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David McK (3816 KP) rated Three Cheers for Me (The Bandy Papers, #1) in Books

Jan 30, 2019 (Updated Aug 10, 2025)  
Three Cheers for Me (The Bandy Papers, #1)
Three Cheers for Me (The Bandy Papers, #1)
Donald Jack | 2001 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
First entry in Donald Jack's Bandy papers series, of which I first became aware circa the early 2000s when I actually read the third entry ("It's Me Again"] first, and then had to go back and hunt out the first two!

Mainly because I found myself stifling full-blown belly laughs sitting on a bus on the way home from work reading it.

Which happened again here.

For those not in the know, in these early novels the protagonist is a Canadian air war ace, one Bartholomew ('Bart') Bandy, who seems to constantly find himself getting into scrapes, especially where it concerns the top brass of the time, and then - somehow - coming out of them smelling of roses, as the saying goes.

I have since went on and read the entire series, but - I have to say - I found these earlier instalments, set amongst the horrors of the First World War - to be the better of the books.
  
A Quiet Place: Part II (2021)
A Quiet Place: Part II (2021)
2021 | Horror, Thriller
Sequel to the 2018 original, which - despite being a commercial and critical darling - was a film that I couldn't really see what all the fuss was about.

Despite being a sequel, this actually starts back at 'Day One' with a protracted flash-back scene that I'm not quite sure the point of, before jumping ahead to pick up almost immediately (like, immediately immediately) after the ending of the first film, with the remnants of the same family now leaving their refuge and trekking cross-country to the hills where they know there are other survivors (Cillian Murphy), but now also armed with the knowledge of how to defeat the seemingly-invincible 'hunt by sound' creatures.

What follows is roughly an hour and a half, maybe three quarters or so, where they continue to make bad decision after bad decision, and where the tension is consistently racked up, almost to the the point where the jump scares lose most (but not all) of their impact ...
  
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Blazing Minds (92 KP) rated Host (2020) in Movies

Oct 29, 2021 (Updated Nov 3, 2021)  
Host (2020)
Host (2020)
2020 | Horror
We’ve seen films before that takes us into the world of social media such as Friend Request, but with HOST we are taken into the world of horror via the paranormal horror of a séance and let’s face it in all the films we’ve seen where these things take place they aren’t going to go well.

HOST starts with everyone logging in one by one on Zoom and catching up with each other about how they are doing during the lockdown with them having fun chats with filters, talking about others before they log in ready for the night of some scary stuff.

If you have ever been on a seance or a ghost hunt, which believe me can send chills down your spine, will now that sometimes there is always one that has to try to wind everyone up and it’s not good to mess with the spirits, but when Jemma pulls a prank about the schoolboy it’s time to get the spook on!
  
No Less The Devil
No Less The Devil
Stuart MacBride | 2022 | Crime, Thriller
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I have read and enjoyed a few books by Mr MacBride but this one has me in a quandary as whilst it had me on the edge of my seat at times, there were also times when it didn't.

For the majority of the book it appears to be your 'usual' hunt for a killer story with excellent characters, intriguing plot and twists but then it develops into something else which, I can only say, had me reading with my mouth hanging open and wondering if I had stumbled into an alternative universe. I can't go into detail here as it will give the game away but what I will say is be prepared!!

This is a dark and gritty read that you definitely need to keep your wits about you and your mind open and I must thank Random House UK / Transworld Publishers via NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this in order to share my thoughts.