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Harry Potter Trading Card Game
Harry Potter Trading Card Game
2001 | Card Game, Collectible Components, Fantasy, Fighting, Book
Gameplay (3 more)
Variety of Characters
Variety of Card
Game Length
Potential costs (0 more)
Great game, but costs could add up.
Firstly, this is a great game, for seasoned gamers or beginners; very quick and easy to play and understand.

The aim of the game is a simple one, to empty your opponents deck. Simple as that. This is done by choosing a character (each with a unique special skill), and playing creature, spell and item cards to attack their deck.

The range of spells are superb, with everything from forgotten spells from the books, to flipendo, best remembered from the 2001 PS1 Philosophers Stone game. The range of beasts could be better, but as this is only based on the first book, the range could be considered excellent, including creatures including Devil's Snare, Fluffy, Fang, Hounds, Boa Constrictors, Wolves, Trolls and anything you can think of when it comes to the first film/book.

The only issue nowadays is potential costs. As this is out-of-print and nearly 20 years old, cards are a bit of a nuisance to find and expensive when you do find them. Small lots of cards can be found on ebay for a reasonable price, but if you're after individual cards, costs could easily mount up with cards starting at 99p and going up to £5 or more for some of the rarer cards.

Overall though, a great game, and well worth getting a starter set and a few extras :)
  
The Night Window: A Jane Hawk Novel
The Night Window: A Jane Hawk Novel
Dean Koontz | 2019 | Mystery, Thriller
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
5th and final novel of the Jane Hawk series
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

4.51 · 2,534 ratings ·

The Night Window by Dean Koontz is the 5th and final Jane Hawk novel in the series. I have read many books by Koontz and am a fan of his Odd Thomas series. Somehow, I missed reading his Jane Hawk series.

I was provided with a copy of the 5th novel and, to give a fair review, needed to read the earlier books in the series. I am so glad that I did. I could not put them down! It would help, but you do not need to read the other books. However, you would be missing out on an excellent and chilling series. Koontz gives you enough information, so you have a general outline of the events leading up to The Night Window.

In the Silent Corner, the first novel, Jane begins a campaign to reveal the truth about her husband's suicide. Early on, we learn a number of government officials and other influential individuals with the help of nanotechnology and an army of mind-altered citizens are responsible. It is the possibility of this "revolution" occurring that makes the story so disturbing. Often you find supernatural creepiness in Koontz's books, but I found this series to be the scariest.

This review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 6/24/19.
  
Codename Villanelle (Killing Eve #1)
Codename Villanelle (Killing Eve #1)
Luke Jennings | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
7
7.6 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
Whilst binge-watching the BBC’s excellent Killing Eve I kept promising myself that I would hunt down a copy of the source material to learn more about the fascinating female protagonists.

It was certainly intriguing to hear the inner workings of Eve’s & Villanelle’s minds and to discover more about their backstory. I particularly enjoyed learning how Villanelle was moulded into the cold-bloodedly efficient assassin that fans of the show have come to love and fear.

“Black, white and red. Darkness, snow and blood. Perhaps it takes as Russian to understand the world in those terms.”

The novel is well written and clips along nicely. There are some well-executed (pun intended) set pieces in exotic or glamourous locations, it easy to see why it was targeted for adaptation. I’m glad that they resisted the temptation to give it the big screen treatment, turning it into what would probably been a beautifully shot but ultimately forgettable ‘sexy spy’ film.

It was an inspired decision to inject humour into the TV show; Phoebe Waller-Bridge brought this book to life in a darkly, deliciously, delightful way. Because of that I was a little disappointed with the book itself. Eve’s kookiness and Villanelle’s bat-s**t craziness are absent and sorely missed by anyone who has seen the series. It is still a good read but Waller-Bridge has shown us what the characters are truly capable of.
  
Peaky Blinders - Season 5
Peaky Blinders - Season 5
2019 | Action, Drama, History
Shame about the loose ends
All in all, this is a rather good series and aside from the slightly dodgy Russian series (3), I’m impressed at how good a run Peaky Blinders has had. It’s not often anymore that you get such a consistently excellent series, and yes I am still ignoring series 3.

Unsurprisingly there are stellar performances in this yet again. Cillian Murphy is fantastic as we see Tommy spiralling into a terrible state, and I absolutely adore the rabid dog with a heart of gold that is Arthur. And Sam Claflin is truly slimy and despicable as Oswald Mosley, I didn’t realise I could hate him so much, he really embodies such an awful character. There are also some surprise deaths and reappearances in this too, some of which that were unexpected and very welcome.

The plot itself is good, but my main issue with this series is the amount of loose ends that haven’t been tied up by the end of the final episode. One of the things I’ve loved about the earlier series, is that everything is wrapped up rather nicely so the next series can start ‘afresh’ set a few years later. The same can’t be said about this fifth series, there’s a lot of plot points that aren’t cleared up and it’s rather frustrating that we have to wait another couple of years to find out!
  
Good Gave Us The Bible
Good Gave Us The Bible
Lisa Tawn Bergren | 2019 | Children
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I know some parents might be seeking an excellent book for their children. Are you seeking a way to identify Gods story to little one? Well this book, God Gave Us the Bible as a few favorite stories. It a good one and well done.

The stories are brief but mean full. They may allow the children asking some questions about the bible or the meaning of the story. This book retains characters that display this though animals with a Mama bear and a few forest animal kids. I like this concept and could understand it. The stories are not in depth of the Bible, but it gives the children or animal kids in the book to ask about a b meaning of a word or prase. Mama explains them try to provide them an answer that they would understand.

The pictures are effectively put together. I enjoy looking them, and they did tell the story. I was able to read this book in one sitting. I had to take a break when I was going an appointment. I finished the same day as I started it. If I did not have to go any where and launched this at home, I would completed reading it in one sitting.

This book does teach you some lessons and the story of Christ though the eyes of little cubs. Parents should think to put this on their bookshelves for their children or grandchildren. Good for children of juvenile readers.