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Callie West (0 KP) rated Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery in Apps
May 15, 2018
Dankwa Brooks (5 KP) rated Now You See Me (2013) in Movies
Mar 9, 2018
A really cool popcorn movie. The direction was really well done and as you can expect fora movie about "magicians" was done with style and panache. The cast did great jobs too. Some of the stuff is unbelievable as the twists have turns and the turns have twists, but it's all fun and executed well.
The Bandersnatch (199 KP) rated The Magicians' Guild (Black Magician Trilogy, #1) in Books
Nov 7, 2019
The Magicians Guild is the first of the Black Magician Trilogy and was published in 2001, Followed by The Novice (2002) and The Black Magician (2003). The story starts with a young Slum Dweller named Sonea as she discovers her magical potential after throwing a stone through a magical barrier. Going in the run Sonea has to deal with both the magicians guild after her and the growing chaos that is her loosing control of her power. After being found by Lord Rothen and helped achieve control, Sonea must face a difficult trial for both entrance to the Guild and Mentorship between Rothen and the sinister looking Fergun.
Canavan stated on her website that the initial inspiration which ended up being part of the first chapter came form her watching a documentary of the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona where a report about the government taking the host cities homeless and sending them to other cities/towns. Later that night she saw herself and several others being herded out of a city...by magicians hence the first chapter.
Now when I first found the book I was in a Waterstones (Well known British bookstore) mindlessly looking....wasn't even expecting to buy a book and I came across The Magicians Guild. Finding the blurb interesting I bought it and after reading it I fell in love and I ended up rushing to buy the other two books. Hearing the influence of the first chapter reminded me of the influence Susanne Collins the writer of the Hunger games series had of flicking through channels and hearing two different news posts.
Canavan stated on her website that the initial inspiration which ended up being part of the first chapter came form her watching a documentary of the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona where a report about the government taking the host cities homeless and sending them to other cities/towns. Later that night she saw herself and several others being herded out of a city...by magicians hence the first chapter.
Now when I first found the book I was in a Waterstones (Well known British bookstore) mindlessly looking....wasn't even expecting to buy a book and I came across The Magicians Guild. Finding the blurb interesting I bought it and after reading it I fell in love and I ended up rushing to buy the other two books. Hearing the influence of the first chapter reminded me of the influence Susanne Collins the writer of the Hunger games series had of flicking through channels and hearing two different news posts.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated The Magicians: Book 1 in Books
Mar 14, 2021
37 of 250
Book
The Magicians ( Magicians book 1)
By Lev Grossman
Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments
Quentin Coldwater's life is changed forever by an apparently chance encounter: when he turns up for his entrance interview to Princeton he finds his interviewer dead - but a strange envelope bearing his name leads him down a very different path.
Omg I struggled all the way through this book! It’s so jump and fas forwarded so fast I felt whiplash!! Apart from one instance nothing really happened until book 2 within the whole book!! Very disappointed in all of it char were so very weak. I’m genuinely gutted because it shows so much promise!
Book
The Magicians ( Magicians book 1)
By Lev Grossman
Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments
Quentin Coldwater's life is changed forever by an apparently chance encounter: when he turns up for his entrance interview to Princeton he finds his interviewer dead - but a strange envelope bearing his name leads him down a very different path.
Omg I struggled all the way through this book! It’s so jump and fas forwarded so fast I felt whiplash!! Apart from one instance nothing really happened until book 2 within the whole book!! Very disappointed in all of it char were so very weak. I’m genuinely gutted because it shows so much promise!
David McK (3425 KP) rated The Prestige (2006) in Movies
Dec 8, 2020
Drama set at the end of the 19th century, starring Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale as warring stage magicians, with able (acting) support from the likes of Michael Caine and Scarlett Johansson.
It's just a pity the film is slow, plodding, and has a 'twist' concerning Christian Bale's character that you can see coming from rather early on (although not so much the one with Hugh Jackman's character)
It's just a pity the film is slow, plodding, and has a 'twist' concerning Christian Bale's character that you can see coming from rather early on (although not so much the one with Hugh Jackman's character)
Lynne (18 KP) rated Magician: Apprentice (The Riftwar Saga, #1) in Books
Jan 23, 2020
Book one of the Riftwar Saga is a definite must read. I've seen Raymond Feist's books on the shelf for years and only now decided to read one. This and the second, Magician Master ,were originally written as one book. It tells the story of Pug, who rises from an orphan to become one of the most powerful magicians in any kingdom. Feist writes beautifully , making the reader forget the real world and become fully immersed in theirs. Definite addition to anyone's list that appreciates an epic fantasy story.
The Bandersnatch (199 KP) rated The High Lord (Black Magician Trilogy, #3) in Books
Nov 7, 2019
Contains spoilers, click to show
Released in 2003 The High Lord is the penultimate ending to Sonea's story......starting a year after beating a bully in a fight. Sonea has received the respect she deserves but still faces the challenge of her guardian and the High Lord of the guild Akkarin. After being Surprised by Akkarin with a book on Black Magic Sonea is pulled into learning black magic and attempting to protect the city and the country from a group known as the Icani. After going through hell and being thrown out of the guild and being exiled the pair return and aid their fellow magicians in the attack......resulting in may magicians dead including Akkarin and Sonea pregnant with his child.
My opinion of this book was that of a decent conclusion to a good storyline. I do think however that the love storyline between Sonea and Akkarin is a little cliché. Otherwise It was a decent book. I have to admit the fighting between magicians would make a decent movie montage.
Born in Kew, Melbourne Australia on October 23rd 1969 Trudi Canavan spent her formative years being extremely creative in the suburb of Ferntree Gully. Canavan decided to become a professional artist and went to the Melbourne college of Decoration achieving an advanced certificate in promotional display as well as an award for the highest aggregate mark in art subjects in 1988.
During the early 1990's Canavan worked for the Australian magazine Aurealis (a magazine for Australian science-fiction and fantasy work) as well as starting her own business The Telltale art which specialised in graphical design services. By working for Aurealis Canavan was able to write in her spare time.
In 1999 Canavan managed to win the Aurealis award for best fantasy short story with whispers of the mist children and cementing her work further with the release of the Magicians Guild in 2001 (book one of The Black Magician trilogy) the successive books The Novice (2002) and The Black Magician (2003) brought Canavan both widespread acclaim and nominations for both the Aurealis best Fantasy novel and Best Novel Ditmar Category. All three books ended up in the top ten Science Fiction books for Australia.
Canavan's second Trilogy Age of Five was also well received with the first book reaching No3 in the Sunday Times hardback fiction best sellers list and staying in the top ten for six weeks. Canavan went on to write a prequel/sequel to the black magician trilogy known as the magicians apprentice in 2009 this was followed by the traitor spy trilogy which was released between 2010 and 2012. Trudi Canavan now holds a vast array of written works under her belt which can be split into three book series and a group of short stories.
My opinion of Trudi Canavan is that she is a very dedicated writer. Excellent with detail and writing a strong character and story. I definitely respect her work ethic since she is both a writer and a graphic designer. I definitely would love to talk with her and have a discussion about books and writing in general. She is up there with Prof J. R. R. Tolkien, George R. R. Martin and Lewis Carroll in my books.
And there you have it a book for all the ages, definitely under the banner of Quality reading, I am positive this trilogy could end up being the NEXT it thing if they were ever made into a Movie Trilogy.
My opinion of this book was that of a decent conclusion to a good storyline. I do think however that the love storyline between Sonea and Akkarin is a little cliché. Otherwise It was a decent book. I have to admit the fighting between magicians would make a decent movie montage.
Born in Kew, Melbourne Australia on October 23rd 1969 Trudi Canavan spent her formative years being extremely creative in the suburb of Ferntree Gully. Canavan decided to become a professional artist and went to the Melbourne college of Decoration achieving an advanced certificate in promotional display as well as an award for the highest aggregate mark in art subjects in 1988.
During the early 1990's Canavan worked for the Australian magazine Aurealis (a magazine for Australian science-fiction and fantasy work) as well as starting her own business The Telltale art which specialised in graphical design services. By working for Aurealis Canavan was able to write in her spare time.
In 1999 Canavan managed to win the Aurealis award for best fantasy short story with whispers of the mist children and cementing her work further with the release of the Magicians Guild in 2001 (book one of The Black Magician trilogy) the successive books The Novice (2002) and The Black Magician (2003) brought Canavan both widespread acclaim and nominations for both the Aurealis best Fantasy novel and Best Novel Ditmar Category. All three books ended up in the top ten Science Fiction books for Australia.
Canavan's second Trilogy Age of Five was also well received with the first book reaching No3 in the Sunday Times hardback fiction best sellers list and staying in the top ten for six weeks. Canavan went on to write a prequel/sequel to the black magician trilogy known as the magicians apprentice in 2009 this was followed by the traitor spy trilogy which was released between 2010 and 2012. Trudi Canavan now holds a vast array of written works under her belt which can be split into three book series and a group of short stories.
My opinion of Trudi Canavan is that she is a very dedicated writer. Excellent with detail and writing a strong character and story. I definitely respect her work ethic since she is both a writer and a graphic designer. I definitely would love to talk with her and have a discussion about books and writing in general. She is up there with Prof J. R. R. Tolkien, George R. R. Martin and Lewis Carroll in my books.
And there you have it a book for all the ages, definitely under the banner of Quality reading, I am positive this trilogy could end up being the NEXT it thing if they were ever made into a Movie Trilogy.
David McK (3425 KP) rated Now You See Me (2013) in Movies
Feb 6, 2022
Twisty turny mystery thriller about a quartet of stage magicians, who use their skills and talents to perform a trio of impressive and highly publicised crimes (robbing a bank, draining the account of corrupt individuals etc and redistributing their targets wealth), all the time being chased by both an FBI agent and a magician debunker (ummm ... two separate people, just to be clear).
It's flashy stuff, with little in the way of substance, however, and an ending you can see coming from about a 1/3rd of the way through.
Still might watch the sequel, though!
It's flashy stuff, with little in the way of substance, however, and an ending you can see coming from about a 1/3rd of the way through.
Still might watch the sequel, though!