Sign up
Search
Advanced search settings

Search only in certain items:

Search results
All (381)
Content
People
Apps
Books
Orbs
Movies
Music
Podcasts
Shows
Tabletop Games
Tech
TV
Video Games
YouTube Channels
Videos
40x40

Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Plot in Books

May 13, 2021  
The Plot
The Plot
Jean Hanff Korelitz | 2021 | Mystery, Thriller
8
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
A suspenseful read about the ownership of stories
Jacob Finch Bonner, the once promising author of the debut novel The Invention of Wonder, is now a struggling writer teaching at Ripley College in Vermont. At Ripley, basically anyone can attend to receive a MFA. This includes Evan Parker, a pompous jerk who declares he doesn't need Jake--or anyone's--help to make his novel a success. But when Evan actually deigns to share his plot with Jake, Jake can't help but agree. He waits for Evan's inevitable success, but it never comes. When he learns that Evan has died--without having published his book--Jake feels that his story must be told. So Jake writes it, and he is soon basking in the success he was so sure Evan would have. He's rich, famous, and touring the country on a book tour. But then he receives the first email: "You are a thief." Jake feels everything he has about to slip away. As the threats increase, Jake begins to dig into Evan's past. What he finds is horrifying--he may not be the only one who stole this story--and the consequences could be deadly.

"All Jacob Finch Bonnner had ever wanted to be was a writer."

THE PLOT starts off slowly, but then takes off, becoming a compulsively readable thriller. It's incredibly ominous and creepy and peppered with reading and writer references. If you love to read, or write, there's a whole meta layer to this book. (Not to mention, we get pieces of Jake's "stolen" novel within our novel as well.) Slowly everything untangles: Jacob's plot, Evan's life, and more.

"Evan Parker had been entirely correct: the worst writer on the planet could not mess up a plot like this."

The book builds on, year by year, as Jacob moves from his struggling writer days to a successful and famous novelist. I had an inkling of some of what happened, but enjoyed reading to see if I was right. Jake isn't exactly a sympathetic character, but he's fascinating, and the book certainly makes you think.

It's best to go into THE PLOT blind, so I don't want to reveal too much. But I stayed up late to finish it, because it's quite captivating--and different. I certainly recommend it. 4 stars.
  
40x40

David McK (3557 KP) rated Aliens: The Female War in Books

Jan 30, 2019  
AT
Aliens: The Female War
Steve Perry | 1994
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The third book in Dark Horse's spin-off series of novels and comics to include Billie and Wilks, this also throws Ripley into the mix, and finishes the story first began in [b:Aliens: Earth Hive|343281|Aliens Earth Hive|Steve Perry|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1366133734s/343281.jpg|333628] and continued in [b:Aliens: Nightmare Asylum|20873|Aliens Nightmare Asylum|Steve Perry|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388857061s/20873.jpg|22061]. Wheres the 1979 film 'Alien' had a single Alien stalking the crew of the Nostromo after they picked up the transmission, with the 1986 film 'Aliens' then introducing the concept of the Alien Queen, this extrapolates even further than that with the introduction of an Alien Queen Mother providing the deus ex machina for the plot.

Talking of the plot: this is maybe a bit slower than those previous two novels, with more emphasis on character development (I know, I know: is such a thing even possible in these types of books?).

As before, not going to set the literary world alight nor win any awards, but an enjoyable enough quick diversion for a day or two.
  
40x40

Mekhi Phifer recommended Aliens (1986) in Movies (curated)

 
Aliens (1986)
Aliens (1986)
1986 | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
9.0 (90 Ratings)
Movie Favorite Watch

"Number four I would have to say is the best one out of all of them: Aliens. That’s just one of those movies that I think was so well done. It was ahead of its time. [James Cameron] was just ahead of his time — it was so well written, so well acted. I loved the extended version of Aliens because it shows just a little bit more that you don’t see and what they always show on television. The drones shooting aliens, a lot of things like that, which I thought was great. I just thought Ripley was never better — I thought Sigourney Weaver was never better — than [when] she was in Aliens. Now Alien kinda had a slow start; you kinda had to get into it. These guys weren’t really prepared for [the] alien — some kind of breakdown with the crew, [that] kind of like reminded me of a play. But Aliens just kinda jumped in feet first man, and just went for it, absolutely. And by there being so many of the aliens it just heightened the danger that they all faced. You sat on the edge of your seat, you know, scared to death. So, I really love that movie."

Source