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Midge (525 KP) rated The White Headhunter in Books

Mar 16, 2019

The White Headhunter

Nigel Randell | 2019 | Biography, History & Politics

8.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Fascinating & Very Well Presented

Reading “The White Headhunter” was a complete change of genre for me and although I had a few reservations about the choice, I’m really pleased I decided to go with it.

This first book by Nigel Randell is a work of non-fiction. A teenage Scots sailor, Jack Renton was rescued from captivity on the Pacific island of Malaita, home to a fearsome tribe of headhunters. In his memoir, Renton recounted his eight-year adventure: how he jumped ship and drifted two thousand miles in an open whaleboat to the Solomon Islands, came ashore at Malaita and was stripped of his identity. For all it’s detail and authenticity Renton’s chronicle glossed over many key events. This book is a more complete and grislier account of Renton’s experience.

Very well presented and easy to read “The White Headhunter” contains some fascinating history of the late 19th century and the Pacific with some entertaining and enlightening information about the period. This true story was interesting, enjoyable and well worth the read.

[Thank you to #NetGalley, #ThistlePublishing and #NigelRandell, for a free ARC of #TheWhiteHeadhunter in exchange for an honest review.]

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated Deepwater Horizon (2016) in Movies

May 23, 2019

Deepwater Horizon (2016)

2016 | Action, Drama

7.8

(36 Ratings)

Movie Rating

True-life disaster movie permits the audience to feel good about paying their respects to victims of a genuine tragedy while still having all the fun of watching tons of stuff blow up. Marky Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell and his moustache, and various other characters head off to the titular rig, where evil corporate suits in pursuit of the bottom line (boo!) force them to cut costs, imperil safety standards, and so on. Sure enough, something important eventually goes boom.

I don't mean to sound glib about events in which nearly a dozen people died, but the fact is that this is a pretty glib movie - structured like a thriller, clearly designed to entertain, and making full use of its factual basis to include stuff you just wouldn't believe in a work of fiction (one character gets an award for his safety record literally an hour before his oil rig explodes). Capably done and exciting entertainment, but at the same time you are (on some level) watching real people die - I know many people don't have an issue with that, but it makes me uncomfortable, no matter how gravely reverential the film tries to be.

Kudos

Liliannar (58 KP) rated Mr Mercedes in Books

May 29, 2018

Mr Mercedes

Stephen King | 2015 | Horror, Mystery, Thriller

8.5

(28 Ratings)

Book Rating

Character development (1 more)

Extremely well narrated

Slow scenes (0 more)

Audible version

From the very earliest of pages the reader is drawn into the horrific events that kick of Mr. Mercedes. It isn't much of a spoiler to say that a deeply troubled person commits an awful crime leaving 8 dead. This happens in the first few pages of the book. From there the reader is taken on an in-depth journey into finding out who this heinous person is and what drove them to commit the act. Along the way characters are developed on both sides of the crime as the reader gets to know Detective Bill Hodges, Holly, Gerome, and of course, Mr. Mercedes. This is a great example of how King can build an extremely full world of characters while telling a compelling story.

In true King style there are bits of the story that just don't seem to add, but aren't necessarily a detraction. Bits of the story move much slower than the main story line but they are intermittent and short in nature. As a whole it doesn't detract from the engrossing nature of the book.

Kudos

Eleanor (1463 KP) rated American Crime Story Season 1: The People v. O.J. Simpson in TV

Nov 10, 2019

A well-polished based on true events mini-series.

Not being American and also being a pre-teen at the time of the actual event the whole O.J. Simpson thing was a small blip on my consciousness at the time, so I probably knew less than most going into watching this. It focuses mainly around the courtroom drama of the trial of O.J. Simpson with a heavy focus on the lawyers (and there are a lot of them) involved.

For someone unfamiliar with all the facts of the case I could have done with more detail especially the prosecutions whole case, much was made of their been a load of evidence but we didn’t get to see how much of it was presented. Instead, we did get a lot of insight into the personalities around the case with some strong performances, in particular, Sarah Paulson as prosecutor Marcia Clark alongside some less convincing showings. I’m not that familiar with Simpson, but Cuba Gooding Jr didn’t really invoke him to me.

All in all interesting and well put together insight into arguably the biggest TV trial in history.