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David McK (3251 KP) rated The Aeronaut's Windlass in Books
Dec 20, 2023
The first book in Jim Butcher's new series: Cinder Spires series, if I'm honest I was a little unsure what to make of this at the start: it's not 'traditional' fantasy (that would be his 'Codex Alera' series); nor is it the urban fantasy (his - still ongoing - 'Dresden Files' series).
Rather, this is probably best described as Steampunk, which is a genre I previously had little exploration in, and which Google defines as:
"...a subgenre of science fiction and sometimes fantasy that incorporates technology and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery.".
Reading that description, this definitely fits right into that bracket!
To my mind, it also falls more towards the fantasy aspect of Steampunk: after all, we have a new magic system, airships, the ability to communicate with animals (cats), and monsters from the ground all within the pages of this story even if (for my money), it never quite gripped me as much as a Harry Dresden book.
Rather, this is probably best described as Steampunk, which is a genre I previously had little exploration in, and which Google defines as:
"...a subgenre of science fiction and sometimes fantasy that incorporates technology and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery.".
Reading that description, this definitely fits right into that bracket!
To my mind, it also falls more towards the fantasy aspect of Steampunk: after all, we have a new magic system, airships, the ability to communicate with animals (cats), and monsters from the ground all within the pages of this story even if (for my money), it never quite gripped me as much as a Harry Dresden book.
Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated When Dimple Met Rishi in Books
Apr 3, 2019
Dimple Shah has just graduated from high school and, in the fall, she will go to Stanford and study web design. San Francisco State University, is holding a six-week course for this over the summer, that Dimple would love to attend. The only problem is that it costs $1000 and she knows her parents can't afford it. So she is genuinely surprised when they agree to let her go. On her first day she runs into, literally, Rishi Patel, who is there on an arrangement from his parents. Dimple has no idea. Dimple is not having any of it. When they are paired for the six weeks, Dimple is sure it will never work. Rishi isn't even into web design, but as time goes on, and they get to know each other better, Dimple begins to change her mind about Rishi. But is it enough to promise her life to him at this young age, or will they just be friends for the long haul.
I loved listening to this book. I'm not sure if I would have enjoyed the book just reading it. As a married woman, I don't know if I could have allowed my parents to set me up with my future husband.
Dimple is a non-traditional Hindu woman. She wants a job and a career before even thinking about a boyfriend, much less a husband. Rishi is very traditional and just wants his parents to be proud of him. They both are able to teach the other a different way of life, but will it be enough for them to agree to be together?
I love how these two young adults tried something new and allowed themselves to feel something they may not have otherwise felt. They were both able to make new friends and make discoveries about themselves that helped them to grow.
This is a great story for young adults to read. Sure in the end, we all want to find that special someone and settle down. But you should live your life for yourself, before you decide that it's time to settle down. And when you find that special someone, you should know what to do to make them happy and make yourself happy as well.
I loved listening to this book. I'm not sure if I would have enjoyed the book just reading it. As a married woman, I don't know if I could have allowed my parents to set me up with my future husband.
Dimple is a non-traditional Hindu woman. She wants a job and a career before even thinking about a boyfriend, much less a husband. Rishi is very traditional and just wants his parents to be proud of him. They both are able to teach the other a different way of life, but will it be enough for them to agree to be together?
I love how these two young adults tried something new and allowed themselves to feel something they may not have otherwise felt. They were both able to make new friends and make discoveries about themselves that helped them to grow.
This is a great story for young adults to read. Sure in the end, we all want to find that special someone and settle down. But you should live your life for yourself, before you decide that it's time to settle down. And when you find that special someone, you should know what to do to make them happy and make yourself happy as well.
Mandi S (1 KP) rated The Sky Is Yours in Books
Jan 23, 2018
Dystopian futuristic society. Coming of age teen angst. A love triangle. Human/robot hybrids. Dragons unrelentingly setting virtually everything on fire. Check, check, check, check, and check. The Sky is Yours by Chandler Klang Smith has all of this and more. I'll be honest and say that I had no clue what this book was about at first, but I was fascinated by the cover. The neon graffiti-ed look drew me in, but as soon as I read the synopsis I was hooked.
The scene is Empire Island, a once booming metropolis now nearly abandoned as dragons have burned it to the ground. These two dragons appeared randomly in the sky and have not left for years, looming above the city 24/7 and taking no prisoners as they burn and reburn what little remains of Empire Island. Enter Duncan Ripple, a rich, privileged teen set on disregarding orders and living his life, as he crashes his hovercraft on a neighboring desert island. Here is where Abracadabra, or Abby, nurses him back to health until they are both rescued. Upon returning home, they are met by Swanny, Duncan's betrothed, as their parents force a union that neither of them seems to want. Chaos ensues, the three teens escape, and they are left to their own devices on a journey of self-discovery and survival in a smoldering city.
I really enjoyed this book. It is so unique, fun, and engaging, and almost impossible to categorize. The characters were all very well developed, and the plot was exciting and different. While the three characters were intertwined, they each had their own distinctive arc that developed them individually. Although it didn't bother me much, I will say that some of the language used might annoy a more traditional reader. Men are "pros" and women are "fems", and traditional names of objects are abandoned in favor of modernized versions such as the "Toob" for television, a "HowDouse" for a firetruck, and "LookyGlass" for what seems to be a cell phone.
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Thank you so much to Crown Publishing for sending me a finished copy of this beauty!
The scene is Empire Island, a once booming metropolis now nearly abandoned as dragons have burned it to the ground. These two dragons appeared randomly in the sky and have not left for years, looming above the city 24/7 and taking no prisoners as they burn and reburn what little remains of Empire Island. Enter Duncan Ripple, a rich, privileged teen set on disregarding orders and living his life, as he crashes his hovercraft on a neighboring desert island. Here is where Abracadabra, or Abby, nurses him back to health until they are both rescued. Upon returning home, they are met by Swanny, Duncan's betrothed, as their parents force a union that neither of them seems to want. Chaos ensues, the three teens escape, and they are left to their own devices on a journey of self-discovery and survival in a smoldering city.
I really enjoyed this book. It is so unique, fun, and engaging, and almost impossible to categorize. The characters were all very well developed, and the plot was exciting and different. While the three characters were intertwined, they each had their own distinctive arc that developed them individually. Although it didn't bother me much, I will say that some of the language used might annoy a more traditional reader. Men are "pros" and women are "fems", and traditional names of objects are abandoned in favor of modernized versions such as the "Toob" for television, a "HowDouse" for a firetruck, and "LookyGlass" for what seems to be a cell phone.
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Thank you so much to Crown Publishing for sending me a finished copy of this beauty!
Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated The Sisters Brothers (2018) in Movies
Jan 7, 2019 (Updated Jan 7, 2019)
Cast all give brilliant performances (1 more)
Quirky filming techniques
He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother
I was dying to see this movie as soon as I saw the first trailer for it, but even though it dropped in the states months ago, it's not coming to UK cinemas until April 2019! However, if you mess around with the location settings on your on-demand website of choice, it is possible to legally watch this movie in Britain without having to wait another 4 months for it to release.
We seem to be at a point cinematically where traditional westerns that follow a gunslinger duelling his way across the west have all been done to death. Instead, it seems like modern westerns have to take a different, more unorthodox approach to the stories that they decide to tell. Take The Hateful Eight for example, as much as I loved that film, it was closer to the Clue movie than it was any of Sergio Leonne's Spaghetti Westerns. Or there is the very recent Ballad Of Buster Scruggs, which I personally enjoyed, but even within that movie, the tone and feel varied wildly throughout and none of it was what I would call a traditional western.
The Sisters Brothers follows this trajectory of oddity. It follows the titular brothers (played by John C. Reilly and Joaquin Pheonix,) who are essentially hitmen working for a Commodore (played by Rutger Hauer,) who have been sent to kill a chemist/gold prospector (played by Riz Ahmed,) with the help of a scout also working for the commodore, (played by Jake Gyllenhall.)
This movie is strange. It was directed by Jacques Audiard and there is a strange tone to the whole thing which feels distinctly French. There are an abundance of odd yet aesthetically pleasing shots that contribute to the film's odd tone and there are some comedic elements thrown in also. The whole thing is a mixing pot of different elements, yet it all strangely works.
Overall, I enjoyed The Sisters Brothers even if it was unconventional and not exactly the movie that I had expected going in and the performances all around are sublime.
We seem to be at a point cinematically where traditional westerns that follow a gunslinger duelling his way across the west have all been done to death. Instead, it seems like modern westerns have to take a different, more unorthodox approach to the stories that they decide to tell. Take The Hateful Eight for example, as much as I loved that film, it was closer to the Clue movie than it was any of Sergio Leonne's Spaghetti Westerns. Or there is the very recent Ballad Of Buster Scruggs, which I personally enjoyed, but even within that movie, the tone and feel varied wildly throughout and none of it was what I would call a traditional western.
The Sisters Brothers follows this trajectory of oddity. It follows the titular brothers (played by John C. Reilly and Joaquin Pheonix,) who are essentially hitmen working for a Commodore (played by Rutger Hauer,) who have been sent to kill a chemist/gold prospector (played by Riz Ahmed,) with the help of a scout also working for the commodore, (played by Jake Gyllenhall.)
This movie is strange. It was directed by Jacques Audiard and there is a strange tone to the whole thing which feels distinctly French. There are an abundance of odd yet aesthetically pleasing shots that contribute to the film's odd tone and there are some comedic elements thrown in also. The whole thing is a mixing pot of different elements, yet it all strangely works.
Overall, I enjoyed The Sisters Brothers even if it was unconventional and not exactly the movie that I had expected going in and the performances all around are sublime.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated The Big Sick (2017) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
I like it when there's an Unlimited screening of a film I'm not entirely sure about. I'd seen adverts for The Big Sick and was on the fence about seeing it, but when you get a sneaky Unlimited you have to go.
Based on Kumail Nanjiani & Emily V. Gordon real-life story (click on that link to see them interviewed on The View), The Big Sick is a romantic comedy that will have you laughing out loud.
Kumail's family are determined to find him a Pakistani Muslim girl so that he might settle down and follow in their traditions. But Kumail is anything but traditional. He's trying to make it as a comedian, while driving Uber in his spare time.
He meets Emily at one of his gigs and the pair hit it off. As they get further into their relationship though, Kumail worries what his traditional family will say about her. But Emily finding his parent's catalogue cards of potential brides changes everything.
When Emily is taken sick, her friend call Kumail for help. With the hospital putting her into a medically induced coma, he's then left with the prospect of contacting her parents, who up until this point, he'd managed to avoid...
It's a recurring things with my friends that they always ask me what I've seen or have booked at the cinema now, and this is the first one that has pretty much made them all react in the same way...
Me: I'm going to see The Big Sick.
Them: *scrunches face up at the title of the film*
I'm not even kidding, something about the title just doesn't sit right with them. But I have been urging them to go and see it anyway. Kumail Nanjiani is such a funny guy, if you haven't seen him in Franklin and Bash you really need to.
This film was funny and emotional, and felt very real. I feel contented about having watched it, and that doesn't happen a lot with me. Ray Romano and Holly Hunter make a great pair alongside Nankiani and Kazan. It's an all-round nice film, heartbreaking at points, but still wonderful.
Based on Kumail Nanjiani & Emily V. Gordon real-life story (click on that link to see them interviewed on The View), The Big Sick is a romantic comedy that will have you laughing out loud.
Kumail's family are determined to find him a Pakistani Muslim girl so that he might settle down and follow in their traditions. But Kumail is anything but traditional. He's trying to make it as a comedian, while driving Uber in his spare time.
He meets Emily at one of his gigs and the pair hit it off. As they get further into their relationship though, Kumail worries what his traditional family will say about her. But Emily finding his parent's catalogue cards of potential brides changes everything.
When Emily is taken sick, her friend call Kumail for help. With the hospital putting her into a medically induced coma, he's then left with the prospect of contacting her parents, who up until this point, he'd managed to avoid...
It's a recurring things with my friends that they always ask me what I've seen or have booked at the cinema now, and this is the first one that has pretty much made them all react in the same way...
Me: I'm going to see The Big Sick.
Them: *scrunches face up at the title of the film*
I'm not even kidding, something about the title just doesn't sit right with them. But I have been urging them to go and see it anyway. Kumail Nanjiani is such a funny guy, if you haven't seen him in Franklin and Bash you really need to.
This film was funny and emotional, and felt very real. I feel contented about having watched it, and that doesn't happen a lot with me. Ray Romano and Holly Hunter make a great pair alongside Nankiani and Kazan. It's an all-round nice film, heartbreaking at points, but still wonderful.
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated Knit the Sky: Cultivate Your Creativity with a Playful Way of Knitting in Books
Apr 27, 2018
Knit the sky was whimsical and exciting. The book is quite different from the traditional knitting book, in that it doesn’t give step-by-step instructions, specific patterns, or have photos. Instead, it has colorful watercolor illustrations and beautiful inspiring text that paints a picture in the mind and leads the knitter to the place the writer wants them to be. The idea of giving inspiration for a project but not a specific pattern was challenging and new to say the least… but it worked for the book. It can be for a beginner knitter who wants the freedom to explore and not fit themselves into a pattern (just to grow as an artist) or for a free-former like myself, who doesn’t really follow patterns anyway and just wants the basic idea, or for an advanced knitter or pattern maker ready to push their creativity to the next level. It would even work for a crocheter (since most of it is make-up-as-you-go anyway).
David McK (3251 KP) rated Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) in Movies
Feb 10, 2019 (Updated May 8, 2021)
It's a Star Wars movie (3 more)
Donald Glover
Woody Harrelson
Alden Ehrenreich gives it his all in playing a younger Han Solo
Alden Ehrenreich is no Harrison Ford (2 more)
Predictable plot
The leader of Crimson Dawn didn't need to be who it is
The second of Disney's 'A Star Wars story' spin-off from the main (numbered) films followimg Rogue One, this one is largely held responsible for Disney's decision to slow down on releasing this spins offs (originally intended to be one every other year, in between the main ones) when it underperformed at the box office.
Personally, I feel a large reason for that underperformance is that, of all the characters in the original saga, Han is probably one of those least in the need to get an origin/prologue movie and that this was released during the summer months instead of the more traditional festive release period for a Star Wars movie.
Whereas Rogue One was, largely, a war movie, this one takes a different approach: more of a heist (complete with double and triple crossing) Western movie, if anything.
Personally, I feel a large reason for that underperformance is that, of all the characters in the original saga, Han is probably one of those least in the need to get an origin/prologue movie and that this was released during the summer months instead of the more traditional festive release period for a Star Wars movie.
Whereas Rogue One was, largely, a war movie, this one takes a different approach: more of a heist (complete with double and triple crossing) Western movie, if anything.
Lilyn G - Sci-Fi & Scary (91 KP) rated After The Cure in Books
Feb 1, 2018
A non-traditional zombie book that stays with you.
Contains spoilers, click to show
I loved this book. It had such a unique take on the zombie genre, rivaled perhaps only by M.R. Carey's The Girl with all the Gifts . Even compared to Carey's book, it's still in a league of its own. Just read the title. After the Cure.
Can you imagine what that would be like for the 'zombies'? To be cured, but have memories of all the horrible things they did while they were infected? To try to pick up again, to reintegrate into life? How positively horrifying.
Then there's the research to build a case against the jerks that started it all. There's intrigue, twists, horror, and discoveries, all told from the viewpoint of after the world almost ended, but humanity managed to save itself just in the nick of time. ...Right?
I haven't read the rest of this series, so I can't speak for it all...but I can speak for this book. This was, is, an awesome book that I highly recommend for zombie fans!
Can you imagine what that would be like for the 'zombies'? To be cured, but have memories of all the horrible things they did while they were infected? To try to pick up again, to reintegrate into life? How positively horrifying.
Then there's the research to build a case against the jerks that started it all. There's intrigue, twists, horror, and discoveries, all told from the viewpoint of after the world almost ended, but humanity managed to save itself just in the nick of time. ...Right?
I haven't read the rest of this series, so I can't speak for it all...but I can speak for this book. This was, is, an awesome book that I highly recommend for zombie fans!
GirlzRevil (7 KP) rated All the Crooked Saints in Books
Mar 2, 2018
Slow to suck you in, but then seriously moving
This book was so hard for me to get into. I restarted it four times - I'm confident that was a result of my self inflicted expectations.
The Crooked Saints are not the traditional fictional characters we have grown to expect from Maggie - they are instead a reflection, a little bit from each of us. They are the struggles that we each experience, and for some of us the self-actualization that helps us move successfully through life.
I thought that once I brought it home, I'd read this book in just a few hours. I was so excited by this prospect, that the fiction of my assumption actually shocked me. I was somewhat disappointed in myself for my delay, but as I went on to learn - some miracles take longer than others.
I love this book. I will place it with my favorites and go back whenever I need a reminder about the type of person I'd like to be.
The Crooked Saints are not the traditional fictional characters we have grown to expect from Maggie - they are instead a reflection, a little bit from each of us. They are the struggles that we each experience, and for some of us the self-actualization that helps us move successfully through life.
I thought that once I brought it home, I'd read this book in just a few hours. I was so excited by this prospect, that the fiction of my assumption actually shocked me. I was somewhat disappointed in myself for my delay, but as I went on to learn - some miracles take longer than others.
I love this book. I will place it with my favorites and go back whenever I need a reminder about the type of person I'd like to be.
Entertainment Editor (1988 KP) rated Star Wars: Imperial Assault in Tabletop Games
Mar 7, 2018
Star Wars: Imperial Assault: The Kotaku Review
Imperial Assault is a board game that was released in late 2014. I only got around to playing it over the weekend, and I already count those months between as wasted.
Having made a ton of money off their excellent X-Wing game before moving onto capital ship battles, Imperial Assault is Fantasy Flight’s shot at moving Star Wars into more traditional tabletop territory.
If you’ve ever played HeroQuest, Space Crusade or even XCOM, you’ll be familiar with the basics here: players take control of a character and take turns to move about a grid-based battlefield, using terrain as cover as they battle enemies and complete objectives.
It’s designed for 2-5 players, but shines brighter the closer you get to the latter. A single player—basically the dungeon master—takes control of all Imperial forces, while everyone else selects a single Rebel character, choosing from a stable of RPG class stalwarts (support, sniper, etc).
Reviewer: Luke Plunkett
Read the full review here: https://kotaku.com/star-wars-imperial-assault-the-kotaku-review-1734772222
Having made a ton of money off their excellent X-Wing game before moving onto capital ship battles, Imperial Assault is Fantasy Flight’s shot at moving Star Wars into more traditional tabletop territory.
If you’ve ever played HeroQuest, Space Crusade or even XCOM, you’ll be familiar with the basics here: players take control of a character and take turns to move about a grid-based battlefield, using terrain as cover as they battle enemies and complete objectives.
It’s designed for 2-5 players, but shines brighter the closer you get to the latter. A single player—basically the dungeon master—takes control of all Imperial forces, while everyone else selects a single Rebel character, choosing from a stable of RPG class stalwarts (support, sniper, etc).
Reviewer: Luke Plunkett
Read the full review here: https://kotaku.com/star-wars-imperial-assault-the-kotaku-review-1734772222