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Star Trek - Nemesis (2002)
Star Trek - Nemesis (2002)
2002 | Action, Sci-Fi
This film should have worked. They had four years to work up the film: the biggest gap between movies in the series to date. The sets and special effects deployed are a notable improvement on “Insurrection” and are, at times, very impressive. It’s a movie that has personal angst for Picard; an epic space battle; and the death of a major character. And a young Tom Hardy turns in a memorable performance, belying what was to come: it’s interesting that this is only Hardy’s third feature (following his debut in “Black Hawk Down” just the year before!). It’s also a full NINE years before he won the BAFTA Rising Star award!

And yet it’s just not very engaging: I find myself fiddling with my phone while its on, which is never a good sign. Gone are any of the comic asides that have tended to lighten the mood of these films: this is dark and plot-heavy throughout. It’s even got a ‘mind-rape’ scene that is quite disturbing.

Naturally, the Enterprise insurance premium has taken another hammering by the end of the film. You can just imagine the discussion back in space dock… “no mate…” – sucking air in through his front teeth “…that whole front bumper’s gonna have to be replaced, and that’ll cost you a pretty packet”!

Combined with poor marketing and fierce competition (the film opening in the same month as “Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers”), this ended up with the worse financial performance of any of the Trek movies (in terms of budget to return ratio). And it killed the franchise. The only option was to be a full reboot: something that was to take another seven years to happen.
  
The Captain's Pet (Alien Slave Masters #1)
The Captain's Pet (Alien Slave Masters #1)
Samantha Cayto | 2015 | Erotica, LGBTQ+, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
First of all, this book comes with a Reader Advisory - TAKE NOTE OF IT! Seriously, this book is not for everyone and contains scenes that may trigger. Don't think that the advisory is put there for the fun of it because it isn't, believe me.

The story itself is completely sci-fi. Earth has become overcrowded and colonists are sent out to various planets that have been discovered. One such planet, Seven, where our main character Wid comes from, has apparently been colonised by the Travians. War ensues between the humans and the Travians, resulting in a mindless act of vandalism that results in Wid and his associates being taken aboard the Travians' ship.

What happens next is why the advisory is there. There is a lot of violence and rape, although it is incredibly well-written. I won't say anything else about that part but this IS dark and it does come with an advisory.

As the story progresses, you see that some of the boys, Wid included, start to actually have a relationship with their captors. This doesn't feel like Stockholm Syndrome to me, mainly because of how it is written with each of the boys' personalities and experiences taken into account. You learn more about the Travian way of life and, indeed, the Travians learn more about the humans and why they won't just leave Seven even after they've been defeated.

I enjoyed this book, and even if parts of it did make me uncomfortable, I'm glad I stuck with it. I would certainly be interested in going further with this series. I can't emphasise enough though - TAKE NOTE OF THE ADVISORY!!

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jun 29, 2015
  
40x40

Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Game in Books

May 22, 2022  
The Game
The Game
Scott Kershaw | 2022 | Crime, Thriller
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I have to say kudos to the designer of the cover ... how good and striking is that?!? If that doesn't grab your attention, then the blurb certainly will ... well, it did me but then I am a bit of a sucker for these types of stories every now and again 😎

The story - 5 people in 3 countries suddenly find themselves in The Game but it's not your run-of-the-mill game of Monopoly; no, it's something far more sinister. If they refuse to play, the one they love dies; if they tell anyone, their loved one dies ... they have no choice but to participate but there can only be one winner.

The pacing of the book is fast and flowing with the story being told from the perspective of all the characters and occasionally some of their loved ones. The plot is intriguing - you don't know until near the end why the participants have been chosen or who the 'puppet-master' is which made trying to work out the 'why' difficult but all is revealed in an ending that is as surprising as it is violent.

Now, I'm not going to say that all is perfect with this book, there are a number of times where you have to suspend belief a little and it does deal with themes and uses language that some may find unpalatable, e.g. homophobia, racism, abuse, rape, suicide, and there are numerous scenes of violence, so if you find these are triggers for you, I would give it a miss.

Overall, I think this is a very creditable debut and I will be looking out for more of Mr Kershaw's work in the future and I must thank HQ and NetGalley for allowing me to read The Game and sharing my thoughts.