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David McK (3425 KP) rated Fatherland in Books
Dec 20, 2022
Robert Harris's best-selling alt-history novel, basically asking what the world would be like if the Nazis had won WW2, and following the investigation by a police officer in the 1960s when a naked body is found floating in a lake on the outskirts of Berlin just ahead of Hitler's 75th birthday, leading to the uncovering of a vast conspiracy...
A conspiracy covering up events, in the 'real' world, anyone with even the slightest knowledge of WW2 history would know about. And rightfully so.
That, I felt, was my biggest problem with the novel - there was just no sense of mystery or intrigue, no real 'what-will-happen-to-the-characters-next?' that made me really want to read on - indeed, there were times that I had to force myself to continue rather than starting another book.
From a personal POV, I think I would have preferred more emphasis on the the alt-history portions of the story (how did Germany win the war? What happened in the UK? To name but two ...) than on the central mystery: to me, at least, the balance is out of whack, favouring the mystery over the little nuggets of such information carefully doled out throughout the course of the novel.
I'm also not that much a fan of cliff-hanger endings, personally ...
A conspiracy covering up events, in the 'real' world, anyone with even the slightest knowledge of WW2 history would know about. And rightfully so.
That, I felt, was my biggest problem with the novel - there was just no sense of mystery or intrigue, no real 'what-will-happen-to-the-characters-next?' that made me really want to read on - indeed, there were times that I had to force myself to continue rather than starting another book.
From a personal POV, I think I would have preferred more emphasis on the the alt-history portions of the story (how did Germany win the war? What happened in the UK? To name but two ...) than on the central mystery: to me, at least, the balance is out of whack, favouring the mystery over the little nuggets of such information carefully doled out throughout the course of the novel.
I'm also not that much a fan of cliff-hanger endings, personally ...
Madbatdan82 (341 KP) rated Overlord (2018) in Movies
Mar 12, 2019
Gore - what is it good for?
I don't think it's spoilery to say don't come to this film expecting a typical WW2 film. Yes it's set on the eve of D Day but most people know by now this is a bloody horror film not a war film. It's gory - oh so gory! There is one scene in particular that is so good that I was cringing and laughing at the same time - and yes you will end up laughing as this is not a serious film. But it doesn't try to be. It's Nazis getting very violently dispatched and honestly who doesn't enjoy that.
Dean (6926 KP) rated Midway (2019) in Movies
Nov 15, 2019
Good SFX on the whole (1 more)
Big action scenes
Entertaining WW2 action Film
Well with Roland Emmerich at the helm you should know what to expect from this film. Lots of big budget action scenes and SFX heavy scenes. Going for all guns blazing, quite literally, at the slight expense of any indepth character development. It's good that this also covers the battle from the Japanese perspective. I'm not sure how accurate it is but it is at least based on real people who had key roles in the battle. One definitely to enjoy for the action scenes, especially if seeing in 4DX.
Strategy & Tactics: Sandbox World War II TBS
Games and Entertainment
App
***NOTE: Compatible with iPhone 4s and up, iPad 2 and up - may not work properly on earlier...
New Plays for Young People
Book
Follow up to the acclaimed PLAYS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE by award-winning playwright, includes: MISSING - a...
Kristina (502 KP) rated Salt to the Sea in Books
Dec 7, 2020
This isn't really something I normally read. I wasn't enthralled and I didn't "get lost" inside the book, but I did feel heartbreak, anger, disbelief, hope. I had never heard of Wilhelm or any of the other tragedies mentioned - when I hear WW2, I think of the Holocaust. It is obvious that war is a time of suffering, when horrendous actions are committed by both sides, but it's hard to remember that when your mind is taught about the opposing sides' atrocities. Reading about the things done by both Russians, their allies, and Germans broke my heart. Even if I didn't love this book, I definitely learned something new and gained more perspective.
AirAttack 2
Games
App
***** TouchArcade 5/5 - Game of the Week - "Stunning Shooting" ***** Sequel of Award Winning...
The Redbreast (Harry Hole #3) (Oslo Sequence #1)
Don Bartlett and Jo Nesbo
8.0
Rate It
Book
Not all angels are heaven sent. I am one such angel, and I have come to pass judgement on the...
To be honest, crime fiction is not my usual genre of choice.
I also tend to find 'book club picks' to be rather off-putting; generally finding those I have previously read to be rather tedious and just not generally all that interesting (while able to admire the literary sophistication of the works).
This is both a crime fiction novel, and a 'Richard and Judy book club pick', so that would - normally - have been 2 marks against picking it up, in my books.
However, I have read - and generally quite enjoyed - most, if not all, of Simon Scarrow's other works - in particular his Cato and Macro series - so, when I saw this on a Kindle deal for something like 99p, I thought to myself 'why not?'.
And, I have to admit, I did actually quite enjoy this.
Set in 1939 Berlin just at the start of WW2, I found this to be unusual in that it told the story from the Point of View of a German criminal inspector - most WW2 novels (that I am aware of) usually feature either American or Brits as their main protagonists - who is not a member of the Nazi party: a fact that, here, is usually held against him but is also the reason he got handed the assignment as he has no links to any factions within the party.
It's both a very different time and 'headspace' than modern sensibilities; interesting to see how the man-on-the-street could have viewed the headline events of the time. As someone from Northern Ireland, there's also aspects of the novel that hit frighteningly close to home for me ...
I also tend to find 'book club picks' to be rather off-putting; generally finding those I have previously read to be rather tedious and just not generally all that interesting (while able to admire the literary sophistication of the works).
This is both a crime fiction novel, and a 'Richard and Judy book club pick', so that would - normally - have been 2 marks against picking it up, in my books.
However, I have read - and generally quite enjoyed - most, if not all, of Simon Scarrow's other works - in particular his Cato and Macro series - so, when I saw this on a Kindle deal for something like 99p, I thought to myself 'why not?'.
And, I have to admit, I did actually quite enjoy this.
Set in 1939 Berlin just at the start of WW2, I found this to be unusual in that it told the story from the Point of View of a German criminal inspector - most WW2 novels (that I am aware of) usually feature either American or Brits as their main protagonists - who is not a member of the Nazi party: a fact that, here, is usually held against him but is also the reason he got handed the assignment as he has no links to any factions within the party.
It's both a very different time and 'headspace' than modern sensibilities; interesting to see how the man-on-the-street could have viewed the headline events of the time. As someone from Northern Ireland, there's also aspects of the novel that hit frighteningly close to home for me ...
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Lights out Liverpool (Pearl Street #1) in Books
Feb 26, 2023
22 of 235
Book
Lights out Liverpool (Pearl Street #1)
By Maureen Lee
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The folk of one small Liverpool street cope with the first year of World War II. They find the war affects each of them in a different way. One woman worries about her twin sons who are called up, another is liberated from a loveless marriage, whilst Jessica Fleming's life is changed irrevocably.
I love a good saga! This one kind of hit home with the start of WW2 and in comparison to what we are dealing with now and it’s quite frightening to think of what they were facing and the loss that was felt. It was a little heartwarming to read and have a break from my usual reads.
Book
Lights out Liverpool (Pearl Street #1)
By Maureen Lee
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The folk of one small Liverpool street cope with the first year of World War II. They find the war affects each of them in a different way. One woman worries about her twin sons who are called up, another is liberated from a loveless marriage, whilst Jessica Fleming's life is changed irrevocably.
I love a good saga! This one kind of hit home with the start of WW2 and in comparison to what we are dealing with now and it’s quite frightening to think of what they were facing and the loss that was felt. It was a little heartwarming to read and have a break from my usual reads.