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Eyeing the Red Storm: Eisenhower and the First Attempt to Build a Spy Satellite
Book
In 1954 the U.S. Air Force launched an ambitious program known as WS-117L to develop the world's...
FO
Flood of Images: Media, Memory, and Hurricane Katrina
Book
Anyone who was not in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent flooding of the city...
Leslye Headland recommended Bombshell (2019) in Movies (curated)
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Variant Lost (The Evelyn Maynard Trilogy #1) in Books
Jan 3, 2021
1 of 250
Kindle
Variant Lost ( The Evelyn Maynard Trilogy book 1)
By Kaydence Snow
Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments
When Evelyn Maynard receives a scholarship to the exclusive Bradford Hills Institute, she’s determined to make a fresh start. The Institute is world renowned for educating and training Variants – the 18% of the population fortunate enough to have superhuman abilities. As a human, she’s lucky to be admitted.
She’s done with fake identities, running and lying but once again she finds herself surrounded by secrets.
Some she’s been keeping her whole life.
Some have been kept from her.
Some she finds herself dragged into…
Ethan, Josh, Tyler and Alec have some of the rarest Variant abilities Evelyn has ever seen. They fascinate, intrigue and attract her, but is it their abilities, their own secrets or something more that Evelyn can’t seem to stay away from? The secrets they keep could drag Evelyn so deep into their dangerous and exciting world that she’ll never be the same.
And the answers she finds could get them all killed.
I could not put this book down! It’s 4am in the morning and I needed to finish it! Been a while since a book has gripped and kept me completely enthralled. I love the whole idea of the book I think the characters are brilliant! Also an author not scared to kill of characters you’ve come to like so much! Really good start to a new year and a new book challenge!
Kindle
Variant Lost ( The Evelyn Maynard Trilogy book 1)
By Kaydence Snow
Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments
When Evelyn Maynard receives a scholarship to the exclusive Bradford Hills Institute, she’s determined to make a fresh start. The Institute is world renowned for educating and training Variants – the 18% of the population fortunate enough to have superhuman abilities. As a human, she’s lucky to be admitted.
She’s done with fake identities, running and lying but once again she finds herself surrounded by secrets.
Some she’s been keeping her whole life.
Some have been kept from her.
Some she finds herself dragged into…
Ethan, Josh, Tyler and Alec have some of the rarest Variant abilities Evelyn has ever seen. They fascinate, intrigue and attract her, but is it their abilities, their own secrets or something more that Evelyn can’t seem to stay away from? The secrets they keep could drag Evelyn so deep into their dangerous and exciting world that she’ll never be the same.
And the answers she finds could get them all killed.
I could not put this book down! It’s 4am in the morning and I needed to finish it! Been a while since a book has gripped and kept me completely enthralled. I love the whole idea of the book I think the characters are brilliant! Also an author not scared to kill of characters you’ve come to like so much! Really good start to a new year and a new book challenge!
Woody Woodmansey recommended track Moonage Daydream by David Bowie in Best of Bowie by David Bowie in Music (curated)
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2173 KP) rated Right to Remain Silent in Books
May 2, 2021 (Updated May 2, 2021)
I Won’t Remain Silent About This Book
Sparkle Bodie was declared dead, but then came back to life at the funeral home. She’s rushed to the hospital where she dies for real – smothered by a pillow. The sheriff thinks that Sparkle’s son, Caleb, is responsible for her murder – the son that is deaf and has had very little interaction with anyone else. Connor is asked by Sparkle’s other son to try to communicate with his brother and find out what really happened. That is proving to be a challenge even before someone lets Caleb out of jail. Can she prove he is innocent?
This is a strong third book in the series. Connor being deaf herself makes her a unique main character, but I love how she navigates life. The other characters, series regulars or suspects, are strong and help make the book compelling. The mystery contains enough red herrings to keep me guessing. I did feel the climax was a bit convoluted at first, but the more Connor explained things, the more it made sense. The paperback originally came out in the late 1990’s, so there are some dated elements in the book, and since that’s what I read, I don’t know if the ebook was updated. As long as you know that going in, you should be okay. There’s a smattering of foul language, but this is worth noting in passing. I’m glad I’m finally reading about Connor and am hoping I can continue the series soon.
This is a strong third book in the series. Connor being deaf herself makes her a unique main character, but I love how she navigates life. The other characters, series regulars or suspects, are strong and help make the book compelling. The mystery contains enough red herrings to keep me guessing. I did feel the climax was a bit convoluted at first, but the more Connor explained things, the more it made sense. The paperback originally came out in the late 1990’s, so there are some dated elements in the book, and since that’s what I read, I don’t know if the ebook was updated. As long as you know that going in, you should be okay. There’s a smattering of foul language, but this is worth noting in passing. I’m glad I’m finally reading about Connor and am hoping I can continue the series soon.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2173 KP) rated Death in the Stacks in Books
Sep 17, 2020 (Updated Sep 17, 2020)
Cameos and Murder
It’s time for the annual Dinner in the Stacks fundraiser at the Briar Creek Public Library, but this year, Lindsey Norris is facing an extra challenge in putting it on. Olive Boyle has just become president of the library’s board, and she is determined to make trouble, even threatening Lindsey’s job. Despite all of this, the fundraiser goes well, until Olive’s body is found in the fiction section just after the event ends. Even though Lindsey swore she’d stop investigating murders, she still finds herself drawn into this case. Olive made enemies everywhere she went. With so many suspects, can Lindsey figure out what happened?
While the mystery has some good twists in it, I did feel the pacing was off overall. Instead, the character’s antics take over at times. As a fan of the series, I can’t complain too much about that, especially since I was laughing at those scenes. Plus, we got some character development that fans of the series will love. Fans of Jenn’s other two mystery series will have fun with the cameos those characters make in this book, although you won’t miss much of you aren’t up to date on those series. The usual assortment of extras at the end will give you something to enjoy after you’ve turned the last page. While the plot pacing does bother me, I was smiling so much while I was reading, it is hard to complain. Other fans of the series will love every page as well.
While the mystery has some good twists in it, I did feel the pacing was off overall. Instead, the character’s antics take over at times. As a fan of the series, I can’t complain too much about that, especially since I was laughing at those scenes. Plus, we got some character development that fans of the series will love. Fans of Jenn’s other two mystery series will have fun with the cameos those characters make in this book, although you won’t miss much of you aren’t up to date on those series. The usual assortment of extras at the end will give you something to enjoy after you’ve turned the last page. While the plot pacing does bother me, I was smiling so much while I was reading, it is hard to complain. Other fans of the series will love every page as well.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Garden State (2004) in Movies
Sep 20, 2020 (Updated Nov 26, 2020)
Whole quirk, probably just a feature length "Try not to cringe" challenge if I really think about it - which as a cringe connoisseur I always have a soft spot for and you will too if that's your thing - but this taps into something buried deep in the psyche, with an almost primal force. Not only does this capture how fucking insufferable "Hey, how've you been?" small talk can be, but this does better than most movies before or after it in depicting that time in your life (late adolescence/early adulthood) where you were the center of your own moody universe and nothing else mattered - when you thought that's how life would be forever and you just Felt So Deeply™, for good and for ill. It has this authentic, free youthful energy about it but it also has a pretty mopey demeanor to it as well. Hence why I think this would work better if these characters were a bit younger, but I digress - it does that so impeccably well that all of its other blatant shortcomings are easy to forgive (for instance I still can't decide if Braff nailed the emotionally detached, despondent aura of his disillusioned lead character... or if he just sucked). It's so magnetic stylistically (soundtrack is stacked and the cinematography rules) I think it does its job more than capably. Pretty mesmerizingly walks a fine line between "What the fuck is this?" and "Hey who left this bowl of onions here?". Portman is the final boss Manic Pixie Dream Girl.
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post
Dec 5, 2020 (Updated Dec 5, 2020)
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated The Mortuary Collection (2019) in Movies
Oct 16, 2020
The Mortuary Collection is the latest in a long line of Creepshow style horror anthology films, a particular sub genre that can be hard to pull off, but director Ryan Spindell rises to the challenge pretty damn well.
The short stories presented here escalate in tone and subject as the film progresses, starting off relatively fun, but getting increasingly darker and in depth. This is something that the characters comment on between the segments, showing a nice sense of self awareness, but not going over the top with it.
Some of the later stories are hard to watch at times, and are quite emotional in places, especially the one that features actress Sarah Hay as a woman in a vegetative state. It's a genuinely sad story, topped off with some fantastic creature design. An interesting mix to say the least.
The stories are all good in their own right, but are tied together with a clever twist and a satisfying conclusion.
The main character is Montgomery Dark played by a brilliant Clancy Brown. He has a proper Phantasm/Tall Man/Angus Scrimm vibe to him (definitely no accident) and is suitably creepy as this movie's story teller.
The film is pretty damn visceral, and employs both practical effects, and decent digital effects to achieve what it does. It's all looks disgustingly awesome. It also has a great music score by Mondo Boys to compliment all the creepiness.
I was pleasantly surprised by The Mortuary Collection. It's a good time, a competent anthology film, and well worth a watch for horror fans.
The short stories presented here escalate in tone and subject as the film progresses, starting off relatively fun, but getting increasingly darker and in depth. This is something that the characters comment on between the segments, showing a nice sense of self awareness, but not going over the top with it.
Some of the later stories are hard to watch at times, and are quite emotional in places, especially the one that features actress Sarah Hay as a woman in a vegetative state. It's a genuinely sad story, topped off with some fantastic creature design. An interesting mix to say the least.
The stories are all good in their own right, but are tied together with a clever twist and a satisfying conclusion.
The main character is Montgomery Dark played by a brilliant Clancy Brown. He has a proper Phantasm/Tall Man/Angus Scrimm vibe to him (definitely no accident) and is suitably creepy as this movie's story teller.
The film is pretty damn visceral, and employs both practical effects, and decent digital effects to achieve what it does. It's all looks disgustingly awesome. It also has a great music score by Mondo Boys to compliment all the creepiness.
I was pleasantly surprised by The Mortuary Collection. It's a good time, a competent anthology film, and well worth a watch for horror fans.