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Rick Astley recommended Every Kingdom by Ben Howard in Music (curated)
Night Reader Reviews (683 KP) rated Outland Exile: Book 1 of Old Men and Infidels in Books
Jan 9, 2020
Honest Review for Free Copy of Book
Contains spoilers, click to show
Outland Exile Book 1: Old Men and Infidels by W. Clark Boutwell was very enjoyable to read after I got into it a bit. The book was somewhat confusing to start out but the author unfolds the story layer by layer to slowly explain the world that the main character lives in. The vocabulary in this book made me consult a dictionary a few different times to check words that were strange to me, an unusual occurrence for someone who reads frequently.
The main reason that it was hard for me to initially enjoy the book was because of the authors use of short phrases. These phrases made the reading feel choppy and prevented a nice even flow. I believe this was mainly a problem because it frequently took the immersion away from the story, and jarringly forced me back into the real world as I re-read a section to see if it made more sense. I feel that many readers enjoy the immersion in a fictional world when reading a good book, so this may be a bit of an issue for some.
W. Clark Boutwell also appears to have a very good education, possibly with a large focus on the English language. The reason that I think this might be the case is because of the vocabulary found in the book, some of which seemed unnecessary. Words such as “metaphoric” “adroitly” and “remonstrations” were used, much to my initial confusion. Then there was also “pantomimed”, “sere”, and “realpolitik” that had me searching for a dictionary. On top of the strange wording at times the author also used terms such as “snakelike” and “warlike” with frequency. The amount these words were used make them almost feel overused or like errors.
The amazing plot-line of the story also offers a few different lessons that many people will have to learn in their lives. The first of these lessons is the fact that not everyone, including the government, is not always operating in your best interest. It shows that often the people who are considered to be higher-ups are more worried about themselves and their advancement than the ‘little people’ that they hurt along the way. The book also shows that a simple life is often happier than a technology-filled one, proving that the technology that is supposed to be bringing us together is also causing us to lose touch with other people at the same time. Finally, it brings to light an idea that some might find difficult to accept. That fact would be that not everything you grow up believing is necessarily the truth and that history is almost always written by the winners and the loser’s voice gets lost.
During the course of the story Malila, a Lieutenant for the Unity is sent out to Sunprairie Station with a group of bodyguards in order to repair the station. She then finds herself in the hands of Jesse Johnstone and making her way to Kentucky and stopping at a village across the Ohio River. It is here that she starts to learn just how lacking her life in the Unity was. She also learns just how much of a captive she was in her “free” Unity and how much of her supposed life there was all just an illusion.
What I liked best was watching Malila expand and grow as an individual. The author’s writing made me feel like I actually knew the characters. When tragedy struck I felt real worry and concern for them and did not want to stop reading until I knew what happened to them. On the other side, I least liked the fact that I almost gave up on reading the book early because of how slow and choppy the writing felt. The use of the obscure words made me believe there were multiple misspellings only to find that the words were just typically unused.
The target readers for this story would be young adults, starting at about high school aged and older. Concepts of pleasure sex and a few mentions of rape make this book unsuitable for most younger readers. With all of this being said I would give this book the rating 3 out of 4 because even with it being hard to get into the story was very enjoyable. The plot-line is strong and the life lessons the Malila learns are things that most people should probably learn at some point in their lives. I look forward to reading the rest of the series as it comes out.
The main reason that it was hard for me to initially enjoy the book was because of the authors use of short phrases. These phrases made the reading feel choppy and prevented a nice even flow. I believe this was mainly a problem because it frequently took the immersion away from the story, and jarringly forced me back into the real world as I re-read a section to see if it made more sense. I feel that many readers enjoy the immersion in a fictional world when reading a good book, so this may be a bit of an issue for some.
W. Clark Boutwell also appears to have a very good education, possibly with a large focus on the English language. The reason that I think this might be the case is because of the vocabulary found in the book, some of which seemed unnecessary. Words such as “metaphoric” “adroitly” and “remonstrations” were used, much to my initial confusion. Then there was also “pantomimed”, “sere”, and “realpolitik” that had me searching for a dictionary. On top of the strange wording at times the author also used terms such as “snakelike” and “warlike” with frequency. The amount these words were used make them almost feel overused or like errors.
The amazing plot-line of the story also offers a few different lessons that many people will have to learn in their lives. The first of these lessons is the fact that not everyone, including the government, is not always operating in your best interest. It shows that often the people who are considered to be higher-ups are more worried about themselves and their advancement than the ‘little people’ that they hurt along the way. The book also shows that a simple life is often happier than a technology-filled one, proving that the technology that is supposed to be bringing us together is also causing us to lose touch with other people at the same time. Finally, it brings to light an idea that some might find difficult to accept. That fact would be that not everything you grow up believing is necessarily the truth and that history is almost always written by the winners and the loser’s voice gets lost.
During the course of the story Malila, a Lieutenant for the Unity is sent out to Sunprairie Station with a group of bodyguards in order to repair the station. She then finds herself in the hands of Jesse Johnstone and making her way to Kentucky and stopping at a village across the Ohio River. It is here that she starts to learn just how lacking her life in the Unity was. She also learns just how much of a captive she was in her “free” Unity and how much of her supposed life there was all just an illusion.
What I liked best was watching Malila expand and grow as an individual. The author’s writing made me feel like I actually knew the characters. When tragedy struck I felt real worry and concern for them and did not want to stop reading until I knew what happened to them. On the other side, I least liked the fact that I almost gave up on reading the book early because of how slow and choppy the writing felt. The use of the obscure words made me believe there were multiple misspellings only to find that the words were just typically unused.
The target readers for this story would be young adults, starting at about high school aged and older. Concepts of pleasure sex and a few mentions of rape make this book unsuitable for most younger readers. With all of this being said I would give this book the rating 3 out of 4 because even with it being hard to get into the story was very enjoyable. The plot-line is strong and the life lessons the Malila learns are things that most people should probably learn at some point in their lives. I look forward to reading the rest of the series as it comes out.
Cynthia Armistead (17 KP) rated Unfettered in Books
Mar 1, 2018
What a wonderful anthology! I have fallen off on reading collections lately, but I am such a total Kevin Hearne fangirl that I started looking for this one as soon as he mentioned it on Facebook. I bought it as soon as I heard of its release, and womanfully resisted skipping straight to the Iron Druid story.
I truly enjoyed most of the stories included. I did just stop reading the baseball story when I realized that it was horror, and skipped over "Dogs" for the same reason. Terry Brooks' piece did nothing for me, but that probably had more to do with the fact that I haven't read anything of the novels that seem to be vital to having it truly make sense. I haven't read any of The Wheel of Time, either, but the Sanderson/Jordan contribution was a good enough story that it stood on its own. I will definitely be seeking out more of some authors' works, like Speakman and O'Roullian. Getting leads on more good reading is always exciting!
All in all, the book is more than worth its cover price. There is absolutely no question of it being worth the time spent reading it.
I truly enjoyed most of the stories included. I did just stop reading the baseball story when I realized that it was horror, and skipped over "Dogs" for the same reason. Terry Brooks' piece did nothing for me, but that probably had more to do with the fact that I haven't read anything of the novels that seem to be vital to having it truly make sense. I haven't read any of The Wheel of Time, either, but the Sanderson/Jordan contribution was a good enough story that it stood on its own. I will definitely be seeking out more of some authors' works, like Speakman and O'Roullian. Getting leads on more good reading is always exciting!
All in all, the book is more than worth its cover price. There is absolutely no question of it being worth the time spent reading it.
Lindsay (1786 KP) rated Fast Freddy in Books
Feb 15, 2018
Fast Freddy by Lee Ann Mancini The story behind this book is about being special in your own way. It also focuses on making new friends and learning to help with fitting in. The audience is for children and parents that have small children. There is a meaning behind the plot that teach children that it okay to be different.Your children will learn that being different is not all bad. Your children will learn how special they are. This is a great book to have it as a conversation starter. This also a good book for beginner readers. Children can learn that about being unique can be a blessing. The art and font were helpful. It was also inspiring a bit.I thought the pictures were well done. I could see the what the book was about with pictures. The words are big enough for children that are just started to read. Images were colorful. Fast Freddy is an easy read. I recommend this book for young readers. Parents can read this book as well to their children. I also like the way the author has put it together where you will learn about friendships as well. It is a fun and sweet book to read.
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Invaders in TV
Mar 15, 2018 (Updated Mar 15, 2018)
One of the classic TV alien invasion shows; the theme tune and the various visual gimmicks (aliens with crooked little fingers who incinerate when killed) are quite well-remembered, along with (possibly) the fact that many of the episodes aren't actually any good.
Larry Cohen's original concept - a paranoid thriller with few overt SF elements - was rapidly abandoned, and Cohen himself had little involvement. The programme is really a victim of the time it was made: episodic storytelling means that the aliens come up with bizarrely different schemes on a weekly basis (weather control, infiltrating industry, man-eating butterflies), and there are nagging problems with the format - it is required that the aliens never just kill Vincent, and that he never manages to get evidence of their activity, either. Some would say that Roy Thinnes' intensely dour performance is not exactly what a show like this needs.
Still, there are some good individual episodes, and the iconography of the show does hang around in your head (it's clearly one of the shows that was a major influence on The X Files). It's a shame this kind of story has since been done to death as you could easily imagine a contemporary Invaders remake being really good (even though the 90s mini-series really wasn't).
Larry Cohen's original concept - a paranoid thriller with few overt SF elements - was rapidly abandoned, and Cohen himself had little involvement. The programme is really a victim of the time it was made: episodic storytelling means that the aliens come up with bizarrely different schemes on a weekly basis (weather control, infiltrating industry, man-eating butterflies), and there are nagging problems with the format - it is required that the aliens never just kill Vincent, and that he never manages to get evidence of their activity, either. Some would say that Roy Thinnes' intensely dour performance is not exactly what a show like this needs.
Still, there are some good individual episodes, and the iconography of the show does hang around in your head (it's clearly one of the shows that was a major influence on The X Files). It's a shame this kind of story has since been done to death as you could easily imagine a contemporary Invaders remake being really good (even though the 90s mini-series really wasn't).
David McK (3684 KP) rated Snuff (Discworld, #39; City Watch #8) in Books
Jan 28, 2019
OK, this is a Pratchett, so the fact that it is good is pretty much a given.
I have to say, however, that I've found his latest Discworld books to be 'less good' - perhaps a sympton of his sad mental decline? - than what I would term a late-middle period Pratchett (round about 'Lords and Ladies', 'Jingo' and so on). In this one, he returns to Commander Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch - last featured in 'Thud!', who is on holiday in the country-side. Of course, as the blurb makes clear, it is inevitable that this turns into a Busmans holiday ...
The novel did have a few laugh-out-loud moments, but not as many as from one of his best. I also found it to be rather verbose at times, with only really one extended action scene. While some characters - Willikens, in particular - are more fleshed out than before, I also got the distinct feeling that other members of the City Watch were only (temporarily) present as it wouldn't be a City Watch book without them; not to add anything to the story.
While that might make it sound like I didn't enjoy the book, that's simply not true - I did, but just felt that it could have been so much more ...
I have to say, however, that I've found his latest Discworld books to be 'less good' - perhaps a sympton of his sad mental decline? - than what I would term a late-middle period Pratchett (round about 'Lords and Ladies', 'Jingo' and so on). In this one, he returns to Commander Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch - last featured in 'Thud!', who is on holiday in the country-side. Of course, as the blurb makes clear, it is inevitable that this turns into a Busmans holiday ...
The novel did have a few laugh-out-loud moments, but not as many as from one of his best. I also found it to be rather verbose at times, with only really one extended action scene. While some characters - Willikens, in particular - are more fleshed out than before, I also got the distinct feeling that other members of the City Watch were only (temporarily) present as it wouldn't be a City Watch book without them; not to add anything to the story.
While that might make it sound like I didn't enjoy the book, that's simply not true - I did, but just felt that it could have been so much more ...
Rob Halford recommended Reign in Blood by Slayer in Music (curated)
colin... (64 KP) rated I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020) in Movies
Sep 30, 2020
I've been waiting an entire year for this film. This is my favorite book I've ever read, so I had a bit of skepticism coming into it, but if anyone could do it, Kaufman could. Now, I've seen it, and I'm incredibly conflicted. I'm kind of disappointed that Kaufman used his normal "I'm so quirky and this is off-putting" doalogue instead of leaning into the psychological horror aspects that the book heavily relies on. He also takes a lot of creative liberty with some stupid jokes, like the whole Zemeckis joke which is nowhere to be found in the book. It just kinda peeves me how Kaufman seemed very unwilling to step outside of his comfort zone, but that's a conversation for another day.
That being said, it's impossible for me to deny that it's a great film. It's technically brilliant, and aside from some occasionally grating dialogue, or monologue, the pacing and script is very well done. Although I'm very disappointed in the film that I was given, I'd be very wrong to identify it as anything other than brilliant.
Edit: After reading his Indiewire interview, I fucking hate Kaufman and the way that he butchered the original material with reckless abandon. Fuck his pretentious ass.
That being said, it's impossible for me to deny that it's a great film. It's technically brilliant, and aside from some occasionally grating dialogue, or monologue, the pacing and script is very well done. Although I'm very disappointed in the film that I was given, I'd be very wrong to identify it as anything other than brilliant.
Edit: After reading his Indiewire interview, I fucking hate Kaufman and the way that he butchered the original material with reckless abandon. Fuck his pretentious ass.
Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Storyteller of Auschwitz in Books
Jul 16, 2023
Oh my word, I am an emotional wreck after reading this book!
Let's be honest, books about the Holocaust are always difficult to read and although this is a work of fiction, the story is inspired by a mix of real authors from that time and real events that actually happened which are taken from the witness statements from the people who were there and survived that horrendous period. It has been said before many times but we can never let something like this happen again ... we just can't!
I fell in love with all the main characters in this book but admit to Solly and Danielle being my favourites apart from Etty of course and became totally immersed in their stories and I am not ashamed to say that I cried on more than one occasion and had to actually put the book down and stop reading as I couldn't read the words for the tears in my eyes but there were also parts that made me smile.
The Storyteller of Auschwitz is a powerful story of hope and friendship, bravery and survival and how powerful stories can be.
Many, many thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this fantastic book that is a must-read.
Let's be honest, books about the Holocaust are always difficult to read and although this is a work of fiction, the story is inspired by a mix of real authors from that time and real events that actually happened which are taken from the witness statements from the people who were there and survived that horrendous period. It has been said before many times but we can never let something like this happen again ... we just can't!
I fell in love with all the main characters in this book but admit to Solly and Danielle being my favourites apart from Etty of course and became totally immersed in their stories and I am not ashamed to say that I cried on more than one occasion and had to actually put the book down and stop reading as I couldn't read the words for the tears in my eyes but there were also parts that made me smile.
The Storyteller of Auschwitz is a powerful story of hope and friendship, bravery and survival and how powerful stories can be.
Many, many thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this fantastic book that is a must-read.
Caffeinated Fae (464 KP) rated Beauty and the Professor (A Modern Fairy Tale Duet) in Books
Apr 23, 2019
When I saw Skye Warren post a call for bloggers to review her book I knew I had to jump at the chance. I really enjoyed some of her previous books, and I really love retellings of the Beauty and the Beast story. One of the things that I love about Skye Warren is that she isn’t scared to take a risk. Her books always have a bit of a taboo feel to them, and this one is no different. The power dynamics in this book have a forbidden edge to them & I enjoyed the Student/Teacher elements that were present.
Though generally, I love Skye Warren’s books I felt like the writing was a bit off in this one. There was little to distinguish between the perspectives of the characters. It seemed that they blended in with each other which became confusing at times. Another thing that seemed off with this book was the character development. It appeared that Erin & Blake didn’t genuinely grow as characters during this book. This is what I consider the curse of the Novella. I tend to find that character development is harder to flesh out when it comes to a novella. Since there is a second in the series, I hope that we see more growth.
Even though I didn’t feel that there was growth in the characters, I still loved them. Erin has a compelling background. I love that she doesn’t come from a wealthy family & I loved the dynamic that she has with the few side characters. Blake just made my heart hurt. The pain he has is heartbreaking and makes me want to just give him a hug. Both of them together was the highlight (as it should be with a romance). I loved that they (for the most part) were open and honest with each other. It’s rare to read a book where a character will openly admit to their insecurities, so this was refreshing.
All in all, this book has some faults, but I still enjoyed it. It was fast-paced with some captivating characters. I hope to see some character growth in the next book!
Though generally, I love Skye Warren’s books I felt like the writing was a bit off in this one. There was little to distinguish between the perspectives of the characters. It seemed that they blended in with each other which became confusing at times. Another thing that seemed off with this book was the character development. It appeared that Erin & Blake didn’t genuinely grow as characters during this book. This is what I consider the curse of the Novella. I tend to find that character development is harder to flesh out when it comes to a novella. Since there is a second in the series, I hope that we see more growth.
Even though I didn’t feel that there was growth in the characters, I still loved them. Erin has a compelling background. I love that she doesn’t come from a wealthy family & I loved the dynamic that she has with the few side characters. Blake just made my heart hurt. The pain he has is heartbreaking and makes me want to just give him a hug. Both of them together was the highlight (as it should be with a romance). I loved that they (for the most part) were open and honest with each other. It’s rare to read a book where a character will openly admit to their insecurities, so this was refreshing.
All in all, this book has some faults, but I still enjoyed it. It was fast-paced with some captivating characters. I hope to see some character growth in the next book!