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BookInspector (124 KP) rated Rocco and the Price of Lies in Books
Sep 24, 2020
So, this book follows Inspector Rocco in solving three murders of famous and powerful people, where forged paintings, theft and deceit are involved. I really liked multiple perspectives used in this novel, I like the ability to read the thoughts of not only the positive but negative characters as well. I liked Lucas Rocco as a lead character, I think he is an intelligent and good detective.
This book is set in France, and I really enjoyed reading about the French way of police work, it was quite new and refreshing for me. The beginning was a little slow for me, but later it picked up the pace, and all the turns and twists made this book more entertaining. Even though it is part of the series, I think this book can easily be read as a stand-alone, as a first-time reader, I was able to understand what was going on. I think the research for this novel was very well done, and I was able to learn a few new things as well.
I liked the writing style of this book, it was simple and easily understandable, but at the same time, I could feel the French atmosphere in every chapter. The chapters were pretty short, and this book didn’t leave me bored, the pages just flew by. I liked the ending of this book, I think it rounded the story well and left me satisfied with the outcome.
So, to conclude, it was a pleasant mystery book, filled with unique and amusing characters as well as a well-delivered plot. If you like French mystery books, I think you would enjoy this novel as well, if you are looking for something new (like I was), do give this book a go, and I hope you will like it as much as I did.
This book is set in France, and I really enjoyed reading about the French way of police work, it was quite new and refreshing for me. The beginning was a little slow for me, but later it picked up the pace, and all the turns and twists made this book more entertaining. Even though it is part of the series, I think this book can easily be read as a stand-alone, as a first-time reader, I was able to understand what was going on. I think the research for this novel was very well done, and I was able to learn a few new things as well.
I liked the writing style of this book, it was simple and easily understandable, but at the same time, I could feel the French atmosphere in every chapter. The chapters were pretty short, and this book didn’t leave me bored, the pages just flew by. I liked the ending of this book, I think it rounded the story well and left me satisfied with the outcome.
So, to conclude, it was a pleasant mystery book, filled with unique and amusing characters as well as a well-delivered plot. If you like French mystery books, I think you would enjoy this novel as well, if you are looking for something new (like I was), do give this book a go, and I hope you will like it as much as I did.
BookInspector (124 KP) rated Trick or Murder? (Sophie Sayers Village Mystery #2) in Books
Sep 24, 2020
The protagonist in this story was Sophie, and the whole book is told from her perspective. The blurb above describes this story quite accurately, but it is a little bit deceiving as well. I really wanted to connect with Sophie or any other character, but unfortunately, I couldn’t. I liked the village setting and tight community sense of this book, however, I think that the characters were not fully developed and some of them were pretty dull. I really enjoyed that Sophie worked in the bookshop, I liked reading about its daily operation and how it survives in a little community.
I would describe the narrative of this book as cute. There are some events happening, but I am used to “heavier” books. I missed the twists, turns, and unexpected surprises, 70% of the book kind of plodded along, until something interesting happened, and the mysterious part had no investigation at all. Before reading this book, I knew little about Bonfire night, and I am happy that I was able to learn more about how it was celebrated back in the day.
The writing style was very simple, and this book can be read as stand alone. I haven’t read the first part, but I was able to understand what is going on. The chapters were pretty short and it was easy to read this novel. The ending rounded up this book pretty well, and I liked that the author gave a snippet of what is to come in the next book. So, to conclude, this is a light and easy read, filled with village spirit, romantic discoveries and a hint of mystery, and if you are into any of it, do give this book a try, and I hope you will enjoy it.
I would describe the narrative of this book as cute. There are some events happening, but I am used to “heavier” books. I missed the twists, turns, and unexpected surprises, 70% of the book kind of plodded along, until something interesting happened, and the mysterious part had no investigation at all. Before reading this book, I knew little about Bonfire night, and I am happy that I was able to learn more about how it was celebrated back in the day.
The writing style was very simple, and this book can be read as stand alone. I haven’t read the first part, but I was able to understand what is going on. The chapters were pretty short and it was easy to read this novel. The ending rounded up this book pretty well, and I liked that the author gave a snippet of what is to come in the next book. So, to conclude, this is a light and easy read, filled with village spirit, romantic discoveries and a hint of mystery, and if you are into any of it, do give this book a try, and I hope you will enjoy it.
BookInspector (124 KP) rated Viper's Daughter (Chronicles of Ancient Darkness #7) in Books
Sep 24, 2020
The protagonists in this book were Torak and Renn, and the book was mostly told from their perspectives. Renn leaves Torak unexpectedly, when Torak finds out where and why Renn left, he follows her to the Far North, where everything is completely different from the forest, where he grew up. I adored the characters in this book, they are very mysterious to me. Reading their thoughts about hunting, offerings and general respect to the mother nature is so refreshing and new to me. I am not a very big fan of stories based on folk stories and spirituality, but this book really captivated me.
I really enjoyed the narrative of this book, it is set in the antarctic kind of place, where ice covers everything. It has plenty of adventure, wild and dangerous animals, spirituality and inner thoughts. I really loved the human-nature balance and relationship portrayed in this novel, I think it is a very important thing for us to remember because we do take nature for granted. Even though this book is a part of the series, I was able to read it as a stand-alone.
The writing style of this book is exquisite! The author portrayed the nature in this book with such great detail, I felt like sitting on the boat with Torak and witnessing everything with my own eyes, the experience was incredible! For some reason I really like books set in north and cold climates, people’s survival skills really amaze me. The chapters have a very decent length, and constant change of the perspectives doesn’t leave the reader bored. I liked the ending of this book as well, I think it rounded the story nicely.
I really enjoyed the narrative of this book, it is set in the antarctic kind of place, where ice covers everything. It has plenty of adventure, wild and dangerous animals, spirituality and inner thoughts. I really loved the human-nature balance and relationship portrayed in this novel, I think it is a very important thing for us to remember because we do take nature for granted. Even though this book is a part of the series, I was able to read it as a stand-alone.
The writing style of this book is exquisite! The author portrayed the nature in this book with such great detail, I felt like sitting on the boat with Torak and witnessing everything with my own eyes, the experience was incredible! For some reason I really like books set in north and cold climates, people’s survival skills really amaze me. The chapters have a very decent length, and constant change of the perspectives doesn’t leave the reader bored. I liked the ending of this book as well, I think it rounded the story nicely.
Joe Goodhart (27 KP) rated Batgirl, Vol. 3: Death of the Family in Books
Nov 30, 2020
Man, I have no idea WTF happened here, but I am the minority, as I just wasn't feeling it here!
Gail Simone is a favorite writer of mine, as well as a sizable number of comic readers. I don't pick up everything she writes, i.e. Dynamite's RED SONJA series, but I do try to keep a lookout when a new series, or new writing assignment from her, is out. And, generally, she is all aces, except here!
This was a re-read for me, as I was reading BATMAN: DEATH OF THE FAMILY (which was AWESOME, btw!), and I wanted to get the whole story. I don't know what happened, but it just started to get on m nerves! I really, truly wanted to enjoy the second time, but just felt like bland potato salad!
Daniel Sampere's art, on the other hand, was flawless. All the characters, as well as the backgrounds, looked hella tight! I found myself more into the art that the actual story!
I am not 100% sure why I didn't like it. Mostly, I felt some of the characterizations were off, leaving to not give a fart about any of them! That right there is what makes a book, regardless of whether a comic or an actual prose work, the characters have to stand out and make you actually interested in them! Without factor, you have a book that will fail to attract attention, and ultimately, will fail, falling quite flat!
Ok, this is my closing part. This is where I give my final grade, as well as recommending, or trashing, the book being reviewed. Not gonna do it this time round! I want to say that you, yourself, should read this trade, seeing if you like it as much as the others seemed to, k'?
Gail Simone is a favorite writer of mine, as well as a sizable number of comic readers. I don't pick up everything she writes, i.e. Dynamite's RED SONJA series, but I do try to keep a lookout when a new series, or new writing assignment from her, is out. And, generally, she is all aces, except here!
This was a re-read for me, as I was reading BATMAN: DEATH OF THE FAMILY (which was AWESOME, btw!), and I wanted to get the whole story. I don't know what happened, but it just started to get on m nerves! I really, truly wanted to enjoy the second time, but just felt like bland potato salad!
Daniel Sampere's art, on the other hand, was flawless. All the characters, as well as the backgrounds, looked hella tight! I found myself more into the art that the actual story!
I am not 100% sure why I didn't like it. Mostly, I felt some of the characterizations were off, leaving to not give a fart about any of them! That right there is what makes a book, regardless of whether a comic or an actual prose work, the characters have to stand out and make you actually interested in them! Without factor, you have a book that will fail to attract attention, and ultimately, will fail, falling quite flat!
Ok, this is my closing part. This is where I give my final grade, as well as recommending, or trashing, the book being reviewed. Not gonna do it this time round! I want to say that you, yourself, should read this trade, seeing if you like it as much as the others seemed to, k'?
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Apprentice (The Black Mage #2) in Books
Jan 12, 2021
7 of 250
Kindle
Apprentice (The Black Mage book 2)
By Rachel E. Carter
Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments
She survived a trial year at the Academy, but that was just the easy part....
Now 16-year-old Ryiah is an apprentice of Combat, her school's most notorious faction of magic. When she finishes she will be a mage, but in order to do so she has to survive four years with a training master she hates and her old nemesis, Priscilla. To make matters worse the unwanted attraction Ry feels for her sometimes-friend-sometimes-rival Prince Darren is at an all-time high - even though he is betrothed to the very girl she can't stand.
Really, the only bright spot to Ryiah's new life is the time she spends with her friends, including an older apprentice named Ian, who she finds herself thinking about quite often.
Just when things start to get comfortable they take a turn for the worse. An apprentice is killed in a rebel attack and several mages end up dead. Unwittingly, the apprentices find themselves in the midst of a budding unrest between Jerar and its northern neighbor, Caltoth. For Ryiah the impending conflict means many things, but as her apprenticeship draws to a close she finds her biggest problem at home.
Unfortunately for her, Darren's not going anywhere.
So it was ok! It went exactly how I expected to be honest and followed a familiar pattern to other similar books! That’s not saying I didn’t enjoy it but it lacked a little depth! The characters were wispy washy and even when we lost Eve it wasn’t emotional enough! So hoping I can find a deeper connection in the next book.
Kindle
Apprentice (The Black Mage book 2)
By Rachel E. Carter
Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments
She survived a trial year at the Academy, but that was just the easy part....
Now 16-year-old Ryiah is an apprentice of Combat, her school's most notorious faction of magic. When she finishes she will be a mage, but in order to do so she has to survive four years with a training master she hates and her old nemesis, Priscilla. To make matters worse the unwanted attraction Ry feels for her sometimes-friend-sometimes-rival Prince Darren is at an all-time high - even though he is betrothed to the very girl she can't stand.
Really, the only bright spot to Ryiah's new life is the time she spends with her friends, including an older apprentice named Ian, who she finds herself thinking about quite often.
Just when things start to get comfortable they take a turn for the worse. An apprentice is killed in a rebel attack and several mages end up dead. Unwittingly, the apprentices find themselves in the midst of a budding unrest between Jerar and its northern neighbor, Caltoth. For Ryiah the impending conflict means many things, but as her apprenticeship draws to a close she finds her biggest problem at home.
Unfortunately for her, Darren's not going anywhere.
So it was ok! It went exactly how I expected to be honest and followed a familiar pattern to other similar books! That’s not saying I didn’t enjoy it but it lacked a little depth! The characters were wispy washy and even when we lost Eve it wasn’t emotional enough! So hoping I can find a deeper connection in the next book.
Darren (1599 KP) rated Queen and Country (2015) in Movies
Sep 2, 2019
Thoughts on Queen & Country
Characters – Bill lives on an island in the middle of the Thames, he is drafted the army which gets him to see more of the world, meet a mysterious woman and learn to stand up for himself. Percy is the loud best friend of Bill, who has done everything, he is the one that wants to get ahead of Bradley. Ophelia is the mysterious woman that comes into Bill’s life, she draws him but is keeping her secrets safe.
Performances – Callum Turner is fine in this leading role but just doesn’t capture the levels to make us want to see his character too often. Caleb Landry Jones is the one we want to see the most, he is fun to watch but not the most interesting. The cast are fine but they just come off like posh Brits in roles.
Story – The story is a sequel to a movie, I have never heard off, which is guess doesn’t help too much. We get to see a young man that goes into the armed forces that challenges his superiors while dealing with his own personal problems when it comes to tracking down a mysterious woman that can’t be with him. Nothing that interesting happens in this movie in the way you care enough to see where things go.
Settings – The film takes us from the basic location which show the training camp, but it has our characters coming from the posh backgrounds.
Scene of the Movie – Hard to find one.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – That clock storyline.
Final Thoughts – This is a boring movie that the more I think about things, the more I get bored about what I am thinking about it.
Overall: Nothing interesting happening here.
Characters – Bill lives on an island in the middle of the Thames, he is drafted the army which gets him to see more of the world, meet a mysterious woman and learn to stand up for himself. Percy is the loud best friend of Bill, who has done everything, he is the one that wants to get ahead of Bradley. Ophelia is the mysterious woman that comes into Bill’s life, she draws him but is keeping her secrets safe.
Performances – Callum Turner is fine in this leading role but just doesn’t capture the levels to make us want to see his character too often. Caleb Landry Jones is the one we want to see the most, he is fun to watch but not the most interesting. The cast are fine but they just come off like posh Brits in roles.
Story – The story is a sequel to a movie, I have never heard off, which is guess doesn’t help too much. We get to see a young man that goes into the armed forces that challenges his superiors while dealing with his own personal problems when it comes to tracking down a mysterious woman that can’t be with him. Nothing that interesting happens in this movie in the way you care enough to see where things go.
Settings – The film takes us from the basic location which show the training camp, but it has our characters coming from the posh backgrounds.
Scene of the Movie – Hard to find one.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – That clock storyline.
Final Thoughts – This is a boring movie that the more I think about things, the more I get bored about what I am thinking about it.
Overall: Nothing interesting happening here.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated The Walking Dead - Season 4 in TV
Sep 22, 2019 (Updated Oct 25, 2019)
A season of two halves
Contains spoilers, click to show
Season 4 of The Walking Dead is honestly a mixed bag.
The first half is pretty damn solid, wrapping up the Prison and Governor storyline nicely.
It shows off just how strong the cast is here - the characters we have come to know and love are stronger than ever, and a lot of new faces are welcome. I really liked how we got to know Tyrese more throughout this season.
As the group deals with a deadly flu outbreak within the prison walls, the show does a really good job of making you feel the claustrophobia.
I also really enjoyed the flashback Governor episodes - although these episodes introduced us to Tara - a character who I warmed to slowly later on, but in this season, damn she's annoying (nothing against Alanna Masterson just FYI)
The first half climaxes astonishingly with the episode "Too Far Gone" - possibly the best episode of TWD ever. It's sooooo tense. It's violent. It's upsetting. It's masterful. TWD at it's soaring best (although I don't think I'll ever get over what happened to my beloved Hershel)
Then the back half of the season is where it's loses its footing a bit. The group is scattered after the events of "Too Far Gone" and it really shows how TWD fares much better when everyone is together. It's just becomes a bit....boring, and it struggled to hold my attention.
There are still some great parts though - the sweet relationship between Daryl and Beth, the introduction of Abraham, the BRUTAL scene where Rick defends Carl from a truly disturbing fate in the finale...
And of course "The Grove" - another stellar episode.
Season 4 is the first season that became a little bit filler-infused for me but those stand out episodes elevate it and then some.
The first half is pretty damn solid, wrapping up the Prison and Governor storyline nicely.
It shows off just how strong the cast is here - the characters we have come to know and love are stronger than ever, and a lot of new faces are welcome. I really liked how we got to know Tyrese more throughout this season.
As the group deals with a deadly flu outbreak within the prison walls, the show does a really good job of making you feel the claustrophobia.
I also really enjoyed the flashback Governor episodes - although these episodes introduced us to Tara - a character who I warmed to slowly later on, but in this season, damn she's annoying (nothing against Alanna Masterson just FYI)
The first half climaxes astonishingly with the episode "Too Far Gone" - possibly the best episode of TWD ever. It's sooooo tense. It's violent. It's upsetting. It's masterful. TWD at it's soaring best (although I don't think I'll ever get over what happened to my beloved Hershel)
Then the back half of the season is where it's loses its footing a bit. The group is scattered after the events of "Too Far Gone" and it really shows how TWD fares much better when everyone is together. It's just becomes a bit....boring, and it struggled to hold my attention.
There are still some great parts though - the sweet relationship between Daryl and Beth, the introduction of Abraham, the BRUTAL scene where Rick defends Carl from a truly disturbing fate in the finale...
And of course "The Grove" - another stellar episode.
Season 4 is the first season that became a little bit filler-infused for me but those stand out episodes elevate it and then some.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated The Predator (2018) in Movies
Oct 15, 2019 (Updated Dec 4, 2019)
A pretty shoddy sequel with some good moments here and there
There a lot of issues that kept The Predator from being a decent movie...
The special effects are a big one. A lot of the CGI in this is pretty dodgy. Especially for gore moments. It boggles my mind why a lot of horror films these days favour CGI over practical effects. Films like Alien, and The Thing (80s) stand as a testament to how practical horror work can be truly memorable.
In The Predator however, it's looks cartoony and fake - at one point I had to check I was watching a movie from 2018!
The dog creatures also look horrible - just bland and dark grey CGI blobs with teeth.
The 'classic' Predator that we see throughout this film is for the most part a guy in a suit, and it looks way better.
The characters are also an issue. They're not on the same level as awful as the characters from Predators, but they're all just unfunny walking cliches, which is a shame as there are some talented actors involved, trying to do the best with what they've been given.
The script attempts to shoehorn in plot strands that are not particularly relative to the overall narrative, including a complete tone deaf side plot about autism, which drags down what should be a pretty straightforward story.
The action isn't too bad, pretty entertaining as far as popcorn horror blockbusters go, with some creative deaths thrown in, but once again, the films over reliance on average CGI sours it all somewhat.
The Predator is not the awful film I had heard about, but it's predictably not a scratch on the original. Maybe it's time for the franchise to wrap it up.
The special effects are a big one. A lot of the CGI in this is pretty dodgy. Especially for gore moments. It boggles my mind why a lot of horror films these days favour CGI over practical effects. Films like Alien, and The Thing (80s) stand as a testament to how practical horror work can be truly memorable.
In The Predator however, it's looks cartoony and fake - at one point I had to check I was watching a movie from 2018!
The dog creatures also look horrible - just bland and dark grey CGI blobs with teeth.
The 'classic' Predator that we see throughout this film is for the most part a guy in a suit, and it looks way better.
The characters are also an issue. They're not on the same level as awful as the characters from Predators, but they're all just unfunny walking cliches, which is a shame as there are some talented actors involved, trying to do the best with what they've been given.
The script attempts to shoehorn in plot strands that are not particularly relative to the overall narrative, including a complete tone deaf side plot about autism, which drags down what should be a pretty straightforward story.
The action isn't too bad, pretty entertaining as far as popcorn horror blockbusters go, with some creative deaths thrown in, but once again, the films over reliance on average CGI sours it all somewhat.
The Predator is not the awful film I had heard about, but it's predictably not a scratch on the original. Maybe it's time for the franchise to wrap it up.
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