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Solitaire by MobilityWare is the ORIGINAL maker of Solitaire with Daily Challenges. We’ve made...
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated Alternity in Books
Jun 7, 2018
(This review is also on my blog <a href="http://themisadventuresofatwentysomething.blogspot.co.uk">The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl</a>).
When I read the synopsis of Alternity by Mari Mancusi, I knew I would probably love this book! I wasn't wrong. This book is amazing!
Skye is just your average 18 year old girl. There's nothing that different about her. She has a fantastic boyfriend, she goes to school, and she works as a video games tester. She's been having these strange nightmares about being in a weird place. They're making her lose sleep until one day she actually wakes up in the place from her nightmare. Now she doesn't know who to trust. And why do people keep calling her Mariah?? Skye soon discovers she's arrived on another planet, and something sinister is going on.
The title to this book is great!! Alternity - like an alternative reality. It definitely fits right in with the story. From what I've heard, this book was originally released under the title of Moongazing. I'm glad the author decided to change the title as Alternity sounds like a much more interesting title.
I love the sci-fi feel of this cover. The picture of Skye on the front with a katana and the moon in the background is perfect for this story. I'm usually not a fan of just putting a pretty face on the cover, but it seems to work with this book.
I thought the world building and setting were fantastic!! The author has us believe that the planet of Terra is very much like Earth would be if there was to be some sort of post apocalyptic event. There's no sun, no sky...just bleakness. The underground bit of Terra is portrayed rather well with it being full of the poor people of Terra and those who have been mutated by radiation due to having to mine for the rich people.
The pacing for Alternity is beyond fantastic! In fact, I couldn't put this book down! Each chapter had me looking forward to the next as everything just flowed really well. Never, not even for one moment, was I even remotely bored reading Alternity.
The dialogue is fantastic in this book. I especially enjoyed the dialogue between Dawn and Skye. There are a few swear words but not many. The only minor annoyance I found was that at two points in the book, the author goes from using present tense to past tense.
The characters in this book are very believable. Skye was a great protagonist. She felt like a real person. In fact, I found myself wanting to be friends with her especially as we both have a love for video games! I love the fact that she started out a bit unsure of herself but throughout the story, she became a strong person. Dawn came across as a lovely guy. He wants what's best for his people, and he'll do whatever it takes to protect them. Duske makes an excellent villain. He's very charming, but he can be very very vile. He is very believable as being a bad guy, and he plays the role excellently.
Alternity by Mari Mancusi is a well executed book that will leave you feeling as if you are a part of the book. This is definitely one of those books that you have to read as you will not be disappointed!
I'd recommend this book to everyone aged 16+, especially those who are fans of dystopian or post-apocalyptic novels. However, I feel this is one of those books that can be enjoyed by almost everyone.
When I read the synopsis of Alternity by Mari Mancusi, I knew I would probably love this book! I wasn't wrong. This book is amazing!
Skye is just your average 18 year old girl. There's nothing that different about her. She has a fantastic boyfriend, she goes to school, and she works as a video games tester. She's been having these strange nightmares about being in a weird place. They're making her lose sleep until one day she actually wakes up in the place from her nightmare. Now she doesn't know who to trust. And why do people keep calling her Mariah?? Skye soon discovers she's arrived on another planet, and something sinister is going on.
The title to this book is great!! Alternity - like an alternative reality. It definitely fits right in with the story. From what I've heard, this book was originally released under the title of Moongazing. I'm glad the author decided to change the title as Alternity sounds like a much more interesting title.
I love the sci-fi feel of this cover. The picture of Skye on the front with a katana and the moon in the background is perfect for this story. I'm usually not a fan of just putting a pretty face on the cover, but it seems to work with this book.
I thought the world building and setting were fantastic!! The author has us believe that the planet of Terra is very much like Earth would be if there was to be some sort of post apocalyptic event. There's no sun, no sky...just bleakness. The underground bit of Terra is portrayed rather well with it being full of the poor people of Terra and those who have been mutated by radiation due to having to mine for the rich people.
The pacing for Alternity is beyond fantastic! In fact, I couldn't put this book down! Each chapter had me looking forward to the next as everything just flowed really well. Never, not even for one moment, was I even remotely bored reading Alternity.
The dialogue is fantastic in this book. I especially enjoyed the dialogue between Dawn and Skye. There are a few swear words but not many. The only minor annoyance I found was that at two points in the book, the author goes from using present tense to past tense.
The characters in this book are very believable. Skye was a great protagonist. She felt like a real person. In fact, I found myself wanting to be friends with her especially as we both have a love for video games! I love the fact that she started out a bit unsure of herself but throughout the story, she became a strong person. Dawn came across as a lovely guy. He wants what's best for his people, and he'll do whatever it takes to protect them. Duske makes an excellent villain. He's very charming, but he can be very very vile. He is very believable as being a bad guy, and he plays the role excellently.
Alternity by Mari Mancusi is a well executed book that will leave you feeling as if you are a part of the book. This is definitely one of those books that you have to read as you will not be disappointed!
I'd recommend this book to everyone aged 16+, especially those who are fans of dystopian or post-apocalyptic novels. However, I feel this is one of those books that can be enjoyed by almost everyone.
Eleanor (1463 KP) rated B is for Burglar (Kinsey Millhone, #2) in Books
May 29, 2019
Ok mystery bogged down in detail
I listened to the audio book of this read by Mary Peiffer.
Another outing with the independent PI Kinsey Millhone. This time she is approached to track down the missing sister of Beverly Danziger in what appears to be a straightforward case. It quickly starts to look a lot more suspicious when even the sister herself doesn't seem to want Kinsey to get to the bottom of the matter. A lot of different threads appear for Kinsey to try and unravel.
I found this book to really get bogged down in minor details and excessive descriptions of every little thing, making it a bit of a drag. The strong female lead was wasted on a bit of a drawn out story line, I felt it lacked something to keep the reader engaged (descriptions of egg sandwiches just doesn't cut it).
Written in the 80s I do love the nostalgia of a world pre mobile phones, saving the “battery died” line most books feel the need to throw in now. I also like having a female protagonist that doesn't get bogged down in a romantic relationship storyline which seems to be a habit in crime books with a female lead.
Kinsey has a good level of dogged determination and we were given numerous avenues of investigation to explore keeping the mystery engaging (although her missing an obvious clue which seemed totally unfathomable for her or any PI to miss drove me a little potty.). The main let down with this book though was the ending where it just seemed to go off the tracks a bit with unnecessary risk taking and crazy plot device.
The audio-book is a nice easy listen so I’ll probably continue on with Kinsey in that format.
Another outing with the independent PI Kinsey Millhone. This time she is approached to track down the missing sister of Beverly Danziger in what appears to be a straightforward case. It quickly starts to look a lot more suspicious when even the sister herself doesn't seem to want Kinsey to get to the bottom of the matter. A lot of different threads appear for Kinsey to try and unravel.
I found this book to really get bogged down in minor details and excessive descriptions of every little thing, making it a bit of a drag. The strong female lead was wasted on a bit of a drawn out story line, I felt it lacked something to keep the reader engaged (descriptions of egg sandwiches just doesn't cut it).
Written in the 80s I do love the nostalgia of a world pre mobile phones, saving the “battery died” line most books feel the need to throw in now. I also like having a female protagonist that doesn't get bogged down in a romantic relationship storyline which seems to be a habit in crime books with a female lead.
Kinsey has a good level of dogged determination and we were given numerous avenues of investigation to explore keeping the mystery engaging (although her missing an obvious clue which seemed totally unfathomable for her or any PI to miss drove me a little potty.). The main let down with this book though was the ending where it just seemed to go off the tracks a bit with unnecessary risk taking and crazy plot device.
The audio-book is a nice easy listen so I’ll probably continue on with Kinsey in that format.
The January Man: A Year of Walking Britain
9.0
Rate It
Book
In January 2006, a month or two after my father died, I thought I saw him again - a momentary...
TravelersWife4Life (31 KP) rated Collision of Lies (Amara Alvarez #1) in Books
Feb 24, 2021
I loved this book!
This was my first time reading a book by Tom Threadgill and I don’t understand how I have missed reading his books before now! Collision of Lies was such a well-crafted story, laid out in a way that kept me on the edge of my seat waiting to see what Detective Alvarez and her friends would do next. The plot was an interesting mix of intrigue, suspense, mystery, and a little romance (if you could call it that as it was a very minor detail). Detective Alvarez was a very vividly described character that I enjoyed getting to know; I think I would love to meet her in person. Tom Threadgill described Detective Alvarez’s thoughts and expressions in a way that was easy to follow and really pulled me in, the creative ideas she came up with about solving part of the mystery were thought-provoking. The side characters were also interesting people and I hope I get to know them better in the next book. Collision of Lies does have an actual ending and does not end on a cliff hanger. From the excerpt in the back of the book, we will get to see more of Detective Alverez and her colleagues in the next book as well.
I truly enjoyed this book and highly recommend reading it. I give it 5 out of 5 stars for the wonderful way in which Tom Threadgill pulls you into the story, the vivid character descriptions, and the great mystery. I cannot wait to read the next book in the series.
*I volunteered to read this book in return for my honest feedback. The thoughts and opinions expressed within are my own.
This was my first time reading a book by Tom Threadgill and I don’t understand how I have missed reading his books before now! Collision of Lies was such a well-crafted story, laid out in a way that kept me on the edge of my seat waiting to see what Detective Alvarez and her friends would do next. The plot was an interesting mix of intrigue, suspense, mystery, and a little romance (if you could call it that as it was a very minor detail). Detective Alvarez was a very vividly described character that I enjoyed getting to know; I think I would love to meet her in person. Tom Threadgill described Detective Alvarez’s thoughts and expressions in a way that was easy to follow and really pulled me in, the creative ideas she came up with about solving part of the mystery were thought-provoking. The side characters were also interesting people and I hope I get to know them better in the next book. Collision of Lies does have an actual ending and does not end on a cliff hanger. From the excerpt in the back of the book, we will get to see more of Detective Alverez and her colleagues in the next book as well.
I truly enjoyed this book and highly recommend reading it. I give it 5 out of 5 stars for the wonderful way in which Tom Threadgill pulls you into the story, the vivid character descriptions, and the great mystery. I cannot wait to read the next book in the series.
*I volunteered to read this book in return for my honest feedback. The thoughts and opinions expressed within are my own.
Kevin Wilson (179 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of Soma in Video Games
Jul 13, 2018
Interesting concept and story (3 more)
Good length
Creepy atmosphere
Amazing world
Bad AI (2 more)
Awkward acting and diologue
Slow parts
Great game, a few flaws
Contains spoilers, click to show
This is a great game, I loved it but there were a few flaws that knocked the rating down sadly.
First off the concept, story and world were by far the best parts of the game. It lasted me around 10 hours and I wanted to keep coming back to it.
The idea to transfer consciousness to robot has fascinated me for a long time. It's not new, it's been talked about for a long time and this game shows it in a very interesting way.
Basically you have a brain scan. Your creating a digital copy of yourself and that is being transferred into the robot. So it doesn't matter if it's 1 year or 100 years later you will have the brain scan and then wake up in a robot because this version of you is from that moment the brain scan took place (stay with me haha) which means the original "you" could have gone on to live 50 more years for all we know.
It's intriguing but also a scary thought because it does beg the question, is this version actually you? It's a copy so surely it's not you conscious?
So obviously we meet our protagonist, Simon who is suffering a brain injury and goes for a brain scan. He doesnt know what the brain scan is intended for so he is immediately woken up in the far future and feeling very confused and this could have been a very interesting story about him descending into madness and insanity as he begins to realise what he has now become. However this falls flat and when he does find out the truth he is quickly accepting and calm about it all. It wasn't very believable and could have done so much more with it.
There is a 2nd character you meet, Catherine who turns out to be a machine who then gets transfer into your omnitool so you assume will be a constant companion and will talk to you constantly as you walk about. However this is not the case as she only talks when plugged into a console which was too few for my liking. Her acting and diologue also felt too emotionless and wooden which could have been intentional and gradually made her out to be obsessive and manipulative and this would have further showed that if they had her talking as you walked about. But again this was not the case, the game is predictable which was disappointing. The ending was predictable despite a few twists but I still liked it.
The AI was very confusing. I didn't understand what the rules were. Was it attracted to light, movement or sound? It was very unpredictable but thankfully the developer updated the game to add a safe mode which keeps everything the same, and still keeps the creepiness but removes the ability for enemies to harm you which did make the game more enjoyable. Plus trophies still unlock on that mode for those completionests.
Overall game was too good to not play thanks to story and the concept behind it. I loved learning about the world through recordings and terminal. I'd love to learn more in a sequel or prequel but with different characters and location. The atmosphere felt creepy and clostophobic at times. But gameplay was generic. Walk to here, open this door, use this terminal.
I do recommend anyone playing it but the lack of collectibles and multiple endings doesn't give good replayability.
First off the concept, story and world were by far the best parts of the game. It lasted me around 10 hours and I wanted to keep coming back to it.
The idea to transfer consciousness to robot has fascinated me for a long time. It's not new, it's been talked about for a long time and this game shows it in a very interesting way.
Basically you have a brain scan. Your creating a digital copy of yourself and that is being transferred into the robot. So it doesn't matter if it's 1 year or 100 years later you will have the brain scan and then wake up in a robot because this version of you is from that moment the brain scan took place (stay with me haha) which means the original "you" could have gone on to live 50 more years for all we know.
It's intriguing but also a scary thought because it does beg the question, is this version actually you? It's a copy so surely it's not you conscious?
So obviously we meet our protagonist, Simon who is suffering a brain injury and goes for a brain scan. He doesnt know what the brain scan is intended for so he is immediately woken up in the far future and feeling very confused and this could have been a very interesting story about him descending into madness and insanity as he begins to realise what he has now become. However this falls flat and when he does find out the truth he is quickly accepting and calm about it all. It wasn't very believable and could have done so much more with it.
There is a 2nd character you meet, Catherine who turns out to be a machine who then gets transfer into your omnitool so you assume will be a constant companion and will talk to you constantly as you walk about. However this is not the case as she only talks when plugged into a console which was too few for my liking. Her acting and diologue also felt too emotionless and wooden which could have been intentional and gradually made her out to be obsessive and manipulative and this would have further showed that if they had her talking as you walked about. But again this was not the case, the game is predictable which was disappointing. The ending was predictable despite a few twists but I still liked it.
The AI was very confusing. I didn't understand what the rules were. Was it attracted to light, movement or sound? It was very unpredictable but thankfully the developer updated the game to add a safe mode which keeps everything the same, and still keeps the creepiness but removes the ability for enemies to harm you which did make the game more enjoyable. Plus trophies still unlock on that mode for those completionests.
Overall game was too good to not play thanks to story and the concept behind it. I loved learning about the world through recordings and terminal. I'd love to learn more in a sequel or prequel but with different characters and location. The atmosphere felt creepy and clostophobic at times. But gameplay was generic. Walk to here, open this door, use this terminal.
I do recommend anyone playing it but the lack of collectibles and multiple endings doesn't give good replayability.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Cindr in Tabletop Games
Oct 29, 2020
Finally! A game to simulate dating dragons. I have been waiting for this theme all my life and it’s now a reality!! Well, okay, I have never really considered dating a dragon. But I know I would be signing up for a service app like Cindr to find my true dragon mate FO SHO if it were real. So how does a card game dragon sim play?
Cindr has players taking on the persona of a lonely fantasy creature looking for dragon love on a dating app. Players will be building their character by making choices and then swiping left or right to attempt going on dates with dragons that may be a great match. Roll the dice well and things may go to the Next Step, or even the Next Level. Roll poorly and your dear dragon date may send you home aflame.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. Furthermore I will be covering the game using the Solo rules (which are no different than the multiplayer rules). For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
To setup, each player (or just yourself if playing the solo rules as I am) will choose a Character Profile card, filling in the blanks and circling choices to build their new fantasy persona. Each player will take one Try Again card that is useful during game play. Shuffle each Cindr App Dragon Profile and Whelp App Location card deck and place near each other. The dice will be placed near all the cards as well and the game is ready to begin!
On a turn a player will do each of these steps in order: Choose a Dragon to Date, Assemble the Dice Pool, Draw a Location Card, Check Dragon Powers & Location Bonuses, The Date / Roll Dice, Burned by a Dragon, and End of Turn. In the solo game players will be playing long enough to complete five dragon dates.
Choosing a Dragon to Date consists of reading the profile on the top of the deck and deciding whether to date or not. If not, swipe the profile into The Dating Pool below the deck. Players may swipe twice for free, and pay for additional swipes. After a dragon has been chosen, players will Assemble the Dice Pool by flipping the profile card and comparing with the stats they had made for their character at the beginning of the game. For each match players will receive a green die. For each value one space away a blue die, and for two spaces away a red die. Each die color has a different value of faces, but all have hearts and fires. Next the player(s) will Draw a Location Card from the top of the deck, read the front, then flip to the back. The back of the card will list any die up/downgrades and bonuses that may activate at different times during the date. Checking Dragon Powers & Location Bonuses will happen next and are self-explanatory.
Now that a dragon date has been procured and a location chosen, The Date may occur! When on the date, players will roll the four dice up to three times. The first time they are rolled is considered the Meet Up. The Next Step and The Next Level are the second and third rolls respectively. To be considered a full date, players will need to at least roll a second time. It is during The Date that players will be collecting hearts and trying to avoid fires. Three fires and the hearts are lost and the turn over. Players may stop rolling any time they wish and bank the hearts they have won to that point. The hearts then transfer to Love Points that are tracked at the bottom of the Character Profile card.
Should a player roll three flames and have no way to mitigate them, they lose all earned hearts for that round and their turn is over. They were, after all, Burned by a Dragon. The End of Turn is a cleanup phase to setup for the next player (or next round if playing solo). Play continues in this fashion until a player reaches 21+ Love Points in a multiplayer game or after the solo player has gone on five complete dates. Total the points to see who is the winner, or compare against the Love Meter card to see where you stack up.
Components. I’m just going to come out and say it now: I love everything about the components in this game. The dice are excellent and feature GOOD colors (not just boring primary colors). The app cards look like a phone’s screen and that’s brilliant. The Location cards are using a review service named Whelp, and also a stroke of brilliance. The art is amazing, save for the somewhat boring Second Chance cards, and one of the fonts is the same as my favorite game of all time – Valeria: Card Kingdoms, so I am fan for sure.
It’s no use hiding the fact that I am giddy playing this game. Even solo! Yes, I missed out on being able to date dragons from other players’ Dating Pools, but I have access to all the dragons anyway! Being able to adjust your choices during the game as a result of dragon powers or location powers is a neat twist that I wasn’t expecting. Those powers and bonuses are great and can really change the game, and contribute to an already large replayability score from me. It’s just a superb game that I love more and more every time I play it.
Cindr will probably never make my Top 10 Games of All Time, but it will most certainly remain in my Top 100 for years. Again, I wish I had not missed out on the Kickstarter for this one as I am gluttonous for KS stretch goal extras, but I am quite happy with where this game is at retail level. If you are looking for a great game with a hilarious and wonderful theme, plays quickly, and is excellent as a solo game too, then check out Cindr. You will never look at dragon dating sites the same way again. I promise.
Cindr has players taking on the persona of a lonely fantasy creature looking for dragon love on a dating app. Players will be building their character by making choices and then swiping left or right to attempt going on dates with dragons that may be a great match. Roll the dice well and things may go to the Next Step, or even the Next Level. Roll poorly and your dear dragon date may send you home aflame.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. Furthermore I will be covering the game using the Solo rules (which are no different than the multiplayer rules). For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
To setup, each player (or just yourself if playing the solo rules as I am) will choose a Character Profile card, filling in the blanks and circling choices to build their new fantasy persona. Each player will take one Try Again card that is useful during game play. Shuffle each Cindr App Dragon Profile and Whelp App Location card deck and place near each other. The dice will be placed near all the cards as well and the game is ready to begin!
On a turn a player will do each of these steps in order: Choose a Dragon to Date, Assemble the Dice Pool, Draw a Location Card, Check Dragon Powers & Location Bonuses, The Date / Roll Dice, Burned by a Dragon, and End of Turn. In the solo game players will be playing long enough to complete five dragon dates.
Choosing a Dragon to Date consists of reading the profile on the top of the deck and deciding whether to date or not. If not, swipe the profile into The Dating Pool below the deck. Players may swipe twice for free, and pay for additional swipes. After a dragon has been chosen, players will Assemble the Dice Pool by flipping the profile card and comparing with the stats they had made for their character at the beginning of the game. For each match players will receive a green die. For each value one space away a blue die, and for two spaces away a red die. Each die color has a different value of faces, but all have hearts and fires. Next the player(s) will Draw a Location Card from the top of the deck, read the front, then flip to the back. The back of the card will list any die up/downgrades and bonuses that may activate at different times during the date. Checking Dragon Powers & Location Bonuses will happen next and are self-explanatory.
Now that a dragon date has been procured and a location chosen, The Date may occur! When on the date, players will roll the four dice up to three times. The first time they are rolled is considered the Meet Up. The Next Step and The Next Level are the second and third rolls respectively. To be considered a full date, players will need to at least roll a second time. It is during The Date that players will be collecting hearts and trying to avoid fires. Three fires and the hearts are lost and the turn over. Players may stop rolling any time they wish and bank the hearts they have won to that point. The hearts then transfer to Love Points that are tracked at the bottom of the Character Profile card.
Should a player roll three flames and have no way to mitigate them, they lose all earned hearts for that round and their turn is over. They were, after all, Burned by a Dragon. The End of Turn is a cleanup phase to setup for the next player (or next round if playing solo). Play continues in this fashion until a player reaches 21+ Love Points in a multiplayer game or after the solo player has gone on five complete dates. Total the points to see who is the winner, or compare against the Love Meter card to see where you stack up.
Components. I’m just going to come out and say it now: I love everything about the components in this game. The dice are excellent and feature GOOD colors (not just boring primary colors). The app cards look like a phone’s screen and that’s brilliant. The Location cards are using a review service named Whelp, and also a stroke of brilliance. The art is amazing, save for the somewhat boring Second Chance cards, and one of the fonts is the same as my favorite game of all time – Valeria: Card Kingdoms, so I am fan for sure.
It’s no use hiding the fact that I am giddy playing this game. Even solo! Yes, I missed out on being able to date dragons from other players’ Dating Pools, but I have access to all the dragons anyway! Being able to adjust your choices during the game as a result of dragon powers or location powers is a neat twist that I wasn’t expecting. Those powers and bonuses are great and can really change the game, and contribute to an already large replayability score from me. It’s just a superb game that I love more and more every time I play it.
Cindr will probably never make my Top 10 Games of All Time, but it will most certainly remain in my Top 100 for years. Again, I wish I had not missed out on the Kickstarter for this one as I am gluttonous for KS stretch goal extras, but I am quite happy with where this game is at retail level. If you are looking for a great game with a hilarious and wonderful theme, plays quickly, and is excellent as a solo game too, then check out Cindr. You will never look at dragon dating sites the same way again. I promise.
A Bibliophagist (113 KP) rated Scythe (Arc of a Scythe #1) in Books
Jan 27, 2020
Well written (3 more)
Unique plot
Less YA tropes
No teen angst and romance
Not your typical YA
I approached this book with little expectation. I saw it cluttering up my feed on Instagram and being posted by everyone. I liked the cover (I'm a sucker for good covers and any YA without a photo manipulated monstrosity catches my eye). However every time I picked it up in the store and read the back and I just wasn't interested.
So in a New year new me moment, I forced myself to pick up two popular books that I was not interested in. Since they were both YA, they'd be quick reads and my expectations could below. I also forced my picks to not be hard SciFi, as I need to step out of my comfort zone. I picked this up, and developed more concern when I noticed how divided the reviews were, I noticed people were either firmly in the "this is my most favorite book ever" or in the "this is the most boring book ever I hated it" camps. I rarely rate books 1 or 5, so I wanted to see how I felt.
Honestly, I was very pleasantly surprised. This book is YA, and obviously has some YA aspects, but it doesn't follow the tropes unless stripped down to bullet points and is surprisingly well written. This well written aspect, with no intentions of making people mad, I think is why so many found it boring. If you primarily read YA, and are used to it's over the top writing, it's over the top dialogue and relationships and emotions, then yes, this book was probably horribly boring.
We do open with the standard tropes of uninteresting, normal girl and boy get thrown into something extraordinary. But that's where the stereotypes ended for me. The author quickly throws us into the world and the events of the story. We're in the future, who knows how far past the present, where society has overcome death. AI has evolved and "The Cloud" is now "The Thunderhead" a massive AI database that has solved most of the world's problems, eliminated poverty, war, government, created jobs for everyone, and even defeated death. We all have healing nanites that prevent illness and repair injury, and even in the case of death, we can be revived at a revival center and be greeted with some tasty ice cream. If we start feeling our age, we can just "turn a corner" resetting ourselves to a younger version of ourselves while retaining our memories.
Now, in a world without death, but babies are still being born, some form of population control is in order, the balance must be restored. So the world created the Scythedom. An organization outside the authority of "The Thunderhead" because death has and always should be a responsibility of the living. Those who become Scythes, must "Glean" (permanently kill) a quota of people every year to maintain population control. How they do so is up to them, but there are rules, a Scythe cannot show bias or malice in their choices, they cannot marry or have a family, they cannot kill another Scythe (but they can glean themselves) or someone with immunity, They may grant immunity to those they feel worthy, they must kill the families of those who resist, and they are above all other laws. The vagueness of these laws worked when the Scythedom was first created, but the world has become complicated, and some people have decided to find joy in what they do, even if it's killing.
Our story follows two teenagers who recently encountered the Honorable Scythe Faraday, Citra, and Rowan. Citra showed gumption and sass and moral balance, and Rowan held the hand of a boy that was not his friend as he was gleaned. Faraday is considered old school and chooses all that is gleaned by old school, age of mortality statistics. If a percentage of teenagers died in alcohol-related car accidents, he found a teenager with a penchant for drinking, who just got a car, and gleaned them. He believes the job is necessary, but should never be enjoyed, you need to be moral and compassionate and hurt every time. He is granted permission to take on an apprentice, and he takes on two, Rowan and Citra. Neither want it, nor should they, but should they become a Scythe, their families will receive immunity as long as they shall live, which in this day in age could be forever. So, reluctantly they both take it. There is a glamour to Scythedom as well, they'll wat for nothing, people will bend over backward to provide them with their desires in the hopes of immunity. If these two follow the teachings of Faraday, they won't be tempted by this, they won't abuse it, but not everyone feels the same way.
Citra and Rowan begin training (it gets a bit YAish here) studying history, poisons, combat, weapons. The goal to make them perfect, moral, compassionate, killing machines. Everything is going as well as it can, and luckily the book doesn't do what every other YA author would do and give us pages upon pages of the two falling in love, awkward encounters, stolen kisses. We have none of that thankfully. The dialogue is all purposeful and helps propel the plot, not flowery passages talking about teenage angst and feelings. But, it is a book, after all, so everything starts falling apart when a group of "New Age" Scythes, Scythes that believe they should enjoy their jobs, who take pleasure in mass killings (entire flights, festivals, food courts) stir things up at a Scythe Conclave meeting. They question if having two apprentices hurts whether or not the Conclave can judge the worthiness of either, or if them being friends will result in them always helping each other. How can they truly judge their ability if they always have each other's support? So they propose, since no law prevents it, that whichever apprentice should be chosen (remember Faraday was given permission to have ONE apprentice) will have to Glean the other. The Lead Scythe allows it, and honestly, this is one aspect of the book I struggled with, but I think was supposed to express the corruption of the Scythedom, at times when things aren't in writing they say "welp can't do it" and other times they say "welp nothing says we can't do it". Faraday attempts to free our two protagonists from their apprenticeships, but instead, they are separated, one going to a respected Old School Scythe, one going to the very modern group that started this whole problem, thrusting them into a world excess, deprivation, and honestly psychotic murdering. They now train, separately, knowing that one will die unless they can figure out a way to change things.
Even writing that sounds so Yaish, but it doesn't feel that way because it's so well written. The author doesn't give us Romeo and Juliet, no pining, no romance, just two kids trying to be that, good. Even when surrounded by something very bad. So, if you want to star crossed lovers, you won't like this book. If you like character development and struggle, you might like this book. We arguably see more of Rowan's development, Citra for me felt less focused on or given fewer opportunities for growth, and she had a bit of an attitude that made me no like her much, but given her circumstances, I UNDERSTOOD why she was the way she is, and I can't say I wouldn't be just as grumpy. If anything her response to the corruption and the situation felt very real, even if it sacrificed having a manic pixie daydream mary sue to project myself into. While appearances weren't really given for the two, setting them up to be good old fashioned Mary Sue and Gary Stu, they were very much their own people, with little room for the reader to pretend to be them. So another star in the breaking the YA mold category. We watch them struggle with where they are, and how to come to terms with their inevitable future, either being takers of life or having their life taken.
Overall this was refreshing, while it was an easy read and was a good "palette cleanser" and m boyfriend calls my YA marathons in between books that actually linger in my soul. It felt elevated, sure it was still very much YA, but it was more thought out than the standard, it focused on the story and not the romance, it focused on important things, and it never lost sight of its story. I started at 11am on a Sunday and Finished by noon on Monday, eager for the next. It was an unexpected, refreshing read, with a unique concept that has room for more. The sequel doesn't feel forced, and if I never got it, this story is finished, but the world and situation created to allow for more, without feeling like a forced trilogy. I wanted to know how this story was going to play out, and now that it has, I want to know how the next story in this set up plays out.
So in a New year new me moment, I forced myself to pick up two popular books that I was not interested in. Since they were both YA, they'd be quick reads and my expectations could below. I also forced my picks to not be hard SciFi, as I need to step out of my comfort zone. I picked this up, and developed more concern when I noticed how divided the reviews were, I noticed people were either firmly in the "this is my most favorite book ever" or in the "this is the most boring book ever I hated it" camps. I rarely rate books 1 or 5, so I wanted to see how I felt.
Honestly, I was very pleasantly surprised. This book is YA, and obviously has some YA aspects, but it doesn't follow the tropes unless stripped down to bullet points and is surprisingly well written. This well written aspect, with no intentions of making people mad, I think is why so many found it boring. If you primarily read YA, and are used to it's over the top writing, it's over the top dialogue and relationships and emotions, then yes, this book was probably horribly boring.
We do open with the standard tropes of uninteresting, normal girl and boy get thrown into something extraordinary. But that's where the stereotypes ended for me. The author quickly throws us into the world and the events of the story. We're in the future, who knows how far past the present, where society has overcome death. AI has evolved and "The Cloud" is now "The Thunderhead" a massive AI database that has solved most of the world's problems, eliminated poverty, war, government, created jobs for everyone, and even defeated death. We all have healing nanites that prevent illness and repair injury, and even in the case of death, we can be revived at a revival center and be greeted with some tasty ice cream. If we start feeling our age, we can just "turn a corner" resetting ourselves to a younger version of ourselves while retaining our memories.
Now, in a world without death, but babies are still being born, some form of population control is in order, the balance must be restored. So the world created the Scythedom. An organization outside the authority of "The Thunderhead" because death has and always should be a responsibility of the living. Those who become Scythes, must "Glean" (permanently kill) a quota of people every year to maintain population control. How they do so is up to them, but there are rules, a Scythe cannot show bias or malice in their choices, they cannot marry or have a family, they cannot kill another Scythe (but they can glean themselves) or someone with immunity, They may grant immunity to those they feel worthy, they must kill the families of those who resist, and they are above all other laws. The vagueness of these laws worked when the Scythedom was first created, but the world has become complicated, and some people have decided to find joy in what they do, even if it's killing.
Our story follows two teenagers who recently encountered the Honorable Scythe Faraday, Citra, and Rowan. Citra showed gumption and sass and moral balance, and Rowan held the hand of a boy that was not his friend as he was gleaned. Faraday is considered old school and chooses all that is gleaned by old school, age of mortality statistics. If a percentage of teenagers died in alcohol-related car accidents, he found a teenager with a penchant for drinking, who just got a car, and gleaned them. He believes the job is necessary, but should never be enjoyed, you need to be moral and compassionate and hurt every time. He is granted permission to take on an apprentice, and he takes on two, Rowan and Citra. Neither want it, nor should they, but should they become a Scythe, their families will receive immunity as long as they shall live, which in this day in age could be forever. So, reluctantly they both take it. There is a glamour to Scythedom as well, they'll wat for nothing, people will bend over backward to provide them with their desires in the hopes of immunity. If these two follow the teachings of Faraday, they won't be tempted by this, they won't abuse it, but not everyone feels the same way.
Citra and Rowan begin training (it gets a bit YAish here) studying history, poisons, combat, weapons. The goal to make them perfect, moral, compassionate, killing machines. Everything is going as well as it can, and luckily the book doesn't do what every other YA author would do and give us pages upon pages of the two falling in love, awkward encounters, stolen kisses. We have none of that thankfully. The dialogue is all purposeful and helps propel the plot, not flowery passages talking about teenage angst and feelings. But, it is a book, after all, so everything starts falling apart when a group of "New Age" Scythes, Scythes that believe they should enjoy their jobs, who take pleasure in mass killings (entire flights, festivals, food courts) stir things up at a Scythe Conclave meeting. They question if having two apprentices hurts whether or not the Conclave can judge the worthiness of either, or if them being friends will result in them always helping each other. How can they truly judge their ability if they always have each other's support? So they propose, since no law prevents it, that whichever apprentice should be chosen (remember Faraday was given permission to have ONE apprentice) will have to Glean the other. The Lead Scythe allows it, and honestly, this is one aspect of the book I struggled with, but I think was supposed to express the corruption of the Scythedom, at times when things aren't in writing they say "welp can't do it" and other times they say "welp nothing says we can't do it". Faraday attempts to free our two protagonists from their apprenticeships, but instead, they are separated, one going to a respected Old School Scythe, one going to the very modern group that started this whole problem, thrusting them into a world excess, deprivation, and honestly psychotic murdering. They now train, separately, knowing that one will die unless they can figure out a way to change things.
Even writing that sounds so Yaish, but it doesn't feel that way because it's so well written. The author doesn't give us Romeo and Juliet, no pining, no romance, just two kids trying to be that, good. Even when surrounded by something very bad. So, if you want to star crossed lovers, you won't like this book. If you like character development and struggle, you might like this book. We arguably see more of Rowan's development, Citra for me felt less focused on or given fewer opportunities for growth, and she had a bit of an attitude that made me no like her much, but given her circumstances, I UNDERSTOOD why she was the way she is, and I can't say I wouldn't be just as grumpy. If anything her response to the corruption and the situation felt very real, even if it sacrificed having a manic pixie daydream mary sue to project myself into. While appearances weren't really given for the two, setting them up to be good old fashioned Mary Sue and Gary Stu, they were very much their own people, with little room for the reader to pretend to be them. So another star in the breaking the YA mold category. We watch them struggle with where they are, and how to come to terms with their inevitable future, either being takers of life or having their life taken.
Overall this was refreshing, while it was an easy read and was a good "palette cleanser" and m boyfriend calls my YA marathons in between books that actually linger in my soul. It felt elevated, sure it was still very much YA, but it was more thought out than the standard, it focused on the story and not the romance, it focused on important things, and it never lost sight of its story. I started at 11am on a Sunday and Finished by noon on Monday, eager for the next. It was an unexpected, refreshing read, with a unique concept that has room for more. The sequel doesn't feel forced, and if I never got it, this story is finished, but the world and situation created to allow for more, without feeling like a forced trilogy. I wanted to know how this story was going to play out, and now that it has, I want to know how the next story in this set up plays out.
Hadley (567 KP) rated On Fire: a Teen Wolf Novel in Books
Feb 3, 2020
Favorite TV show (1 more)
Great side story
Nancy Holder is known in the literary world for her novel adaptations of TV shows, such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Smallville, which has made her the go-to author for popular teen shows. With her ability to mesh together a story with what is going on within the TV show, I'm not surprised that she was picked to adapt MTV's 'Teen Wolf' into a novel. Having only read this book by her, On Fire: a Teen Wolf Novel, is definitely a successful must-read for fans of the show.
Do you need to have watched the show to understand what is going on in the novel? Yes, because the book does backtrack, but unless you've watched at least season one, you will have no idea what is going on. But if you have watched the first season, On Fire will fill in the small gaps that was left out of the TV show's story without losing the characteristics of our favorite cast members.
This is a 'young adult' book, so you can expect the usual tropes like teen drama and romance - - - if you can get past that, the story can be enjoyable. The main characters are different enough to keep interest going, there are werewolves, and some men with guns. But I do have to say that I felt Allison's character was flat and boring in 'On Fire.'
The story gets underway when the main character, Scott, finds out that his girlfriend's best friend's boyfriend, Jackson, has gone missing. Scott and his girlfriend, Allison, decide to go look for him at the last place his phone's GPS blinked at, but Scott is using this just as an excuse to hang out with his girlfriend because Jackson is a sworn enemy of his. As I have said, if you haven't at least watched season one of MTV's Teen Wolf, you'll be pretty lost in the beginning of the story because there are no introductions to these characters, since it seems Holder was writing this specifically for fans of the TV show (I am a huge fan of the series, and highly recommend it to people who love mythical creatures, such as werewolves and banshees).
On the other side of the story, viewers of the show get to see Derek Hale and Kate Argent's backstory, which Derek is a werewolf and Kate is a werewolf hunter, the two had a quick romance, but it turned out to be a lie on Kate's side. This side of the story will make fans of the show happy because the series only gave hints towards the fake romance between the two characters, while Holder shows us exactly what happened. From Derek meeting Kate when he is only 17-years-old, and she older, to her burning the Hale household to the ground with most of Derek's family inside of it--- because she hunts werewolves, of course.
Meanwhile, both Derek and Scott have been having nightmares about an Alpha wolf, that seems to either want both of them dead or to join his pack. Worse of all, Scott and Derek both end up at the forest preserve that the dreams took place in, which both feel another wolf presence while being there. Since they both sense this, they start to wonder if Jackson's disappearance is a trap set by the Alpha.
During all of this, Jackson's girlfriend, Lydia, and his best friend Danny, are also searching for Jackson or any clue as to why he suddenly disappeared, which this has nothing to do with what actually happens to Jackson in the TV series. I think the best parts of this book are the scenes without Scott and Allison, who spend the majority of the time trying to make-out while doing a half-ass job searching for the lost friend. As I said before, if you can get past the teen romance, the story is actually really good. Especially my favorite character, Stiles, who had the best description in the entire book: "Life in his[Stiles] head was accompanied by the soundtrack of a small, eternal, dull ache, but word was that would go away after a few decades."
If you have watched the show, you'll be glad to know that this book isn't just an adaptation of season two--- this one has a different story in it that wasn't in the show. Without giving too much away, we get a different glimpse of Jackson's personality and problems he has dealt with much of his life. The book isn't a necessary read for fans, but it gives us a little bit more of the Teen Wolf world to read about, such as introductions of new characters (like a high school girl named Cassie), who never made it to the TV series. While reading this book, it can tempt readers to go back or even start watching the MTV series. I warn you, though, once you start watching, you won't be able to stop. Binge fest anyone?
There were a few inconsistencies, and a whole lot of typos--- whoever the editor was, was apparently not paying attention, but the story is good and the characters are unique. I recommend this to people who have watched the series, and to those who love mythical creatures. But I do wholeheartedly recommend you watch season one before attempting to read this novel, otherwise, you will be lost!
For more paranormal and fantasy book reviews, check out my blog at GoreAndTea.com
Do you need to have watched the show to understand what is going on in the novel? Yes, because the book does backtrack, but unless you've watched at least season one, you will have no idea what is going on. But if you have watched the first season, On Fire will fill in the small gaps that was left out of the TV show's story without losing the characteristics of our favorite cast members.
This is a 'young adult' book, so you can expect the usual tropes like teen drama and romance - - - if you can get past that, the story can be enjoyable. The main characters are different enough to keep interest going, there are werewolves, and some men with guns. But I do have to say that I felt Allison's character was flat and boring in 'On Fire.'
The story gets underway when the main character, Scott, finds out that his girlfriend's best friend's boyfriend, Jackson, has gone missing. Scott and his girlfriend, Allison, decide to go look for him at the last place his phone's GPS blinked at, but Scott is using this just as an excuse to hang out with his girlfriend because Jackson is a sworn enemy of his. As I have said, if you haven't at least watched season one of MTV's Teen Wolf, you'll be pretty lost in the beginning of the story because there are no introductions to these characters, since it seems Holder was writing this specifically for fans of the TV show (I am a huge fan of the series, and highly recommend it to people who love mythical creatures, such as werewolves and banshees).
On the other side of the story, viewers of the show get to see Derek Hale and Kate Argent's backstory, which Derek is a werewolf and Kate is a werewolf hunter, the two had a quick romance, but it turned out to be a lie on Kate's side. This side of the story will make fans of the show happy because the series only gave hints towards the fake romance between the two characters, while Holder shows us exactly what happened. From Derek meeting Kate when he is only 17-years-old, and she older, to her burning the Hale household to the ground with most of Derek's family inside of it--- because she hunts werewolves, of course.
Meanwhile, both Derek and Scott have been having nightmares about an Alpha wolf, that seems to either want both of them dead or to join his pack. Worse of all, Scott and Derek both end up at the forest preserve that the dreams took place in, which both feel another wolf presence while being there. Since they both sense this, they start to wonder if Jackson's disappearance is a trap set by the Alpha.
During all of this, Jackson's girlfriend, Lydia, and his best friend Danny, are also searching for Jackson or any clue as to why he suddenly disappeared, which this has nothing to do with what actually happens to Jackson in the TV series. I think the best parts of this book are the scenes without Scott and Allison, who spend the majority of the time trying to make-out while doing a half-ass job searching for the lost friend. As I said before, if you can get past the teen romance, the story is actually really good. Especially my favorite character, Stiles, who had the best description in the entire book: "Life in his[Stiles] head was accompanied by the soundtrack of a small, eternal, dull ache, but word was that would go away after a few decades."
If you have watched the show, you'll be glad to know that this book isn't just an adaptation of season two--- this one has a different story in it that wasn't in the show. Without giving too much away, we get a different glimpse of Jackson's personality and problems he has dealt with much of his life. The book isn't a necessary read for fans, but it gives us a little bit more of the Teen Wolf world to read about, such as introductions of new characters (like a high school girl named Cassie), who never made it to the TV series. While reading this book, it can tempt readers to go back or even start watching the MTV series. I warn you, though, once you start watching, you won't be able to stop. Binge fest anyone?
There were a few inconsistencies, and a whole lot of typos--- whoever the editor was, was apparently not paying attention, but the story is good and the characters are unique. I recommend this to people who have watched the series, and to those who love mythical creatures. But I do wholeheartedly recommend you watch season one before attempting to read this novel, otherwise, you will be lost!
For more paranormal and fantasy book reviews, check out my blog at GoreAndTea.com
Lilyn G - Sci-Fi & Scary (91 KP) rated Battleship (2012) in Movies
Feb 7, 2018
Pure cheesy, gooey fun
Battleship is a guilty pleasure of mine. It’s pure cheesy fun. It’s got a great cast of actors who over-act their butts off in it. Pretty much everything in the movie is delightfully overdone. It might not be the most intellectually stimulating film, but if you need an excuse for popcorn and beer it’s perfect. It has a bit of a Starship Troopers feel to it, what with the bad dialogue and the aliens that look like bugs. Hell, it’s even got the token slightly odd-looking red-headed guy being a mouth-off.
It’s pretty much the perfect B-movie, except we got lucky this time and had decent actors and enough money for good special effects. I loved watching the alien ships moving around and getting ready to fire at things. I’m always able to get completely into the film and nothing about the CGI throws me off at all. The dialogue might be horrible, but the action is perfectly paced. It takes me about 40 minutes longer than the movie actually is to finish watching it. Simply because I go back and re-wind and re-watch my favorite parts constantly. And yes, it does have some proper battleship game scenes that will make you grin with nostalgia if you used to love the game.
Liam Neeson’s role isn’t much, but he gives the appropriate note of seriousness to the film. He really just has a bit role though. Alexander Skarsgård does a good job as Stone Hopper (and what kind of name is that?!). He’s the serious older brother, and the true hero that does everything he can. Rhianna didn’t exactly do a bang up job, but she sold her emotions rather well at a few key parts. Taylor Kitsch certainly does a great job as coming across as an immature punk who needs some sense knocked into him.
It’s interesting to note, whatever your reasoning for it might be, that the aliens don’t really seem to be overly destructive in Battleship. Everything they do seems very tactical and deliberate. They have the firepower to lay waste to everything, but they seem to be more able disabling and containment. At one point, when one of the destroyers put away its weapons, the alien ship lowers its weapons too. People die, but not nearly as many as you would expect. Given other events in the movie, I feel like they were trying to take over with as little damage as possible. Maybe they needed humans for slave labor?
Cool Tidbits: The wounded warriors you see in the rehabilitation center scene in Battleship? Actual wounded warriors. The old vets referenced in regards to the USS Missouri are vets that served on that ship. And Mick – who is completely awesome – is also played by a vet. Props to the producers of this movie for making sure to include so many veterans in it. I totally cheered near the end of the movie when all the veterans do the slow hero walk and it’s clear they’re ready to help.
Overall, Battleship is just a fun popcorn movie that doesn’t deserve the razzing it gets. As long as you don’t go into it expecting something highly intellectual or some ground-breaking work, you’ll enjoy yourself.
It’s pretty much the perfect B-movie, except we got lucky this time and had decent actors and enough money for good special effects. I loved watching the alien ships moving around and getting ready to fire at things. I’m always able to get completely into the film and nothing about the CGI throws me off at all. The dialogue might be horrible, but the action is perfectly paced. It takes me about 40 minutes longer than the movie actually is to finish watching it. Simply because I go back and re-wind and re-watch my favorite parts constantly. And yes, it does have some proper battleship game scenes that will make you grin with nostalgia if you used to love the game.
Liam Neeson’s role isn’t much, but he gives the appropriate note of seriousness to the film. He really just has a bit role though. Alexander Skarsgård does a good job as Stone Hopper (and what kind of name is that?!). He’s the serious older brother, and the true hero that does everything he can. Rhianna didn’t exactly do a bang up job, but she sold her emotions rather well at a few key parts. Taylor Kitsch certainly does a great job as coming across as an immature punk who needs some sense knocked into him.
It’s interesting to note, whatever your reasoning for it might be, that the aliens don’t really seem to be overly destructive in Battleship. Everything they do seems very tactical and deliberate. They have the firepower to lay waste to everything, but they seem to be more able disabling and containment. At one point, when one of the destroyers put away its weapons, the alien ship lowers its weapons too. People die, but not nearly as many as you would expect. Given other events in the movie, I feel like they were trying to take over with as little damage as possible. Maybe they needed humans for slave labor?
Cool Tidbits: The wounded warriors you see in the rehabilitation center scene in Battleship? Actual wounded warriors. The old vets referenced in regards to the USS Missouri are vets that served on that ship. And Mick – who is completely awesome – is also played by a vet. Props to the producers of this movie for making sure to include so many veterans in it. I totally cheered near the end of the movie when all the veterans do the slow hero walk and it’s clear they’re ready to help.
Overall, Battleship is just a fun popcorn movie that doesn’t deserve the razzing it gets. As long as you don’t go into it expecting something highly intellectual or some ground-breaking work, you’ll enjoy yourself.