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Awix (3310 KP) rated When the Tripods Came (The Tripods #4) in Books

Sep 18, 2019

When the Tripods Came (The Tripods #4)

John Christopher | 1988 | Dystopia, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)

7.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Fourth books in trilogies are inherently inelegant and awkward beasts; Christopher's final Tripods novel is unsurprisingly no exception. 1980s Earth is visited by alien invaders, who (initially at least) are easily repelled. But it turns out that your mum was right when she said that too much TV was bad for your health...

A bit dated, but that's the least of the book's issues. A prequel to the main series was really not required, and the main catalyst for writing it seems to have been the Tripods TV show which was broadcast three or four years earlier. (The TV show the Masters use to take over the world bears a suspicious resemblance to the TV adaptation of the first two books.) It's not really meta, more sort of peeved: peeved at critics of the show's shortcomings, but also peeved at the makers of the show for not doing a better job. As well as being dated, the relationship subplots of the book feel a bit proforma, but the depiction of the world slowly sliding out of human control and the end of modern civilisation is vividly presented in the usual compelling fashion. Whether it should all feel a bit more downbeat and bleak is probably a question of personal taste; Christopher's prose retains its good manners as well as its readability.

Kudos

Elli H Burton (1288 KP) rated Splash (1984) in Movies

Aug 27, 2019

Splash (1984)

1984 | Comedy, Fantasy

7.0

(40 Ratings)

Movie Rating

It's sweet (2 more)

Family friendly

Has some funny moments

The storyline, yet sweet, progresses too quickly. (0 more)

Good for a hopeless romantic like me

So I've wanted to see this for ages as it's Tom Hanks and I think he's a fantastic actor. It's sweet, makes you smile, some points even laugh. It's not something I think I'd actually crave to watch, if it's on TV I'd watch it kind of thing. I have an issue with the beginning. The first meeting with the two main characters, doesn't seem to be as important. She remembers and he doesn't (or doesn't believe it) but the meeting is so brief, why is it so significant to her? She cries when he leaves, she spent like 7 seconds with the boy. The ending isn't ideal either, he just swims alongside a mermaid for the rest of his life? I get when he's with her he's safe but how is he supposed to eat and sleep? Plus the dynamic of their relationship is quite physical, when they are both humans (lets not quibble about that) it's possible. I assume that id they were both merpeople it would also be possible but as mermaid and man they don't really have that anymore. Can't have kids either like he wanted. Probably reading too much into it but still, these things made it's overall rating less for me.