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ClareR (6054 KP) rated Tales of the City (Tales of the City, #1) in Books

Nov 18, 2019

Tales of the City is set in San Francisco in 1976 - three years after I was born, so how can I feel nostalgic?! This is how a feel good book should be written. I loved it.

They’re all great characters, and I warn you - this is a laugh out loud book, and when you have to explain to the 12 or 14 year old sons WHY you’re laughing, the explanations can be interesting! I feel fortunate that a friend convinced me to go and see Armistead Maupin with her at my local literature festival, otherwise I don’t know whether I would have ever picked up this book. I’d simply never heard of Maupin, and I don’t have Netflix to have heard about the TV series. Now I wish I had Netflix!

I’m glad I have book 2 waiting in the wings, because I really want to keep living in 1970s San Francisco!

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) in Movies

Jan 26, 2020

Probably my favourite of the Python movies, in that it has a genuine cinematic feel to it while still retaining the creativity and willingness to be just plain weird that characterised the TV series at its best. King Arthur and his knights are sent by God to find the Holy Grail; various absurd adventures ensue. The Dark Ages prove a fruitful backdrop for the Pythons' brand of grotesque surrealism.

One of those films which has entered the collective consciousness of generations - 'Tis but a scratch!', the Knights who say 'Ni', the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch, and so on. Whether the film's willingness to totally rip up the cinema rulebook (opening with the titles from a completely different film, completely dispensing with a conventional ending) is inspired or just slightly annoying is probably up to the individual viewer, but this is the work of a team working at the height of their powers. Very, very funny.

Kudos

Russell Evans (179 KP) rated The Winter King in Books

Feb 27, 2020

The Winter King

Bernard Cornwell | 1995 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics

7.5

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

Gritty and authentic take on the Arthurian Legends (3 more)

Feels like a true historical tale

Interesting characters

Gripping first part to a trilogy worth getting into

The goriness might not be to everyone's tastes (0 more)

I would definitely recommend this Novel – the first book in the Warlord Trilogy. It retells the mythical story of King Arthur but in such a gritty and credibly realistic way, that it feels like a historical epic.
This story is told from the perspective of Derfel, a young soldier and loyal follower and friend of Arthur. There are many intriguing and complex characters that are woven into the tale. The battles are quite grisly, and things can be quite brutal at times, but I guess it would have been living and fighting through the dark ages.
As a Lord of the Rings fan, this is my next favourite ‘fantasy’ trilogy. If you liked ‘The Vikings’ or ‘The Last Kingdoms’ series on TV, I would highly recommend that you give this trilogy a read.