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Ross (3284 KP) rated The Ninth Rain in Books

Aug 27, 2018  
The Ninth Rain
The Ninth Rain
Jen Williams | 2017 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
9.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Ninth Rain takes place in a world with two main dominant races: humans and eborans. The latter used to derive strength from the sap of Ygserin, the life-giving god-tree. This tree also used to dispatch war-beasts when needed, following invasion from the "worm-people", an alien race who seem determined to destroy the land and its people. The story follows the adventures of Vintage and Tormalin (a human and her Eboran companion) as they try to research the worm people's motives and weaknesses, and Noon, a Fell-witch who can take someone's life force and turn it into a weapon of fire.
The plot is very well planned out and interwoven, with the history of the land and its people, and the main characters, being revealed over the course of the book as needed to fit in with the current timeline.
The characters are well crafted and develop in different ways over the course of the book.
For me, the middle third dragged a little as a fairly humdrum adventure across country unfolded and numerous incidents and conflicts occurred. There just didn't seem to be a great deal of direction and it was more that "things that need to happen will happen here" but it didn't really serve much purpose. The story before and after that was very strong, but this section was a chore.
I am always nervous when a character suddenly has a voice in their head telling them what to do, afraid of irritating deus ex machina. Here however that was not the case as the voice was a very important, and (eventually) well-grounded plot point.
Overall a very good story, set up nicely for the follow-up in the series.
  
Rim of the World (2019)
Rim of the World (2019)
2019 | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Really Good Summer Sci-Fi Movie
Rim Of The World is a sci-fi adventure movie directed by McG from a screenplay by Zach Stentz. It was produced by Wonderland Sound and Vision and Circle of Confusion and distributed by Netflix. The film stars Jack Gore, Miya Cech, Benjamin Flores, Jr., and Alessio Scalzotto.


Alex, a smarter than average 13-year old, is forced to go to the same summer camp that his mother went to when she was a girl. The summer camp is called Rim of the World and while there he meets three other teenagers, Darius the joker, Gabriel the tough guy, and Zhen Zhen the tomboy. They all stick together when suddenly aliens begin to attack the area. A space pod crash lands and an astronaut inside entrusts Alex with the key to stopping the alien invasion. They must now travel 40 miles away on their own through dangerous obstacles but as they do they will begin to bond and become friends.


First off this movie is a perfect summer flick for watching with friends who like sci-fi. It seemed to have a lot of comparisons and similarities to The Goonies, which I believe was the inspiration for it. I liked how each character had very distinct personalities. Alex the main character, has the greatest character growth out of the group but they all change along the journey. The special effects and CGI could have been way better and at times were down right laughable. But the actors performances and the scenes where they are better really sell the film. This movie is definitely not to be taken seriously but still has moments of drama that take it up a notch. I had a fun time watching it. I give it a 7/10.
  
Waltz With Bashir (2008)
Waltz With Bashir (2008)
2008 | Animation, Biography, Documentary
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
This is the fifth in the series of films I would recommend to an alien to explain humanity. Not, as posted on the Instagram account, #6 – sorry for the confusion, I think I skipped #4 on there when posting for Schindler’s List a few weeks ago. Anyway… today’s choice is Ari Folman’s extraordinary antiwar film from 2008, which combines several forms of animation and live action footage to create a dreamlike landscape of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, and one man’s journey to reconstruct his own lost memories of events.

I saw this when working at The Cameo Cinema in Edinburgh on release. It was the kind of thing I loved to discover that I wouldn’t normally have paid to see. Its impact on me was immediate, and I went back to see it 3 more times. When it was released on DVD in 2009, it became my go to movie to gift to people who I knew would love it but may not have even heard of it, due to its low profile arthouse origins. It was nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars, but otherwise went under the radar in many ways. I still doubt it has been seen by a quarter of the people who would immediately say it was one of the most amazing films they had ever seen.

The animation may seem gimmicky at first, but once you identify its utility in this context and understand this is not a film for children, it becomes a transcendent trip of vibrant colour, emotion and… humanity. I would call it as indispensable an antiwar movie as Apocalypse Now, and in many ways so much more moving than that classic. If you have yet to see it, do yourself a favour, pick a time you can reflect and allow the dreamlike quality to carry you away.
  
Claimed (Brides of the Kindred #1)
Claimed (Brides of the Kindred #1)
Evangeline Anderson | 2019 | Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
7
6.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Olivia Waterhouse has just graduated from nursing school and has her whole life ahead of her—until she gets drafted. Problem is, she isn’t being forced into the Army, she’s been chosen as a Kindred bride.

The Kindred are huge alien warriors—a race of genetic traders whose population is ninety-five percent male. After saving Earth from the threat of invasion they demand a reward—the right to find brides among the population. The chances of being chosen are about the same as those of winning the lottery—guess it’s just Liv’s lucky day.

Baird is a Beast Kindred who recently escaped imprisonment and torture at the hands of the malevolent Scourge. Through the torment and pain only one thing kept him sane—the thought of finding and claiming his bride—Olivia. His need to possess her is a burning intensity that threatens to consume them both.

Angry at having her future and her family taken away from her, Liv vows to fight back the only way she can—by resisting. She has one month on the Kindred Mothership with Baird—their claiming period. If she can keep from having bonding sex with him during that time, she can go home and get on with her life on Earth.

But Baird isn’t going to make it easy for her. Every week he is allowed to touch Liv more and more intimately and according to the contract she signed, she has to let him. She’s determined to resist him but his touch sets her on fire. And just as she thinks she knows what she wants, a twist of fate and an attack by the faceless Scourge AllFather changes everything…

<strong>It was ok</strong>

So I wasn't expecting becoming like it but it was actually ok. Think Black dagger brotherhood in space. Seemed a bit oh I've heard it before but it got better.I will be sticking with the series as I'm interested in where it will go.



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