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Kyera (8 KP) rated A Darker Shade of Magic in Books
Feb 1, 2018
The first book set up the idea of the different Londons: magic-less grey London, vibrant red London, starving and desperate white London, and decimated, dead black London. Each built upon a foundation of London but developed in completely different fashions. Their cultures, religion, speech, manner and being is so unique in each world.
It was a really intriguing way to build the world and immediately fascinated me. Good world building is so important to books because it is immersive, it pulls you in and makes you forget that its not real. You are living the story with the characters. She even created languages that were utilized by characters from different places, from the magic language of the Antari to the flowing words or harsh tones of the neighboring lands. It shows a passion for authenticity and true love of what she has created.
I love the characters. Rhy with his charm always brightens the room (or a scene). Lila is cunning, ruthless, ambitious and a thief. She doesn't need anyone and she would never admit to needing anything. She takes or does what she wants, no matter the cost with no regrets. She is tough as nails and her grit is inspiring. Her first instinct is to protect herself above all.
Many people may not agree with me, but Lila was probably my least favourite of our main characters. She was smart and tough, but a little too ruthless for my taste. Kell was the character that I liked/related to the most, even though he was a powerful magic user he seemed the most down to earth.
Not only does she introduce us to unique main characters, but she brilliantly gives depths to those in the background. There are some supporting characters that at times I liked even more than some of our leads.
Overall the story is more of a slow-burn/build rather than quick action packed scenes. I think that it worked really well for this story and have no complaints. Highly recommended to young adult/teen readers who enjoy fantasy or magic books with characters that have very diverse personalities/outlooks on life and great world-building.
It was a really intriguing way to build the world and immediately fascinated me. Good world building is so important to books because it is immersive, it pulls you in and makes you forget that its not real. You are living the story with the characters. She even created languages that were utilized by characters from different places, from the magic language of the Antari to the flowing words or harsh tones of the neighboring lands. It shows a passion for authenticity and true love of what she has created.
I love the characters. Rhy with his charm always brightens the room (or a scene). Lila is cunning, ruthless, ambitious and a thief. She doesn't need anyone and she would never admit to needing anything. She takes or does what she wants, no matter the cost with no regrets. She is tough as nails and her grit is inspiring. Her first instinct is to protect herself above all.
Many people may not agree with me, but Lila was probably my least favourite of our main characters. She was smart and tough, but a little too ruthless for my taste. Kell was the character that I liked/related to the most, even though he was a powerful magic user he seemed the most down to earth.
Not only does she introduce us to unique main characters, but she brilliantly gives depths to those in the background. There are some supporting characters that at times I liked even more than some of our leads.
Overall the story is more of a slow-burn/build rather than quick action packed scenes. I think that it worked really well for this story and have no complaints. Highly recommended to young adult/teen readers who enjoy fantasy or magic books with characters that have very diverse personalities/outlooks on life and great world-building.
Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated Ready Player One in Books
Oct 26, 2018
"Everyone my age remembers where they were and what they were doing when they first heard about the contest.’’
We are in the year 2045, where while Earth is deserted and almost destroyed, people don’t realise because they are too busy living in a virtual world - the Oasis!
The Oasis is a place where you can create an avatar for free, you can level up, you go to a school and you work inside the Oasis. This virtual world is filled with references from the 1980s. Cities are built in such a way, video games and books and movies still go on.
When the famous creator of the Oasis, James Halliday, dies, it turns out that there is a contest, and the person that will manage to find the ''Easter egg'' would inherit ownership of the Oasis.
We see the story from the point of view of the young Wade, that calls himself Parzival in the Oasis. He is in love with everything from the 1980’s, you name it - video games, pop culture, movies, shows, books. He is also amazed with Halliday’s work and life.
When five years from James Halliday’s death pass, people seem to have forgotten about the contest, and that’s when Parzival’s courage and knowledge will help him find the first key that unlocks the first of the three gates for the contest, putting him on the top of the scoreboard, and after five years, people start talking about Haliday’s ‘’egg’’ again.
Making friends along the way, and maybe finding the love of his life, Parzival faces millions of challenges, adventures, dangerous, funny and adorable moments. This is a book that will reveal a whole new world for you, and make you love Parzival while you follow his adventure into winning the contest.
With time running out, danger surrounding from all sides, and suddenly finding the ‘’egg’’ becoming a life or death game, Parzival and his friends have no choice but to win this contest. But will they make it, with the IOI Corporation behind their backs, following them both in the real and in the virtual world, endangering their lives?
We are in the year 2045, where while Earth is deserted and almost destroyed, people don’t realise because they are too busy living in a virtual world - the Oasis!
The Oasis is a place where you can create an avatar for free, you can level up, you go to a school and you work inside the Oasis. This virtual world is filled with references from the 1980s. Cities are built in such a way, video games and books and movies still go on.
When the famous creator of the Oasis, James Halliday, dies, it turns out that there is a contest, and the person that will manage to find the ''Easter egg'' would inherit ownership of the Oasis.
We see the story from the point of view of the young Wade, that calls himself Parzival in the Oasis. He is in love with everything from the 1980’s, you name it - video games, pop culture, movies, shows, books. He is also amazed with Halliday’s work and life.
When five years from James Halliday’s death pass, people seem to have forgotten about the contest, and that’s when Parzival’s courage and knowledge will help him find the first key that unlocks the first of the three gates for the contest, putting him on the top of the scoreboard, and after five years, people start talking about Haliday’s ‘’egg’’ again.
Making friends along the way, and maybe finding the love of his life, Parzival faces millions of challenges, adventures, dangerous, funny and adorable moments. This is a book that will reveal a whole new world for you, and make you love Parzival while you follow his adventure into winning the contest.
With time running out, danger surrounding from all sides, and suddenly finding the ‘’egg’’ becoming a life or death game, Parzival and his friends have no choice but to win this contest. But will they make it, with the IOI Corporation behind their backs, following them both in the real and in the virtual world, endangering their lives?
Physics and Technology for Future Presidents: An Introduction to the Essential Physics Every World Leader Needs to Know
Book
Physics and Technology for Future Presidents contains the essential physics that students need in...
Becs (244 KP) rated 1984 Nineteen Eighty-Four in Books
Oct 2, 2019
1984 by George Orwell, one of my favorite literary classic novels to this date! This was a monster to get through but once I finished, I was able to take the novel as a whole and learn from it. And man, what a loaded punch it throws at you. George Orwell is a favorite of mine and his writing style is just exactly what I expect from an author from his era.
1984 is about a government that controls everything a citizen of Oceania does, says, etc. If you rebel, you get kidnapped, tortured and then broken down to the point where they are able to rebuild you into the ideal citizen. That’s pretty much exactly what happens in this 328-page novel. But trust me when I say, this is worth a read through!
Genre: Sci-Fi, Dystopian, Literary Classic
Reading Level: High School +
Interests: Dystopian worlds, politics, science fiction, totalitarian systems.
Difficulty Reading: Like putting butter on a soft piece of bread. Not kidding, 1984 was difficult to read but the meaning behind it is what counts.
Promise: Dystopian, Sci-Fi world with a totalitarian system that runs your life until you are no longer a rebellious individual and instead under their complete control. A bit like being a slave.
Favorite Quotes: “Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood.”
“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”
“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—for ever.”
What Will You Gain: Knowledge on what the world could turn into when the government decides to rule over all a certain way. Where everything you do is controlled and if you do anything differently or that goes against what the government says, you end up dead.
Aesthetics: The entirety of the novel. The cover. How Orwell pretty much has the real world mixed in with a fantasy world. I mean, you just have to read it to know.
“The best books… are those that tell you what you know already.”
1984 is about a government that controls everything a citizen of Oceania does, says, etc. If you rebel, you get kidnapped, tortured and then broken down to the point where they are able to rebuild you into the ideal citizen. That’s pretty much exactly what happens in this 328-page novel. But trust me when I say, this is worth a read through!
Genre: Sci-Fi, Dystopian, Literary Classic
Reading Level: High School +
Interests: Dystopian worlds, politics, science fiction, totalitarian systems.
Difficulty Reading: Like putting butter on a soft piece of bread. Not kidding, 1984 was difficult to read but the meaning behind it is what counts.
Promise: Dystopian, Sci-Fi world with a totalitarian system that runs your life until you are no longer a rebellious individual and instead under their complete control. A bit like being a slave.
Favorite Quotes: “Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood.”
“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”
“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—for ever.”
What Will You Gain: Knowledge on what the world could turn into when the government decides to rule over all a certain way. Where everything you do is controlled and if you do anything differently or that goes against what the government says, you end up dead.
Aesthetics: The entirety of the novel. The cover. How Orwell pretty much has the real world mixed in with a fantasy world. I mean, you just have to read it to know.
“The best books… are those that tell you what you know already.”
Planet of Cubes Survival MMO
Games and Entertainment
App
Welcome to Planet of Cubes Survival Games - the ONLY SURVIVAL Real Time Mmo Multiplayer block...
HLD (99 KP) rated God of War in Video Games
Jun 12, 2018
A new direction for the franchise (2 more)
Beautiful - as always
You really see another dimension to Kratos. The hack and slash psycho of the past is only slightly present in this.
Balls to the wall fun
When I first started playing this, I was disappointed that there weren't a multitude of Gods to rip apart as I slowly but surely upgraded Kratos to defeat the main God... However, it didn't take long for me to get into the swing of things.
The real story is of Kratos and Atreus - father and son, who appear more like uncle and recently orphaned nephew. They start out with the kind of relationship you might have with the local drunk who buys alcohol for underage kids.
They have their problems, and Baldur, the main antagonist, has a HOST of mummy issues.
While he is threatening throughout - he can't die after all. You never feel like he's going to kill Kartos, even if he is immortal.
The story is fresh and definitely a new direction for Kartos' character, but the only real challenge were the Valkyries, who aren't really a part of the main story.
All in all, it's the first in what is clearly going to be a new set of games taking on a fresh story for the God killer. It's fun and exciting, but it leaves the opportunity to really dive into this new world that we find ourselves in for future games.
The real story is of Kratos and Atreus - father and son, who appear more like uncle and recently orphaned nephew. They start out with the kind of relationship you might have with the local drunk who buys alcohol for underage kids.
They have their problems, and Baldur, the main antagonist, has a HOST of mummy issues.
While he is threatening throughout - he can't die after all. You never feel like he's going to kill Kartos, even if he is immortal.
The story is fresh and definitely a new direction for Kartos' character, but the only real challenge were the Valkyries, who aren't really a part of the main story.
All in all, it's the first in what is clearly going to be a new set of games taking on a fresh story for the God killer. It's fun and exciting, but it leaves the opportunity to really dive into this new world that we find ourselves in for future games.
A thoroughly enjoyable and informative book which brings the history of Highclere to life in energetic and engaging story telling.
Initially, the author shows their 'upper class' voice a little too often but as the story progresses and you begin to engage more with the people involved, it becomes less obvious, therefore making the book much more easy to read and enjoyable.
As an avid Downton Abbey fan from day one, I was engrossed with learning the true history of the actual house, and can honestly say that the connections between Downton and Highclere are not limited to merely the house. The Carnavons are a wonderful and very energetic family with fingers in so many pies and so rich a history that they truly deserve the accolade this book should give them. They do not come across as typical aristocrats at all, rather 'real' human beings who are committed to the improvement in lifestyle of all they are connected with, true philanthropists and dedicated historians.
I can honestly say that this book reads like a fiction story, and you have to pinch yourself at times to realise that these were real people who lived and breathed and carried out all of these wonderful acts. Truly, it is a fantastic read which is fully deserving of more than 5 stars and something that anyone interested in either Downton, late Victorian/early Edwardian society, the First World War and it's aftermath, or even the tomb of Tutankhamen should most definitely add to their 'to read' list.
Initially, the author shows their 'upper class' voice a little too often but as the story progresses and you begin to engage more with the people involved, it becomes less obvious, therefore making the book much more easy to read and enjoyable.
As an avid Downton Abbey fan from day one, I was engrossed with learning the true history of the actual house, and can honestly say that the connections between Downton and Highclere are not limited to merely the house. The Carnavons are a wonderful and very energetic family with fingers in so many pies and so rich a history that they truly deserve the accolade this book should give them. They do not come across as typical aristocrats at all, rather 'real' human beings who are committed to the improvement in lifestyle of all they are connected with, true philanthropists and dedicated historians.
I can honestly say that this book reads like a fiction story, and you have to pinch yourself at times to realise that these were real people who lived and breathed and carried out all of these wonderful acts. Truly, it is a fantastic read which is fully deserving of more than 5 stars and something that anyone interested in either Downton, late Victorian/early Edwardian society, the First World War and it's aftermath, or even the tomb of Tutankhamen should most definitely add to their 'to read' list.
Foo Fighters: Learning to Fly
Book
Everyone from Sir Paul McCartney and Jimmy Page to Queens of the Stone Age now relishes the chance...
Introduction to Structural Equation Modeling Using IBM SPSS Statistics and EQS
Book
This student orientated guide to structural equation modeling promotes theoretical understanding and...