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Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Gentlemen Prefer Succubi (Succubus Diaries, #1) in Books
Sep 6, 2019
3.5 stars. I liked it. It made me smile/chuckle a few times.
I liked the two guys and I have to admit it's a tough decision to make between Noah and Zane as both are great in their own way. I'm intrigued as to what will happen later on in the series with these three.
The rest of the story, though, the Egyptology stuff, is not my thing at all and I kinda just skipped over those bits especially near the end, when I just wanted them to find the halo.
I haven't read too many books/series based on succubi so I enjoyed this tale. The addition of angels and vampires only added to my enjoyment and the wittiness of the characters at times was fun reading.
I definitely think I'll be picking up on the series at a later date.
I liked the two guys and I have to admit it's a tough decision to make between Noah and Zane as both are great in their own way. I'm intrigued as to what will happen later on in the series with these three.
The rest of the story, though, the Egyptology stuff, is not my thing at all and I kinda just skipped over those bits especially near the end, when I just wanted them to find the halo.
I haven't read too many books/series based on succubi so I enjoyed this tale. The addition of angels and vampires only added to my enjoyment and the wittiness of the characters at times was fun reading.
I definitely think I'll be picking up on the series at a later date.
Cori June (3033 KP) rated Sleeping Late on Judgement Day (Bobby Dollar #3) in Books
Apr 29, 2021
Contains spoilers, click to show
I think Tad Williams did a disservice to the characters by making this into a trilogy and not a longer series. He leaves a few loose threads that could be made into another book or two. While the ending is good it is a little too open ended to be great. I have too many questions that have no answers. and while they could be answered in short stories, Bobby (in my opinion) deserves more. Still worth the read.
Having to pick himself up in the aftermath of what happened after his trip to Hell. Bobby finds that his allies and even acquaintances are leaving him high and dry. Even his Somewhat Best Friend Sam is ghosting him.
Bobby has to navigate his suspicion of superiors in Heaven, Neo-Nazis, and Nightmare Children, or he may lose more than his halo.
Having to pick himself up in the aftermath of what happened after his trip to Hell. Bobby finds that his allies and even acquaintances are leaving him high and dry. Even his Somewhat Best Friend Sam is ghosting him.
Bobby has to navigate his suspicion of superiors in Heaven, Neo-Nazis, and Nightmare Children, or he may lose more than his halo.
Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed the World in Books
Oct 12, 2017
Clearly, we only know a fraction of our minds
We know that the field of behavioral economics is a kind of the wild west of the sciences, filled with speculation, outlaws, and not a little shenanigans. And yet it is by far one of the most fascinating and controversial sciences on the popular stage.
This story is almost like a love affair between two visionary scholars, Daniel Kahneman and the late Amos Tversky. Their shared admiration and respect for one another, and opposite personalities, led them across the world from Israel, in the pursuit for knowledge.
The author notes the halo effect in which people see favourable attributes and let that impression impact the assessment of other attributes. Kahneman and Tversky later refer to this as Representativeness involving premature characterisation of an object or an individual.
While this is less plot driven than the author's other works The Blind Side, Moneyball, and The Big Short, it is still an endearing tale.
This story is almost like a love affair between two visionary scholars, Daniel Kahneman and the late Amos Tversky. Their shared admiration and respect for one another, and opposite personalities, led them across the world from Israel, in the pursuit for knowledge.
The author notes the halo effect in which people see favourable attributes and let that impression impact the assessment of other attributes. Kahneman and Tversky later refer to this as Representativeness involving premature characterisation of an object or an individual.
While this is less plot driven than the author's other works The Blind Side, Moneyball, and The Big Short, it is still an endearing tale.
BookwormLea (3034 KP) rated The Alphas Pack (Kit Davenport #6) in Books
Jul 18, 2020
Amazing RH!
Contains spoilers, click to show
This was a fantastic ending to a beautiful series! Kick ass female lead, a hot group of guys, supernatural powers and romance! What more could you want?
It was nice to see Kit confront her demons, and her mother. And she gained a father figure in return. And its amazing to see the group really come together and defeat evil, as cliche as that sounds. And Lucy!!! Plot twist of the century! I could never have seen that coming if her halo hit me in the face! The whole series was a rollercoaster and I literally didn't put my kindle down for 3 straight days! Work be damned! You get so enthralled in her life and you want to know what happens next, even now I need to know about kids and life after!
Tate is a fabulous author and an amazing person (I've met her, so i know its true!) I love all of her books. Check them out!
It was nice to see Kit confront her demons, and her mother. And she gained a father figure in return. And its amazing to see the group really come together and defeat evil, as cliche as that sounds. And Lucy!!! Plot twist of the century! I could never have seen that coming if her halo hit me in the face! The whole series was a rollercoaster and I literally didn't put my kindle down for 3 straight days! Work be damned! You get so enthralled in her life and you want to know what happens next, even now I need to know about kids and life after!
Tate is a fabulous author and an amazing person (I've met her, so i know its true!) I love all of her books. Check them out!
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Marked by Hell (Mary Wiles #1) in Books
Jul 23, 2020
130 of 200
Kindle
Marked by Hell ( Mary Wiles book 1)
By Erin Bedford
The road to heaven is paved with Mary Wiles's victims.
Los Angeles isn’t just a playground for those searching for a new start. It’s a darker and more dangerous place than they’ll ever know. But Mary’s not fooled.
With her hands full trying to play human while looking for a way back to heaven, Mary doesn’t have time to polish her halo let alone solve a murder case. But when she finds out demons are responsible, Mary just can’t help herself.
When Mary makes a mistake causing her best friend to be taken, she will have to make a choice: sacrifice an innocent for the chance to get her revenge or lose everything she has worked for. Mary starts to realize there is no clear path back to heaven without becoming tainted herself.
I loved this book! It reminded me of a very early Anita Blake crossed with a Charley Davidson and those where written by two very powerful amazing female writers! This also felt fresh and new I can’t wait to read the next one! I do enjoy reading Erin Bedford she finds a way to keep me entranced in each book/series she writes!
Kindle
Marked by Hell ( Mary Wiles book 1)
By Erin Bedford
The road to heaven is paved with Mary Wiles's victims.
Los Angeles isn’t just a playground for those searching for a new start. It’s a darker and more dangerous place than they’ll ever know. But Mary’s not fooled.
With her hands full trying to play human while looking for a way back to heaven, Mary doesn’t have time to polish her halo let alone solve a murder case. But when she finds out demons are responsible, Mary just can’t help herself.
When Mary makes a mistake causing her best friend to be taken, she will have to make a choice: sacrifice an innocent for the chance to get her revenge or lose everything she has worked for. Mary starts to realize there is no clear path back to heaven without becoming tainted herself.
I loved this book! It reminded me of a very early Anita Blake crossed with a Charley Davidson and those where written by two very powerful amazing female writers! This also felt fresh and new I can’t wait to read the next one! I do enjoy reading Erin Bedford she finds a way to keep me entranced in each book/series she writes!
Joe Elliott recommended Billion Dollar Babies by Alice Cooper in Music (curated)
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Mary Queen of Scots (2018) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
January is proving to be a challenging month, so many historical and biographical movies and a lot of me saying "this was great but..."
Scrolling back through Saoirse Ronan's acting career I've only actually seen her in two things, Lady Bird and City Of Embers (which for the life of me I cannot remember her in), and I can't say that I was going in as a fan, but I came out pleasantly surprised by her powerful portrayal of Mary.
The cast in this is brilliant, so many recognisable faces. Ian Hart, Gemma Chan, David Tennant (not initially so recognisable until he starts to speak), Brendan Coyle and Joe Alwyn who is clearly hedging his bets by appearing in The Favourite as well.
Margot Robbie is wonderful, just generally, and I love so many of her roles. I do feel like she was rather underused as Elizabeth, but thankfully her brief appearances were quite striking.
I was so happy to see Adrian Lester's name connected to this. I'm slightly obsessed with Hustle, and his stage and screen work is usually something tremendously entertaining to watch. However, I didn't feel that the script allowed him to get anything good out of Lord Randolph sadly. Guy Pearce fared much better and gave an impressive performance.
Visually the locations and costumes make for a magnificent film, but while I wasn't bored at any point it does feel like it could have lost a few minutes here and there.
What you should do
It's worth giving a watch at some point but I don't think there's any rush to get to the cinema for it.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
Some quality Mary ginger hair... maybe without the halo of volume.
Scrolling back through Saoirse Ronan's acting career I've only actually seen her in two things, Lady Bird and City Of Embers (which for the life of me I cannot remember her in), and I can't say that I was going in as a fan, but I came out pleasantly surprised by her powerful portrayal of Mary.
The cast in this is brilliant, so many recognisable faces. Ian Hart, Gemma Chan, David Tennant (not initially so recognisable until he starts to speak), Brendan Coyle and Joe Alwyn who is clearly hedging his bets by appearing in The Favourite as well.
Margot Robbie is wonderful, just generally, and I love so many of her roles. I do feel like she was rather underused as Elizabeth, but thankfully her brief appearances were quite striking.
I was so happy to see Adrian Lester's name connected to this. I'm slightly obsessed with Hustle, and his stage and screen work is usually something tremendously entertaining to watch. However, I didn't feel that the script allowed him to get anything good out of Lord Randolph sadly. Guy Pearce fared much better and gave an impressive performance.
Visually the locations and costumes make for a magnificent film, but while I wasn't bored at any point it does feel like it could have lost a few minutes here and there.
What you should do
It's worth giving a watch at some point but I don't think there's any rush to get to the cinema for it.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
Some quality Mary ginger hair... maybe without the halo of volume.
Solomon Wendt (30 KP) rated Ready Player One (2018) in Movies
May 5, 2019
Nostalgia (1 more)
Video Games
This movie is based off of the book of the same name and matches it for most of the major plot points. In short, the story follows Wade Wilson, an egg hunter (Gunter for short), on the search for a virtual Easter egg that unlock control over the virtual reality known as The Oasis. In a scavenger hunt fashion, there are clues and trials that Wade must figure out and overcome in his attempt at such a coveted prize.
The film follows the major points of the book, but does change the clues and trials so its not the same exact story, which I feel is the purpose of film adaptations. However, as with many sci-fi films, majority of interest here is of the world that is constructed which is quickly glossed over. To be fair, how much more do we really need to than people are addicted to virtual reality and want to have more power in it? But the issue is the sort of background that is left out that can leave the soley film consumers a bit confused or leave more questions. As for the actual content of the film, it is a real nostalgia trip for those who enjoyed 80's pop culture and tries to include more recent fandoms such as Overwatch and Halo. Sadly, the viewer doesn't really take part in the treasure hunt as mystery and adventure films try to do. The clues are obscure and related to the creator of the hunt, so there isn't much guessing at what a clue means until it is flat out explained.
However, with the audience participation aside, it is a good sci-fi adventure that utilizes a good blend of motion capture technology and cgi work. It explore a good variety of worlds, environments, and character models that make this film noteworthy of that aspect of production. It leaves quite the impression and I know I looked up how much virtual reality cost after I was done.
In short, it was a good overall production in terms of tools utilized, but lacked a little bit of story in an attempt to cram a different world and rule set while trying to make a complete adventure and story arc. I recommend viewing it at least once, but doesn't really need to be viewed more than that.
The film follows the major points of the book, but does change the clues and trials so its not the same exact story, which I feel is the purpose of film adaptations. However, as with many sci-fi films, majority of interest here is of the world that is constructed which is quickly glossed over. To be fair, how much more do we really need to than people are addicted to virtual reality and want to have more power in it? But the issue is the sort of background that is left out that can leave the soley film consumers a bit confused or leave more questions. As for the actual content of the film, it is a real nostalgia trip for those who enjoyed 80's pop culture and tries to include more recent fandoms such as Overwatch and Halo. Sadly, the viewer doesn't really take part in the treasure hunt as mystery and adventure films try to do. The clues are obscure and related to the creator of the hunt, so there isn't much guessing at what a clue means until it is flat out explained.
However, with the audience participation aside, it is a good sci-fi adventure that utilizes a good blend of motion capture technology and cgi work. It explore a good variety of worlds, environments, and character models that make this film noteworthy of that aspect of production. It leaves quite the impression and I know I looked up how much virtual reality cost after I was done.
In short, it was a good overall production in terms of tools utilized, but lacked a little bit of story in an attempt to cram a different world and rule set while trying to make a complete adventure and story arc. I recommend viewing it at least once, but doesn't really need to be viewed more than that.
Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated No Man's Sky in Video Games
Jul 25, 2017
Hyped Up Nonsense
Earlier this month No Man’s Sky was released, a game that had been hyped and anticipated by so many. Unfortunately, it has failed to live up to the expectations that gamers had for it, however in the eyes of many this isn’t due to the faults or shortcomings of the actual game itself, but is rather due to the way that Sony marketed the game, (this game is technically an indie title, yet Sony treated it as a 1st party exclusive,) and the gaming media blowing expectations insanely out of proportion. Personally, I have only played the game for a couple of hours, but I feel that I have already seen everything there is to see, in that I know that if I play for longer all I will come across is the same things with different skins and textures and that is okay, if that is all that you are looking for. The reason that I stole the phrase, “a mile wide and an inch deep,” from Colin Moriarty and used it as the headline to this article, is because I feel that it is the most accurate description that I have heard of this game to date. However, if the game was marketed as an exploratory crafting game with very light story elements and no real characters, it would have been received a lot better. The point of this paper isn’t to insult No Man’s Sky, I am simply using it as an example as that game is currently at the forefront of the gaming zeitgeist. I don’t think that the gaming community’s disappointment in No Man’s Sky is down to the developers of the game, I believe that it was Sony’s treatment, as well as the gaming press’ treatment of the game that caused the hype train to come to a crash.
This isn’t the first time that this has happened, it happened last year with The Phantom Pain, that game took over three years to come out after it was officially announced and it was still an unfinished mess. The example that always comes up when discussing games stuck in development hell for years is Duke Nukem Forever, which was objectively a bad game, but even if it was more competent, in the leagues of Halo or COD, it would still be considered a failure. Final Fantasy 15 and The Last Guardian are also going to suffer for these reasons, too much time has been spent, reporting development news and hyping up the release that feels like it will never arrive and both of those games could be stellar masterpieces and they still wouldn’t reach anywhere near the payoff that is expected of them due to all of this overhyping and false hope that has been created by the gaming press. Lastly, even if Half Life 3 ever does release and against all odds does meet the standard of the previous games in the series, that still won’t be enough for die hard fans, due to the vast amount of time between now and the previous entry and the unrealistically high standards that this has caused gamers to expect.
I am fed up of this occurring, but the press isn’t going to stop reporting any news on these projects as its released, that’s their job. The only way that I can see to get around this issue is for developers to use the Fallout 4 method and release their game with 6 months of announcing it, quelling the inevitable explosion of hype that is created if the game takes any longer than that to release. The old saying goes that, ‘there is no such thing as bad publicity,’ but if the developer has any integrity and tact and isn’t just making something for the sake of a cash grab, perhaps they would do well to think of the No Man’s Sky release saga as a cautionary tale.
This isn’t the first time that this has happened, it happened last year with The Phantom Pain, that game took over three years to come out after it was officially announced and it was still an unfinished mess. The example that always comes up when discussing games stuck in development hell for years is Duke Nukem Forever, which was objectively a bad game, but even if it was more competent, in the leagues of Halo or COD, it would still be considered a failure. Final Fantasy 15 and The Last Guardian are also going to suffer for these reasons, too much time has been spent, reporting development news and hyping up the release that feels like it will never arrive and both of those games could be stellar masterpieces and they still wouldn’t reach anywhere near the payoff that is expected of them due to all of this overhyping and false hope that has been created by the gaming press. Lastly, even if Half Life 3 ever does release and against all odds does meet the standard of the previous games in the series, that still won’t be enough for die hard fans, due to the vast amount of time between now and the previous entry and the unrealistically high standards that this has caused gamers to expect.
I am fed up of this occurring, but the press isn’t going to stop reporting any news on these projects as its released, that’s their job. The only way that I can see to get around this issue is for developers to use the Fallout 4 method and release their game with 6 months of announcing it, quelling the inevitable explosion of hype that is created if the game takes any longer than that to release. The old saying goes that, ‘there is no such thing as bad publicity,’ but if the developer has any integrity and tact and isn’t just making something for the sake of a cash grab, perhaps they would do well to think of the No Man’s Sky release saga as a cautionary tale.
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018) in Movies
Sep 28, 2021
Hunt on the edge… again.
2015’s “MI: Rogue Nation” was one of my favourite films of that year, so of all the summer blockbusters this was the one I was most looking forward to. Was I delighted? It’s a slightly qualified “YES!”.
The film neatly follows on from Rogue Nation with arch terrorist-in-need-of-a-razor Solomon Lane (Sean Harris) being extraordinarily renditioned (probably not a valid phrase!) between multiple countries who want to torture/punish him. But his followers – “The Apostles” – are still active and on the trail of plutonium that could devestate key sites, with religious centres being the top of the target list. Since Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) originally caught Lane, IMF Director Hunley (Alec Baldwin) despatches Hunt to intercept the plutonium.
But CIA director Erica Sloan (Angela Bassett) has no faith in the IMF, or trust that the organisation has not been infiltrated, and she insists that her ‘heavy’ August Walker (Henry Cavill) goes along for the ride. But they are not the only parties in play, for Isla Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) is also involved. But who is she working for?
What makes these films a cut above your average action adventure is the stunt work, with the knowledge that Cruise is at the centre of the action. In “Skyscraper” you KNOW Dwayne Johnson is standing on the ‘edge’ in front of a big green screen. Similarly here you KNOW Cruise is standing on the edge of the Tate Modern tower – probably without a safety line – as the camera goes 360 degrees around him. This makes all the difference to the adrenalin count.
There are some outstanding set pieces in the film, with extraordinarily spectacular shots from a ‘halo jump’ and a dramatic helicopter finale. But it is some of the smaller stuff that really impresses: a dramatic edge-of-the-seat car and motorbike chase through central Paris is one of the most impressive and terrifying things I’ve seen on film for many years; and Cruise’s literally bone-crunching run through London is also extremely exciting, with Simon Pegg adding good humour in his regular role of Benji. By the way, series regulars Ving Rhames, as Luther, and Michelle Monaghan, as Hunt’s ex-wife Julia, also make welcome returns but Jeremy Renner is missing this time.
Tom Cruise at 56 (he’s just 15 months younger than I am, damn it!) will eventually meet a Roger Moore-like Bond cliff when his Hunt role is no longer credible. But he’s not there yet! Rebecca Ferguson is again outstanding as Faust and as a newcomer in a similar role Vanessa Kirby (memorable as Princess Margaret in “The Crown”) impresses as the “White Widow” – someone with a familial link to a villain from the past!
Unusually, for a film series which has traditionally been kept fresh by changing directors and composers at each turn, Christopher McQuarrie (“Edge of Tomorrow“, “The Mummy“) returns following “Rogue Nation“, and he also writes the screenplay. The composing baton is handed over this time though to Lorne Balfe (“Churchill“, “Terminator: Genisys“) and for me this was a bit of a step down from the “Rogue Nation” soundtrack by Joe Kraemer which I really enjoyed.
Is it sufficiently fresh though? Let’s be clear here, I was enormously entertained throughout, and this should be near the top of your summer watch list. But it did ultimately feel at times a little like a light retread of “Rogue Nation“. Some of the stunts – notably the Paris and London scenes as above – were a step up for me, but there are some annoyances in McQuarrie’s script (see the spoiler section below the trailer), so for me the rating plateaus at the same as “Rogue Nation“.
The film neatly follows on from Rogue Nation with arch terrorist-in-need-of-a-razor Solomon Lane (Sean Harris) being extraordinarily renditioned (probably not a valid phrase!) between multiple countries who want to torture/punish him. But his followers – “The Apostles” – are still active and on the trail of plutonium that could devestate key sites, with religious centres being the top of the target list. Since Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) originally caught Lane, IMF Director Hunley (Alec Baldwin) despatches Hunt to intercept the plutonium.
But CIA director Erica Sloan (Angela Bassett) has no faith in the IMF, or trust that the organisation has not been infiltrated, and she insists that her ‘heavy’ August Walker (Henry Cavill) goes along for the ride. But they are not the only parties in play, for Isla Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) is also involved. But who is she working for?
What makes these films a cut above your average action adventure is the stunt work, with the knowledge that Cruise is at the centre of the action. In “Skyscraper” you KNOW Dwayne Johnson is standing on the ‘edge’ in front of a big green screen. Similarly here you KNOW Cruise is standing on the edge of the Tate Modern tower – probably without a safety line – as the camera goes 360 degrees around him. This makes all the difference to the adrenalin count.
There are some outstanding set pieces in the film, with extraordinarily spectacular shots from a ‘halo jump’ and a dramatic helicopter finale. But it is some of the smaller stuff that really impresses: a dramatic edge-of-the-seat car and motorbike chase through central Paris is one of the most impressive and terrifying things I’ve seen on film for many years; and Cruise’s literally bone-crunching run through London is also extremely exciting, with Simon Pegg adding good humour in his regular role of Benji. By the way, series regulars Ving Rhames, as Luther, and Michelle Monaghan, as Hunt’s ex-wife Julia, also make welcome returns but Jeremy Renner is missing this time.
Tom Cruise at 56 (he’s just 15 months younger than I am, damn it!) will eventually meet a Roger Moore-like Bond cliff when his Hunt role is no longer credible. But he’s not there yet! Rebecca Ferguson is again outstanding as Faust and as a newcomer in a similar role Vanessa Kirby (memorable as Princess Margaret in “The Crown”) impresses as the “White Widow” – someone with a familial link to a villain from the past!
Unusually, for a film series which has traditionally been kept fresh by changing directors and composers at each turn, Christopher McQuarrie (“Edge of Tomorrow“, “The Mummy“) returns following “Rogue Nation“, and he also writes the screenplay. The composing baton is handed over this time though to Lorne Balfe (“Churchill“, “Terminator: Genisys“) and for me this was a bit of a step down from the “Rogue Nation” soundtrack by Joe Kraemer which I really enjoyed.
Is it sufficiently fresh though? Let’s be clear here, I was enormously entertained throughout, and this should be near the top of your summer watch list. But it did ultimately feel at times a little like a light retread of “Rogue Nation“. Some of the stunts – notably the Paris and London scenes as above – were a step up for me, but there are some annoyances in McQuarrie’s script (see the spoiler section below the trailer), so for me the rating plateaus at the same as “Rogue Nation“.