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Booksnthreads (19 KP) rated Children of Blood and Bone: Book 1 in Books
Jun 2, 2018 (Updated Jun 2, 2018)
I’ve been looking for a sci-fi/fantasy novel this good since reading The Hunger Games. So many books let me down, but this one it my new favorite.
Such phenomenal world building, weaving into the narrative rather than simply telling. Thank you Adeyemi for believing in the readers enough to trust that they can figure things out as the story is told!
So many of the books written for young adults now, especially those specifically designed as a series, fail to deliver characters that are nuanced instead of stereotypical. Adeyemi delivers. So many books work too hard to to extend the story into the next book; Adeyemi seems to effortlessly build the plot to a natural crescendo that, yes leaves you hanging, but with just enough resolution to be satisfied.
I am eagerly anticipating the next installment and, essentially, anything that this author puts out. She has a long career ahead of her, and I look forward to follow8ng her progress.
Such phenomenal world building, weaving into the narrative rather than simply telling. Thank you Adeyemi for believing in the readers enough to trust that they can figure things out as the story is told!
So many of the books written for young adults now, especially those specifically designed as a series, fail to deliver characters that are nuanced instead of stereotypical. Adeyemi delivers. So many books work too hard to to extend the story into the next book; Adeyemi seems to effortlessly build the plot to a natural crescendo that, yes leaves you hanging, but with just enough resolution to be satisfied.
I am eagerly anticipating the next installment and, essentially, anything that this author puts out. She has a long career ahead of her, and I look forward to follow8ng her progress.
The Trusted by Michelle Medhat is the first book in a five book series. A cross genre book that incorporates spy thriller with brilliant elements of sci-fi and fantasy too at times. The story hits the ground running and we are thrown into the action from the first page. We meet MI-6 agent Sam Noor who is part of the fight against a new terror organisation that is a threat to the whole world.They are using brand new technology to threaten everything people love. I think the world building is excellent and Michelle has created truly individual strong characters that stay with you long after you have finished the book. A story that had my adrenaline rushing all the way through, with enough action for three books never mind just the one! Am picking up the second book as soon as possible, I need to know what will happen in this series quick! Thank you to Michelle for my copy of the book today.
Merissa (11731 KP) rated A Wizard's Forge (The Woern Saga, #1) in Books
Dec 17, 2018
Some books are called epic simply for the sheer volume that they have. This book is epic... with volume as an added extra. This story is staggering in its magnitude. It incorporates Sci-Fi with Fantasy but also includes a lot of action. The characters are all well-developed and I really felt for Vic as she tried to work through what had happened to her. Vic is full of flaws but that just makes her more real.
As you can see from the title, this is Book 1. The story is wrapped up pretty well at the end of this book and will leave you wanting to read more.
The only thing I will say is that I skipped over the majority of the place names as they simply became too long and tongue-twisterish - Olmlablaire being one of the easiest ones. They are either very easy like Re and Latha or more complicated.
Definitely recommended for all Fantasy fans, especially those who like a bigger book to really get their teeth into. And at this price, you'll be getting a lot of book for your bucks!
This review is for the revised edition of Blade of Amber, now called A Wizard's Forge.
* I received this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
As you can see from the title, this is Book 1. The story is wrapped up pretty well at the end of this book and will leave you wanting to read more.
The only thing I will say is that I skipped over the majority of the place names as they simply became too long and tongue-twisterish - Olmlablaire being one of the easiest ones. They are either very easy like Re and Latha or more complicated.
Definitely recommended for all Fantasy fans, especially those who like a bigger book to really get their teeth into. And at this price, you'll be getting a lot of book for your bucks!
This review is for the revised edition of Blade of Amber, now called A Wizard's Forge.
* I received this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Mekkin B. (122 KP) rated Writing Excuses in Podcasts
Feb 22, 2018
15 Minutes Long, Because You're in a Hurry and They're Not That Smart
I've been an avid follower of this podcast for years. Every episode is a concise 15 to 20 minutes surrounding a discrete topic on the subject of writing and storytelling. All four authors are fairly well known sci-fi, fantasy and horror genre authors, so the advice does tend to be more geared towards those interested in writing genre fiction, but perfectly applicable to anyone who wants to learn how to write a compelling story.
I love the format. I'm not a huge fan of the rambly format of some other hour + long podcasts. I feel like I zone in and out listening to podcasters attempt to make a point. That's never the case with Writing Excuses. Ironically, the short format that probably accounts for this also makes me wish there was more!
Plus they include a book recommendation and a writing exercise as "homework" every week, which I have found to be particularly useful.
If you're interested in writing, I would definitely give Writing Excuses a listen.
I love the format. I'm not a huge fan of the rambly format of some other hour + long podcasts. I feel like I zone in and out listening to podcasters attempt to make a point. That's never the case with Writing Excuses. Ironically, the short format that probably accounts for this also makes me wish there was more!
Plus they include a book recommendation and a writing exercise as "homework" every week, which I have found to be particularly useful.
If you're interested in writing, I would definitely give Writing Excuses a listen.
Sarah (7798 KP) rated All the Birds in the Sky in Books
Sep 20, 2019
A good blend of genres
All the Birds in the Sky is a rather difficult book to classify. It’s a rather good mix of sci-fi, drama, fantasy and romance, all under the guise of a battle between magic and science. I wouldn’t have thought such a mix of genres would work, but actually this does rather well. The two main characters, Patricia and Laurence, are well developed and enjoyable to read about, even if they are a little frustrating at times. The world of science and magic that they live in is an interesting idea and fascinating to delve into, although I did feel that the book didn’t quite go into as much detail as I’d like. I also felt a little disappointed with the ending. The entire book had been building up to this massive battle between science and magic, and it all turned out rather lacklustre and tame. It’s a shame really as until the ending, I’d rather been enjoying the story and couldn’t wait to find out what was next.
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV (2016) in Movies
Jul 15, 2019
It seems like just last week that the creators of the Final Fantasy game franchise sought to bring their vision of the universe they created, and their story, to the silver screen. Well, okay. It wasn’t last week. It’s actually been about 15 years since this really took place in 2001.
I remember being extremely excited for Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, but the movie itself escapes me today. I think the lack of a lasting impact could have to do with those same creators scrambling to find the distinction between a wide-release movie and a game they’re already heavily invested in. After re-visiting the film, I remember my initial thoughts and they remain the same today. The nowhere-near-photo-realistic animated characters battled and chased each other to and fro in a tale that made little to no sense, with or without the rules of the (bad for its time) computer animated gamescape it’s all set in.
Flash back forward to today, another Japanese made FF movie makes its way to the screen via Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV. Kingsglaive represents a quantum leap forward in animation and design, if not a great leap in mo-cap technology and story. The images are far more flexible, more mobile, and more tactile; though, the faces still lack expression, much less what anyone could called subtle or nuanced. The backdrops are striking and surreal, on a par with many of the big sci-fi and fantasy films hitting theaters these days.
But, take away the advertorial nature of Kingsglaive, ignore its use as a cheat sheet, prep for the players of various corners of the game world it depicts, and deal with it as a story with characters and incidents anybody not devoted to the game would watch, and it’s the same old, same old when it comes to FF. It remains a misshapen mash-up heavy with sci-fi fantasy exposition and a back story so convoluted that a single two-hour movie cannot encapsulate it.
Kingsglaive dwells mostly in the realm of fantasy, inside a universe of medieval castles, steampunk weaponry, armor, and creatrues. A world where the Kingdom of Lucis faces a new threat at the end of an uneasy peace with the Niflheim Empire. There’s a magic crystal (of course there is) and the only warriors King Regis (Sean Bean) trusts to defend it are his Kingsglaive, who are empowered by the magic of their sovereign. There are tusked wildebeest warhorses. You would think these would be the point of reference when someone shouts, “Release the DEMON!” But no, they’re actually talking about war crabs – crabs that spit out a hailstorm of fireballs.
The stakes are high, and there’s been quite a bit of intermixing of Lucians and Niflheimers in the “hundred years of peace”, but anti-immigrant backlash rears its ugly head. Taunts and slurs against the immigrants are present, as is there a wall – who says video game movies can’t be topical. With the immigrants who must prove themselves, there are good soldiers, an evil prince, all with tongue-twisting names like Lenafreya Nox Fleuret, should you choose to try and remember them.
The dialogue, delivered by the likes of Aaron Paul and Lena Heady, could have been better. Though I don’t so much blame the voice talent as much as I do the script itself, with classics like “Get back here alive! That’s an order!” and “You speak of matters beyond the wall.”
Probably the biggest thing most movie fans will remember, is the name of the city under threat. It probably has the silliest name this side of Raccoon City. They call it, Insomnia. Which is kind of ironic, because Kingsglaive may be a cure for the condition for some.
I remember being extremely excited for Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, but the movie itself escapes me today. I think the lack of a lasting impact could have to do with those same creators scrambling to find the distinction between a wide-release movie and a game they’re already heavily invested in. After re-visiting the film, I remember my initial thoughts and they remain the same today. The nowhere-near-photo-realistic animated characters battled and chased each other to and fro in a tale that made little to no sense, with or without the rules of the (bad for its time) computer animated gamescape it’s all set in.
Flash back forward to today, another Japanese made FF movie makes its way to the screen via Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV. Kingsglaive represents a quantum leap forward in animation and design, if not a great leap in mo-cap technology and story. The images are far more flexible, more mobile, and more tactile; though, the faces still lack expression, much less what anyone could called subtle or nuanced. The backdrops are striking and surreal, on a par with many of the big sci-fi and fantasy films hitting theaters these days.
But, take away the advertorial nature of Kingsglaive, ignore its use as a cheat sheet, prep for the players of various corners of the game world it depicts, and deal with it as a story with characters and incidents anybody not devoted to the game would watch, and it’s the same old, same old when it comes to FF. It remains a misshapen mash-up heavy with sci-fi fantasy exposition and a back story so convoluted that a single two-hour movie cannot encapsulate it.
Kingsglaive dwells mostly in the realm of fantasy, inside a universe of medieval castles, steampunk weaponry, armor, and creatrues. A world where the Kingdom of Lucis faces a new threat at the end of an uneasy peace with the Niflheim Empire. There’s a magic crystal (of course there is) and the only warriors King Regis (Sean Bean) trusts to defend it are his Kingsglaive, who are empowered by the magic of their sovereign. There are tusked wildebeest warhorses. You would think these would be the point of reference when someone shouts, “Release the DEMON!” But no, they’re actually talking about war crabs – crabs that spit out a hailstorm of fireballs.
The stakes are high, and there’s been quite a bit of intermixing of Lucians and Niflheimers in the “hundred years of peace”, but anti-immigrant backlash rears its ugly head. Taunts and slurs against the immigrants are present, as is there a wall – who says video game movies can’t be topical. With the immigrants who must prove themselves, there are good soldiers, an evil prince, all with tongue-twisting names like Lenafreya Nox Fleuret, should you choose to try and remember them.
The dialogue, delivered by the likes of Aaron Paul and Lena Heady, could have been better. Though I don’t so much blame the voice talent as much as I do the script itself, with classics like “Get back here alive! That’s an order!” and “You speak of matters beyond the wall.”
Probably the biggest thing most movie fans will remember, is the name of the city under threat. It probably has the silliest name this side of Raccoon City. They call it, Insomnia. Which is kind of ironic, because Kingsglaive may be a cure for the condition for some.
Ross (3282 KP) rated One Word Kill in Books
Dec 4, 2019
Nothing original but a good read
Mark Lawrence has stepped out of the fantasy bubble into this loosely sci-fi trilogy set in the 1980s. 15 year old Nick is diagnosed with cancer and while undergoing chemotherapy starts to have strange visions and deja vu. A mysterious figure seems to be stalking him and his D&D friends, and he ends up planning a siege to help this person from the future.
The story is very short (a little over 200 pages on kindle), but is quite heavy on the 80s references and D&D gameplay. The story itself is nothing new but with a little more head-scratching time travel/parallel universe pseudo-science crammed in. The twists throughout the story are fairly predictable and cliched.
The dialogue also doesn't feel like authentic 80s teenager speech to me, a few too many Americanisms ("hey" instead of "hi", "do it, already" etc).
A reasonably enjoyable short book, but a little Stranger Things bandwagon-jumping to me. I'm not sure whether the other two books carry on the story or how, so I will be interested to see where they go from here.
The story is very short (a little over 200 pages on kindle), but is quite heavy on the 80s references and D&D gameplay. The story itself is nothing new but with a little more head-scratching time travel/parallel universe pseudo-science crammed in. The twists throughout the story are fairly predictable and cliched.
The dialogue also doesn't feel like authentic 80s teenager speech to me, a few too many Americanisms ("hey" instead of "hi", "do it, already" etc).
A reasonably enjoyable short book, but a little Stranger Things bandwagon-jumping to me. I'm not sure whether the other two books carry on the story or how, so I will be interested to see where they go from here.
b.Young (97 KP) rated The Moon Dwellers (The Dwellers #1) in Books
May 6, 2018
Unique dystopian world (2 more)
Great character development
Quick read
Amazing first installment of the Dwellers Series!
As an older reader, I somehow find myself being drawn more often than not to the YA Dystopian, Sci-fi, and Fantasy genres thanks to books like The Moon Dwellers.
David Estes has created a unique post-apocalyptic world under the surface of the Earth in which the remaining people live. There are 3 underground realms: Sun, Moon, and Star that fittingly describe the amount of light that each level recieves and thus dictates the class of people that reside on each level.
The story is of 17-year-old Adele who is sentenced to life in the Pen for her parent's treasonous acts, since the abduction of her parents and sister by the Enforcers.
After learning that her family is, in fact, alive, she plots to escape her prison and rescue her family, but not before making a couple of friends in the Pen and developing some very weird feelings for the President of the Sun Realm's son (who apparently has developed the same feelings for her) whom she has never met!
An rollercoaster ride of emotions are what awaits you whilst reading this exciting tale! And I can't wait to read the second installment of The Dwellers Series!
David Estes has created a unique post-apocalyptic world under the surface of the Earth in which the remaining people live. There are 3 underground realms: Sun, Moon, and Star that fittingly describe the amount of light that each level recieves and thus dictates the class of people that reside on each level.
The story is of 17-year-old Adele who is sentenced to life in the Pen for her parent's treasonous acts, since the abduction of her parents and sister by the Enforcers.
After learning that her family is, in fact, alive, she plots to escape her prison and rescue her family, but not before making a couple of friends in the Pen and developing some very weird feelings for the President of the Sun Realm's son (who apparently has developed the same feelings for her) whom she has never met!
An rollercoaster ride of emotions are what awaits you whilst reading this exciting tale! And I can't wait to read the second installment of The Dwellers Series!
graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated Sing Down the Stars in Books
Feb 15, 2019
I have no words. I absolutely loved this book. It had a sympathetic protagonist who grew throughout the book, a unique world, fully-fledged characters, and great pacing. It's part fantasy, sci-fi, Techpunk (my term for a modern-type of Steampunk), thrown into a modern or slightly futuristic world. I'm sorry, but I cannot be objective about Sing Down the Stars. It's probably not perfect but I don't care, the only thing I can even remember is the action at the beginning felt muddled to me. That's it. Otherwise, I whipped through the book whenever I had the chance and was riveted. <b>Riveted!</b> I tell you! And maybe a bit rabid as well. I want the next book now. I NEED the next book or I feel I might have a coronary. The book is so fantastic and the world so different than anything else I've come across that I just want to shove it in everyone's face and tell them to read it! I don't know when the last time that's happened with a book. Even if you're iffy about the synopsis, try it, sure maybe you won't like it (what are you? Crazy?!), but what do you have to lose? Besides money, but than there are libraries.
Neon's Nerd Nexus (360 KP) rated The Fifth Element (1997) in Movies
May 13, 2019
Shes so fragile, so human.
Number 4 in my #top10 #favourite films 'The Fifth Element'
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Flawless #comedy, bursting with creativity, a fantastic & unique story, visually outstanding with stunningly intricate costume & set design #TheFifthElement is a masterpiece. #LucBesson is a genius & really has managed to create a #scifi #world brimming with #life, progress & great ancient lore while housing complex/interesting characters that are all played by the perfect cast. Luc is such a talented director creating a clever contrast of #dark, #violent, disturbing & adult themes mixed with wacky, #camp, #comedic & #childish tones that #complement each other & that flow together so technically well that most #superhero movie directors these days still struggle with getting this balance right. #Music invokes such dread & wonder too while dialog is so sensational it makes The Fifth Element possibly the most quotable film I've ever seen. Its really a #film that I can not praise highly enough & having such a great mix of genres makes it easily accessible to everyone. Without a doubt one of my favourite #love stories of all time & definitely my favourite sci-fi, if you haven't seen it you really are missing out. ------------------------------------------------
#brucewillis #millajovovich #christucker #alien #fantasy #beauty #tuesday #filmbuff #comic #nerd #geek #garyoldman
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Flawless #comedy, bursting with creativity, a fantastic & unique story, visually outstanding with stunningly intricate costume & set design #TheFifthElement is a masterpiece. #LucBesson is a genius & really has managed to create a #scifi #world brimming with #life, progress & great ancient lore while housing complex/interesting characters that are all played by the perfect cast. Luc is such a talented director creating a clever contrast of #dark, #violent, disturbing & adult themes mixed with wacky, #camp, #comedic & #childish tones that #complement each other & that flow together so technically well that most #superhero movie directors these days still struggle with getting this balance right. #Music invokes such dread & wonder too while dialog is so sensational it makes The Fifth Element possibly the most quotable film I've ever seen. Its really a #film that I can not praise highly enough & having such a great mix of genres makes it easily accessible to everyone. Without a doubt one of my favourite #love stories of all time & definitely my favourite sci-fi, if you haven't seen it you really are missing out. ------------------------------------------------
#brucewillis #millajovovich #christucker #alien #fantasy #beauty #tuesday #filmbuff #comic #nerd #geek #garyoldman