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Urban Appetites: Food and Culture in Nineteenth-Century New York
Book
Glossy magazines write about them, celebrities give their names to them, and you'd better believe...
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2395 KP) rated A Treasure to Die For in Books
Jun 16, 2021 (Updated Jun 16, 2021)
Finding the Truth in a Hunt Filled with Lies
Rick Atwood has relocated to Seaside Cove with his ten-year-old daughter, Alex, to run the bed and breakfast he’s inherited from his grandfather. He’s still trying to get completely comfortable running the business when a group of treasure hunters book the place. They think they have a lead on a ship that sunk years before, but Rick notices the group always seems to be fighting. When one of them is found dead on the rocks near the B&B, Rick is asked to use his reporter skills to help the local police. But with everyone in the groups constantly lying, will Rick ever discover the truth?
The book took me a little while to get into. Alex plays a big part in the story, and some of the chapters are even from her point of view. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that or her character at the beginning, but she grew on me. I also had trouble keeping the suspects straight early on since sometimes they were mentioned by first name and other times last name. That, too, became less of an issue as the book progressed. I did like the series regulars, and there are hints at some secrets from the past that I’m curious to learn more about. The main mystery was strong with lots of lies for Rick to look past to find the truth. Being a bed and breakfast, we get a couple of delicious sounding breakfast bread recipes at the end. Hopefully, I can book a return visit to this bed and breakfast soon.
The book took me a little while to get into. Alex plays a big part in the story, and some of the chapters are even from her point of view. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that or her character at the beginning, but she grew on me. I also had trouble keeping the suspects straight early on since sometimes they were mentioned by first name and other times last name. That, too, became less of an issue as the book progressed. I did like the series regulars, and there are hints at some secrets from the past that I’m curious to learn more about. The main mystery was strong with lots of lies for Rick to look past to find the truth. Being a bed and breakfast, we get a couple of delicious sounding breakfast bread recipes at the end. Hopefully, I can book a return visit to this bed and breakfast soon.
Cougar: Ecology and Conservation
Maurice Hornocker, Sharon Negri and Alan Rabinowitz
Book
The cougar is one of the most beautiful, enigmatic, and majestic animals in the Americas. Eliciting...
Waiting for the Vote of the Wild Animals
Book
Characterized as ""the African Voltaire,"" Ahmadou Kourouma garnered enormous critical and popular...
Survival: Wicked Forest
Games and Entertainment
App
Survival: The Wicked Forest. After awakening in a forest cold and helpless, your mission is to...
The Wizard's Ward (Vale #1)
8.0
Rate It
Book
In the world of Vale, the King of the Elves lives in fear of an ancient prophecy. 'Only a gray blood...
Young Adult Fantasy
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Shadow Hunters in Tabletop Games
Jul 24, 2021
Playing board games has enlightened me so much and given me wishes to follow career paths I would not have considered otherwise. One career I would NOT want to take on is that of a Shadow Hunter: the warriors who seek out and destroy beings from the demon realms walking in our midst. I’d rather stay blissfully ignorant to their existence and simply hope we can be friends. However, in board game worlds I will seek and destroy like a good little Shadow Hunter does.
Shadow Hunters is a hidden identity survival card game for groups of 4-8 players. Each player’s drawn persona will belong to the Shadows, the Hunters, or Neutrals (common bystanders). The goals of the players may all be completely different and the game may end at any time due to fulfilling personal agendas. Players may even win when their characters are dead!
To setup place the board on the table and randomly populate the card spaces on the board with the Area Cards. Shuffle the White Cards, Black Cards, and Hermit Cards (why didn’t they just name these the Green Cards?) into their own stacks and place them on the side of the board in their slots. Players choose their preferred colors, take the boards and pieces with that color, and place one of their wooden markers on the No Damage space on the board. The other wooden marker will be used for movement on the board Area cards. Shuffle and deal each player one Character Card to be kept secret from the other players. Determine start player and the game is ready to begin!
On a player’s turn they will be completing at least one task and then possible other tasks. First, the active player will roll both the 1d6 and 1d4 together to arrive at a number between two and 10. The player will place their marker on the matching Area card on the board. Should a player roll a seven they may choose any location other than the space they are on and move. Each location will have an action printed on its card that a player may choose to complete. These could be drawing cards from the White, Black, or Hermit decks, damaging other players, or stealing equipment cards from them. Lastly, the active player may straight up attack another player within the same Area range (the three different areas are two cards linked together, so either the card the marker shares or the one that is linked).
As soon as a character has suffered damage equal to or greater than the HP shown on their Character Card, that character dies. Once a character dies, the owning player flips the Character Card over to reveal the character and, more importantly, their faction to which they belong. If this causes one player to fulfill their character’s goals, they must announce that the game is over. If not, play continues in this fashion until a player’s goal has been achieved to end the game. This could mean the Shadow team or Hunter team wins as a group, or that one player wins alone.
Components. Oddly, this edition of Shadow Hunters is now almost 10 years old, so it fall within the “older games” group. That said, the components are still excellent quality, even by today’s standards. The cards have a faint linen finish, the cardboard components are all thick and matte finished, the wooden player markers are chunky and fun to move around. The only issues I have with components are that I wish the colors matched more on the wooden markers and the player boards. Not a huge deal, but something that makes me cringe just a little inside. The other issue I have is most definitely a personal preference: the numbers on the d4 are on the bottom and I prefer them on the top. I know, purely personal preference and I’m dumb for even mentioning it.
This is a game I love but irks my wife. And not even because she doesn’t like the game. It irks her because of how I play it. Until I use the Hermit Cards to try to help figure out which player is on my team I will certainly be attacking everyone I can every chance I get. That’s not the best way to make friends, and I get it, but I’m not taking that chance of allowing a potential opponent to get a leg up on me. That bothers my wife because many times I’m attacking my teammates. Oh well.
I have played this game so many times with different groups and have had great success with it almost every single time. It’s an easy teach, the theme makes sense, and having different end goals is something that many people can rally behind. I know there are about 3,000 hidden identity games out there, but I consider this one of the best. Even 10 years later it sill holds that sheen and gives us a little different experience than just spamming The Resistance: Avalon every time. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a hot 17 / 24. Pick this one up if you find it in the wild and want a different feel for your hidden identity collection. I love it and you might too.
Shadow Hunters is a hidden identity survival card game for groups of 4-8 players. Each player’s drawn persona will belong to the Shadows, the Hunters, or Neutrals (common bystanders). The goals of the players may all be completely different and the game may end at any time due to fulfilling personal agendas. Players may even win when their characters are dead!
To setup place the board on the table and randomly populate the card spaces on the board with the Area Cards. Shuffle the White Cards, Black Cards, and Hermit Cards (why didn’t they just name these the Green Cards?) into their own stacks and place them on the side of the board in their slots. Players choose their preferred colors, take the boards and pieces with that color, and place one of their wooden markers on the No Damage space on the board. The other wooden marker will be used for movement on the board Area cards. Shuffle and deal each player one Character Card to be kept secret from the other players. Determine start player and the game is ready to begin!
On a player’s turn they will be completing at least one task and then possible other tasks. First, the active player will roll both the 1d6 and 1d4 together to arrive at a number between two and 10. The player will place their marker on the matching Area card on the board. Should a player roll a seven they may choose any location other than the space they are on and move. Each location will have an action printed on its card that a player may choose to complete. These could be drawing cards from the White, Black, or Hermit decks, damaging other players, or stealing equipment cards from them. Lastly, the active player may straight up attack another player within the same Area range (the three different areas are two cards linked together, so either the card the marker shares or the one that is linked).
As soon as a character has suffered damage equal to or greater than the HP shown on their Character Card, that character dies. Once a character dies, the owning player flips the Character Card over to reveal the character and, more importantly, their faction to which they belong. If this causes one player to fulfill their character’s goals, they must announce that the game is over. If not, play continues in this fashion until a player’s goal has been achieved to end the game. This could mean the Shadow team or Hunter team wins as a group, or that one player wins alone.
Components. Oddly, this edition of Shadow Hunters is now almost 10 years old, so it fall within the “older games” group. That said, the components are still excellent quality, even by today’s standards. The cards have a faint linen finish, the cardboard components are all thick and matte finished, the wooden player markers are chunky and fun to move around. The only issues I have with components are that I wish the colors matched more on the wooden markers and the player boards. Not a huge deal, but something that makes me cringe just a little inside. The other issue I have is most definitely a personal preference: the numbers on the d4 are on the bottom and I prefer them on the top. I know, purely personal preference and I’m dumb for even mentioning it.
This is a game I love but irks my wife. And not even because she doesn’t like the game. It irks her because of how I play it. Until I use the Hermit Cards to try to help figure out which player is on my team I will certainly be attacking everyone I can every chance I get. That’s not the best way to make friends, and I get it, but I’m not taking that chance of allowing a potential opponent to get a leg up on me. That bothers my wife because many times I’m attacking my teammates. Oh well.
I have played this game so many times with different groups and have had great success with it almost every single time. It’s an easy teach, the theme makes sense, and having different end goals is something that many people can rally behind. I know there are about 3,000 hidden identity games out there, but I consider this one of the best. Even 10 years later it sill holds that sheen and gives us a little different experience than just spamming The Resistance: Avalon every time. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a hot 17 / 24. Pick this one up if you find it in the wild and want a different feel for your hidden identity collection. I love it and you might too.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Predators (2010) in Movies
May 14, 2019 (Updated Dec 4, 2019)
Another Predator movie, another misfire
Contains spoilers, click to show
In reality, the only truly decent Predator film is the original (although I do have a soft spot for Predator 2 but shhh).
Predators is just a bit of a mess from the get go. We're very swiftly introduced to a cast of bland, cliched, "badass" characters, none of whom are particularly likable, and I can only find myself blaming the script for the most part. This cast includes true talents, including Adrian Brody, Laurence Fishburne, and Mahershala Ali, and none them succeed in making positive impact.
It also stars Topher Grace, who's character goes through some absolute-nonsense-sudden-shift-to-evil-douche plot twist near the end, by which point, you just struggle to care.
As for the actual Predator side of things - it's pretty underwhelming. The trailer promised a big number of the alien hunters, where in reality we get 4, who hardly get any screen time (which wouldn't be a problem if the human characters were actually interesting).
The opportunity to explore an alien world, rather than the usual setting of Earth is a nice idea, but mostly wasted bar a couple of nice looking landscape shots.
The whole thing comes down to a showdown between a lone Predator, and a shirtless Adrian Brody covered in mud, in what I Imagine was supposed to be an ode and call back to the original, but in reality, it just reminds you that you could be spending your time watching that instead.
Final thought - after the lengths that Arnie went through in the original to take down the Predator, I absolutely refuse to accept that one dude with a katana can cut one down with relative ease.
Predators is just a bit of a mess from the get go. We're very swiftly introduced to a cast of bland, cliched, "badass" characters, none of whom are particularly likable, and I can only find myself blaming the script for the most part. This cast includes true talents, including Adrian Brody, Laurence Fishburne, and Mahershala Ali, and none them succeed in making positive impact.
It also stars Topher Grace, who's character goes through some absolute-nonsense-sudden-shift-to-evil-douche plot twist near the end, by which point, you just struggle to care.
As for the actual Predator side of things - it's pretty underwhelming. The trailer promised a big number of the alien hunters, where in reality we get 4, who hardly get any screen time (which wouldn't be a problem if the human characters were actually interesting).
The opportunity to explore an alien world, rather than the usual setting of Earth is a nice idea, but mostly wasted bar a couple of nice looking landscape shots.
The whole thing comes down to a showdown between a lone Predator, and a shirtless Adrian Brody covered in mud, in what I Imagine was supposed to be an ode and call back to the original, but in reality, it just reminds you that you could be spending your time watching that instead.
Final thought - after the lengths that Arnie went through in the original to take down the Predator, I absolutely refuse to accept that one dude with a katana can cut one down with relative ease.
Merissa (13169 KP) rated Claimed by her Cougar (Cougar Creek Mates #1) in Books
Oct 16, 2018
Claimed by her Cougar (Cougar Creek Mates #1) by Felicity Heaton
Claimed by her Cougar is the first book in the Cougar Creek Mates series, set in the same world as the Eternal Mates series. By that, I mean it is set in the contemporary world, but with the same 'bad guys' being mentioned - Archangel.
Rath has kept his clan safe from Archangel ever since their attack so many years previously. He takes care of any Hunters who show up on his land, and spends his time avoiding most people, preferring to spend his time alone. He looks after the cabins of various clan members who also live elsewhere. His solitude is broken when Ivy shows up on his land, wanting to photograph the black bears. Once she convinces him she is not a hunter, they spend a couple of days together, during which she gets under Rath's skin in more ways that he possibly imagined.
I found this story to be excellently written, as I would expect from Felicity Heaton. How she manages to tie in a previous organisation, within the contemporary world, whilst introducing a whole new set of characters, I think is superb! There were no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading flow. The supporting cast of characters were all intriguing, leaving me wanting more in this series, just so I can get their stories. Luckily for me, Storm comes next, but I also want Ember's story! Yes, I know, I'm greedy!
A great start to the series, and definitely recommended by me. Looking forward to continuing this series.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Rath has kept his clan safe from Archangel ever since their attack so many years previously. He takes care of any Hunters who show up on his land, and spends his time avoiding most people, preferring to spend his time alone. He looks after the cabins of various clan members who also live elsewhere. His solitude is broken when Ivy shows up on his land, wanting to photograph the black bears. Once she convinces him she is not a hunter, they spend a couple of days together, during which she gets under Rath's skin in more ways that he possibly imagined.
I found this story to be excellently written, as I would expect from Felicity Heaton. How she manages to tie in a previous organisation, within the contemporary world, whilst introducing a whole new set of characters, I think is superb! There were no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading flow. The supporting cast of characters were all intriguing, leaving me wanting more in this series, just so I can get their stories. Luckily for me, Storm comes next, but I also want Ember's story! Yes, I know, I'm greedy!
A great start to the series, and definitely recommended by me. Looking forward to continuing this series.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
David McK (3600 KP) rated Death of Wolverine in Books
Jan 30, 2019
The DEATH of Wolverine?
As if.
The Temporary Absence of Wolverine? (from the Marvel Universe). perhaps.
Admittedly, that doesn't sound *quite* as catchy, but I think that we all know by now that the death of any major comic character rarely stays that way: Superman, Captain America and Spider-Man (for instance) have all previously 'died' and later been resurrected. In the comics, indeed, I can only think of a few characters - all with mainly supporting roles - who have died, and stayed dead. Characters such as Uncle Ben (Spider-Man), Jonathan Kent (Superman) or the Wayne's (Batman), for example.
With all that said, this story starts with Logan stripped of his healing powers by unspecified events and with a huge bounty placed on him, leading several of the worlds bounty hunters to try to collect.
How this all fits into 'Old Man Logan' (which I haven't read, but have heard of), I have no idea - in this, he does, indeed, 'die' by the end of the stories. Like the character, the (linked) stories are also pretty brutal, with the art not shying away form showing the injuries sustained by a healing-powers-less Logan, and with blood spilt on a fairly regular basis.
There's also a throw-away line in one of the X-Men movies (the first?), where Logan is asked - when referring to his claws popping out - if that hurts, and in which he answers "Every damn time". The reason I bring that up? Because that fact is woven into this story as well, with Logan trying to avoid using his claws until absolutely necessary and with close-ups of his hands (when he does) showing just how painful it can be.
Worth a read? Yes, but I very much doubt the character will stay dead for long!
As if.
The Temporary Absence of Wolverine? (from the Marvel Universe). perhaps.
Admittedly, that doesn't sound *quite* as catchy, but I think that we all know by now that the death of any major comic character rarely stays that way: Superman, Captain America and Spider-Man (for instance) have all previously 'died' and later been resurrected. In the comics, indeed, I can only think of a few characters - all with mainly supporting roles - who have died, and stayed dead. Characters such as Uncle Ben (Spider-Man), Jonathan Kent (Superman) or the Wayne's (Batman), for example.
With all that said, this story starts with Logan stripped of his healing powers by unspecified events and with a huge bounty placed on him, leading several of the worlds bounty hunters to try to collect.
How this all fits into 'Old Man Logan' (which I haven't read, but have heard of), I have no idea - in this, he does, indeed, 'die' by the end of the stories. Like the character, the (linked) stories are also pretty brutal, with the art not shying away form showing the injuries sustained by a healing-powers-less Logan, and with blood spilt on a fairly regular basis.
There's also a throw-away line in one of the X-Men movies (the first?), where Logan is asked - when referring to his claws popping out - if that hurts, and in which he answers "Every damn time". The reason I bring that up? Because that fact is woven into this story as well, with Logan trying to avoid using his claws until absolutely necessary and with close-ups of his hands (when he does) showing just how painful it can be.
Worth a read? Yes, but I very much doubt the character will stay dead for long!