the Decepticons, Autobot leader Optimus Prime sends one of his best soldiers B127 (who we know as Bumblebee) on a mission to Earth in order to begin setting up a new base for the remaining Autobots.
Bumblebee crash lands in America and we discover that the year is 1987, so before the events of the original Transformers movie. And Bumblebee has a voice! Although it's not very long at all until he finds himself taking serious damage, losing that voice, along with his memory, and he shuts down into a state of hibernation to preserve himself.
We then meet Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld), about to turn 18 and living with her mum, brother and stepdad. She's an unhappy teenager, still mourning the sudden death of her father and is generally struggling with life. While helping out at the local junkyard she uncovers a dusty old yellow VW Beetle and convinces the junkyard owner to let her have it as a birthday present. She manages to get it started, driving it home to begin working on, only to discover that her birthday present is something a little bit more impressive than just a car!
But Bumblebee is still clearly suffering from his recent damage. Cowering in the corner of the garage and flinching at the site of the spanner in Charlie's hand. The pair set about slowly gaining each others trust learning more about each other and becoming friends. Meanwhile, a couple of stray Decepticons have picked up on a signal from the newly awakened Bumblebee and start heading to Earth. They convince the awaiting military team that they have come in peace, in search of dangerous fugitive Bumblebee and need our help, wanting to use Earths satellites to try and track him.
That character driven story that I mentioned earlier is where this movie really excels though. The scenes where it's just Charlie and Bumblebee are wonderful, funny at times and totally believable, and it's clear that they need each other in order to get their respective lives back on track. She even gives him back his voice, fitting him with the car stereo that we're familiar with from previous movies. It's a real Iron Giant or ET vibe, aided considerably by the eighties setting.
Things do come to an intense conclusion, as Bumblebee fights to prevent the Decepticons from transmitting a message to the others. But in a similar vein to the other outstanding action sequences throughout the movie, it's all much more restrained and effective. Transformers just got fun again!
Night Reader Reviews (683 KP) rated 36 Hours in Books
Feb 4, 2020
Christian Price is a serial killer, though that is not his real name and no one has realized the deaths are all connected. Yet. Christian is not killing because he likes to kill, no, he does this because he feels he has to. In his opinion, many local police forces are incompetent or lack the drive to solve missing person cases and Christian has decided to motivate them. He does this by kidnapping a woman and called it into the police to find her within a limited amount of time or else she dies. The first one usually doses. He then continues this pattern with another woman, usually not going past three victims is one area, until the police are successful after which he moves to a different city. Things are a little bit different in Atlanta though.
Brooke Madison is terrified of parking garages, especially after her friend and co-worker Sandra McIntyre was abducted from the garage and later killed. Brooke and Sandra had both been taking self-defense classes together but it doesn't appear to help. Sadly Brooke discovers first hand how easy it was for Sandra to be abducted when it happens to her as well. Now she is trapped in a Wearhouse somewhere, the next in line in a series of experiments to jump-start the police’s interest again, Will they find her before the time is up or will Christian take yet another victim?
It would appear that the author did their homework because the book made sense. While I would have liked more details on a few things I prefer this approach compared to those who just guess and come up with situations that would never possibly work. In this case, I believe the author found a nice balance. Multiple time limits take place during this book and I was expecting just one well-detailed one. Also, the back of the book mentions how Christian suffered a tragedy that was unsolved by police and that is why he does this. The defining tragedy gets very little recognition when it is a big piece of backstory.
Young adults will enjoy this book the most. It has very little in the lines of gore or inappropriate content. Overall it is a nice mid-grade crime/mystery book. It is great for those that want a decent book without it being super long. I rate this book 2 out of 4. It was not what I was expecting. While it was a good read, the content spanned over a much longer time than what the book leads readers to believe. Also, the lack of diving into Christian’s backstory was disappointing at best.
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