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David McK (3405 KP) rated Congo in Books

Jan 28, 2019

Congo

Michael Crichton | 1980 | Fiction & Poetry

7.1

(12 Ratings)

Book Rating

Yet another of [author:Michael Crichton|5194]'s science-thriller turned-into-a-movie novel, in which the movie bears only the slightest resemblance to the source material.

While the basic outline of the plot is the same in both - discovery of the lost city of Zinj in the Congo, expedition to said city that includes a Gorilla taught American Sign Langauge - the particulars of both are different, with the movie (form what I remember - it's been a decade or so since I last saw it) making far more of the exploration of Zinj and the fact that it is guarded by a new breed of vicious gorillas specially bred for the purpose by the original inhabitants than the novel does.

The characters in the novel are also less sympathetic than those in the movie - it's hard to take Tim Curry seriously as a hardened mercenary - while it has, also, aged somewhat due to the reliance on (then) state of the art electronics explained therein - a computer has a whole 256k of memory! Wow!!

Kudos

Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Mort in Books

Nov 20, 2019

Mort

Terry Pratchett | 2012 | Fiction & Poetry

8.7

(19 Ratings)

Book Rating

In lots of ways Mort is the first book which feels like a 'proper' Discworld novel, fusing the fantasy setting, humour and allegorical commentary together into a delightful, coherent whole.

The story itself is a good one: Death takes on Mort as an apprentice so he can take a break. When Mort breaks the rules he causes a wound in space/time that needs to be healed. And the more Mort does the job of Death the more the job begins to take its toll on him.

There is so much to like about this book. The humour is spot-on with some great one-liners, characters and footnotes. The exploration of the mechanics of how Death really operates on the Discworld fits perfectly with the logic of how the rather unique world operates and is the first glimpse into just how complex and rich the series of books could be.

The Discworld was still evolving rapidly at this point and Mort represents a real statement of intent for the future.

Kudos

Mothergamer (1543 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of Forager in Video Games

Mar 16, 2020

Forager

2019 | Action/Adventure, Casual

8.0

(2 Ratings)

Video Game Rating

I played the game on PS4, but it's available on the Nintendo Switch and PC too. Forager is an idle game that does a great mix of crafting, exploration, and adventure. Automation is the biggest factor in the game as it encourages you to always have things crafting on your machines while foraging for more resources and adventuring. There are dungeons to explore where you can solve puzzles and fight monsters which reward you with special weapons and items that you can use on your adventure. You can play as little or as much as you want. Forager gives you a lot of freedom to craft, build, farm, and forage. There are mini quests you can do and islands you can buy and unlock adding more areas for you to explore. It is a bit of a grind, but you don't really notice because the game is so much fun to play. It's a laid back relaxing game that gives you a lot of freedom to explore, craft, and build.

Kudos

lurkykitty (3 KP) rated The Only Good Indians in Books

Mar 25, 2020 (Updated Mar 25, 2020)

The Only Good Indians is a well written and superbly crafted horror story. (0 more)

A well written and superbly crafted horror story

The Only Good Indians is a well written and superbly crafted horror story which takes place in the northwestern US and has characters from the Blackfeet and Crow tribes. Four young Blackfeet men embark on a badly planned and illegal elk hunt which results in a violation of tribal values and the desecration of nature. Ten years later, an entity exacts her revenge in a chilling, suspenseful and brutal fashion. The characters are incredibly well developed given the length of the novel, and the reader develops sympathy for them. The reader also empathizes with the perspective of the entity who pursues the four men. This story has great depth in its exploration of themes of cultural identity, tradition, social justice, revenge and respect for the natural world. Horror readers will love this, but I would also recommend this book for readers of fiction in general. I can see why this The Only Good Indians is receiving so much critical acclaim.