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Sensitivemuse (246 KP) rated Amberlough in Books
May 23, 2018
Rich setting, memorable characters
This was the type of book that when I finished it, I had to lie back down and just stare at the ceiling. It was mind blowing. There are layers of intrigue and you don’t watch it unfold, in fact it’s the opposite, you watch it form and develop as the story progresses.
The setting in this one is one of a lot of political instability. It’s explained in the earlier parts of the book. It’s a bit difficult to follow (notes may help some readers) perhaps a character list would help in this case to keep everything straight. A glossary would have helped as well as the characters have their own slang - most of it straight forward but it would help nevertheless. That being said despite these little shortcomings, the world is rich and detailed. Amberlough is decadent and has remnants of Weimar Berlin. Now I did say previously it’s hard to follow because of the slang, but it’s precisely because of this slang that makes the world more detailed and fun to read.
The pace of the plot is slow and steady as it sets up the stage for what would follow after. It is essentially, a spy novel, so it quickly leads to a lot of double dealing, moments of backstabbing and betrayal. There are only three characters that you really need to focus on as the supporting ones just add to the flavor of the novel. Of the three that are central to the plot, one must love Aristide.
With a name like Aristide Makicosta you know he’s going to be a character to remember. He’s flamboyant, street smart and clever. Despite the world burning around him he always manages to do everything in style. It’s hard not to fall for his charms and so you would understand Cyril’s love for him. I still don’t know what to think about Cyril. He was doing the job and had to. It came at a great cost but he had no choice and he had to think for himself (although I know there seems to be a lot of hate for him).
I love Cordelia. She’s got sass, she’s just as street smart and a survivor. Her character development is on point in this book. Yes she may be just a ‘dancer’ but she soon develops into someone with a cause to defend the city she loves. Despite the horrors she goes through in the latter half of the novel, she doesn’t let it break her. It’s admirable and she’s likable not only because of her catchy personality but also because of her unstoppable strength.
That ENDING THOUGH. I felt my eyes grow wide each time I turned the pages throughout the last third of the novel. This was why I had to sit back and just absorb everything I’ve read when I finished this one. It was that good.
Greatly recommended if you like intrigue, a decadent setting, and memorable characters. I absolutely enjoyed this book.
The setting in this one is one of a lot of political instability. It’s explained in the earlier parts of the book. It’s a bit difficult to follow (notes may help some readers) perhaps a character list would help in this case to keep everything straight. A glossary would have helped as well as the characters have their own slang - most of it straight forward but it would help nevertheless. That being said despite these little shortcomings, the world is rich and detailed. Amberlough is decadent and has remnants of Weimar Berlin. Now I did say previously it’s hard to follow because of the slang, but it’s precisely because of this slang that makes the world more detailed and fun to read.
The pace of the plot is slow and steady as it sets up the stage for what would follow after. It is essentially, a spy novel, so it quickly leads to a lot of double dealing, moments of backstabbing and betrayal. There are only three characters that you really need to focus on as the supporting ones just add to the flavor of the novel. Of the three that are central to the plot, one must love Aristide.
With a name like Aristide Makicosta you know he’s going to be a character to remember. He’s flamboyant, street smart and clever. Despite the world burning around him he always manages to do everything in style. It’s hard not to fall for his charms and so you would understand Cyril’s love for him. I still don’t know what to think about Cyril. He was doing the job and had to. It came at a great cost but he had no choice and he had to think for himself (although I know there seems to be a lot of hate for him).
I love Cordelia. She’s got sass, she’s just as street smart and a survivor. Her character development is on point in this book. Yes she may be just a ‘dancer’ but she soon develops into someone with a cause to defend the city she loves. Despite the horrors she goes through in the latter half of the novel, she doesn’t let it break her. It’s admirable and she’s likable not only because of her catchy personality but also because of her unstoppable strength.
That ENDING THOUGH. I felt my eyes grow wide each time I turned the pages throughout the last third of the novel. This was why I had to sit back and just absorb everything I’ve read when I finished this one. It was that good.
Greatly recommended if you like intrigue, a decadent setting, and memorable characters. I absolutely enjoyed this book.
Shaun Collins (3 KP) rated Faster Than Light, Volume 1: First Steps in Books
Jan 12, 2018
The time is now. Humanity has deciphered an alien message that basically says, "we're dead, bad things are coming for you, take our technology and get the hell out." Of course, the message arrived in 1945, so we're a little behind. Faster Than Light marries the hard science fiction of The Martian, 2010, and Gravity with the idealism of the original Star Trek. I love it. It's a very grounded series, with realistic characters doing realistic things.
The story comes in small 2 or 3 issues arcs, so the adventure of the week is easily digestible, but somehow it still feels choppy. Like in one instance an entire mission wasn't there, and we just got the end of it, but it didn't link up with anything else. Theres a nifty gimmick, where a free downloadable app can be used in conjunction with the comic. Scan pages and get access to the alien encyclopedia, Captains logs, a translation matrix for the alien dialogue, etc. (This may be the cause of the stories choppiness, as there may simply be pieces I'm missing out on.)
Unfortunately, some of the art isn't as up to par as the story telling, which can make it difficult to tell crew members apart, which causes the story to suffer. But overall this is definitely a title to keep an eye on, looking forward to Volume 2...
The story comes in small 2 or 3 issues arcs, so the adventure of the week is easily digestible, but somehow it still feels choppy. Like in one instance an entire mission wasn't there, and we just got the end of it, but it didn't link up with anything else. Theres a nifty gimmick, where a free downloadable app can be used in conjunction with the comic. Scan pages and get access to the alien encyclopedia, Captains logs, a translation matrix for the alien dialogue, etc. (This may be the cause of the stories choppiness, as there may simply be pieces I'm missing out on.)
Unfortunately, some of the art isn't as up to par as the story telling, which can make it difficult to tell crew members apart, which causes the story to suffer. But overall this is definitely a title to keep an eye on, looking forward to Volume 2...
What a marvelous gem to read. I enjoy every bit of this story. I could not put this book down, I had to know what was going to happen. Who was the Queen of Hearts before she became who she was? Marissa Meyer did exactly that to explain the story.
"Three luscious lemon tarts glistened up at Catherine". Cath the main character of the story absolutely loves baking goods. Her dream is to start her very own bakery one day right in the kingdom of Hearts. What can possibly go wrong with starting your own bakery? Her heart is sought out from the King of Hearts and her heart also falls in love with the kings joker Jest.
The journey between Cath and where her heart truly goes on this journey to her happiness will just make you curiouser and curiouser on where the story will go and how she became what we all know her as the Queen Of Hearts.
Tea parties, Pastry goods, and white rabbits big announcements to the balls! Ohh lets not forget the jabberwocky!
I gave it a five star out of five stars cause its truly a wonderful heart warming story of one of the most notorious villains we all know. It became one of my new favorite stories and Marissa Meyer became one of my top favorite authors of all time.
"Three luscious lemon tarts glistened up at Catherine". Cath the main character of the story absolutely loves baking goods. Her dream is to start her very own bakery one day right in the kingdom of Hearts. What can possibly go wrong with starting your own bakery? Her heart is sought out from the King of Hearts and her heart also falls in love with the kings joker Jest.
The journey between Cath and where her heart truly goes on this journey to her happiness will just make you curiouser and curiouser on where the story will go and how she became what we all know her as the Queen Of Hearts.
Tea parties, Pastry goods, and white rabbits big announcements to the balls! Ohh lets not forget the jabberwocky!
I gave it a five star out of five stars cause its truly a wonderful heart warming story of one of the most notorious villains we all know. It became one of my new favorite stories and Marissa Meyer became one of my top favorite authors of all time.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Atlantis - The Lost Empire (2001) in Movies
Mar 25, 2020
Low Expections
Atlantis: The Lost Empire- is a strange movie, it came out in the early 2000's and thats when Disney was running out of ideas or starting to. I believe that their were starting to run out of ideas. Atlantis: The Lost Empire - is a strange movie, cause it came out after "The Lion King". And the movie's after "The Lion King" were stange. What im saying is after "The Lion King", disney decided to go really strange/a huge left turn/didn't expect that/disappointed and overall a huge downfall. But i will get to those movies. Oh this is one of them.
I mean it was a good premise, just was kinda of boring. It was a mix of sci-fi, adventure and thats pretty much it.
The plot: An inexperienced young adventurer becomes the key to unraveling an ancient mystery when he joins up with a group of daredevil explorers to find the legendary lost empire of Atlantis. A naive-but-determined museum cartographer Milo Thatch (Michael J. Fox), dreams of completing the quest begun by his late grandfather, a famous explorer. When a journal surfaces, an eccentric billionaire funds an expedition and the action shifts to high gear.
You can skip this one, dont need to watch it.
I mean it was a good premise, just was kinda of boring. It was a mix of sci-fi, adventure and thats pretty much it.
The plot: An inexperienced young adventurer becomes the key to unraveling an ancient mystery when he joins up with a group of daredevil explorers to find the legendary lost empire of Atlantis. A naive-but-determined museum cartographer Milo Thatch (Michael J. Fox), dreams of completing the quest begun by his late grandfather, a famous explorer. When a journal surfaces, an eccentric billionaire funds an expedition and the action shifts to high gear.
You can skip this one, dont need to watch it.
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