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Dana (24 KP) rated Nimona in Books

Mar 23, 2018  
Nimona
Nimona
Noelle Stevenson | 2015 | Children, Comics & Graphic Novels
10
10.0 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
This was a fun, quirky, and cute graphic novel that I absolutely adored.

The charm of it was split fifty-fifty between the writing and the drawings. I don't know why, but I am obsessed with the character drawings from this novel! They are so cute and amazing and I love them.

I love how it was so successful as a web comic that Harper decided to turn it into print. Things like that make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

This comic had me straight out laughing out loud (to the point where my roommates thought something had gone wrong with me). I loved how Nimona had so much spunk and actually *minor spoiler* was more villainous than the actual villain of the story.

Speaking of, the relationship between Nimona and Blackhart was awesome! It was cool to see the father-daughter relationship as well as the villain-sidekick and overall besties vibe from the pair.

Goldenlion was fun, too. Even though he was the :hero" of the story, he was still able to see the good in Blackhart and question the Institution and their motives and actions.

I liked how this isn't really just one genre. It has elements of fantasy, science/tech, and medieval genres but also had a very modern take on certain parts. I have always wanted to read something set in a distant time period that also has a lot of modern aspects.

The story line was cute, but it also got really deep at times. It allows readers to start questioning their own country's "heroes" and Institutions. It also calls into question how far testing and militarization should be allowed to go.

Overall, I really enjoyed this fun and very quick read.

If anyone is in a reading slump or just need to get into a better mood, I definitely recommend this to you.
  
FI
Fantasy in Death (In Death, #30)
J.D. Robb | 2010
8
8.0 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
<i>Fantasy in Death</i> is an interesting take on the death-by-gaming plot that has previously been done by a couple of fantasy and science fiction authors, most notably in Niven and Barnes' Dream Park series. I doubt that most of Robb's readers will be familiar with the other books, as they're probably coming from the romance world (crossing over from her Nora Roberts titles) instead of the science fiction genre.

What hit me the most, though, was nostalgia for the dot com boom. The portrayal of the hot start-up company with its open, cheerful offices full of tech toys and energy, well-paid employees on fire with ideas and enthusiasm happily burning the midnight oil to work on exciting projects&mdash;I remember those days! Okay, the technology wasn't as advanced as the stuff in the book, but I can relate.

I always enjoy the portrayal of Dallas and Roarke's relationship as a mature partnership. It is a bit clich&ecuted at this point that every case has some aspect that justifies bringing in Roarke as a civilian consultant, but it's part of the formula. The sex is somewhat paint by numbers by now, too, but as prolific as Robb/Roberts is, I'm wondering if she has templates for different series and she has her own <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratemeyer_Syndicate">Stratemeyer Syndicate</a>-type operation going on somewhere. (I've never read anything but the Eve Dallas books, so please take that as the joke it's meant to be!)

I was a little disappointed in the reveal, as I felt that the bad guy was too obvious. I won't say more, as I don't want to give anything away. I'll probably continue reading the series, but I'm past feeling an urgent need to grab them as soon as they come out, and this definitely isn't one of the few series that I could re-read and enjoy.
  
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Kevin Wilson (179 KP) rated Black Mirror - Season 3 in TV

Jul 14, 2018 (Updated Jul 14, 2018)  
Black Mirror  - Season 3
Black Mirror - Season 3
2014 | Sci-Fi
Interesting and frightening stories (2 more)
So many twists
Fantastic acting
There will always be some hit and misses with episodes (0 more)
The series just keeps getting better
This series I feels just keeps getting better and better. I loved season 3. There were definitely some episodes that stood out as the best you will see on TV altogether.

It also felt completely relevant to what is actually happening in the world today. The first episode was about how your perceived through social networking and how your judged through being rated. 1 about the dangers of downloading unknown programs that may contain viruses and another about how the technology behind VR is progressing. As a gamer that was most interesting.

As far as acting goes, the episode that really stood out was the 4th called San Junipero. I'll be honest I spent a majority of the episode confused because it seemed to be set during time period but then it all made sense. The twists and the emotion in the scenes were incredible and I was in tears by the end.

The 5th was good, it reminded me a lot of startship troopers for a while and the twists were great. Twists seems to be where black mirror thrives. I don't like giving spoilers usually so trying not to say much. It's all about the army and blindly following orders without question.

The last episode I could take or leave. It was good but I wasn't as invested as the others. It was about killer machincal bees I guess I can say.its basically a cop drama episode about someone solving a murder. Bees are not the twist to be honest.

What I love about black mirror is how all this is actually possible. It's something that could happen 1 day and that terrifies me. It's a frightening concept and It feels it's all set now but with added tech. You don't need to watch these in any order but I'd still recommend watch every episode.
  
Piranha (Oregon Files #10)
Piranha (Oregon Files #10)
Clive Cussler, Boyd Morrison | 2015 | Fiction & Poetry, Thriller
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Let's be honest here some of the Cussler franchises are getting a little tired and in need of some fresh momentum. Who better to take up the baton of the secret spy ship Oregon than Boyd Morrison? His characterisation and love of technology and gadgets fits perfectly with plots that require several different protagonists in play (there are 4 main 'bad guys' alone in this book, not mention a ship full of the good guys) and high-tech confrontations.

Morrison does indeed tackle this book with gusto. This is mostly action from cover to cover with very little time to catch breath between and exposition being done on the move. There is certainly no feeling that the narrative is moving from set piece to set piece without much momentum or reason.

The main plot is also interesting - what if someone always knew what you were going to do, as if they had an omniscient eavesdropping device. How would you counter that? Add in a vengeful Venezuelan Navy captain and some particularly nasty henchmen and you have the basics for a real thrill ride.

I do like Morrison's work (if you have never read any of the Tyler Locke series I recommend that you do) and expected to like this book, but it exceeded my every expectation. Our heroes are assaulted on all sides - and notably often not under the protection of the Oregon - and the only way they win through is by simply being good at what they do - there are no escapes due to fortunate circumstances.

This is definitely one of the most impressive Cussler brand books for years, probably the best Oregon Files book there is. Although mention is made in passing of various previous exploits, reading the previous novels is not required to enjoy this book.

If you like fast paced adventure with plenty of thrills then you can't go far wrong reading this
  
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JT (287 KP) rated The Losers (2010) in Movies

Mar 10, 2020  
The Losers (2010)
The Losers (2010)
2010 | Action, Drama, Mystery
6
7.3 (9 Ratings)
Movie Rating
If you want an action film that does precisely what it says on the tin, then this is clearly going to be the film of choice for you.

It’s thoroughly enjoyable without taking itself too seriously as other films of this genre do, and includes one of the funniest scenes I have seen for sometime. Hats off to the talented Chris Evans for that one.

The story is as straight forward as it could be, a group of CIA black ops narrowly miss being assassinated after a smash and grab rescue mission in the Bolivian jungle. So of course they want pay back, who wouldn’t, and they link up with the beautiful Aisha (Saldana) who has motives of her own.

The group are a somewhat mismatched bunch, but then any good special ops team is a mixed bag of personalities, just look at the A-Team.

It’s thoroughly enjoyable without taking itself too seriously as other films of this genre do

Jeffrey Dean Morgan leads the way as Clay a straight talking no nonsense commander, Jensen (Evans) a wise cracking tech, Idris Elba as the not to be believed Roque, Pooch (Columbus Short) whose handy at the wheel of anything with a motor and Cougar (Óscar Jaenada) who is deadly at long range with the sniper rifle.

The villain of the piece is Max (Jason Patric) a billionaire with plans for world domination, he dresses smartly and even has a villains affliction in the form of a damaged hand which he covers up with a variety of classy gloves. There are times though in a plot that is loosely built around a sonic bomb, that they better developed an ending worthy of a film that had everything in it.

Still, you won’t be overly bothered too much and when the adrenalin levels increase and the sharp shooting beings you’ll be keeping your fingers crossed for any signs of a possible sequel.
  
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