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The War Prince (Warrior #3)
6.0
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Book
AD 61, Rome. Felicitus, a young historian, agrees to meet the old warlord Caratacus in a city...
Rachel King (13 KP) rated Letters to Ethan: A Grandfather's Legacy of Life & Love in Books
Feb 11, 2019
Right from the beginning, I found the seriousness to which the author, Tom McQueen, approaches his role as a grandfather to his grandson, Ethan, as both endearing and worthy of my respect. What he is attempting to do with the letters found in this book is a commendable goal that not many grandparents may go through the trouble to achieve. Each "chapter" of the book is actually a four-to-six page letter and headed by a quotation that applies to the topic of the letter. Each of the letters address a specific topic, such as Heroism, Risk, Integrity, Love, and Imagination, to name a few. Some of the letters also include excerpts from other sources that McQueen finds wisdom in, such as poetry or short stories like the famous story "Footprints in the Sand." Many of the letters make references to sports and sports imagery, such as citing Wayne Gretsky's accomplishments, which is certainly appropriate for most boys. The letters are also peppered with poignant memories of McQueen's and bits of history, such as the story of George Washington Carver.
It becomes apparent in the first letter that this book has a decidedly Roman Catholic slant, and many of the letters include Catholic doctrine teachings. If the reader does not prescribe to Roman Catholicism, this can be a major obstacle to enjoying this book. The other thing that bugs me throughout the text is that I can not figure out at what age the author intended his grandson to read these letters. Some of the topics are rather mature, and they would not be appropriate for a boy that is too young to receive the advice given in the letter, no matter how well-meaning it is. I also could not decipher if McQueen's grandson, Ethan, was supposed to read these letters while his grandfather was still alive or if they were meant for after he passed - again, this would make sense if the appropriate age were given for each letter.
If I ignore the obvious bias in the letters, I found much of the advice given to be relevant and useful wisdom for a young man - or woman - attaining to adulthood.
It becomes apparent in the first letter that this book has a decidedly Roman Catholic slant, and many of the letters include Catholic doctrine teachings. If the reader does not prescribe to Roman Catholicism, this can be a major obstacle to enjoying this book. The other thing that bugs me throughout the text is that I can not figure out at what age the author intended his grandson to read these letters. Some of the topics are rather mature, and they would not be appropriate for a boy that is too young to receive the advice given in the letter, no matter how well-meaning it is. I also could not decipher if McQueen's grandson, Ethan, was supposed to read these letters while his grandfather was still alive or if they were meant for after he passed - again, this would make sense if the appropriate age were given for each letter.
If I ignore the obvious bias in the letters, I found much of the advice given to be relevant and useful wisdom for a young man - or woman - attaining to adulthood.
The Girl
Book
In this searing and surprising memoir, Samantha Geimer, "the girl" at the center of the infamous...
Astrological Charts Pro
Lifestyle and Utilities
App
Astrological Charts Pro is a professional astrological program for iOS, which reports 12 types of...
The Ince Blundell Collection of Classical Sculpture: Volume 3 : The Ideal Sculpture
Book
This book investigates the important antiquities collection formed by Henry Blundell of Ince...
Pony Coloring Pages for Girls
Entertainment and Games
App
◊ Coloring Book For Girls! Musical coloring pages made especially for girls! Download Now for...
Cody Cook (8 KP) rated The Everlasting Man in Books
Jun 29, 2018
Part I is significantly better than part II, particularly because Chesterton is at his strongest when arguing for larger truths than when arguing for specific ones. He is quite convincing in arguing for the influence of God in pagan societies, but less convincing when arguing that God manifested Himself in Jesus of Nazareth (a belief which I do in fact hold) and even less persuasive when arguing that Jesus works exclusively through that peculiar organization known as the Roman Catholic Church. It is not all apparent to me whether Chesterton feels more comraderie with polytheists or Protestants, as his tone seems much harsher when bringing up the latter. Although this is a popular level theology book and Chesterton seems at times to be more concerned with giving a presuppositional framework than stating historical facts, I think it could have benefited from more citations to help demonstrate his points, some of which are so large as to require significant support. If the book only had consisted of the first part, I would probably have given it four stars, with the same concern about citations.
David McK (3372 KP) rated The Legion (Eagle, #10) in Books
Jan 30, 2019
The latest in Simon Scarrows Roman series of books (that initially all had the word 'Eagle' somewhere in the title), this follows on fromt he events of 'The Gladiator' and can be seen as concluding the plot line first began in 'Centurion'.
Unlike 'The Gladiator', however, I reckon it would be possible (maybe not advisable, but possible) to read this as stand-alone: although reference is made to previous events, they aren't quite as central to the story in this book as the events in 'Centurion' are to 'The Gladiator'. This particular novel is set in Egypt - Rome's bread-basket - and follows Cato (who, for the first time in the series as a whole, has more responsibility than Macro) and Macro's search to hunt down the renegade Gladiator Ajax, who escaped from Crete at the end of the previous novel. As before, when you pick up one of these books: you pretty much know what to expect - bloody battles, a little bit of suspense, and a few loose ends for the sequels ...
Unlike 'The Gladiator', however, I reckon it would be possible (maybe not advisable, but possible) to read this as stand-alone: although reference is made to previous events, they aren't quite as central to the story in this book as the events in 'Centurion' are to 'The Gladiator'. This particular novel is set in Egypt - Rome's bread-basket - and follows Cato (who, for the first time in the series as a whole, has more responsibility than Macro) and Macro's search to hunt down the renegade Gladiator Ajax, who escaped from Crete at the end of the previous novel. As before, when you pick up one of these books: you pretty much know what to expect - bloody battles, a little bit of suspense, and a few loose ends for the sequels ...
Otway93 (567 KP) rated What? (1972) in Movies
Nov 15, 2019
Well Improvised (1 more)
Humour
Story (1 more)
Acting
Rather pointless...
Contains spoilers, click to show
Despite the controversy surrounding Roman Polanski for the past few decades, he has made some astounding movies over the past 50-something years, Rosemary's Baby, The Fearless Vampire Killers, The Pianist, and many others.
Unfortunately, this 1972 x-rated comedy doesn't come up to their standards, it's rumoured that the whole point of the film was so he could see Sydne Rome naked, which would explain the lack of effort put into this film.
The film itself has very little story, a woman (Sydne Rome) escapes from 3 rapists and comes to a luxurious Italian house full of strange sexual deviants, all of whom fit perfectly in with 1970s sex-comedies, but couldn't really do serious acting. That's basically the film.
The script itself is for the most improvised, and the humour from this is probably the best thing about this film, and does cause some funny moments.
For the most part though, the film is only good for those with a particular sense of humour, not dry, but also not crude, somewhere inbetween.
Unfortunately, this 1972 x-rated comedy doesn't come up to their standards, it's rumoured that the whole point of the film was so he could see Sydne Rome naked, which would explain the lack of effort put into this film.
The film itself has very little story, a woman (Sydne Rome) escapes from 3 rapists and comes to a luxurious Italian house full of strange sexual deviants, all of whom fit perfectly in with 1970s sex-comedies, but couldn't really do serious acting. That's basically the film.
The script itself is for the most improvised, and the humour from this is probably the best thing about this film, and does cause some funny moments.
For the most part though, the film is only good for those with a particular sense of humour, not dry, but also not crude, somewhere inbetween.
David McK (3372 KP) rated Traitors or Rome (Eagle #18) in Books
Mar 29, 2020
Book number 18 in Simon Scarrow's long-running Macro and Cato series, which means he's catching up on Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe for sheer proliferation of books with the same central character(s) (and that's a good thing).
Following on from the previous novel ("The Blood of Rome"), Macro and Cato are still in charge of the Praetorians, and still on the eastern fringes of the Roman Empire (Syria), with Cato then tasked with making a dangerous journey into Parthia to deliver Rome's demands to the ruler of that nation while the recently-married (at the start of the novel) Macro, under General Corbulo, lays siege to the small kingdom of Thapsis in the mountains which has risen in revolt against Rome.
I have to say, with a title like 'Traitors of Rome' and with the extremely mercenary (historical) nature of the Praetorian Guard, I first thought - when I saw the title - that the Traitors of Rome would themselves prove to be the Praetorians themselves!
That's not the case, however, read the novel to finds out what is ...
Following on from the previous novel ("The Blood of Rome"), Macro and Cato are still in charge of the Praetorians, and still on the eastern fringes of the Roman Empire (Syria), with Cato then tasked with making a dangerous journey into Parthia to deliver Rome's demands to the ruler of that nation while the recently-married (at the start of the novel) Macro, under General Corbulo, lays siege to the small kingdom of Thapsis in the mountains which has risen in revolt against Rome.
I have to say, with a title like 'Traitors of Rome' and with the extremely mercenary (historical) nature of the Praetorian Guard, I first thought - when I saw the title - that the Traitors of Rome would themselves prove to be the Praetorians themselves!
That's not the case, however, read the novel to finds out what is ...