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The Book of Phoenix ( Who Fears Death book 0)
By Nnedi Okorafor
⭐️⭐️

A fiery spirit dances from the pages of the Great Book. She brings the aroma of scorched sand and ozone. She has a story to tell....

The Book of Phoenix is a unique work of magical futurism. A prequel to the highly acclaimed, World Fantasy Award-winning novel, Who Fears Death, it features the rise of another of Nnedi Okorafor’s powerful, memorable, superhuman women.

Phoenix was grown and raised among other genetic experiments in New York’s Tower 7. She is an “accelerated woman”—only two years old but with the body and mind of an adult, Phoenix’s abilities far exceed those of a normal human. Still innocent and inexperienced in the ways of the world, she is content living in her room speed reading e-books, running on her treadmill, and basking in the love of Saeed, another biologically altered human of Tower 7.

Then one evening, Saeed witnesses something so terrible that he takes his own life. Devastated by his death and Tower 7’s refusal to answer her questions, Phoenix finally begins to realize that her home is really her prison, and she becomes desperate to escape.

But Phoenix’s escape, and her destruction of Tower 7, is just the beginning of her story. Before her story ends, Phoenix will travel from the United States to Africa and back, changing the entire course of humanity’s future.

I don’t want to completely trash a book so I’ll just leave it at this! It just wasn’t for me I found it a struggle and quite boring!
  
Interstellar (2014)
Interstellar (2014)
2014 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
For my money, Christopher Nolan is the best director and storyteller in the film industry today. Over the years he has grown with each film he has created. In his early work, like Following, Memento, and Insomniac, he experimented with different notions of how we as an audience perceived a story unfold on film. In each of those films he learned techniques that he carried with him as he moved onto bigger commercial success’ like The Dark Knight Trilogy and The Prestige. All of those techniques, culminated in my humble opinion, his masterpiece with 2010s Inception. Now he is back, with a space exploration film for this generation that rivals Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space odyssey with an added dash of 1997s Contact.

Everything you expect from a Nolan film his here. Stunning visuals that not only leave us breathless at the vastness and beauty of space and other worlds, but also character driven framing that is subtle enough for us to be able to understand and focus on this character driven story. We are driven forward by one man’s mission to save the earth, but on a more humanizing level, his family. It is this constant thread, especially the bond of Love between a father and daughter, which holds this majestic film together from start to finish. Those who miss this focus or nitpick at the science of it all may be disappointed and feel the film is too big to be concluded with such a simple notion. However those who are willing to concede that impressive visuals do not need to be concluded on an ostentatious scale for there to be a grandiose impact, will find satisfaction at a film that makes us contemplate our place in time and space.

If these stunning visuals are the face of this film, then the score is undoubtedly the emotion. Nolan once again teams up with Academy Award winning composer Hans Zimmer, to produce a stunningly moving and heartfelt score that not only propels forward in our exploration of the unknown, but at times is our only friend in letting us know it is ok to breath.

Perhaps it is just the gravity of the work that Nolan has done in the last few years, but the actors in this film know the stakes and each came to play. The cast each elevate their performances not only for themselves but for each other. Led by Academy Award Winner winners Mathew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway, as well as Academy Award Nominee Jessica Chastain, the entire cast of Interstellar deliver excellent performances that cause us not only relate, but to feel the world at large and the relationships with each other. I was especially impressed with the young Mackenzie Foy, whose relationship with McConaughey is crucial to the story being able to hold together for the entire film.

In closing, Interstellar is a beautiful film to behold with a story that revolves around exploration, survival, and love told in an epic way both visually and audibly. For some there may be a few make or break moments, but if you just focus on the story and world being told to you, it will all make sense. The film’s running time is 2 hours and 49 minutes which may seem like much to some, however because Interstellar is an experience, not just a film, the length is hardly noticeable as a bad thing. After walking away, you will want to see this experience in the theaters again, especially in IMAX for the best possible visuals and audio.
  
    Piano Maestro by JoyTunes

    Piano Maestro by JoyTunes

    Education and Music

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    Piano Maestro is a fun and engaging piano practice tool for families and teachers. Chosen by Apple...