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Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated Captain Clive's Dreamworld in Books
Dec 12, 2020
I love books that deal with a mysterious town that seems to be perfect yet strange things happen, so when I heard about Captain Clive's Dreamworld by Jon Bassoff, I knew this would be my kind of book. I can not tell you enough about how great of a book this was!
Deputy Sam Hardy is fed up with his life. Everything looks bleak for Hardy. When a prostitute is found dead in a seedy motel room and Hardy looks like he may be the culprit, he is banished to take over the role of deputy in the seemingly perfect town of Angels and Hope. Everyone seems to love this town, and everything is so cookie cutter, but the people never seem to sleep. Young girls are going missing yet the town says the girls never existed. When Hardy begins to pry into this town's history, he puts his own wellbeing in jeopardy.
I will say the plot of Captain Clive's Dreamworld drew me in right away. The pacing is done perfectly, and I kept on finding myself reading as fast as possible so I could learn what would happen next. I was instantly transported to the town of Angels and Hope with Deputy Sam Hardy. I never lost interest at all. In my head, I was trying to work out what was wrong with the town. Everything seemed to be perfect there, but we all know that nothing is ever perfect. While Angels and Hope was created to be a utopia, it was much more dystopian. There were many sinister goings on happening. While I was able to predict some of the plot, it was still interesting to read on to see if I was correct. There are a few plot twists too. Jon Bassoff did a fantastic job making this story come together brilliantly enough to keep it interesting. While the book didn't end the way I wanted, it was definitely an interesting ending for sure. All loose ends were tied up and the story came together very well.
I enjoyed each and every character in Captain Clive's Dreamworld. Each character felt realistic and fleshed out. Sam Hardy was quite the interesting character. I liked reading about his thought process. I felt like I was going through everything he was. Although I thought he would be uncaring, he was quite the opposite. His plight to get answers was quite the journey to read about. The three witches were fabulous antagonists. I could picture each of the three women easily in my mind. They were easy to hate. I loved trying to figure out Mayor Sampson's character. I kept on trying to guess how much he knew and what he'd be willing to do to keep secrets hidden. I enjoyed reading about all the townspeople of Angels and Hope and trying to guess what their guilty secrets were and what their end game was.
Trigger warnings for Captain Clive's Dreamworld include death, murder, suicide, violence, prostitution, sex, child rape, incest, blackmail, gaslighting, threats, drugs, alcohol, and swearing. This is not a book for the faint of heart as it deals with some very dark subjects.
All in all, Captain Clive's Dreamworld is a highly entertaining read with a great cast of characters as well as a great plot. It is definitely not for the faint of heart though as it is quite dark but enjoyable nonetheless. I would definitely recommend Captain Clive's Dreamworld by Jon Bassoff to those aged 18+ who love a dark horror novel with great depth.
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(A special thank you to Pump Up Your Book for providing me with a paperback of Captain Clive's Dreamworld by Jon Bassoff in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)
Deputy Sam Hardy is fed up with his life. Everything looks bleak for Hardy. When a prostitute is found dead in a seedy motel room and Hardy looks like he may be the culprit, he is banished to take over the role of deputy in the seemingly perfect town of Angels and Hope. Everyone seems to love this town, and everything is so cookie cutter, but the people never seem to sleep. Young girls are going missing yet the town says the girls never existed. When Hardy begins to pry into this town's history, he puts his own wellbeing in jeopardy.
I will say the plot of Captain Clive's Dreamworld drew me in right away. The pacing is done perfectly, and I kept on finding myself reading as fast as possible so I could learn what would happen next. I was instantly transported to the town of Angels and Hope with Deputy Sam Hardy. I never lost interest at all. In my head, I was trying to work out what was wrong with the town. Everything seemed to be perfect there, but we all know that nothing is ever perfect. While Angels and Hope was created to be a utopia, it was much more dystopian. There were many sinister goings on happening. While I was able to predict some of the plot, it was still interesting to read on to see if I was correct. There are a few plot twists too. Jon Bassoff did a fantastic job making this story come together brilliantly enough to keep it interesting. While the book didn't end the way I wanted, it was definitely an interesting ending for sure. All loose ends were tied up and the story came together very well.
I enjoyed each and every character in Captain Clive's Dreamworld. Each character felt realistic and fleshed out. Sam Hardy was quite the interesting character. I liked reading about his thought process. I felt like I was going through everything he was. Although I thought he would be uncaring, he was quite the opposite. His plight to get answers was quite the journey to read about. The three witches were fabulous antagonists. I could picture each of the three women easily in my mind. They were easy to hate. I loved trying to figure out Mayor Sampson's character. I kept on trying to guess how much he knew and what he'd be willing to do to keep secrets hidden. I enjoyed reading about all the townspeople of Angels and Hope and trying to guess what their guilty secrets were and what their end game was.
Trigger warnings for Captain Clive's Dreamworld include death, murder, suicide, violence, prostitution, sex, child rape, incest, blackmail, gaslighting, threats, drugs, alcohol, and swearing. This is not a book for the faint of heart as it deals with some very dark subjects.
All in all, Captain Clive's Dreamworld is a highly entertaining read with a great cast of characters as well as a great plot. It is definitely not for the faint of heart though as it is quite dark but enjoyable nonetheless. I would definitely recommend Captain Clive's Dreamworld by Jon Bassoff to those aged 18+ who love a dark horror novel with great depth.
-
(A special thank you to Pump Up Your Book for providing me with a paperback of Captain Clive's Dreamworld by Jon Bassoff in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)
Rat (1 KP) rated Peaky Blinders - Season 1 in TV
Mar 28, 2018
Forget everything you think you know about period drama
It would be easy to dismiss Peaky Blinders as just a British drama. It would be easy to dismiss it as just a period piece. It would be easy to claim that it was just a British Boardwalk Empire. You'd be so wrong to do so.
Every part of Peaky Blinders is perfection. From the superb acting of its regular cast (Cillian Murphy on a tv show? Sign me up!) to a roster of featured guests (Sam Neill? Tom Hardy? Adrien Brody? Who did the casting director sell their soul to, anyway?) to the use of colour and an outlaw music soundtrack that shouldn't work, but does (Nick Cave? PJ Harvey? Tom Waits? David Bowie? On a period drama? What is this? Freaking genius, that's what.)
Shortly after the end of the first World War, a family of Irish gypsy (their word, not mine) - blooded Birmingham bookmakers tries to recover from the horrors of that war and build up their business. Second oldest, Tommy Shelby (played expertly by Cillian Murphy who manages to play a gangster who is both ruthless and fragile with the ability to break your heart with a single look), came back from the war broken by his experiences, but determined to rise far beyond the limitations of his Small Heath upbringing. Not only does he have the expected clashes with those who want to keep him from growing his business (both criminal rivals and the police) but he has a family to run (with all the interpersonal conflicts that entails). All of this is set against a backdrop of political turmoil from the IRA and the rise of communist sympathy in the UK.
You shouldn't like Tommy Shelby, but he is written and acted so well that you won't be able to not like him. The same can be said for older brother, Arthur, younger siblings John, Ada, and Finn. If you don't love Aunt Polly, then you must have a problem with strong female characters.
Steven Knight has taken a world told to him through family legend and turned it into a world that you will be eager to inhabit an hour (or, if you're like everyone I know, a season) at a time. He writes a period drama that doesn't feel dated. The characters and their struggles are as relevant today as they were nearly a hundred years ago.
Take a chance on the show with the weird name and discover why there are very few casual Peaky Blinders fans. There's a reason why the late, great David Bowie was a huge fan and made sure that they would have a song from his last album before he died. There's a reason the show's dated fashion and hairstyles are making a comeback, why Peaky Blinders pubs and pub nights are popping up all over. It's that good. Check it out for yourself.
Every part of Peaky Blinders is perfection. From the superb acting of its regular cast (Cillian Murphy on a tv show? Sign me up!) to a roster of featured guests (Sam Neill? Tom Hardy? Adrien Brody? Who did the casting director sell their soul to, anyway?) to the use of colour and an outlaw music soundtrack that shouldn't work, but does (Nick Cave? PJ Harvey? Tom Waits? David Bowie? On a period drama? What is this? Freaking genius, that's what.)
Shortly after the end of the first World War, a family of Irish gypsy (their word, not mine) - blooded Birmingham bookmakers tries to recover from the horrors of that war and build up their business. Second oldest, Tommy Shelby (played expertly by Cillian Murphy who manages to play a gangster who is both ruthless and fragile with the ability to break your heart with a single look), came back from the war broken by his experiences, but determined to rise far beyond the limitations of his Small Heath upbringing. Not only does he have the expected clashes with those who want to keep him from growing his business (both criminal rivals and the police) but he has a family to run (with all the interpersonal conflicts that entails). All of this is set against a backdrop of political turmoil from the IRA and the rise of communist sympathy in the UK.
You shouldn't like Tommy Shelby, but he is written and acted so well that you won't be able to not like him. The same can be said for older brother, Arthur, younger siblings John, Ada, and Finn. If you don't love Aunt Polly, then you must have a problem with strong female characters.
Steven Knight has taken a world told to him through family legend and turned it into a world that you will be eager to inhabit an hour (or, if you're like everyone I know, a season) at a time. He writes a period drama that doesn't feel dated. The characters and their struggles are as relevant today as they were nearly a hundred years ago.
Take a chance on the show with the weird name and discover why there are very few casual Peaky Blinders fans. There's a reason why the late, great David Bowie was a huge fan and made sure that they would have a song from his last album before he died. There's a reason the show's dated fashion and hairstyles are making a comeback, why Peaky Blinders pubs and pub nights are popping up all over. It's that good. Check it out for yourself.