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Milleen (47 KP) rated Reservoir 13 in Books
Nov 14, 2018 (Updated Nov 14, 2018)
This is a slow meditative read but that is the skill of McGregor's hypnotic prose. A girl goes missing and the nearby village and it's inhabitants react to the trauma, search the surrounding moors and resevoirs and then absorb the loss in their everyday lives. The absense of drama makes this novel more of a continuing observation, pulling you into the intensity of the local community as time passes. McGregor notices the little things that compose life, the seasons, nature and the thread of unease that haunts the the village as life continues. This has won many awards and it's an outstanding piece of literature, not for any dramatic narrative but in recognition of McGregor's skillfully crafted depiction of life after tragedy.
Finished by Richard Preston, this is the novel that Michael Crichton was working on at the time of his death in 2008.
I have to say that, of late, I have actually been disappointed by most of Crichton's more recent novels, with the possible exception of <i>Prey</i>. Unfortunately, I was also pretty disappointed by this: I felt that I was never really engaged with any of the characters, so their plight never really had any impact on me - without giving too much away, and in a pretty superficial sense, I think this novel could be pretty much described as <i>The Borrowers</i>, set in nature.
For me, <i>Jurassic Park</i> (by far) still remains Crichton's seminal work.
I have to say that, of late, I have actually been disappointed by most of Crichton's more recent novels, with the possible exception of <i>Prey</i>. Unfortunately, I was also pretty disappointed by this: I felt that I was never really engaged with any of the characters, so their plight never really had any impact on me - without giving too much away, and in a pretty superficial sense, I think this novel could be pretty much described as <i>The Borrowers</i>, set in nature.
For me, <i>Jurassic Park</i> (by far) still remains Crichton's seminal work.
David McK (3801 KP) rated Earth Unaware (The First Formic War, #1) in Books
Jan 30, 2019
A prequel to Orson Scott Card's classic [b:Ender's Game|8782597|Ender's Game|Frederic P. Miller|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348614228s/8782597.jpg|11571577], with the events of this taking place before Ender is even born.
This thus takes the opportunity to flesh out the background to that novel, filling in the gaps of what had previously happened, in particular how the First Formic War had come about. It was also, I believer, written alongside a comic-book series, which might explain the sometimes fractured nature of the narrative!
While not the best 'new' (to me) sci-fi book I've read, this is also not he worst: I also have to say that, picking it up for only £1 in a local Bargain books I can't really complain!
This thus takes the opportunity to flesh out the background to that novel, filling in the gaps of what had previously happened, in particular how the First Formic War had come about. It was also, I believer, written alongside a comic-book series, which might explain the sometimes fractured nature of the narrative!
While not the best 'new' (to me) sci-fi book I've read, this is also not he worst: I also have to say that, picking it up for only £1 in a local Bargain books I can't really complain!
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Arachnophobia (1990) in Movies
Jul 3, 2019
Spiders, so many spiders.
Contains spoilers, click to show
If your afarid of spiders dont watch this film. If you want to kill spiders that you should watch this film.
After a nature photographer dies on assignment in Venezuela, a poisonous spider hitches a ride in his coffin to his hometown in rural California, where arachnophobe Dr. Ross Jennings has just moved in with his wife, Molly, and young son. As town residents start turning up dead, Jennings begins to suspect spiders, and must face his fears as he and no-nonsense exterminator Delbert McClintock fight to stop a deadly infestation.
Both jeff daniels and john goodman are great in this film. This film is very underrated and i think more people should see it.
After a nature photographer dies on assignment in Venezuela, a poisonous spider hitches a ride in his coffin to his hometown in rural California, where arachnophobe Dr. Ross Jennings has just moved in with his wife, Molly, and young son. As town residents start turning up dead, Jennings begins to suspect spiders, and must face his fears as he and no-nonsense exterminator Delbert McClintock fight to stop a deadly infestation.
Both jeff daniels and john goodman are great in this film. This film is very underrated and i think more people should see it.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Dark Waters (2019) in Movies
Mar 6, 2020
Not another remake of the Japanese movie about haunted plumbing, but a based-on-fact drama about a lawyer's long and gruelling battle to expose the truth about the contamination of the environment by synthetic long-chain fluorocarbons (the non-stick part of non-stick saucepans to you and me).
A very worthy and impassioned film about a serious and important topic, led well by Mark Ruffalo, with good support from a strong cast. On the other hand, it does come across as just a little bit dour, and the nature of the story doesn't necessarily lend itself to a conventional narrative structure. The kind of film that I'm glad gets made, but I still find it admirable more than genuinely likeable or enjoyable.
A very worthy and impassioned film about a serious and important topic, led well by Mark Ruffalo, with good support from a strong cast. On the other hand, it does come across as just a little bit dour, and the nature of the story doesn't necessarily lend itself to a conventional narrative structure. The kind of film that I'm glad gets made, but I still find it admirable more than genuinely likeable or enjoyable.
A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
Book and Entertainment
App
The novel depicts the plight of the French peasantry demoralized by the French aristocracy in the...
Upside-Down Gods: Gregory Bateson's World of Difference
Book
Science's conventional understanding of environment as an inert material resource underlies our...
The Doors of Perception: And Heaven and Hell: WITH Heaven and Hell
Aldous Huxley and J.G. Ballard
Book
WITH A FORWARD BY J. G. BALLARD In 1953, in the presence of an investigator, Aldous Huxley took...
The Hidden Hitler
Book
Lothar Machtan makes a compelling case that Adolf Hitler was homosexual, and that one cannot begin...
EC
European Coastal Zone Management: Partnership Approaches
Book
This title was first published in 2001. Management of coastal zone areas is particularly complicated...