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David McK (3557 KP) rated Sharpe's Company (1994) in Movies
Oct 10, 2021 (Updated Oct 10, 2021)
Back when this was first shown on TV (it's a TV movie) in the mod 90s, this was based on what-was-then on of the mid entries in Cornwell's long-running series.
I say what was then, as there have since been more novels set before, during or even after The Napoleonic Wars, which provided the background for these movies.
This - both novel and movie - is the one that starts with the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo and ends with that of Badajoz, with (Sean Beans) Captain Richard Sharpe 'pushed aside' in the intervening period by those who can afford to buy his commission. This is also the one with the mad, twitching Obadiah Hakeswill (portrayed here by Pete Postlethwaite), who isn't so much a danger to Sharpe himself as he is too his men - Patrick Harper included - and who has a history with Sharpe.
I've said it before, and I'm sure I'll say it again: I so wish they had a proper budget for these movies!
I say what was then, as there have since been more novels set before, during or even after The Napoleonic Wars, which provided the background for these movies.
This - both novel and movie - is the one that starts with the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo and ends with that of Badajoz, with (Sean Beans) Captain Richard Sharpe 'pushed aside' in the intervening period by those who can afford to buy his commission. This is also the one with the mad, twitching Obadiah Hakeswill (portrayed here by Pete Postlethwaite), who isn't so much a danger to Sharpe himself as he is too his men - Patrick Harper included - and who has a history with Sharpe.
I've said it before, and I'm sure I'll say it again: I so wish they had a proper budget for these movies!
Murder at Serengeti Plains (Hazel Davies & Anna Kohl Mysteries #3)
Book
Murder at Serengeti Plains is the third mystery novel in the series, featuring amateur sleuths Hazel...
Cozy Mystery
David McK (3557 KP) rated Monstrous Regiment: (Discworld Novel 31) in Books
Mar 31, 2023
One of the rare Discworld Standalone novels
Updated 2023 review
I wonder how this was affected by Pratchett's 'embuggerance'?
Original 2011 review
Not one of the strongest of Sir Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, this is only loosely - even more so than normal - connected to any of his other books in the series. Loosely connected, but not to the level of ""Small Gods"" (which is set centuries before the rest of the series), or "Pyramids".
In "Monstrous Regiment", Pratchett introduces a whole host of new characters - none of who have yet, been heard of again - as well as some new nations, with Commander Sam Vimes (from the City Watch books) and William De Worde (from "the Truth") only really having cameos in the story. He also exaggerates, to comic effect, the famous stories of women secretly joining the army, with this providing the basis for his plot.
As I said at the top, this is not one of the best of Pratchetts works, but even a below-par Pratchett is miles above any other author in the same genre
I wonder how this was affected by Pratchett's 'embuggerance'?
Original 2011 review
Not one of the strongest of Sir Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, this is only loosely - even more so than normal - connected to any of his other books in the series. Loosely connected, but not to the level of ""Small Gods"" (which is set centuries before the rest of the series), or "Pyramids".
In "Monstrous Regiment", Pratchett introduces a whole host of new characters - none of who have yet, been heard of again - as well as some new nations, with Commander Sam Vimes (from the City Watch books) and William De Worde (from "the Truth") only really having cameos in the story. He also exaggerates, to comic effect, the famous stories of women secretly joining the army, with this providing the basis for his plot.
As I said at the top, this is not one of the best of Pratchetts works, but even a below-par Pratchett is miles above any other author in the same genre
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With Google Play Books for iOS start reading today with millions of titles from Google Play on your...
Mermaid of New York (Mermaid of Venice, #3) by Jincey Lumpkin
Book
Mermaid Gia Acquaviva’s thrilling adventures continue. She must travel to New York to fight a...
Adult Fantasy Romance
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Holding in Books
Jan 3, 2023
3 of 235
Book
Holding
By Graham Norton
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The remote Irish village of Duneen has known little drama, and yet its inhabitants are troubled: Sergeant P.J. Collins hasn’t always been this overweight; Brid Riordan, a mother of two, hasn’t always been an alcoholic; and elegant Evelyn Ross hasn’t always felt that her life was a total waste.
So when human remains—suspected to be those of Tommy Burke, a former lover of both Brid and Evelyn—are discovered on an old farm, the village’s dark past begins to unravel. As a frustrated P.J. struggles to solve a genuine case for the first time in his professional life, he unearths a community’s worth of anger and resentments, secrets and regrets.
I’m always a bit weary of novels written by celebrities as they never reach that expectation. But this was so good I really enjoyed delving into this little Irish village and it’s hidden secrets. If you haven’t read it I recommend I just love Graham Norton.
Book
Holding
By Graham Norton
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The remote Irish village of Duneen has known little drama, and yet its inhabitants are troubled: Sergeant P.J. Collins hasn’t always been this overweight; Brid Riordan, a mother of two, hasn’t always been an alcoholic; and elegant Evelyn Ross hasn’t always felt that her life was a total waste.
So when human remains—suspected to be those of Tommy Burke, a former lover of both Brid and Evelyn—are discovered on an old farm, the village’s dark past begins to unravel. As a frustrated P.J. struggles to solve a genuine case for the first time in his professional life, he unearths a community’s worth of anger and resentments, secrets and regrets.
I’m always a bit weary of novels written by celebrities as they never reach that expectation. But this was so good I really enjoyed delving into this little Irish village and it’s hidden secrets. If you haven’t read it I recommend I just love Graham Norton.
David McK (3557 KP) rated The Last Odyssey (Sigma Force #15) in Books
Feb 12, 2023
By and large, you know what you're getting with James Rollins Sigma Force novels (of which this is number 15!): a modern-day techno thriller, usually a race against time with dire consequences of failure, and linked to a mystery in the past.
This one is no different.
Having said that, I do have to say that these are also a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine!
This time around, the link to the past is the tale as told in Homer's (not *that* Homer! D'Oh!) Odyssey, when Odysseus and his crew spent years trying to get home again following the fall of Troy. What if the fantastical stories, and his journeys, all had their basis in fact?
Following a discovery of an ancient ship entombed in ice in a glacier in Iceland, and the cargo it carries, this sets the events (and the clock) ticking for this novel: events that sees Commander Grayson Pierce and his now-wife Seichan return from Maternity/Paternity leave in order to help out solving the mystery.
As usual, there's also a traitor or two ...
This one is no different.
Having said that, I do have to say that these are also a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine!
This time around, the link to the past is the tale as told in Homer's (not *that* Homer! D'Oh!) Odyssey, when Odysseus and his crew spent years trying to get home again following the fall of Troy. What if the fantastical stories, and his journeys, all had their basis in fact?
Following a discovery of an ancient ship entombed in ice in a glacier in Iceland, and the cargo it carries, this sets the events (and the clock) ticking for this novel: events that sees Commander Grayson Pierce and his now-wife Seichan return from Maternity/Paternity leave in order to help out solving the mystery.
As usual, there's also a traitor or two ...
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2346 KP) rated Kinsey and Me: Stories in Books
Jul 9, 2023
Short Stories and Essays
This book breaks down into two unequal sections. The first roughly 70% is made up of nine short stories featuring Kinsey Millhone, PI in Santa Teresa. She solves a murder with a disappearing body and a case of a man who fell off his roof. She also gets involved when an actor gets kidnapped.
The back section featuring thirteen vignettes as author Sue Grafton reflects on her life growing up with a functioning alcoholic father and a destructive alcoholic mother. While she admits they are autobiographical, she frames them around a character named Kit.
Fans of Kinsey will delight in these nine stories, all previous published, but decades ago so hard to track down outside this collection now. Personally, I found the back section depressing, but I suspect these stories were theopoetic for Ms. Grafton to write, and I can see others benefiting from them, too.
Overall, fans of the series will enjoy the collection. If you are new to the series, you can jump in here, too, and meet Kinsey without ruining any of fun of the novels.
The back section featuring thirteen vignettes as author Sue Grafton reflects on her life growing up with a functioning alcoholic father and a destructive alcoholic mother. While she admits they are autobiographical, she frames them around a character named Kit.
Fans of Kinsey will delight in these nine stories, all previous published, but decades ago so hard to track down outside this collection now. Personally, I found the back section depressing, but I suspect these stories were theopoetic for Ms. Grafton to write, and I can see others benefiting from them, too.
Overall, fans of the series will enjoy the collection. If you are new to the series, you can jump in here, too, and meet Kinsey without ruining any of fun of the novels.
David McK (3557 KP) rated Guards! Guards! Discworld Novel 8 in Books
Jul 15, 2023
When people ask which Discworld book to start with, I often tell them to skip the first two in the series (The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic), then ask in which direction their interests lie.
Reimagining of famous plays/fairytales? Try any in The Witches series.
Primarily murder whodunnits? The Guards.
Of which this is the first.
So this is the one to introduce the reader to Sam Vimes, Nobby Nobbs, Fred Colon and Carrot Ironfoundersson, as well as featuring a prominent role for The Patrician of Ankh-Morpork, and which would lead to perhaps the most-revisited characters in the entire Discworld series - I think Pratchett returned to the Watch a further 7 times, for a total of 8 such novels.
Quick google search: yes, 8 times. Only matched by the Wizards of Unseen University.
Anyway, this is the one that sees a secret society summoning a Dragon in the hopes of installing a puppet ruler to the vacant throne of Ankh-Morpork, before things go awry ...
Reimagining of famous plays/fairytales? Try any in The Witches series.
Primarily murder whodunnits? The Guards.
Of which this is the first.
So this is the one to introduce the reader to Sam Vimes, Nobby Nobbs, Fred Colon and Carrot Ironfoundersson, as well as featuring a prominent role for The Patrician of Ankh-Morpork, and which would lead to perhaps the most-revisited characters in the entire Discworld series - I think Pratchett returned to the Watch a further 7 times, for a total of 8 such novels.
Quick google search: yes, 8 times. Only matched by the Wizards of Unseen University.
Anyway, this is the one that sees a secret society summoning a Dragon in the hopes of installing a puppet ruler to the vacant throne of Ankh-Morpork, before things go awry ...
RavenclawPrincess913 (253 KP) rated Threads That Bind in Books
Aug 9, 2023
Title: Threads That Bind
Author: Kika Hatzopoulou
Io Ora is a decendant of the Greek Fates and she is able to cut apart the threads that tie/bind people to things they love and the thread that binds their life too. In the book a women who has had her life thread severed but is still living commits murder and Io sees this happen. She can also see threads that bind soul mates together and in the book Io meets hers.
I love the cover on The Threads That Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou it pulled me in. I really love the illustration and the color palette that was used very pretty colors. I really enjoyed the plot of this story it grabs the attention of the reader and pull you in pretty fast. I loved the part where Io meets her soul mate and sees the thread binding them together it was very cute. I reccomend reading this book if you love Young Adult or Middle Grade novels that deal with the Greeks.
Author: Kika Hatzopoulou
Io Ora is a decendant of the Greek Fates and she is able to cut apart the threads that tie/bind people to things they love and the thread that binds their life too. In the book a women who has had her life thread severed but is still living commits murder and Io sees this happen. She can also see threads that bind soul mates together and in the book Io meets hers.
I love the cover on The Threads That Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou it pulled me in. I really love the illustration and the color palette that was used very pretty colors. I really enjoyed the plot of this story it grabs the attention of the reader and pull you in pretty fast. I loved the part where Io meets her soul mate and sees the thread binding them together it was very cute. I reccomend reading this book if you love Young Adult or Middle Grade novels that deal with the Greeks.