Search
Search results
Oathbringer: The Stormlight Archive Book Three
8.0
Rate It
Book
From the bestselling author who completed Robert Jordan's epic Wheel of Time series comes a new,...
Singabus - Bus Timing + MRT
Navigation and Travel
App
Singabus tells you when your next bus will arrive at any bus stop in Singapore using the data...
World of Goo
Games
10.0
Rate It
App Watch
"iPad Game of the Year" - TouchArcade "iPad Game of the Year" - MetaCritic Beautiful and...
Paris Metro Map and Routes
Navigation and Travel
App
The official RATP metro map within an interactive transport app. Paris Metro is the best navigation...
The Memory House
9.0
Rate It
Book
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Dress comes a new captivating novel of two...
Wonder Book
Tabletop Game
Oniria — the world of an ancient dragon civilization. Tales describe the land as an idyllic...
David McK (3816 KP) rated The Last Guardian (Jon Shannow #2) in Books
Jul 5, 2026
"But he did not die."
Gripping words in David Gemmell's so-called Jon Shannow trilogy of novels (and about the fourth in the Sipstrassi - or Stones of Power - series), that are required after the ending of Wolf in Shadow: reading this, I often wonder did Gemmell not realise that Jon Shannow aka The Jerusalem Man would be such a popular character when he first wrote that book, and had initially intended it to be a one-off (quick Google search: yes).
This particular series, however, is essentially a post-Apocalyptic Western, with it hard not to imagine the character as Clint Eastwood appears in Unforgiven.
On a more literary front, I also wonder whether Stephen King The Dark Tower series was either inspired or provided the inspiration for this, with both sharing a few (superficial, at least) similarities.
Freed from most of the heavy-lifting of the world building done in the previous entry, this particular work instead is more able to concentrate on the character of Jon Shannow, providing a bit more flesh (as it were) to the world he inhabits, while still also calling back to those previous events in passing.
I'm not entirely sold on the Lizard enemies that appear roughly about half-way, thinking it might have been better to stick with more traditional (if I can use that word in this context) heroic fantasy enemies, but even they are given more of a character than you would normally expect from supporting characters. Talking of supporting characters: this one also has Nu-Khasistra (an Atlantean from before the Fall - trust me, it makes sense once you read it!) and the Parson to provide counter-balance to Shannow himself: the former a ship-builder whose faith has much in common with that of Shannow and who provides some sage words of advice; the latter showing what can happen when a man believes in absolutes.
As with most of Gemmell's works, well worth a read
Gripping words in David Gemmell's so-called Jon Shannow trilogy of novels (and about the fourth in the Sipstrassi - or Stones of Power - series), that are required after the ending of Wolf in Shadow: reading this, I often wonder did Gemmell not realise that Jon Shannow aka The Jerusalem Man would be such a popular character when he first wrote that book, and had initially intended it to be a one-off (quick Google search: yes).
This particular series, however, is essentially a post-Apocalyptic Western, with it hard not to imagine the character as Clint Eastwood appears in Unforgiven.
On a more literary front, I also wonder whether Stephen King The Dark Tower series was either inspired or provided the inspiration for this, with both sharing a few (superficial, at least) similarities.
Freed from most of the heavy-lifting of the world building done in the previous entry, this particular work instead is more able to concentrate on the character of Jon Shannow, providing a bit more flesh (as it were) to the world he inhabits, while still also calling back to those previous events in passing.
I'm not entirely sold on the Lizard enemies that appear roughly about half-way, thinking it might have been better to stick with more traditional (if I can use that word in this context) heroic fantasy enemies, but even they are given more of a character than you would normally expect from supporting characters. Talking of supporting characters: this one also has Nu-Khasistra (an Atlantean from before the Fall - trust me, it makes sense once you read it!) and the Parson to provide counter-balance to Shannow himself: the former a ship-builder whose faith has much in common with that of Shannow and who provides some sage words of advice; the latter showing what can happen when a man believes in absolutes.
As with most of Gemmell's works, well worth a read
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Overlord (2018) in Movies
Jul 2, 2019
June 6, 1944 is the day known around the world as D-Day. This historic day marks the massive invasion of France by the allied forces in an effort to regain the country from the hands of Germany and push back the mighty German war machine all the way to Berlin. There have been many movies, books, and even videogames about the invasion over the years, so even the biggest war buffs might be wondering…really, they made yet another movie about D-Day? Well, the movie Overlord is quite a bit different from anything we have even seen previously. This movie is still about Operation Overlord but does not focus on the amphibious assault and instead shows us the missions leading up to it. Still not unique enough for you? Well, in Overlord we have all the battles, weaponry and Nazis of an excellent war film but in true J.J. Abrams fashion we now also have ZOMBIES!
Overlord focuses on a small unit tasked to take out a radio tower atop a church in a small village in France. The unit led by Corporal Ford (Wyatt Russell) and comprised of fresh out of paratrooper training Privates Boyce (Jovan Adepo), Rosenfeld (Dominic Applewhite) and Tibbet (John Magaro) are the only survivors of the doomed mission, but understand that if they do not complete it, then the allied invasion will be without crucial air support. During their trek to the church they meet a young French woman from the village named Chloe (Mathilde Ollivier) who offers to accompany them and assist in taking out the radio tower.
When the ragtag team reach the village, it immediately becomes apparent that everything is not as it should be. They go to Chloe’s house to formulate their plan and are greeted by howling and grunting coming from a closed door down the hallway. Chloe states that her aunt also lives in the house and is very “sick” after being taken to the church by a German soldier. At the same time, through a series of unfortunate events, Private Boyce discovers a brutal laboratory where other villagers are also being made “sick”.
For those who have seen the preview of Overlord and expect it to be war-based horror movie may be a little disappointed. While there certainly are horrific events, and plenty of scenes fighting the undead, Overlord is much more about the atrocities that the Nazi regime inflicted on innocents in an effort to purse the 1000-year-old Reich. J.J. Abrams spins a tale about how a small group of dedicated soldiers can pull out the impossible, even when there are hordes of Nazi soldiers and undead monsters standing in their way and does this in a spectacular and very believable way. The movie seems far more realistic than it should considering we are talking about zombie soldiers, but the events unfold as if they could actually happen. The movie is less The Walking Dead and more Saving Private Ryan, focusing not so much on the undead creatures themselves, but more the experimentation and mad-scientist efforts to create the ultimate super soldier. The story was outstanding and how they depicted everything from the soldiers to the zombies was top notch.
The movie is beautifully shot, standing tall next to other war epics such as Saving Private Ryan or Dunkirk. Even though the main plot of the film isn’t the invasion itself, it goes to astonishing detail to show how massive the invasion truly was. The opening scene is both epic and terrifying and the horrors of war are explored throughout. The acting was also superb, leading you to immediately care about the team and root for their success in the mission.
If it is not already clear, I absolutely loved this movie! They did a masterful job of blending the war/horror genre in such a way, that it never overly feels like one versus the other. It’s an action packed, edge of your seat thriller, with just enough jump scares included to remind you that it is billed as a horror movie. Overlord is a very unique take on an unfortunate time in history and it is one of the best movies I’ve seen in 2018.
Overlord focuses on a small unit tasked to take out a radio tower atop a church in a small village in France. The unit led by Corporal Ford (Wyatt Russell) and comprised of fresh out of paratrooper training Privates Boyce (Jovan Adepo), Rosenfeld (Dominic Applewhite) and Tibbet (John Magaro) are the only survivors of the doomed mission, but understand that if they do not complete it, then the allied invasion will be without crucial air support. During their trek to the church they meet a young French woman from the village named Chloe (Mathilde Ollivier) who offers to accompany them and assist in taking out the radio tower.
When the ragtag team reach the village, it immediately becomes apparent that everything is not as it should be. They go to Chloe’s house to formulate their plan and are greeted by howling and grunting coming from a closed door down the hallway. Chloe states that her aunt also lives in the house and is very “sick” after being taken to the church by a German soldier. At the same time, through a series of unfortunate events, Private Boyce discovers a brutal laboratory where other villagers are also being made “sick”.
For those who have seen the preview of Overlord and expect it to be war-based horror movie may be a little disappointed. While there certainly are horrific events, and plenty of scenes fighting the undead, Overlord is much more about the atrocities that the Nazi regime inflicted on innocents in an effort to purse the 1000-year-old Reich. J.J. Abrams spins a tale about how a small group of dedicated soldiers can pull out the impossible, even when there are hordes of Nazi soldiers and undead monsters standing in their way and does this in a spectacular and very believable way. The movie seems far more realistic than it should considering we are talking about zombie soldiers, but the events unfold as if they could actually happen. The movie is less The Walking Dead and more Saving Private Ryan, focusing not so much on the undead creatures themselves, but more the experimentation and mad-scientist efforts to create the ultimate super soldier. The story was outstanding and how they depicted everything from the soldiers to the zombies was top notch.
The movie is beautifully shot, standing tall next to other war epics such as Saving Private Ryan or Dunkirk. Even though the main plot of the film isn’t the invasion itself, it goes to astonishing detail to show how massive the invasion truly was. The opening scene is both epic and terrifying and the horrors of war are explored throughout. The acting was also superb, leading you to immediately care about the team and root for their success in the mission.
If it is not already clear, I absolutely loved this movie! They did a masterful job of blending the war/horror genre in such a way, that it never overly feels like one versus the other. It’s an action packed, edge of your seat thriller, with just enough jump scares included to remind you that it is billed as a horror movie. Overlord is a very unique take on an unfortunate time in history and it is one of the best movies I’ve seen in 2018.
Device Locator: Track and Locate Family Members and Lost or Stolen iPhones
Utilities and Travel
App
Swipe down to instantly know where your loved ones are without having to read confusing maps! Know...
Paul Kellett (118 KP) rated Dawn of the Zeds (Third edition) in Tabletop Games
May 20, 2019
Staged rules to ease you in slowly (1 more)
Strong solo game plus team and 1 Vs many rules
The Ultimate Zombie Tower Defense
I've been wanting DotZ for some time so jumped on the reprint and expansions when they hit Kickstarter last year.
As a solo player, having a town defense game designed as a solo game first was a big draw for me and the game certainly doesn't disappoint.
After hearing so much about it and the complexity, I was surprised to find it a lot smaller than I expected - the board is smaller than most modern board games and there aren't anywhere near as many chits and cards as other wargames. The game will play easily on a coffee table.
The first thing you see are the 5 rule books, but these are handily split into a "Start Here" basic game book which lets you quickly jump in and play a basic game, just your heroes fending off the Zeds from reaching the town, the advanced rules which lead you through the next level of difficulty, adding in extra rules, the set-up guide with all the instructions for each difficulty level plus epilogues to see how well you did. Next there is the Farmingdale Dossier - a reference book with all the various hero and zombie special skills and finally, the complete rules A-Z with rules for all difficulty levels and game modes.
The levels are all colour coded so it is easy to sort and set up the desired difficulty level and the rules are similarly split up and each rule numbered so you can quickly find what you need.
Gameplay is tight and atmospheric, you really feel like you are holding back the zombie hoardes. Careful planning and strategy is vital as actions are limited (and you never actually know how many actions you will get from turn to turn making you make some hard choices as to what is best to do each turn.
Overall a very satisfying game that will keep me busy for a long time and the ability to add more advanced rules when I feel comfortable is great.
As a solo player, having a town defense game designed as a solo game first was a big draw for me and the game certainly doesn't disappoint.
After hearing so much about it and the complexity, I was surprised to find it a lot smaller than I expected - the board is smaller than most modern board games and there aren't anywhere near as many chits and cards as other wargames. The game will play easily on a coffee table.
The first thing you see are the 5 rule books, but these are handily split into a "Start Here" basic game book which lets you quickly jump in and play a basic game, just your heroes fending off the Zeds from reaching the town, the advanced rules which lead you through the next level of difficulty, adding in extra rules, the set-up guide with all the instructions for each difficulty level plus epilogues to see how well you did. Next there is the Farmingdale Dossier - a reference book with all the various hero and zombie special skills and finally, the complete rules A-Z with rules for all difficulty levels and game modes.
The levels are all colour coded so it is easy to sort and set up the desired difficulty level and the rules are similarly split up and each rule numbered so you can quickly find what you need.
Gameplay is tight and atmospheric, you really feel like you are holding back the zombie hoardes. Careful planning and strategy is vital as actions are limited (and you never actually know how many actions you will get from turn to turn making you make some hard choices as to what is best to do each turn.
Overall a very satisfying game that will keep me busy for a long time and the ability to add more advanced rules when I feel comfortable is great.
