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Sean Lennon recommended Shakara/London Scene by Fela Kuti in Music (curated)

 
Shakara/London Scene by Fela Kuti
Shakara/London Scene by Fela Kuti
2000 | World
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"The thing that blows my mind about Fela's records is that he can just write two 15 minute songs, and they don't feel at all indulgent. It's all in one key but it never bores you. The tension is like slow, tantric sex, it just builds and builds. He knows how to capture a vibe and hold it tight so the intensity keeps building before it explodes. I don't know why 'Lady' is my favourite track, but personally it hits me really hard. I listen to it all the time, and I find the lyrics really entertaining too. It's his version of a feminist album I guess, he's talking about how 'the woman eats the meat before the man…' I guess that's a symbol of liberation. Meanwhile he has his nine wives singing the backing vocals. He's more than a musician, he's a superman. He almost took over Nigeria and his compound was a separate city, he had his own laws, it's amazing that music can be that powerful. I'm a huge fan of his, He's an example of how music can almost start a revolution."

Source
  
Blood Bound (Unbound, #1)
Blood Bound (Unbound, #1)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
3.5 stars

First off I can't quite believe it just ended like that! WTF?! But at the same time, I have a feeling I know what Liv chose to do.
 
This will be my third series by the author and probably joint second with her Soul Screamers, with Shifters being number one--which I really loved.
 
Blood Bound took me a lot of getting into and I can honestly say that the best and most enjoyable bit for me was the last 150 pages or so when it finally all came out and they were going to do the job that had been building for most of the book.
 
The whole Skills thing was very interesting and the two gangs in the city wanting to off the other was quite entertaining especially with the bindings and tattoo's.
 
It was complicated at times with the overlapping bindings and friendships/loyalty and just because of those last 150 pages I've marked it up half a star. Not sure if I'll read the next book, though.
  
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    Fallen City (2011)

    Fallen City (2011)

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    Movie

    Shubei town, southeast China, the present day. Five years after he fled with RMB800,000 (US$125,000)...

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Ross (3284 KP) rated Shorefall in Books

Nov 16, 2020  
Shorefall
Shorefall
Robert Jackson Bennett | 2020 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Mediocre sequel
I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Shorefall picks up around three years after the events of Foundryside, when a small crew stand up against the mighty, powerful families of the city, stop their evil plotting and strike out on their own. They have set up their own, independent scriving house, making magical machinery, and helping others to do the same. A bit like BrewDog, but without the financially dubious shareholder arrangements.
In this world, magic comes in the form of scriving - bending reality to make objects behave in a certain way (persuading a door it cannot open without a specific person being present, convincing an arrow it is falling, so must accelerate accordingly, albeit in a straight line, etc). Most of the book's plot and action centre around this, and it becomes quite draining, and a stretch at times. I forgave the first book quite a lot in this regard, because it was world-building, but this much world-building in a second book seems wrong. And the mechanics of it are so much like coding that that is all you can think of. At times it is like watching an episode of 24, but instead of following Jack Bauer's thrilling escapades, you are watching Chloe coding a macro to speed up her timesheets while being vaguely aware that something exciting is happening.
The book starts very strongly, we are in the company of Sancia and Orso as they appear to be down on their luck and having to sell their work to make ends meet. Cue: exciting espionage scenes as Sancia sneaks off to steal.
Sadly, this opening chapter in which we had no idea what was happening was the best one. So many times throughout the book the crew were on some mission or other for some reason, but I couldn't for the life of me remember what or why, and nor did I particularly care. The plot just seemed to be in a backseat with the world-building driving with no sat-nav. And so was character development, as all the main characters just completely plateaud and didn't change in the slightest.
In short, I found the book very dull and drawn out and the second half was a real chore.