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Ross (3284 KP) rated The Shattered Realm of Ardor Benn in Books
Mar 12, 2021
Fantastic fantasy heist follow-up
I received an advance copy of this book from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
The second Ardor Benn book is another epic tale of the ruse artist taking on the royal family. The first book saw Ard's efforts depose the current king and save the dragon race (and hence the world). Sadly, the replacement royalty is no better and the Great Chain is now scattered into different, warring islands. Ard finds himself embroiled in a plot to unearth the conspiracy that the new king's dead nephew, and the rightful heir, is not actually dead.
There is also an interesting new subplot where we see a university professor tasked with discovering new Grit types (the world's magic system, whereby different materials once digested and fired by a dragon produce different magical results). This angle, like the industrial/medical revolution is surprisingly thrilling, with additional intrigue as the results become the interests of some unsavoury characters.
Ard and Raek are once again superb and quickly put together a plot to infiltrate a secret criminal underworld and discover the whereabouts of the true king. The secrecy and plotting, and use of the world's magic makes for some excellent exciting passages.
There are the usual twists and turns along the way, as the security measures in place in the secret society make it hard for Ard to progress too quickly.
As with the first book, the true nature of this strange world is unveiled a little more over the course of the book in spectacular fashion.
A wonderful fun read.
The second Ardor Benn book is another epic tale of the ruse artist taking on the royal family. The first book saw Ard's efforts depose the current king and save the dragon race (and hence the world). Sadly, the replacement royalty is no better and the Great Chain is now scattered into different, warring islands. Ard finds himself embroiled in a plot to unearth the conspiracy that the new king's dead nephew, and the rightful heir, is not actually dead.
There is also an interesting new subplot where we see a university professor tasked with discovering new Grit types (the world's magic system, whereby different materials once digested and fired by a dragon produce different magical results). This angle, like the industrial/medical revolution is surprisingly thrilling, with additional intrigue as the results become the interests of some unsavoury characters.
Ard and Raek are once again superb and quickly put together a plot to infiltrate a secret criminal underworld and discover the whereabouts of the true king. The secrecy and plotting, and use of the world's magic makes for some excellent exciting passages.
There are the usual twists and turns along the way, as the security measures in place in the secret society make it hard for Ard to progress too quickly.
As with the first book, the true nature of this strange world is unveiled a little more over the course of the book in spectacular fashion.
A wonderful fun read.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2165 KP) rated 21st Birthday in Books
Jun 2, 2021
Needed Some Careful Editing to be Good
It all starts with a woman confronting Cindy Thomas in her office at the San Francisco Chronicle. The woman is certain that something bad has happened to her daughter and granddaughter, and her son-in-law is to blame. She wants Cindy to write stories about it and post about it on her blog, but Cindy quickly turns the woman over to her friend, San Francisco detective Lindsay Boxer, who pushes the police to start an investigation and make it a priority. Sadly, it isn’t long before a dead body turns up. Will Lindsay and the rest of the Women’s Murder Club figure out what is really happening?
Usually with this series, I complain about the characters having plotlines that rarely if ever intersect. Here, I was thrilled to see that the characters, including Claire and Yuki, are working together on one case, and they all get their moments to shine. While the characters are a bit thin, we did like them all and care enough to keep reading. The plot is compelling with twists that intrigue. However, the authors can’t land it. I get what we are supposed to think happened, but in the rush to wrap things up after the final twist, we don’t get a major plot point from earlier in the book explained. Meanwhile, the editing was sloppy, including students at a high school being in class on a Saturday, missing days, and Lindsay being in two places at once near the end of the book. This reads more like a first draft that needed an editor to help polish it up instead of a finished novel.
Usually with this series, I complain about the characters having plotlines that rarely if ever intersect. Here, I was thrilled to see that the characters, including Claire and Yuki, are working together on one case, and they all get their moments to shine. While the characters are a bit thin, we did like them all and care enough to keep reading. The plot is compelling with twists that intrigue. However, the authors can’t land it. I get what we are supposed to think happened, but in the rush to wrap things up after the final twist, we don’t get a major plot point from earlier in the book explained. Meanwhile, the editing was sloppy, including students at a high school being in class on a Saturday, missing days, and Lindsay being in two places at once near the end of the book. This reads more like a first draft that needed an editor to help polish it up instead of a finished novel.
Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated High and Low (1963) in Movies
Jan 28, 2021
This movie is often touted as one of the finest non-American crime thrillers out there. It appears on many top 10 lists from renowned directors, and stands untouchable in the pantheon of post WWII Japanese cinema dealing with 20th century issues rather than samurai or traditional religious concepts. Kurasawa is known for masterpieces in both genres, and in this sphere is very much the Hitchcock of the East. The story sees self made entrepreneur Kingo Gondo, played by the ubiquitous Toshirô Mifune, being blackmailed by a kidnapper who believes he has his son, but has taken his chauffeur’s son by mistake. Cue huge moral intrigue and dilemma, leading to a chase and an unexpectedly symbolical climax and resolution.
It plays like two films for the price of one, the first a claustrophobic mood piece with a staged feel, reminding me of Hitchcock’s Rope, and the second a frantic chase movie where the forensic evidence is picked apart in intricate detail, like a less graphic Seven. The print on BFI is not great, so it actually feels older than it is. It is also pretty long at 143 minutes, and feels like it takes an age to get going. Therefore, although some moments and key images have stayed with me, I can’t honestly say I felt gripped or tense in any way. The stakes didn’t feel as high as I would have hoped for, and tonally it is a little uneven. In conclusion, it has much to offer and details in isolation are very impressive, but for me it was something of a let down.
It plays like two films for the price of one, the first a claustrophobic mood piece with a staged feel, reminding me of Hitchcock’s Rope, and the second a frantic chase movie where the forensic evidence is picked apart in intricate detail, like a less graphic Seven. The print on BFI is not great, so it actually feels older than it is. It is also pretty long at 143 minutes, and feels like it takes an age to get going. Therefore, although some moments and key images have stayed with me, I can’t honestly say I felt gripped or tense in any way. The stakes didn’t feel as high as I would have hoped for, and tonally it is a little uneven. In conclusion, it has much to offer and details in isolation are very impressive, but for me it was something of a let down.
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Hazel (2934 KP) rated Cold Christmas (Antonia Hawkins #4) in Books
May 10, 2020
This is yet another book off my now decreasing "to-be-read" pile and another book that I am left asking myself, why did I leave it so long to read it?
Cold Christmas is the fourth in the Antonia Hawkins series but only the second I have had the pleasure of reading. I read the first in the series, The Advent Killer, and found that to be very satisfying and it has been nice to catch up with DCI Hawkins and her team and although I think this works well as a standalone, in order to appreciate the main characters, I do think reading at least one of the previous books would be a good idea because although you get some of the backstory, you don't truly appreciate or understand DCI Hawkins motivations without previous insight.
From the cover and the title, you might think this would be a Christmas story but you would be wrong ... what we have here is a dark thriller written at good pace with intrigue abound and excellent characters. The method used by the killer to murder his victims is ingenious and not one I have come across before which made a nice change and with a good mix of investigation into this complex case and into the equally complex personal life of DCI Hawkins, this is, once again, a satisfying read ... well, that is until the end ... oh Mr Gunn you are mean!
Despite this, I will be reading more from this author and I want to thank Penguin UK - Michael Joseph and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review.
Cold Christmas is the fourth in the Antonia Hawkins series but only the second I have had the pleasure of reading. I read the first in the series, The Advent Killer, and found that to be very satisfying and it has been nice to catch up with DCI Hawkins and her team and although I think this works well as a standalone, in order to appreciate the main characters, I do think reading at least one of the previous books would be a good idea because although you get some of the backstory, you don't truly appreciate or understand DCI Hawkins motivations without previous insight.
From the cover and the title, you might think this would be a Christmas story but you would be wrong ... what we have here is a dark thriller written at good pace with intrigue abound and excellent characters. The method used by the killer to murder his victims is ingenious and not one I have come across before which made a nice change and with a good mix of investigation into this complex case and into the equally complex personal life of DCI Hawkins, this is, once again, a satisfying read ... well, that is until the end ... oh Mr Gunn you are mean!
Despite this, I will be reading more from this author and I want to thank Penguin UK - Michael Joseph and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review.
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