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ISS Vanguard
9.0
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Tabletop Game
ISS Vanguard is a 1-4 player co-operative, campaign Board Game. It will bring players right into...
Merissa (13792 KP) rated Warrior Hearts Academy: Dragon Lost in Books
May 16, 2025
WARRIOR HEARTS ACADEMY: DRAGON LOST is the first book in the Dragons trilogy, but book 7 in the whole Warrior Hearts Academy series. You'll need to hold onto your hat as this book is BUSY.
This one starts after the Centaur trilogy, which I haven't read, so there were some parts that I didn't fully get. What I do know is that Bree was a centaur who was changed into something else by Isobel and told she was going to save the Realms. Hint - not true! Bree has grown up with her childhood friends and doesn't want to believe anything bad about them. This is to her detriment as they prove, on more than one occasion, that they are quite happy embracing their dark side. Bree has multiple beings inside her. A Gryphon, Caliel, is the most vocal, but there is also an equine and something big and cold. (You don't know for sure yet what it is.) So, that's Bree.
Then you have Razir, the black and purple Dragon, who has his own storyline going on, as well as Tez, who grew up as a human but is also something else. Tez's story also follows his own path, without really connecting with Bree or Razir. It is told from multiple perspectives, with their own stories being told. This meant I had to slow down my reading to make sure I didn't miss anything. Not that that's a bad thing. I'm just saying.
I felt this book was more about setting the groundwork for their story. There is all the backstory for Bree that we absolutely need, as well as Tez, and figuring out how they all fit together with Razir. It is extremely fast-paced with lots of differing stories to keep track of. I'm really looking forward to seeing how it all joins together (hopefully) in the next book.
It does end on one helluva cliffhanger, so consider yourself warned.
A great start to the Dragon trilogy and definitely recommended by me.
** Same worded review will appear elsewhere. **
* 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!
May 16, 2025
This one starts after the Centaur trilogy, which I haven't read, so there were some parts that I didn't fully get. What I do know is that Bree was a centaur who was changed into something else by Isobel and told she was going to save the Realms. Hint - not true! Bree has grown up with her childhood friends and doesn't want to believe anything bad about them. This is to her detriment as they prove, on more than one occasion, that they are quite happy embracing their dark side. Bree has multiple beings inside her. A Gryphon, Caliel, is the most vocal, but there is also an equine and something big and cold. (You don't know for sure yet what it is.) So, that's Bree.
Then you have Razir, the black and purple Dragon, who has his own storyline going on, as well as Tez, who grew up as a human but is also something else. Tez's story also follows his own path, without really connecting with Bree or Razir. It is told from multiple perspectives, with their own stories being told. This meant I had to slow down my reading to make sure I didn't miss anything. Not that that's a bad thing. I'm just saying.
I felt this book was more about setting the groundwork for their story. There is all the backstory for Bree that we absolutely need, as well as Tez, and figuring out how they all fit together with Razir. It is extremely fast-paced with lots of differing stories to keep track of. I'm really looking forward to seeing how it all joins together (hopefully) in the next book.
It does end on one helluva cliffhanger, so consider yourself warned.
A great start to the Dragon trilogy and definitely recommended by me.
** Same worded review will appear elsewhere. **
* 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!
May 16, 2025
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018) in Movies
Jun 22, 2019 (Updated Sep 25, 2019)
I long for the blockbusters to come around again so I can stop saying "this is great but..." It has definitely become my mantra for January and I think it's the curse of awards season.
Melissa McCarthy is the second actor this month to take a big leap in genre and I'm loving it. Her comedy offerings have always amused me, Life Of The Party last year was great fun and I've just discovered she was DNAmy in Kim Possible so that means I need to watch all of that again!
I'm in danger of going off point now I've realised that last fact. Where was I?
McCarthy... Lee Israel is rather brash and as such has the potential to be entirely unlikeable, the performance is excellent though and McCarthy manages to make every situation feel very real. Despite that though I didn't get any real emotions out of any of it.
Luckily Richard E. Grant's inclusion allows the film to have a few lighter moments and the pair work wonderfully together on screen. I'm rather glad that this erased some of the damage The Nutcracker And The Four Realms did.
At no point during the film did I think anything was badly done. Lead and supporting actors were brilliant, the story it was based on was an interesting one... insert my phrase of the month here... The main issue I had with the film was pacing. I came out thinking that was a long two hour film before realising that it was only actually an hour and 46 minutes. At the mid-point my interest dwindled severely for a while but it did thankfully pick up a little. There are several bits that don't feel like they have much of a place in the story, whether they're part of the original narrative or added for the film I don't know but while they might have been there for background they didn't add any impact to the main story.
This rating has me a little at odds, the stars are mainly for the acting and the switch in pace for Melissa McCarthy, and as I said, nothing is badly done. Even with the limited audience potential this could have been an amazing film had it had something to keep you interested the whole way through.
What you should do
It's got some good points, but it is a very niche subject matter so I don't think I'd be recommending a viewing to anyone but my most booky friends.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
All those glorious bookshops!
Melissa McCarthy is the second actor this month to take a big leap in genre and I'm loving it. Her comedy offerings have always amused me, Life Of The Party last year was great fun and I've just discovered she was DNAmy in Kim Possible so that means I need to watch all of that again!
I'm in danger of going off point now I've realised that last fact. Where was I?
McCarthy... Lee Israel is rather brash and as such has the potential to be entirely unlikeable, the performance is excellent though and McCarthy manages to make every situation feel very real. Despite that though I didn't get any real emotions out of any of it.
Luckily Richard E. Grant's inclusion allows the film to have a few lighter moments and the pair work wonderfully together on screen. I'm rather glad that this erased some of the damage The Nutcracker And The Four Realms did.
At no point during the film did I think anything was badly done. Lead and supporting actors were brilliant, the story it was based on was an interesting one... insert my phrase of the month here... The main issue I had with the film was pacing. I came out thinking that was a long two hour film before realising that it was only actually an hour and 46 minutes. At the mid-point my interest dwindled severely for a while but it did thankfully pick up a little. There are several bits that don't feel like they have much of a place in the story, whether they're part of the original narrative or added for the film I don't know but while they might have been there for background they didn't add any impact to the main story.
This rating has me a little at odds, the stars are mainly for the acting and the switch in pace for Melissa McCarthy, and as I said, nothing is badly done. Even with the limited audience potential this could have been an amazing film had it had something to keep you interested the whole way through.
What you should do
It's got some good points, but it is a very niche subject matter so I don't think I'd be recommending a viewing to anyone but my most booky friends.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
All those glorious bookshops!
JT (287 KP) rated Insidious (2010) in Movies
Mar 10, 2020
James Wan has all the talent but for some reason is unable to put the killer instinct into his films and finish them off like they should be. With the exception of being one of the founding members of the Saw franchise, his films to date haven’t quite lived up to the expectations we know he can and should be able to deliver on.
Wan returns with Leigh Whannell the creator and writer of Saw, with the pair looking to yet again scare everyone shitless with a haunted house tale, this time focussing on a young boy whose slipped into a coma and drifted into the outer realms called The Further.
When writing Insidious Whannell wanted to make sure that he avoided all the haunted house cliches, and he pretty much did that. What he failed to do though was script a stronger third act, something which might have brought this up on a par with Saw.
Dalton is the one in peril as he suddenly slips into a coma one morning, his mother Renai (Byrne) is then forced to spend time looking after her trio of kids all the while looking over her shoulder, as she hears one bump to the next occurring both in broad daylight and at night.
After some decent scares from the outset including the old “he’s behind you” and murmurings through the baby monitor the film was almost guilty of slipping into a farce as our protagonist Josh Lambert (Wilson) was forced to engage in some astro physics in order to save the day.
It was a real shame as up till that point you’d have spent most of the run time hiding under the covers, as Wan introduced one jolt after another, some more subtle than others but ultimately offering the same desired effect.
The introduction of Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) the Ghost hunter whose come to see what all the fuss is about is pretty much inevitable. Armed with the latest high tech equipment and a couple of geeks, the aptly named Specs and Tucker, provides much amusement as Rainier delivers the killer line “It’s not the house that’s haunted”.
The film moves through the gears well, but it’s that annoyingly poor third act that ruins it for me. It does try and redeem itself with an all too predictable ending, those that have seen Wan and Whannel’s other film Dead Silence will know what I mean.
At the end of the day you feel all Wan had to do was hit the target, but this is just off to the right!
Wan returns with Leigh Whannell the creator and writer of Saw, with the pair looking to yet again scare everyone shitless with a haunted house tale, this time focussing on a young boy whose slipped into a coma and drifted into the outer realms called The Further.
When writing Insidious Whannell wanted to make sure that he avoided all the haunted house cliches, and he pretty much did that. What he failed to do though was script a stronger third act, something which might have brought this up on a par with Saw.
Dalton is the one in peril as he suddenly slips into a coma one morning, his mother Renai (Byrne) is then forced to spend time looking after her trio of kids all the while looking over her shoulder, as she hears one bump to the next occurring both in broad daylight and at night.
After some decent scares from the outset including the old “he’s behind you” and murmurings through the baby monitor the film was almost guilty of slipping into a farce as our protagonist Josh Lambert (Wilson) was forced to engage in some astro physics in order to save the day.
It was a real shame as up till that point you’d have spent most of the run time hiding under the covers, as Wan introduced one jolt after another, some more subtle than others but ultimately offering the same desired effect.
The introduction of Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) the Ghost hunter whose come to see what all the fuss is about is pretty much inevitable. Armed with the latest high tech equipment and a couple of geeks, the aptly named Specs and Tucker, provides much amusement as Rainier delivers the killer line “It’s not the house that’s haunted”.
The film moves through the gears well, but it’s that annoyingly poor third act that ruins it for me. It does try and redeem itself with an all too predictable ending, those that have seen Wan and Whannel’s other film Dead Silence will know what I mean.
At the end of the day you feel all Wan had to do was hit the target, but this is just off to the right!
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Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Of Knights & Ninjas in Tabletop Games
Jan 23, 2020
Little-known factoid about me: I am a Knight. Not from England, and not due to my daring heroics in war, but a Knight Templar of the Grand Commandery in the York Rite of Freemasonry. Politics and conspiracy theories aside, becoming a Knight was a highlight of my life, and something I will forever treasure. And speaking of treasure and Knights Templar (read your history, kids), we all know that one of the biggest foes of the Knights in olden times were the nefarious Ninjas. Or maybe it’s just fun to think about and play a game where these factions are represented.
Of Knights & Ninjas is a card game about claiming enough treasure to ascend to kinghood and rule all the lands. You can accomplish this by sending forces to your opponents’ realms and stealing their glorious gems. The first lord to amass 10 gems will have sufficient wealth to assume the kinghood and rule all realms!
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and the final components may be different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, but to give our readers an idea of how the game plays. If you would like to read the rulebook in full, you may visit the publisher’s website, purchase the game through the publisher, back the game through the Kickstarter campaign, or through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
To setup, each player will take five gems of their preferred color in front of them. Shuffle the large deck of cards, and deal each player four cards (this rule was updated after our play-throughs). You are now ready to play!
On your turn, you will draw two cards from the deck (unless it’s the first draw of the game – that player will draw just one). You must now play a card to the table or discard a card from your hand. Cards that you can play from your hand will each have different abilities, and thankfully the designer will be providing a reference sheet for these, as there are many cards with wildly different abilities. This is also why I will not be explaining the entire rulebook.
Typically you will be able to play Fortify cards (castles, archers), Attack cards (knights, ninjas, etc), Respond cards, and Special cards (minstrels, jesters, etc). Fortify cards protect your gems from certain Attack cards, like an Archer only being able to attack another Archer, or a Dragon being able to attack a Castle – but not if an Archer is stationed there (logic). Although, a Ninja can scale a Castle wall, and a Catapult can destroy a Castle altogether (but not that pesky Archer that happens to be sitting on top)…
Attack cards are just that: they Attack. Each Attack card will show a number in a starburst icon in the upper right hand corner that signifies how many gems they are able to steal. Once an opponent is declared and an Attack card played, let’s say a 1-power Peasant, the defender may then play a card with the Respond keyword (which will also have a starburst number) to offset the number of stolen gems. If the attacker chooses, they may continue playing Attack cards against the same opponent in order to draw out all the Respond cards and come away with some sweet, sweet gems.
But maybe once all is said and done, and gems are about to change hands, another opponent plays a Special card – a Highwayman, for example. These characters will steal all the gems that are about to change hands (as if he was robbing the gem carriage en route to the new owner). But then again, perhaps yet ANOTHER opponent plays a Highwayman as well, and steals those gems a second time! You just never know when these Special cards will come out and how they may affect the best laid plans.
Play continues in this fashion until one player has amassed the 10 gems they require to win the game!
Components. Again, we were provided a prototype copy of this game, and we understand that components can change during the course of a successful Kickstarter campaign. That said, this game is a ton of cards and some plastic gem pieces. The art is stellar – cartoony, but whimsical and fun. The card layouts make sense and are very easy to read and understand. The gems are colorful and fun to play with. I only have one concern/suggestion/wish for the components here. I wish the individual card’s abilities were somehow printed on the cards themselves. That would alleviate the need for a reference sheet, but it would then detract from the cute art on the cards. So, maybe that wouldn’t be so great after all. I’m torn on that.
All in all, this game is super fun to play. It will be chaotic one moment, and strategically tense the next. Being able to whittle an opponent’s hand down to nothing and then slapping them with a King card to steal a huge chunk of gems is just so sneakily satisfying. Or sending your Ninja to infiltrate their unArchered (I know it’s not a word) Castle and slither away with the goods. Don’t get too attached to your gems, because you may find yourself without for several rounds. You can always rebuild, but make haste as your opponents will keep you down if you let them.
If you are a fan of games that are cute, fun, and relatively quick with a quirky, but light-hearted theme, then definitely check this one out.
Of Knights & Ninjas is a card game about claiming enough treasure to ascend to kinghood and rule all the lands. You can accomplish this by sending forces to your opponents’ realms and stealing their glorious gems. The first lord to amass 10 gems will have sufficient wealth to assume the kinghood and rule all realms!
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and the final components may be different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, but to give our readers an idea of how the game plays. If you would like to read the rulebook in full, you may visit the publisher’s website, purchase the game through the publisher, back the game through the Kickstarter campaign, or through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
To setup, each player will take five gems of their preferred color in front of them. Shuffle the large deck of cards, and deal each player four cards (this rule was updated after our play-throughs). You are now ready to play!
On your turn, you will draw two cards from the deck (unless it’s the first draw of the game – that player will draw just one). You must now play a card to the table or discard a card from your hand. Cards that you can play from your hand will each have different abilities, and thankfully the designer will be providing a reference sheet for these, as there are many cards with wildly different abilities. This is also why I will not be explaining the entire rulebook.
Typically you will be able to play Fortify cards (castles, archers), Attack cards (knights, ninjas, etc), Respond cards, and Special cards (minstrels, jesters, etc). Fortify cards protect your gems from certain Attack cards, like an Archer only being able to attack another Archer, or a Dragon being able to attack a Castle – but not if an Archer is stationed there (logic). Although, a Ninja can scale a Castle wall, and a Catapult can destroy a Castle altogether (but not that pesky Archer that happens to be sitting on top)…
Attack cards are just that: they Attack. Each Attack card will show a number in a starburst icon in the upper right hand corner that signifies how many gems they are able to steal. Once an opponent is declared and an Attack card played, let’s say a 1-power Peasant, the defender may then play a card with the Respond keyword (which will also have a starburst number) to offset the number of stolen gems. If the attacker chooses, they may continue playing Attack cards against the same opponent in order to draw out all the Respond cards and come away with some sweet, sweet gems.
But maybe once all is said and done, and gems are about to change hands, another opponent plays a Special card – a Highwayman, for example. These characters will steal all the gems that are about to change hands (as if he was robbing the gem carriage en route to the new owner). But then again, perhaps yet ANOTHER opponent plays a Highwayman as well, and steals those gems a second time! You just never know when these Special cards will come out and how they may affect the best laid plans.
Play continues in this fashion until one player has amassed the 10 gems they require to win the game!
Components. Again, we were provided a prototype copy of this game, and we understand that components can change during the course of a successful Kickstarter campaign. That said, this game is a ton of cards and some plastic gem pieces. The art is stellar – cartoony, but whimsical and fun. The card layouts make sense and are very easy to read and understand. The gems are colorful and fun to play with. I only have one concern/suggestion/wish for the components here. I wish the individual card’s abilities were somehow printed on the cards themselves. That would alleviate the need for a reference sheet, but it would then detract from the cute art on the cards. So, maybe that wouldn’t be so great after all. I’m torn on that.
All in all, this game is super fun to play. It will be chaotic one moment, and strategically tense the next. Being able to whittle an opponent’s hand down to nothing and then slapping them with a King card to steal a huge chunk of gems is just so sneakily satisfying. Or sending your Ninja to infiltrate their unArchered (I know it’s not a word) Castle and slither away with the goods. Don’t get too attached to your gems, because you may find yourself without for several rounds. You can always rebuild, but make haste as your opponents will keep you down if you let them.
If you are a fan of games that are cute, fun, and relatively quick with a quirky, but light-hearted theme, then definitely check this one out.
