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TacoDave (3904 KP) rated Lord of the Flies in Books

May 23, 2019

Lord of the Flies

William Golding | 1954 | Fiction & Poetry, Young Adult (YA)

7.4

(94 Ratings)

Book Rating

Engaging (2 more)

Good pace

Believable characters and plot

Brutal violence (0 more)

A brutal classic

"Lord of the Flies" is a classic for a reason. It is the story of a bunch of boys who survive a plane crash and are stranded on an island together. They get along well at first, but soon the pressures of their situation cause cracks in their 'society' and they form into two groups that clash with each other, sometimes violently.

The idea that human civilization is fragile is examined, but not through exposition, rather through the actions of the characters in the story. Are humans inherently violent? Is peaceful society an illusion, one tragedy away from breakdown?

If you've never read this book - or seen one of the movie versions - be aware that it gets brutal at times. There is violence and bloodshed and not everyone escapes unharmed. But it is a fascinating story of civility and civilization and what it means to be a human in a stable society.

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (2019) in Movies

Oct 23, 2019

Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (2019)

2019 | Animation, Comedy, Sci-Fi

7.9

(9 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Another customarily superb animation from Aardman. Strange goings-on at Mossy Bottom Farm presage the first contact between alien life and, er, sheepkind, as Shaun the Sheep befriends an excitable alien who is stranded on Earth. Can the flock get her home before she falls into the clutches of the sinister Ministry for Alien Detection?

Not quite the utterly perfect gem that the first movie was, but still tremendously enjoyable and made to the highest possible standards, both of animation and scripting (one of the best jokes comes at the very, very end of the film). Also manages to be surprisingly poignant in places - but mostly it's just witty and fun by turns. Many references to classic sci-fi fill the movie; some are obvious, others are buried in the background or only appear for a second or so - you have to be some kind of obsessive to get them all, but I would imagine this film is fun for regular type people too.

Kudos

ClareR (5991 KP) rated Walking to Aldebaran in Books

Jul 19, 2019

Walking to Aldebaran

Adrian Tchaikovsky | 2019 | Horror, Science Fiction/Fantasy

9.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Walking to Aldebaran is an absolute corker of a novella. I loved it - if you enjoy science fiction, it’s a no-brainer, but this story is more than that. It’s about the slow (or fast! Err, you need to read it) descent into insanity of a man stranded alone inside a planet/ wormhole/ crypt! The main character, Gary Rendell, gets separated from his fellow crew members when they disembark from their ship to explore a strange planet-sized ‘rock’. It’s creepy, startling and SO WELL WRITTEN! You can’t help but like Gary - whether you should or not is another matter entirely!

How Adrian Tchaikovsky manages to cram so much in to 140 pages will be why he’s the writer that I want to read (and why I’m not the writer 🤷🏼‍♀️). Oh, and I did like what was done with the names - Gary’s name will become clearer nearer the end of the story!
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this fab book!