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The Ministry of Time
The Ministry of Time
Kaliane Bradley | 2024 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Thriller
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book is everything I love about reading. I read to escape (mainly, but not solely!), and so science fiction/ fantasy has always appealed to me. Now I’ve discovered speculative fiction, and it seems to be like both of these things wrapped up in a package with a label saying: “This Seems Plausible”.

The Ministry of Time is a clever book - it uses time travel and science fiction, with a touch of history that actually happened, and mixes it up with a hefty dose of romance, thriller and literary fiction. It doesn’t sound like it will work, but I’m here to say that it really DOES!

Ok, so a quick, yet vague, synopsis: the British Government has come into possession of a device that can go back in time and find particular people in the past. It’s been decided that the people they take are all in life-threatening situations. Those plucked from their time are placed with a “Bridge”; someone who will facilitate their integration into modern society.

The main pair is that of Graham Gore, a Polar explorer from the Erebus expedition, and his Bridge, a woman whose mother escaped the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. Not an easy adjustment for a Victorian man. This Bridge is the narrator.

Graham Gore adjusts quickly to modern life, but is modern life willing to accept him? And what affect does it have on him and his fellow time travellers, to be so out of time?

There was so much to think about whilst reading this - I was completely immersed, and it ended FAR too quickly!
  
Charisma Check (Dungeons and Dating #6)
Charisma Check (Dungeons and Dating #6)
Katherine McIntyre | 2023 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
10
10.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
saved the best til last, I reckon!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.


This is the final book in the Dungeons and Dating series, and I strongly recommend you read all 5 books previous to this one. Not strictly necessary, but it will give you a better view of Jasper, and how he is with everyone else, and of this amazing group of people. And you know, cos I SAID SO!


Jasper doesn't do commitment, he thinks he's too broken. So crushing after the straight owner of his fav cafe is a safe bet, cos ain't nothing gonna happen. Then, though, Matt turns up at a shibari lesson and is paired with Jasper. Which sets off all sorts of chain reactions from the both of them.


Oh Jasper, Jasper Jasper! I've been waiting, so very impatiently for Jasper to tell his tale, cos all through the other books, he SAYS he's happy with his lot, not having to commit to anyone, just hooking up as and when, but deep down, DEEP down, Jasper needed someone to love him. It comes out in all the other books, and here? Oh my days!


Jasper has crushed on Matt for a couple of years and while Matt looked forward to seeing Jasper every day, he was straight and in a relationship. Then that ends, the lesson occurs and Matt begins to question everything about his previous relationships and why they didn't work. Maybe, just maybe, it wasn't that he needed to be more dominant, like all the girlfriends asked for, but the opposite?


Loved the progression of Matt and Jasper, how well they fit together and moved things along. Jasper was always gonna say yes to Matt, but Matt wasn't sure what he was asking for, til Jasper said or did JUST what Matt needed. And I loved that, while there was some questioning of his sexual preferences by Matt, once he decided that he'd had it all wrong, he was ALL in with Jasper.


But then, Jasper does what he does and I was reading in bed, and I must have said out loud, "oh Jasper, you IDIOT!" cos my partner was, who is Jasper and what has he done?? And I rarely react verbally when reading, so it shows how powerfully what he did affected me, let alone Matt!


And then, against Jasper and Matt's story, we have the Tabletop tavern and what's happening there. Granted, Jasper leaves it late, but once he gets his head out his ass and goes to war, they pull that off wonderfully!


So, now, I'm sad. I'm sad cos all these wonderful people are partnered up and I am so going to miss them! There are lots of people here, with the battle to save the buildings from developers, people I don't recall meeting before. People with interesting hints about and I wonder if we'll get a follow up? I'd love one!


So, 6 books, 5 of those are 5 star reads, and one slipping to 4, but a series I strongly recommend.


5 full and shiny, but kinda sad, stars


*same worded review will appear elsewhere
  
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Kyera (8 KP) rated The 100 in Books

Feb 1, 2018  
The 100
The 100
Kass Morgan | 2018 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
6
7.5 (16 Ratings)
Book Rating
"The door slid open and Clarke knew it was time to die." What a way to start the book. Kass Morgan dives right into her storyline with an in-your-face opener. It took a bit of time before I, as the reader realized what this book was about. She began by setting up a number of characters, switching between perspectives, to quickly introduce you to the players. Those people who will have the biggest impact upon the storyline.

Each character is thrown into the mix, destined to be sent to Earth. The first in a long, long time. While not all make it, we are still treated with back stories and past relationships. Had the author not included those scenes, her characters would have been much more difficult to relate to. You come to briefly understand what the person goes through, exactly why he/she is so angry and hurt, and what they each did to become subjected to the fate of the 100. Personally, I would have preferred that greater attention had been given to character development rather than relationship development.

The Earth was unlivable for so long, and yet they send these 100 "children" as guinea pigs, rather than trained professionals. People who could colonize, build shelters, feed the colony, study the land and environment, or even tend to the ill. Instead, these youths are forced to come together with a common goal - survival.

One gets to a certain point in the novel and then realizes they don't entirely know what these different living situations/names mean. Of course, the Walden and Arcadian people seem to be of a lower class, economic, and social standing than the Phoenix. Walden also had an outbreak at one point that had to be quarantined. But beyond that? I'm not entirely sure what the distinctions are. Clearly the Phoenix people are "posh", with foreign accents, prone to extravagances and taking what they have for granted. But how did they come to be in that, dare I say, caste to begins with? Were people settled based upon their original locations on Earth? Or perhaps based upon the money/knowledge they could provide? Unfortunately, that aspect of the story is not very clearly explained. It seems that the author took more time to focus on the intricacies of the relationships than the world building.

Sometimes the author was redundant, choosing to repeat the same fears/desire over and over again. Yes, we understand that the medicine is missing. Was it flung from the ship before the crash or during? Can they survive without it? We don't know yet, but if we didn't realize the medicine was important the first time it was mentioned... We certainly realized it after the tenth.

This book has a very unique concept in that it combines the post-apocalyptic Hunger Games or Divergent-type Earth with space. While it may exist in other novels, I've not yet read something similar. Where it does seem to follow typical YA novels is the fact that it has a love triangle. Those seem like they are a requirement, as they are in most popular young adult novels. (HG, Divergent, TMI, Vampire Diaries, etc.)

There is a bit of mystery in the book as well. It seems that the reason one of the characters is arrested must be kept a secret, even from the reader. The author continuously has the girl think to herself, 'Why isn't he asking me about my confinement?', 'He's happy, this is for the best [that he doesn't know.]', and even has her love interest say "I heard a rumor about a girl on Phoenix who was arrested for..." Yes, there was a dramatic pause. And no, he does not finish his sentence. After the third or fourth time, the author finally reveals the girl's situation during a flashback.

Throughout the novel, the author develops the relationship between two main characters. Unfortunately, it's a bit jarring and sporadic. It quickly jumps from bitter hatred from the moment they step foot on Earth to reconciliation after one act, then back to hatred. Again, after one act. While relationships can be a roller coaster, this is a bit too authentic to the carnival ride.

The relationship is not perfect, especially when she has a second possible love interest. A guy who after only a short while, thinks of only her before he falls asleep. That girl must be something. The first time they really spend any time together, he decides that making out is the best course of action. Much to the dismay of her other love interest, though it does not dissuade him. Sound familiar?

It doesn't take long before he snaps at her and their brief... Whatever it was is over. Or is it?

They must be masochists, because it seems they're just gluttons for punishment and emotional, gut wrenching hurt... Or just those that don't learn from history. (Doomed to repeat it and all that.) Who would continuously subject themselves to that kind of torment? Move on and let yourself heal. It's not a post-apocalyptic world that only the two of you can repopulate... There are other individuals in camp with you. (Like the second guy you may or may not like, but that you certainly make out with in the woods.) But that's just my perspective.

While I found myself bemused and skeptical at times about certain aspects of the book, none of those times corresponded to the purposefully exaggerated environment that they must adapt to on Earth. Rather it is the progression of relationships, situations characters find themselves in, and utterly disastrous karmic intervention. Seriously, they must have really messed with the world for it to so perfectly separate two lovers as it does.

I suspected there would be a particular plot twist and unsurprisingly it came to fruition approximately 98% of the way through the book. I'm intrigued to see where the author takes it and how it will develop in the sequel - The 100: Day
21 (which is next on my review list!)

I find myself enjoying the read, dispute the obvious flaws one notices whilst reading it. If you take it as an easy, enjoyable read - then that is what you will come away with. If you expect it to be a fantastic piece that delves into the human psyche to truly draw you into a character's life and relationships - then you will be quite disappointed. Overall, I would recommend this novel to those who enjoy dystopian, teen romance series.
  
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Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Eighth Grade (2018) in Movies

Jun 22, 2019 (Updated Sep 25, 2019)  
Eighth Grade (2018)
Eighth Grade (2018)
2018 | Comedy
Eighth Grade was quite difficult for me to watch. I absolutely hate watching things that are awkward, and if one word sums up this film it's "awkward". I'm throwing it in the pool with talk shows and reality TV in all their cringy glory. Between those awkward moments we do thankfully see some nicer moments.

Kayla is trying to navigate the move from eighth grade to high school, the perils of friends and enemies, and how to get noticed by the right people. Like many of us have done she tries stepping out of her comfort zone with varying degrees of success. But every one of those steps helps her learn something about herself and life, things that she hopes future Kayla will remember when life seems tough.

I'm just going to skip over the things I didn't like about the movie because honestly, it's all mainly issues to do with the awkwardness I've already mentioned.

Kayla's dad is probably my favourite character in this, he is involved in some of the scenes I didn't like but overall he brings a lot of heart to the film. When he makes his speech at Kayla towards the end it's a genuinely moving moment and it brought a tear to my eye. One of the only things that I came away wondering was where was mum, she's mentioned but I don't think anything is specifically mentioned apart from "she left". Part of me thinks it's frustrating, but there was no real way to bring it up out of context.

There's nothing particularly wrong with the film, the acting was fine and although the script was frustrating it was accurate to what was trying to be achieved. This is definitely not for me though. Partly for the awkward reason and partly because I don't entirely enjoy watching films that involve things I could, or have, done myself.

What you should do

It's not one that' I'd recommend for the obvious reason above. It does seem to be liked by lots of people though so it's probably one that's worth checking out when it goes to streaming services.

Movie thing you wish you could take home

I not sure there's actually anything from this I'd like to take home with me... I don't need any more angsty teen in my life.
  
Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) by Brian Eno
Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) by Brian Eno
1974 | Rock
9.5 (2 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"A little like David Bowie and his influence, with me being a teenager during the 70s meant I never stopped being affected by Brian's music. If you were a big Brian fan, you would get into a cast of characters - be it T. Rex or Roxy Music or Bowie - and you followed the connections of those artists. Eno managed to stay really intriguing. When Eno's first album - Here Come The Warm Jets - came out, it was a record you only had if you were in the know. It was obscure and underground but I had never gotten into it. I had a couple of friends who were Roxy freaks and bought everything and anything to do with the band and I had a best mate who was obsessed with Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) and was playing it all the time. I got to know it really well and it has connected to a lot of records that I like. Arguably, Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) was the blueprint for Wire. It was the blueprint for David Bowie's later records and you can hear the proto-Talking Heads on that record. People forget that Eno was omnipresent in the late 70s on collaborations with Bowie, Talking Heads and Devo. If you listen to Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) that makes complete sense. It sounds like all of those bands four or five years before they made similar stuff. 'The True Wheel' sounds like something off Scary Monsters and it is four or five years before. 'Third Uncle' sounds like Talking Heads many years before - so make of that what you will. The idea of using the studio as an instrument, which has become commonplace now with people in their rooms on GarageBand, was a real innovation when Eno was doing it. There was no one else like him at the time. But, it is all about the listening experience and, like the Wire album, when I heard Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) and listened to it a lot, it was everything rock music hadn't been up until then. I was making note of that - it was anti-blues, it was anti-rock and it was anti-faux authenticity. It was a long, long way away from Laurel Canyon."

Source
  
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Rat Scabies recommended Live at Leeds by The Who in Music (curated)

 
Live at Leeds by The Who
Live at Leeds by The Who
1970 | Rock
7.5 (2 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"Like with the Slade live album, I'd been to see The Who and it was quite an experience, again at the Orchid Ballroom in Purley. It's one of the most unknown venues in the country, I think, but it was the biggest ballroom in Europe and it used to hold about 5000 people. It was huge, and you wouldn't even know it was there when you drove past; it was just a doorway, in Purley. And I think The Who had just come back from America where they'd been doing Tommy. So it was Townshend in his white boiler suit and nailing Keith Moon's drums down before the set, and The James Gang opening. I'm not sure when Live At Leeds came out, whether it was before or after that, but I just remember how amazing the album was because it had all of those pull-outs and receipts and photographs and things. I was sitting on the train and looking at the record and really hoping that people would think I was in the record business and that I'd received this white label with a load of bills. But again I'd seen them play that sort of show, and I think Live At Leeds really was them at the top of their game. As a live band they'd really pulled together and they'd done their homework. They'd done enough and they'd really nailed how to put it together on stage. For me they didn't do a better live thing. Tommy I liked, but I thought a lot of it was unnecessary and went on a bit, and it was a bit more Who than I wanted, in some cases. The real thing that always stuck with me with this record is where they do the jamming stuff and Townshend takes off on that discordant thing, and the dynamics and atmosphere are liable to go up and down, taking it from this raging onslaught of rock down to this level of almost subtlety, and then to build it up again from that. They're good dynamics, and those are often hard to find. There's something about that sound they got as well: not so much as a band but just the guitar sound. It was very clean and there was a lot of clarity. And the drums: the sound never changes, but the dynamics of what he does have peaks and troughs."

Source
  
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Laetitia Sadier recommended Rosy Maze by Marker Stalling in Music (curated)

 
Rosy Maze by Marker Stalling
Rosy Maze by Marker Stalling
2014 | Pop
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"If I were to have one at the moment, I think Chris [Cummings, AKA Marker Stalling] is my favourite composer. There's a lot of depth; there are a lot of nooks and crannies and obscure pockets to dive into, not at first listen but with each repeat. The album reveals its beauty after many listens, and each time you listen more it's like, ah yes! It's another one of those records that you can listen to forever, whatever mood you're in. I remember last year I took a long road trip to France and I was meeting friends, so each time I would play it, and in whatever circumstances, the music would fit. In happy circumstances it was great, but on another occasion I remember a friend had lost their dad, and it was very soothing and healing. It's another album that holds a lot of magic and is forever comforting. If it's hot it freshens you up, if it's cold it warms you up! It's great. He wrote a song for my last album as well. I'm a big fan. And live it's extraordinary. His backing band is Batch: we just did a residency together, they're amazing. I was watching their video last night actually, a little live thing from a festival, and those guys are brilliant. I can't believe how great they are, in terms of being really good musicians with great songs and also the heart, how they play. They are very implied in what they play. A lot of musicians I've seen in the past are just going through the moves, there's no energetic involvement or heart in their playing. Technically it's probably quite good, but to me it's very boring. But with these guys, I remember seeing them and I thought they were so good, but part of me wanted to make fun of them, but I couldn't because there was so much heart in their playing that I could only love them. So when Chris comes to the UK or tours Europe usually Batch are his backing band, and it's brilliant. But there are usually only ten or twenty people watching them. Maybe now it's a little bit more, but it's like, come on people, this is really amazing! He's an amazing performer who's full of surprises. He's very warm and super funny and excellent: I can't recommend him enough."

Source
  
The Dictator’s Wife
The Dictator’s Wife
Freya Berry | 2022 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Dictator’s Wife drew me in from the first page. I was utterly gripped by this claustrophobic-feeling story about the wife of a deposed (and dead) dictator.

Laura Lāzārescu’s parents had escaped Yanussia and its oppressive regime when she was a small child. Yanussian wasn’t spoken in the house, Yanussia wasn’t spoken about at all. So when Laura is asked to go to Yanussia with her law firm to represent Marija Popa, the wife of the country’s former dictator, her parents aren’t at all happy.

Marija is firm in her innocence. But is she really innocent? She’s accused of money laundering and human rights abuses, but she repeatedly paints a picture of herself as that of the nations mother. This is a woman with charisma, and you know when she has entered a room. She uses her femininity like a weapon - people do what she want them to with little effort on her part (or so it appears).

And Laura is affected by her. What makes it more interesting, is that Marija knows Laura’s mother - something that Laura has no knowledge of.

There’s a feeling of dread running throughout this book: Laura and her colleagues can’t leave the grounds without an escort, the building itself has secrets, and it’s as though those secrets are oozing from the walls. It feels like Laura is being constantly watched.

Everyone in this novel has secrets: Laura’s parents, her colleagues, the Yanussian lawyer, Marija’s sister, and most importantly, Marija herself. Family is an important theme: Marija is adopted, but even her adopted sister is clearly covering up for her. Laura’s family has pretty much destroyed itself as her parents keep their secrets from her.

Other themes are secrets, gender roles, stereotypes within those roles and the role of the media and social media in particular. Social media is a big driver behind the attitudes of the people towards Marija, and the media itself fuels this.

Laura just wants to find out the secrets that her parents won’t tell her, but will she be able to before she has to leave?

I’d most certainly recommend this book, and I’m really looking forward to reading more from Freya Berry in the future. Many thanks to Hayley @Shelflyfe and @Headline books for my prize-winning copy.
  
<b>*This review contains possible spoilers as I will be using quotes*</b>

I thought I would mention that I am rating my enjoyment of this book which is 2 stars; if I was to rate the personality of the author I would be giving it minus stars.
This book made me feel very uncomfortable in places and so I could not give this a higher rating because I did not enjoy it, I found it interesting but not enjoyable.

I was only a few pages in when I came across intentional animal cruelty where this horrible woman attempts to drown an Opossum...animal abuse is something I will not tolerate no matter if you cover it up by saying you're 'ill'. This person is not humane and refused to help this defenseless creature due to it's safety not being an <i>"upside for me"</i>. And it gets worse...

<img src="http://dingo.care2.com/pictures/greenliving/uploads/2012/03/baby-virginia-opossum.jpg"; width="280" height="160"/>

<b>Look at that face! Look at it!</b>

I am truly disgusted by that behaviour and the behaviour that follows throughout the whole of the book, she goes on to say how she is not crazy, dangerous or a murderer...yet she does that.

Would it put me and her on the same path if I reacted in anger?

<img src="http://media3.giphy.com/media/2vCA7jpfORJoA/200_s.gif"; width="250" height="160"/>

Naaaaaah...I think it's justified.

She attempts to argue whether her sociopathic traits are a result of 'nature' or 'nuture' and blames the family tree for her unsociable ways as her grandfather was <i>exceptionally cold</i>, on the other hand, I have never met (or read about) someone so full of themself...NEVER EVER...I'm surprised that she can fit her head through doors. She uses this 'God like' view of herself to look down upon others, including insulting the reader by saying how much more intelligent she is compared to you. Face reality...why on earth would anyone choose to read your book if you're just out to offend them? (I realize this comes with being 'a sociopath') but I wanted the whys and hows...not to be offended.

<img src="http://sarahsaysreadbooks.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/not-interested.gif?w=500"; width="200" height="160"/>

M.E Thomas will only enter situations if it will benefit her, this includes making friends where she will seek out their weaknesses to eventually use against them...just for fun, she says <i>"I like to imagine that I have ruined people"</i> and she likes to humour people for her own personal gain. Thomas sees this as a great strength and believes others wish to be like her as she feels a lot less emotion and remorse than the majority of other people; <i>"Normal people feel emotions that I simply don't"</i> she pities us, whereas I pity her.

Another thing that she did which I found disgusting was abandoning a friend who was upset as her dad had cancer...yes you read that right... abandoned a <b>friend</b> because her dad had <b>CANCER</b>.

<img src="http://c0.thejournal.ie/media/2013/10/shock-gif.gif"; width="230" height="160"/>

She thought the behaviour was acceptable as she <i>routinely disposed of people once their burden to me exceeded their utility</i>. Another example of 'friend abuse' would be towards her openly gay female coworker, who was adopted as a child, where Thomas gathered as much information as possible about her in order to destroy her...nice.

People like Thomas are the ones who I wish to avoid at all costs! I admit I have met my fair share of sociopaths as I believe I am picked out by them due to being easily manipulated, however, as I mature I hope to change that. She is nothing but a bully who tears people to pieces, picking on those with disabilities saying because of this 'weakness' they were just asking for a slap. Thomas is the only one here who is asking for a slap!

I admit the book was interesting, I was able to understand more about sociopaths and what to look out for so I can avoid them...that is all.

<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/fb0875f182f29fa753415dcd6a5812a5/tumblr_n4kc2ffJui1txb8sho1_500.gif"; width="280" height="160"/>