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Entropy (Tessa Avery #3)
Entropy (Tessa Avery #3)
Lucy Roy | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
142 of 250
Kindle
Entropy ( Tessa Avery book 3)
By Lucy Roy

Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments

Just how much pain can someone experience before they break? How much more loss can they suffer when there's no end in sight?

In the wake of unimaginable tragedy, chaos reigns. Not only have the stakes gone higher with Cronus and his allies attacking from all sides, but there's a new player in the game. Someone I trusted and cared about, someone I called a friend. Not only has he betrayed me, but he's also responsible for taking my best friend prisoner.

As we tirelessly search for answers, Earth has become a battleground. Each day, it seems the moment we get close to solving one problem, another crops up greater than the last, leading us to something not even the Olympians could see coming.

This was just absolutely brilliant! I even felt a tear run down my cheek at the memorial! This trilogy has been such a pleasure to read with amazing characters! I love the idea behind it and love reading what people to with the legendary Greek gods and titans! Would thoroughly recommend!
  
Blue Moon Rising (Forest Kingdom #1)
Blue Moon Rising (Forest Kingdom #1)
Simon R. Green | 1989 | Fiction & Poetry
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Once upon a time ...

this was my favourite book.

That was back in the early 90s, back when I was in my tweens and back before I had discovered the likes of Terry Pratchett or Bernard Cornwell.

I then lost track of the author for a good two decades or so, only recently re-discovering him when I happened to chance across the 'GraphicAudio' version of the novel on Audible.

I did wonder what a GraphicAudio meant: simply that it was fully dramatized with a full cast, background music, sound effects etc etc - basically, everything but the actual visual aspect! - instead of only one, maybe two, no more than a handful of people reading the story.

As for that story? Firmly in the fantasy genre - Princes, dragons, unicorns, Princesses, magic, royal politics et al - however I do remember when I first read it all those years ago thinking that I had never come across anything quite like it before. That still holds true to this day: yes, it does have all those familiar elements of a classic Good vs Evil story, but the real delight is in the subverting of expectations, and in the story of Rupert and Julia and the DarkWood / Blue Moon.
  
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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2395 KP) rated Murder Lo Mein in Books

Jan 7, 2022 (Updated Jan 7, 2022)  
Murder Lo Mein
Murder Lo Mein
Vivien Chien | 2019 | Mystery
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Killer Noodle Contest
It’s time for the annual Cleveland’s Best Noodle contest, and, as the new manager for her family’s restaurant, Lana Lee is really feeling the pressure even if she’s not the one doing the actual cooking. The first day of the contest appears to be going well until the head judge reports a suspicious fortune in his cookie. When he dies a few hours later, Lana can’t help but poke around. Will she find out what happened?

The book does a good job of quickly setting up the suspects and getting the story moving. I did feel like the pacing lagged a bit as the suspects just gave Lana the run around, but she was frustrated by that as well, so I was in good company. I do wish the minor characters were given a bit more context when they popped up again, but that was a minor issue. I appreciated the character development we got here, although I did feel like some of it was cliched. Still, I do love Lana and enjoy seeing how her life is progressing. Overall, I did enjoy this book and look forward to visiting Lana again in the future.
  
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JT (287 KP) rated The Hunter (2012) in Movies

Mar 10, 2020  
The Hunter (2012)
The Hunter (2012)
2012 | International, Drama
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
There’s something about Willem Dafoe that unnerves me a little and I’ve never been able to quite understand the reason why? Putting my bizarre fears aside for a second The Hunter is a subtle thriller set against the backdrop of the Tasmanian wilderness.

Taking that wilderness as first point of call in the film its beautifully shot, long sweeping takes across desolate bush to the panoramic visuals of mountain ranges, it’s a harsh world to which Martin (Dafoe) finds himself in.

Tasked with locating the revered Tasmanian Tiger who most believe still exists even to this day, Martin goes in search of it with an almost no questions asked mentality. Of course during his stay it’s clear that he is ruffling a few local feathers as the logging population of the town see him as just another tree hugger.

He sets up camp in the home of a local family and although not wanting to at first bonds with the two children, Sass and Bike, who instantly take a liking to him, most likely as their father has gone missing mysteriously in the region that Martin explores weeks at a time.

The film lacks a certain amount of bite to it, and there isn’t really a lot in the way of thrills for the first hour at least. We follow Martin into the wild terrain watching him set traps and record data, it may sound a bit dull but Nettheim does enough to keep us intrigued.

It’s clear that Martin is not the only one after this urban legend, and when a few more sinister occurrences arise Martin starts to fear not just for his own life but for those he has grown close to.

The film has a satisfying conclusion and one that is probably expected, for all the build up has lead to it. The acting might not live up to much but the scenery certainly gives the film an absorbing contrast.
  
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Zoe Nock (13 KP) rated The Last in Books

Jun 26, 2019  
The Last
The Last
Hanna Jameson | 2019 | Dystopia, Fiction & Poetry, Thriller
8
6.6 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
Different take on a dystopian theme (0 more)
Lost it's way a little towards the end (0 more)
What scares you the most? Ghouls, vampires, slime-fanged aliens ...or something terrible that truly could happen? For me it's definitely the latter.

Our narrator, Jon, is a historian witnessing the most monumental event of humanity but at a great distance. He feels compelled to keep a record of the people isolated with him in a vast hotel. He collects their stories and feelings in the faint hope that some sort of civilisation will survive long enough to rediscover them. Through his journal we experience what it would be like to be aware that the world was ending, billions dying, but be totally disconnected from the horrific events.

Most books set during an apocalypse are fraught with traumatic dashes, violent brushes with death, horror and misery. There are elements of that here but this book mostly poses the question of what you would do if there was little drama but lots of time to dwell on things. The people in the hotel are comparatively safe in an old hotel surrounded by forest. They wait for something to happen, for someone to rescue them, or perhaps just for their food to run out. Jon embarks on a quest to solve one cruel murder, taking him down a path of mistrust and near hysteria.

I enjoyed the blend of dystopia and murder mystery; the first half of the book reads like a modern day progeny of George Orwell and Agatha Christie. Asking your audience to imagine bombs wiping out entire countries but then drastically limiting their focus to one death amongst multitudes is startling. I also liked the references to real people and places, there were definite shades of the Cecil Hotel here for a true-crime/horror podcast junkie like me to appreciate. However, I do feel that the novel lost it's way towards the end - trying to be all things to all people perhaps. It's definitely worth reading and I'm keen to see more from this author.