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Dalicat (20 KP) rated The Tin Roof Blowdown in Books

Sep 1, 2018

The Tin Roof Blowdown

James Lee Burke | 2008 | Fiction & Poetry

10.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

The sheer scale of the work (0 more)

A novel one lives rather than reads

Each of the fifteen Dave Robicheaux novels which preceded this one are masterpieces and this is the Grand Finale. The plot and characters move within the devasted landscape of New Orleans following the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina. The scenes of environmental destruction are described with heartbreakingly beautiful poetic prose which serves as a counterpoint to a seering indictment of the socio-economic political landscape of the time. The extreme conditions under which the plot develops drive the characters to their limits of good and evil. The plot is as relentless as the driving force of the hurricane. Often difficult to read due to the sheer emotional weight of the work but too compelling to put down.

Kudos

Cori June (3033 KP) rated Tempests and Slaughter: the Numair Chronicles Book 1 in Books

Nov 30, 2018

Tempests and Slaughter: the Numair Chronicles Book 1

Tamora Pierce | 2018 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)

8.5

(4 Ratings)

Book Rating

Numair (0 more)

If you are a fan of the Tortall world you should live this book. Set before the Immortals Sonnet, we get to see what Numair's childhood was like as he grows up in Carthak and meets Ozorne and Valice. Unlike most of her books this is completely set in Numair' s aka Arran Draper' s p.o.v.
I would recommend to pre-teens and older however, suggest that parent's read first because male puberty is discussed. Also discussed is Bullying, slavery, death, learning mage craft, political intrigue, friendship, love, gods, war. and has a few graphic fighting and healing scenes. A fast-paced read that has world building to reacquaint people to known characters. it does have an abrupt ending but I'm also selfish in I didn't want the book to end.

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated Sorry to Bother You (2018) in Movies

Jan 16, 2019

Sorry to Bother You (2018)

2018 | Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

7.0

(23 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Boisterous, anarchic satire with absurdist elements, concerning the socio-political awakening of a young African-American man. Cash Green (it's not always subtle) discovers a talent for telemarketing, but only while he uses his 'white voice' (the actor is ostentatiously dubbed at these moments). Success beckons, but can he overlook the moral consequences of the things his employers do?

Scatter-gun satire is mixed in with some not-especially-profound commentary on the nature of American society and economics; luckily the film is filled with enough energy and ideas to stay interesting and entertaining throughout. Comes a bit unravelled towards the end, but still features some of the funniest, most provocative scenes in recent memory. Very good performances from Stanfield and Hammer in particular. A passionate, vibrant, very inventive film.

Kudos

Deborah (162 KP) rated Wars Of The Roses in Books

Dec 21, 2018

I think the title of the book is rather misleading - it's not really about the Wars of the Roses per se. The blurb on the inside of the dust jacket tells me it's a book looking more at the impact of this civil strife and the political, social and military situation. It does, as it claims, include many primary sources; 'English and European writings, diplomatic correspondence, personal letters and propoganda', but it is the promised 'detailed interpretation based on modern research' that I must have missed while reading this! To me this was a series of unconnected original documents linked with short paragraphs of text by Lander. In many places the book is so bogged down with inumerable footnotes that the flow of the text is completely lost.

Nice idea, but it doesn't work here.