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Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Forest of a Thousand Lanterns in Books
Jan 11, 2018
A fun blend of Fairy Tales and Asian mythology.
You know I love my Fairy Tales! Especially re-imagining the villains. Forest of a Thousand Lanterns is an Asian take on the evil queen from Snow White. The author is a Vietnamese American, and this is her debut novel. She has quite skillfully woven a new origin story for the wicked stepmother in a fantasy land heavily influenced by East Asian mythology and culture. I don't know enough about the individual countries' mythologies to tell you if the influences come specifically from Vietnam, or more generically from the area. I know that their beliefs can vary pretty wildly by locale.
That said, this is another superb debut novel. I'm eager to read the sequel - it's billed as "A Rise of the Empress novel" so I'm sure there will be one or more. Xifeng is a pretty complex character - she is somewhat single-minded in what she wants, but conflicted in what to do to get it. (It being the position of Empress.) I was intrigued by who was chosen to fill the roles of the traditional tale; Xifeng, of course, would be the wicked stepmother. The Fool is Xifeng's version of Snow White, and Xifeng thought for some time that she knew who The Fool was. The reader, of course, knows the Fool must be Snow White, and so not the people who Xifeng suspected. The one that surprised me was the identity of The Huntsman. I won't spoil anything - but he was unexpected.
There's also more going on than just the Snow White plot. There are gods and goddesses and spirits and an underlying war. I am quite eager to see how those play out.
There is a slow spot in the middle - I set the book down for a couple of days before picking it up again, and that's always a sign I'm not as absorbed in the book as I could be. But I did pick it up again and read straight through to the end, so it's not too bad!
If you like Fairy Tales and Asian mythology, this is definitely a neat blend of the two. I really liked it.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
That said, this is another superb debut novel. I'm eager to read the sequel - it's billed as "A Rise of the Empress novel" so I'm sure there will be one or more. Xifeng is a pretty complex character - she is somewhat single-minded in what she wants, but conflicted in what to do to get it. (It being the position of Empress.) I was intrigued by who was chosen to fill the roles of the traditional tale; Xifeng, of course, would be the wicked stepmother. The Fool is Xifeng's version of Snow White, and Xifeng thought for some time that she knew who The Fool was. The reader, of course, knows the Fool must be Snow White, and so not the people who Xifeng suspected. The one that surprised me was the identity of The Huntsman. I won't spoil anything - but he was unexpected.
There's also more going on than just the Snow White plot. There are gods and goddesses and spirits and an underlying war. I am quite eager to see how those play out.
There is a slow spot in the middle - I set the book down for a couple of days before picking it up again, and that's always a sign I'm not as absorbed in the book as I could be. But I did pick it up again and read straight through to the end, so it's not too bad!
If you like Fairy Tales and Asian mythology, this is definitely a neat blend of the two. I really liked it.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
Kaysee Hood (83 KP) rated Spelled (The Storymakers, #1) in Books
Jul 16, 2018
Oh Pix this went wrong
All Dorthea ever wanted was to be free from responsibilities, free from her mother, and free from the curse. She wanted to be able to leave the Emerald Palace without everyone thinking she would turn into a wicked creature. She wanted to be able to make her own choices about the future. She mostly wanted to matter to her mother more than being the queen.
In a fit of selfish anger Dorthea attempts to make her desires come true when she uses a gift she received earlier to make a wish where she doesn't have to live up to parents' ideas, where she doesn't have to marry a prince, and everything is not how it is; however, the wishing star is cursed and it backfires tremendously. Everything is turned upside down. Magic doesn't work quite right anymore. What should be isn't and what isn't is. Her parents are gone. Her home is destroyed. She's stuck with a snarky servant, Rexi, and her betrothed, Kota, has turned into a chimera. Worst of all, Griz the Gray Witch is hunting her down.
So, Dorthea sets out to fix what she has done. The problem is knowing who she can and cannot trust. Oh, and trying to travel through the lands when the rules no longer exist. Can she or her friends survive? Are those who appear to have her best interest at heart people she can trust? Or is it those she would have previously looked down on the ones she needs to be put her life into?
Schow has a new take on fairy tales in Spelled in a world where Storymakers have written what shall and shall not be. Princess will find their Princes. The villains will always lose in the end. Yet she has made them better with her characters from well known tales we grew up with to new ones all of which bring to life the story she's written. Best of all it is filled with sass, wit, and cleverness to keep the pages turning while trying to see if Dorthea will make it to the end as the hero, dead, or wicked.
Forget what you know about Grimm and get ready for this book.
In a fit of selfish anger Dorthea attempts to make her desires come true when she uses a gift she received earlier to make a wish where she doesn't have to live up to parents' ideas, where she doesn't have to marry a prince, and everything is not how it is; however, the wishing star is cursed and it backfires tremendously. Everything is turned upside down. Magic doesn't work quite right anymore. What should be isn't and what isn't is. Her parents are gone. Her home is destroyed. She's stuck with a snarky servant, Rexi, and her betrothed, Kota, has turned into a chimera. Worst of all, Griz the Gray Witch is hunting her down.
So, Dorthea sets out to fix what she has done. The problem is knowing who she can and cannot trust. Oh, and trying to travel through the lands when the rules no longer exist. Can she or her friends survive? Are those who appear to have her best interest at heart people she can trust? Or is it those she would have previously looked down on the ones she needs to be put her life into?
Schow has a new take on fairy tales in Spelled in a world where Storymakers have written what shall and shall not be. Princess will find their Princes. The villains will always lose in the end. Yet she has made them better with her characters from well known tales we grew up with to new ones all of which bring to life the story she's written. Best of all it is filled with sass, wit, and cleverness to keep the pages turning while trying to see if Dorthea will make it to the end as the hero, dead, or wicked.
Forget what you know about Grimm and get ready for this book.
Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?: The Autobiography
6.5
Rate It
Book
The long-awaited, never-before-told, no-holds-barred memoir from the legendary Aerosmith frontman....
Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated Love, Death & Robots in TV
Jul 7, 2020
Unique And Visceral Experience
Love, Death, & Robots is an adult animated anthology tv series on Netflix. The series is produced by Joshua Donen, David Fincher, Jennifer Miller, and Tim Miller. Each of the 18 episodes released on the first season was animated by different crews from a range of countries. It's also a re-imagining of 1981 animated sci-fi film Heavy Metal. Starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Topher Grace, Gary Cole, Samira Wiley, and Stefan Kapicic.
Produced by different casts and crews, and consisting of 18 stand-alone episodes, each under 20 minutes, the title of the series refers to the recurring themes of love, death, and robots in each episode. Full of terrifying creatures, wicked surprises and dark comedy, it's a collection of animated short stories spanning several genres like horror, comedy, fantasy, and science fiction. Captivating stories come to life with world-class animation in a plethora of tales unlike anything else.
This series was wicked awesome. Reminded me of some of the other animated anthologies I've seen such as The Animatrix and Batman: Gotham Knight, except quite a bit more NSFW. This series also gave me a Twilight Zone vibe but bit darker. More blood and guts and highly sexual. Even though it's pretty graphic, I really liked a lot of the stories they told and the twists that most had in the end as well. Some are kind of hit or miss or just better than others but I think that there is definitely something for everyone despite the gore and nudity and language. I especially enjoyed the following episodes, 1. Sonnie's Edge, 8. Good Hunting, 10. Shape-Shifters, 13. Lucky 13, and 18. Secret War. The way they went about the story telling and world building in each episode was phenomenal. I really feel that some of these episodes deserve their own individual films or series to do them better justice. I mean some were just so good and less than 20 minutes felt like not enough or that they could have been even better. I give the entire series overall a 9/10.
Produced by different casts and crews, and consisting of 18 stand-alone episodes, each under 20 minutes, the title of the series refers to the recurring themes of love, death, and robots in each episode. Full of terrifying creatures, wicked surprises and dark comedy, it's a collection of animated short stories spanning several genres like horror, comedy, fantasy, and science fiction. Captivating stories come to life with world-class animation in a plethora of tales unlike anything else.
This series was wicked awesome. Reminded me of some of the other animated anthologies I've seen such as The Animatrix and Batman: Gotham Knight, except quite a bit more NSFW. This series also gave me a Twilight Zone vibe but bit darker. More blood and guts and highly sexual. Even though it's pretty graphic, I really liked a lot of the stories they told and the twists that most had in the end as well. Some are kind of hit or miss or just better than others but I think that there is definitely something for everyone despite the gore and nudity and language. I especially enjoyed the following episodes, 1. Sonnie's Edge, 8. Good Hunting, 10. Shape-Shifters, 13. Lucky 13, and 18. Secret War. The way they went about the story telling and world building in each episode was phenomenal. I really feel that some of these episodes deserve their own individual films or series to do them better justice. I mean some were just so good and less than 20 minutes felt like not enough or that they could have been even better. I give the entire series overall a 9/10.
Puffin Browser Pro
Utilities and Productivity
App
Puffin Web Browser is wicked fast. Once users experience the thrilling speed of Puffin, regular...
One Day (Nights, #9)
6.0
Rate It
Book
I will never tire of this man. Whatever he wants. Whenever he wants it. I will accept it all. All of...
Adult Contemporary Romance
Mark Halpern (153 KP) rated The Wizard of Oz (1939) in Movies
Jan 11, 2018
First color movie
The first movie ever to be done in Technicolor. This movie was a very important one during the great depression because it lifted peoples spirits and kind of gave them hope. The story of a young girl who ends up (in her mind if you believe) whisked away bystand up to her fears and face off against her foe. a twister to a wonderful make believe where her closet friends are represented by a scarecrow,tinman and lion all which need her to get stronger and she needs them to get her back home. We are introduced to one of movie histories greatest villains in the Wicked Witch of the West early in the movie and see our heroine stand up for herself against her foe. Some people say Dorothy represented the USA and The Witch was Hitler and that the meaning of this movie could be we could stand up to our greatest foes and defeat them if we just had the right tools.
Scott Tostik (389 KP) rated The Belko Experiment (2017) in Movies
Jul 12, 2017
Axes and Tape Dispensers (2 more)
Tony Goldwyn....kinda
Wicked, imaginative plot
Came on Strong. Imagine Office Space on Bath Salts
Contains spoilers, click to show
Right, so, having seen the trailer for this flick, I thought to myself "Scott, give it a shot... And boy, was I ever considering giving myself a shot of adrenaline to stay awake during this dull roar of an alleged action/horror movie.
It was boring, predictable and utterly stupid. Only reason I gave it a six, was the innovative kills. I mean, come on... A tape dispenser!?!? Fuck yeah, bud.
It drags through the first two acts, and finally picks up speed in the third and final one.
And, honestly, who hasn't dreamt of killing the idiot from from the second Are We There Yet movie??? You know, the whiner from Platoon??? Shithead from Scrubs??? I know I have. And thankfully he dies.... Violently.... Another 90 minutes ii of my life, I will never regain.
Horror can be a fickle bitch, and this flick is no exception.
It was boring, predictable and utterly stupid. Only reason I gave it a six, was the innovative kills. I mean, come on... A tape dispenser!?!? Fuck yeah, bud.
It drags through the first two acts, and finally picks up speed in the third and final one.
And, honestly, who hasn't dreamt of killing the idiot from from the second Are We There Yet movie??? You know, the whiner from Platoon??? Shithead from Scrubs??? I know I have. And thankfully he dies.... Violently.... Another 90 minutes ii of my life, I will never regain.
Horror can be a fickle bitch, and this flick is no exception.
Smithie (7 KP) rated Lord Of Shadows in Books
Aug 9, 2017
Shadowhunters being awesome (7 more)
It gave other characters (not just Jules and Emma) a lot of focus
Really great diversity!!! So many LGBT+ in one room!!! I cry I cry :')
Kit Herondale
Cristina Rosales
Tiberius Blackthorn
Drusilla Blackthorn
A character died at the end that I've been wanting to die for literally six years
THAT ENDING WAS NOT OKAY (1 more)
A couple things were frustrating. The Clave sucks. People suck. This isn't the author's fault and it's a good thing that she was able to create situations that struck cords with things happening in the real world, but it just made me mad at the world
Sucked all emotion and life out of me thanks cassie I'm now a shell of my former self
It was so good!!! Some may disagree but each book that Cassie publishes just increases in quality. I can't wait for book 3 and I can't CAN'T wait fOR THE WICKED POWERS LIKE YES LET'S FOCUS ON THREE OF MY ALL TIME FAVES I'M SO READY
Madbatdan82 (341 KP) rated Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019) in Movies
May 5, 2019
Extremely Woeful, shockingly rubbish and boring!!
Just watched 'extremely wicked, shockingly evil and vile'...utter garbage. It's from Liz's perspective but is historically inaccurate and just completely boring. If you didnt know the story you would think Bundy was innocent until the end. They dont show any of the murders and it's just bizarre. You've got arguably one of the worlds sickest psychopaths, serial killers and necrophiles and dont even go into details of the murders let alone show them. It would be like titanic but not showing the sinking! Zac Efron is really good and in the court room scenes hes excellent but that's just copying previously recorded stuff. A real opportunity would have been to see Efron using his skills during the killings. Joe Berlinger is best known as a documentarian and I have loved his previous work but this felt like a cheaply done documentary reenactment and unfortunately shows his limitations. So disappointed and a total waste of Efron's talent and the subject matter.