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Otway93 (580 KP) rated Call for the Dead in Books
Oct 21, 2019
Story (2 more)
Length
Characters
One of the finest debuts of all time...
One of the finest debuts of all time, and thanks to John le Carré, a fine writer and real life secret service employee, one of the most realistic spy novels written.
Not only is this an excellent debut from le Carré, but an introduction to one of the greatest fictional spies, George Smiley, best known from "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy".
This may seem a strange one, but the book is quite short, which is a good thing. I enjoy books short and long, but this is excellent for some light reading, and the best place to start with le Carré's books is definitely at the start!
Not only is this an excellent debut from le Carré, but an introduction to one of the greatest fictional spies, George Smiley, best known from "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy".
This may seem a strange one, but the book is quite short, which is a good thing. I enjoy books short and long, but this is excellent for some light reading, and the best place to start with le Carré's books is definitely at the start!
David Betteridge (327 KP) rated Deadpool (2016) in Movies
Mar 4, 2020
Ryan reynolds (3 more)
Gags
Characters
The real deadpool
Too short (1 more)
Not enough crossover
Can the real Wade Wilson please stand up!
After X-Men origins I was worried when this announced as Deadpool had already been muted by Fox. Although after seeing the test footage and reading an early draft of the script I couldn't have been more excited.
This film does a really good job of introducing the character without a straight up origin story. The film is very short but the fast pace keeps you engaged and the jokes keep coming from the first second to the last.
It's one of the best superhero movies outside the MCU and better than some that are in it.
This film does a really good job of introducing the character without a straight up origin story. The film is very short but the fast pace keeps you engaged and the jokes keep coming from the first second to the last.
It's one of the best superhero movies outside the MCU and better than some that are in it.
Chloe (778 KP) rated See How They Lie in Books
Apr 22, 2020
Interesting concept (2 more)
Clever
Imaginative
Short, sharp story
Hummingbird Creek is psychiatric hospital where vitamins and forced schedules are key.
A short sharp snappy novel with a fantastic idea and some good characters. The plot twists were interesting if a little obvious for me, although this is below my reading grade.
The teenagers have limited lives and it is quite sad in places. Often perked up by the happier characters in the book.
The book potentially misses a trick by not delving into the problems of the characters very deeply. Could be some learning points for the target audience. I suppose that may stop it from having the quick read feel and it may get darker
A short sharp snappy novel with a fantastic idea and some good characters. The plot twists were interesting if a little obvious for me, although this is below my reading grade.
The teenagers have limited lives and it is quite sad in places. Often perked up by the happier characters in the book.
The book potentially misses a trick by not delving into the problems of the characters very deeply. Could be some learning points for the target audience. I suppose that may stop it from having the quick read feel and it may get darker
Peter Taylor: the Complete Stories 1938-1992
Book
In a career spanning over half a century, Peter Taylor explored the dramas of a Tennessee gentry...
Mel (490 KP) rated Snow, Glass, Apples in Books
Oct 9, 2019
I'm a huge Neil Gaiman fan so I'd read the short story 'Snow Glass Apples' previously and enjoyed it. Although I've read most of his graphic novels with some of the recent adaptations of short stories I've not been sure if having a graphic novel version was really adding value. So when I saw there was a new adaptation of this one I had a look through before deciding to buy. All I can say is that the artwork is beautiful, Colleen Doran has done an excellent job bringing this to life, with sensitive handling of the more graphic details. I'd definitely recommend this, it's a lovely addition to any collection.
Big World
Book
Fiction. Mary Miller's BIG WORLD is the second book and first work of fiction to come out of Short...
Not bad, but lacking anything special
I picked this from the library the other day, and I was shocked to see it was a novella. I’d been so looking forward to the latest King novel, and was a little disappointed to see this only stretched to a meagre 132 pages. It’s a shame too that the story itself is also a bit of a disappointment.
King has written some brilliant short stories in his time, so once I realised Elevation was a novella, I’d been expecting another thrilling story. Sadly whilst being a decent quick read, this doesn’t have all of the usual King magic. Characters are King’s speciality and it’s fair to say that the characters in this are fairly likeable and well developed for such a short story. And usual, his writing style is impeccable. The problem is that the story is detailed, just not anywhere near detailed enough and the plot is quite weak. You probably couldn’t stretch this out for a full length novel, but that’s because the plot itself is just a bit dull and lacklustre. It reminds me a lot of a slightly different take on Thinner, which is worrying - is King starting to lose his originality?
This isn’t a terrible novella by any means. You can still see King’s captivating story telling shining through, it’s just a shame it’s a very weak plot that doesn’t live up to his talent.
King has written some brilliant short stories in his time, so once I realised Elevation was a novella, I’d been expecting another thrilling story. Sadly whilst being a decent quick read, this doesn’t have all of the usual King magic. Characters are King’s speciality and it’s fair to say that the characters in this are fairly likeable and well developed for such a short story. And usual, his writing style is impeccable. The problem is that the story is detailed, just not anywhere near detailed enough and the plot is quite weak. You probably couldn’t stretch this out for a full length novel, but that’s because the plot itself is just a bit dull and lacklustre. It reminds me a lot of a slightly different take on Thinner, which is worrying - is King starting to lose his originality?
This isn’t a terrible novella by any means. You can still see King’s captivating story telling shining through, it’s just a shame it’s a very weak plot that doesn’t live up to his talent.
David McK (3562 KP) rated The Olympian Affair (The Cinder Spiers #2) in Books
Aug 26, 2024 (Updated Aug 26, 2024)
Well, that was a long wait.
Approximately 10 years (edit: 8, to be precise) since the publication of the previous full-length entry in this series (The Aeronaut's Windlass).
So it's just as well I went back and read that recently, as well as the recently-published 'interquel' short story of Warriorborn.
I *would* advise reading that short story first, since this picks up almost immediately from the end of said story: Benedict jumps at the end of the latter, AMS Predator catches him at the start of this.
That sentence will make more sense to any who have read it.
Anyway, what we have is another full-blown Steampunk novel, with war brewing between the home Spires/nations of the world in which it is set, and with some heavy hints towards the end that it is set in 'our' world, but in the far far (and largely dystopian) future - I also got a bit of a vibe of that bit in 2005's 'King Kong' film where they are on Skull Island and surrounded by giant man-eating millipedes etc (which is why, in the story, the surface world is so feared).
Let's hope I don't have to wait so long for the next instalment
Or even for a new Harry Dresden (my favourite of Butcher's works) story
(with the author even apologising for the wait for this in his authors note at the end)
Approximately 10 years (edit: 8, to be precise) since the publication of the previous full-length entry in this series (The Aeronaut's Windlass).
So it's just as well I went back and read that recently, as well as the recently-published 'interquel' short story of Warriorborn.
I *would* advise reading that short story first, since this picks up almost immediately from the end of said story: Benedict jumps at the end of the latter, AMS Predator catches him at the start of this.
That sentence will make more sense to any who have read it.
Anyway, what we have is another full-blown Steampunk novel, with war brewing between the home Spires/nations of the world in which it is set, and with some heavy hints towards the end that it is set in 'our' world, but in the far far (and largely dystopian) future - I also got a bit of a vibe of that bit in 2005's 'King Kong' film where they are on Skull Island and surrounded by giant man-eating millipedes etc (which is why, in the story, the surface world is so feared).
Let's hope I don't have to wait so long for the next instalment
Or even for a new Harry Dresden (my favourite of Butcher's works) story
(with the author even apologising for the wait for this in his authors note at the end)
Murder at Sea
10.0
Rate It
Book
Fear naut, the next Destinations Murder collection is here: Murder at Sea. Third in this...