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graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated Hannah (Daughters of the Sea, #1) in Books
Feb 15, 2019
Hannah, the first in entry into the Daughters of the Sea series, is a fairly solid tale with an enjoyable premise. Any little girl who loved the Little Mermaid would most likely want to read this story. I like the fact that it takes place in Victorian times and it teaches the reader about the hierarchy of staff in an upper-class family's household. The author did a good job making Hannah likable, Lila psychotic, and everyone else was fleshed out just enough. However, the relationship between the painter, Stannish Whitman Wheeler, and Hannah was shaky and unbelievable, and I never quite saw the need for this to be included. My biggest complaint is the ending, which for all the lead-up of this moment, felt very anti-climactic and left much to be desired. While some younger readers might find the pacing of the book a bit slow, it managed to hold my interest throughout. Overall, it's an easy read and has a good, if somewhat flawed, story. 3.5 stars
graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated Silent in the Grave (Lady Julia Grey, #1) in Books
Feb 15, 2019
Smartly written, highly engaging, totally unputdownable - I love this book! Seriously, it's not often that a book will so capture my interest in the first page that I don't put it down for seventy pages (regrettably), and when I next pick it up, keep reading until it's finished - at 509 pages too!
Deanna Raybourn did a wonderful job bringing the characters and Victorian setting alive, and in a fairly realistic fashion. The only iffy thing was how easily it was accepted that Portia was a lesbian. I know that the March's are a peculiar and unconventional bunch, but still. All the 'gay' plotting felt too modern to me and that's my only beef with the book, not that I overly minded it (just enough to mention it :P). The way the story unfolded was seamless and fitting with the atmosphere of the mystery. Lady Julia was a wonderful character and it really is amazing how well everything was brought to life using a first-person narrative. I am looking forward to the next installment and know that won't be enough of these characters!
Deanna Raybourn did a wonderful job bringing the characters and Victorian setting alive, and in a fairly realistic fashion. The only iffy thing was how easily it was accepted that Portia was a lesbian. I know that the March's are a peculiar and unconventional bunch, but still. All the 'gay' plotting felt too modern to me and that's my only beef with the book, not that I overly minded it (just enough to mention it :P). The way the story unfolded was seamless and fitting with the atmosphere of the mystery. Lady Julia was a wonderful character and it really is amazing how well everything was brought to life using a first-person narrative. I am looking forward to the next installment and know that won't be enough of these characters!
Lucy L (0 KP) rated The Essex Serpent in Books
Mar 9, 2018
Intriguing gothic drama
I’d wanted to read this for a while based purely on the glorious cover. It was a very pleasant gothic Victorian novel with the very intriguing mysetery of the Fabled Essex serpent weaving it’s way through. However it’s main focus is the interactions between the main characters and the enormous impact that each has on the others lives over the course of a year, predominantly for the worse.
It is a beautifully written novel and the detail is gorgeous, but at times it felt slow with little to hold my attention. I found myself skimming ahead sometimes. The characters weren’t always relatable and I didn’t feel any great connection to any of them. The promises of the Essex serpent itself is handled well and used expertly to draw out everyone’s heightened fears feeding off their own misdeeds.
I would still recommend this book. Just maybe not for anyone looking for a rousing novel. However a calm afternoon with a pot of tea to yourself it’s worth giving it a go.
It is a beautifully written novel and the detail is gorgeous, but at times it felt slow with little to hold my attention. I found myself skimming ahead sometimes. The characters weren’t always relatable and I didn’t feel any great connection to any of them. The promises of the Essex serpent itself is handled well and used expertly to draw out everyone’s heightened fears feeding off their own misdeeds.
I would still recommend this book. Just maybe not for anyone looking for a rousing novel. However a calm afternoon with a pot of tea to yourself it’s worth giving it a go.
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Asphyx (1972) in Movies
Jun 14, 2018
Early 70s British costume-drama horror movie, so you know roughly what to expect - scientist consumed with hubris decides to play God, learns the hard way he doesn't have the full set of qualifications for the gig. But this is really a rather morbid Victorian melodrama, an impression which is only heightened by how primitive some of the special effects are (the asphyx puppet in particular is a bit of an eye-popper).
At a time when the average Hammer horror was brazenly carnal and exploitative, and Amicus' line of portmanteaus was recycling the same jokey twist endings, The Asphyx takes itself wholly seriously and is positively bleak throughout - the whole movie is about death and despair, and the effects this can have on people. (At one point the plot boils down to a race between two characters to see which one of them can commit suicide first.) The intensity of the telling (good performances from the leads) makes it somewhat mesmerising to watch, even if it's a slightly chilly and unsettling experience.
At a time when the average Hammer horror was brazenly carnal and exploitative, and Amicus' line of portmanteaus was recycling the same jokey twist endings, The Asphyx takes itself wholly seriously and is positively bleak throughout - the whole movie is about death and despair, and the effects this can have on people. (At one point the plot boils down to a race between two characters to see which one of them can commit suicide first.) The intensity of the telling (good performances from the leads) makes it somewhat mesmerising to watch, even if it's a slightly chilly and unsettling experience.
Charley (64 KP) rated Alice (The Chronicles of Alice, #1) in Books
Jan 27, 2019
Chilling twist on what is a classic tale
This story is set just after the classic Alice in Wonderland book that most will know and love.
It starts of in a mental institution where Alice is resident. Her parents putting her in there after her "adventures" in Wonderland. She has a relationship with the man in the next cell called Hatcher, three guesses who he is supposed to represent.
This whirlwind adventure takes you through a Victorian esq London with all the characters of the classic story.
It is a very dark adaptation of Alice in Wonderland and I have to say kept me guessing throughout.
The characters seem familiar but in a dark and twisted way and ultimately it's about Alice's journey after escaping the mental home with her companion Hatcher.
I will not say anymore as it will spoil the storyline but it is definitely worth a look.
Christina Henry has definitely made an amazing book and since I read this I went out and bought all her books.
It starts of in a mental institution where Alice is resident. Her parents putting her in there after her "adventures" in Wonderland. She has a relationship with the man in the next cell called Hatcher, three guesses who he is supposed to represent.
This whirlwind adventure takes you through a Victorian esq London with all the characters of the classic story.
It is a very dark adaptation of Alice in Wonderland and I have to say kept me guessing throughout.
The characters seem familiar but in a dark and twisted way and ultimately it's about Alice's journey after escaping the mental home with her companion Hatcher.
I will not say anymore as it will spoil the storyline but it is definitely worth a look.
Christina Henry has definitely made an amazing book and since I read this I went out and bought all her books.
Deborah (162 KP) rated Florence Grace in Books
Dec 21, 2018
I hadn't read Tracy Rees' previous novel, but thought that this sounded interesting and worth giving a go - so I did!
It's well written, but without being too highbrow or difficult to read - in fact I got through it in just a couple of days!
Plot wise it did remind me a little of Mansfield Park to start with - with the poor cousin being taken into the richer household which if alien in its ways and she is expected to be grateful - there's even an unpleasant aunt, two female cousins who think rather too well of themselves and a crush on a cousin! The book is set in the Victorian period, goes down other paths and Florence/Florrie is rather more forthright than Fanny Price!
There are some twists and turns in the plot, but nothing melodramatic and the book keeps it's air of realism.
The ending I felt was perhaps a little too neatly tied up and a touch anti-climactic, but overall it was an easy read and a book that I definitely enjoyed.
It's well written, but without being too highbrow or difficult to read - in fact I got through it in just a couple of days!
Plot wise it did remind me a little of Mansfield Park to start with - with the poor cousin being taken into the richer household which if alien in its ways and she is expected to be grateful - there's even an unpleasant aunt, two female cousins who think rather too well of themselves and a crush on a cousin! The book is set in the Victorian period, goes down other paths and Florence/Florrie is rather more forthright than Fanny Price!
There are some twists and turns in the plot, but nothing melodramatic and the book keeps it's air of realism.
The ending I felt was perhaps a little too neatly tied up and a touch anti-climactic, but overall it was an easy read and a book that I definitely enjoyed.
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Dorrington Deed Box in Books
Jul 30, 2019 (Updated Jul 30, 2019)
A handful of stories rather reminiscent in some ways of the Sherlock Holmes shorts, though with a rather different protagonist. Horace Dorrington is a very effective investigator when he chooses to be, and a charming fellow, but he is also totally corrupt and self-serving, with a repertoire that extends to blackmail, fraud, and murder, even of his own supposed clients.
He is, obviously, an anti-hero, and Morrison makes him work as the lead of a series of stories through a few different tricks - firstly, he is outrageously charming, and you generally are waiting for the moment when Dorrington is going to revert to type and pull a fast one on his latest victim. Secondly, he is generally pitted against people even worse than he is.
Still, you can start to detect Morrison struggling to find new things to do with the character after only a few stories, which may be why he only appears in the half-dozen or so collected here. They remain highly entertaining if Victorian crime fiction is your cup of tea.
He is, obviously, an anti-hero, and Morrison makes him work as the lead of a series of stories through a few different tricks - firstly, he is outrageously charming, and you generally are waiting for the moment when Dorrington is going to revert to type and pull a fast one on his latest victim. Secondly, he is generally pitted against people even worse than he is.
Still, you can start to detect Morrison struggling to find new things to do with the character after only a few stories, which may be why he only appears in the half-dozen or so collected here. They remain highly entertaining if Victorian crime fiction is your cup of tea.
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Elephant Man (1980) in Movies
Apr 27, 2020
Rather fictionalised bio-pic from David Lynch and Mel Brooks. A surgeon in late-Victorian London discovers a man with extreme deformities being shown as a sideshow freak. The surgeon realises this man's case could make his name, but is he really any less of an exploiter than the owner of the side-show?
Very good-looking and well-acted by a fine cast. However, the film seems a little ambivalent about what kind of effect it's going for - the build-up to the big reveal of Merrick's deformities is almost done like a horror movie, only for an abrupt change of tone to take place once it is revealed that he is a gentle, almost saintly individual (the film simplifies the facts of Merrick's life: in reality, it was his idea to join the sideshow). There's also the fact that the story is short on incident once Merrick moves into the hospital and a kidnap-and-escape subplot has to be contrived. A well-made film and very watchable, but it is in the end just a bit simplistic and sentimental.
Very good-looking and well-acted by a fine cast. However, the film seems a little ambivalent about what kind of effect it's going for - the build-up to the big reveal of Merrick's deformities is almost done like a horror movie, only for an abrupt change of tone to take place once it is revealed that he is a gentle, almost saintly individual (the film simplifies the facts of Merrick's life: in reality, it was his idea to join the sideshow). There's also the fact that the story is short on incident once Merrick moves into the hospital and a kidnap-and-escape subplot has to be contrived. A well-made film and very watchable, but it is in the end just a bit simplistic and sentimental.
Canadian Girl in South Africa: A Teacher's Experiences in the South African War, 1899-1902
Maud E. Graham, Michael Dawson, Catherine Gidney and Susanne M. Klausen
Book
As the South African War reached its grueling end in 1902, colonial interests at the highest levels...
Eyewitness Accounts: Pilgrimage to Meccah
Book
The journey that made Richard Burton famous as a traveller and explorer in the nineteenth century...