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Cowboy Watch (The Watchers #1)
Cowboy Watch (The Watchers #1)
Petie McCarty | 2025 | Romance
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I found it kinda sweet, with very little spice.
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

Kellan inherits her mother's house. She doesn't want it, it holds too many bad memories. But things start to change when she goes home to close up the house and land for sale. She meets Luke for a start. He doesn't want her to sell, for his own reasons. Then someone starts shooting at Kellan, and there is someone watching Kellan.

I liked this. I found it kinda sweet, with very little spice. Not a bad thing, but it needs mentioning. It does carry some violence, on page, to both Kellan and Luke, I do, however, think it was necessary for the pinnacle of the plot.

I think what . . bothered. . . me the most was this book is billed as the Watchers stories. Taken straight from the blurb: Offered parole in exchange for penance, these Watchers are given the toughest bodyguard missions with little leeway for success.
One last chance.
These are their stories . . .

And we get very little, only a teeny tiny bit in the last chapter! I wanted more from The Watchers, how they were feeling about how things were going, and what they were going to do next. How they felt about being given this last chance, and there is nothing from them, other than when they reveal who they are to Kellan and Luke right at the end.

So, a Nice book, with a little drama, that filled a gap between two very heavy reads, but doesn't quite deliver what it promised.

3 good stars

*same worded review will appear elsewhere
  
The Dark Tower (2017)
The Dark Tower (2017)
2017 | Horror, Sci-Fi, Western
Boring male power fantasy with little to no character development
It's hard to tell who is meant to be the protagonist of this film, the young boy, Jake, or the Gunslinger. Sure, we're introduced to Jake first, and only really meet the Gunslinger towards the end of Act 1, which should signal that it's Jake.

But Jake is boring. SO BORING. He doesn't really have any character flaws. Oh sure, he has problems, expositionally convenient plot device "visions", but no real, tangible character elements. He reacts violently towards another kid at school, but this isn't treated as a flaw and this isn't a movie where Jake is going to learn that there's a better solution than violence. At best he's going to learn that it's bad to use your fists to solve problems - guns are much more efficient.


The Gunslinger is presented with all the hallmarks of a protagonist. He's got a defined past and a defined character flaw. He's consumed with thoughts of revenge and will let the world burn around him to get it. The problem is, the story never gives him a point where he actually has to make a choice between revenge and something better.


The villain, while fun, seems to have no internal motivation whatsoever. Why does he want to destroy the universe? Because that's what semi-omnipotent bad guys want to do, I guess.


And I get it, he's called the Gunslinger, he shoots guns. It's all very straightforward. But that doesn't mean it's not still kind of boring to watch EVERY problem they encounter get solved by just shooting at it enough while every single woman in the movie exists to be murdered, assaulted, and grossly sexualized by the villain.


It used every trope in the book, it used them badly, and the script was just...not good.
  
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Connor Sheffield (293 KP) created a post

Jun 12, 2017  
I may be a little bias with this franchise, but I can honestly say this looks incredible. It has taken the best elements of previous games such as the beautiful visuals of Black Flag, the ever evolving free running elements of AC3, Black Flag, Unity, and Syndicate.

It also has its own new elements as well though, with the new setting of Ancient Egypt, using an actual Eagle for the franchises famous 'Eagle Vision', which will allow you to fly and look over an entire settlement to discover the path you want to take to get to your target, or the path you're going to use to escape, and not to mention the new executions that are seen including throwing knife after assassinating a previous target, and shooting a bow after leaping from a tree, utilizing a slow motion element to allow the player time to target the enemy.

The new RPG system seems similar to that of Injustice 2, but obviously for one character and not requiring you to quit the game to equip it. The new combat system seems very reminiscent of Bloodborne from the Dark Souls series on PS4, including the ability to parry, and slide away from enemy attacks, which might mean the combat it somewhat more difficult compared to the often easy combat system of the previous games.

In Conclusion, I think Egypt is a perfect setting for this franchise, and a great place to begin the franchises reboot. I will certainly be pre-ordering this game, possibly the statue edition when it's announced. I know for a fact I will love this game, and I cannot wait to get my hands on it.

     
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Shots On The Bridge] by [Ronnie Greene] is a good piece of investigative journalism about one of the most notorious events in post-Katrina New Orleans.

As most people I was glued to my TV all throughout Katrina and I remember the news reports of a shoot out on a bridge involving police. As I recall the news reported that it was gangsters and looter shooting at the police. There were many reports of this nature in the confusion following one of the worst disasters in U.S. history. We now know that most of these reports were embellished at best or just down right lies.

[Ronnie Greene] did an excellent job relating the events as they occurred and giving a voice to the victims. The fact that these families were just trying to cross a bridge and came under fire by an overly armed unit of police is disconcerting enough but the fact that the police conspired to cover it up makes it even worse. Although it was wrong I could understand the officers reaction to the call of shots fired given the trauma that they had also been through. It is the cover up and lies that compound the wrongfulness of their actions.

I though [Greene] did a good job but he seems to jump around a bit too much. There is a lack of fluid transitions. Also, I feel his view was very one sided. I know that the police did something horrible but they were victims of Katrina as well and probably should not have been on duty at that point. If the correct relief and support had been provided this whole situation may have been avoided.