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Ross (3284 KP) rated Doors: Colony in Books

Mar 26, 2021

Doors: Colony

Markus Heitz | 2021 | Science Fiction/Fantasy

6.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

A slight improvement over the other book

This is another in Heitz's Doors series, three books telling the same underlying story up to a point, with a different story taking off depending on which of the mysterious doors the characters go through. In this book, the group of people employed to find and rescue rich Van Dam's daughter go through the door marked with a question mark. They find themselves in the cellar of a German bierhall in an alternative history of WWII. The war is over, the Germans having capitulated after Hitler's assassination and there is now a struggle between the Russians and the UK/USA over control of what remains.
The group find themselves slimmed down very quickly as members of the group drop like flies. Soon a small number of them find themselves in the company of some Russian spies, looking to stop the Americans' attempts to take power. For some reason, phony clairvoyant Coco Fendi now has actual powers and is capable of mind-reading, earning the respect and assistance of these spies.
There then follows a fairly enjoyable attempt to catch up with a train and board it to stop a nuclear war from breaking out.
The translation again is quite poor here, as some phrases do not make sense and make the reader work to understand what is meant. I am giving Heitz the benefit of the doubt and laying blame at the door of the translator here (though looking at some of the reviews on goodreads in German I'm not sure this is fair). However, there are some very odd passages that take the reader right out of the book, for example 'the time had come to test the 4x4's four-litre twin turbo engine promising 650 horsepower and a top speed of 190 miles an hour'. I mean, what the hell? Has Clarkson been asked to translate this book? It was completely irrelevant and odd.
In the 'Twilight' book of the series, there were some hints at other users of the doors and their purpose and provenance. This book builds on that to an extent, which is a clever idea from Heitz - in order to answer the questions, I think you need to read all three books. However, as a book in its own right, there are simply too many unanswered questions left (though slightly fewer than in 'Twilight').
An improvement, with a more coherent story once through the door in question, but still not a great read. As the first c25% is duplicated between books, I merrily skipped through this section looking for the distinct part starting off.
I received a free advance copy from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Kudos

Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated The Master (The Gameshouse, #3) in Books

Apr 27, 2018

The third story The Master ties the other two together in the ultimate game. The final game, the Great Game. A great player, known only by the name Silver, challenges the Gamesmaster, the woman all in white behind a veil, who is in charge of the Gameshouse. The doors of the Gameshouse shut and both players use every piece they have to play a giant game of chess with the world. The winner will have the rights to the Gameshouse. The loser dies. But Silver is not a normal player. Silver has a different goal for the outcome. And when the last move comes to play, he has to make a choice. And so he leaves that choice up to the one thing he doesn’t have control over. Luck. And the world goes on.

Read my full review of the series here: http://haleymathiot.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-gameshouse.html

Kudos

MissCagey (2652 KP) rated The Gift (2015) in Movies

Jun 4, 2018

The Gift (2015)

2015 | Horror, Mystery, Thriller

7.1

(26 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Contains spoilers, click to show

An engaging enough film, essentially making the point that things you do in the past can catch up with you. However, it frustrated me so much, if a bloke who I actually didn't know but was an old friend of my husband's kept turning up at my door uninvited and when my hubby was in work I would not be letting him in and spending time with him, if I suspected someone was entering my house without my knowledge I would be keeping all the doors locked, why would you leave your dog to roam around outside when it's unfamiliar with the area?.... Would you really want to divorce your husband whom I presume you have grown to know and love over the years because you find out he bullied a kid at school and sent an email about a work rival? I don't think so...