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The Seventh Decimate : The Great Gods War Book One
The Seventh Decimate : The Great Gods War Book One
Stephen R. Donaldson | 2017 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
6.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
A good read - if you can forgive the main character!
Prince Bifalt must be one of the most unpleasant main characters in a book that I have read in quite a while. He is 'belligerent' to say the least (see what I did there? I don't think this character trait is a coincidence, by any means. The name of his country is Belliger).
Bifalt is on a quest to find the Seventh Decimate - a type of magic which he believes has nullified the magic of the theurgists (magicians) in his country, Belliger. He believes that his country's opponents, the detested Amikans, are responsible for this.
So off Bifalt goes on his quest with his merry band of men, making an inordinately huge amount of mistakes at every turn. I have to admit that I really struggled with the first half of this book. I really didn't warm to Bifalt at all: in fact, at no point in this book did I warm towards Bifalt. It's a good story though. There's loads of action, it's really descriptive and well written. I don't know whether I ever really liked Bifalt, but I think I got used to him, and the other characters were really interesting - his fellow 'Questers' were likeable and the people he met on the way were mysterious and interesting.
I'd recommend this book to those that enjoy fantasy with this type of world building, but if you don't already like this genre, I do think that you would struggle to finish it.
I would be very interested in reading how this story progresses, though, and I shall be keeping an eye out for the next book.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for providing me with this book.
  
The Lightning Thief
The Lightning Thief
Rick Riordan | 2005 | Children, Fiction & Poetry
6
8.6 (100 Ratings)
Book Rating
Percy Jackson is a series that I've been meaning to get around to for ages. Pretty much everybody I know who have read the books absolutely adore them.

So, when I needed a few quick reads to play catch up on my reading challenge, I decided that it was a good enough time to give the series a go.

...and it's not too bad.

There was a lot about The Lightning Thief that I enjoyed. The premise was a lot of fun. I liked the humor - especially the chapter titles. I liked the translation of Olympus from ancient European culture to modern American culture. I loved that this is a kids' series that rewards children for knowing mythology - if you're familiar with Greek myths at all, you'll know almost from the start of each encounter what Percy and the group are up against.

That's also kind where I started having problems, though.

The book is essentially non-stop action. Which isn't, in itself, a bad thing. But the action plays out like a series of video game encounters. Percy and his friends will travel so far in their quest, run into someone/a monster who will (sometimes accidentally) help them get to the next step of their quest, where they'll travel a certain distance again before running into something else. Repeat throughout the entire book. There are small moments of character building, but they're squeezed in where they'll fit between action scenes.

I'm more than willing to admit that that's just me, though. I'm not exactly the book's intended audience, and I can completely see how the pacing and whatnot would appeal to kids. I did enjoy it enough to continue on in the series, though.
  
The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012)
The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012)
2012 | Action, Animation, Comedy
6
6.8 (8 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The Movie begins with two pirates fighting in the dining hall, then enters the not so famous Captain Pirate with his long wavy beard filled with curls. The pirates were fighting over what the best part of being a pirate was, the looting, no the booty, no Captain Pirate says its ” HAM NIGHT” followed by a cherry song! Captain Pirate is a friendly man of the sea with his crew filled of pirates just as friendly and a “parrot” named Polly.

The Captain decides to enter the Pirate of the Year contest and docks at port to sign up. With voices of Salma Hayek and Jeremy Piven as his main competitors to be the one with the most treasure, the Captain must up his game if he wants to get more booty to win the Pirate of the year award so the Captain sets sail on a quest to take over ships and get his treasure. Running in to nothing but disappointment along the way he finally comes upon the ship of the scientist Charles Darwin on a quest of his own. Charles wants to find the most rarest of creatures to bring back to Queen Victoria for the top scientist to have a private audience with the Queen.

When he meets the Captain Pirate he sees that Polly is not a parrot but a dodo bird, the rarest find of all. The Captain goes back with Charles to enter the contest in hopes of winning and getting the biggest treasure.

Filled with surprises, catchy songs and a monkey that speaks through cards this movie is not only fun for the whole family but well worth seeing in 3D The colors pop on screen and guarantee laughs. Good Family Fun.
  
    Calming Lia

    Calming Lia

    Games and Stickers

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    Save little Lia from her nightmares! Calming Lia is a relaxing, free, match-three mobile game. Like...

    Rope Hero: Vice Town

    Rope Hero: Vice Town

    Games

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    You were not born as a hero, but now it’s time to become one. Action-packed 3D FPS with elements...

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage
Haruki Murakami, Philip Gabriel | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
The novel is written in third person and follows Tsukuru as he does on a quest to find out why his friends alienated him years prior. The novel switches between present day, with Tsukuru trying to live a normal, happy live, and the past, which describes Tsukuru's depression and how he was able to overcome suicidal thoughts. Tsukuru has had many friends leave his life without explanation, and he has come to think of himself as "colorless", having nothing to offer anyone.
There are so many thought-provoking situations in this novel that I almost feel like I should go back and re-read it to fully understand everything that happened. I was left questioning several things from the novel, which is the reason for 4 stars. The reading, insight into the characters, etc was what kept me entertained.