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Night Reader Reviews (683 KP) rated Testosterone in Books
Jan 9, 2020
Testosterone by Danough OBrien & Liz Cowley was a work very different from anything I have ever read before. While I did give it a lower review I believe that the topic makes it worth a read it its own right. The fact that one thing that seems so small could destroy our entire world is amazing, yet the events that happen is the book I believe to be true. There were a few little surprises during the book that a reader might miss if they are not fully paying attention. I will not be forgetting this book anytime soon and will be keeping an eye out for the movie that it deserves.
Multiple objects crash into Earth with no warning as they were undetectable by our radar, and land in various bodies of water. At the crash sites, there are no remains to be found except for a mist that covers the planet temporarily. When the mist clears it becomes apparent that something devastating has happened to all the mammals on the planet. The males no longer produce testosterone. This means no more sex drive in males, in fact, they no longer even have the ability to have sex. The worst part is that there is no more viable sperm.
The lack of testosterone in the males could mean the end of the human race as no more children can be born naturally. Then it is discovered that all of this was an alien attack meant to weaken the human population on the planet over time. In a last ditch effort to save the human race all the world leaders team up to create Havens. These Havens must be kept secret form most of the population and the alien drones watching the planet. While the outside world falls into turmoil as it ages with no young to replace those passing away. Selected people are still having children through artificial insemination and preparing for war with an unknown enemy in secret. How long can these secret Havens stay a secret and when will the attack come, if at all?
What I liked best was the subject matter itself. I have never encountered an end of the world book where aliens first attack humans on a biological level. The concept was refreshing. I did, however, find the book to be dry at times. Years passed during the story but the only way to tell was because the author directly states how much time passed. The story just did not move very well at all.
Target readers for this book are mature young adults and older. Topics of artificial insemination and infertility may make this book inappropriate for younger readers. The reading level itself is not that difficult. I rate this book 2 out of 4. While the concept and subject matter was different and interesting the way it was presented was not. This is one of the few times that I would like to see it as a movie because I believe a movie version would be better.
https://nightreaderreviews.blogspot.com/
Multiple objects crash into Earth with no warning as they were undetectable by our radar, and land in various bodies of water. At the crash sites, there are no remains to be found except for a mist that covers the planet temporarily. When the mist clears it becomes apparent that something devastating has happened to all the mammals on the planet. The males no longer produce testosterone. This means no more sex drive in males, in fact, they no longer even have the ability to have sex. The worst part is that there is no more viable sperm.
The lack of testosterone in the males could mean the end of the human race as no more children can be born naturally. Then it is discovered that all of this was an alien attack meant to weaken the human population on the planet over time. In a last ditch effort to save the human race all the world leaders team up to create Havens. These Havens must be kept secret form most of the population and the alien drones watching the planet. While the outside world falls into turmoil as it ages with no young to replace those passing away. Selected people are still having children through artificial insemination and preparing for war with an unknown enemy in secret. How long can these secret Havens stay a secret and when will the attack come, if at all?
What I liked best was the subject matter itself. I have never encountered an end of the world book where aliens first attack humans on a biological level. The concept was refreshing. I did, however, find the book to be dry at times. Years passed during the story but the only way to tell was because the author directly states how much time passed. The story just did not move very well at all.
Target readers for this book are mature young adults and older. Topics of artificial insemination and infertility may make this book inappropriate for younger readers. The reading level itself is not that difficult. I rate this book 2 out of 4. While the concept and subject matter was different and interesting the way it was presented was not. This is one of the few times that I would like to see it as a movie because I believe a movie version would be better.
https://nightreaderreviews.blogspot.com/
Lou Grande (148 KP) rated The Perfect Whore in Books
Jun 12, 2018
Fanfiction is usually free. You can find better stuff there
Once upon a time, I read Star Wars slash fanfiction. That was a lot better than this. I don't quite know what the author was going for here, as the story leans too far into plot and exposition to be a "romance" novel (not a bad thing, if the plot wasn't just a vehicle for the romance), and the erotica was less than erotic. I've read female authors who could write believable gay characters, but this isn't one of them. These characters interact more like men in Japanese yaoi, which is to say, you could sub one of the men with a woman and have the same story. I would be more generous (considering one character is a shapeshifting alien with no true gender) but her author's bio specifically states she writes gay erotica. So let's be clear: this is gay erotica for women. So if you're a lady who fetishizes gay men, this is in your wheelhouse. If you're a gay man, probably avoid this one, unless you really have a thing for sci-fi and lizardmen.
Circling back around, of course the title is attention grabbing. And the story is short enough to be fun. Both characters are obnoxious, but not so much that you can't sit two or three hours with them. The story employs standard tropes, including using rape as a dramatic crutch. If that's your thing, you'll probably enjoy this and also what's wrong with you?
Circling back around, of course the title is attention grabbing. And the story is short enough to be fun. Both characters are obnoxious, but not so much that you can't sit two or three hours with them. The story employs standard tropes, including using rape as a dramatic crutch. If that's your thing, you'll probably enjoy this and also what's wrong with you?
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated the Xbox 360 version of Dead Space in Video Games
Oct 21, 2019
Rachel is Dead
Contains spoilers, click to show
This game, is so great. The plot, the setting, the psychological, the horror, the twist, the ending. Lets talk about it...
The Plot: it puts the player in control of an engineer named Isaac Clarke who fights Necromorphs, monstrous reanimated human corpses, aboard an interstellar mining ship, the USG Ishimura.
The player controls Isaac Clarke, a ship systems engineer who must fight his way through a mining starship infested with an alien scourge. The crew has been slaughtered, and their corpses reanimated into creatures known as "Necromorphs". Various types of Necromorphs appear throughout the game, each with different abilities and requiring different tactics to defeat.
The game has a strong science fiction atmosphere and is set in a spacecraft. It is also set way in the future.
Lets talk about the twist:
This was nothing more than another hallucination from Isaac. He’s gone mad, and in his mind, has somehow turned Nicole into one of them. The real Nicole is still dead.
Finally take the first letter from each mission to reveal a secret message… and it spells out Rachel is Dead, which is a intreating easter egg, that comes true. No one really thought about that, until years laters. To take the first letter from each mission and spell it out.
It is a great twist and when you find out, later on in the game, like close to the end, you are surpised.
I highly reccordmend this game, it is great and horrorfying.
The Plot: it puts the player in control of an engineer named Isaac Clarke who fights Necromorphs, monstrous reanimated human corpses, aboard an interstellar mining ship, the USG Ishimura.
The player controls Isaac Clarke, a ship systems engineer who must fight his way through a mining starship infested with an alien scourge. The crew has been slaughtered, and their corpses reanimated into creatures known as "Necromorphs". Various types of Necromorphs appear throughout the game, each with different abilities and requiring different tactics to defeat.
The game has a strong science fiction atmosphere and is set in a spacecraft. It is also set way in the future.
Lets talk about the twist:
This was nothing more than another hallucination from Isaac. He’s gone mad, and in his mind, has somehow turned Nicole into one of them. The real Nicole is still dead.
Finally take the first letter from each mission to reveal a secret message… and it spells out Rachel is Dead, which is a intreating easter egg, that comes true. No one really thought about that, until years laters. To take the first letter from each mission and spell it out.
It is a great twist and when you find out, later on in the game, like close to the end, you are surpised.
I highly reccordmend this game, it is great and horrorfying.
Andy K (10823 KP) rated Blade Runner (1982) in Movies
Jul 24, 2019
Sci Fi Film Noir Masterpiece
When film scholars debate whether Alien or Blade Runner is director Ridley Scott's best film it is hard to make an argument against each as both are masterpieces It's funny that although they are both science fiction films, they are completely different in tone, style and action.
The art direction and cinematography are almost unmatched even under today's standards and then consider this movie is from 1982 and it is just astonishing. I won't argue with someone who says the film is slow developing or style or substance; however, I do not consider that a negative whatsoever. Consider it just another way to tell a story. Why do movies always have to follow the same formula to be considered a acceptable?
It is hard to believe the film only managed US box office of $27 million upon its original theatrical release. It's cult status was almost immediate along with the rise of home video and eventually DVD. The various cuts of the film and the vast and minor differences between them can make the meaning of the film quite different depending on how you interpret it.
The argument whether or not Deckard is a replicant could really depend on which version of the film you have seen or what you choose to believe.
Nevertheless, the film still stands the test of time as a sci fi classic and one of the most visually stunning films ever made!
The art direction and cinematography are almost unmatched even under today's standards and then consider this movie is from 1982 and it is just astonishing. I won't argue with someone who says the film is slow developing or style or substance; however, I do not consider that a negative whatsoever. Consider it just another way to tell a story. Why do movies always have to follow the same formula to be considered a acceptable?
It is hard to believe the film only managed US box office of $27 million upon its original theatrical release. It's cult status was almost immediate along with the rise of home video and eventually DVD. The various cuts of the film and the vast and minor differences between them can make the meaning of the film quite different depending on how you interpret it.
The argument whether or not Deckard is a replicant could really depend on which version of the film you have seen or what you choose to believe.
Nevertheless, the film still stands the test of time as a sci fi classic and one of the most visually stunning films ever made!
Saul Sailing Snapper (211 KP) rated This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor in Books
Nov 13, 2019
Funny and heartbreaking at the same time (1 more)
Quick easy read
Aches and pains with laughter
Full disclosure this is not a book I would normally have read however I had heard good things about it and saw it as a smashbomb giveaway so thought I would enter and I was lucky enough to be selected thank you.
The premise of the book is simple. It is a trainee Doctors diary with various entries of the course of their many years of long hours having to deal with anything that came through the doors during their hospital postings. The chapters are split with each progression through the training ladder and even explaining the process quite well for those who are not aware how crazy the system appears.
I found myself laughing out loud for some of the entries, especially those concerning the removing of alien objects from the body. Aghast at others over what Doctors have to go through on a daily basis and with a lump in my throat over moments of heartbreak mere lines later.
I enjoyed the book immensely and found myself re-reading paragraphs and even the odd few pages to let it all sink in. The plaudits from various celebrities in the cover do not really do it justice but are well deserved. It is a very easy to read book and you would be hard pressed not to come away with a greater admiration for the NHS and its staff have to go through.
The premise of the book is simple. It is a trainee Doctors diary with various entries of the course of their many years of long hours having to deal with anything that came through the doors during their hospital postings. The chapters are split with each progression through the training ladder and even explaining the process quite well for those who are not aware how crazy the system appears.
I found myself laughing out loud for some of the entries, especially those concerning the removing of alien objects from the body. Aghast at others over what Doctors have to go through on a daily basis and with a lump in my throat over moments of heartbreak mere lines later.
I enjoyed the book immensely and found myself re-reading paragraphs and even the odd few pages to let it all sink in. The plaudits from various celebrities in the cover do not really do it justice but are well deserved. It is a very easy to read book and you would be hard pressed not to come away with a greater admiration for the NHS and its staff have to go through.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Men in Black International (2019) in Movies
Dec 4, 2019 (Updated Jan 9, 2020)
A safe and predictable MIB sequel
MIB International is one of those films that isn't balls out awful, but definitely isn't good. It's a passable and relatively entertaining way to spend a couple of hours.
Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth star as Agents M and H, and are a fun enough leading duo. The chemistry between them is ok, but does lack something that was more abundant in Thor: Ragnarok.
Liam Neeson is fine as well, but he's not really doing anything outside of just being Liam Neeson.
I guess the issue here is that although the cast are all good, it feels like the character could have been played by anyone else, and nothing would have been lost - certainly not the case with Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in the original.
Either way, in the case of MIB International, I just got the general feeling that no one involved seem to really care all that much, both in front of and behind camera.
The plot is exactly what you would expect from a MIB sequel. Aliens, a powerful weapon, saving the world...it's all been done before.
Although the over arching plot is absolutely riddled with plot holes if you think about it too much.
Some of the alien designs are pretty good and the rampant CGI is ok...ish...
I'm not convinced that the original MIB ever needed follow up movies, and I'm still not, but as far they go, International isn't the worst sequel like I'd heard...has everyone just straight up forgotten how bad the second one is!?
Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth star as Agents M and H, and are a fun enough leading duo. The chemistry between them is ok, but does lack something that was more abundant in Thor: Ragnarok.
Liam Neeson is fine as well, but he's not really doing anything outside of just being Liam Neeson.
I guess the issue here is that although the cast are all good, it feels like the character could have been played by anyone else, and nothing would have been lost - certainly not the case with Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in the original.
Either way, in the case of MIB International, I just got the general feeling that no one involved seem to really care all that much, both in front of and behind camera.
The plot is exactly what you would expect from a MIB sequel. Aliens, a powerful weapon, saving the world...it's all been done before.
Although the over arching plot is absolutely riddled with plot holes if you think about it too much.
Some of the alien designs are pretty good and the rampant CGI is ok...ish...
I'm not convinced that the original MIB ever needed follow up movies, and I'm still not, but as far they go, International isn't the worst sequel like I'd heard...has everyone just straight up forgotten how bad the second one is!?
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