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My Sister Life and the Zhivago Poems

James E. Falen and Boris Pasternak

10.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

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Boris Pasternak is best known in the West for his epic novel Doctor Zhivago, whereas in Russia he is...

David McK (3369 KP) rated The Emperor's Exile in Books

Apr 25, 2021

There's a bit not far into this novel - and not long before Macro exits, stage left (or is it stage right?), where he and Cato are discussing their shared past, not long after returning to Rome following their failure of their recent campaign on the eastern frontier (in both 'The Blood of Rome' and 'Traitors of Rome.')

Cato: "What words could convey the adventures we have lived through?"
"True," Macro reflected "If some c**t wrote it all down, who would ever believe it!"

And that, pretty much, sums up the last 18 (19, including this!) in Simon Scarrow's 'Eagles of the Empire' series, that first started way back when with Under the Eagle.

Ostracized at Nero's court because of that failure, Cato is blackmailed into accompanying the Emperor's (former, low-born) mistress Claudia Acte into exile on the province of Sardinia: a province that is suffering from both insurgency and an outbreak of plague.

It's up to Cato to supress that insurgency, in a race against time, as the plague starts affecting his ramshackle troops ...

This is another enjoyable read in the series, although I did miss the presence of macro for large swathes of the novel (good news, though: it looks like he's returning in the next instalment). I have to wonder, though, was Apollonius being written as his replacement ...?

Time will tell.

Kudos

Eleanor Luhar (47 KP) rated 07-Ghost, Volume 01 in Books

Jun 24, 2019

Honestly, this is the first graphic novel I've properly read so I don't have anything to compare it to. So this review may not be that helpful, and I'm just going to keep it quite short.

I'm not going to lie, I found this pretty confusing. It was a bit all over the place - but I've heard it gets better. It starts at the military academy with Teito Klein and Mikage, who are best friends. But then Teito's repressed memories are jogged when he overhears a secret conversation, forcing him to flee the district. From there, he finds himself in a strange church. The bishops there begin to help him understand the war between two empires, the legend of seven ghosts, and the battle between good and evil.

The art in this is fantastic! Sometimes it seems a little busy and hard to follow, but maybe that's just because I'm new to it.

The dialogue is great - the jokes and everything really make this a good novel. And the premise is good, too - I intend to read on and hopefully make sense of it all!

I did like it, but I also got lost a fair bit. It was a lot better toward to end, with Mikage's surprise appearance and all, but I think I can only give this 3 stars.

Kudos

Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post

Aug 30, 2020

Today's special guest on my blog is Teddy Jones, author of the literary fiction novel SLANTED LIGHT! Read her fantastic guest post about her writing journey, and enter the giveaway to win these fantastic prizes:

Grand Prize: $25 Amazon gift card and signed copies of both books in the Jackson's Pond, Texas Series by Teddy Jones
Two Winners: Signed copy of Slanted Light by Teddy Jones

https://alltheupsandowns.blogspot.com/2020/08/book-blog-tour-and-giveaway-slanted.html

**BOOK SYNOPSIS**
Teddy Jones’s earlier novel, Jackson’s Pond, Texas, began the saga of the Jackson family. Now, Slanted Light continues their tale.

Claire Havlicek’s late night call brings her brother Chris Banks from his home in New Mexico back to the town that bears their family name, Jackson’s Pond. She’s collapsed under the weight of threats to her thirteen-year marriage that have undermined her confidence and her will. Her husband, J. D., responds to seduction by a woman in need; theft and the threat of a forced buyout jeopardize Claire’s two medical clinics; drought imperils their ranch and cattle business; a teenage daughter turns to bulimia.

When Claire admits her limits, her grandmother, Willa Jackson, and the other members of her family help her learn that being human, weaknesses and all, can be a source of strength and joy.

Kudos Comment

Logan Eccles (135 KP) rated Five Feet Apart (2019) in Movies

Oct 1, 2020 (Updated Oct 2, 2020)

Five Feet Apart (2019)

2019 | Drama, Romance

7.6

(10 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Spot on Adaptation to the Book

It took me a while to watch this movie but I was really looking forward to watching it because I read the book and enjoyed it. It is actually funny I only read the book because my mother bought it for her, my sister, and my niece to read it so they could go see the movie. None of them read it though only I did. After finally watching the movie I was very pleased by it almost every scene and line were straight from the novel and each actor did a good job portraying their respective characters. The only things that were missing were narrative type things so I didn't have a big issue with them being left out. However, I would've liked to see more of Wills's friends Jason and Hope because they weren't very important in the movie but in the book essential to the chapters about Will the same can be said about his mother too her story is way more important in the book. But I get why they weren't essential to the movie since it focuses purely on Stella instead of the back and forth between Stella and Will in the novel. All in all, this was a good adaptation of the book and a sweet romance flick. I recommend it.