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Phil Leader (619 KP) rated The Rise of the Iron Moon (Jackelian #3) in Books
Nov 25, 2019
This book looked interesting so I picked it up. I'd not heard of Stephen Hunt or this series but the premise intrigued me.
Although this is the third book of the series and there are plenty of references to events that must take place in the previous books, and despite the writing being immersive rather than explanatory, I found it easy to get into the story.
The world is very interesting. I have read other novels set in a faux Victorian Steampunk-like world but nothing like this. This is like an alternative history, extremely divergeant from ours but with enough similarities that the combination is quite striking.
For example there was a civil war in the past which parliament won, as in the 'real' British history. However all of the royals have been locked up ever since in the Royal Breeding House - kept as figureheads under constant house arrest and threat of execution at the whim of parliament to appease the masses.
There are also countries ruled by thinking, steam driven machines. Others beneath the waves or living strictly by some political principal.
However the world is under threat. All the countries are being slowly invaded from the North by a very aggressive foe. Under attack the land of Jackals itself calls on its heroes to save the day. Purity Blake, one of the inmates of the Royal Breeding House. Molly Templar, writer of penny dreadful science fiction stories and sometimes defender of the land. Coppertracks, a machine life steam man and scientist. Their companions must overcome impossible odds and put aside the enmity between nations to fight off the attackers. Against all the odds, can they succeed?
The book is a little slow to start up, as the characters are introduced in their diverse environments. But slowly the threads are drawn together and each play their part in the fight. And as they begin to weave into the plot the pace quickens. The story twists and turns, always astonishing in its concept and direction.
The outstanding part of this book is the imagination that has gone into it. Nearly everything is completely different from our world and yet it ties together convincingly into a land both of industry and grime, poverty and privilege but also of very real myth and legend.
The ending is a little bit Deus Ex Machina but really this fits in with the tone quite well and at least keeps the pace up in the final pages. There are enough wonderful and fantastic ideas let loose to wander around in this book for several novels.
Definitely a recommended book. I now need to search out the first book - The Court Of The Air - so I can find out what has happened to the characters before.
Although this is the third book of the series and there are plenty of references to events that must take place in the previous books, and despite the writing being immersive rather than explanatory, I found it easy to get into the story.
The world is very interesting. I have read other novels set in a faux Victorian Steampunk-like world but nothing like this. This is like an alternative history, extremely divergeant from ours but with enough similarities that the combination is quite striking.
For example there was a civil war in the past which parliament won, as in the 'real' British history. However all of the royals have been locked up ever since in the Royal Breeding House - kept as figureheads under constant house arrest and threat of execution at the whim of parliament to appease the masses.
There are also countries ruled by thinking, steam driven machines. Others beneath the waves or living strictly by some political principal.
However the world is under threat. All the countries are being slowly invaded from the North by a very aggressive foe. Under attack the land of Jackals itself calls on its heroes to save the day. Purity Blake, one of the inmates of the Royal Breeding House. Molly Templar, writer of penny dreadful science fiction stories and sometimes defender of the land. Coppertracks, a machine life steam man and scientist. Their companions must overcome impossible odds and put aside the enmity between nations to fight off the attackers. Against all the odds, can they succeed?
The book is a little slow to start up, as the characters are introduced in their diverse environments. But slowly the threads are drawn together and each play their part in the fight. And as they begin to weave into the plot the pace quickens. The story twists and turns, always astonishing in its concept and direction.
The outstanding part of this book is the imagination that has gone into it. Nearly everything is completely different from our world and yet it ties together convincingly into a land both of industry and grime, poverty and privilege but also of very real myth and legend.
The ending is a little bit Deus Ex Machina but really this fits in with the tone quite well and at least keeps the pace up in the final pages. There are enough wonderful and fantastic ideas let loose to wander around in this book for several novels.
Definitely a recommended book. I now need to search out the first book - The Court Of The Air - so I can find out what has happened to the characters before.
CentOS 7 Linux Server Cookbook
Oliver Pelz and Jonathan Hobson
Book
Over 80 recipes to get up and running with CentOS 7 Linux server About This Book * A practical guide...
Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019) in Movies
Jul 7, 2020
A Really Great Video Game Movie
Pokemon: Detective Pikachu is a 2019 video game film adaptation directed by Rob Letterman with screenplay written by Letterman, Dan Hernandez, Benji Samit and Derek Connolly from a story by Hernandez, Samit, and Nicole Perlman. The movie is produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, Legendary Pictures and The Pokemon Company, in association with Toho Co., Ltd. It's based on the Pokemon franchise created by Satoshi Tajiri and the 2016 video game Detective Pikachu. The movie stars Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton, Suki Waterhouse, Ken Watanabe, and Bill Nighy.
Tim Goodman (Justice Smith) is a 21-year-old insurance salesman who gave up on training Pokemon at a young age. While hanging out with his friend Jack, he receives a call that his father Harry died while investigating a case. He travels to Ryme City, where his father was a detective and where Pokemon fighting is outlawed. It is a metropolis that pushes the bonds of humans and Pokemon by not conforming to some of the usual Pokemon world rules, such as battles or pokeballs. Tim is there to collect his father's belongings and encounters a Pikachu that can speak and he can somehow understand it. And together they try to uncover why Tim's father was killed.
This movie was lots of fun and very enjoyable, even for people that might not know anything about Pokemon. Ryan Reynolds did a great job in portraying the coffee drinking Pikachu detective. The plot was a little weak and could have been better, but I didn't hold that against it too hard since its kind of a kids movie. The CGI was beautiful in a lot of ways, somethings like the city and the skin and texture on Pokemon were phenomenal, but kinda fell short in a few scenes. Some of the human actors were definitely better than others and it shows but doesn't kill the whole movie or vibe. I really liked seeing Ryme City though, it was just so awesome to see all the Pokemon and people interacting and the world building done to make it look real, like it could exist in real life. I think they could of used Ken Watanabe more in the movie, he's a pretty good actor I feel was under utilized. This was a really great video game movie though and I think one that breaks the stigma that video game movies aren't good or successful. I give this movie a 7.
I almost gave it an 8 but I feel that it's nostalgia and my love for the Pokemon games and cartoon movies that are behind that. But I do give it my seal of approval, that you should go see this movie in theaters, especially if you are a Pokemon fan or if you have kids who are.
Tim Goodman (Justice Smith) is a 21-year-old insurance salesman who gave up on training Pokemon at a young age. While hanging out with his friend Jack, he receives a call that his father Harry died while investigating a case. He travels to Ryme City, where his father was a detective and where Pokemon fighting is outlawed. It is a metropolis that pushes the bonds of humans and Pokemon by not conforming to some of the usual Pokemon world rules, such as battles or pokeballs. Tim is there to collect his father's belongings and encounters a Pikachu that can speak and he can somehow understand it. And together they try to uncover why Tim's father was killed.
This movie was lots of fun and very enjoyable, even for people that might not know anything about Pokemon. Ryan Reynolds did a great job in portraying the coffee drinking Pikachu detective. The plot was a little weak and could have been better, but I didn't hold that against it too hard since its kind of a kids movie. The CGI was beautiful in a lot of ways, somethings like the city and the skin and texture on Pokemon were phenomenal, but kinda fell short in a few scenes. Some of the human actors were definitely better than others and it shows but doesn't kill the whole movie or vibe. I really liked seeing Ryme City though, it was just so awesome to see all the Pokemon and people interacting and the world building done to make it look real, like it could exist in real life. I think they could of used Ken Watanabe more in the movie, he's a pretty good actor I feel was under utilized. This was a really great video game movie though and I think one that breaks the stigma that video game movies aren't good or successful. I give this movie a 7.
I almost gave it an 8 but I feel that it's nostalgia and my love for the Pokemon games and cartoon movies that are behind that. But I do give it my seal of approval, that you should go see this movie in theaters, especially if you are a Pokemon fan or if you have kids who are.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Too Good To Be Real: A Novel in Books
Jul 22, 2021
A very meta romantic comedy
Julia is a writer desperate to save her job. She's tired of posting nothing but quizzes and lists. So she pitches an article to her boss in an attempt to save her job: a new resort that's letting its guests live out their romantic comedy dreams via role playing. Julia doesn't believe in love, of course, but she'll play along if it means keeping her job. But when she and her two best friends show up, she meets a handsome man by the lake via the quintessential meet-cute: a humorous seagull incident. She thinks Luke is taking part in the rom-com experience, but he's actually one of the event planners, along with his best friend and sister. Luke decides to take part in the experience in order to impress a reviewer arriving. Sparks fly between the two, but can their love be real when no one is being honest about who they are?
"I'm as likely to find the wardrobe to Narnia as I am to find my own Mark Darcy. Life isn't like a romantic comedy."
This was a perfectly cute romantic comedy and it's important to remember that 3-stars is in no way a negative rating. Did this book wow me or sweep me off my feet? No. But it had its funny moments.
The concept is an interesting and original one: a rom-com resort, where guests are assigned a character, a role to play, select activities, and then the games begin. The characters get funny names associated with famous romantic comedies (think Sally, a la Harry Met Sally) and there are a ton of references to all sorts of rom-com favorites. If you're a romantic comedy fan, you'll love all the little inside jokes.
"For the chance to achieve his dreams, Luke had to do one thing. Make the fantasy real."
I liked Julia's character and enjoyed Luke, although I must admit the guy was a bit of a clueless idiot. The seagulls were easily the best characters in the book and some of their scenes made me laugh out loud. I'm never a fan of "lying by omission" plots, so it was a little hard to stomach that the story that was based off of falsehoods. Julia and Luke did have chemistry but also suffered a bit from instalove--maybe it was the seagulls?
Overall, this is a fun, fairly quick read, peppered with rom-com references. It's definitely silly and a bit cheesy, but sweet too. 3 stars.
I received a copy of this book from St. Martin's Press and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.
"I'm as likely to find the wardrobe to Narnia as I am to find my own Mark Darcy. Life isn't like a romantic comedy."
This was a perfectly cute romantic comedy and it's important to remember that 3-stars is in no way a negative rating. Did this book wow me or sweep me off my feet? No. But it had its funny moments.
The concept is an interesting and original one: a rom-com resort, where guests are assigned a character, a role to play, select activities, and then the games begin. The characters get funny names associated with famous romantic comedies (think Sally, a la Harry Met Sally) and there are a ton of references to all sorts of rom-com favorites. If you're a romantic comedy fan, you'll love all the little inside jokes.
"For the chance to achieve his dreams, Luke had to do one thing. Make the fantasy real."
I liked Julia's character and enjoyed Luke, although I must admit the guy was a bit of a clueless idiot. The seagulls were easily the best characters in the book and some of their scenes made me laugh out loud. I'm never a fan of "lying by omission" plots, so it was a little hard to stomach that the story that was based off of falsehoods. Julia and Luke did have chemistry but also suffered a bit from instalove--maybe it was the seagulls?
Overall, this is a fun, fairly quick read, peppered with rom-com references. It's definitely silly and a bit cheesy, but sweet too. 3 stars.
I received a copy of this book from St. Martin's Press and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Mom and Dad (2018) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
A teenage girl and her little brother must survive a wild 24 hours during which a mass hysteria of unknown origins causes parents to turn violently on their own kids.
This. Was. Hilarious. It's a zombie movie without being a zombie movie.
Surprisingly not listed as a comedy though, horror/action/thriller all the way... did these guys watch their own film? Luckily I was the only one in the screen because I was pissing myself laughing.
As much as I love Nicolas Cage, seeing him rage always makes me laugh. I feel like he would make a good Batman villain... for the TV show. The redeeming bit for me though was hearing him say "anal beads" in a moment where he flips out at his daughter's boyfriend.
I had some sympathy for Selma Blair's mum character, I wanted to kill her kid for most of the film too. Mum was a much more subtle murderous switch, whereas dad looked like he'd been having a meltdown for months. Mum seemed to struggle more with the idea of killing her kids, but when she went, boy was she a force to be reckoned with. Being a woman I can quite happily say that the look on her face, and the slow but meaningful grab of the tenderiser really does sum up how we feel for at least a minute portion of the month. Usually though in real life it would be us getting that look, taking a deep breath, and then smiling politely and going about our day... but in our heads... yep.
If you're not going to see this on your own then I'd advise you to go with friends. Not parents. As much as I love mine I was left wondering if the hysteria would make them want to drive across the country to try and kill me. I'm putting together a battle plan just in case. It is very much like my zombie apocalypse plan but less armour against biting.
The real question is whether the hysteria that was affecting the parents was entirely working on genetics or emotional connection... I'd have been interested to see the odd husband standing there with his kids, not affected while his wife goes full axe murderer and seeing him realise that his kids look more like the milkman/best friend than him. Conversely it would have been an awkward moment to admit that your kids were adopted... or would you attempt to kill them to hide the fact from them longer? Hmm... you know I say these things in jest though... it is only a film, don't get on my case about it.
This. Was. Hilarious. It's a zombie movie without being a zombie movie.
Surprisingly not listed as a comedy though, horror/action/thriller all the way... did these guys watch their own film? Luckily I was the only one in the screen because I was pissing myself laughing.
As much as I love Nicolas Cage, seeing him rage always makes me laugh. I feel like he would make a good Batman villain... for the TV show. The redeeming bit for me though was hearing him say "anal beads" in a moment where he flips out at his daughter's boyfriend.
I had some sympathy for Selma Blair's mum character, I wanted to kill her kid for most of the film too. Mum was a much more subtle murderous switch, whereas dad looked like he'd been having a meltdown for months. Mum seemed to struggle more with the idea of killing her kids, but when she went, boy was she a force to be reckoned with. Being a woman I can quite happily say that the look on her face, and the slow but meaningful grab of the tenderiser really does sum up how we feel for at least a minute portion of the month. Usually though in real life it would be us getting that look, taking a deep breath, and then smiling politely and going about our day... but in our heads... yep.
If you're not going to see this on your own then I'd advise you to go with friends. Not parents. As much as I love mine I was left wondering if the hysteria would make them want to drive across the country to try and kill me. I'm putting together a battle plan just in case. It is very much like my zombie apocalypse plan but less armour against biting.
The real question is whether the hysteria that was affecting the parents was entirely working on genetics or emotional connection... I'd have been interested to see the odd husband standing there with his kids, not affected while his wife goes full axe murderer and seeing him realise that his kids look more like the milkman/best friend than him. Conversely it would have been an awkward moment to admit that your kids were adopted... or would you attempt to kill them to hide the fact from them longer? Hmm... you know I say these things in jest though... it is only a film, don't get on my case about it.
Kara Skinner (332 KP) rated Mine Forever in Books
Sep 10, 2019
What do you do when the love of your life is almost kidnapped by druggies? You do everything you can to convince her to come home with you, of course. Which is exactly what Simon does with Kara. But even with Kara reluctantly living with Simon again, things aren’t perfect. Kara won’t accept anything less than a relationship and Simon is still trying to figure out how to be in one. Can Simon put his past behind him so he can finally have happiness with Kara?
Like Mine for Tonight and Mine for Now, Mine Forever is a fantastic erotic romance. I like it even better than the second one because aside from getting Kara to move in with Simon again,the under-developed druggie plot has all but disappeared. and Kara is showing that she’s not willing to take any crap from Simon, even refusing sex until he opened up to her about his past. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of hot sex scenes that can make you blush, but Kara still needs Simon to open up.
And Simon, despite being an alpha male, is still awkward and endearing. 15479193670_d73f1ff314_mIt’s really obvious that he has no idea what to do in a relationship, to the point of absurdity. I mean, you have to be living under a rock not to know that flowers and chocolates are basic gifts for Valentine’s Day. As much as I like an awkward love interest, I really didn’t like how Simon handled Valentine’s Day. Getting help from his female employees is good and so is being nervous and wanting to make things right with Kara, but buying an entire carload of Valentine’s Day merchandise? That was a little to ridiculous for me. First of all, it’s unrealistic. Nervous binge-shopping and being a billionaire don’t go hand in hand. Binge-shopping leads to a broke hoarder real quick, I don’t care how high your salary is. Second of all, does he even know Kara? She’s hardly a material girl. Why would a large quantity of material goods make her happy? But Simon does express his love with gifts, so I guess that does fit.
We finally learn how Simon got his scars in this book. The suspense had actually been killing me to find out and the reason did not disappoint. Honestly, I’d have relationship problems too if I went through the same thing. And now that he’s opened up to Kara he can finally begin healing for real.
This book is one of my favorites of the series, right up there with the first one. You can’t find it by itself anymore. You’ll have to buy the entire Billionaire’s Obsession series. But if you like contemporary romance that flirts with the erotica genre, then you’ll like this series.
Like Mine for Tonight and Mine for Now, Mine Forever is a fantastic erotic romance. I like it even better than the second one because aside from getting Kara to move in with Simon again,the under-developed druggie plot has all but disappeared. and Kara is showing that she’s not willing to take any crap from Simon, even refusing sex until he opened up to her about his past. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of hot sex scenes that can make you blush, but Kara still needs Simon to open up.
And Simon, despite being an alpha male, is still awkward and endearing. 15479193670_d73f1ff314_mIt’s really obvious that he has no idea what to do in a relationship, to the point of absurdity. I mean, you have to be living under a rock not to know that flowers and chocolates are basic gifts for Valentine’s Day. As much as I like an awkward love interest, I really didn’t like how Simon handled Valentine’s Day. Getting help from his female employees is good and so is being nervous and wanting to make things right with Kara, but buying an entire carload of Valentine’s Day merchandise? That was a little to ridiculous for me. First of all, it’s unrealistic. Nervous binge-shopping and being a billionaire don’t go hand in hand. Binge-shopping leads to a broke hoarder real quick, I don’t care how high your salary is. Second of all, does he even know Kara? She’s hardly a material girl. Why would a large quantity of material goods make her happy? But Simon does express his love with gifts, so I guess that does fit.
We finally learn how Simon got his scars in this book. The suspense had actually been killing me to find out and the reason did not disappoint. Honestly, I’d have relationship problems too if I went through the same thing. And now that he’s opened up to Kara he can finally begin healing for real.
This book is one of my favorites of the series, right up there with the first one. You can’t find it by itself anymore. You’ll have to buy the entire Billionaire’s Obsession series. But if you like contemporary romance that flirts with the erotica genre, then you’ll like this series.
Wells Fargo for iPad
Finance and Business
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Simplify your life and stay in control with the Wells Fargo® for iPad App. Manage your finances;...
1,800+ Human Voice Ringtones & Notifications (English Edition)
Music and Entertainment
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The perfect companion app to your mobile life! Tired of hearing beeps and bloops whenever you get a...
LiveTunes: LIVE Music Player
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What if you could make any regular song sound like a live concert with the touch of a button? ...
Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated Spree (2020) in Movies
Aug 16, 2020
Contains spoilers, click to show
When he was younger, Kurt Kunkle was a streamer but life got in the way and he had to get a job as a 'Spree' driver (an Uber driver). Now he has an Idea of haw to get his viewers back, by streaming him self as he goes on a killing Spree of his Spree customers.
Spree is a warning about the impact streaming and Vlogging can have, both on the streamers and the viewers. Both Kurt and Jessie are shown as being addicted to getting views, although for different reasons; Kurt feels that, if he isn't getting views and streaming everything then he is nothing, he even looks down on others because they are not streaming. Jessie, on the other hand streams to get her act and message across and (to begin with) see's herself as a different, more superior kind of Vlogger to Kurt.
The viewer are shown as being detached from the reality of Kurt's actions (At least until the very final scene). To begin with they think it's all fake, where as Kurt is shown as thinking some other blogs are real, and no-one is really interested until the killings get more extreme, then the viewers don't seem to care whether it's real or not and even involve themselves by egging Kurt on and joining in with polls.
The Spree customers are shown almost as stereotypes, most are self centred and obsessed with their own streams, or they are racist or sexist.
The story is good and not overly reliant on gore, a lot of the actual kills are made off screen with just blood that needs to be washed off the car. One death you don't even see.
Spree is shot mainly as Kurt's stream and often goes split screen as he crosses over with other streams an, at times this can be a bit distracting as, as well as the video footage you also see the comments which are, most of the time, flowing too fast to read, only slowing down when necessary or flashing up on the main screen if they are important enough.
This is the only problem i had with Spree though. As a light weight slasher it lacks some of the tension (at least at the beginning) you might expect but still has some decent kills and manages to make some social statements although the biggest one is probably after everything has happen and we are shown how the video lives on on the web even when it has supposedly been taken down, which is odd because this also has the feel of a set up for a possible sequel.
Spree is a warning about the impact streaming and Vlogging can have, both on the streamers and the viewers. Both Kurt and Jessie are shown as being addicted to getting views, although for different reasons; Kurt feels that, if he isn't getting views and streaming everything then he is nothing, he even looks down on others because they are not streaming. Jessie, on the other hand streams to get her act and message across and (to begin with) see's herself as a different, more superior kind of Vlogger to Kurt.
The viewer are shown as being detached from the reality of Kurt's actions (At least until the very final scene). To begin with they think it's all fake, where as Kurt is shown as thinking some other blogs are real, and no-one is really interested until the killings get more extreme, then the viewers don't seem to care whether it's real or not and even involve themselves by egging Kurt on and joining in with polls.
The Spree customers are shown almost as stereotypes, most are self centred and obsessed with their own streams, or they are racist or sexist.
The story is good and not overly reliant on gore, a lot of the actual kills are made off screen with just blood that needs to be washed off the car. One death you don't even see.
Spree is shot mainly as Kurt's stream and often goes split screen as he crosses over with other streams an, at times this can be a bit distracting as, as well as the video footage you also see the comments which are, most of the time, flowing too fast to read, only slowing down when necessary or flashing up on the main screen if they are important enough.
This is the only problem i had with Spree though. As a light weight slasher it lacks some of the tension (at least at the beginning) you might expect but still has some decent kills and manages to make some social statements although the biggest one is probably after everything has happen and we are shown how the video lives on on the web even when it has supposedly been taken down, which is odd because this also has the feel of a set up for a possible sequel.