Search
Search results
Merida Mexico Offline City Map Navigation
Travel and Business
App
"TRAVEL AROUND THE WORLD WITH OUR NEW TEXTURED TRAVEL APP TO THE MOST WONDERFUL DESTINATION AROUND...
Tripigy Navigator
Travel and Navigation
App
Tripigy Navigator is your essential travel and adventure app helping you to find places to visit and...
How to Cook Everything Vegetarian
Food & Drink and Lifestyle
App
How to Cook Everything Vegetarian®, the ultimate one-stop vegetarian cookbook—from New York Times...
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated The Mountain Between Us (2017) in Movies
Sep 28, 2021
A film not quite sure what it’s trying to be.
Idris Elba after scoring a mammoth hit with UK TV’s “Luther” has really struggled to make a breakthrough as a leading man into A-grade movies. Although he’s had some strong supporting roles (“Molly’s Game” and “Star Trek Beyond” for example) and small bit parts in the Marvel universe, when he has landed a lead role they are in films best forgotton (e.g. “Bastille Day”; “The Dark Tower”). This is seldom down to his performance. Here he is given more of a chance to shine, in what is almost a two-hander with Kate Winslet for most of the film. And he is the best thing in the film: lots of the brooding look that he is so famous for.
Elba plays Ben Bass, a neuro-surgeon stranded at Boise airport who has to get back to Baltimore for an important operation. Winslett playing Alex Martin, a famous photo-journalist, is stranded with him and equally desperate to travel as she is due to get married in New York the following day. The two club together to hire a plane from charter pilot Walter (Beau Bridges, “Homeland”, “The Descendents”). But in terrible conditions, and with a medical emergency, the plane crash lands in the snow of the Rockies, and Ben and Alex (together with Walter’s Labrador) need to struggle to survive in the wilderness. The problem is that they are an odd couple, and constantly wind each other up the wrong way.
It’s a well-worn tale that has been portrayed many times before in films like “Alive” and “The Grey”, so what makes the film live or die is the quality of the screenplay and the chemistry between the characters. Unfortunately the former by Chris Weitz (co-writer on “Rogue One“) is rather clunky, and in the latter case I just didn’t feel it. Winslett’s character is just so goddamn whiney and annoying that the thought of Ben doing anything with her other than hitting her with the shovel and feeding her to the dog seems unlikely! Winslett seems to sense that too, since I never felt she was completely invested in her character. Aside from one (impressive) monologue, I found it to be a so-so performance from her.
Aside from Elba the other star of the show is the landscape of the High Uintascape in North East Utah of the which is beautifully filmed, on location by Mandy Walker (“Hidden Figures“).
The story leaps from improbability to improbability and raises more questions than it answers: in a survival situation should you walk or stay put? If you have a dog, should you eat it* and what condiments are appropriate? Does an iced-over river have any current flowing under the ice? If they both died, would the audience care?
No spoilers with answers to any of these (*apart from the dog… just joking, they don’t!) , but the ending is as corny as you can get… but it still gave me a lump in my throat. #suckered!
Directed by Hany Abu-Assad, overall if you have a rainy afternoon you need to fill then this a perfectly pleasant movie to veg in front of, but it neither completely satisfies as a romance nor as an adventure flick but falls rather uncomfortably between the two stools.
Elba plays Ben Bass, a neuro-surgeon stranded at Boise airport who has to get back to Baltimore for an important operation. Winslett playing Alex Martin, a famous photo-journalist, is stranded with him and equally desperate to travel as she is due to get married in New York the following day. The two club together to hire a plane from charter pilot Walter (Beau Bridges, “Homeland”, “The Descendents”). But in terrible conditions, and with a medical emergency, the plane crash lands in the snow of the Rockies, and Ben and Alex (together with Walter’s Labrador) need to struggle to survive in the wilderness. The problem is that they are an odd couple, and constantly wind each other up the wrong way.
It’s a well-worn tale that has been portrayed many times before in films like “Alive” and “The Grey”, so what makes the film live or die is the quality of the screenplay and the chemistry between the characters. Unfortunately the former by Chris Weitz (co-writer on “Rogue One“) is rather clunky, and in the latter case I just didn’t feel it. Winslett’s character is just so goddamn whiney and annoying that the thought of Ben doing anything with her other than hitting her with the shovel and feeding her to the dog seems unlikely! Winslett seems to sense that too, since I never felt she was completely invested in her character. Aside from one (impressive) monologue, I found it to be a so-so performance from her.
Aside from Elba the other star of the show is the landscape of the High Uintascape in North East Utah of the which is beautifully filmed, on location by Mandy Walker (“Hidden Figures“).
The story leaps from improbability to improbability and raises more questions than it answers: in a survival situation should you walk or stay put? If you have a dog, should you eat it* and what condiments are appropriate? Does an iced-over river have any current flowing under the ice? If they both died, would the audience care?
No spoilers with answers to any of these (*apart from the dog… just joking, they don’t!) , but the ending is as corny as you can get… but it still gave me a lump in my throat. #suckered!
Directed by Hany Abu-Assad, overall if you have a rainy afternoon you need to fill then this a perfectly pleasant movie to veg in front of, but it neither completely satisfies as a romance nor as an adventure flick but falls rather uncomfortably between the two stools.
Laura Doe (1350 KP) rated Life, Death and Biscuits in Books
Apr 4, 2022
This book was an interesting look at the life of a critical care nurse during the Covid-19 pandemic. It was both heartbreaking and heartwarming in places and it was interesting to learn what exactly a critical care nurse is tasked with daily.
However, this has not been my favourite medical memoir, having read Adam Kay’s This Is Going To Hurt just before starting this book. While I liked that the emails that Anthea originally sent out were included, they became very repetitive and I started to become a little bit bored of reading about the same things. I understood that when they were sent out, they were a week or so apart from each other so it may have been necessary for the repetition, but I just don’t think that it worked well within a book.
I also started to get annoyed at the way that Anthea referred to young doctors and belittled them (they were so young they still had acne or a doctor fainted within 2 hours of starting work on the Covid ICU) and how she repeatedly told the reader that the nurses that were sent to help weren’t trained enough and weren’t giving the best care to their patients. It was like she forgot that these nurses had been pulled out of their specialties and thrown into a place where they had to learn new skills, I would bet that Anthea couldn’t work in the areas that these nurses came from to the same standard as them either.
I also got frustrated and felt that she was trying to make us feel sorry for the nurses who were fed three times a day during the start of the pandemic and were forever being gifted snacks, gift bags and hampers and how later on during the second wave she said that they did their job without the discounts, without the free coffee and without a pay rise. While these nurses really did go through hell and I wouldn’t wish it on anybody, the hospital nurses received a lot more than other nurses (especially community nurses), support workers and care home staff who worked tirelessly through the pandemic caring for those who weren’t in the hospitals. The only difference being that they didn’t have the luxury that Anthea and her team had of the food and endless “PPE hugs” whilst still working in the strangest times. Another sentence that stuck out to me was “only nurses talk of food while the aroma of faeces fills the air”, which is not true at all. Anyone who works within the health and social care sector and deals with the personal care of people have the same sense of humour and the same outlooks as many nurses but often get forgotten about.
While this book was interesting to begin, I found from about 40% through I was starting to get very annoyed by the repetition and the self-congratulatory writing that I wasn’t sure if I could finish the book. I think the book could have been much shorter than it was, but I also think that anyone who worked from home or was furloughed during the pandemic should read this to understand how hard it was to work on the front lines while most were enjoying the glorious weather and all of the lockdown activities that went on.
However, this has not been my favourite medical memoir, having read Adam Kay’s This Is Going To Hurt just before starting this book. While I liked that the emails that Anthea originally sent out were included, they became very repetitive and I started to become a little bit bored of reading about the same things. I understood that when they were sent out, they were a week or so apart from each other so it may have been necessary for the repetition, but I just don’t think that it worked well within a book.
I also started to get annoyed at the way that Anthea referred to young doctors and belittled them (they were so young they still had acne or a doctor fainted within 2 hours of starting work on the Covid ICU) and how she repeatedly told the reader that the nurses that were sent to help weren’t trained enough and weren’t giving the best care to their patients. It was like she forgot that these nurses had been pulled out of their specialties and thrown into a place where they had to learn new skills, I would bet that Anthea couldn’t work in the areas that these nurses came from to the same standard as them either.
I also got frustrated and felt that she was trying to make us feel sorry for the nurses who were fed three times a day during the start of the pandemic and were forever being gifted snacks, gift bags and hampers and how later on during the second wave she said that they did their job without the discounts, without the free coffee and without a pay rise. While these nurses really did go through hell and I wouldn’t wish it on anybody, the hospital nurses received a lot more than other nurses (especially community nurses), support workers and care home staff who worked tirelessly through the pandemic caring for those who weren’t in the hospitals. The only difference being that they didn’t have the luxury that Anthea and her team had of the food and endless “PPE hugs” whilst still working in the strangest times. Another sentence that stuck out to me was “only nurses talk of food while the aroma of faeces fills the air”, which is not true at all. Anyone who works within the health and social care sector and deals with the personal care of people have the same sense of humour and the same outlooks as many nurses but often get forgotten about.
While this book was interesting to begin, I found from about 40% through I was starting to get very annoyed by the repetition and the self-congratulatory writing that I wasn’t sure if I could finish the book. I think the book could have been much shorter than it was, but I also think that anyone who worked from home or was furloughed during the pandemic should read this to understand how hard it was to work on the front lines while most were enjoying the glorious weather and all of the lockdown activities that went on.
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated Transformers Rise of the Beasts (2023) in Movies
Jun 6, 2023
The latest in the long-running and popular Transformer series has arrived with “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts”. Taking a cue from the recent “Bumblebee” movie, the movie cleverly serves not only as a prequel but as a platform to introduce a series of stories leading up to the original films.
It is learned that a planet-destroying evil is fixated on obtaining a key that will allow it to travel to any point in the universe to continue its reign of destruction. The animal-based Maximals are able to escape with the key and hide it on Earth where they will also remain in secret as guardians.
Flash forward to 1994 when Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos), following his stint in the Army is looking to find gainful employment to help his mother as well as his ailing brother. Despite being a wizard with electronics Noah is not considered to be a team player which has hampered his job prospects and leads him to consider criminal activities in an effort to obtain much-needed funds for his brother's medical bills.
In a moment of desperation, Noah attempts to steal a loaded Porsche but finds he is unable to follow through on the act as it is against his moral compass. Unknown to Noah the car is actually an Autobot named Mirage (Pete Davidson), who soon enlists Noah to help them find the key which they have recently detected.
This does not sit well with Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen), who believes that humanity will only act in your best interests and that his crew needs to find the key so that they can return to their war-ravaged, Cybertron.
It is learned that a crafty but perpetually overlooked museum intern named Elena (Dominique Fishback), has accidentally activated the key and in doing so has allowed the evil Scourge (Peter Dinklage), and his minions to zero in on its location as he attempts to obtain the key for his master and is willing to destroy all were in his way.
Noah and Elena soon find themselves paired with their unexpected allies as they race to stop the evil from obtaining both parts of the key and find themselves with some unexpected allies in the form of the Maximals.
What follows is a frantic action-adventure film that cleverly combines humor, action, dazzling visual effects, and a tail that is part Indiana Jones, and Transformers with a surprising amount of humanity.
It would be easy for the human cast the overshadowed by the massive and visually spectacular creations that frequently transform and battle it out across numerous action sequences. However, director Steven Caple Jr. takes advantage of his young talent both of whom are clearly potential stars in the making as they provide a grounding humanity to the film which makes it more than a lavish FX showcase.
The film also has an impressive era-specific soundtrack and a scene near the end that offers up some intriguing and exciting possibilities for the future. "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" is a highly enjoyable summer action adventure as well as one the more enjoyable films in the franchise and should delight fans of the franchise and has me for the first time in a long time eagerly awaiting what comes next.
4 stars out of 5
It is learned that a planet-destroying evil is fixated on obtaining a key that will allow it to travel to any point in the universe to continue its reign of destruction. The animal-based Maximals are able to escape with the key and hide it on Earth where they will also remain in secret as guardians.
Flash forward to 1994 when Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos), following his stint in the Army is looking to find gainful employment to help his mother as well as his ailing brother. Despite being a wizard with electronics Noah is not considered to be a team player which has hampered his job prospects and leads him to consider criminal activities in an effort to obtain much-needed funds for his brother's medical bills.
In a moment of desperation, Noah attempts to steal a loaded Porsche but finds he is unable to follow through on the act as it is against his moral compass. Unknown to Noah the car is actually an Autobot named Mirage (Pete Davidson), who soon enlists Noah to help them find the key which they have recently detected.
This does not sit well with Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen), who believes that humanity will only act in your best interests and that his crew needs to find the key so that they can return to their war-ravaged, Cybertron.
It is learned that a crafty but perpetually overlooked museum intern named Elena (Dominique Fishback), has accidentally activated the key and in doing so has allowed the evil Scourge (Peter Dinklage), and his minions to zero in on its location as he attempts to obtain the key for his master and is willing to destroy all were in his way.
Noah and Elena soon find themselves paired with their unexpected allies as they race to stop the evil from obtaining both parts of the key and find themselves with some unexpected allies in the form of the Maximals.
What follows is a frantic action-adventure film that cleverly combines humor, action, dazzling visual effects, and a tail that is part Indiana Jones, and Transformers with a surprising amount of humanity.
It would be easy for the human cast the overshadowed by the massive and visually spectacular creations that frequently transform and battle it out across numerous action sequences. However, director Steven Caple Jr. takes advantage of his young talent both of whom are clearly potential stars in the making as they provide a grounding humanity to the film which makes it more than a lavish FX showcase.
The film also has an impressive era-specific soundtrack and a scene near the end that offers up some intriguing and exciting possibilities for the future. "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" is a highly enjoyable summer action adventure as well as one the more enjoyable films in the franchise and should delight fans of the franchise and has me for the first time in a long time eagerly awaiting what comes next.
4 stars out of 5
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Now That You Mention It in Books
Jun 5, 2018
Lovely book with a great protagonist and supporting cast
Nora Stuart has overcome a lot. After a combination of relentless bullying and being overlooked and ignored in high school (even by her sister, Lily), she earned a scholarship to Tufts on her way to becoming a gastroenterologist. She thought the worst was behind her as she found happiness with her medical practice and her boyfriend, but then boom it all changed in a second--literally--when she stepped off a curb and was hit by a car. So she does the only thing she can think of: go home. For the first time in fifteen years, Nora finds herself back in Maine on Scupper Island, living with her Mom and sharing a room with her teenage niece, Poe. The townspeople still think of her as "Sharon's other daughter," and being home doesn't exactly bring back good memories. But Nora's banged up (inside and out); her younger sister is in jail; and Poe clearly could use some stability. Maybe, just maybe, coming home will be a much-needed chance to start over.
This is the type of book where you probably know how things will turn out (disgraced woman returns to her former home, which just happens to be an island). Still, in a way, I think they are the hardest to write, because, for me, they require such well-written plot with an excellent cast to pull it off. To get past it all, you need a really strong protagonist and a truly "lovable" love interest. You get all that in spades here. I'd never read a Kristan Higgins novel before, but had heard such good things about this book (especially from my Goodreads friend, Melissa) that I couldn't resist picking it up. I'm so glad I did. This novel was such a delight and such a good choice to read during my beach vacation with my daughters.
I really enjoyed Nora from the beginning: she felt real, and her love for her dog and her family was palatable. She made her job and her situation (which wasn't always easy) a pleasure to read. The supporting cast was also wonderful. Nora's mom is a total trip--I could just picture her reticent Maine self. Add in her niece, Poe, whom Higgins managed to keep from being a cliche, and another teenager, Audrey, who was a delight--I loved them. Even better, all the characters added to some hilarious moments, even among some of the serious parts of the book. There were some downright laugh out loud scenes in this book, particularly a dinner party on Nora's boat--featuring some great moments with her fellow Scupper Island residents--and a ham dinner at her Mom's. I couldn't believe how into the story I was or how funny and real all these people felt. Nora's love of Harry Potter was rather endearing as well.
The novel also dealt with its serious moments deftly as well. Nora has to overcome so much (almost an overload it felt), and the book handled the serious parts appropriately, with both gravitas and humor. She was a strong character, and I found myself very touched by some sweet pieces in the novel. There's a lot more to this one than meets the eye with its sunny cover.
Overall, this was a lovely book--fun yet serious--with a great protagonist and a wonderful supporting cast. It was downright laugh out loud funny at parts and just a refreshing, enjoyable read. I'm kicking myself for not requesting Higgins' latest ARC but will certainly be reading a lot more of her books in the future.
This is the type of book where you probably know how things will turn out (disgraced woman returns to her former home, which just happens to be an island). Still, in a way, I think they are the hardest to write, because, for me, they require such well-written plot with an excellent cast to pull it off. To get past it all, you need a really strong protagonist and a truly "lovable" love interest. You get all that in spades here. I'd never read a Kristan Higgins novel before, but had heard such good things about this book (especially from my Goodreads friend, Melissa) that I couldn't resist picking it up. I'm so glad I did. This novel was such a delight and such a good choice to read during my beach vacation with my daughters.
I really enjoyed Nora from the beginning: she felt real, and her love for her dog and her family was palatable. She made her job and her situation (which wasn't always easy) a pleasure to read. The supporting cast was also wonderful. Nora's mom is a total trip--I could just picture her reticent Maine self. Add in her niece, Poe, whom Higgins managed to keep from being a cliche, and another teenager, Audrey, who was a delight--I loved them. Even better, all the characters added to some hilarious moments, even among some of the serious parts of the book. There were some downright laugh out loud scenes in this book, particularly a dinner party on Nora's boat--featuring some great moments with her fellow Scupper Island residents--and a ham dinner at her Mom's. I couldn't believe how into the story I was or how funny and real all these people felt. Nora's love of Harry Potter was rather endearing as well.
The novel also dealt with its serious moments deftly as well. Nora has to overcome so much (almost an overload it felt), and the book handled the serious parts appropriately, with both gravitas and humor. She was a strong character, and I found myself very touched by some sweet pieces in the novel. There's a lot more to this one than meets the eye with its sunny cover.
Overall, this was a lovely book--fun yet serious--with a great protagonist and a wonderful supporting cast. It was downright laugh out loud funny at parts and just a refreshing, enjoyable read. I'm kicking myself for not requesting Higgins' latest ARC but will certainly be reading a lot more of her books in the future.
Hazel (1853 KP) rated The Storyteller in Books
Dec 7, 2018
This is my Book of the Month for May 2014. You can check out and reblog my Tumblr post here: http://fuzzysparrow.tumblr.com/post/87410836442
Jodi Picoult is the bestselling author of numerous novels, with <i>My Sister’s Keeper</i> being the most well known, perhaps. All of her stories are well written although it is still possible to notice improvements in the writing over the years right up until now with her latest, <i>The Storyteller</i>, which quite possibly could be her best yet.
Arguably, <i>The Storyteller</i> does not quite read as a Jodi Picoult novel is known to. This is, in part, because of the nature of the story. Most of her previous books deal with medical ethics and/or court cases, whereas this story contains neither. <i>The Storyteller</i> contains a combination of past and present - the main focus being on the Holocaust.
Four people narrate the novel: two in the present day and two giving an account of their experience during the Second World War. It begins with Sage Singer, a 25 year old, hermit-like woman with a disfiguring facial scar – the result of a terrible accident, one that also led to the death of her mother. For the past three years Sage has been participating in a grief group – a place where people who have lost loved ones can come together and talk about their feelings. After three years surely Sage would no longer need the help of the group? However she still attends, not because she finds it helpful, but for the opposite reason. She even says herself: “If it were helpful I wouldn’t still be coming.” It unfolds that she still blames herself for her mother’s death despite the reassurances that it was an accident and not her fault.
It is through the grief group that Sage meets an elderly man, Josef Weber. After becoming friendly and discovering that Sage comes from a Jewish family, Josef confesses to something terrible – he was a Nazi during the war. He killed people. He wants Sage to represent all the Jews he killed and forgive him. Then he wants her to help him die.
Whilst, Josef recounts his experience of being part of the Nazi party, another account is also given. Minka, Sage’s grandmother, describes the terrors she faced as an imprisoned Jew suffering fates such as the deaths of all her family and friends and her time in Auschwitz. Another element to the novel is the vampire story Minka wrote as a teenager. This is interspersed between the other chapters of the book. Unwittingly, Minka’s fictional tale reflects the alienation and destruction of the Jews. The final character is Leo who, like Sage, is narrating the present day, and trying to locate ex-Nazi members in order for them to be punished by the government.
One thing to praise Picoult for, not just in <i>The Storyteller</i>, but also in all her novels is the amount of in-depth research she undertakes to make her stories as accurate as possible even though they are fictional. Minka’s account was written is such a way that it was almost believable that Picoult had been there and experienced it herself. She even learnt to bake bread so that she could write from the point of view of a baker. This is pure dedication!
<i>The Storyteller</i> is an amazing, beautiful book, which is not purely an enjoyable read. It informs, shocks and stays with you for a long time. You will question your own morals and ability to forgive. Is anyone entirely evil? Is anyone entirely good? Perhaps we are both, so why should anyone have the right to treat others as inferior from themselves?
Jodi Picoult is the bestselling author of numerous novels, with <i>My Sister’s Keeper</i> being the most well known, perhaps. All of her stories are well written although it is still possible to notice improvements in the writing over the years right up until now with her latest, <i>The Storyteller</i>, which quite possibly could be her best yet.
Arguably, <i>The Storyteller</i> does not quite read as a Jodi Picoult novel is known to. This is, in part, because of the nature of the story. Most of her previous books deal with medical ethics and/or court cases, whereas this story contains neither. <i>The Storyteller</i> contains a combination of past and present - the main focus being on the Holocaust.
Four people narrate the novel: two in the present day and two giving an account of their experience during the Second World War. It begins with Sage Singer, a 25 year old, hermit-like woman with a disfiguring facial scar – the result of a terrible accident, one that also led to the death of her mother. For the past three years Sage has been participating in a grief group – a place where people who have lost loved ones can come together and talk about their feelings. After three years surely Sage would no longer need the help of the group? However she still attends, not because she finds it helpful, but for the opposite reason. She even says herself: “If it were helpful I wouldn’t still be coming.” It unfolds that she still blames herself for her mother’s death despite the reassurances that it was an accident and not her fault.
It is through the grief group that Sage meets an elderly man, Josef Weber. After becoming friendly and discovering that Sage comes from a Jewish family, Josef confesses to something terrible – he was a Nazi during the war. He killed people. He wants Sage to represent all the Jews he killed and forgive him. Then he wants her to help him die.
Whilst, Josef recounts his experience of being part of the Nazi party, another account is also given. Minka, Sage’s grandmother, describes the terrors she faced as an imprisoned Jew suffering fates such as the deaths of all her family and friends and her time in Auschwitz. Another element to the novel is the vampire story Minka wrote as a teenager. This is interspersed between the other chapters of the book. Unwittingly, Minka’s fictional tale reflects the alienation and destruction of the Jews. The final character is Leo who, like Sage, is narrating the present day, and trying to locate ex-Nazi members in order for them to be punished by the government.
One thing to praise Picoult for, not just in <i>The Storyteller</i>, but also in all her novels is the amount of in-depth research she undertakes to make her stories as accurate as possible even though they are fictional. Minka’s account was written is such a way that it was almost believable that Picoult had been there and experienced it herself. She even learnt to bake bread so that she could write from the point of view of a baker. This is pure dedication!
<i>The Storyteller</i> is an amazing, beautiful book, which is not purely an enjoyable read. It informs, shocks and stays with you for a long time. You will question your own morals and ability to forgive. Is anyone entirely evil? Is anyone entirely good? Perhaps we are both, so why should anyone have the right to treat others as inferior from themselves?
postapocalypticplayground (27 KP) rated Heart of Thorns (Heart of Thorns #1) in Books
Aug 13, 2018
Firstly, I did enjoy Heart of Thorns, I found it an easy going read with lots going on and some twists I genuinely didn't see coming. Whilst Mia is the MC, I have to say that Quin does actually steal the show. As far as character development goes his transformation from formal and unemotional prince to what he becomes is a real joy to read with so many facets of his personality. I liked the way that the history of the world we find ourselves in is laid out conversationally rather than in one big chunk. The journey Mia and Quin find themselves on is long and for the most part without peril so it's the perfect way to fill the time. Given Quin's sheltered upbringing at the castle it's not so far fetched that given his fathers fears, he would know very little of the surrounding lands. Mia does struggle to get out her one dimension though, which I don't know if is by design to explain things later on or whether she simply needed a bit more breathing room and perhaps a different focus from time to time. Things really felt like she was too transfixed on righting the wrongs of the past to focus upon the present dangers.
The book also raises a lot about feminism, I have to say that it take a while to get to this point and to start I felt it was yet again another misrepresentation that Fighter = Feminist but thankfully all that changed. It makes much of the differences in society between men and women and how women need to fight to be anything but a pair of legs that needed to open. The origins of the magic within the story are really quite heartbreaking and born out of a necessity for self preservation which naturally becomes misrepresented and skewed over time to make magic a true evil which is feared by men. There is an element of the macabre in the King's fascination with the slaughter of those with magic and his trophy room will have your stomach clenching.
This book does misdirection well and it's all the more easier to achieve with a large supporting cast. I genuinely was left with a number of WTF moments as the story went on, I had to re-read a few pages just to confirm that the twist was as awesome as it was and this book has them in spades towards the end.
However, all this needs to be offset by some things that made it fall just short for me. It's clear that Mia has studied medicine, but her overly complex use of medical descriptions of bodily parts is unnecessary and makes for jarring reading "She dug her fingertips into the bridge of her nose. 'The sphenoid bone. It's like my whole cerebrum is on fire." Why not just say she had a headache? It's also mega tropey - I don't as a rule mind tropes in books, they exist for a reason but this book turned out so many including the ever present MC as a huntress with the sister who dreamed of marrying a nice prince, that I found my eyes rolling. There is also a lot of tick boxing going on in respect of LGBT diversity, there was a neon sign for one character as if the author was labouring the point - the disappointing thing is that this element did fit organically into the story in a really beautiful yet heartbreaking way at a later time which made me feel that the earlier depiction was somewhat unnecessary.
Whilst there are some failings, this is an enjoyable read with plenty of magic, mystery, and misdirection and if you are in the mood for an adventure you will hopefully enjoy Heart of Thorns
3*
The book also raises a lot about feminism, I have to say that it take a while to get to this point and to start I felt it was yet again another misrepresentation that Fighter = Feminist but thankfully all that changed. It makes much of the differences in society between men and women and how women need to fight to be anything but a pair of legs that needed to open. The origins of the magic within the story are really quite heartbreaking and born out of a necessity for self preservation which naturally becomes misrepresented and skewed over time to make magic a true evil which is feared by men. There is an element of the macabre in the King's fascination with the slaughter of those with magic and his trophy room will have your stomach clenching.
This book does misdirection well and it's all the more easier to achieve with a large supporting cast. I genuinely was left with a number of WTF moments as the story went on, I had to re-read a few pages just to confirm that the twist was as awesome as it was and this book has them in spades towards the end.
However, all this needs to be offset by some things that made it fall just short for me. It's clear that Mia has studied medicine, but her overly complex use of medical descriptions of bodily parts is unnecessary and makes for jarring reading "She dug her fingertips into the bridge of her nose. 'The sphenoid bone. It's like my whole cerebrum is on fire." Why not just say she had a headache? It's also mega tropey - I don't as a rule mind tropes in books, they exist for a reason but this book turned out so many including the ever present MC as a huntress with the sister who dreamed of marrying a nice prince, that I found my eyes rolling. There is also a lot of tick boxing going on in respect of LGBT diversity, there was a neon sign for one character as if the author was labouring the point - the disappointing thing is that this element did fit organically into the story in a really beautiful yet heartbreaking way at a later time which made me feel that the earlier depiction was somewhat unnecessary.
Whilst there are some failings, this is an enjoyable read with plenty of magic, mystery, and misdirection and if you are in the mood for an adventure you will hopefully enjoy Heart of Thorns
3*
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated the PC version of Battlefield 1 in Video Games
Jun 19, 2019
Electronic Arts and Dice have crafted a thrilling entry into the Battlefield series with the World War I themed Battlefield 1. The visually stunning game is dripping with authenticity which is seen in every frame of the game. The weapons, uniforms, vehicles, tactics, and technology as a historians dream brought to life.
Players to take part in the solo campaigns find themselves reliving various battles from the point of those who participated in them. There is a tank mission behind enemy lines in Europe, a battle in the Italian mountainside, a thrilling aerial scenario, a very intense and emotional story set against the battle of Gallipoli, and a thrilling desert adventure featuring Lawrence of Arabia himself.
One of the great things about the game is that it takes modern gameplay tactics such as trying to secure an objective or defeat enemy units and infuses it with a sense of the past. Weapons are slow to load, are not always the most accurate at a distance, and have a crudeness about them that is refreshing in this era of games featuring advanced weaponry and technology. This does require a bit of a learning curve as there have been times where I would unload a full magazine on an enemy player and multiplayer mode only to see them survive and dispatch me with one or two shots from pistol. Once you start to get the way the weapons work and develop strategies to work within their strengths and limitations, you’ll soon find yourself able to make solid progress in the game.
The solo play campaigns allow players to set a difficulty that is best suited for their style of play and have very interesting and gripping narratives.
Many players will keep their focus on the multiplayer portion which has campaign objectives as well as quick matches. This does take a bit of learning as the landscapes are large and there are plenty of places for players with higher grade weapons to pick up new players before they even know an enemy is near. Naturally your weaponry choices to get better as your on-field accomplishments merit them it is also important to note that due to the vast landscapes littered with foxholes, trenches, villages, and other locales, wide open areas where players are very exposed and vulnerable are numerous.
Getting a tank often seems like a big accomplishment but when you realize that the vehicle is slow to turn it is a sitting duck for enemy artillery, explosives, and other tanks. Strategy and teamwork are vital to the success of any mission especially when players can move up and bring in one of the massive zeppelins into the battle. I really enjoyed flying the planes of the era but had to remember that there reduced speed made it very difficult turn especially for somebody who was used to strafing a target, flying into the distance, making a wide turn, and then attacking again. I found myself that many times with the leaving the battlefield warning and was not able to turn fast enough to get myself back where I needed to be.
As somebody who studied history extensively in college, it was amazing to get a sense of the war the on the pages of history books and learn how in this era of new technology such as planes, tanks, gas, machine guns, Zeppelins, and more, the capacity to do devastating damage upon an enemy was massive as truly technology greatly overshadowed the tactics and medical abilities of the era.
Battlefield 1 is a glorious achievement and gaming as it takes an error that has been largely ignored and brings it forward incredible detail combined with thrilling battles that are loaded with customization options that will keep players playing well into the future. With the planned DLC content to come, I’m very interested to see what direction the developers will take it as there are countless possibilities ahead.
http://sknr.net/2016/10/30/battlefield-1/
Players to take part in the solo campaigns find themselves reliving various battles from the point of those who participated in them. There is a tank mission behind enemy lines in Europe, a battle in the Italian mountainside, a thrilling aerial scenario, a very intense and emotional story set against the battle of Gallipoli, and a thrilling desert adventure featuring Lawrence of Arabia himself.
One of the great things about the game is that it takes modern gameplay tactics such as trying to secure an objective or defeat enemy units and infuses it with a sense of the past. Weapons are slow to load, are not always the most accurate at a distance, and have a crudeness about them that is refreshing in this era of games featuring advanced weaponry and technology. This does require a bit of a learning curve as there have been times where I would unload a full magazine on an enemy player and multiplayer mode only to see them survive and dispatch me with one or two shots from pistol. Once you start to get the way the weapons work and develop strategies to work within their strengths and limitations, you’ll soon find yourself able to make solid progress in the game.
The solo play campaigns allow players to set a difficulty that is best suited for their style of play and have very interesting and gripping narratives.
Many players will keep their focus on the multiplayer portion which has campaign objectives as well as quick matches. This does take a bit of learning as the landscapes are large and there are plenty of places for players with higher grade weapons to pick up new players before they even know an enemy is near. Naturally your weaponry choices to get better as your on-field accomplishments merit them it is also important to note that due to the vast landscapes littered with foxholes, trenches, villages, and other locales, wide open areas where players are very exposed and vulnerable are numerous.
Getting a tank often seems like a big accomplishment but when you realize that the vehicle is slow to turn it is a sitting duck for enemy artillery, explosives, and other tanks. Strategy and teamwork are vital to the success of any mission especially when players can move up and bring in one of the massive zeppelins into the battle. I really enjoyed flying the planes of the era but had to remember that there reduced speed made it very difficult turn especially for somebody who was used to strafing a target, flying into the distance, making a wide turn, and then attacking again. I found myself that many times with the leaving the battlefield warning and was not able to turn fast enough to get myself back where I needed to be.
As somebody who studied history extensively in college, it was amazing to get a sense of the war the on the pages of history books and learn how in this era of new technology such as planes, tanks, gas, machine guns, Zeppelins, and more, the capacity to do devastating damage upon an enemy was massive as truly technology greatly overshadowed the tactics and medical abilities of the era.
Battlefield 1 is a glorious achievement and gaming as it takes an error that has been largely ignored and brings it forward incredible detail combined with thrilling battles that are loaded with customization options that will keep players playing well into the future. With the planned DLC content to come, I’m very interested to see what direction the developers will take it as there are countless possibilities ahead.
http://sknr.net/2016/10/30/battlefield-1/