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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2346 KP) rated Flashback in Books
Jan 1, 2019
Will a Flashback advance the Neverseen's Plans?
As this book opens, Alvar's sentencing for his betrayal is about to happen. The entire Vacker family has assembled in the senate chambers, and Sophie and Keefe have been invited to be there as well. It becomes clear why when the sentence is read, and Alvar is sent to live with his parents and siblings, Sophie's friends Fitz and Biana. Both of Sophie's friends, but Fitz especially, don't trust their older brother and suspect a trick of some sort. But before Alvar's dwelling is even ready for him, Fitz and Sophie are attacked by the Neverseen, barely escaping with their lives. As they spend time recovering, they begin to wonder what their attack means in the group's long term plans. Can they figure it out?
I waited longer than I wished to read this book because I needed to find time to read the 850 pages we get here. I did feel the pacing was a bit off at times, especially early on, but overall this is another strong book. We learn some things that will definitely advance the story in future books, and we get some great twists before we reach the climax. Plus, we are left with some nasty cliffhangers. Flashback comes to mean something else by the end of the book, so don't go into this expecting lots of time spent in the past, although the past does come into play as the book progresses. Once again, the characters are fun, and they provided some great laughs along the way. I felt like this was funnier than the last couple of books have been, and I enjoyed that aspect as well. Fans will definitely be glad they picked up the book. If you aren't a fan yet, it's best to go back to the beginning to fully understand everything that is happening here.
I waited longer than I wished to read this book because I needed to find time to read the 850 pages we get here. I did feel the pacing was a bit off at times, especially early on, but overall this is another strong book. We learn some things that will definitely advance the story in future books, and we get some great twists before we reach the climax. Plus, we are left with some nasty cliffhangers. Flashback comes to mean something else by the end of the book, so don't go into this expecting lots of time spent in the past, although the past does come into play as the book progresses. Once again, the characters are fun, and they provided some great laughs along the way. I felt like this was funnier than the last couple of books have been, and I enjoyed that aspect as well. Fans will definitely be glad they picked up the book. If you aren't a fan yet, it's best to go back to the beginning to fully understand everything that is happening here.
David McK (3562 KP) rated Star Wars: Bloodline in Books
Jan 30, 2019
By and large, most of the Star Wars books to date (including in the old EU), have pretty much belonged to the 'boys club', dfocusing more on the male characters (Han, Luke, the X-Wing pilots, etc) than on their female contemporaries.
I think that's to be expected, given the predominantly male targer audience of the film series - an expectation that Disney themselves are trying to shake up, both in the new films (both of which - The Force Awakens and Rogue One - , so far, have female leads), and in the wider media, as can be shown by their 'Princess Leia' series of comics.
This follows(?) (or did it come first?) in the latter footsteps, with nary a sign of Luke and Han only popping in to give Leia a hand towards the climax of the novel.
Set in the period between the end of 'Return of the Jedi' and the start of 'The Force Awakens', this also seeks to bridge the gap between those two films, providing a bit of background to the history of The First Order and explaining why, if Leia was part of the Rebellion which toppled the Empire, just why she is now a key member in The Resistance - the Resistance to what, I hear you ask? This answers that question.
It's not a bad read by any strecth of the imagination - according to Goodreads own rating system, 2 stars is a 'I liked it'; I just personally found this a slower, somewhat heavier read than [a:Claudia Gray|1192311|Claudia Gray|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1234643683p2/1192311.jpg]'s other Star Wars title: '[b:Lost Stars|25067046|Lost Stars (Star Wars Journey to the Force Awakens)|Claudia Gray|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1462731623s/25067046.jpg|44751860]';. And yes, I'm aware that this is aimed at a different audience.
How best to put it? I didn't find myself reading this quite so much in my spare time on the bus on the way to work!
I think that's to be expected, given the predominantly male targer audience of the film series - an expectation that Disney themselves are trying to shake up, both in the new films (both of which - The Force Awakens and Rogue One - , so far, have female leads), and in the wider media, as can be shown by their 'Princess Leia' series of comics.
This follows(?) (or did it come first?) in the latter footsteps, with nary a sign of Luke and Han only popping in to give Leia a hand towards the climax of the novel.
Set in the period between the end of 'Return of the Jedi' and the start of 'The Force Awakens', this also seeks to bridge the gap between those two films, providing a bit of background to the history of The First Order and explaining why, if Leia was part of the Rebellion which toppled the Empire, just why she is now a key member in The Resistance - the Resistance to what, I hear you ask? This answers that question.
It's not a bad read by any strecth of the imagination - according to Goodreads own rating system, 2 stars is a 'I liked it'; I just personally found this a slower, somewhat heavier read than [a:Claudia Gray|1192311|Claudia Gray|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1234643683p2/1192311.jpg]'s other Star Wars title: '[b:Lost Stars|25067046|Lost Stars (Star Wars Journey to the Force Awakens)|Claudia Gray|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1462731623s/25067046.jpg|44751860]';. And yes, I'm aware that this is aimed at a different audience.
How best to put it? I didn't find myself reading this quite so much in my spare time on the bus on the way to work!
Jessica - Where the Book Ends (15 KP) rated Ready Player One in Books
Jan 30, 2019
Honestly, I’m not really sure where to start with this review. I guess I need to preface by saying that I wanted to like this book. I mean REALLY wanted to like it. I love video games, I love the 80’s and the idea of living almost exclusively in virtual reality sounds like an amazing combination for a story. Unfortunately, it didn’t work for me… at all. I totally respect that there is a HUGE following for this book, and I am sooooooooooooo glad that so many people loved this book. I think that’s great. I really wanted to like it.
The author’s writing style was the biggest problem for me. The book started off strong for the first couple of chapters, but then became a huge info-dump for about 6 chapters. Then it would get interesting again, and then another mega epic info-dump was upon us, until about the last 6-8 chapters. It was great that the author wanted to give detail to world build and help you become part of the book/game, but at times it was just too much for me.
I also found that the author did a poor job of explaining what life was like outside of the major cities, it was almost as if we were supposed to just know that it was a wasteland. The author also was not consistent with their acronyms (GSS, PVP, MMO, etc). He would use the acronym and provide no explanation, and then the next page he would spell it out with the acronym, and then the page after that it would be spelled out with no acronym… It was all over the place.
The other glaring issue for me was the fact that Wade was fighting the sixers and their huge corporation but then was trying to find the egg and in the end became the head of a super-mega-corporation. It didn’t jive for me at all.
The author’s writing style was the biggest problem for me. The book started off strong for the first couple of chapters, but then became a huge info-dump for about 6 chapters. Then it would get interesting again, and then another mega epic info-dump was upon us, until about the last 6-8 chapters. It was great that the author wanted to give detail to world build and help you become part of the book/game, but at times it was just too much for me.
I also found that the author did a poor job of explaining what life was like outside of the major cities, it was almost as if we were supposed to just know that it was a wasteland. The author also was not consistent with their acronyms (GSS, PVP, MMO, etc). He would use the acronym and provide no explanation, and then the next page he would spell it out with the acronym, and then the page after that it would be spelled out with no acronym… It was all over the place.
The other glaring issue for me was the fact that Wade was fighting the sixers and their huge corporation but then was trying to find the egg and in the end became the head of a super-mega-corporation. It didn’t jive for me at all.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2346 KP) rated A Time For Murder in Books
Nov 27, 2019
Jessica’s First Murder Mystery Comes Back to Haunt Her
When Jessica Fletcher sits down to be interviewed by a student from Cabot Cove High School, she is surprised to find the student bringing up Jessica’s first time solving a murder. No, it wasn’t at the launch party of her first book, but it was twenty-five years ago when she, her husband Frank, and their nephew Grady were living in Appleton, Maine. The principal where Jessica was a substitute English teacher was murdered, and Jessica helped solve the case. Jessica usually doesn’t talk about it, and she deflects again, but when she goes to apologize to the student later, she discovers that the woman who interviewed her wasn’t a student at the high school at all. Who interviewed her? What is her interest in the case?
Going into this book, I was concerned that this book was going to contradict things established in the pilot episode of the TV show, but it does a good job of explaining things so that this doesn’t happen. We do spend part of the book in the past, and all the transitions are easy to follow. I found both mysteries, past and present, to be very compelling, and I couldn’t put the book down until I reached the climax. Unfortunately, the climax is a bit over the top, which has happened in the books I’ve read in the series. Likewise, I did find that Jessica, Mort, and Seth spent more time sniping at each other than I remembered from most episodes of the show. On the other hand, Jessica has stopped swearing, which was a welcome return to normalcy for the character. This book is the fiftieth novel based on the show, and as a result manages to work in a few Easter Eggs that fans will enjoy. If you are a fan, you’ll enjoy this entry.
Going into this book, I was concerned that this book was going to contradict things established in the pilot episode of the TV show, but it does a good job of explaining things so that this doesn’t happen. We do spend part of the book in the past, and all the transitions are easy to follow. I found both mysteries, past and present, to be very compelling, and I couldn’t put the book down until I reached the climax. Unfortunately, the climax is a bit over the top, which has happened in the books I’ve read in the series. Likewise, I did find that Jessica, Mort, and Seth spent more time sniping at each other than I remembered from most episodes of the show. On the other hand, Jessica has stopped swearing, which was a welcome return to normalcy for the character. This book is the fiftieth novel based on the show, and as a result manages to work in a few Easter Eggs that fans will enjoy. If you are a fan, you’ll enjoy this entry.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Get Out (2017) in Movies
Feb 3, 2020
Psychologcally Disburing
Jordan Peele goes from comedy to horror, as his directorial debut, he does a excellent/fantasic/phenomenal job. Going from one genre to anethor is hard, but Jordan Peele did the impossible, and he successed, all expectations. This film is psycologically twisted, horrorfyng, suspenseful and thrilling till the very end.
So this movie does have a theme, This disturbing film ... is really about how white America has mastered its relationship with black America. Within all of the interracial tension is the white American’s strange envy of the grim determination, melancholy humor, and creative strength of the black race. ... But Peele’s irony is that white America will continue to do what it does despite these truths, and, sadly, so must black America remain hypnotized.
The film also depicts the lack of attention on missing black Americans compared to missing white females. Slate's Damon Young stated the film's premise was "depressingly plausible ... Although black people only comprise 13 percent of America's population, they are 34 percent of America's missing, a reality that exists as the result of a mélange of racial and socioeconomic factors rendering black lives demonstratively less valuable than the lives [of] our white counterparts.
Peele does a excellent of this theme, of the world that we live in today and his views on it.
The Plot: Now that Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) and his girlfriend, Rose (Allison Williams), have reached the meet-the-parents milestone of dating, she invites him for a weekend getaway upstate with Missy and Dean. At first, Chris reads the family's overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter's interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he never could have imagined.
This film is a must watch, if you havent seen it, than go and see it. Its psycologically twisted, horrorfying, thrilling, suspenseful and overall excellent.
So this movie does have a theme, This disturbing film ... is really about how white America has mastered its relationship with black America. Within all of the interracial tension is the white American’s strange envy of the grim determination, melancholy humor, and creative strength of the black race. ... But Peele’s irony is that white America will continue to do what it does despite these truths, and, sadly, so must black America remain hypnotized.
The film also depicts the lack of attention on missing black Americans compared to missing white females. Slate's Damon Young stated the film's premise was "depressingly plausible ... Although black people only comprise 13 percent of America's population, they are 34 percent of America's missing, a reality that exists as the result of a mélange of racial and socioeconomic factors rendering black lives demonstratively less valuable than the lives [of] our white counterparts.
Peele does a excellent of this theme, of the world that we live in today and his views on it.
The Plot: Now that Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) and his girlfriend, Rose (Allison Williams), have reached the meet-the-parents milestone of dating, she invites him for a weekend getaway upstate with Missy and Dean. At first, Chris reads the family's overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter's interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he never could have imagined.
This film is a must watch, if you havent seen it, than go and see it. Its psycologically twisted, horrorfying, thrilling, suspenseful and overall excellent.
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