The Diaries of Charles Greville
Book
Charles Greville (1794-1865) made his first occasional diary entries in 1814, but the diary only...
Letters and Diaries of Kathleen Ferrier
Christopher Fifield and Kathleen Ferrier
Book
In 1953, at the age of 41, Kathleen Ferrier, England's greatest lyric contralto, lost her courageous...
Irrepressible
Book
Raised like a princess in one of the most powerful families in the American South, Henrietta Bingham...
Pharrell: Places and Spaces I've Been
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Redefining cool for a new generation, Pharrell Williams is a creative force, using music, fashion,...
John Ruskin
Book
John Ruskin (1819-1900) was the most prominent art and architecture critic of his day. His books,...
A Night in the Emperor's Garden: A True Story
Qais Akbar Omar and Stephen Landrigan
Book
In 2005, a group of Afghan actors endeavored to create an unusual dramatic performance--one that...
Alexander McQueen: Blood Beneath the Skin
Book
When Alexander McQueen committed suicide in February 2010, aged just 40, a shocked world mourned the...
Ross (3284 KP) rated The Shattered Realm of Ardor Benn in Books
Mar 12, 2021
The second Ardor Benn book is another epic tale of the ruse artist taking on the royal family. The first book saw Ard's efforts depose the current king and save the dragon race (and hence the world). Sadly, the replacement royalty is no better and the Great Chain is now scattered into different, warring islands. Ard finds himself embroiled in a plot to unearth the conspiracy that the new king's dead nephew, and the rightful heir, is not actually dead.
There is also an interesting new subplot where we see a university professor tasked with discovering new Grit types (the world's magic system, whereby different materials once digested and fired by a dragon produce different magical results). This angle, like the industrial/medical revolution is surprisingly thrilling, with additional intrigue as the results become the interests of some unsavoury characters.
Ard and Raek are once again superb and quickly put together a plot to infiltrate a secret criminal underworld and discover the whereabouts of the true king. The secrecy and plotting, and use of the world's magic makes for some excellent exciting passages.
There are the usual twists and turns along the way, as the security measures in place in the secret society make it hard for Ard to progress too quickly.
As with the first book, the true nature of this strange world is unveiled a little more over the course of the book in spectacular fashion.
A wonderful fun read.
The King's Concubine
8.0
Rate It
Book
A child born in the plague year of 1348, abandoned and raised within the oppressive walls of a...
Historical Fiction
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Nightmare Alley (2021) in Movies
Feb 5, 2022
Firstly, there is no reason for NA to be 150 minutes long. One could argue that it gives us more time with the many characters introduced, but it feels gratuitous. The first hour and a half has its moments for sure, but it sometimes feels a little direction-less before the last hour hits, and things kick off a bit. It's an issue that certainly impacts proceedings, and I feel it could have lost 30 minutes and been a tighter final product.
Thankfully, the assembled cast is stacked with royalty. Willem Dafoe and Toni Collette are two of my favourite working actors, so having them both involved is a treat. Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, and Rooney Mara are great as the main leads, and the rest of the ensemble is rounded out by some fantastic character actors - Richard Jenkins, Ron Perlman, Mary Steenburgen, David Strathairn - good stuff all round.
The overall visual style is wonderfully Del Toro, from the gloomy and misty carnival sights pierced by neon lights, to the snowy city scape of Buffalo, New York. A lot of the cinematography is gorgeous as well, hats off to Dan Laustsen, and is truly bought to life by a beautifully haunting music score from Nathan Johnson.
All in all, Nightmare Alley ultimately suffers from its pacing, and feels like a slog here and there. However, there are enough positives to carry it over the finish line. I look forward to checking out the black and white version in the near future.