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The Taking
Dean Koontz | 2004 | Fiction & Poetry, Horror, Thriller
4
5.5 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
67 of 220
Book
The Taking
By Dean Koontz
⭐️⭐️

On the morning that will mark the end of the world they have known, Molly and Niel Sloan awaken to the drumbeat of rain. It has haunted their dreams through the night, and now they find an eerily luminous and golden downpour that drenches their small Californian mountain town. As hours pass they hear news of extreme weather phenomena across the globe. An obscuring fog turns once familiar streets into a ghostly labyrinth. By evening, the town has lost all communication with the outside world. First TV and radio go dead, then the Internet and phone lines. The young couple gathers together with some neighbours, sensing a threat they cannot identify or even imagine. The night brings strange noises, and mysterious lights drift among the trees. The rain diminishes with the dawn but a moody grey-purple twilight prevails. Within the misty gloom the small band will encounter something that reveals in a terrifying instant what is happening to the world -- something that is hunting them with ruthless efficiency.

I really liked how this started and it was doing ok then I got bored by the end I was glad it was ending. Someone told me this was one of his best books it kinda puts me off reading anymore if that’s the case.
  
French Quarter Fright Night
French Quarter Fright Night
Ellen Byron | 2024 | Mystery
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Frightful Time with the New Neighbor
Ricki James-Diaz is leading the efforts of the Bon Vee staff to put on the best haunted house New Orleans has seen this Halloween. Those efforts are being hampered by their new next-door neighbor, who is constantly making complaints about them. Ricki is shocked when she learns who has bought the house – mega movie star Blaine Taggart, the best friend of her late husband. Ricki had hoped to never see Blaine again, but things get complicated when another dead body turns up on Bon Vee property. Can Ricki once again figure out what happened?

I’m so glad that a new publisher picked up this series. It was wonderful to visit Ricki and her friends again. I enjoyed getting to see some of the relationships grow in this book, even if Ricki’s relationship with the detective isn’t really realistic. I also enjoyed seeing Hollywood pop up here. The mystery itself is strong with some nice surprises before we reach the logical ending. It was fun to visit the city during Halloween. As always, I laughed several times while reading. We also get some recipes inspired by vintage cookbooks at the end of the book, including several appropriate for the season. Fans will be just as happy as I was that Ricki and her friends are back.
  
40x40

David McK (3854 KP) rated Jurassic World: Dominion (2022) in Movies

Aug 14, 2022 (Updated Dec 20, 2025)  
Jurassic World: Dominion (2022)
Jurassic World: Dominion (2022)
2022 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
5
6.5 (16 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Insect park?
Jurassic Park (the original) is a masterpiece of cinema.

Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World has it's moments (the raptors in the long grass), but also has the annoying-kid-doing-gymnastics-while-a-Raptor-watches.

Jurassic Park 3 takes some scenes from the original novel (most noticeably the aviary) that were left out of the previous films, but also has the stupid ringing phone that a dinosaur has swallowed that remind the viewer too much (and not in a good way) of Peter Pan and Captain Hook crocodile.

Jurassic World follows the same format as Jurassic Park, except goes larger. It's not a bad movie.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom goes in a completely different direction, going the haunted house route in the second half, and ends with the dinosaurs released on the mainland.

Which is where Jurassic World: Dominion picks up, roughly four years on from the ending of Fallen Kingdom. Lots have been made of the fact that this also reunites the original cast - Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum - alongside the newer duo of Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard.

The problem, however, is that more is quite often less, which I found to be the case here - plenty of action (and dinosaurs), yes, but also, well, just missing something :(