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Merissa (14068 KP) rated A Company of Monsters (The Sorcerers of Verdun #2) in Books
Jan 15, 2020
A Company of Monsters is the second book in The Sorcerers of Verdun series, and it takes you right back to Geist and WWI. I would definitely recommend reading these as a series as the story does follow on from book one.
In this book, however, Geist and her squadron are sent to Russia as Houses of Sorcerers are being obliterated. Not a simple task being as WWI is happening and Russia is also going through a turbulent time. Not only that, but Amalgam shows up, together with Geist's family and the Eyes of the Kaiser which adds a whole new level to the story.
Just as with book one, Ms. Stovall has done an exceptional job with this story. The events flow from one to the other, ringing true with every word. The only reason for not giving it 5-stars this time is because of Geist herself. She seemed more... fragmented... disjointed than in book one. Which may well be how it is supposed to be but I found it slightly distracting. The relationship between her and Vergess is also confusing as, on the one hand, they have special 'intimate' names for each other, and Vergess is definitely more intense, but then we are also told that they have no chemistry between them.
On the whole, I loved this book, just not quite as much as book one. That doesn't mean this book is no good, not by a long shot. I will be continuing this series and seeing where Geist and her crew go next, AND seeing how Amalgam fits in!
Definitely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
In this book, however, Geist and her squadron are sent to Russia as Houses of Sorcerers are being obliterated. Not a simple task being as WWI is happening and Russia is also going through a turbulent time. Not only that, but Amalgam shows up, together with Geist's family and the Eyes of the Kaiser which adds a whole new level to the story.
Just as with book one, Ms. Stovall has done an exceptional job with this story. The events flow from one to the other, ringing true with every word. The only reason for not giving it 5-stars this time is because of Geist herself. She seemed more... fragmented... disjointed than in book one. Which may well be how it is supposed to be but I found it slightly distracting. The relationship between her and Vergess is also confusing as, on the one hand, they have special 'intimate' names for each other, and Vergess is definitely more intense, but then we are also told that they have no chemistry between them.
On the whole, I loved this book, just not quite as much as book one. That doesn't mean this book is no good, not by a long shot. I will be continuing this series and seeing where Geist and her crew go next, AND seeing how Amalgam fits in!
Definitely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Day of the Dead (1985) in Movies
Apr 1, 2020
Bub The Zombie (1 more)
Capt. Rhodes
Night, Dawn and Day: The Perfect Trilogy
Day of the Dead- is the final movie in George's trilogy. It started with Night, than Dawn and now Day. The perfect trilogy about surival, surviving, surival of the finest and the livng dead. With great charcters, excellent villians and of course the zombies. In this one you have, Bub the zombie and the evil Capt. Rhodies. So thats a plus.
The plot: Trapped in a missile silo, a small team of scientists, civilians and trigger-happy soldiers battle desperately to ensure the survival of the human race, but tension inside the base is reaching breaking-point, and the zombies are gathering outside.
Romero originally intended the film to be "the Gone with the Wind of zombie films. This forced Romero to scale back his story, rewriting the script and adjusting his original vision to fit the smaller budget.
A total of five scripts were written as Romero wrestled with the film's concepts and the budgetary constraints. The first draft was over 200 pages, which he later condensed to 122 pages. This is the true original script, and to date no copies of it have come to light. This version was likely rejected because UFDC felt it was too expensive for them to produce even with an R rating. Romero subsequently scaled down the scope of this script into a 165-page draft (often erroneously referred to as the original version), then condensed it again to a 104-page draft labeled the 'second version, second draft' in an unsuccessful final attempt to get the story within budget parameters. When this failed, he drastically altered the original story concept and ultimately produced a shooting draft that numbered only 88 pages.
Its a perfect ending for a excellent and phenomenal trilogy.
The plot: Trapped in a missile silo, a small team of scientists, civilians and trigger-happy soldiers battle desperately to ensure the survival of the human race, but tension inside the base is reaching breaking-point, and the zombies are gathering outside.
Romero originally intended the film to be "the Gone with the Wind of zombie films. This forced Romero to scale back his story, rewriting the script and adjusting his original vision to fit the smaller budget.
A total of five scripts were written as Romero wrestled with the film's concepts and the budgetary constraints. The first draft was over 200 pages, which he later condensed to 122 pages. This is the true original script, and to date no copies of it have come to light. This version was likely rejected because UFDC felt it was too expensive for them to produce even with an R rating. Romero subsequently scaled down the scope of this script into a 165-page draft (often erroneously referred to as the original version), then condensed it again to a 104-page draft labeled the 'second version, second draft' in an unsuccessful final attempt to get the story within budget parameters. When this failed, he drastically altered the original story concept and ultimately produced a shooting draft that numbered only 88 pages.
Its a perfect ending for a excellent and phenomenal trilogy.
Vladimir Jabotinsky's Story of My Life
Brian J. Horowitz and Leonid Katsis
Book
Vladimir Jabotinsky is well remembered as a militant leader and father of the right-wing Revisionist...
Stan The Man: The Life Story of Stan Wall, from Top Rugby League Referee to Super League's Most Famous Kitman
Book
This is the story of a life well lived and a true character of the game of rugby league. Stan Wall...
A Race Too Far
Book
The true story of the tragic round-the-world yacht race - now the subject of The Mercy, starring...
BT
Back to the Boy
Book
'The thought behind this book is not just me wanting to tell my story in the standard...
Hazel (1853 KP) rated Secret Silver Songs in Books
Jun 28, 2020
Once again, the versatile Jordan Elizabeth returns to the fantasy/paranormal genre with a unique novel, Secret Silver Songs. With vampire-like men and demon-like creatures, the story takes the reader on a journey from an idyllic island to ruined cities, death and destruction.
Protagonist, Jemilla, is the daughter of the city's Singer - a man who can protect the city through the power of song. Life on the island is calm and peaceful; there is no crime, there is no danger, there is no fighting; so, no one was prepared for an invasion of blood-drinking Thistly. When her father is killed along with the majority of the population, there is no one left to save the island. Only men could become Singers, or so they claimed, but Jemilla is hiding a secret - she can Sing too.
At the beginning of the novel, Jemilla comes across as an anxious teenager, having been plagued by an overactive imagination for most of her life. Yet, as the story goes on, her frightening thoughts appear to be not as imaginary as she originally believed. A silver woman that no one but Jamilla can see taunts her daily and seems to want Jemilla to fail in her quest to save the island from the Thistly. Mid-story, however, alliances appear to change and Jemilla must figure out which team the silver woman is playing for and discover the truth about her home island.
From the very first chapter, Jordan Elizabeth captures the reader's attention with fast-paced action that never stills until the Epilogue. Taking aspects of history, such as rules for women written by men, the author subliminally advocates for women's rights. Secret Silver Songs demonstrates that enemies can be beaten but also that your true enemy may not be who you expect. Above all, never underestimate the power of song.
Protagonist, Jemilla, is the daughter of the city's Singer - a man who can protect the city through the power of song. Life on the island is calm and peaceful; there is no crime, there is no danger, there is no fighting; so, no one was prepared for an invasion of blood-drinking Thistly. When her father is killed along with the majority of the population, there is no one left to save the island. Only men could become Singers, or so they claimed, but Jemilla is hiding a secret - she can Sing too.
At the beginning of the novel, Jemilla comes across as an anxious teenager, having been plagued by an overactive imagination for most of her life. Yet, as the story goes on, her frightening thoughts appear to be not as imaginary as she originally believed. A silver woman that no one but Jamilla can see taunts her daily and seems to want Jemilla to fail in her quest to save the island from the Thistly. Mid-story, however, alliances appear to change and Jemilla must figure out which team the silver woman is playing for and discover the truth about her home island.
From the very first chapter, Jordan Elizabeth captures the reader's attention with fast-paced action that never stills until the Epilogue. Taking aspects of history, such as rules for women written by men, the author subliminally advocates for women's rights. Secret Silver Songs demonstrates that enemies can be beaten but also that your true enemy may not be who you expect. Above all, never underestimate the power of song.
Merissa (14068 KP) created a post
Apr 7, 2021
ClareR (6253 KP) rated This One Sky Day in Books
May 11, 2021
This One Sky Day is packed full of magical realism and beautiful descriptions of what appears on the surface to be a tropical paradise.
Popisho is a magical land where everyone is born with a special gift or ‘cors’ Some are healers, some have speed or strength, and some, namely Xavier Redchoose, has the gift of cooking the perfect meal for everyone. He is the macaenus of his generation. He has the ability at his fingertips to make food taste delicious, and to cook just what his guest loves and needs the most. All cors are given by the gods.
It’s a story that tells you to use your gifts to make you happy, it talks about politics and how they can be twisted to serve the needs of those who are supposed to who are supposed to serve others, and it’s a story that shows that change is inevitable.
I’m not so sure that I understood everything, but it’s a beautifully written, entertaining story. I never knew what was going to happen next, in a world where literally anything could happen!
I WILL say that I’ve read enough about pum-pums to last me a lifetime. I may even be a little bit traumatised! 🤭
I think the best word to describe this book is “gleeful”. Whilst I was reading it, it felt like the author had enjoyed writing it (whether that’s true or not, I have no idea!), and it was a book that just made me feel happy! 🤷🏼♀️
So, whether I’ve managed to grasp the finer details of this novel is immaterial to me - I just really very much enjoyed reading it.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for another great serialisation.
Popisho is a magical land where everyone is born with a special gift or ‘cors’ Some are healers, some have speed or strength, and some, namely Xavier Redchoose, has the gift of cooking the perfect meal for everyone. He is the macaenus of his generation. He has the ability at his fingertips to make food taste delicious, and to cook just what his guest loves and needs the most. All cors are given by the gods.
It’s a story that tells you to use your gifts to make you happy, it talks about politics and how they can be twisted to serve the needs of those who are supposed to who are supposed to serve others, and it’s a story that shows that change is inevitable.
I’m not so sure that I understood everything, but it’s a beautifully written, entertaining story. I never knew what was going to happen next, in a world where literally anything could happen!
I WILL say that I’ve read enough about pum-pums to last me a lifetime. I may even be a little bit traumatised! 🤭
I think the best word to describe this book is “gleeful”. Whilst I was reading it, it felt like the author had enjoyed writing it (whether that’s true or not, I have no idea!), and it was a book that just made me feel happy! 🤷🏼♀️
So, whether I’ve managed to grasp the finer details of this novel is immaterial to me - I just really very much enjoyed reading it.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for another great serialisation.
ClareR (6253 KP) rated Shield of the Rising Sun (Path of Nemesis #3) in Books
Sep 8, 2020
This is the third book in a series of historical fiction novels set in the Roman era. Even though I haven’t read the first two books, I had no problem at all in understanding what was going on in the Shield of the Rising Sun. Although that now doesn’t stop me from wanting to read the first two books!
The story is told by three characters: Albinus, his son Faustus, and Faustus’ uncle, Calvus. The battle scenes, mainly from Albinus’ point of view, were gory (I like this - I know, probably a bit odd!) and the politics with all the infighting and back-stabbing was fascinating. How did anyone ever feel safe at this time? I’ll answer that: if they were clever, they NEVER felt safe!
This story shows the true reach of the Roman Empire - there are scenes in Britain, Germany and Egypt, as well as in Rome. It frankly amazed me how quickly Roman soldiers seemed to be able to travel - and mostly (if not solely) on foot!
The main characters were all three very likeable men, who had me rooting for them throughout - even though it was pretty obvious what would happen to one of them from the start )I’m giving nothing away here!).
I enjoy reading a lot of historical fiction, and it’s not often that I read books set in the Roman period. I don’t know why, there’s no reason I can think of, and this makes me realise that I really should read more! If, like me, you’re a fan of historical fiction, then you’ll enjoy the rich descriptions and history packed story within the pages of this book.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this book, and to Adam Lofthouse for joining in and commenting in the margins!
The story is told by three characters: Albinus, his son Faustus, and Faustus’ uncle, Calvus. The battle scenes, mainly from Albinus’ point of view, were gory (I like this - I know, probably a bit odd!) and the politics with all the infighting and back-stabbing was fascinating. How did anyone ever feel safe at this time? I’ll answer that: if they were clever, they NEVER felt safe!
This story shows the true reach of the Roman Empire - there are scenes in Britain, Germany and Egypt, as well as in Rome. It frankly amazed me how quickly Roman soldiers seemed to be able to travel - and mostly (if not solely) on foot!
The main characters were all three very likeable men, who had me rooting for them throughout - even though it was pretty obvious what would happen to one of them from the start )I’m giving nothing away here!).
I enjoy reading a lot of historical fiction, and it’s not often that I read books set in the Roman period. I don’t know why, there’s no reason I can think of, and this makes me realise that I really should read more! If, like me, you’re a fan of historical fiction, then you’ll enjoy the rich descriptions and history packed story within the pages of this book.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this book, and to Adam Lofthouse for joining in and commenting in the margins!