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Merissa (12051 KP) rated Lacuna in Books
Oct 23, 2020
Lacuna is a standalone fantasy but I really, REALLY, hope to return to this world. I need more of Crow and Tancho, it's as simple as that!
Their world is split into four, with one ruler for each quarter. To ensure no fighting, there is a central command (if you like) but obviously, not everything can be good in paradise. I loved how each quarter was so different and how the people embodied their element. Crow and Tancho, without doubt, are my favourites and that is completely as it should be.
When they find out what their birthmark bond is actually about, I thought it fantastic. They wanted to kill each other most of the time and their verbal battles, childishness and general poutiness were spot on. After all, how would you feel being tied to someone you didn't know, even if you did find them attractive?
The world-building is perfect and the pacing is second-to-none. There is plenty of action going on in Crow and Tancho's world and therefore, it makes sense, that they would have no time to explore their growing bond. When they do, however, they make up for lost time. đ There is also a brilliant cast of supporting characters, from best friends to the other king and queen. They all have their own foibles and interests but pull together perfectly.
I adore MM and Fantasy so, for me, this was the perfect blend of both. An amazing story set in a fantastic world with an outstanding storyline and wonderful characters. What more could you ask for? Absolutely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Their world is split into four, with one ruler for each quarter. To ensure no fighting, there is a central command (if you like) but obviously, not everything can be good in paradise. I loved how each quarter was so different and how the people embodied their element. Crow and Tancho, without doubt, are my favourites and that is completely as it should be.
When they find out what their birthmark bond is actually about, I thought it fantastic. They wanted to kill each other most of the time and their verbal battles, childishness and general poutiness were spot on. After all, how would you feel being tied to someone you didn't know, even if you did find them attractive?
The world-building is perfect and the pacing is second-to-none. There is plenty of action going on in Crow and Tancho's world and therefore, it makes sense, that they would have no time to explore their growing bond. When they do, however, they make up for lost time. đ There is also a brilliant cast of supporting characters, from best friends to the other king and queen. They all have their own foibles and interests but pull together perfectly.
I adore MM and Fantasy so, for me, this was the perfect blend of both. An amazing story set in a fantastic world with an outstanding storyline and wonderful characters. What more could you ask for? Absolutely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
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Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Wonder Woman (2017) in Movies
Sep 29, 2021
âWhat first attracted you Dr Mann to the movie with the scantily-clad Amazonians?â
Amazonians deliver! And how. The much anticipated new Wonder Woman movie is with us, and for once the film lives up to the wall-to-wall marketing hype.
With a heavy dose of mythology, Diana is growing up as the cossetted daughter of Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen, âGladiatorâ), the Queen of the Amazons, on the hidden paradise island of Themyscira. Trained up as a warrior by Hippolytaâs sister, General Antiope (Robin Wright of âHouse of Cardsâ), Diana is clearly something special. Her ego is reinforced by the knowledge that she was made of clay with life breathed into her by the God Zeus. Itâs enough to turn a girlâs head!
Itâs 1917 and the man-free paradise is shaken up when an American spy by the name of Steve Trevor (Chris Pine, âStar Trek: Beyondâ) crash-lands in the waters off Themyscira. (And yes⌠you didnât mishear me⌠this film genuinely features a hero with both the names âSteveâ and âTrevorâ). Prince Eric â no, sorry, wrong film â is saved and awakened on the beach by Diana as the others arrive. âThank God!â, say the Amazonians. âAt last, someone to process the 200 year backlog of washing and ironingâ!
But Steve (an âabove average specimenâ, LOL) is not long for paradise as he needs to return to the war with the results of his spy-work: a chemistry book stolen from the gorgeously deformed Dr Maru (Elena Anaya), gas-developer for the evil General Ludendorff (Danny Huston). Seeing Ludendorff to be her God-like nemesis Ares, Diana returns with Steve to the WW1 battlefields with the intent of killing the God of War and so ending the âwar to end all warsâ.
Much âfish out of waterâ fun is had with Diana meeting civilised London society, although perhaps this section of the film doesnât quite live up to its full potential: having ice cream for the first time, without any sign of surprise, all she can come up with is an amusing but rather lame âYou must be very proudâ.
But where the film really accelerates into awesomeness is when Diana reaches âThe Frontâ. She emerges from the trenches like some shimmering vision of hotness, to set male and lesbian hearts a flutter. Its the most memorable trench-exit since the finale of âBlack Adder 4â, and the subsequent scenes of Diana single-handedly facing the German guns is for me one of the most compelling and enjoyable scenes in any recent DC or Marvel movie.
Holding all this together is the ex-Israeli army-trainer Gal Gadot in the title role. And man oh man, what a Gal! Statuesque, athletic but also sweet, charming and emotionally fragile she completely owns this role from beginning to end. Gadot made a memorable entry in the otherwise poor âBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justiceâ (#marthagate #neverforget #neverforgive) but nothing prepares you for just how great she is in this outing. In fact, Iâll go as far as saying that this film, although having a UK 12 certificate, is a film of immense danger to heterosexual teenagers of any age (#humor):
All boys will be cast into a lifetime of misery, never able to find a woman that can possibly live up to the impossibly perfect vision of Diana Prince, tearing up the German army with fists and whip!;
All girls WILL BECOME LESBIANS AFTER WATCHING THIS FILM!
Parents: you have been warned! đ
Chris Pine â the thinking womenâs Chris Pratt â once again proves himself as a talented actor who manages to successfully morph to inhabit the role he plays. Much as he did in the excellent âHell or High Waterâ, not once did I equate him to be James Tiberius Kirk after the first 5 minutes.
Effective in supporting roles are David Thewlis (âHarry Potterâ) as a âhelpfulâ army bod and an almost unrecognisable Lucy Davis (âThe Officeâ) as Etta, Steveâs comedic secretary. Steveâs rather unlikely sidekicks of Sameer (Said Taghmaoui, âAmerican Hustleâ), Charlie (Ewen Bremner, âTrainspottingâ) and âThe Chiefâ (Eugene Brave Rock âThe Revenantâ) all rather fade into the woodwork by comparison.
I saw the film in 3D (âcareful now⌠you could take an eye out with those thingsâ) and very good it was too. Aside from some rather unnecessary Amazonian arrows, its never feels overdone, and elements of it were extremely effective.
Another star of the show is the superb Wonder Woman theme by Hans Zimmer, here rolled out by the filmâs composer Rupert Gregson-Williams (âHacksaw Ridgeâ). Unfortunately, the rest of the soundtrack is not particularly memorable.
The film shifts into more traditional yawn-worthy âsuperhero finaleâ mode in the last twenty minutes, which is a bit of a shame. Itâs also really curious that for such a sexually charged film there is an almost complete absence of âlurrveâ on show. The one love scene coquettishly fades to a view of the outside window. Was this to protect the filmâs family friendly rating (probably) or that the director didnât want to show her heroine in a remotely submissive position (possibly)? More frustratingly, the morning after there is no mention of it at all! (âMove along, nothing to see hereâ). I at least wanted some sort of recognition that a human/God liaison had taken place: Steve grimacing a bit when he sits down; or Diana on the blower to Themyscira saying âYes, you were right Mum. 5 minutes in, and it just snapped clean off!â
I know my friend David Moody (of markanddave vblog fame, and a big DC/Marvel fan) was generally disappointed with the film. Conversely, Amy Andrews from the ever-excellent Oh That Film Blog loved it. Iâm with Amy on this one, and greatly enjoyed it as a well-constructed action rollercoaster. The nearly two and a half hours sped by. By the way (and I took one for the team here) there is no âmonkeyâ at the end of the filmâs credit to hang on for.
Patty Jenkins (âMonsterâ) directs and knows the audience she is aiming to please. One can only imagine the empowering impact this film will have on young girls, crossing their wrists to âTHATâ music and, in their imagination, casting terrorists into the hell that they should be consigned to. In this week of yet more Isis atrocity in London, Wonder Woman is a role-model we could all stand and salute: âI believe in loveâ too.
With a heavy dose of mythology, Diana is growing up as the cossetted daughter of Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen, âGladiatorâ), the Queen of the Amazons, on the hidden paradise island of Themyscira. Trained up as a warrior by Hippolytaâs sister, General Antiope (Robin Wright of âHouse of Cardsâ), Diana is clearly something special. Her ego is reinforced by the knowledge that she was made of clay with life breathed into her by the God Zeus. Itâs enough to turn a girlâs head!
Itâs 1917 and the man-free paradise is shaken up when an American spy by the name of Steve Trevor (Chris Pine, âStar Trek: Beyondâ) crash-lands in the waters off Themyscira. (And yes⌠you didnât mishear me⌠this film genuinely features a hero with both the names âSteveâ and âTrevorâ). Prince Eric â no, sorry, wrong film â is saved and awakened on the beach by Diana as the others arrive. âThank God!â, say the Amazonians. âAt last, someone to process the 200 year backlog of washing and ironingâ!
But Steve (an âabove average specimenâ, LOL) is not long for paradise as he needs to return to the war with the results of his spy-work: a chemistry book stolen from the gorgeously deformed Dr Maru (Elena Anaya), gas-developer for the evil General Ludendorff (Danny Huston). Seeing Ludendorff to be her God-like nemesis Ares, Diana returns with Steve to the WW1 battlefields with the intent of killing the God of War and so ending the âwar to end all warsâ.
Much âfish out of waterâ fun is had with Diana meeting civilised London society, although perhaps this section of the film doesnât quite live up to its full potential: having ice cream for the first time, without any sign of surprise, all she can come up with is an amusing but rather lame âYou must be very proudâ.
But where the film really accelerates into awesomeness is when Diana reaches âThe Frontâ. She emerges from the trenches like some shimmering vision of hotness, to set male and lesbian hearts a flutter. Its the most memorable trench-exit since the finale of âBlack Adder 4â, and the subsequent scenes of Diana single-handedly facing the German guns is for me one of the most compelling and enjoyable scenes in any recent DC or Marvel movie.
Holding all this together is the ex-Israeli army-trainer Gal Gadot in the title role. And man oh man, what a Gal! Statuesque, athletic but also sweet, charming and emotionally fragile she completely owns this role from beginning to end. Gadot made a memorable entry in the otherwise poor âBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justiceâ (#marthagate #neverforget #neverforgive) but nothing prepares you for just how great she is in this outing. In fact, Iâll go as far as saying that this film, although having a UK 12 certificate, is a film of immense danger to heterosexual teenagers of any age (#humor):
All boys will be cast into a lifetime of misery, never able to find a woman that can possibly live up to the impossibly perfect vision of Diana Prince, tearing up the German army with fists and whip!;
All girls WILL BECOME LESBIANS AFTER WATCHING THIS FILM!
Parents: you have been warned! đ
Chris Pine â the thinking womenâs Chris Pratt â once again proves himself as a talented actor who manages to successfully morph to inhabit the role he plays. Much as he did in the excellent âHell or High Waterâ, not once did I equate him to be James Tiberius Kirk after the first 5 minutes.
Effective in supporting roles are David Thewlis (âHarry Potterâ) as a âhelpfulâ army bod and an almost unrecognisable Lucy Davis (âThe Officeâ) as Etta, Steveâs comedic secretary. Steveâs rather unlikely sidekicks of Sameer (Said Taghmaoui, âAmerican Hustleâ), Charlie (Ewen Bremner, âTrainspottingâ) and âThe Chiefâ (Eugene Brave Rock âThe Revenantâ) all rather fade into the woodwork by comparison.
I saw the film in 3D (âcareful now⌠you could take an eye out with those thingsâ) and very good it was too. Aside from some rather unnecessary Amazonian arrows, its never feels overdone, and elements of it were extremely effective.
Another star of the show is the superb Wonder Woman theme by Hans Zimmer, here rolled out by the filmâs composer Rupert Gregson-Williams (âHacksaw Ridgeâ). Unfortunately, the rest of the soundtrack is not particularly memorable.
The film shifts into more traditional yawn-worthy âsuperhero finaleâ mode in the last twenty minutes, which is a bit of a shame. Itâs also really curious that for such a sexually charged film there is an almost complete absence of âlurrveâ on show. The one love scene coquettishly fades to a view of the outside window. Was this to protect the filmâs family friendly rating (probably) or that the director didnât want to show her heroine in a remotely submissive position (possibly)? More frustratingly, the morning after there is no mention of it at all! (âMove along, nothing to see hereâ). I at least wanted some sort of recognition that a human/God liaison had taken place: Steve grimacing a bit when he sits down; or Diana on the blower to Themyscira saying âYes, you were right Mum. 5 minutes in, and it just snapped clean off!â
I know my friend David Moody (of markanddave vblog fame, and a big DC/Marvel fan) was generally disappointed with the film. Conversely, Amy Andrews from the ever-excellent Oh That Film Blog loved it. Iâm with Amy on this one, and greatly enjoyed it as a well-constructed action rollercoaster. The nearly two and a half hours sped by. By the way (and I took one for the team here) there is no âmonkeyâ at the end of the filmâs credit to hang on for.
Patty Jenkins (âMonsterâ) directs and knows the audience she is aiming to please. One can only imagine the empowering impact this film will have on young girls, crossing their wrists to âTHATâ music and, in their imagination, casting terrorists into the hell that they should be consigned to. In this week of yet more Isis atrocity in London, Wonder Woman is a role-model we could all stand and salute: âI believe in loveâ too.