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40x40

David McK (3731 KP) rated Shield of Thunder (Troy #2) in Books

Jan 8, 2023  
Shield of Thunder (Troy #2)
Shield of Thunder (Troy #2)
David Gemmell | 2006 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
6
6.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
The mid part in David Gemmell's final trilogy of books, all of which were a re-telling of the epic story of the Fall of Troy, and which were finished by his wife after he passed away while still writing the final installment ( Fall of Kings).

This is also very much a book of discrete parts, starting by focusing largely on Odysseus in the first section and the new characters of Banokles, Kalliades and Piria, before moving onto Troy proper (and recurring characters from the first book) in the second part and then taking a large jump forward in time to the third (and final) part, when war has broken out between the Greek kingdoms of the 'Great Green'.

For my part, I actually found the first section of the book the most enjoyable; the section that concerned itself mostly with Odysseus. While the next section was necessary to show how the war (eventually) came about, and with third part to show the impact that war would have, I felt that (unfortunately) at times it fell almost too much into that age-old trap for the mid-part of trilogies: all build-up, with no real pay-off.
  
40x40

A Life In High Definition (2 KP) rated Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015) in Movies

Dec 31, 2018  
Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
2015 | Mystery
9
8.0 (76 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
The filming style, the action scenes, the reality of poverty traps (0 more)
Not showing the mum changing when she moved in with Eggsy (0 more)
Stylish, slick spy caper
Contains spoilers, click to show
I watched this film when it was released in 2015 & thoroughly enjoyed it on tv a night or two ago. Perhaps it was seeing that age wasn’t a barrier for Colin Firth to be a sprightly James Bond style spy or the enjoyable action scenes but o found it every bit as entertaining as the first watch through.
We start with a seemingly perfectly executed interrogation which goes wrong when a young recruit gets blown up to save the rest of his team. A medal & instructions on how to call for help are left with young son, Eggsy, & his unhappy mother.
Fast forward some years and Eggsy is grown, living on a generalised Tough estate with his mum, her all round abusive husband and his new baby sister. A dramatic contrast to the smooth, sophisticated upper class gentlemen of the Kingsmen who are preparing to choose a new recruit after losing a member to a choppy new enemy.

Eggsy gets the opportunity to use the medal & is given the opportunity to take a new path following in his fathers footsteps. Here we discover that there is more to this character than his school reports, rap sheet & current unemployed status might make you think. Despite his upbringing, Eggsy maintains a strong moral code & will not betray a confidence leading to him becoming a Kingsman trainee.

The obvious juxtaposition of ‘posh vs common’ becomes even more intense as Eggsy must proved his worth against young people who have been training for this role, possibly for their whole lives and of course are very rich as per the original heritage of the Kingsmen. It turns out the girls do not care about money & between that and some sage words from people about chips & shoulders Eggsy makes it through to the final two but will he triumph at the last hurdle?

Meanwhile the enemy plan to reduce the world population by using people’s desire for free stuff and a dramatic twist follows which doesn’t follow the rules of a classic spy film.

Will the world be saved? Will Eggsy leap forward or step back? Will there be any more twists? You’ll have to watch & find out.