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The Gunslinger
The Gunslinger
Stephen King | 2012 | Horror, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Thriller
7
7.8 (46 Ratings)
Book Rating
I first read The Gunslinger when I was in high school and at the height of my Stephen King obsession. Going in and didn't really know what to expect from the story since I didn't really look too much into the series when I first picked it up which I'm pretty glad I didn't because I have never been much of a western fan so I'm not sure if I really would have have this a fair shot.

The Gunslinger honestly can be on the slow side even for such a short book but King does an amazing job of really showing you the world ge is building while still leaving a lot open for the series to build around. After reading this for the first and second time in still not sure how I feel about Rowland aka The Gunslinger I do grow to really love the character in the next book but as an introduction my feelings are never really solid. The character that really peaks my interest is The Man In Black through out the book I just can't wait to find out more about him and why Rowland is chasing him.
  
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Marqees (17 KP) rated the Xbox One version of Batman: Return to Arkham in Video Games

Feb 14, 2018  
Batman: Return to Arkham
Batman: Return to Arkham
2017 | Action/Adventure
Quality Voice acting, Great story, fluid combat system, open world (0 more)
repetitive NPC speak, overuse of detective mode (0 more)
If you are a fan of Batman and have not played Arkham Asylum and Arkham City stop what you are doing right now, currently reading my review of these games, and go play them for yourself. This game is heavily inspired by the Batman: The Animated Series lore so much so that writer Paul Dini, who help create the show, help pen the story. Reprising the role of the Dark Knight is Kevin Conroy who is the definitive Batman alongside him is his arch-nemesis the Joker voice by the legendary Mark Hamill. The plot of both games is very simple you as Batman must stop the overall plot of the Joker while fending off threats from various other Batman villains. The story is compelling, the combat fluid, and with the updated graphics very pretty to look at. On the downside, the game relies highly on Batman's Detective Mode to do all of the sleuthing and the Riddler puzzles can be tedious but overall these games are great.
  
Doom: Annihilation (2019)
Doom: Annihilation (2019)
2019 | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
Not sure on this one.
Ok so I read the reviews and not many were impressed, I have to agree compared to the first one this wasnt much. On the other hand though I did half enjoy this, was a bit gutted they had alot of people running around like zombies! The monsters were pretty good although nothing like the monsters in the original Doom. I also didn't like the way they turned the story into a ancient thing that was about long before us and they wanted to claim back our world, with a different name and a bit more thought this could have been alot better. I would say give it a watch it wasn't terrible but don't have your heart set on it following up from the first soon because it doesn't. The only good thing was the main women played by Amy Manson, I did enjoy her character. The ending was a bit of a let down also seemed very cliché, keeps it open for a follow on whether or not they find enough of a budget to pull it off or not is another story.
  
The Book of Eli (2010)
The Book of Eli (2010)
2010 | Action, Sci-Fi
6
7.4 (24 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Next time watch it with subtitles. (0 more)
Whisper Whisper Whisper
The Book of Eli- is a good post apocalyptic movie. The only problem most of the movie is whispering from all of the character's. So i had no idea what the charcter were saying. Probley should of watched it with subtitles. The problem is i dont have the dvd. So i would have to watch it again once the libary's open. In the meantime, i love post apocalyptic movies and settings and this one was good. I love denzel's character. It has good action. And Gary oldman was good as the villian.

The plot: Thirty years after war turned the world into a wasteland, a lone warrior named Eli (Denzel Washington) marches across the ruined landscape, carrying hope for humanity's redemption. Only one other man (Gary Oldman) understands the power of what Eli carries, and he is determined to take it for himself. Though Eli prefers peace, he will risk death to protect his precious cargo, for he must fulfill his destiny to help restore mankind.

I suggest if you watch it, watch it with subtitles. Cause its mostly whispering.
  
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Fatoumata Diawara recommended Baduizm by Erykah Badu in Music (curated)

 
Baduizm by Erykah Badu
Baduizm by Erykah Badu
1997 | Rock
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"Erykah! I love her! From Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald and Bille Holliday I learnt about jazz music. And the sound was quite strange to my ears. It's different to Malian music. It took a long time for me to accept the sound. But Baduizm was something else. Music is about frequency and these frequencies - the way she sings, the arrangement, the groove - I'd never heard this before in my life. This album totally changed my life. I realised that music is infinite. Because I come from Mali, we're not used to listening to many types of music. We listen to African music, from Senegal, Benin, Guinea. But most of the time we only listen to Malian music. You grow up with a Malian sonority. So Erykah Badu for me was a new world. It was a trip. I had to adapt to accept it and once I accepted it, I went deep inside it. It had a strong influence on my music, the way I write now. There's no limit. I don't compose just music from Mali. I like to be open, to experiment."

Source
  
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Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post

Jul 28, 2020  
Sneak a peek at the autobiography/memoir LANDING IN MY PRESENT by Mary Clark, Traveler​ on my blog, watch the book trailer, and enter the giveaway to win a signed copy of the book, a $25 Amazon gift card or a $15 Amazon gift card - three winners!

https://alltheupsandowns.blogspot.com/2020/07/book-blog-tour-and-giveaway-landing-in.html

**BOOK SYNOPSIS**
Mary Walker Clark barely knew her father. When he died, he left not only the obvious void every teen would experience, but took with him scores of Indiana Jones-style tales about flying the Hump, a treacherous series of US missions that transported supplies over the Himalayas to China during World War II.

It would take a chance interview with a pilot who had flown with her father in the war to launch a series of extraordinary journeys—into a shrouded past and halfway around the globe to India and China—for Clark to finally come to know the father whose absence had haunted her for decades.

Landing in My Present chronicles the adventures of a daughter who chose to pry open a painful past while enlarging her view of an adventurous father long thought lost.
     
GO
Gate of Shadows ( Cambridge Gothic 2)
Mark Wells | 2024
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
130 of 220
Kindle
Gate of Shadows ( Cambridge Gothic 2)
By Mark Wells
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A mystic portal lies open. A chilling predator stalks the night. Can an undaunted student stop the darkness from spreading?
Giles Chamberlain returns to a snowbound Cambridge after Christmas spent with his girlfriend. Determined to prove himself to her family, he sets out to discover what became of her missing brother. But when he encounters a sinister figure prowling the college’s rooftops, he suspects last semester’s creature was not the only entity to cross into our world.

After the tight-lipped Professor Gupta refuses his plea for help, Giles enlists his feuding friends to locate the otherworldly passage. As hunters and hunted converge on the portal, the students discover just how far the old academic will go to keep his secret safe.

Faced with forces beyond his imagination, can Giles conjure up the key to save them all?

Second book in the series and I really enjoyed it. Catching up with what’s happened to Alphonso as well as everything back at Cambridge. This is a really interesting read.
  
Escape From Olympus (The Falken Chronicles Book 2)
Escape From Olympus (The Falken Chronicles Book 2)
Piers Platt | 2017 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Thriller
9
9.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Awesomely imagined world (3 more)
Fantastic plot
Sirius Falken ???
The bad guys
I didn't think this series could get any better, but it did!!!
Ok, y'all! I didn't think Piers Platt was gonna bust out a sequel that was even better than the first book! But. He. Did!
I was engrossed from the first paragraph and found myself wanting to read Escape from Olympus until I couldn't hold my eyes open any longer. It was that good!
Action-packed until the end, Escape from Olympus begins with a bang of a first chapter! It had my heart racing and my mind reeling.
I don't like to post reviews with spoilers, so I will just say that even if you haven't read the first book, Escape from Oz, you can totally get down with this book. It works prerty well as a stand-alone, although you will have missed a tiny bit of background on Falken which may confuse you for a split second in a couple of parts, but it's not vital to enjoy the story at hand.
Piers Platt did an amazing job relating the world of Olympus and its inhabitants. I was also very impressed with the fact that I actually liked the villians because he did such a great job with their personalities. I was completely invested in the fates of ALL characters in this story and I can't remember that ever happening to me in a book like this.
I am waiting dor my weekend to calm down so I can start the third book, Return to Oz! There was an excerpt of the first chapter at the end of this book, and I am so ready!!!
  
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Ross (3282 KP) rated Prince of Fools in Books

Mar 6, 2018  
Prince of Fools
Prince of Fools
Mark Lawrence | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
7
9.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
It's taken me a little while to get my feelings in order about this book. I loved the world-building and the characters and were developed and have clear, strong individual personalities. Prince Jalan and Snorri ver Snagason perfectly complement each other, the former being a spoilt vane coward, the latter being a strong bull-headed warrior, both end up tied to the other through bad luck and magical doings.
While the writing is enjoyable in the moment and in short bursts, I don't tend to find it too engaging and find my attention wandering off quite often and have to reread passages. I also tended to find that I didn't particularly care what was happening to the characters, I just felt I was along for the ride without a clear idea of where I was going or why. I think Lawrence has said this is how he writes, he knows who the characters are and where they are headed but a lot of the plot emerges as he writes. This seems to please a lot of fans, but I don't think I have the discipline for that sort of reading. I'm the same with open-world video games - I don't have the discipline to force myself to focus on one mission, I wander off up a mountain and get mauled by a lion after not saving for an hour. I need a degree of linearity in my life and can't deal with too much chaos. But this is about me and not a criticism of the book.
Overall I enjoyed the read but felt at times the journey was a little bumpy.
  
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Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated Battlemage in Books

Apr 27, 2018  
Battlemage
Battlemage
Stephen Aryan | 2015 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Battlemage was so exciting. It held on tight and didn’t let go. I was hooked from the very first few sentences from the first chapter and from there it just got better. It was everything I’d hoped it would be. It had an exciting, well thought-out plot, complex and interesting characters, good writing, great humor, and amazing war-time magic. It had an interesting (subtle) religious and political commentary running through it that added dimension to the world. It made it more real. And it had a character that I had to really think about, really pay attention to, to figure out his true identity! I love that. I love a book that makes me think, and that surprises me.

I love good-guy/bad-guy magic. Magic that can take you to higher levels of selflessness and servant-hood and kindness, and that same magic can be used to pull you and everyone around you into filth and degradation. The Source is so powerful that, if used in the wrong hands, can completely break and ruin a person. And we see that in the battlemages. That’s my favorite kind of magic.

The narration was very good. Addis created a perfect voice for the personalities of the characters. He has superb accents and articulation, spoke clearly at a good pace, and took a book that was at 100% great and made it 200% great (which is exactly what the narrator should do! Add to the experience, not take away from it.)

The only thing about Battlemage I thought was slightly lacking was the very end. It was a little abrupt and open. Open in a good way, meaning it immediately demands a sequel. But I felt like the author was like “Hah! It’s over! bwahahahah!” rather than the kind of gentile ease away that leaves the reader feeling satisfied but still excited for what is to come. However I was still highly satisfied with the story, would totally read/listen to it again, and recommend it to anyone 18+.