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Sworkit Kids
Health & Fitness and Education
App
Turn Fitness into a game with your children with customizable workouts for Strength, Agility, and...
Jenny Houle (24 KP) rated Beasts Made of Night in Books
Jan 13, 2018
I received a free ARC of this book from FirstToRead.com for an unbiased opinion.
Tochi Onyebuchi's debut novel definitely shows a balance of light and dark in all it's themes.
The story is of a city ruled by a royal family, their top advisers called Mages. The Mages use children called "aki" to literally eat the sins of others, the sins branding their skin like tattoos after they've consumed them. The main character, Taj, is a cocky teenage aki who is desperate to provide for the family he was forced to leave behind. After defeating a sin-beast of the King's, he finds himself in the employment of the royal family. Unlike most aki, his tattoos never fade and almost all of his skin is branded from one sin or the next.
I felt like the story was very interesting. The different classes within the city, as well as the different characters within each class were well developed. Around half way through the book, the ability to put it down went out the window...I had to see how things ended...
And then they didn't.
I'm not sure if Onyebuchi's plan is to write a second book, or if we, as readers, are meant to decide for ourselves what the future of Kos is. What still lies ahead for the city, the palace, the aki, Taj. I suppose either is an option. But I, personally, like a strong ending, and leaving off where it did left me feeling wronged as a reader. I really enjoyed the book until that.
Tochi Onyebuchi's debut novel definitely shows a balance of light and dark in all it's themes.
The story is of a city ruled by a royal family, their top advisers called Mages. The Mages use children called "aki" to literally eat the sins of others, the sins branding their skin like tattoos after they've consumed them. The main character, Taj, is a cocky teenage aki who is desperate to provide for the family he was forced to leave behind. After defeating a sin-beast of the King's, he finds himself in the employment of the royal family. Unlike most aki, his tattoos never fade and almost all of his skin is branded from one sin or the next.
I felt like the story was very interesting. The different classes within the city, as well as the different characters within each class were well developed. Around half way through the book, the ability to put it down went out the window...I had to see how things ended...
And then they didn't.
I'm not sure if Onyebuchi's plan is to write a second book, or if we, as readers, are meant to decide for ourselves what the future of Kos is. What still lies ahead for the city, the palace, the aki, Taj. I suppose either is an option. But I, personally, like a strong ending, and leaving off where it did left me feeling wronged as a reader. I really enjoyed the book until that.
Dean Gregory (18 KP) rated Tsuro in Tabletop Games
Jun 2, 2019
Quick to play (3 more)
Simple to learn
Interesting concept
Charming
Very little scope for strategy (1 more)
Not much replay value
A Path Into Gaming
Tsuro is a game with a very simple concept: be the last player on the board. You do this by laying tiles which link to create winding paths around the board, which inevitably end up running off the board altogether. But be careful - colliding with another player results in a double elimination.
Because it boasts such trivial mechanics, it is very easy to pick up and play a few rounds quickly (some games can last under 10 minutes including setup), as well as being one that young children could enjoy. The player meeples have a good quality feel, and it can be satisfying watching the winding paths in the game board grow.
However, it very quickly becomes obvious just how simple this game is - winning is often less about trying to run your opponents off the board as it is trying to keep yourself in play for as long as possible, until you inevitably take yourself out of the game.
Tsuro, then, is an inviting game for introducing regular folk to the mad world of tabletop gaming, and is a solid option for beginning a proper games night with its simplicity and charm. I used it recently myself as a sweetner to help ease a new player into game night, and it worked a treat. It probably won't make regular appearances however.
I like it. Worth a look.
Because it boasts such trivial mechanics, it is very easy to pick up and play a few rounds quickly (some games can last under 10 minutes including setup), as well as being one that young children could enjoy. The player meeples have a good quality feel, and it can be satisfying watching the winding paths in the game board grow.
However, it very quickly becomes obvious just how simple this game is - winning is often less about trying to run your opponents off the board as it is trying to keep yourself in play for as long as possible, until you inevitably take yourself out of the game.
Tsuro, then, is an inviting game for introducing regular folk to the mad world of tabletop gaming, and is a solid option for beginning a proper games night with its simplicity and charm. I used it recently myself as a sweetner to help ease a new player into game night, and it worked a treat. It probably won't make regular appearances however.
I like it. Worth a look.
ClareR (5996 KP) rated Last Request in Books
Oct 28, 2019
I had a mixed experience reading Last Request on The Pigeonhole app. I liked the storyline, but the main character Nikita (Nikki) Patel wasn’t particularly likeable. She’s very involved in her job which seems to take precedence over everything, including her family. I get that she has her mum, sister and the father of two of her three children to look after them, and I doubt I’d think twice if she was a man, but there is a pivotal part in the story where she really needed to talk to her eldest daughter, and she seemed to do everything in her power to avoid her. Not good.
Aside from that, I quite liked the other characters. Her work partner, Sajid, and his actual partner are great: very supportive of Nikki, and they go above and beyond their work roles where she’s concerned.
The action was non-stop, with the bones of murder victims turning up all over the place, and a drug dealer causing problems. I don’t think Nikki sleeps for most of the book (which might explain her mood).
This kept me guessing up to the end - although I did guess who did it before the big reveal (most unusual for me!). It did take me a while though, and indicative of how we were drip fed the evidence, just as the police were.
I would be interested to read the next in the series, especially if it’s going to go the way I think it might!
Thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this book, and to Liz Mistry for reading along!
Aside from that, I quite liked the other characters. Her work partner, Sajid, and his actual partner are great: very supportive of Nikki, and they go above and beyond their work roles where she’s concerned.
The action was non-stop, with the bones of murder victims turning up all over the place, and a drug dealer causing problems. I don’t think Nikki sleeps for most of the book (which might explain her mood).
This kept me guessing up to the end - although I did guess who did it before the big reveal (most unusual for me!). It did take me a while though, and indicative of how we were drip fed the evidence, just as the police were.
I would be interested to read the next in the series, especially if it’s going to go the way I think it might!
Thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this book, and to Liz Mistry for reading along!
Animal Math Preschool Math Games for Kids Math App
Education, Games and Stickers
App
Explore the farm with a counting sheep named Sherman, Pete the mischievous matching frog and all the...
Dexteria VMI Visual-Motor Integration Skills
Medical and Education
App
To be good at handwriting, kids must first possess and integrate basic skills like fine motor and...
My Mam Shirley
Book
Behind the notorious Hudson men who dominated the Canterbury Estate for over 30 years were the...
The Quest for the Christ Child in the Later Middle Ages
Book
Beginning in the twelfth century, clergy and laity alike started wondering with intensity about the...
The Guncle
10.0
Rate It
Book
From the bestselling author of Lily and the Octopus and The Editor comes a warm and deeply funny...
Scott Tostik (389 KP) rated 1408 (2007) in Movies
Jan 20, 2020
The original story (1 more)
John Cusack is a fucking God
John.... Sam.... Stephen.... What could go wrong??
Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages... Well... Not all... Kids should definitely not watch this one.
John Cusack stars as a writer who specializes in debunking alleged haunted locations.
He heads into the city to stay at the famed Dolphin Hotel. One room has had more deaths in it since the place cracked its doors nearly 100 years before.
The writer heads in with a skeptics attitude. But within minutes his attitude changes. And so does the viewers.
Sam Jackson is phenomenal as the manager of the hotel... All but climbs inside Cusacks head and fills him full of personal doubt and failure.
What follows is one helluva roller coaster ride that takes you from the past to the present to all points in between.
And just when you think you have it figured out... The room turns on you and tries to swallow your soul whole.
King left an easy road map to follow for a successful film. And the crew took the ball and ran through the defense for the easy score.
A good little film that leaves you impressed and amazed... All be it a little bored during the second act. But the climax is worth the payoff.
Talk about your mind fucking psychology damaging portions of the ending.
Good job ladies and gentlemen... You left me sasified
John Cusack stars as a writer who specializes in debunking alleged haunted locations.
He heads into the city to stay at the famed Dolphin Hotel. One room has had more deaths in it since the place cracked its doors nearly 100 years before.
The writer heads in with a skeptics attitude. But within minutes his attitude changes. And so does the viewers.
Sam Jackson is phenomenal as the manager of the hotel... All but climbs inside Cusacks head and fills him full of personal doubt and failure.
What follows is one helluva roller coaster ride that takes you from the past to the present to all points in between.
And just when you think you have it figured out... The room turns on you and tries to swallow your soul whole.
King left an easy road map to follow for a successful film. And the crew took the ball and ran through the defense for the easy score.
A good little film that leaves you impressed and amazed... All be it a little bored during the second act. But the climax is worth the payoff.
Talk about your mind fucking psychology damaging portions of the ending.
Good job ladies and gentlemen... You left me sasified