Search

Search only in certain items:

    Scorpion Simulator

    Scorpion Simulator

    Games and Entertainment

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Live the life of a Scorpion! Survive as a tiny arachnid on an island filled with giant plants,...

Burial Rites
Burial Rites
Hannah Kent | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry
9
7.9 (8 Ratings)
Book Rating
Remarkable re-telling of an Icelandic murder case
Hannah Kent's detailed historical true crime story is fascinating, as she fills in the gaps about Iceland's last known case to end with the death penalty of a woman.

It isn't a murder mystery, more a fictional portrayal of Agnes Magnusdottir, who was condemned to death after the murder of two men, one of whom was her employer. It surrounds her last months kept in the home of a lawman and his family, as they grew closer to her and as she revealed more about the case to them. She confides in a young assistant priest, Toti, appointed as her spiritual guardian.

Here we find a rather ambiguous story about her so-called heroic employer, who seems to be more callous than what most thought about him. It is moving to read about the intense poverty she faced, and the loveless life she led, forcing people to behave in many different ways. There is a recurrent theme of jealousy throughout the book which shows what people are truly capable of. It is a battle for survival in a harsh, wintry landscape.
  
The Tattooist of Auschwitz
The Tattooist of Auschwitz
Heather Morris | 2018 | Biography, History & Politics, Religion
7
8.7 (74 Ratings)
Book Rating
It's compelling at times (2 more)
The chapters are short
It's all to the point and not fluffy
Not compelling most of the time (2 more)
Writing can become very bland
It didn't feel real at times
I wouldn't say 'unputdownable'
This book is good, not great but alright.
You follow Lale a Slovakian Jew and in 1942 each family is required to gove over a worker for Labour camps. In hopes to keep his family safe Lale goes to Prague where he's put in a cattle car and shipped to birkaneau.
The story is sad and hopeful and shows the raw need for survival but also that in times like that we can all pull together.

While the story was good and lovely to read about the writing was bland and off-putting at times. I struggled to get through the entire book and put it down for ages at a time because I just wasn't enamoured by the writing as others were.


If you can't look past bad writing and appreciate the story this book is ok for you, but there are better accounts of that period of history waiting to be read.
  
Show all 5 comments.
40x40

Amy Christmas (170 KP) Jan 15, 2019

@Cumberland no problem, hope she enjoys it!

40x40

Kat Carroll (0 KP) Jan 2, 2020

An amazing can't put down read

40x40

Awix (3310 KP) rated Survivors in TV

Mar 9, 2018  
Survivors
Survivors
2008 | Drama, Sci-Fi
6
7.3 (23 Ratings)
TV Show Rating
21st century remake of the cult post-apocalyptic drama is supposedly based on the novelisation of the 70s show, not the show itself, but one gets the impression this claim is just there as a legal requirement: in the early episodes, at least, this is recognisably the same story.

That said, New Survivors is notably more suburban and less concerned with the realities of post-apocalyptic survival than with making grand statements about family and love through the medium of slightly soapy and soft-centred drama. It's a BBC genre drama from the late 2000s, so the characters are more diverse, everything is rather sentimental, and supplies of subtlety do not appear to have made it through the catastrophe. Still, it's kind of watchable, especially if you can put the original show out of your mind, and in the second series in particular one can discern an interesting subtext suggesting the programme is partly motivated by anger aimed at the culprits of the financial disaster of 2008. Second series concludes on a cliffhanger of sorts, so you can have fun making up your own ending for the story.
  
40x40

Sean Farrell (9 KP) rated The Martian in Books

Mar 15, 2018  
The Martian
The Martian
Andy Weir | 2014 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
8.9 (50 Ratings)
Book Rating
The idea of being stranded alone somewhere is certainly a terrifying one, and as such has been used countless times in literature (and film). Moving the location 140,000,000 miles from Earth adds a new twist to the tale though, and adds an increased sense of desperation. When astronaut Mark Watney finds himself trapped on Mars after an accident, he turns out to be more resilient and resourceful than many of us would, and goes about doing everything he can to ensure his survival and up his odds of rescue. Given that rescue is so far away, and the harsh Martian environment is so unforgiving, things don't always go his way. The series of setbacks he experiences keeps readers in suspense throughout the entire book. The story is told largely from the perspective of Mark dictating to his log, which gives it a casual tone, making Mark very likable, and keeping the technical bits easy to understand. As such, this is a fun read, that kept me on the edge of my seat. If the movie is anywhere near as good as the book, it should be one of the best of the year.
  
Under the Northern Lights
Under the Northern Lights
S.C. Stephens | 2019 | Romance
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Mallory, a professional photographer, is making her annual flight up to Alaska to enjoy the remoteness and the capture images of the wildlife she loves so much. What she didn't expect is for her plane to go down in a remote area after unexpected weather hits her. Left without any supplies, badly injured and surrounded by danger, she assumes this is the end. Seconds away from death, a mysterious man, living alone in the mountains saves her life.

After spending years alone, having given up on society and life in general, Michael can't help but find himself growing more and more appreciative of Mallory's presence as they face the harsh realities of living in remote Alaska together. Stuck until Spring when he can finally fly them out and to safety, they must learn to live together, relying on each other in this remote land.

SC Stephens has an incredible way of writing that completely rips your heart out, yet you just can't turn away. She hooked me years ago with her Thoughtless series (still my all-time favorite) and she has once again created a beautiful story about survival, faith, and love. Highly, highly recommended!
  
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
1978 | Horror
Zombies Run The Mall
Contains spoilers, click to show
Dawn of the Dead- is the second movie in the living dead franchise directed by horror icon George A. Ramero.

The plot: As hordes of zombies swarm over the U.S., the terrified populace tries everything in their power to escape the attack of the undead, but neither cities nor the countryside prove safe. In Pennsylvania, radio-station employee Stephen (David Emge) and his girlfriend, Francine (Gaylen Ross), escape in the station helicopter, accompanied by two renegade SWAT members, Roger and Pete. The group retreats to the haven of an enclosed shopping center to make what could be humanity's last stand.

On the way these surviors to encourter a bike gang that raids the mall and some how the survivor have to survivor the bike gang without getting killed.

You really get to care about these charaters, because you are with them, you are one of them, you fell like your apart of them and trying to survivor the zombies.

This movie is 2h and 30mins long but that is the perfect amont of time, for this zombie epic.

A must see horror movie, a must see zombie survival movie and george a ramero director it.
  
My Life As A Rat
My Life As A Rat
Joyce Carol Oates | 2019 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry
10
9.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
A compelling, frankly heart wrenching, story.
Oh my word, this was a tough book to read! A book about family loyalty, betrayal, racism, love and survival. Violet is a twelve year old who knows a secret about her two older brothers, and she keeps this secret for as long as she can. When her life is threatened, she discloses the information- and so starts a chain of events that result in her being disowned by her family.
It’s a heartbreaking story. Violet believes that her family will take her back, that they live her really, and that it’s her fault alone that her brothers are imprisoned. She seems to punish herself repeatedly through the course of the story: she puts herself into impossible situations with unsuitable, cruel men, and then feels that she deserves their appalling treatment. I really wanted to take her out of the story and tell her that she did the right thing, that it wasn’t her fault and that no one deserves to be treated as she was.
So yes, I would recommend this book. It’s my first book by Joyce Carol Oates, and it certainly won’t be my last.