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Awix (3310 KP) rated Dogora (1964) in Movies

Jul 20, 2019 (Updated Jul 20, 2019)

Dogora (1964)

1964 | Crime, Sci-Fi

5.3

(3 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Bonkers Japanese sci-fi from the Godzilla team makes most of those movies look like models of restraint and gritty realism. Odd things are afoot in Japan as seemingly random objects - coal, trucks, bank robbers, buildings - start spontaneously floating into the air. 'I never jump to conclusions but I think a giant space monster is probably responsible,' says the lead cop investigating the case. Of course, he is correct, and it's up to the usual team of cops, scientists, and soldiers to save the day.

The really weird thing about Dogora - and this is saying something - is that the giant diamond-eating monster element is not the oddest thing about this film. Most of it looks and feels like a particularly frantic cops-and-robbers thriller with the odd giant floating blob sequence edited in under protest. Still, the script has Shinichi Sekizawa's usual cheerful wit and the special effects are, believe it or not, excellent. Good fun if you like tokusatsu movies; the climax, in which wasp venom is used to try and petrify the monster and a gun battle turns into a dynamite-chucking contest, has to be seen to be believed.

Kudos

Deborah (162 KP) rated Mistress of My Fate; The Confessions of Henrietta Lightfoot in Books

Dec 21, 2018

Hallie Rubenhold's foray into the world of historical fiction brings us to Henrietta Lightfoot and the first volume of her memoirs. I confess that I didn't realise that this was the first book in a planned series and felt a bit frustrated at the end of the book as there were many unresolved questions I was dying to know the answer to!

Books written in the first person can sometimes feel a bit contrived, but that wasn't a problem here at all. An older Henrietta relates the 'true' story of her life, evidently in answer to some untruths put about by a character we have yet to properly meet in this first volume; I'm sure all will become apparent later on!

Many of the characters who weave their way through Rubenhold's tale are actually real, historical figures. Even her fictional characters owe something to the real life experiences of other Georgian inhabitants. This certainly isn't prettified historical fiction; we follow the initially very naive Henrietta through her ups and downs. The main action of the novel takes place over the space of about a year, when Henrietta is still only 17. I look forward to the next instalment!

Kudos

Sara Cox (1845 KP) rated Donuts and Disaster in Books

Jul 27, 2019

Donuts and Disaster

Amber Crewes | 2018 | Crime, Fiction & Poetry

7.0

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

Donuts and Disaster - other than making me feel extremely peckish throughout I surprised myself by enjoying this short book. I was having a spout of 'I want to read, but nothing is holding onto my interest' when I found this on my #tbr shelf. It's number 4 of a series of Sandy Bay Cozy Mysterys. Meghan runs a bakery and finds herself (yet again apparently) tangled up with a murder. The story was quick paced and a lot happened in a short space of time. If I were to offer a criticism I would say that the murder should happen sooner for such a short book. The murder did not happen until half way through, which means there was only a little time in the short book for it to be solved. But as a quick and easy read after a long day at work - definitely a winner. I like that you can read it as a standalone and not need to know what happened in the previous books. The discovery of a killer disappointed me a little as very little investigative work went into it - I was expecting more Jessica Fletcher than accidental confession/discovery.

Kudos

Merissa (12330 KP) rated The Night House in Books

Nov 8, 2019

The Night House

J.C. McKenzie | 2019 | Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy

8.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

THE NIGHT HOUSE is a standalone post-apocalyptic fantasy romance that seamlessly blends medieval knights and sword-play from a different planet with current day earth.

This was a fantastic read, ticking most of my boxes. Thane and Taya have sparks flying aplenty when they are meet and these continue throughout the book. I loved not only Thane though, but his whole team. They were all strong characters with a strong sense of duty and loyalty. Once Taya was part of their team, that was it. No stupidity or senseless behaviour, just helping the newbie out where possible.

If I could give out half stars, this would be a four and a half! The reason for that half star being knocked off would be the ending. It felt very quick to me, almost as if the author was running out of available words in her word count. Big build-up followed by events happening very quickly and not taking up much page space. Still, I loved this book anyway, so perhaps that's why it seemed to end too quickly!

If you like fantasy and contemporary genres merged together, then I would definitely recommend this book!