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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2484 KP) rated Prodigal Son in Books
Mar 17, 2021 (Updated Mar 17, 2021)
Will Orphan X’s Retirement Last?
In the few weeks since Evan Smoak retired, he’s found that adjusting to normal life is more of a struggle than he anticipated, especially since he has nothing to fill his time. The phone calls from Veronica, the woman claiming to be his mother, aren’t helping. He finally decides to meet her, and she asks for his help protecting Andrew Duran from the people trying to kill him. Evan begins tracking down Andrew just to see what his situation is. Will he help Andrew? What might having Veronica in his life mean for him?
If you are new to these books, I don’t recommend you start here. Yes, the background you need is given as events unfold, but to fully appreciate the growth in Evan and his relationships with others, you need the full background the earlier books give you. As a fan, I loved those growth moments in this book. Unfortunately, they did come at the expense of the pacing. Normally, author Gregg Hurwitz is a master at keeping the thrills going while developing the characters for us. Don’t get me wrong, there are some great action scenes, and the book always held my interest. It’s just not quite on par with his others. The scenes spent giving us technical information didn’t help with the pacing. Having said that, it’s going to be a long wait until the next book comes out so I can find out what happens next. Being a thriller, this does have more language and violence than my normal selections, so be prepared before you pick it up. Fans will definitely enjoy this book, and if you haven’t started the series yet, I recommend you do so today.
If you are new to these books, I don’t recommend you start here. Yes, the background you need is given as events unfold, but to fully appreciate the growth in Evan and his relationships with others, you need the full background the earlier books give you. As a fan, I loved those growth moments in this book. Unfortunately, they did come at the expense of the pacing. Normally, author Gregg Hurwitz is a master at keeping the thrills going while developing the characters for us. Don’t get me wrong, there are some great action scenes, and the book always held my interest. It’s just not quite on par with his others. The scenes spent giving us technical information didn’t help with the pacing. Having said that, it’s going to be a long wait until the next book comes out so I can find out what happens next. Being a thriller, this does have more language and violence than my normal selections, so be prepared before you pick it up. Fans will definitely enjoy this book, and if you haven’t started the series yet, I recommend you do so today.
Hazel (2934 KP) rated Before The Storm (DCI Lorimer #18) in Books
Mar 28, 2021
Where have I been living and why have I never read anything by Alex Gray before? This is book 18 for heaven's sake!!! I must have been living under a rock and walking around with my eyes closed to have missed this series because if the previous 17 are anything close to being as good as this, I really have been missing out on a treat. I was a little concerned that coming into an already well established series wasn't a good idea but I needn't have worried as this worked really well as a standalone.
This is an excellent police procedural with a very up-to-date and relevant story line. It is not a white-knuckle, action packed story and it's not full of swearing, violence or gory details but it is written at a steady pace with a growing sense of tension and urgency which makes it a compulsive and riveting read.
The characters are so good and so well developed that I really felt I knew them. I read a lot of crime fiction and police procedurals and I have to say that it is refreshing for the main character not to be full of his own troubles or issues or who is in conflict with either his colleagues or his bosses. Daniel was an excellent addition and his relationship with his neighbour, Netta, was a joy to read ... I do hope that these 2 make an appearance in subsequent books.
I thoroughly enjoyed this and would very much recommend this to everyone and I must thank The Little, Brown Book Group and NetGalley for my copy in return for an unbiased and unedited review.
Alex Gray is definitely on my watchlist now!
This is an excellent police procedural with a very up-to-date and relevant story line. It is not a white-knuckle, action packed story and it's not full of swearing, violence or gory details but it is written at a steady pace with a growing sense of tension and urgency which makes it a compulsive and riveting read.
The characters are so good and so well developed that I really felt I knew them. I read a lot of crime fiction and police procedurals and I have to say that it is refreshing for the main character not to be full of his own troubles or issues or who is in conflict with either his colleagues or his bosses. Daniel was an excellent addition and his relationship with his neighbour, Netta, was a joy to read ... I do hope that these 2 make an appearance in subsequent books.
I thoroughly enjoyed this and would very much recommend this to everyone and I must thank The Little, Brown Book Group and NetGalley for my copy in return for an unbiased and unedited review.
Alex Gray is definitely on my watchlist now!
Debbiereadsbook (1659 KP) rated Cypher (The Dragon's Bidding #2) in Books
Aug 9, 2021
read book 1 first!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.
This is book 2 in The Dragon’s Bidding series, and it cannot be read as a stand-alone. You NEED to read A Hero For an Empire before this one and I would recommend you read them back to back. It’s been 4 years since I read the first one, and I think that’s why I feel as I do about this one. I did not have time to reread book one before reading this one!
I found this a much more difficult read, to follow. It’s heavy on the technical stuff and at times I struggled to keep up.
It moves fast, and even though I had to slow down my reading (which is usually a good thing!) I still struggled a bit.
Fitz and Wolf’s relationship is intense in book one, and that flows over into this one. That fact, and the fact we meet Cypher here, are what made me able to finish this book.
Cypher takes over Wolf’s body, his muscles and his bones but not his mind. He can see what Cypher is doing and is helpless to stop it. He has to trust his love for Fitz, Ari and the others in his life will tide him through and THEY will get to the bottom of it all.
It is HEAVY on the fighting/violence scale. While I enjoyed that in book one, it was a not so much here.
Things are still not where Wolf, Fitz and Ari want them to be, and I expect it may take more than one more book to make it so.
I have Cypher’s book to read next, and given what happens here, I’m looking forward to that.
3 stars
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
This is book 2 in The Dragon’s Bidding series, and it cannot be read as a stand-alone. You NEED to read A Hero For an Empire before this one and I would recommend you read them back to back. It’s been 4 years since I read the first one, and I think that’s why I feel as I do about this one. I did not have time to reread book one before reading this one!
I found this a much more difficult read, to follow. It’s heavy on the technical stuff and at times I struggled to keep up.
It moves fast, and even though I had to slow down my reading (which is usually a good thing!) I still struggled a bit.
Fitz and Wolf’s relationship is intense in book one, and that flows over into this one. That fact, and the fact we meet Cypher here, are what made me able to finish this book.
Cypher takes over Wolf’s body, his muscles and his bones but not his mind. He can see what Cypher is doing and is helpless to stop it. He has to trust his love for Fitz, Ari and the others in his life will tide him through and THEY will get to the bottom of it all.
It is HEAVY on the fighting/violence scale. While I enjoyed that in book one, it was a not so much here.
Things are still not where Wolf, Fitz and Ari want them to be, and I expect it may take more than one more book to make it so.
I have Cypher’s book to read next, and given what happens here, I’m looking forward to that.
3 stars
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated Fast & Furious (2009) in Movies
Jun 14, 2021
Fast and Furious, the fourth film in the 'The Fast and the Furious' franchise takes us back to the basics, the original cast are reunited, if only for a short time in some cases and the plot is closer to '2 Fast, 2 Furious'.
Fast and Furious is more of a sequel to the second film and is set before the third film but does acknowledge it with a scene at the start where, to avoid being caught with Dom, Han goes off to Tokyo.
Fast and Furious feels more like it belongs in the franchise than it's predecessor, the cars are there, as are the gratuitous scantily clad women although not at the same level and Dom and Paul are back trying to stop a crime lord, although both for different reasons.
As with all the previous films, 'Fast and Furious' builds on the theme of family but this time it also tackles revenge and, to a smaller extent betrayal.
If you watch this franchise for the cars and racing then you may be a bit disappointed, there is some racing but not as much as as the previous films and the 'car talk' is kept to a couple of scenes.
As an action film with car chases Fast and Furious isn't bad; There is a bit of a plot, the story telling isn't to bad, it moves at a decent pace, it doesn't rely on sex and keeps the violence to a minimum and still manages to keep the franchise's gimmick, the cars and racing. It's also nice that it still acknowledges 'Tokyo Drift' even though the film seems not to be very well liked amongst the fans of the franchise.
Fast and Furious is more of a sequel to the second film and is set before the third film but does acknowledge it with a scene at the start where, to avoid being caught with Dom, Han goes off to Tokyo.
Fast and Furious feels more like it belongs in the franchise than it's predecessor, the cars are there, as are the gratuitous scantily clad women although not at the same level and Dom and Paul are back trying to stop a crime lord, although both for different reasons.
As with all the previous films, 'Fast and Furious' builds on the theme of family but this time it also tackles revenge and, to a smaller extent betrayal.
If you watch this franchise for the cars and racing then you may be a bit disappointed, there is some racing but not as much as as the previous films and the 'car talk' is kept to a couple of scenes.
As an action film with car chases Fast and Furious isn't bad; There is a bit of a plot, the story telling isn't to bad, it moves at a decent pace, it doesn't rely on sex and keeps the violence to a minimum and still manages to keep the franchise's gimmick, the cars and racing. It's also nice that it still acknowledges 'Tokyo Drift' even though the film seems not to be very well liked amongst the fans of the franchise.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated A Quiet Place: Part II (2021) in Movies
Jul 4, 2021
Y'all get scared too easily lmao. Let's not act like the first one was a genius piece of filmmaking or anything - it just had a solid premise you could wring a metric ton of mileage out of and wasn't afraid to provide lots of fun, goofy, intense thrills in an age of comically over-serious pity parties saturating the horror movie market. I really enjoyed it, but with its sequel the switch from horror/thriller to drama/thriller really took a toll imo. Because what made these work was never the characters, of which I honestly couldn't tell you a single name of nor more than one defining personality trait now two entries later - it was the gimmick, carried so efficiently by the marvelous performances at the forefront. Here the acting still rips (except for Blunt, who along with her character seems totally lost with nothing to do rather than just kind of awkwardly wing it) but the gimmick seems to just try and retrace the steps of the first movie while adding in a deathly simplistic, extraneous story since this one has no real clue what to do with itself... for some reason. And maybe it's just me but this one also looks so much worse. That all being said, this works best when it depicts moments of peace and/or normalcy being immediately brutalized by swift, sweeping violence - it knows exactly how to play them, that shit is *awesome*. Both times it lets these (admittedly kind of lamely designed) creatures wreak havoc on unsuspecting, populated areas it's a total riot. Also features a pretty neat three-way thriller sequence in the middle that's decently cool, too. A perfectly serviceable distraction.
Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated The Purge: Anarchy (2014) in Movies
Jul 14, 2021
Contains spoilers, click to show
The Purge Anarchy is the second film in the Purge franchise and shows more of the effect the purge is having on the general populous.
The film follows three groups who are all out during the annual purge for different reasons but who are forced to come together to help each other.
Some of the questions raised in the first film are expanded on, is the Purge really a way to help stop normal crime or is there a more sinister reason. It also raises the question, Is there any good reason to purge? We see it used as a way to make money, an excuse to behave in 'base' ways and a way to get revenge.
Purge Anarchy follows the main protagonists as they make their way to safety and has some of the sense of suspense the first movie has but also has a lot more violence, a lot of which is in the background as the group try to avoid it.
'Class' is also brought up with an anti-purge group producing media saying that the true purpose of the purge is really just a way of getting rid of the lower class and the poor, with more evidence of this as the film progresses.
Over all the Purge Anarchy is a good movie, it looses some of the tension of the first film by widening the area the film is set but, if they had just done another home invasion film it would have been 'more of the same' and taking it out into the streets enables the franchises law to grow. There are a few questions left at least partly unanswered but there are (at time of writing) three more films and a series so hopefully these are answered later.
The film follows three groups who are all out during the annual purge for different reasons but who are forced to come together to help each other.
Some of the questions raised in the first film are expanded on, is the Purge really a way to help stop normal crime or is there a more sinister reason. It also raises the question, Is there any good reason to purge? We see it used as a way to make money, an excuse to behave in 'base' ways and a way to get revenge.
Purge Anarchy follows the main protagonists as they make their way to safety and has some of the sense of suspense the first movie has but also has a lot more violence, a lot of which is in the background as the group try to avoid it.
'Class' is also brought up with an anti-purge group producing media saying that the true purpose of the purge is really just a way of getting rid of the lower class and the poor, with more evidence of this as the film progresses.
Over all the Purge Anarchy is a good movie, it looses some of the tension of the first film by widening the area the film is set but, if they had just done another home invasion film it would have been 'more of the same' and taking it out into the streets enables the franchises law to grow. There are a few questions left at least partly unanswered but there are (at time of writing) three more films and a series so hopefully these are answered later.
ClareR (6067 KP) rated False Witness in Books
Jul 27, 2021
False Witness is a standalone thriller by Karin Slaughter, and what a fantastic read it is!
It’s set during the Covid-19 pandemic, and we can see the drastic effect it’s had on people’s everyday lives, as well as the working life of a Leigh, a lawyer.
When Leigh walks in to a meeting with a new client - a man accused of violently raping a woman - she doesn’t expect to see someone from her past. It’s a past that she doesn’t talk about, and has told no-one about in its entirety. Even her husband.
Trevor Tennant is the boy that Leigh and her sister, Callie, used to babysit, and now it seems that he has picked up some of the bad habits that his father had: violence against women for one thing. Except Buddy Waleski, Trevors father, also liked very young girls.
Somehow, Trevor has found out what happened between his father and the sisters on the night Buddy disappeared, and blackmails Leigh in order to get him off all charges. He sees the acts of his paedophile father as acceptable, that Callie enjoyed the abuse - in fact he doesn’t believe it was abuse at all. The entitlement is strong in this story - as well as a twisted view of life in general!
Callie is such a vulnerable character. As strong as her sister is, Callie hides behind heroin. It’s a life of existing and getting to the next fix. She’s a really caring person though: she loves animals and she repeatedly puts others before herself.
This is a really dark, high paced, intelligent novel, and it kept me riveted to the screen as I read it in instalments on The Pigeonhole. It was torture waiting for the next instalment, and I’d definitely recommend it!
It’s set during the Covid-19 pandemic, and we can see the drastic effect it’s had on people’s everyday lives, as well as the working life of a Leigh, a lawyer.
When Leigh walks in to a meeting with a new client - a man accused of violently raping a woman - she doesn’t expect to see someone from her past. It’s a past that she doesn’t talk about, and has told no-one about in its entirety. Even her husband.
Trevor Tennant is the boy that Leigh and her sister, Callie, used to babysit, and now it seems that he has picked up some of the bad habits that his father had: violence against women for one thing. Except Buddy Waleski, Trevors father, also liked very young girls.
Somehow, Trevor has found out what happened between his father and the sisters on the night Buddy disappeared, and blackmails Leigh in order to get him off all charges. He sees the acts of his paedophile father as acceptable, that Callie enjoyed the abuse - in fact he doesn’t believe it was abuse at all. The entitlement is strong in this story - as well as a twisted view of life in general!
Callie is such a vulnerable character. As strong as her sister is, Callie hides behind heroin. It’s a life of existing and getting to the next fix. She’s a really caring person though: she loves animals and she repeatedly puts others before herself.
This is a really dark, high paced, intelligent novel, and it kept me riveted to the screen as I read it in instalments on The Pigeonhole. It was torture waiting for the next instalment, and I’d definitely recommend it!
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2484 KP) rated Death by Equine in Books
May 12, 2021
Tragic Accident or Murder?
Veterinarian Jessie Cameron has agreed to fill in for her mentor, Doc Lewis, at Riverview Racetrack so Doc can take a much-deserved two-week vacation. However, the night before Doc is supposed to leave, he is killed by one of the horses at the track. Jessie’s work at the track makes her begin to question the supposed accident that killed Doc. Could there be more to it than the police are seeing? The more Jessie investigates, the more she begins to see her mentor in a different light. Did she really know the man? What secret she is uncovering led to his death?
I always love it when an author manages to come up with an unusual murder weapon, and that’s exactly what author Annette Dashofy has done for this stand alone. I may have been impatient, but I felt the book was a bit slow at the beginning, but it wasn’t long before I was caught up in the story and all Jessie was learning. The climax was wonderfully suspenseful. I did struggle with how little the police believed Jessie, which is funny since it is part of so many other books I read. The characters are wonderful. They are fully realized and help draw us into the story, confusing us on what exactly is going on until Jessie figures it out. Like Annette Dashofy’s other books, this one has a smattering of foul language and a tad more violence than in the cozies I normally read. These are cozy adjacent or traditional, and I’m sure if you enjoy cozies you’ll enjoy these, too. If you’ve wanted to try Annette’s books, this is a great place to jump in. If you are already a fan, you’ll enjoy this one as well.
I always love it when an author manages to come up with an unusual murder weapon, and that’s exactly what author Annette Dashofy has done for this stand alone. I may have been impatient, but I felt the book was a bit slow at the beginning, but it wasn’t long before I was caught up in the story and all Jessie was learning. The climax was wonderfully suspenseful. I did struggle with how little the police believed Jessie, which is funny since it is part of so many other books I read. The characters are wonderful. They are fully realized and help draw us into the story, confusing us on what exactly is going on until Jessie figures it out. Like Annette Dashofy’s other books, this one has a smattering of foul language and a tad more violence than in the cozies I normally read. These are cozy adjacent or traditional, and I’m sure if you enjoy cozies you’ll enjoy these, too. If you’ve wanted to try Annette’s books, this is a great place to jump in. If you are already a fan, you’ll enjoy this one as well.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Escape Room (2019) in Movies
Sep 15, 2020
Contains spoilers, click to show
In short, Escape Room is actually a pretty tight thriller with a really disappointingly shitty ending.
It's disappointing because I found myself unexpectedly enjoying the bulk of the movie, even if it doesn't carry a lot of substance.
It's a more recent entry into the currently popular and seemingly unending PG-13 corner of horror. This of course means little in the way of gore or scares, something that I would usually take issue with, but managed to get on board with in this instance.
The set up is resemblant of Saw, but the later films in that franchise are evidence that more gore certainly doesn't make for a better film. With the focus here not being on violence but the actual puzzles the characters have to work through, I found it to be fairly engaging.
The set pieces and room designs are imaginative, and a lot of these moments are suitably tense.
The cast are decent as well - Taylor Russell, Tyler Labine and Nik Dodani are likeable, and I always enjoy Deborah Ann Woll whenever she pops up in things.
My main gripe however is the plot. The premise is really straightforward, not much room for error in that respect, so the inclusion of a faceless Hostel-esque corporation who caters to rich people who profit from this whole thing is just dumb. It's feels lazy, unnecessary, and more than anything, really tacked on and rushed. The ending flies by in an attempt to hastily set up a sequel rather than focusing on ending this film in a satisfying manner. It's a real shame because the majority of the film is relatively entertaining, and the climax just de-rails it completely.
Escape Room is worth watching for the Saw meets Cube premise, but ultimately ends up being a bang average thriller.
It's disappointing because I found myself unexpectedly enjoying the bulk of the movie, even if it doesn't carry a lot of substance.
It's a more recent entry into the currently popular and seemingly unending PG-13 corner of horror. This of course means little in the way of gore or scares, something that I would usually take issue with, but managed to get on board with in this instance.
The set up is resemblant of Saw, but the later films in that franchise are evidence that more gore certainly doesn't make for a better film. With the focus here not being on violence but the actual puzzles the characters have to work through, I found it to be fairly engaging.
The set pieces and room designs are imaginative, and a lot of these moments are suitably tense.
The cast are decent as well - Taylor Russell, Tyler Labine and Nik Dodani are likeable, and I always enjoy Deborah Ann Woll whenever she pops up in things.
My main gripe however is the plot. The premise is really straightforward, not much room for error in that respect, so the inclusion of a faceless Hostel-esque corporation who caters to rich people who profit from this whole thing is just dumb. It's feels lazy, unnecessary, and more than anything, really tacked on and rushed. The ending flies by in an attempt to hastily set up a sequel rather than focusing on ending this film in a satisfying manner. It's a real shame because the majority of the film is relatively entertaining, and the climax just de-rails it completely.
Escape Room is worth watching for the Saw meets Cube premise, but ultimately ends up being a bang average thriller.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Avatar (2009) in Movies
Sep 20, 2020
"𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬."
The story has been criticized up and down for being about as basic as can be, as well as being somewhat subtractive of the real life parallel this is generally aiming for - and I agree wholeheartedly. But let's be honest here, nobody goes into this for its merits as a piece of storytelling - which it isn't even necessarily bad at on the whole - it just rushes into and through everything too quickly (that goes double for a movie of this length). No, this is front-to-back pure, rich spectacle. Movies since have tried to emulate it but none have even come close to reaching the grandiose scope, immaculate attention to detail, and luxurious world-building. There's so much on the screen all at once you could almost get lost, as if you were right there in this massive, vibrant splashpad of late 2000s blockbuster merriment. And those last thirty minutes of rock-solid PG-13 fantasy violence just take the cake, holy *shit* they rule (remember when these used to end in half-hour long epic battle sequences where you could actually see and even care about what was going on?). Mechs fighting giant fantastical animals, soldiers getting pincushioned left and right with massive arrows, huge flying creatures shot-putting military aircrafts into the sides of cliffs... had a smile the size of Texas across my face the whole time - that's as good as those things get. Plus this is another entry into my Joel-David-Moore-is-underrated collection because he outacts the entire cast of A-listers here. As beautiful as the day it came out, but perhaps in a different way reflexively.
The story has been criticized up and down for being about as basic as can be, as well as being somewhat subtractive of the real life parallel this is generally aiming for - and I agree wholeheartedly. But let's be honest here, nobody goes into this for its merits as a piece of storytelling - which it isn't even necessarily bad at on the whole - it just rushes into and through everything too quickly (that goes double for a movie of this length). No, this is front-to-back pure, rich spectacle. Movies since have tried to emulate it but none have even come close to reaching the grandiose scope, immaculate attention to detail, and luxurious world-building. There's so much on the screen all at once you could almost get lost, as if you were right there in this massive, vibrant splashpad of late 2000s blockbuster merriment. And those last thirty minutes of rock-solid PG-13 fantasy violence just take the cake, holy *shit* they rule (remember when these used to end in half-hour long epic battle sequences where you could actually see and even care about what was going on?). Mechs fighting giant fantastical animals, soldiers getting pincushioned left and right with massive arrows, huge flying creatures shot-putting military aircrafts into the sides of cliffs... had a smile the size of Texas across my face the whole time - that's as good as those things get. Plus this is another entry into my Joel-David-Moore-is-underrated collection because he outacts the entire cast of A-listers here. As beautiful as the day it came out, but perhaps in a different way reflexively.