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Dungeon Drop
5.0
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Tabletop Game
Gather your gear and prepare to dive into the labyrinth! Teeming with untold treasure, the tunnels...
Hope's Deceit (The Fated #2)
10.0
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Book
In the end, light may not be enough to outshine the darkness. After Melia’s near fatal attack,...
Young Adult Urban Fantasy
Now & Then (Parker City Mystery #1)
Book
Parker City now…Parker City then…Every city has its stories and secrets. In the spring of...
Mystery
Dark Empathy (Compound Series #1)
8.0
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Book
For an empath, "How do you feel?" is never just a question. Not when it can kill you. These are...
Science Fiction Adventure Romantic Suspense MM Romance
David McK (3832 KP) rated Maskerade (Discworld, #18; Witches #5) in Books
Mar 28, 2021 (Updated Aug 19, 2023)
!!!!!
If I was forced to pick, I would have to say that - speaking personally - I think Terry Pratchett was at the height of his powers in the mid-to-late 90s, before the Discworld books started becoming overly serious.
So, around the time of the likes of 'Lords and Ladies, 'Small Gods', and this one, in other words.
(and I've just realised that 2/3rds of those books quoted concern The Witches Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax)
In this one, and following Magrat marriage to King Verence, the Witches find themselves down to a duo instead of a trio, and - since you can't have a coven of two ("When shall we ... two ... meet again ....") - are in need of a replacement (well, so Nanny Ogg thinks).
Said replacement is the first appearance of Agnes Nitt who, unfortunately (from their perspective) has moved to the city of Ankh-Morpork and joined the Opera.
Cue Pratchett's take on 'The Phantom of the Opera' (which, when I first read this, I'd never actually seen) ...
So, around the time of the likes of 'Lords and Ladies, 'Small Gods', and this one, in other words.
(and I've just realised that 2/3rds of those books quoted concern The Witches Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax)
In this one, and following Magrat marriage to King Verence, the Witches find themselves down to a duo instead of a trio, and - since you can't have a coven of two ("When shall we ... two ... meet again ....") - are in need of a replacement (well, so Nanny Ogg thinks).
Said replacement is the first appearance of Agnes Nitt who, unfortunately (from their perspective) has moved to the city of Ankh-Morpork and joined the Opera.
Cue Pratchett's take on 'The Phantom of the Opera' (which, when I first read this, I'd never actually seen) ...
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Blood of Elves in Books
May 21, 2023 (Updated May 21, 2023)
64 of 235
Book
Blood of Elves ( The Witcher 3)
By Andrzej Sapkowski
⭐️⭐️⭐️
For over a century, humans, dwarves, gnomes, and elves have lived together in relative peace. But times have changed, the uneasy peace is over, and now the races are fighting once again. The only good elf, it seems, is a dead elf.
Geralt of Rivia, the cunning assassin known as The Witcher, has been waiting for the birth of a prophesied child. This child has the power to change the world - for good, or for evil.
As the threat of war hangs over the land and the child is hunted for her extraordinary powers, it will become Geralt's responsibility to protect them all - and the Witcher never accepts defeat.
This was a bit flat I’m not sure I can say I really enjoyed it I didn’t hate it and it was ok but meh. I think I’m being slightly generous with a 3 star but not sure it’s as low as a 2!
Book
Blood of Elves ( The Witcher 3)
By Andrzej Sapkowski
⭐️⭐️⭐️
For over a century, humans, dwarves, gnomes, and elves have lived together in relative peace. But times have changed, the uneasy peace is over, and now the races are fighting once again. The only good elf, it seems, is a dead elf.
Geralt of Rivia, the cunning assassin known as The Witcher, has been waiting for the birth of a prophesied child. This child has the power to change the world - for good, or for evil.
As the threat of war hangs over the land and the child is hunted for her extraordinary powers, it will become Geralt's responsibility to protect them all - and the Witcher never accepts defeat.
This was a bit flat I’m not sure I can say I really enjoyed it I didn’t hate it and it was ok but meh. I think I’m being slightly generous with a 3 star but not sure it’s as low as a 2!
I am absolutely in love with the book and wish that I didn't have to wait another year to find out what happens. Unlike Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles series, I feel that Renegades is not a series that is as universal a read. The Lunar Chronicles effortlessly blends science fiction with a fairytale retelling and I feel can draw people in even if they don't normally read either of those two. Renegades on the other hand is definitely a superhero story, with fantastic characters and an intriguing plot - but, if you're not a fan of superheroes then you're not as likely to fall in love with this book.
I personally love superheroes, I read comics and can completely see the similarities to the X-Men in this novel. The gifted in this novel are called prodigies and have such amazing (and unique) powers. My personal favourite was Adrian, who had the ability to draw and make his art come to life. Even if you're not super familiar with powers in comics, you'll not be surprised by invincibility or flight. That's why Adrian's ability was so fascinating to me. It was wholly different from the powers I've grown to know and infinitely more surprising because of how versatile it is.
I also really enjoyed that the book wasn't black and white, good and evil, right and wrong. Meyer did a brilliant job illustrating the nuances so that as a reader you could see both sides of the coin. Neither was completely the one that you wanted to root for, as they were all real, flawed people. Even Nova, who I didn't completely connect with at the beginning of the book, grew over time and learned to think more openly. I ended up liking her a lot more, and love reading the struggle she went through throughout the entire book as it helped her develop as a character.
The main characters in this story definitely felt more real than the supporting ones, but I still feel that everyone was fleshed out. I never had those moments when I couldn't remember who was who, which can happen with a large cast of characters (especially when they have both real names and aliases). Meyer allowed people to form a connection with almost all of her characters, no matter how many pages she dedicated to them. I think that is definitely where this book shone.
I've always loved Marissa Meyer's ability to build a believable world that populates in your head as you read, and this is no exception. It could see Gatlon City with its heroes and villains, ordinary people, towering base of command, filthy subway tunnels and abandoned theme park buildings. I was so intrigued by the characters and the world that the storyline took more of a backseat for me. It was still fantastic, and even though the pacing of some scenes wasn't perfect, it was a really enjoyable book.
I would highly recommend this book, especially if you like reading about superheroes (or supervillains, I won't judge). I definitely think you'll enjoy the book otherwise, but it might just not end up being your favourite. Who knows? You may discover that you actually love superheroes because of this book. Trust me, it's pretty great.
I personally love superheroes, I read comics and can completely see the similarities to the X-Men in this novel. The gifted in this novel are called prodigies and have such amazing (and unique) powers. My personal favourite was Adrian, who had the ability to draw and make his art come to life. Even if you're not super familiar with powers in comics, you'll not be surprised by invincibility or flight. That's why Adrian's ability was so fascinating to me. It was wholly different from the powers I've grown to know and infinitely more surprising because of how versatile it is.
I also really enjoyed that the book wasn't black and white, good and evil, right and wrong. Meyer did a brilliant job illustrating the nuances so that as a reader you could see both sides of the coin. Neither was completely the one that you wanted to root for, as they were all real, flawed people. Even Nova, who I didn't completely connect with at the beginning of the book, grew over time and learned to think more openly. I ended up liking her a lot more, and love reading the struggle she went through throughout the entire book as it helped her develop as a character.
The main characters in this story definitely felt more real than the supporting ones, but I still feel that everyone was fleshed out. I never had those moments when I couldn't remember who was who, which can happen with a large cast of characters (especially when they have both real names and aliases). Meyer allowed people to form a connection with almost all of her characters, no matter how many pages she dedicated to them. I think that is definitely where this book shone.
I've always loved Marissa Meyer's ability to build a believable world that populates in your head as you read, and this is no exception. It could see Gatlon City with its heroes and villains, ordinary people, towering base of command, filthy subway tunnels and abandoned theme park buildings. I was so intrigued by the characters and the world that the storyline took more of a backseat for me. It was still fantastic, and even though the pacing of some scenes wasn't perfect, it was a really enjoyable book.
I would highly recommend this book, especially if you like reading about superheroes (or supervillains, I won't judge). I definitely think you'll enjoy the book otherwise, but it might just not end up being your favourite. Who knows? You may discover that you actually love superheroes because of this book. Trust me, it's pretty great.
Solomon Kane
Tabletop Game
Solomon Kane is a dour English Puritan and redresser of wrongs. He roams the world, fighting against...
Boardgames NovelsintoGames 2019Games
Ross (3284 KP) rated Smoke and Summons in Books
Mar 18, 2019 (Updated Mar 18, 2019)
Flintlock Tangled
It took me a while to realise, but this book is basically a re-telling of Tangled, the Rapunzel Disney film.
We have the young girl with magical powers who is held prisoner (though she has been trained to appreciate her captor's benevolence) by someone wanting to benefit from her powers. She meets a ne'er-do-well thief looking for that one last score before he can move and settle down. They travel together trying to find somewhere safe for her to go but are tracked down at all stops, until finally the male protagonist is persuaded to hand her in and reap the rewards, before the inevitable emotional rescue.
Rather than magical healing hair, however, Sandis has the ability to act as a vessel to demons, and is linked to a specific one (a fire horse). Her captor, Kazen, uses her abilities to bolster his gangster crew and lead the city's underworld. Upon sensing Kazen's desire to summon a more powerful demon (which is likely to kill her) she escapes and becomes embroiled with Rone, a young thief.
Together they try to track down a family member Sandis has become aware of, who may be able to help save her.
The story flows quite well, with enough strength in the main characters to engage the reader. Their travails, and Kazen's crew's neverending chase, are enjoyable and thrilling.
The narrative is good, swapping between Sandis' and Rone's perspectives and telling of their increasing tiredness and running out of options. At times, the author's American tone slips in (words like "Mom", "they were a ways from their lodgings" etc), which would normally be fine, I'm not that big of a snob, but it really comes at odds with the majority of the narrative and does stand out.
The setting is more early industrial revolution than more medieval, so there is the use of firearms to spice up the action.
A few times, events become a little hard to accept - quite how quickly and persistently Kazen's goons catch up with them, and how easily Rone manages to accomplish his rescue seem quite hard to believe.
Overall, the story is good and while the format of "lets go here, oh they've somehow found us again" becomes a little tiring, the book is short enough for this not to be too much of an issue.
We have the young girl with magical powers who is held prisoner (though she has been trained to appreciate her captor's benevolence) by someone wanting to benefit from her powers. She meets a ne'er-do-well thief looking for that one last score before he can move and settle down. They travel together trying to find somewhere safe for her to go but are tracked down at all stops, until finally the male protagonist is persuaded to hand her in and reap the rewards, before the inevitable emotional rescue.
Rather than magical healing hair, however, Sandis has the ability to act as a vessel to demons, and is linked to a specific one (a fire horse). Her captor, Kazen, uses her abilities to bolster his gangster crew and lead the city's underworld. Upon sensing Kazen's desire to summon a more powerful demon (which is likely to kill her) she escapes and becomes embroiled with Rone, a young thief.
Together they try to track down a family member Sandis has become aware of, who may be able to help save her.
The story flows quite well, with enough strength in the main characters to engage the reader. Their travails, and Kazen's crew's neverending chase, are enjoyable and thrilling.
The narrative is good, swapping between Sandis' and Rone's perspectives and telling of their increasing tiredness and running out of options. At times, the author's American tone slips in (words like "Mom", "they were a ways from their lodgings" etc), which would normally be fine, I'm not that big of a snob, but it really comes at odds with the majority of the narrative and does stand out.
The setting is more early industrial revolution than more medieval, so there is the use of firearms to spice up the action.
A few times, events become a little hard to accept - quite how quickly and persistently Kazen's goons catch up with them, and how easily Rone manages to accomplish his rescue seem quite hard to believe.
Overall, the story is good and while the format of "lets go here, oh they've somehow found us again" becomes a little tiring, the book is short enough for this not to be too much of an issue.