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Escaping the Holocaust: A True Story
Escaping the Holocaust: A True Story
Julian Padowicz | 2018 | History & Politics, Horror, Young Adult (YA)
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Content (2 more)
Good length for young readers
Quick read
Contains spoilers, click to show
I have read several Holocaust novels and each one never fails to give me new insight into that dark period of history. This book was no different. Having very recently read The Book Thief I was curious as to how much I'd like this book since I loved the other, and overall I enjoyed the read. Overall it took me maybe three hours to read the book. It is suggested for 5th-7th graders and I agree that is an appropriate age group despite the content. While it discusses World War 2 and the Holocaust it doesn't have any gory or too intense content that younger readers couldn't enjoy it. The story itself is a narrative of ones boys experience of his time in Poland when World War 2 began. He details him and his mother's journey across Poland and eventually into Hungary. It gives an innocents perspective on the events of war. It's a short read if you are just looking for something quick and entertaining. It would also be a good book to use to introduce your child or any young reader to dark topics such as the Holocaust.
  
Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe (Deadpool Killogy, #1)
Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe (Deadpool Killogy, #1)
Cullen Bunn | 2012 | Comics & Graphic Novels
7
7.7 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
Fan-fiction in the most delightful way.
A ‘What it says on the tin’ comic including issues 1 through 4 of Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe and, in the edition read (I don’t know if it is in all editions) issues 1 through 4 of something called ‘Classics Killustrated’ in which Deadpool travels through some classic novels: Dracula, Moby Dick, Don Quixote and Little Women to name a few (and the film version of Frankenstein) killing everything that gets in his way. (Also showing where the inspiration for different Marvel characters came from.()

If you are new to comics, or just to Marvel, this may not be a great getting on point, as many characters are dropped into the story with little explanation as to who they are or what they can do (including Namor, who has around 79 years of backstory). However, these characters are really only props for Deadpool’s story, so not knowing who they are may not affect your enjoyment of what is really just a gory outing for the Merc.

Overall an interesting read, though not the greatest piece of Deadpool media in recent years.
  
Teeth Marks
Teeth Marks
Matthew Weber | 2017 | Horror
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Teeth Marks is a chilling collection of southern gothic horror. In fact, it’s because of its setting in the south that I read it–I’m rather partial to my home. With several stories ranging from normal, every day people to monsters and ghosts, there’s a story in Teeth Marks for just about every horror fan.

There are twelve stories total in this collection, each one with a different theme. My favorites were “Suburban Facebreaker”, “Cookies”, “The Red Card”, and “Waist Deep”–which is particularly gory. “Suburban Facebreaker” deals with badly behaving parent figures. “Cookies” reminds readers in the reality of karmic justice. “The Red Card” has a decidedly Twilight Zone feel to it, and “Waist Deep” deals with the effects of gossip. All of these are really great tales.

My only complaint with this collection is that it was surprisingly void of colloquialism. There were places where popular Southern phrases would have fit better. Alas, this is not enough for me to take a star away from the collection, as it was amazing.

I’d like to thank the author for providing me with a copy of this book for the purpose of unbiased review.
  
40x40

Jake (52 KP) rated Morning Star in Books

Jul 25, 2019  
Morning Star
Morning Star
Pierce Brown | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.1 (11 Ratings)
Book Rating
Woah. Sheer intensity in written form.

Let me preface why I gave this only 4 stars instead of 5.
The series overall was riddled with crude humor and repulsive language, the depth and level of which blew past my personal tolerance levels. Also, human life was never so cheap: from the immensely violent bloody beheadings to the mass deaths and gory fight scenes, grisly death could be found in probably every other chapter. In short, I could not recommend this book to my mother.

That being said, the story and saga of Darrow pulled at my heart like no book I've ever read. The themes of death, destruction, and despair that surrounded Darrow crushed me. It was only the pure dream of the "good guys" fighting for a better world that made it possible to read through the extreme agony. The themes of love, betrayal, friendship, and trust left me emotionally drained sometimes. These elements made it so that I literally couldn't put the book down.

It is an epic journey, it is a moving (although harsh) masterpiece, and I will never forget this book or series.
  
Eyes Without a Face (1960)
Eyes Without a Face (1960)
1960 | Horror

"I became obsessed with horror at a very early age. Knowing this, my dad would often recall the greatest horror film he ever saw. It was black and white, it was French, and it was, in his words, “really, really gory.” He would tell me it was about a mad surgeon who tries to restore the face of his daughter, disfigured in a car accident, by mutilating young women and stealing their fair skin. And he would go on and on about how great it was, how scary it was, and how I would simply have to see it. But . . . He could not recall the name of the film. I tried to cross-reference with horror guidebooks in the library, but without the invention of the Internet and plot keywords, I was left stumped for a long time. Years later, I saw Eyes Without a Face and called my dad immediately. I told him the crucial fact he’d been missing, the actual name of the greatest horror film he had ever seen. I then agreed with him that, yes, it was a quite extraordinary film."

Source
  
The Chestnut Man
The Chestnut Man
Søren Sveistrup | 2019 | Crime, Thriller
8
8.9 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
‘Chestnut Man, do come in’. Well, you won’t be inviting him into your home after reading this excellent but darkly disturbing book.

Given the pedigree of the author this book will receive plenty of attention so I’m not going to write a synopsis of the story. However, I will suggest that you don’t read the first chapter whilst eating your breakfast!

The various characters, big and small, are finely written with emotional depth. Soren Sveistrup clearly spent as much time thinking about the human relationships as the gory crime scenes. Although it is basically a (very high quality) police procedural it is also a deft examination of what family means in the modern world.

The mysterious identity of The Chestnut Man kept me guessing and Sveistrup provides the reader with lots of red herrings. This should be no surprise to anyone who watched Season 1 of The Killing, where you felt sure that you knew who ‘the Baddie’ was at the end of every episode only to be swiftly proven wrong. This story would make a great TV drama, I'm sure that it'll be hitting BBC4 soon.