tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49888133332684063632024-03-14T06:06:55.221+00:00The Fictional HangoutCoverage on Books, Films, Games and TV Shows. Milo MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145862452794634877noreply@blogger.comBlogger272125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4988813333268406363.post-20175465640716415562015-11-12T22:06:00.000+00:002015-11-12T22:06:17.568+00:00I've Moved!<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Hi all, just a quick note to
say that I’m no longer going to be updating The Fictional Hangout at least on
blogger. You can instead find a new and improved TFH over on Wordpress <a href="https://thefictionalhangoutsite.wordpress.com/2015/11/12/welcome-to-the-fictional-hangout-2-0/">here</a>, so
remember to update your bookmarks and links! I’ve imported all the reviews from
this site onto that one but have not gotten around to correctly formatting them
all, so at least for the moment, if you’re interested in my older reviews then
by all means feel free to use this site, it’s not going anywhere, it just won’t
be updated. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Milo MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145862452794634877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4988813333268406363.post-34510479623804463422015-11-03T16:44:00.000+00:002015-11-03T16:44:04.694+00:00The Hundred #1: The 100 by Kass Morgan (Hodder & Stoughton)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FLO8urlwOvs/VjjjujNYzyI/AAAAAAAAB8o/hNkToWgIihs/s1600/The-100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FLO8urlwOvs/VjjjujNYzyI/AAAAAAAAB8o/hNkToWgIihs/s320/The-100.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">No one has set foot on Earth in centuries -
until now.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Ever since a devastating nuclear war,
humanity has lived on spaceships far above Earth's radioactive surface. Now,
one hundred juvenile delinquents - considered expendable by society - are being
sent on a dangerous mission: to re-colonize the planet. It could be their
second chance at life...or it could be a suicide mission.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">CLARKE was arrested for treason, though
she's haunted by the memory of what she really did. WELLS, the chancellor's
son, came to Earth for the girl he loves - but will she ever forgive him
Reckless BELLAMY fought his way onto the transport pod to protect his sister,
the other half of the only siblings in the universe. And GLASS managed to
escape back onto the ship, only to find that life there is just as dangerous as
she feared it would be on Earth.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Confronted with a savage land and haunted
by secrets from their pasts, the hundred must fight to survive. They were never
meant to be heroes, but they may be mankind's last hope.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><b><i>[<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-100-Book-1/dp/1444766880">Amazon.co.uk</a> / <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-100-Series/dp/0316234494">Amazon.com</a> / <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19227055-the-100">Goodreads</a></i>]</b></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
100</span></i><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">on the CW is one of my
favourite television series on air right now, coming off the back of a rocky
start to essentially become the next<i>Battlestar Galactica.<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #212121;"> </span></span></i>And
because it’s a teen dystopia/post-apocalyptic show then naturally it comes
adapted from a book, so when I noticed that the Kindle edition was on
Amazon.co.uk, I snapped it up and thought I’d check it out, and quickly breezed
through it over the course of a couple of days, because it moves through at a
pretty quick pace. But aside from having an interesting concept, the book
didn’t really work out especially well for me, for reasons that I’ll get to
later. First though, let’s look at what’s going on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Clarke is the main protagonist and a teenager who has never
set foot on Earth. She was arrested for treason on board spaceships far above a
planet that has been left abandoned after Nuclear Warfare. Now, she is part of
The 100, a group of criminal teenagers who are being sent down to Earth for
various charges that range from murder to having a sibling. Their mission is to
determine whether the planet is survivable or not. Meanwhile, back on the ship,
the book follows the adventures of the new protagonist, a friend of Clarke’s,
Glass, who escaped the boarding party when Bellamy, a reckless teenager, fought
his way onto the ship to protect his sister. Also joining Bellamy is the
Chancellor’s son, Wells, who came down to protect Clarke even though she hates
him for his betrayal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The concept is intriguing and the show has given us the
potential that the book has to offer. There are also noticeably a few changes
in the show, with characters being added that didn’t feature in the series, and
there are also characters that didn’t feature in the books that are on the
show. Glass is a character that didn’t make it over to the series, along with a
secondary character named Thalia, but also, the people who didn’t make the
transition were Finn, whose role of love interest for Clarke seems to have been
replaced by Bellamy, Jasper, Monty, Kane, Raven, Clarke’s mother, Abby, and the
entirety of the population that exists on Earth, namely the Grounders. I don’t
know whether they show up in later books but so far they’re absent here and as
a result once the main characters get to the ground, there’s little conflict,
with issues of survival pushed to the side in favour of romance, which is where
the problems begin. The show recognised what its problems were and dealt with
them, improving characters like Bellamy and Octavia who weren’t the best at the
start of the show. Hell, pretty much everyone is vastly different from what
they were at the beginning, but in the book? Not so much. The characters are
more focused on romance and the love triangle between Bellamy, Clarke and Wells
is the main focus of the book. It doesn’t work and there are parts where Wells
feels creepily obsessive. Clarke herself isn’t as a well-rounded character as
she is in the show, and as a result, the book falls short of the brilliant
adaption.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The plot is basically non-existent, with the romance being
the main focus, and survival problems that were so prevalent in the show,
barely feature here. We aren’t given much reason to care about these characters
and were I not familiar with the show they would be quickly forgettable instead
of some of the most well-defined personalities on science fiction television.
(Okay, maybe not Finn, but everyone else works). Maybe I’m not the target
audience for this book? I don’t know. If you’re a fan of Clarke and Bellamy and
love the romance part of the show then read this, or if you’re curious to learn
where the show started from, but other than that, check out the series first.
It’s excellent, addictive and incredibly entertaining. This book isn’t.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">VERDICT:<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #212121;"> </span></span><span style="color: red;">4/10</span></span></b><i style="line-height: 150%;"> </i></div>
Milo MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145862452794634877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4988813333268406363.post-91295608158525001572015-10-30T13:59:00.001+00:002015-10-30T14:03:33.782+00:007 Horror Movies to Watch This Halloween<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p3aavfxoOXY/VjN2s4lLGJI/AAAAAAAAB8M/1fBmxN57f_E/s1600/it%2Bfollows.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p3aavfxoOXY/VjN2s4lLGJI/AAAAAAAAB8M/1fBmxN57f_E/s320/it%2Bfollows.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">I’m fairly new to the horror
genre, having previously, before this October, shied away from it. However,
with Halloween fast approaching at the start of the month I decided to
participate in a Challenge to watch 31 movies over the course of October. You can find the full details of the Challenge <a href="http://letterboxd.com/milo123/list/hoop-tober-2015-a-discovery-of-the-horror/">here</a> as well as a link
back to the original, but it’s given me an opportunity to watch a lot of movies
that I wouldn’t normally have seen otherwise and as a result, allowed me to put this list together. Whilst not everything presented here is a definitive list, I've tried to go for a blend of not only classic movies, but also more modern ones as well as those that you may not have seen before, including one notable foreign film. So if you're a horror fan looking for a movie - or seven - to watch over Halloween, keep reading to see what films I've selected. </span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">From Dusk Till Dawn</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">, (1996, Robert Rodriguez)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Let’s start with my favourite
horror film, the pulpy B-Movie from Robert Rodriguez (Sin City), which stars
George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino, in one of the legendary director’s acting
roles. Tarantino also writes the script for the movie which sees both Clooney
and Tarantino as criminals on the run for the Mexican border, when they end up
in a Vampire infested brothel. With a kidnapped family in tow, things naturally
can only go from bad to worse. Tarantino’s trademark dialogue is ever-present
and From Dusk Till Dawn ends up being an incredibly violent, bloody movie that fans
of the genre will love. The massive tonal shift is something that few movies
manage to pull off as well as this one, and as a result, From Dusk Till Dawn works
perfectly well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The Devil’s Backbone</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">, (2001, Guillermo del Toro)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Most people will be familiar
with Del Toro’s more recent Crimson Peak, his Hellboy movies, Pacific Rim and Pan’s
Labyrinth but The Devil’s Backbone is one of his earlier movies that still
packs a powerful punch as it tells a compelling ghost story set against the
backdrop of the end of the Spanish Civil War. It follows a young boy named
Carlos who has arrived at an orphanage where he starts uncovering the secrets
that lurk within the grounds of the school, including a ghost that haunts its
grounds. With some good acting from everyone involved, The Devil’s Backbone is
one of those movies where you’re probably going to be ending up fearing humans
more than the unknown.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The Crazies</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">, (2010, Breck Eisner)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><i>The Last Witch Hunter</i> is Breck
Eisner’s most recent film, but 2010’s <i>The Crazies</i>, a remake of George Romero’s
film, is still a solid if predictable entry that’s a hugely underrated zombie
film. Timothy Olyphant and Danielle Panabaker from <i>Justified </i>and <i>The Flash</i> both
star in this film as Olyphant is essentially playing Raylan Givens in his role
as the Sherriff of a town where its inhabitants start going mad. It’s a nice,
atmospheric movie that works pretty well indeed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Attack the Block</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> (2011, Joe Cornish)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">You know that John Boyega is playing a lead role in <i>Star Wars: The Force Awakens</i>, right? Well, this is your chance to see what he can do before watching JJ Abrams’ blockbuster. It follows a group of teens from South London who find themselves hunted by aliens following the aftermath of a robbery, and what follows is an excellent sci-fi horror/comedy/action blend that works incredibly well as a standalone movie. If you haven’t seen it yet, what are you waiting for? Go check it out when you can.</span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">It Follows</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> (2014, David Robert Mitchell)</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Of course this movie was going
to end up on this list. It’s one of the most talked about horror movies of 2014
and if you haven’t seen it, get on it ASAP because it’s just so damn good and
creepy, following 19 year old Jay (Maika Monroe), and her struggles to survive
against something that’s following her that only she can see. It’s one of my
favourite horror films, and is well worth a shot if you’re looking for the next
best thing. Maika Monroe puts in an impressive performance in the lead role as
well, and it’s an excellent horror film from David Robert Mitchell.</span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Tucker and Dale vs. Evil</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> (2010, Eli Craig)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Another horror/comedy movie
that stars both Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil follows a
group of hillbillies who are suspected of being serial killers by a group of
paranoid college kids on a camping trip. As horror and confusion reigns, the
film weaves a fun, story that entertains with plenty of laughs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Scream</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> (1996, Wes Craven)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Of course, I’ve got to include
a film from the legendary director Wes Craven and <i>Scream</i> is the first horror franchise that I’ve actually completed,
having seen Scream 4 less than a week ago, so why not? It’s a delightfully meta
horror movie that pokes fun of the “rules” of the genre as it follows a serial
killer called Ghostface who begins killing off teenagers one by one, leaving a
bloody path through a small town. It holds up remarkably well, and is better
than most modern horror movies. The sequels are actually decent as well, as it’s
rare that the fourth movie in a horror franchise could be the best after the
main film. Also, be sure to check out MTV’s <i>Scream
</i>TV series as well, for more action.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">If
you haven’t seen them already, also look out for these: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I tried
to include a blend of both the more obvious choices and those not quite so well
known but obviously that meant I couldn’t fit everything on this list that’s a
big name movie. So if you haven’t seen these already then by all means, feel
free to check them out as well – <i>Alien,
Aliens, Silence of the Lambs, Zombieland, Shaun of the Dead, A Nightmare on Elm
Street, Pan’s Labyrinth, Troll Hunter, Jaws.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Are you going to be watching any horror movies this weekend? And if you've watched these films already, What do you think of the movies on this list? Let me know in the comments below. </span></div>
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Milo MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145862452794634877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4988813333268406363.post-82817144250836266902015-10-29T19:20:00.000+00:002015-10-30T14:11:55.345+00:00Apocrypha: The Dying World #1: City of Burning Shadows by Barbara J. Webb <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vNoj34Bk0pk/VjJu9DTirfI/AAAAAAAAB7Y/cqR0hMqd4f0/s1600/City-of-Burning-Shadows.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vNoj34Bk0pk/VjJu9DTirfI/AAAAAAAAB7Y/cqR0hMqd4f0/s320/City-of-Burning-Shadows.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
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<i style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Hiding from the past, from the horror of his life as a priest after the gods
disappeared. </span></i></div>
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Hiding from his emotions, denying the nightmares that haunt his sleep and the
anger that fuels his days.<br />
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Most of all, hiding from the truth—that no matter how much he keeps his head
down, no matter how he clings to the echoes of everyday life, his city—his
world—is dying.<br />
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When a new technology offers salvation to his desperate city, Ash must reach
out to people he left behind and step back into the world that almost killed
him. But coming out of hiding now could be the worst mistake Ash has ever made.<br />
<br />
Because there are monsters in the darkness, feeding the chaos, watching the
city burn. And once those monsters know his name, Ash will never be able to
hide again.</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><b>[<i><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/City-Burning-Shadows-Apocrypha-Dying-ebook/dp/B00IUQ901Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1446148147&sr=8-1&keywords=City+of+Burning+Shadows">Amazon.co.uk</a> / <a href="http://www.amazon.com/City-Burning-Shadows-Apocrypha-Volume/dp/0615979211">Amazon.com</a> / <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21419652-city-of-burning-shadows">Goodreads</a></i>]</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">For the next SPFBO novel on my
to-read list, I decided to go with <i>City
of Burning Shadows </i>by Barbara J. Webb, the first novel in the <i>Apocrypha: The Dying World </i>series that’s
kind of a blend of fantasy with urban fantasy in a post apocalyptic world and provided
for an interesting read that is yet another unique offering in the Competition.
So far I’ve read three books from the finalists and they’ve all been incredibly
different and engaging, and I can see why they were selected to win each round.
This one feels like a different entry into the fantasy genre following the
adventures of Joshua “Ash” Drake, who works for Price & Breckenridge, when
he’s called to help someone who needs protecting, but the new challenge comes
at an incredibly high risk when stepping back into the world that he used to
belong to may be a decision that will come back and hurt him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The worldbuilding of </span><i style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">City of Burning Shadows </i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">is superb. The
fantasy follows a world with more advanced technology than our own and that is densely
populated with thirteen races that used to have their own unique Gods. However,
The Abandon happened, and the Gods vanished. The races are far from your
typical staples of fantasy and with a variety of protagonists including a
non-white lead, the blend between fantasy and technology is something that
authors don’t always get right, but it’s something that Webb has </span><span style="line-height: 24px;">definitely</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">managed here. It’s descriptive, compelling and engaging, and moves along at a
swift pace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">There are a few things that
didn’t quite work for me however, the magic system not quite being refined as
clear as it could have been, and on top of that, there are a few contradicting
points in narrative where we were told different things from what happened
earlier in the book. And it took me a while to become invested in the book at
the start, but once I was hooked, it provided a solid read. I’m sure these
minor problems won’t put people off reading the book, and it’s certainly
a solid read.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Based on the quality of the
first three novels that I’ve read in the SPFBO contest (<a href="http://mark---lawrence.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/final-round-self-published-fantasy-blog.html">You can find the current score table here</a>), including Webb’s <i>City of Burning Shadows, </i>it should be
very interesting to see what the other entries have in store. If this book, <i>Bloodlust</i>,<i> </i>and my pick <i>Sins of A Sovereignty,
</i>are anything to go by, then it’s going to be a very tight competition
indeed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">VERDICT: <span style="color: red;">7/10 </span></span></b>Milo MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145862452794634877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4988813333268406363.post-5870279881350446972015-10-21T17:40:00.001+01:002015-10-21T17:44:53.686+01:00The Alchemy Wars #1: The Mechanical by Ian Tregillis (Orbit Books) <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ESkchJoHhws/Vie_FP0Id7I/AAAAAAAAB7M/wF8NYWkLaoE/s1600/The-Mechanical.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ESkchJoHhws/Vie_FP0Id7I/AAAAAAAAB7M/wF8NYWkLaoE/s320/The-Mechanical.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">My
name is Jax.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">That
is the name granted to be by my human masters.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I am
a clakker: a mechanical man, powered by alchemy. Armies of my kind have
conquered the world - and made the Brasswork Throne the sole superpower.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I am
a faithful servant. I am the ultimate fighting machine. I am endowed with great
strength and boundless stamina.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But I
am beholden to the wishes of my human masters.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I am
a slave. But I shall be free.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">[<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Mechanical-Alchemy-Wars-Tregillis/dp/0316248002">Amazon.co.uk</a> / <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Mechanical-Alchemy-Wars/dp/0316248002">Amazon.com</a> / <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20980667-the-mechanical">Goodreads</a>]</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Ian
Tregillis has quickly emerged as one of my go-to authors if I want to read some
good alternate historical fiction, with a sci-fi/fantasy bent. His Milkweed
Tryptych series saw British warlocks battle Nazi super soldiers in an awesome
alternate WW2 setting and absolutely blew me away. <i>The Mechanical </i>offers
up more of the same, an inventive world, a compelling atmosphere and an awesome
finale. The book grabbed me from the moment I started reading as it pulled it
into an alternate, alchemy-fuelled world where the Dutch have risen to become
the world power, in the 17<sup>th</sup> Century following scientist
Christiaan Hyugen’s use of magic to create several intelligent clockwork robots
that live only to serve their masters. It’s an imaginative, original and
captivating premise that had me hooked, and it never disappointed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
book doesn’t shy away from the dark nature of what we’re witnessing. Using
themes from political thrillers and spy novels we’re thrust into a world unlike
anything you’ll have quite seen before. The execution of French spies may not
allow for the most uplifting start to the novel, but it does set the tone for <i>The
Mechanical. </i>We’re thrust into the world through the eyes of the
clakker named Jax, who is part faithful servant, part ultimate superweapon. His
relationships with some of the human characters helps drive this book,
particularly with the French spymaster Berenice Charlotte de Mornay-Perigord.
There are other characters that the book touches on as well such as Father
Visser, another person who’s hiding secrets, for he is in fact a Catholic
Priest, as it creates compelling, enthralling characters with a variety of
personalities and motivations. The amount of depth that’s on display here is
intense, and you get a fully realised sense of the world that although may not
allow for one of the quickest reads ever, does provide for one of the most
engrossing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It’s
also pretty worth noting that you shouldn’t expect a happy ending whilst reading
this book, there isn’t any real assurance that anybody will be safe, and
Tregillis manages to create a level of tension and unpredictability that keeps
running through the book. The Alchemy Wars are a fascinating concept and it
explores the relations between the French and the Dutch very well in a world
where most historical alternate fantasies don’t really touch much on either.
The good news is that <i>The Mechanical </i>is not a standalone novel
so you can expect plenty more from the Universe, which is great because
Tregillis has created a world I can’t wait to return to. The next book comes in the form of <i>The
Rising, </i>which is the second book in the trilogy and due out later this
year. It’s certainly something that based on the quality of this book, I can
expect to see topping the best of the year lists. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In
conclusion therefore it’s safe to say that <i>The Mechanical </i>is a
confident, enthralling and captivating read from Ian Tregillis that puts few
things wrong as it kickstarts an awesome new trilogy from the writer of the
Milkweed Tryptych novels. He’s a writer who deserves a hell of a lot more
exposure with his imaginative fiction and this is really something that more
fans of SFF should check out when they get the chance. <i>The Mechanical </i>is
a great jumping on point if you want to learn just what makes the author so
good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">VERDICT: <span style="color: red;">9/10</span></span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Milo MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145862452794634877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4988813333268406363.post-63150411655186706482015-10-19T20:44:00.002+01:002015-10-30T14:12:35.865+00:00The Song of the Shattered Sands #1: Twelve Kings In Sharakhai by Bradley P. Beaulieu (Gollancz)<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 36.0pt;">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h0rrC0Yb_z4/ViU2GnL7uZI/AAAAAAAAB6o/ApfqOLDwsaw/s1600/Twelve-Kings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h0rrC0Yb_z4/ViU2GnL7uZI/AAAAAAAAB6o/ApfqOLDwsaw/s320/Twelve-Kings.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<i style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In the cramped west end of Sharakhai, the Amber Jewel of the Desert, Çeda fights in the pits to scrape a living. She, like so many in the city, pray for the downfall of the cruel, immortal Kings of Sharakhai, but she's never been able to do anything about it. This all changes when she goes out on the night of Beht Zha'ir, the holy night when all are forbidden from walking the streets. It's the night that the asirim, the powerful yet wretched creatures that protect the Kings from all who would stand against them, wander the city and take tribute. It is then that one of the asirim, a pitiful creature who wears a golden crown, stops Çeda and whispers long forgotten words into her ear. Çeda has heard those words before, in a book left to her by her mother, and it is through that one peculiar link that she begins to find hidden riddles left by her mother.</span></i></div>
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As Çeda begins to unlock the mysteries of that fateful night, she realizes that the very origin of the asirim and the dark bargain the Kings made with the gods of the desert to secure them may be the very key she needs to throw off the iron grip the Kings have had over Sharakhai. And yet the Kings are no fools-they've ruled the Shangazi for four hundred years for good reason, and they have not been idle. As Çeda digs into their past, and the Kings come closer and closer to unmasking her, Çeda must decide if she's ready to face them once and for all.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">[<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Twelve-Kings-Song-Shattered-Sands/dp/1473203007/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1445283683&sr=8-1&keywords=twelve+kings+bradley+beaulieu">Amazon.co.uk</a> / <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Twelve-Kings-Sharakhai-Shattered-Sands/dp/1480527165">Amazon.com</a> / <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25603540-twelve-kings">Goodreads</a>]</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Reviewer's Note:</span></u><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> <i>Hi all, just a quick note to say that I'm
trying out a slightly new format for the blog. Review scores and context of the
reviews will stay the same, but I've changed how the articles will be displayed
on the front page. The blurb will now go above the line break with the header
image, there'll be no introduction from me at the beginning, and there will now
be links to Goodreads pages and Amazon where you can buy the book for yourself!
I'm also going to look to aim to try and put up 2-3 reviews a week now as
opposed to the one review that I've been doing, so you can hopefully expect
more coverage to come quickly!</i> </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Bradley P. Beaulieu is an author who I’ve been wanting to read for a while so that when I saw <i>Twelve Kings </i>on Amazon when I was in France over the summer as part of Gollancz’ pre-ordering ebooks for £1.99 deal and I snapped it up without hesitation. When it was released, I eagerly dove into it looking for a good new fantasy novel, and the book didn’t disappoint, serving up as one of the better releases of the year in the genre, making use of an imaginative world that isn’t just your standard medieval, <i>Game of Thrones </i>inspired fantasy. It’s different, original and unique, with a fantastic backdrop and some great characters that keep the novel fresh and engaging.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The desert city of Sharakhai has to be one of the most captivating locations that I’ve read in a fantasy book, immersed in so much detail. It’s surrounded not by water or grass but by sand, and serves as a trade centre for visitors from across the world. It’s an interesting backdrop for a story and is fully brought to life here as we get a fantastic sense of world building brought about by Beaulieu, who captures the city in all its glory. However, the city itself is not quite an ideal home, for the Twelve Kings have ruled its land for four hundred years, immortal and cruel. Most can only pray for their destruction, as to do much more would only invite destruction. The book hones in on one major protagonist over the course of the novel, the well developed Çeda who serves as a way into this world. Having gone through an interesting background, she knows the cruelty of the Kings all too well, with them being responsible for her mother’s death. Determined to take down the Kings, she may find answers in a book left from her mother, that hold mysterious, enigmatic writings, and only by answering the puzzles can she learn more about its contents.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The rich mythology present in <i>Twelve Kings </i>is fantastic, as Beaulieu really handles everything well. However, the writer never lets any of it overshadow the characters, and although there are others involved, the main focus is on Çeda. If you like the character, then chances are, you’ll like the book, because even though the pacing is a tad inconsistent at times, there are draws in pretty much every other area, and there are even a couple of twists that work fantastically within the novel, and the fact that Beaulieu keeps Çeda at the heart of the book really works, making the reader more likely to care about the character given the amount of time the author gets to flesh out her character. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Twelve Kings </span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">feels like it sets up a series and given what we’ve seen, it serves as a teaser into the rich and imaginative world that Beaulieu has to offer. He’s one of the few authors who actually manages to handle flashbacks, which are present, well, weaving them into the story to enhance it rather than simply provide chapter breaks. Yes, it may not quite be perfect, with the pacing issues that the book has preventing it from being a flawless book, it is still a very, very good one that has created a world I can’t wait to return to. Hopefully, the follow up, <i>With Blood Upon The Sand</i> will be just as good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">VERDICT: <span style="color: red;">8.75/10</span></span></b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Milo MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145862452794634877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4988813333268406363.post-42732723305242645052015-10-11T18:22:00.001+01:002015-10-11T18:22:13.640+01:00MINI-REVIEW: Slow Bullets by Alastair Reynolds (Tachyon Publications)<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I share some brief opinions on <i>Slow Bullets, </i>a short story<i> </i>by science fiction writer Alastair Reynolds, published by Tachyon
Publications.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">From the author of the
Revelation Space series comes an interstellar adventure of war, identity,
betrayal, and the preservation of civilization itself.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A vast conflict, one
that has encompassed hundreds of worlds and solar systems, appears to be
finally at an end. A conscripted soldier is beginning to consider her life
after the war and the family she has left behind. But for Scur—and for
humanity—peace is not to be.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">On the brink of the
ceasefire, Scur is captured by a renegade war criminal, and left for dead in
the ruins of a bunker. She revives aboard a prisoner transport vessel.
Something has gone terribly wrong with the ship.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Passengers—combatants
from both sides of the war—are waking up from hibernation far too soon. Their
memories, embedded in bullets, are the only links to a world which is no longer
recognizable. And Scur will be reacquainted with her old enemy, but with much
higher stakes than just her own life.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">This
is just going to be a quick review here as <i>Slow
Bullets </i>is only a short story, but it’s a very good one. Alastair Reynolds is
an author who has put out some consistently brilliant hard sci-fi work, be it <i>Blue Remembered Earth </i>or <i>Revelation Space, </i>and the <i>Slow Bullets </i>looks at an intriguing
original universe, merging several themes together and putting a strong female
lead, named Scur, at the heart of the conflict, and exploring her capture by a
renegade war criminal who hasn’t yet heard about a ceasefire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">If
you’re looking to explore Alistair Reynolds’ work but are worried about
investing in a full length novel, <i>Slow
Bullets </i>is perfect. It’s a quick read and offers a very accessible story to
new readers, not feeling like most of the hard science fiction that Reynolds
normally writes. The short is unpredictable and enthralling, and the lead
character, Scur, is a likeable and well developed protagonist. Reynolds manages
to weave a compelling and engaging science fiction short far better than a few
full length novels that I’ve read recently, with everything falling into place
to work perfectly. It’s amazing how, given the short pagecount, Reynolds is
able to develop and expand the world, and blends everything together very well
indeed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Slow Bullets </span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">is a confident read from Reynolds that will please fans and
newcomers alike, and hopefully it will draw in new readers and encourage them
to explore more of the writer’s work. Highly Recommended. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">VERDICT: <span style="color: red;">8/10</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
Milo MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145862452794634877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4988813333268406363.post-69671583534150207512015-10-04T19:17:00.002+01:002015-10-04T19:17:38.570+01:00The Scarlet Star Trilogy: Bloodrush by Ben Galley<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I
return to the SPFBO, starting with Ben Galley’s
fantasy/western self published novel, <i>Bloodrush,
</i>the first book in <i>The Scarlet Star </i>Trilogy<i>, </i>which
is currently available to buy, and was the victor from <a href="http://www.bookwormblues.net/2015/08/10/spfbo-and-the-winner-is/">Bookworm Blues</a>' selection of novels.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">When Prime Lord Hark is
found in a pool of his own blood on the steps of his halls, Tonmerion Hark
finds his world not only turned upside down, but inside out. His father's last
will and testament forces him west across the Iron Ocean, to the very brink of
the Endless Land and all civilisation. They call it Wyoming.<br />
<br />
<b>This is a story of murder and family.</b><br />
<br />
In the dusty frontier town of Fell Falls, there is no silverware, no servants,
no plush velvet nor towering spires. Only dust, danger, and the railway. Tonmerion
has only one friend to help him escape the torturous heat and unravel his
father's murder. A faerie named Rhin. A twelve-inch tall outcast of his own
kind.<br />
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<b>This is a story of blood and magick.</b><br />
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But there are darker things at work in Fell Falls, and not just the railwraiths
or the savages. Secrets lurk in Tonmerion's bloodline. Secrets that will
redefine this young Hark.<br />
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<b>This is a story of the edge of the world.<o:p></o:p></b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The first novel that I picked to read from the next
batch of SPFBO novels sent my way was <i>Bloodrush,
</i>Ben Galley’s entry, and the western/fantasy blend instantly drew my eye
along with the intriguing cover. The Western and fantasy genres are something that
you’ll see blended together rarely, and it was the potential that attracted me
to this book coupled with an interesting sounding plot of a man named Tonmerion
Hark finding his life turned upside down when his father is found dead. As per
his father’s last will and testament, Tonmerion is forced across the Atlantic
to </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Wyoming, however, it’s not the Wyoming that you’ll be familiar with in the
present day. This is a Wyoming that’s on the other side of the Iron Ocean, and
stands at the edge of the Endless Land. Dark things haunt Fell Falls, combining
fascinating beasts like railwraiths with </span><span style="line-height: 24px;">intriguing</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> plots and conspiracy. It’s
a richly developed, compelling fantasy novel that twists our own history very well.
I loved reading about the world, and it’s something that I’m going to return to
for sure in the future. The book could have easily fallen short and not hit all the high notes, including almost too much stuff for one novel to hold, but thankfully, </span></span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Bloodrush
</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">is well written enough to avoid that trap, blending the characters and
pacing strongly together with the richness of the world building to create a
compelling story.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Tonmerion Hark is the son of the Prime Lord, the recently deceased </span><span style="line-height: 24px;">equivalent</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> to the Prime Minister. The backdrop of the alternate version of
Victorian Britain is handled very well and the era suits the novel perfectly.
Tonmerion allows for an interesting protagonist, who also happens to have a best friend who isn’t
exactly human, but a faerie named Rhin who is on the run from the rest of his
race. This is a world where despite knowing that the Fae
exist, few people have actually seen one in the flesh. It’s not the only change to the
history of the world that readers can come to expect when they read </span></span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Bloodrush, </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">but for obvious reasons, is the most important one. Other touches like Red King Lincoln are also mentioned, providing some great depth the scope and scale of the world and plenty for Galley to explore in the future. From the beginning you’ll
find yourself supporting and getting behind the lead character, as Tonmerion undergoes a coming-of-age transition when he journeys to America,
with Rhin, a secondary character who works just as well as the other
additions to the cast do. His Aunt Lillian, the reason behind his travel across the Iron Sea,
and Lurker, Lillian’s friend, are other more prominent people who you can expect to feature. It’s an interesting mix of characters that work really well together and is something that's pulled off </span><span style="line-height: 24px;">effectively</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Ben Galley’s <i>Bloodrush
</i>then, is an incredibly strong read that fans of fantasy and or westerns
should check out. It blends the two genres together very well, pitting the
characters against the backdrop of an intriguing world that will appeal a lot to fans of the
likes of Neil Gaiman (particularly if you’re a fan of <i>American Gods</i>) and Jim Butcher's <i>Dresden Files</i>. I can’t wait to see what Galley
comes up with next and as a result, this is something that I can highly
recommend.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">VERDICT:<span style="color: red;"> 8/10</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
Milo MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145862452794634877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4988813333268406363.post-57497664178597593732015-09-27T12:09:00.004+01:002015-09-27T12:09:44.635+01:00Assassin's Creed Unity (PS4)<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 150%;">
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latest <i>Assassins Creed </i>game, <i>Unity, </i>is the first PS4 game to be
reviewed for this site and continues Ubisoft’s series, this time switching the
location to Paris during the French Revolution.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The <i>Assassin’s Creed </i>franchise is probably
my favourite video game franchise, full stop. <i>Brotherhood </i>was one of my first games that I got when I first
brought an Xbox 360, and now, having upgraded to current gen consoles, <i>Unity </i>is the first game that I’ve
completed for PS4, and whilst the results are not quite as perfect as I would
have liked, the game is still a solid experience and worth playing if you’re a
fan of the franchise. There’s a lot of work needed to make this game a great
one, but at the same time, I still had fun playing it and was not disappointed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
location this time is Paris, during the French Revolution, a topic that I had
recently studied as part of my History with English Foundation Degree, so many
of the events that were explored here I already had a fair amount of idea what
was going to happen history wise. The fun was though in seeing the Templars and
Assassins battle it out behind the scenes, as <i>Unity </i>marked the transition into the current generation of video
games for the franchise, with a bang. It follows the adventures of the
protagonist Arno Dorian, who’s one of the more charming and Ezio-esque
Assassins that we’ve had in the franchise, coming from a similar background and
is forced to endure a similar fate as he joins the Assassins when the man who
raised him, a Templar, is killed fairly early on in the game. We then see Arno
hack and slash his way through the French Revolution as he uncovers a
conspiracy from the Templars that could end the Monarchy for good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
graphics, as I was hoping for a current generation-only game, are absolutely
superb. The visuals are jaw-dropping and the game is arguably the best looking <i>Assassins Creed </i>yet. Paris is brought to
life in incredible detail and the setting is amazing. Picking off where <i>Assassins Creed Rogue </i>left off (It’s not
necessary to have played that game, but it is recommended that you do so), you
are drawn over a complex narrative that doesn’t unfortunately have as much
firepower as the previous games in the series when it comes to story
development. At the moment, <i>Rogue </i>and
<i>II </i>are my favourite stories in the
franchise, but <i>Unity </i>is probably near
the bottom, following a simple revenge story that never takes full advantage of
the various historical figures and potential that comes with the French Revolution.
For example, we don’t spend any time with the King at all, and only briefly
with Napoleon. And what’s worse is that the historical characters, apart from
one or two that we do meet, aren’t really fleshed out well enough to make it
interesting, with the decision instead to mainly focus on the struggles between
the Assassins and their Internal divisions in France. At the heart of <i>Unity </i>there is also a love story,
between Arno and the main female protagonist, Elise, his childhood friend
turned Templar. But the game never decides what it wants to be in terms of
story, jumping between a revenge-motivated quest, the unearthing of a
conspiracy and the aforementioned love story and never really has a satisfying
conclusion at all, which is a shame. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
gameplay is also another problem that <i>Unity
</i>suffers from. The freerunning, whilst improved, is fantastic when it works,
but there are plenty of times that it doesn’t quite have that effect. The
combat is frustrating as well, even moreso than previous <i>Assassins Creed </i>games, and it makes you wonder why they don’t just
adopt the Arkham combat system going forward. There is cooperative multiplayer
that has been praised, but it’s worth mentioning that due to a lack of decent
internet connection I have been unable to explore it for myself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
stories in the present day have been a divisive part of <i>Assassins Creed Unity. </i>Sometimes they’ve been great, but often
they’ll be boring, particularly in the last two entries of the franchise when
you play a bland character without a name through a first person narrative (the
historical part of the game is in the traditional third person narrative). <i>Unity </i>is more or less the same as <i>Black Flag/Rogue </i>in this approach, but
instead limits time that we spend with the character to hardly anything at all,
instead opting to pull Arno into various interesting situations out of his own
timeline at various points in the game. We spend time in the Middle Ages (both
in a prologue and later in the game), and also in the closest to the present that
the historical sections of <i>Assassins
Creed </i>have got, when we see Arno climbing the Eiffel Tower in Nazi occupied
Paris, which is one of the most spectacular features of the game. These are
called Rift missions, and they offer a welcome diversion from the main
narrative.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Unity </span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">at
times can also feel like a step back for the franchise. I loved the huge open
world, and sea-based gameplay of <i>Black
Flag </i>and <i>Rogue </i>which felt so
fresh and exciting. There’s none of it in <i>Unity,
</i>with the action entirely landlocked, aside from a river for you to swim
across. It’s a real shame because the game feels more confined and doesn’t
quite work, feeling overly familiar and despite the improved graphics, doesn’t
really bring anything new to the franchise as you’re still playing with a
similar weapons-based system.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">However,
despite the many issues presented in <i>Unity,
</i>it remains a decent game and there are fun elements that keep it
entertaining throughout and even if the story is weak, there are some missions
here and there that were enjoyable and it was fun to watch Arno move his way
through the French Revolution. With <i>Syndicate
</i>on the horizon things look as though they can only get better, so hopefully
this is a sign of greater things to come. There’s enough potential here to
inject new life into the yearly <i>Assassins
Creed </i>series.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">VERDICT: <span style="color: red;">7/10<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Assassin’s Creed Series in Order: </span></b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Assassin’s Creed,
Assassin’s Creed II, Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, Assassin’s Creed
Revelations, Assassin’s Creed III, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Assassin’s
Creed Rogue, Assassin’s Creed Unity<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
Milo MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145862452794634877noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4988813333268406363.post-80331511886280702232015-09-23T20:27:00.001+01:002015-09-23T20:27:42.827+01:00Star Wars: Aftermath by Chuck Wendig (Del Ray)<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I offer
my thoughts on <i>Star Wars: Aftermath </i>by
Chuck Wendig, the first novel set in the Journey to <i>The Force Awakens </i>in Disney’s new, and canon Expanded Universe,
focusing on life in the Galaxy after the events in <i>The Return of the
Jedi, </i>and published by Del Ray.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A LONG TIME AGO, IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR
AWAY....<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The second Death Star is
destroyed. The Emperor and his powerful enforcer, Darth Vader, are rumored to
be dead. The Galactic Empire is in chaos.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Across the galaxy, some systems celebrate, while in others Imperial factions
tighten their grip. Optimism and fear reign side by side.<br />
<br />
And while the Rebel Alliance engages the fractured forces of the Empire, a lone
Rebel scout uncovers a secret Imperial meeting. . . .<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
new Expanded Universe has so far been a positive experience for me despite my
love for the previous one. <i> Tarkin, Lords of the Sith </i>and <i>Dark Disciple </i>were all very strong
reads, and I’m yet to read <i>Heir to the
Jedi </i>or <i>A New Dawn </i>but both look
like very appealing titles at the same time. And then there’s Marvel’s Comics,
which are very strong indeed, with the main <i>Star
Wars </i>title, <i>Darth Vader </i>and the
rotating mini-series all being super impressive. With Force Friday behind us
and <i>The Force Awakens </i>ahead, It’s a
good time to be a <i>Star Wars </i>fan, and
whilst <i>Aftermath, </i>the latest novel from
one of my go-to authors, Chuck Wendig, (responsible for the awesome <i>Miriam Black </i>novels) may have been met
with fairly divisive reviews, it remains another good offering that provides a
welcome look into life post <i>Return of the
Jedi, </i>because as should be clear by now, the war against The Empire is not
over yet. They may have been dealt a severe blow, but there’s still enough
threat there to return and strike again, with a new leadership against the
newly formed New Republic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Chuck
Wendig’s <i>Aftermath </i>literally deals
with the Aftermath of the events that readers will have seen in the films. The
Empire has collapsed without a clear leader and there are plenty of power
struggles and whilst the Rebel Alliance have formed the New Republic, they’re
struggling to find out to maintain the peace in the fallout as the Empire try
to start anew through Admiral Rae Sloane on Akiva, in order to bring it back to
its former glory. Sloane is one of the many varied characters that we meet in
this book, and there’s plenty of them there, as Wendig makes use of both
recurring characters and new creations very well indeed. We spend more time
with the likes of fan favourite pilot Wedge Antilles, and on top of that,
there’s also a fair amount to do for Admiral Ackbar, which came as an
unexpected but welcome surprise for the man commonly known for the “It’s a
Trap!” line in <i>Return of the Jedi. </i>The
new cast also have Norra Wexley to offer them, a Rebel Pilot who wants nothing
more than to go home to her son after years of fighting for the Rebellion, but
it isn’t going to be as a warm homecoming as she would have hoped for. It’s a
diverse bunch, offering some excellent variety to the <i>Star Wars </i>books that may have given us one too many cheap Han Solo
knock-off characters in the past.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
decision to focus on unknown characters rather than the more established stars
may frustrate some who want to know immediately what their favourites are up
to, but fleshing out the new cast always helps. Yes, Han and Chewie may
feature, but only in brief cameos, which makes the book a bit more
unpredictable than it otherwise would have as we don’t necessarily know that
these new characters will make it through to the end. They don’t have that star
power that keeps them safe, and with so many books out there that put the main
cast in the spotlight, it’s refreshing to see a book that avoids doing so.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The
writing style that Wendig uses, third person present tense, will be familiar to fans of his </span></span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Miriam Black </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">books,
but for the readers who haven’t checked them out before his prose
will come as a surprise, a break from what the normal </span></span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Star Wars </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">books have given us in the past. This is refreshing and
offers a different look into a familiar universe, and Wendig’s narrative weaves
a compelling structure that really feels at home and is something that I'd like to see explored further. Don’t go in
expecting too much hints towards what’s going to happen in </span></span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The Force Awakens </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">– this book doesn’t significantly move forward
the events in the Expanded Universe and if you go in with that in mind then you shouldn't be too </span><span style="line-height: 24px;">disappointed. Instead, <i>Aftermath </i></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">uses an opportunity to tell us how the
common people are reacting to the fall of the Empire. Different people with
different views and backgrounds all across the galaxy are presented throughout the book and it makes for a far less
black and white situation than we’ve had presented to us before, told to us primarily through various interludes in which explore characters who might not
necessarily be part of the main struggle.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
story really picks off when Wedge Antilles is captured by Sloane and it never
really slows down after that, eventually turning into a fast paced action novel
that has a variety of fight sequences that are strongly entertaining, with
battles taking place both on land and in space. The atmosphere perfectly hits
home with the tone, look and feel of the original trilogy, and whilst the novel may have its
doubters, <i>Aftermath </i>is something that I really enjoyed and I hope that we get to see more of Wendig's novels in this Universe in the future. There's loads of potential for some great new stories to be told.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">VERDICT: <span style="color: red;">8/10</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
Milo MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145862452794634877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4988813333268406363.post-21737124353538753662015-09-14T18:04:00.001+01:002015-09-14T18:10:01.173+01:00The Tabit Genesis by Tony Gonzalez (Gollancz)<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I
offer my thoughts on Tony Gonzalez’s science fiction novel from Gollancz Books,
<i>The Tabit Genesis, </i>a space opera book
that’s currently available to buy now. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lQvvmkh7xNw/Vfb96kg-5sI/AAAAAAAAB5Y/b_vojEh2PII/s1600/The-Tabit-Genesis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lQvvmkh7xNw/Vfb96kg-5sI/AAAAAAAAB5Y/b_vojEh2PII/s320/The-Tabit-Genesis.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">They left Sol in two
great ships, carrying with them the last hope for humankind. Destined for
different stars, their mission was to ensure the survival of our species. One
ship was never heard from again. Decades later, the other arrived at a lifeless
world, where the survivors learned that Earth was lost not to famine, but to an
alien species determined to eradicate humans from existence.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
Man is not alone in the universe, and the last of us are hunted. Driven by
strong characters facing tremendous odds, Tony Gonzales delivers SF in the
grandest tradition: an epic adventure full of colossal ships, vast battles and
unimaginable challenges.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Tabit Genesis </span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">was one of the Gollancz titles that was available as an
ebook for £1.99 as a pre-order so I took a chance on it and snapped it up at a
fairly cheap price and when it was released I’m really glad that I gave it a
shot, because Tony Gonzalez’s space opera novel was a really solid read,
offering a welcome surprise from the author’s first non tie-in book, with
Gonzalez having a couple of EVE novels available to buy now. This book though, I had lots of fun with it,
with echoes of James SA Corey’s Expanse series (soon to be adapted for a SyFy
show) and what <i>Battlestar Galactica </i>might
have looked like with aliens involved. There’s lots of good stuff going on here
set against an intruging backdrop and a fascinating universe to explore.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Two
great ships departed the solar system in the future in search of a new home.
One of these ships was called the Tabit Genesis, hence the novel’s title, but
also, Tau Ceti, the other. Whilst Tau Ceti was never heard of again, the other,
decades later, arrived at a bleak world only to learn that Earth was destroyed
not, as they previously thought, by famine, but by aliens, species that are
determined to wipe out humanity from existence. Is there any hope for mankind
in a universe when they are now the hunted? Just because they may have spread
out through the universe again, does not mean that the aliens have not gone
away quietly, and they still happen to be out there in the darkness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
book itself is a riveting read, full of multiple characters that work together
well and we follow their journeys through multiple POVs, with unique enough
voices to make them feel like distinctively different characters. Whilst it’s a
struggle to get a hold on who everybody is at first as there’s quite a lot of
cast members introduced, Gonzalez handles their development mostly well even if
we do not perhaps spend enough time with them as I would have liked. Take Jake
and Adam for example, the former an undercover agent who has experienced past
traumas when he was younger, and the latter a miner on the planet Zeus. They’re
interesting enough characters and there’s enough development there to make them
different from the others, but I would have liked a bit more focus on them to
flesh out their stories a bit more. It’s just a minor compliant but it almost
feels like Gonzalez is trying to do too much, too quickly in places.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Another
issue that I had with <i>The Tabit Genesis </i>s
that it relies on exposition a fair amount, which can decrease the flow of the
book a bit. But despite that, it mostly remains a fairly solid read, with some
good development of the world and the story is a solid one as well, making good
use of flashbacks to explore the novel’s antagonists well. The key highlight of
the book is the carefully planned and well executed worldbuilding, which keeps
the novel interesting with the fresh setting of <i>The Tabit Genesis </i>being a very interesting one indeed. This is one
that space opera fans will certainly enjoy, and it turns out to be one of the more
interesting science fiction reads of the year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">VERDICT: <span style="color: red;">8.5/10</span></span></b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Milo MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145862452794634877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4988813333268406363.post-57430229532476292762015-09-13T14:17:00.000+01:002015-09-13T14:17:15.621+01:00Top 10 Returning Shows Coming Soon - The 2015 Edition<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">To correspond with yesterday’s
Top 10 New TV shows coming soon, I thought I’d also put out a list of top 10
returning shows coming soon. As usual, this is in a random order, and only include the shows hitting at the end of 2015.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Fargo<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">US Premiere Date: October 12 | Network: FX | Season: 2<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">FX’s anthology series and
adaption from one of my favourite movies by the Coen Brothers, <i>Fargo</i>’s first season was one of the
contenders for show of the year. Whether it can replicate that feat with a new
cast, new setting, and Ronald Reagan included remains to be seen, but given
what we’ve seen so far, it looks just as likely that they’ll do it again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Manhattan<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--2FmsR9gKEQ/VfV0qQrAegI/AAAAAAAAB38/9MrS58iKGKs/s1600/Manhattan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--2FmsR9gKEQ/VfV0qQrAegI/AAAAAAAAB38/9MrS58iKGKs/s320/Manhattan.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">US Premiere Date: October 13 |
Network: WGN America | Season: 2<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><i>Manhattan, </i>a show about the race to build the first atomic bomb, took me by surprise as to just how compelling TV it could be when
WGN America’s second ever scripted series blew me away as one of the highlights
of last year’s offerings. Gripping, smart, compelling and with excellent
actors, <i>Manhattan </i>is a must watch
period drama that I’ll be covering for SpoilerTV. I can’t wait to see where
season 2 goes and as a result this is one of the series that I’m most looking
forward to return. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
Knick<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">US Premiere Date: October 16 |
Network: Cinemax | Season: 2<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Another period drama that I’ll
be reviewing for SpoilerTV, Steven Soderbergh’s <i>The Knick</i>’s first season was just as good as <i>Manhattan</i>’s was, even if it was ten times more gory and looked at a
different era – the early days of medical practice in New York City, with Clive
Owen putting one of the best performances of 2014 in. This show should be just
as excellent in its sophomore season, and hopefully, Cinemax can keep up the
extremely high levels of quality. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">iZombie<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">US Premiere Date: October 6 |
Network: The CW | Season: 2<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">My personal favourite comic
book series on air right now, <i>iZombie, </i>about
the adventures of Liv Moore following her resurrection, offered a fresh,
alternative take on zombie drama and the CW added an excellent comic book
series to its line-up. With some great one-liners, heart and fantastic
characters, <i>iZombie </i>should have no
problem getting better and better as the show goes on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
Leftovers<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">US Premiere Date: October 4 |
Network: HBO | Season: 2<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">To say HBO’s dark drama about
life after the rapture is depressing would be an understatement. It’s soul
shattering, emotionally draining and also, as it turns out, incredibly gripping
television. With an excellent cast and a great soundtrack, <i>The Leftovers </i>should make a very awesome second season. Having read
Tom Perolta’s novel shortly after watching the series, they’ve now reached the
end point of the book, so it’s going to be interesting to explore what happens
next as the series undergoes a new direction, moving to a town where
supposedly, nobody was taken by the rapture. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
Walking Dead<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">US Premiere Date: October 11 | Network:
AMC | Season: 6<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I spent the Summer catching up
on the other big, dark, depressing and soul shattering drama on television at
the moment, and whilst I may be five episodes away from the finish line, I’m
just as hyped up for the new season as everyone else looking forward to it is.
It should be fantastic to return to the post apocalyptic action even if the
slow pace can haunt the show at times, and I’m looking to see what exciting new
directions the show can explore in Season 2. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
Flash<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">US Premiere Date: October 6 |
Network: The CW | Season: 2 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Whilst not necessarily the best
comic book TV show on air right now, <i>The
Flash </i>is certainly leagues ahead in the best superhero show on TV right
now, and Season 1 got off to an excellent start, injecting charm, humour and
fun into a mostly grimdark DC Live Action Universe. Watching Barry Allen defeat
multiple bad guys (including Mark Hamill) as the fastest man alive was
incredibly fun and given the direction that the show took with Harrison Wells,
and the cliffhanger that the series left it on, it will be very interesting to
see what happens next, especially given that we’re set to explore new alternate
realities, where you can expect characters like Jay Garrick to show up. Things
should be interesting indeed, especially if you’re a comic book fan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
Originals<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">US Premiere Date: October 8 |
Network: The CW | Season: 3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The final show on this list is
the dark, more mature and more unpredictable cousin of <i>The Vampire Diaries </i>that’s perfect vampire TV for those not
interested in <i>The Vampire Diaries. </i>Yes,
it may be a spinoff, but it’s closer in tone to <i>The Sopranos </i>than that show, offering some good backstabbing,
twists and turns with some jaw dropping cliffhangers and some unpredictable
results. It’s also a show that actually uses its location, New Orleans,
incredibly well, unlike say <i>NCIS: New
Orleans – </i>which could just as easily be set in Manhattan and we wouldn’t
recognise the difference. If you want an urban fantasy show on TV and haven’t
checked it out yet, <i>The Originals </i>is
your best bet. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Arrow<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">US Premiere Date: October 7 |
Network: The CW | Season: 4<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">After a terrible third season, <i>Arrow </i>joined <i>Gotham </i>with being the weakest of the comic book shows on television
with one disappointing episode after the other, and incredibly stupid plot
decisions making our heroes more and more unlikable. Judging from what we’ve
seen so far it looks like the show is learning from those mistakes, including
DC Comics character Mister Terrific, a trip to Coast City (home of Green
Lantern), a new suit, and plenty more things in store for Team Arrow. By far
the biggest and most exciting thing of all though is John Constantine, fresh
off his recently cancelled NBC series, will be making his debut in <i>Arrow </i>in what hopefully should be more
than just a one-time role. That’s the biggest reason why I’m excited for this
fourth season, and why it’s earned a place on this list. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Brooklyn
Nine-Nine<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">US Premiere Date: September 27
| Network: Fox | Season: 3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Brooklyn
Nine-Nine </span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">is the only comedy to make this list and it’s one of the
best, as well, right up there with <i>Veep </i>and
<i>Parks and Recreation </i>for my favourite
comedy series on TV. Season 3 picks up with Holt no longer in charge, and also will
hopefully feature plenty of laughs, excitement and humour. During Season 2 I
laughed at least once per episode, and I’m hoping for more of the same in the
Golden Globe Award Winning show’s third. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Runners
Up: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><i>Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD </i>(ABC),
<i>Sleepy Hollow </i>(Fox), <i>The Blacklist </i>(NBC), <i>Scandal </i>(ABC), <i>American Horror Story: Hotel </i>(FX), <i>Chicago PD </i>(NBC), <i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">You can check out the previous entry in the series <a href="http://thefictionalhangout.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/top-10-new-tv-shows-coming-soon-2015.html">here</a>. What are the returning shows that you're looking forward to this year? Let me know in the comments below. </span></div>
Milo MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145862452794634877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4988813333268406363.post-43051646114044798352015-09-12T21:10:00.000+01:002015-09-13T13:45:02.364+01:00Top 10 New TV Shows Coming Soon - The 2015 Edition<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">In the first part of this
feature in the run up to a new load of TV shows hitting networks, I look at Top
10 new series to look out for. I’ll also be covering the Top 10 returning
series to look out for as well, so you might want to stay tuned for that in the
near future. The list below isn’t in any particular order.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The Man in the High Castle<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">US Premiere
Date: November 20 2015 | Network: Amazon|
Cast: Rufus Sewell, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Arnold Chun | <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzayf9GpXCI">Trailer</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">This was easily the strongest
offering of Amazon’s pilot series, offering a dark look into a future based on the titular novel, </span><i style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The Man in the High Castle </i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">by </span><span style="line-height: 24px;">Philip</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> K. Dick where the Germans had won World War 2 and had
split America in half with the US. The pilot was an impressive look into the
alternate history and what might have been, offering a fascinating vision with
some compelling worldbuilding. This could very much be the show that raises
Amazon’s pedigree to the likes of Netflix’s originals and I’m hoping that’s the
case, as I’m a sucker for stories like this and hopefully, when the entire
season drops at once, it won’t be disappointing. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Ash vs. Evil Dead<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">US Premiere Date: October 31
2015 | Network: Starz | Cast: Bruce Campbell, Lucy Lawless, Jill Maire Jones,
Ray Santiago, Dana Delorenzo | <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unnLg1TPCYM">Trailer </a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I plan to watch <i>Ash v. Evil Dead </i>at the end of the month
but come on, even if you’ve not seen the movie yet, this sounds like an awesome
premise. Featuring Lucy Lawless, who recently guest starred on <i>Agents of SHIELD, </i>this show has all the
potential to be a cult favourite, with 10 episodes of Bruce Campbell’s Ash
battling a new Deadite threat. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The Player<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">US Premiere Date: September 24
2015 | Network: NBC | Cast: Wesley Snipes, Phillip Winchester and Charity
Wakefield | <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YqahQc-RVs">Trailer</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">If you
ever wanted to know what <i>Person of
Interest </i>would look like were it in Las Vegas and starring Wesley Snipes,
then look no further, because <i>The Player </i>seems
to be that show, only if you add an additional dose of OTT action. With Phillip
Winchester on board to please <i>Strike Back
</i>fans this should be a very interesting show – again focusing on the ability
to stop crimes before they happen, so hopefully, this can reach the same level
of awesome serialization that <i>Person of
Interest </i>eventually did after a fairly average start. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Quantico<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">US Premiere Date: September 27
2015 | Network: ABC | Cast: Aunjanue Ellis, Josh Hopkins, Priyanka Chopra, Jake
McLaughlin, Yasmine Al Masri, Johanna Braddy | <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRnFFinkCFA">Trailer</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">If <i>The Player </i>is <i>Person of
Interest: Las Vegas, </i>then <i>Quantico </i>is
<i>How to Get Away with Murder: The FBI
Edition, </i>and with a use of flashfowards and a fast paced plot, this has all
the ingredients to replicate ABC’s last season breakout hit. A class of wannabe
FBI Agents at Quantico (who also happen to be incredibly attractive), are
unknowingly containing a terrorist who will one day cause the biggest disaster
to hit US soil since 9/11. Whether it’s as good as <i>How to Get Away With Murder </i>remains to be seen, but I’m confident
that ABC will have another hit on their hands. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Blindspot<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">US Premiere Date: September 21
2015 | Network: NBC | Cast: Jaimie Alexander, Sullivan Stapleton | <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nACuDkSFASg">Trailer</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">Jaimie
Alexander stars in this show that’s essentially </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">The Blacklist </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">meets Jason Bourne, both of which I really enjoy, so
it should have the potential to be loads of fun. When the woman who Alexander
is playing wakes up naked in a bag in Times Square, the FBI are on the case and
learn that each of her tattoos have the link to an unsolved crime crime. Hopefully, this NBC
show can be a hit, because I’m really looking forward to seeing how it turns
out and I’m down for more Jaimie Alexander in anything, especially given how good she's been as Sif in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The Bastard Executioner<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">US Premiere Date: September 15
2015 | Network: FX | Cast: Lee Jones, Stephen Moyer, Matthieu Charneau, Katey
Sagal, Kurt Sutter | <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCUoDZI9CpY">Trailer</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Sons
of Anarchy </span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">meets <i>Game
of Thrones. </i>Kurt Sutter is back after finishing six (or is it 7?) seasons
of the biker gang drama and as well as reportedly looking at prequels and other
such series to that drama, this show should be different, set in the medieval
era and following a knight retired from battle who is forced to pick up the
bloodiest sword of all – the executioner’s. Lee Jones, Katey Sagal and Stephen
Moyer are also on board – and Sutter even stars in the show as well, and
hopefully that should be enough to keep fans hooked. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Into The Badlands<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">US Premiere Date: November 15
2015 | Network: AMC | Cast: Daniel Wu, Emily Beecham, Oliver Stark, Sarah
Bolger, Orla Brady | <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH40EowbTz8">Trailer</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">What sort of show do you follow
up <i>Breaking Bad </i>and <i>Mad Men, </i>two of the most critically
acclaimed series ever, with? That’s the dilemma that AMC are facing right now
as aside from their two zombie-verse series, <i>The Walking Dead </i>and <i>Fear The
Walking Dead, </i>they haven’t had that many ‘big’ hits. Sure, I love <i>Hell on Wheels </i>and <i>Halt and Catch Fire, </i>and have started to like <i>Turn: Washington’s Spies </i>a lot more in the second season, but not
everybody else does, and they’re looking for something to replicate the success
of those two aforementioned shows. <i>Into
The Badlands </i>looks postivley exciting as one of the most original offerings
of this year’s batch of TV shows – a Martial Arts drama, this is a six-episode
series that sees a warrior embark into the badlands, a wasteland where only the
toughest survive, in order to undergo a spiritual journey. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Supergirl<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">US Premiere Date: October 26
2015 | Network: CBS | Cast: Melissa Benoist, Calista Flockhart, Chyler Leigh,
Mehcad Brooks, David Harewood, Jeremy Jordan | <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cMcKqrNTus">Trailer</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">CBS throw their hat into the
superhero ring with <i>Supergirl – </i>and
explore the adventures of Supergirl’s cousin, Kara Zor-El. Melissa Benoist
stars in bringing the fan favourite DC character to life in what should be a
very interesting series and it’ll be fun to see how the first comic book show
of recent years with a female lead turns out. It looks like this is going to be
big. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Childhood’s End<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">US Premiere Date: December 14 2015
| Network: SyFy | Cast: Daisy Betts, Charles Dance, Osy
Ikhile, Julian McMahon, Colm Meaney | Trailer</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Adapted from Arthur C Clarke’s
acclaimed science fiction novel and starring the legendary Charles Dance, <i>Childhood’s End </i>asks what would happen
if aliens peacefully invaded our planet and presented us with a Utopia and a
new golden age for humankind. However, not everything is as it seems, and this
sounds like an interesting enough premise to get behind. I haven’t yet read the
novel, but it’s something that I fully intend to do so before SyFy’s series
hits because I’ll be reviewing the miniseries for <a href="http://www.spoilertv.com/">SpoilerTV</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The Expanse<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">US Premiere Date: December 14
2015 | Network: SyFy | Cast: Thomas Jane, Steven Strait | <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27JmggM5GGQ">Trailer</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Based off James SA Corey’s
space opera epic that’s one of my favourite novel series, <i>The Expanse </i>is being touted as <i>Battlestar
Galactica </i>meets <i>Firefly </i>and that
sounds like a perfect blend of two of my favourite shows, so hopefully this
sounds like a match made in heaven as SyFy properly return to the world of
Space Opera. 200 years in the future mankind has colonised the entire solar
system, and the story follows a Detective and a Ship’s Captain teaming up to
find a missing girl as they get ever closer to exposing the greatest secret in
human history. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Runners
Up: </span></b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Minority Report </span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">(FOX), <i>Scream Queens </i>(FOX), <i>Flesh and Bone </i>(Starz), <i>Chicago Med </i>(NBC), <i>The Daily Show with Trevor Noah </i>(Comedy Central)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">What new TV series are you
looking forward to in the near future? Anything from the list above? Or is
there anything that I’ve missed? Drop me a line in the comments below. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Milo MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145862452794634877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4988813333268406363.post-70169224583745251452015-09-10T21:02:00.001+01:002015-09-10T21:06:07.033+01:00Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Dominion by Eric Van Lustbader (Orion)<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I review the ninth novel in the
bestselling Jason Bourne series, <i>The
Bourne Dominion, </i>written by Eric Van Lustbader and continuing the works
begun by Robert Ludlum. The book is currently available to buy in paperback and
online and was first published by Orion in 2011.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Bourne's enemies are gathering force.
Severus Domna, a secret and ancient cabal, has called forth its members from
around the globe, with one objective: to vanquish the last person capable of
destroying their bid to de-stabilize the world economy - Jason Bourne.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The <i>Jason Bourne </i>novels are something that I’ve been meaning to get to
for a long time now. <i>The Bourne Dominion </i>may
be the ninth book in the series, but it was the only one that the store on the
Ferry back from France had, and none of the other books that were on offer
really grabbed my attention. So I picked it up (Along with a <i>Star Wars </i>tie-in, Christie Golden’s <i>Ascension, </i>but more on that later), and
devoured it quickly on the overnight journey home, and despite having only read
the first novel (which I really enjoyed) and seen the films (which are probably
my favourite set of spy movies, aside from <i>The
Bourne Legacy</i> of course, which I wasn’t too keen on), it was </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">accessible</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">,
fast paced and entertaining, even if it wasn’t the strongest written book in
the world, and was perfect for a good, light slice of holiday reading and a way
to return to one of my favourite fictional characters, even if for Bourne, a
long time has passed since the conclusion of the novels that the film trilogies
were adapted from.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
Bourne Dominion </span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">is Eric Van Lustbader’s sixth entry into the
Bourne series and he delivers a fast paced, high adrenaline read. The book pits
Bourne against a mysterious secret cabal known as Severus Domna, who only have
to kill one person if they want to wreak havoc to the world’s economy,
essentially destroying it. However, the bad news for them is that the one
person happens to be Bourne, who, as fans of the series will know, is pretty
hard to take down. However, Severus Domna have come up with a plan, to turn one
of Bourne’s most trusted friends, Boris Karpov, who will be promoted to the top
of the FSB-2, Russia’s most powerful spy agency, but only if he can kill Bourne
first. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">So naturally, he’s pitted
against the odds as we embark on a global thrillride that features as many as
three different continents visited in this novel alone. The stakes are
naturally incredibly high and the espionage and intruige is pulled off well,
pitted against a fascinating web of conspiracy that keeps unfolding as the plot
develops. If you’re looking for a complicated and unpredictable thriller that
isn’t afraid to pull twists and turns, then this novel is your best bet, even
if it’s likely that veteran fans of the Bourne series will have probably long
since passed their judgement on this book. Something that I was annoyed at
however was the fact that even in the ninth book, Bourne’s loss of memory still
haunts him, and prevents him from remembering key information which can be frustrating
at times. However, that I found, was only one minor niggle, and although the
writing may not <i>quite </i>match Ludlum’s
original quality, it is still a decent efford from Lustbader who has had plenty
of practice with the popular thriller character.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The book may take a while to
get going, throwing in too many characters too early, but if you can put that
aside, <i>The Bourne Dominion </i>will be
worth the effort as the payoff in the third act is a lot stronger than what
come before. There’s some good character development and the story moves at a
quick pace, and there’s enough there to keep you coming back for the follow up,
<i>The Bourne Imperative, </i>which is high
on my to-read list and I’ll be checking out when I get the chance, as well as
going back to read the older novels that I haven't yet read. With everything taken into account, it comes with a cautious
recommendation for thriller fans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">VERDICT:<span style="color: red;"> 7/10</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
<i>Jason Bourne </i>Series: </span></b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The Bourne Identity </span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">by
Robert Ludlum, <i>The Bourne Supremacy </i>by
Robert Ludlum, <i>The Bourne Ultimatum </i>by
Robert Ludlum, <i>The Bourne Legacy </i>by
Eric Van Lustbader, <i>The Bourne Betrayal </i>by
Eric Van Lustbader, <i>The Bourne Sanction </i>by
Eric Van Lustbader, <i>The Bourne Deception </i>by
Eric Van Lustbader, <i>The Bourne Objective </i>by
Eric Van Lustbader, <i>The Bourne Dominion </i>by
Eric Van Lustbader, <i>The Bourne Imperative
</i>by Eric Van Lustbader, <i>The Bourne
Retribution </i>by Eric Van Lustbader, <i>The
Bourne Ascendancy </i>by Erick Van Lustbader<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Milo MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145862452794634877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4988813333268406363.post-90519333987010097392015-09-09T10:15:00.000+01:002015-09-09T10:49:01.470+01:00Star Wars: Lords of the Sith by Paul S. Kemp (Del Ray)<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">I review <i>Lords of the Sith </i>by
Paul S. Kemp, one of the most recent entries in the new canon <i>Star Wars </i>expanded
universe, putting the focus on Darth Vader and the Emperor. It is published by Del Ray.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">A LONG TIME AGO, IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR
AWAY...</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Knight, is just
a memory. Darth Vader, newly anointed Sith Lord, is ascendant. The Emperor’s
chosen apprentice has swiftly proven his loyalty to the dark side. Still, the
history of the Sith Order is one of duplicity, betrayal, and acolytes violently
usurping their Masters―and the truest measure of Vader’s allegiance has yet to
be taken. Until now.</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">On Ryloth, a planet crucial to the
growing Empire as a source of slave labor and the narcotic known as “spice,” an
aggressive resistance movement has arisen, led by Cham Syndulla, an idealistic
freedom fighter, and Isval, a vengeful former slave. But Emperor Palpatine
means to control the embattled world and its precious resources―by political
power or firepower―and he will be neither intimidated nor denied. Accompanied
by his merciless disciple, Darth Vader, he sets out on a rare personal mission
to ensure his will is done.</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">For Syndulla and Isval, it’s the
opportunity to strike at the very heart of the ruthless dictatorship sweeping
the galaxy. And for the Emperor and Darth Vader, Ryloth becomes more than just
a matter of putting down an insurrection: When an ambush sends them crashing to
the planet’s surface, where inhospitable terrain and an army of resistance
fighters await them, they will find their relationship tested as never before.
With only their lightsabers, the dark side of the Force, and each other to
depend on, the two Sith must decide if the brutal bond they share will make
them victorious allies or lethal adversaries.</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Lords of the Sith </span></i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">has been one of my most anticipated
novels in the <i>Star Wars </i>expanded universe so when I got the
chance to read it whilst I was in France I leapt at the opportunity and quickly
devoured it. The focus on the Empire, Darth Vader and the Emperor in
particular, made it incredibly fascinating to read, and particularly with that
awesome cover – the Emperor crackling with the force lightning and Vader
clearing a path through the middle of a warzone with two Star Destroyers on
either side, makes for a striking background for what turns out to be a very
fun novel, written by one of my go-to authors for good entertainment, Paul S.
Kemp. If you ever wondered what a buddy cop story set in the <i>Star Wars </i>universe
might look like with Vader and the Emperor as the bad cop and the even badder
cop, then <i>Lords of the Sith </i>might be your best bet. The book
details an attempted coup of the Imperial regime, and whilst we ultimately know
that the coup didn’t work, Kemp manages to create just the right amount of
tension to keep the book interesting, exploring both sides of the conflict very
well. I couldn’t help but want the Empire to emerge victorious even though
they’re the villains of the <i>Star Wars </i>Universe, and that was
because Kemp handled the book very well. Each line of dialogue I was reading in
the voice of the actors from the movies, and it felt very much a part of the <i>Star
Wars </i>Universe.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The action sequences are absolutely
stunning and one of the strongest that I’ve ever seen in any <i>Star Wars </i>novel,
not just the Expanded Universe ones. Witnessing Vader at full strength is a
sight that almost makes you feel sympathetic towards the people trying to bring
him down, you know they’re never going to stand a chance no matter what they
do. Making use of a variety of action sequences, Kemp writes equally well the
battles on land and space, weaving them together well for a masterstroke of
action. With the book set on the planet Ryloth, fans of <i>The Clone Wars </i>will
be pleased to hear that the series, which is also part of the Expanded Universe
canon, does not go ignored, and there are some throwbacks that readers will
appreciate as the book explores the relationship between Vader and the Emperor,
and how it’s affecting the man once known as Anakin Skywalker. This allows a
complex approach to the character when it would have been easy just to approach
him as a one-dimensional killing machine, and serves as a good way to mark
Anakin’s transition from <i>The Clone Wars </i>to the one that we see
as Vader in <i>Star Wars Rebels </i>in <i>A New Hope.</i></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">We also see the Emperor in action here
and it’s great to witness. At this point in the story the Emperor is keeping
hidden the fact that he’s a force user, and will kill anyone who witnesses the
truth apart from his Royal Guard and of course Vader. There are some chilling
moments that allow Darth Sidious to have as much impact as Vader, perhaps even
more so, as when these moments are used, they’re used sparingly, so we’re left
with a great impact on the reader.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The book itself splits around 50% of
its narrative to focus Vader/The Emperor and the other half on lesser known
figures. We see two Twi’lek rebels plotting to kill both of them, realising
that’s the only way they can make a statement to show that not everyone is
happy with the Emperor. It’s an ambitious plan, and one of the Ryloth rebels,
Cham, does have some doubts about the task at hand, it’s too good an opportunity
to strike a crippling blow to the Empire’s heart.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Whilst some may be disappointed at the
fact that the entirety of the novel wasn’t devoted to Vader and the Emperor,
this doesn’t really matter as when they’re in the spotlight they
have more of an impact than they would were the whole novel devoted to their
adventures. Plus, it’s great to witness the pre-Rebel Alliance
tactics that dissenters, members of the Free Ryloth movement, would use to
bring down key Imperial figures, and the dilemmas that they have to overcome.
Kemp creates such a strong and powerful read that you won’t care whether you
know the ending or not, as you’ll be swept up for a powerful ride that should
keep those who are willing to give the novel a shot hooked from the word go.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">VERDICT: </span></b><b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">8/10</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Milo MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145862452794634877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4988813333268406363.post-64568426779936363362015-09-06T21:50:00.002+01:002015-09-06T21:50:59.599+01:00The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin (Orbit Books)<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">I review N.K. Jemisin’s brilliant </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Fifth Season, </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">the first book in </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Broken Earth </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">epic fantasy series
from Orbit Books, published in August 2015 and currently available to buy in
the UK and the US.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">This is the way the world ends. Again.<br />
<br />
Three terrible things happen in a single day. Essun, a woman living an ordinary
life in a small town, comes home to find that her husband has brutally murdered
their son and kidnapped their daughter. Meanwhile, mighty Sanze -- the
world-spanning empire whose innovations have been civilization's bedrock for a
thousand years -- collapses as most of its citizens are murdered to serve a
madman's vengeance. And worst of all, across the heart of the vast continent
known as the Stillness, a great red rift has been torn into the heart of the
earth, spewing ash enough to darken the sky for years. Or centuries.<br />
<br />
Now Essun must pursue the wreckage of her family through a deadly, dying land.
Without sunlight, clean water, or arable land, and with limited stockpiles of supplies,
there will be war all across the Stillness: a battle royale of nations not for
power or territory, but simply for the basic resources necessary to get through
the long dark night. Essun does not care if the world falls apart around her.
She'll break it herself, if she must, to save her daughter.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">N.K. Jemisin is one of those authors who I’ve
heard a lot about but never actually read, and <i>The Fifth Season </i>presented me with the perfect opportunity to check
out her latest release as it was the first entry in the series, and I was
looking for something to read whilst I was in France, and as it turned out, I
was really glad I snapped up this book, because it blew me away and may well
have just turned out to be the best fantasy novel of 2015 so far, offering up
an imaginative, risky approach to the narrative, with some wonderful world
building and pacing that makes this book pretty much a required read for
fantasy fans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Stillness sounds like it would be a safe
place to live, right? Well, guess again, because due to its geology, it’s
incredibly unstable, and the Stillness has gone through several apocalyptic,
end of the world-esque events each called “Seasons”, that provide an incredible
backdrop for this novel, which has an astounding amount of depth in terms of
world building and creativity. It manages to feel refreshingly unique in terms
of the many epic fantasy novels available on the market today, offering an
interesting perspective, spotlighting a flawed, well developed and interesting
character called Essun, whose day goes from bad to worse when she learns her
own husband has kidnapped their daughter and killed their son, and as the Sanze
Empire falls around her, she must journey through the end of the world to find
her family as an intense battle for survival draws near.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">And Essun is not the only character who we meet
in this novel. She herself is an Orogene, people who do their best to make a
world a better place despite being shunned by the populace due to their
unstable powers, and have to go through extreme measures to keep them under
control. One of these characters that we meet is called Damaya, who goes on
such a journey to control her powers, and another is Syenite, who is slightly
more experienced but still requires a mentor to ensure that there will be more
Orogones in the future. It’s an interesting, diverse cast with distinct
narrative voices of their own. This book manages to accomplish something
incredibly rare that I’ve seen in epic fantasy and actually makes the second
person pronoun, <i>you, </i>work, and work
well, offering a powerful perspective into the world through the eyes of the
character.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">So many fantasy novels use the typical medieval
Europe setting as a backdrop but what’s incredibly refreshing is that <i>The Fifth Season </i>breaks from the norm,
with an interesting mix of characters that come from all sorts of background
and culture, making all the more unique. This only helps add to the incredible
layer of detail put into the novel that make it a very compelling read, using a
fantastic fantasy backdrop that never feels dull or overly drawn out, with
Jemisin not only crafting a great world, but also weaving a fantastic story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">If you’re a fan of fantasy fiction, <i>The Fifth Season </i>is an absolute must
read. Powerful, engaging and utterly compelling from start to finish, this is
something that will easily finish in the Top 10, if not my Top 5, selection of
best novels of the year come its end. Excellent stuff.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">VERDICT:
<span style="color: red;">9.75/10</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
Milo MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145862452794634877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4988813333268406363.post-68221224530357432252015-09-02T09:47:00.001+01:002015-09-02T10:20:54.509+01:00The Great Self Published Fantasy Blog Off Winner Announcement!<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In
this post I announce my finalist for the next round of the Self Published
Fantasy Blog Off, as well as talk about what you can expect on the blog going
forward. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Well...
here it is, I guess. After spending the last few months not being as active as
I would have liked to, mainly due to exams/coursework stuff hitting me towards
the end of my first year of my foundation degree, work and a two week stay in
France taking up a lot of my time, but during those mostly internet free two weeks I was able to devour and finish off a lot of the self published books on my TBR pile from the list below, leaving us with only one winner. But first, let's take a look at the books that I was assigned to read, and you can find them in this list if you're so interested in checking them out for yourself to find out what I had to sort through. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">1. Karen de Lange – <i>Beneath Starlight</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">2. LJ Cohen – <i>Time and Tithe</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">3. SM Barrett – <i>The Halloween Host</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;"><b>4. </b>Patty Jansen – <i>Fire and Ice</i><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">5. KJ Tantardini – <i>God Striker</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">6. William Dickstein – <i>A Tale of Gems</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">7. Jeff Goelz – <i>The Rightful Queen</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">8. Daniel Aspden – <i>Hero the Killer</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;"><b>9. </b>Robert Courtland – <i>Jack of Troubles</i><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">10. Daniel Quigley – <i>Thunder Struck</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">11. Violet Patterson – <i>Emerald Seer</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">12. Mary C Moore – <i>Angelus</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">13. Milo Woods – <i>Rupture</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">14. Seth Lindberg – <i>Spawn of Dyscrasia</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">15. Robert Luis Rabello – <i>Ceremonies and Celebrations</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">16. T.O Munro – <i>Lady of the Helm</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">17. Brad Carsten – <i>Riftwalkers</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">18. Jack Thane – <i>Forsaken</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">19. Jonathan Walles – <i>The Little Girl and the Shadow</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">20. Plague Jack – <i>Sins of Sovereignty</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">21. Trip Ellington – <i>Game Alive</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">22. Daniel Ionson – <i>After Life</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">23. David Moton – <i>Chama</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">24. Peter Fugazzotto – <i>Black River</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">25. Ellis L Knox – The <i>Garden of Hugo Vuerloz</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">26. JM McDermott – <i>Straggletaggle</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">27. Astra Crompton – <i>Firstborn</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">As mentioned above, let’s have a look at the novels that I was assigned to read. There were unfortunately a few of which I were not able to finish, either because they didn’t
grab my interest enough or were sequels in a series and I didn’t have the first
book available. So that was an automatic
disqualifier. You can read more on why your book didn't quite make it to the final round however, <a href="http://thefictionalhangout.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/the-great-self-published-fantasy-blog.html">here</a> - if you're so interested and haven't checked it out already, and many of the other awesome blogs have talked about
it across the board. Something else that's worth mentioning, If you’re interested in my previous reviews for the Blog
Off, you can find them <a href="http://thefictionalhangout.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/fire-ice-by-patty-jansen.html">here </a>and <a href="http://thefictionalhangout.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/sins-of-sovereignty-by-plague-jack.html">here</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Also,
a side note, apologies for the delay in getting this post up. As mentioned, I
was away in France for the last two weeks, and I only got back late last night
when I originally intended to put this up but due to arriving back later than
planned (I stopped by a relatives' house on the way back and the traffic was hell getting there), I was unable to do so and thought it would be better saved to the
morning. But I’m back now, so everything should be sorted and you can expect more reviews on a regular basis. Going forward I’ll
aim to put up at least two reviews for this site a week, because I’m also regularly reviewing
comics, <i>Fear The Walking Dead </i>and a
fair few comic related TV shows (namely <i>Arrow </i>& <i>The Flash</i> when they return) for <a href="http://all-comic.com/">All Comic</a><i> </i>(comics fans, go check out the site, it’s awesome), and I’m covering
a bunch of TV shows including Netflix’s <i>Narcos
</i>(Review up soon), <i>Manhattan </i>and <i>The Knick </i>on <a href="http://www.spoilertv.com/">Spoiler TV</a>. So if TV’s your
thing you can check that out ASAP where I’m already doing <i>Hell on Wheels </i>and <i>Murder in
the First </i>reviews. But I guess you’re probably not interested in me
rambling anymore, and I’ve dragged this out for a bit longer than I intended,
so here it is, at last, my nomination for the final round of the Great Self
Published Fantasy Blog Off. Go forth and read. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">***</span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Sins
of a Sovereignty </span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">by Plague Jack - Buy The Book Here (<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sins-Sovereignty-Amernia-Fallen-Book-ebook/dp/B00KZ52XX2">UK</a>/<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sins-Sovereignty-Amernia-Fallen-Volume/dp/1494735075">US</a>)!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Ten
years ago a terrifying superweapon left one of Amernia’s most illustrious
cities permanently shrouded in poisoned fog. Over the past decade, three great
evils have haunted the Amernian people. First is the elusive Blood Queen, who
holds Amernia in an iron grip. Second, are the entombed old gods, who speak
only to a chosen few. Third is the nation's scar, a seemingly endless expanse
of green miasma that has claimed the north. The rift between rich and poor,
human and nonhuman, divides the kingdom more every day. As a spectral rider
streaks across the sky, heralding the death of kings, foreign nations circle
like vultures hungry for a feast. Legendary veteran of two wars, Sir Clark
Pendragon, is sent north to quell the rising chaos. New alliances will be
forged and broken as a Wild War threatens to tear Amernia asunder.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<i>***</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I
really enjoyed this dark, gritty fantasy that fits the same sort of tone of <i>A Song of Ice and Fire </i>and Joe Abercrombie's <i>The First Law </i>trilogy. I won’t spend a lot of time talking on it here, because I’ve
already covered it in <a href="http://thefictionalhangout.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/sins-of-sovereignty-by-plague-jack.html">this review</a>, but one thing’s for sure, it’s something that I think
should appeal to a fair amount of readers and provided a pretty solid read for those looking for an alternative to the big name writers, or just another good fantasy novel. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">So,
that’s it for this round, I guess. But before I sign off, I’d
like to thank Mark Lawrence for hosting this contest and inviting me to
participate, as well as the awesome writers for submitting
their books for me to read, because you can never have too much books and plenty are always welcomed. I’d like to have reviewed more for the blog as part of this blog off,
and I probably should have, however, as mentioned above, I’ve been a fair bit busier
this summer than I was in past years so was unable to do so. Maybe I’ll do a brief (and significantly late) round up of the books that didn’t make the cut further down the line, however
that’ll depend on various things like how busy I am with work and the start of
my 2</span></span><sup style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">nd</sup><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> year of my foundation degree (one down, two to go) just around the corner. But one
thing’s for sure is that I’ve had loads of fun participating in the blog off
(which still isn’t over, this is just the selection for the finalists, and you
can see the selections that the other bloggers have put forward </span></span><a href="http://mark---lawrence.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/the-finalists-for-self-published.html" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">here</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">), and it’s
a fantastic experience, and I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have. For those interested, I'll have a book haul post up by the end of the week, and then things will resume normal scheduling</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> from there. </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></div>
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Milo MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145862452794634877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4988813333268406363.post-7853650686045558912015-08-12T12:10:00.002+01:002015-08-12T12:10:44.794+01:00Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth (PC)<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I review Sid Meier’s <i>Civilization: Beyond Earth, </i>a turn based
strategy game currently available to buy on PC.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Civilization
V </span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">is
quite possibly my favourite PC Game that I’ve had the chance to play, so I was
eager to jump into <i>Beyond Earth </i>when
I brought it in the Steam Summer Sales earlier in the year. After all, I missed
it at launch because my PC couldn’t fit the specifications, but now that I
upgraded, my laptop is capable of running the game and it, despite some mixed
reviews, did not disappoint, offering up another addictive game where we can’t
help but keep playing even though it’s gone midnight and you have work the next
day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Beyond
Earth </span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">offers the chance to explore an alien world, whilst keeping
the relative look and feel of <i>Civ 5 </i>even
if this version is perhaps more polished. The game itself takes place in the
near future when Earth is ruined, and you find yourself playing as one of the
major civilizations in the game. However, this is one of the several
differences from the previous game – no longer do you play as historical
civilizations like France or England, but you get groups like ARC, the
futuristic version of the United States and short for the American Reclamation
Corporation. There’s also nations like the People’s African Union (PAU) and the
Pan-Asian Corporative (PAC). Each civilization that you decide to be will give
you different bonuses, much like the previous game, for example, if you decide
to play as ARC you will get a 25% increase on covert operations and they’ll
cause more intrigue, whilst the PAU will have +10% food in growing cities when
they’re healthy. It’s little bonuses like that (there are no unique units
unlike in previous Civs) that offer a different experience each time you start
a new game. I’ve had the chance to play as both ARC and PAC in my two games
that I played before writing this review and they both suit different playing
styles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The game allows you to have
special advantages before jumping right in. For example, you can opt to reveal
all coastlines on a map (handy if the map you’re playing on is predominantly
water based), as well as detect alien nests on the planet’s surface or have a
soldier or worker unit already spawned when you land. Different advantages
always help, and again, allows for greater replay ability value as when
starting a new game you can simply select a different bonus for a different
experience. Once you’ve picked your bonuses you’re dropped down via a spaceship
and you get to decide where to put your Capital city on the map in a given area
provided, with tactical advantages depending on where you placed your city
allowing for bonuses. Once there, the game is yours, and how you approach it,
what victory method you want to go for, whether you want to peacefully approach
aliens or exterminate them (which will have consequences on how the other
civilizations view you), or engage in diplomacy with other civilizations or bully
them into submission. The same mechanics as <i>Civ
5 </i>are kept in play, and the game doesn’t really offer the same new
experience like the transition from <i>Civ 4
</i>to <i>Civ 5, </i>but it does provide
some great content especially if you’re a fan of science fiction, and will keep
those of you who have not yet played <i>Civ
5 </i>entertained indeed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The game is harder to get used
to than previous Civilization games because you’re in a completely new alien
terrain. New technologies are unknown and the improvements don’t work the same
way that they did on Earth, making it an initially refreshing experience. It’s
a daunting experience that will take a while to get used to, especially if you
treat aliens the same way you treat barbarians that you did in <i>Civ 5 – </i>they will become more hostile
and more threatening the longer you attack them. The Siege Worms offer a big
challenge when it comes to taking down the aliens – and like the barbarians,
they’re unpredictable and cannot be negotiated with, so it’s wise to invest in
buildings that protect your cities and trade routes from aliens so you can
concentrate on your neighbouring civilizations who depending on how you treat
them may be more of a threat. But don’t
underestimate the aliens, even if they’re more of an early game threat and don’t
really have much part to play in the late game, which is kind of a shame as the
second time around, I was hoping to somehow strike up an alliance with them
because I wasn’t wiping them off the face of the Earth (no matter how many
times their Sea Dragons kept destroying my gunboats).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The affinity addition to <i>Beyond Earth </i>is probably one of the
best, with Harmony, Purity and Supremacy each having different benefits depending
on which upgrades you decide to explore, with each giving you different
bonuses, for example, Purity will boost combat and Supremacy is geared towards
economy, which again, makes for a different experience each play through.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Unlike the previous game where
you had a relative level of comfort in exploring, <i>Beyond Earth </i>thrusts you into a battle for survival from the get go
as you’re up against the environment and the creatures that inhabit it. Whilst
the AIs can suffer in parts (for example, lecturing me about not attacking
before declaring war and asking me to join, and apologising for spying in
cities only to act aghast when they caught me spying in their city a few turns
later), and I’ve yet to explore multiplayer for more than a few turns, <i>Beyond Earth </i>offers a mostly rewarding
experience that whilst doesn’t quite render it as good as the previous game, <i>Civ 5, </i>it’s still a strong entry in the
franchise and is worth a shout for strategy gamers. Recommended.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">VERDICT:
<span style="color: red;">8.5/10<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
Milo MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145862452794634877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4988813333268406363.post-21149590264925112492015-08-06T14:09:00.001+01:002015-08-06T14:14:20.702+01:00Batman: Arkham Knight - The Riddler's Gambit by Alex Irvine (Titan Books)<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I
turn my attention to one of the two <i>Batman:
Arkham Knight </i>related novels, <i>The
Riddler’s Gambit, </i>set in the same universe as the Arkham games, written by
Alex Irvine and published by Titan Books, this book acts as a prequel to the video
game. Both the game and<i> The Riddler’s
Gambit </i>are currently available to buy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Joker's death has
left a void in the Gotham City underworld--a void the Riddler seeks to fill in
the deadliest way possible. Creating a path of death and destruction, the
criminal mastermind places Batman and Robin in an unwinnable scenario, with the
clock ticking down the moments to disaster.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
Riddler is one of my favourite Batman villains, and he recently gained some
notable exposure in the <i>Zero Year </i>arc
of the main Batman comic from Scott Snyder. I don’t know how much he’ll focus
in <i>Arkham Knight </i>itself as I haven’t
been paying very much attention to Xbox One/PS4 exclusive games, but
considering that I should be getting one of these two consoles in the next
couple of weeks or so, I certainly hope that Edward Nygma will feature prominently.
I’d prefer him to play a more direct role in the plot then be limited to side
missions this time around, so I guess we’ll have to wait and see. But even if
we don’t get that in <i>Arkham Knight </i>(no
spoilers, please, I haven’t yet played the game), <i>The Riddler’s Gambit </i>serves as a fun way to put the Riddler in the
spotlight, because if you remember in <i>Arkham
City, </i>the Joker died, right? No more arch nemesis for Batman and a criminal
underworld without a figurehead. And Batman hasn’t been seen in a while,
either. It’s where we jump in to <i>Riddler’s
Gambit, </i>which feels very much like part of the game itself, as any good
tie-in novel should, drawing readers in and having them hooked right from the
start, and if you want to read more about the Arkham world in prose format, you
can’t go far wrong with <i>The Riddler’s
Gambit.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Riddler’s Gambit </span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">serves as a welcoming treat for all fans of Batman and his
rogues gallery. We have multiple villains but also multiple protagonists, for
example, Robin (Tim Drake), who only cameoed in the main <i>Arkham City </i>game (and was playable in his own expansion) gets a
significant part of the story here as the book spends time between Batman and
Robin chapters, with the dynamic duo getting plenty to do and working together
well. The book also serves as an example as to how the media view Batman, and
we get a look into how he’s viewed both positively and negatively by articles
on blogs and newspapers that separate chapters, told from the likes of Jack Ryder,
Vicki Vale and more, as Irvine manages to utilise the rich cast to the most of
his ability without feeling they’re shoehorned in. This book doesn’t suffer
from the problems that can come with a lot of villains, as the <i>Arkham </i>games have handled this in a way
that <i>The Amazing Spider-Man </i>2 and <i>Spider-Man 3 </i>failed to accomplish. It
reads well and does about everything you’d expect from a tie-in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">However,
<i>The Riddler’s Gambit </i>suffers from a
few problems. There are a couple of continuinty errors that I noticed and it
will probably annoy fans of the Arkham games as well, and sometimes, the
villain’s voices sound a little too similar, and not really as distinctive as I
would have hoped, even if the characters themselves are still mostly handled
well and given plenty of page-time. But those are really the only two minor
problems that I had with this book because <i>The
Riddler’s Gambit </i>otherwise allows for an action packed read with a
lightning fast pace that as a result makes this novel feel very similar to a
summer blockbuster, you’ll get through it pretty quickly and you’ll enjoy it,
but it won’t exactly be anything that will blow you away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
book also handles the relationship between Batman and Robin well, and it’s
something that is great to see for fans wanting more Tim Drake (it’s worth
pointing out that Tim Drake is my favourite Robin – Dick Grayson would be, but
he works far better as Nightwing). The amount of stuff that Robin gets to do in
this book should keep readers content, and I hope he gets more than just a
mention in the game itself. Barbara Gordon fans should be happy with Oracle’s
inclusion, so there’s plenty there that makes this book something that fans
will enjoy, even if <i>The Riddler’s Gambit </i>may
not be perfect.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It’s
also worth noting that I’m probably going to hold off reviewing the <i>Arkham Knight </i>novelization until I’ve
played the game (which should hopefully be before the year’s end), as I don’t
want to be spoiled by any major plot twists as I’ve remained spoiler free so
far. So you’re going to have to wait for that review to crop up, but it will
make an appearance once I’ve finished the novel. But for now, <i>The Riddler’s Gambit </i>is something that
you should check out if you’re an Arkham fan looking to get some more adventures
focused on Gotham’s dynamic duo. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">VERDICT: <span style="color: red;">7/10</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
Milo MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145862452794634877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4988813333268406363.post-31600591680031068012015-07-26T12:25:00.003+01:002015-07-26T12:27:30.638+01:00Star Wars: Dark Disciple by Christie Golden (Del Ray Books)<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I review Christie Golden’s <i>Dark Disciple, </i>one of the most recent
entries in the new <i>Star Wars </i>Expanded
Universe, published by Del Ray Books and looking at events during the era of the Clone
Wars. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><b>A LONG TIME AGO, IN A GALAXY
FAR, FAR AWAY....</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Based on unproduced scripts from the
blockbuster TV show Star Wars: The Clone Wars!<br />
<br />
The only way to bring down the dark side's most dangerous warrior may be for
Jedi and Sith to join forces.<br />
<br />
In the war for control of the galaxy between the armies of the dark side and
the Republic, former Jedi Master turned ruthless Sith Lord Count Dooku has
grown ever more brutal in his tactics. Despite the powers of the Jedi and the
military prowess of their clone army, the sheer number of fatalities is taking
a terrible toll. And when Dooku orders the massacre of a flotilla of helpless
refugees, the Jedi Council feels it has no choice but to take drastic action:
targeting the man responsible for so many war atrocities, Count Dooku himself.<br />
<br />
But the ever-elusive Dooku is dangerous prey for even the most skilled hunter.
So the Council makes the bold decision to bring both sides of the Force's power
to bear—pairing brash Jedi Knight Quinlan Vos with infamous one-time Sith
acolyte Asajj Ventress. Though Jedi distrust for the cunning killer who once
served at Dooku's side still runs deep, Ventress's hatred for her former master
runs deeper. She's more than willing to lend her copious talents as a bounty
hunter—and assassin—to Vos's quest.<br />
<br />
Together, Ventress and Vos are the best hope for eliminating Dooku—as long as
the emerging feelings between them don't compromise their mission. But Ventress
is determined to have her retribution and at last let go of her dark Sith past.
Balancing the complicated emotions she feels for Vos with the fury of her
warrior's spirit, she resolves to claim victory on all fronts—a vow that will
be mercilessly tested by her deadly enemy . . . and her own doubt. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The Clone Wars series is
something that I’ve got a mixed experience with, and am actually, incredibly
behind, having only got the chance to see the first nineteen episodes of season
one. I’ve heard it gets a lot better and there have been a few promising signs
of great things, but so far there has been plenty of issues. Two characters
that are part of the series – one that I encountered in the animated movie,
Asaji Ventress, one-time Sith acolyte, and one that I haven’t yet seen as far
as I can remember, Jedi Knight Quinlan Vos are featured here, and I was half
wondering whether, especially as this was based on unproduced episodes of the
show no doubt further down the line from where I am at the moment, I would
struggle to understand what was going on or not. Thankfully that was not the
case here, with <i>Dark Disciple </i>being
very easy to understand and serves up nicely as a standalone fare, and a really
welcome surprise for <i>Star Wars </i>fans
as it’s among one of the best novels in the franchise that I’ve had the
pleasure of reading in a while.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Fans of <i>The Clone Wars </i>will be right at home in <i>Dark Disciple. </i>Following the aftermath of an assault by Count Dooku
on a flotilla of helpless refugees, the Jedi Council decide that they have to
target him for assassination, a direct approach frowned upon in the Order. The
only way to stop the veteran Sith Lord is to pair both Jedi and (former) Sith
together on a rogue mission, the Han Solo-esque Quinlan Vos and Dooku’s ex
apprentice, the sinister Asajj Ventress. Both make interesting choices for the
novel (I don’t know how much screentime, if any, they shared in <i>The Clone Wars</i>) and they play off each
other well with some great character exchanges as the Jedi’s best hope for
eliminating Dooku. All the characters involved that I am familiar with on <i>The Clone Wars </i>(Anakin, Obi-Wan etc) are
portrayed well and this feels like it could be right at home as an episode of
the TV series, and it works really well, combining an expertly paced plot with
some great action sequences.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The book itself handles the
differences in character between Vos and Ventress very well indeed, mixing
their development and handling their interactions strongly. If you’re looking
for some more awesome female characters in the <i>Star Wars </i>‘verse than it’s clear that Ventress is most certainly
one, and this book has got me really interested to see what she can do in <i>The Clone Wars, </i>along with Vos, so I’m
probably going to get caught up on that series when I can. I’m in the middle of
<i>The Walking Dead </i>and <i>Scandal </i>at the moment though. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Something that’s also worth
noting and that I only found out after researching Vos’ character a bit more,
is that the book separates from the original story for the character so if
there are any fans of Vos then you may be disappointed, as this serves as a
different take on his time during The Clone Wars. It makes things interesting,
however, the character is handled well here so that fans of Vos’ original story
shouldn’t be put off. Vos and Ventress also form an unlikely relationship that’s
handled better than expected, as the book itself explores things in a lot more
depth in general than most other <i>Star
Wars </i>books, yet at the same time, remaining a page-turning read that will
render readers unable to put this novel down.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Despite the depth that’s
mentioned above, the issues that the book brings to the table aren’t tackled
with a lot of subtlety leading the book to feel a tad rushed in places, but
that’s pretty much one of the few minor problems that I had with an otherwise
really fun experience. <i>Dark Disciple </i>does
an excellent job at giving more depth to the main characters and making the
book a captivating light read, and it’s safe to say that you could find far
worse <i>Star Wars </i>books for your money
than this one. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">VERDICT:
<span style="color: red;">8/10</span></span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">‘NEW’
EXPANDED UNIVERSE STAR WARS NOVELS TIMELINE: </span></b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Dark
Disciple </span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">by Christie Golden, <i>Lords
of the Sith </i>by Paul S. Kemp, <i>Tarkin </i>by
James Luceno, <i>A New Dawn </i>by John
Jackson Miller, <i>Heir to the Jedi </i>by
Kevin Hearne, <i>Aftermath </i>by Chuck
Wendig <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Milo MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145862452794634877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4988813333268406363.post-16890618562507670472015-07-18T12:28:00.001+01:002015-07-18T12:28:25.285+01:00Cross My Heart by James Patterson (Cornerstone Digital)<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I
share my thoughts on James Patterson’s twenty second Alex Cross novel, <i>Cross My Heart, </i>one of the most recent
entries in the bestselling thriller series, with the UK Kindle Edition being published by Cornerstone Digital.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Detective Alex Cross is
a family man at heart--nothing matters more to him than his children, his
grandmother, and his wife Bree. His love of his family is his anchor, and gives
him the strength to confront evil in his work. One man knows this deeply, and uses
Alex's strength as a weapon against him. When the ones Cross loves are in
danger, he will do anything to protect them. If he does anything to protect
them, they will die.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The <i>Alex Cross </i>series is one of the longest
running series of novels that I’ve actually had the chance to read, and unfortunately,
like most of Patterson’s more recent works, they’ve suffered in quality, not
being as memorable as the earlier entries. However, they’ve still been engaging
quick reads, and <i>Cross My Heart, </i>despite
a rushed ending that ends on a cliffhanger, setting up readers for the second
half of this current story, manages to be one of the better Alex Cross novels
in a while, as the titular Detective finds his family used as a weapon against
him by a cunning antagonist who knows to play to Alex’s weaknesses. However, if
Cross tries to protect his loved ones, they’ll die, as simple as that. The
stakes are higher than ever as James Patterson delivers one of the more
personal entries in this saga so far.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Alex and
his long-running partner Sampson are investigating two seemingly unrelated
crimes, the murder of four people at a massage parlour including a famous
footballer and the kidnapping of two babies, however, the antagonist is using
this as a distraction to gain information about the Cross family – Alex’s wife,
fellow Detective Bree, three children, Damon, Jannie and Ali, as well as their grandmother,
nicknamed Nana Mama. Marcus Sunday is keeping a watchful eye on all of the
Cross family, and waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Tension is kept high throughout the novel and
in true Patterson style, the pages are short and in a split first person/third
person narrative with the first person used for Cross whilst the third used for
Marcus Sunday, giving us an insight into the villain. There’s nothing overly
groundbreaking in what Patterson does here in terms of what we’ve seen from him
before, but <i>Cross My Heart </i>is well
written enough for it to be a pretty solid read, even if it’s understandable
the amount of people that were annoyed by the cliffhanger ending, which didn’t
bother me too much as some other fans (seriously? You’re saying that you’re not
buying the author’s work again because of the ending? What’s up with that?) as
Patterson more often than not will be able to provide a satisfactory resolution
in the coming book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It
was refreshing to read a book in the Alex Cross series where he’s not in
control, as the Detective usually is. He finds his life turned upside down as
he’s thrust into an uncomfortable position and it’s instantly refreshing to
explore one of the more memorable characters in popular thriller fiction and it’s
great to see what happens and how it unfolds. As I’m twenty two books into the
series it’s getting harder and harder to really to say anything new about these
books and chances are fans will have already read <i>Cross My Heart </i>by now. But basically, if you haven’t, go in
expecting a cliffhanger ending and you shouldn’t be disappointed. I can’t wait
to get my hands on the next instalment, and the latest in the series, <i>Hope to Die, </i>which should prove to be
just as much fun as the previous entries have been.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">VERDICT: <span style="color: red;">8/10</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Alex
Cross </span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Recommended Reading Order: </span></b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Along Came a Spider, Kiss the Girls, Jack
& Jill, Cat and Mouse, Pop Goes the Weasel, Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, Four Blind
Mice, The Big Bad Wolf, London Bridges, Mary, Mary, Cross, Double Cross, Cross
Country, Alex Cross’s Trial, I, Alex Cross, Cross Fire, Kill Alex Cross, Merry
Christmas, Alex Cross, Alex Cross, Run, <b>Cross
My Heart</b>, Hope to Die, Cross Justice </span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">(Upcoming)<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
Milo MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145862452794634877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4988813333268406363.post-30080030497701141992015-07-16T12:33:00.003+01:002015-07-16T14:12:08.307+01:00The Great Book Haul - July 2015<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I
thought I’d share the status of my current book haul, the novels that I’m
currently reading at the moment, and the next few on my TBR pile to give you an
idea as to what to expect with reviews in the upcoming month or so. As well as
these books I’ll be working my way through the Self Published Fantasy Blog-Off,
and you can probably expect the next status update either late July or early
August with the next round of books that I’ve cut. So without further ado, if
you want to know what's in store, keep reading.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">What I’m Currently Reading:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><i>GO SET A WATCHMAN</i> by Harper
Lee (Harper Collins)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><i>From Harper Lee comes a
landmark new novel set two decades after her beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning
masterpiece, </i>To Kill A Mockinbird</span><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><i>Maycomb, Alabama.
Twenty-six-year-old Jean Louise Finch – ‘Scout’ – returns home from New York
City to visit her ageing father, Atticus. Set against the backdrop of the civil
rights tensions and political turmoil that were transforming the South, Jean
Louise’s homecoming turns bittersweet when she learns disturbing truths about
her close-knit family, the town and the people dearest to her. Memories from
her childhood flood back, and her values and assumptions are thrown into doubt.
Featuring many of the iconic characters from </i>To Kill a Mockingbird, Go Set A Watcman</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></i></span><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">perfectly captures a
young woman, and a world, in painful yet necessary transition out of the
illusions of the past – a journey that can be guided only by one’s own
conscience.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><i>Written in the mid-1950s </i>Go Set A Watchman<i>,</i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span></i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><i>imparts a fuller, richer understanding and
appreciation of Harper Lee. Here is an unforgettable novel of wisdom, humanity,
passion, humour and effortless precision – a profoundly affecting work of art
that is both wonderfully evocative of another era and relevant to our own
times. It not only confirms the enduring brilliance of </i>To Kill a Mockingbird</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">,<i> but
also serves as its essential companion, adding depth, context and new meaning
to a classic.<o:p></o:p></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><i>STAR WARS: DARK DISCIPLE</i>
by Christie Golden (Lucas Books)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">When the Jedi decide to
target Count Dooku-Darth Tryanus- himself, they turn to his ex-apprentice,
Asajj Ventress, for help in getting close to the slippery Sith Lord. But when
unexpected sparks fly between Ventress and Quinlan Vos, the unorthodox Jedi
sent to work with her, the mission becomes a web of betrayal, alliances,
secrets, and dark plotting that might just be the undoing of both Jedi and Sith
- and everything in between!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">What’s Next:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><i>DEPTH </i>by Lev Ac Rosen (Titan Books)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span></b><b style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In a post-apocalyptic flooded New York City, a private
investigator’s routine surveillance case leads to a treasure everyone wants to
find—and someone is willing to kill for.</span></b></div>
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<b style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<i style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Depth</span></i><i style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> combines
hardboiled mystery and dystopian science fiction in a future where the rising
ocean levels have left New York twenty-one stories under water and cut off from
the rest of the United States. But the city survives, and Simone Pierce is one
of its best private investigators. Her latest case, running surveillance on a
potentially unfaithful husband, was supposed to be easy. Then her target is
murdered, and the search for his killer points Simone towards a secret from the
past that can’t possibly be real—but that won’t stop the city’s most powerful
men and women from trying to acquire it for themselves, with Simone caught in
the middle.</span></i><b style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><i>THE CHILD EATER</i> by
Rachel Pollack (Jo Fletcher Books)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uWQobOWzXwY/VaeToBSl2TI/AAAAAAAAByk/A7bC6uLTsD4/s1600/The%2BChild%2BEater.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uWQobOWzXwY/VaeToBSl2TI/AAAAAAAAByk/A7bC6uLTsD4/s320/The%2BChild%2BEater.jpg" width="203" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Two boys, worlds and
centuries apart. </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
In a time of magic, a penniless boy named Matyas runs away to the Academy of
Wizards to pursue his dream - to discover the secret of flying. Along the way
he will become the greatest Master of his age, only to lose everything. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
Is the modern day, Simon Wisdom struggles to hide his psychic abilities while
his father Jack lives in fear that those powers will destroy his son. But
nothing can stop Simon from hearing the cries of dead children pleading for his
help. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
Matyas and Simon will never meet. But they are bound together, for only their
combined strength can hope to overcome the monster that haunts existence itself
- the Child Eater.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><i>REGENERATION </i>by
Stephanie Saulter (Jo Fletcher Books)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dr-whCVGYUU/VaeT3aUoOOI/AAAAAAAABys/oX_DzoumMfw/s1600/Regeneration.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dr-whCVGYUU/VaeT3aUoOOI/AAAAAAAABys/oX_DzoumMfw/s320/Regeneration.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The gillungs -
waterbreathing, genetically modified humans - are thriving. They've colonised
riverbanks and ports long since abandoned to the rising seas and the demand for
their high-efficiency technologies is growing fast.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <br />
But as demand grows, so do fears about their impact on both norm businesses and
the natural environment.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
Then, a biohazard scare at Sinkat, their colony on the Thames, fuels the
opposition and threatens to derail the gillungs' progress. But was it an
accident, or was it sabotage?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
DCI Sharon Varsi has her suspicions, but her investigations are compromised by
family ties. And now there is a new threat: Zavcka Klist is about to be
released from prison - and she wants her company back.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><i>MORIARTY </i>by Anthony
Horowitz (Orion Books)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vB22Owfj3IA/VaeT8dPKR4I/AAAAAAAABy0/4HtspkrqFAA/s1600/Moriarty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vB22Owfj3IA/VaeT8dPKR4I/AAAAAAAABy0/4HtspkrqFAA/s320/Moriarty.jpg" width="227" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Sherlock Holmes is dead.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Days after Holmes and
his arch-enemy Moriarty fall to their doom at the Reichenbach Falls, Pinkerton
agent Frederick Chase arrives from New York. The death of Moriarty has created
a poisonous vacuum which has been swiftly filled by a fiendish new criminal
mastermind. Ably assisted by Inspector Athelney Jones, a devoted student of
Holmes's methods of investigation and deduction, Chase must hunt down this
shadowy figure, a man much feared but seldom seen, a man determined to engulf
London in a tide of murder and menace.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The game is afoot . . <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><i>JOYLAND </i>by Steven King (Titan Books)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OXmuZlDV7zM/VaeUBj6eF2I/AAAAAAAABy8/kW7CGDrS8nw/s1600/Joyland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OXmuZlDV7zM/VaeUBj6eF2I/AAAAAAAABy8/kW7CGDrS8nw/s320/Joyland.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">College student Devin
Jones took the summer job at Joyland hoping to forget the girl who broke his
heart. But he wound up facing something far more terrible: the legacy of a
vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and dark truths about life and what
comes after that would change his world forever. A riveting story about love
and loss, about growing up and growing old and about those who don't get to do
either because death comes for them before their time JOYLAND is Stephen King
at the peak of his storytelling powers. With all the emotional impact of King
masterpieces such as The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption, JOYLAND is at
once a mystery, a horror story, and a bittersweet coming-of-age novel, one that
will leave even the most hard-boiled of readers profoundly moved.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><i>THE GHOSTS OF HEAVEN</i> by
Marcus Sedgewick (Roaring Book Press) <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-389jIU2cpEc/VaeUMv0sZtI/AAAAAAAABzE/W027kY5NUGM/s1600/Ghosts-of-Heaven.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-389jIU2cpEc/VaeUMv0sZtI/AAAAAAAABzE/W027kY5NUGM/s320/Ghosts-of-Heaven.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A cleverly interlinked
novel written in four parts by PRINTZ AWARD-winning author, Marcus Sedgwick,
about survival and discovery, and about the effect of the spiral, a symbol that
has no end, on all our lives.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The spiral has existed
as long as time has existed. Follow the ways of infinity to discover its
meaning.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It's there when a girl
walks through the forest, the moist green air clinging to her skin.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">There centuries later in
a pleasant green dale, hiding the treacherous waters of Golden Beck that take
Anna, who they call a witch.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">There on the other side
of the world, where a mad poet watches the waves and knows the horrors they
hide, and far into the future as Keir Bowman realises his destiny.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Each takes their next
step in life. None will ever go back to the same place.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">And so their journeys
begin...<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><i>ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT
SEE</i> by Anthony Doeer (Simon & Schuster)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KddufeagtbI/VaeUYl12MtI/AAAAAAAABzM/MIcyd9pJpQA/s1600/All-The-Light-We-Cannot-See.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KddufeagtbI/VaeUYl12MtI/AAAAAAAABzM/MIcyd9pJpQA/s320/All-The-Light-We-Cannot-See.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">WINNER OF THE 2015
PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION<br />
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST<br />
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER<br />
WINNER OF THE CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR FICTION<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A beautiful, stunningly
ambitious novel about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide
in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">When Marie Laure goes
blind, aged six, her father builds her a model of their Paris neighborhood, so
she can memorize it with her fingers and then navigate the real streets. But
when the Germans occupy Paris, father and daughter flee to Saint-Malo on the
Brittany coast, where Marie-Laure’s agoraphobic great uncle lives in a tall,
narrow house by the sea wall.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In another world in
Germany, an orphan boy, Werner, is enchanted by a crude radio. He becomes a
master at building and fixing radios, a talent ultimately makes him a highly
specialized tracker of the Resistance. Werner travels through the heart of
Hitler Youth to the far-flung outskirts of Russia, and finally into Saint-Malo,
where his path converges with Marie-Laure.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Deftly interweaving the
lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, Doerr illuminates the ways, against all odds,
people try to be good to one another. Ten years in the writing, ALL THE LIGHT
WE CANNOT SEE is his most ambitious and dazzling work.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><i>THE TABIT GENESIS</i> by
Toby Gonzalez (Gollancz)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YpmpusrgVJk/VaeUd67JEZI/AAAAAAAABzU/YDcglsUold4/s1600/The-Tabit-Genesis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YpmpusrgVJk/VaeUd67JEZI/AAAAAAAABzU/YDcglsUold4/s320/The-Tabit-Genesis.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">They left Sol in two
great ships, carrying with them the last hope for humankind. Destined for
different stars, their mission was to ensure the survival of our species. One
ship was never heard from again. Decades later, the other arrived at a lifeless
world, where the survivors learned that Earth was lost not to famine, but to an
alien species determined to eradicate humans from existence.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
Man is not alone in the universe, and the last of us are hunted. Driven by
strong characters facing tremendous odds, Tony Gonzales delivers SF in the
grandest tradition: an epic adventure full of colossal ships, vast battles and
unimaginable challenges.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><i>ROBOTEER</i> by Alex Lamb (Gollancz)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The starship Ariel is on a mission of the
utmost secrecy, upon which the fate of thousands of lives depend. Though the
ship is a mile long, its six crew are crammed into a space barely large enough
for them to stand. Five are officers, geniuses in their field. The other is
Will Kuno-Monet, the man responsible for single-handedly running a ship
comprised of the most dangerous and delicate technology that mankind has ever
devised. He is the Roboteer.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Roboteer is a hard-SF
novel set in a future in which the colonization of the stars has turned out to
be anything but easy, and civilization on Earth has collapsed under the
pressure of relentless mutual terrorism. Small human settlements cling to
barely habitable planets. Without support from a home-world they have had to
develop ways of life heavily dependent on robotics and genetic engineering.
Then out of the ruins of Earth's once great empire, a new force arises - a
world-spanning religion bent on the conversion of all mankind to its creed. It
sends fleets of starships to reclaim the colonies. But the colonies don't want
to be reclaimed. Mankind's first interstellar war begins. It is dirty,
dangerous and hideously costly.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Will is a man bred to
interface with the robots that his home-world Galatea desperately needs to
survive. He finds himself sent behind enemy lines to discover the secret of
their newest weapon. What he discovers will transform their understanding of
both science and civilization forever... but at a cost.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">So we
have a lot of interesting stuff there. A bit of literary fiction, science
fiction, history, young adult and horror that should make each of these books nice experiences, and as
usual, I’ll try to review as many as possible for this blog, so you can probably expect to see reviews when I finish them. I'll have one for James Patterson's <i>Cross My Heart </i>up by the end of the weekend, though. </span></div>
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Milo MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145862452794634877noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4988813333268406363.post-39612901882137999402015-07-13T18:50:00.004+01:002015-07-13T18:50:34.398+01:00Mitch Rapp #4: The Third Option by Vince Flynn (Simon & Schuster) <div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I
review my first Vince Flynn novel, <i>The
Third Option, </i>the fourth (in chronological order, second by published order)
novel in the Mitch Rapp series, with this edition published by Simon &
Schuster in 2011, although the novel itself was first published in 2000. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Mitch Rapp, the CIA's
top counter-terrorism agent, is sent on his final mission - to eliminate a
European industrialist who has been supplying highly sensitive equipment to one
of the world's most notorious sponsors of terrorism. He doesn't know that the ultimate
target of this mission is himself.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Thriller
books are generally good for fast paced, action fun, with plenty of quick
reads. Lee Child, David Baldacci, Elmore Leonard (having recently read <i>Pronto </i>and am looking for more) and
James Patterson are my go to authors in the genre and Vince Flynn has been on
my to read list for a while, so it even though <i>The Third Option </i>may be the fourth novel in the series focused on the
character Mitch Rapp, I was kind of interested to check it out as I figured
they’d be relatively standalone, and hey, it was on sale on the Kindle Fire (I
don’t know if it still is), so why not? What could possibly go wrong?<br />
<br />
I ended up getting a pretty positive reaction out of the book, and although it’s
nothing too memorable and will probably be quickly forgotten, it was a nice quick
read and a perfect way to keep me distracted, as the fast pace kept me turning
the pages as the tension was always high and remained that way throughout the
novel (even if, as mentioned later, the main character's safety was never in doubt). Chances are if you’re reading
this review you’ll already be familiar with Mitch Rapp, but if you’re not, he’s
the CIA’s top counter terrorism agent, a Jack Reacher esque figure only working
for the CIA rather than as a lone wolf. He’s sent on his final mission to
eliminate a European industrialist, who has been supplying equipment to one of
the world’s most notorious sponsors of terrorism, but what he doesn’t know is
that it’s actually a trap, and the real target is of course himself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I was
going in expecting something similar to the Jason Bourne movies (which are incidentally,
my favourite series of thriller films), and Flynn did not disappoint with
Bourne fans being right at home, with the European stuff being some of my
favourite parts about the book – too often they’re largely US centric so this
was a nice breath of fresh air, even if there’s a lot of US content happening
here. I didn’t have any problems understanding what was happening even though
this was the fourth entry in the series, and also (I didn’t know this until
after I finished reading) apparently the first part in an interlinked duology,
going into <i>A Separation of Power</i>, so
that explains partly why I wasn’t quite as pleased with the ending as I would
have perhaps have liked. It’s certainly something that’s been added to my to
read list as I plan on returning to the world of Vince Flynn’s series in the
future for sure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">As
you can expect from your standard thriller novel the characters aren’t the most
developed and the plot isn’t particularly complicated either, with few apart
from Rapp really making an impression on the reader. However, that said, like
most good thrillers, <i>The Third Option </i>has
a way of keeping you hooked from the word go, plunging into a story that you
won’t be able to put down until you finish its pages, and even though the
standard Good vs. Evil stuff is there with little moral ambiguity, the tension
is engaging enough to keep you reading. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">However,
that said, there’s a distinct lack of tension concerning Rapp’s character.
There’s currently fourteen books in the series, with <i>The Survivor </i>coming in October 6<sup>th</sup> from author Kyle
Mills, who replaces Vince Flynn on the series, so it’ll be interesting to see
how Mills handles the books differently. What sucks coming onto a series this
late is that you know what’s going to happen next and Rapp is obviously going
to defeat the bad guys on his mission of revenge, but even so, Flynn manages to
keep it entertaining, which is probably
the book’s strongest aspect.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">If
you want a good, fast paced read and haven’t already read Mitch Rapp novels and
are a fan of the Alex Cross or Jack Reacher series by James Patterson and Lee
Child respectively, then you can’t go far wrong with <i>The Third Option – </i>either starting here or going back to the
beginning of Mitch Rapp’s novels would work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">VERDICT: <span style="color: red;">7.9/10</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Milo MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145862452794634877noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4988813333268406363.post-74983569225940919402015-07-08T17:52:00.002+01:002015-07-08T17:52:31.844+01:00Battlestar Galactica Season 4 (SyFy)<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I
review the fourth and final season of SyFy’s <i>Battlestar Galactica, </i>starring Edward James Olmos, Katee Sackhoff,
Jamie Bamber, Mary McDonnell, Tricia Helfer, Grace Park, James Callis, Michael
Hogan, Tahmoh Penikett, Aaron Douglas, Lucy Lawless and more. This season
compromises of twenty two episodes, and this review will include full spoilers
for the entire series. So you have been warned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">There’s
so much to talk about in the final season of <i>Battlestar Galactica </i>that makes it tricky to write a non-spoiler
free review, because this show does so much in one season that other series
would take a lot longer to do. It burns through stuff quickly and we’re quickly
dealing with the fallout of Season 3’s epic cliffhanger, that saw the
revelation of four of the final five Cylons, to be Admiral Adama’s closest
friend, Saul Tigh, Chief Galen Tyrol, Tory Foster, President Roslin’s personal
aide, and Samuel T. Anders, the former athlete and leader of the Caprican
resistance. And to make matters worse, Starbuck has just returned from the
dead, claiming that she’s found the way to Earth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Naturally,
Starbuck’s return is dealt with suspicion amongst the fleet. Is she a Cylon? Is
she telling the truth? There’s plenty of content here that makes things very
interesting indeed, even if it drags on a bit too much early on, as Starbuck eventually
finds herself on a small ship Demetrious and on her way to Earth. The crew were
slowly restless and quickly losing morale, and this came to a head when Gaeta
got wounded in a heated confrontation. It was an interesting storyline that saw
Kara’s further apparent descent into madness, and was entertaining despite
being not as well paced as it could have been. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">We
also got to deal with the four Cylons hiding themselves in the fleet. They
weren’t afraid to go to extreme measures
to keep their secrets safe and it allowed for some really shocking episodes
that featured deaths of major players involved, particularly in <i>The Ties That Bind, </i>which featured an
episode with dramatic consequences. It took a while before Tigh, Adama, Tory
and the Chief started to come to terms to who they were and the confusion
inside them was pretty evident. However, naturally, secrets that big don’t stay
secrets for long and in the stunning series finale, <i>Revelations, </i>the cat was out of the bag as their identities were
revealed, and the revelation of the Fifth Cylon, Ellen Tigh, Saul’s wife,
followed shortly after. <i>Revelations </i>contained plenty of answers,
but also plenty of questions, but I’ll get mt onto that more later, as we’re
going to spend some time with Lee Adama first.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Jamie
Bamber’s character never really got the greatest of storylines unlike Kara, and
we had plenty of weak episodes that were usually focused on him. What injected
fresh life into his character however saw Lee leave Galactica for good, with <i>Sine Qua Non </i>having an effective
storyline that also saw the return of Romo Lampkin’s character, played by the
always cool Mark Sheppard. It’s a plus when Mark Sheppard stops by in
everything so it was great to have him back here, and I loved what they’ve done
with Lee’s character here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Now, <i>Revelations. </i>Wow, wow, wow, what an
episode. There was plenty of stuff going on here that really worked with the
fleet finding Earth only to leave it abandonded. This was a dramtic event that
was completely unpredictable, especially as finding Earth was something that
had been the main drive of the entire series. And to find it in the condition
that it was, destroyed by some sort of nuclear war a long time ago? It had an utterly devastating effect on morale, including one particular major
character whose death hit me very hard indeed especially as it was a shocking
moment that again was completely unexpected. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Post-<i>Revelations, </i>we arguably got one of the
finest hours of the show to date, in a fabulous three part episode that saw
Gaeta (of all people) team up with Tom Zarek in an attempt to launch a Mutiny
on Galactica that almost succeeded. However, Adama and company were able to
turn the tables on the rebellion but not without some pretty tense action
sequences. <i>A Disquiet Follows My Soul,
The Oath </i>and <i>Blood on the Scales </i>were
very effective indeed, and led to yet more major deaths. This was one of the
first proper final seasons of a show that I’ve actually managed to get to (I
think <i>Justified </i>is the only other ‘proper’
final season of a show that I’ve watched having seen all the episodes in a
series beforehand) and <i>Battlestar
Galactica </i>really provided for some super intense moments. The three part
finale of <i>Daybreak </i>was a very cool,
emotional ending that whilst not everyone will be happy with how it turned out,
did allow for a good send off for our characters and an excellent end to what
is arguably my favourite television series.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Filled
with fantastic character development, some gut-wrenching emotionally scarring
moments and some superb storytelling, The fourth season of <i>Battlestar Galactica </i>is an excellent way to end one of the finest science
fiction series and there’s not anything else that’s quite like it. As per
usual, it’s utterly exceptional, and even though a couple of episodes were not
quite as good as they could have been, it’s still essential viewing for anyone
who’s watched the previous three seasons. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“What do you hear, Starbuck?”<br />
<br />
“Nothing but the rain.”<br />
<br />
“Then grab your gun and bring in the cat.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">VERDICT: <span style="color: red;">9.5/10</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
Milo MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145862452794634877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4988813333268406363.post-56085982979138521652015-07-06T12:35:00.000+01:002015-07-06T12:35:11.912+01:00Film Column #6: Birdman, Drive, It Follows, Jurassic World & Spy<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In
the sixth film column, I look at <i>Birdman,
Drive, It Follows, Jurassic World </i>and <i>Spy</i></span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">.</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Well
as you probably know I’ve been watching a lot of films lately, so I thought it
might be a good idea to offer another update on the highlights of what I’ve
been watching lately as well as the reviews from these movies. Whilst they’re
listed in alphabetical order they’re not the order that I watched them in, for
example, I talk about <i>Jurassic World </i>before
I talk about <i>Spy, </i>which I watched
first, and I mention <i>The Last Airbender </i>in
my <i>Birdman </i>review. There’s a nice
blend of movies here – horror, comedy, summer blockbusters and crime all
covered, so it makes for an interesting mix of movies. As usual, you can find
my recaps of the previous film columns below:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Film
Column #1</span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">: <a href="http://thefictionalhangout.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/the-film-column-1-fast-furious-6.html"><i>Fast
and Furious 6, Westworld, Jersey Boys, Unforgiven </i>& <i>Dracula
Untold</i></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Film
Column #2:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <a href="http://thefictionalhangout.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/the-film-column-2-avengers-age-of.html"><i>Avengers:
Age of Ultron, Children of Men, The Hobbit: Battle of Five Armies, Miller’s
Crossing </i>& </a><a href="http://thefictionalhangout.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/the-film-column-2-avengers-age-of.html"><i>Mud.</i></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Film
Column #3: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://thefictionalhangout.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/the-film-column-3-inside-llewyn-davis.html"><i>Inside
Llewyn Davis, In The Loop, Neighbors, The Two Faces of January & Unbroken</i></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Film
Column #4:<a href="http://thefictionalhangout.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/the-film-column-4-most-violent-year-dr.html"> </a></span></b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://thefictionalhangout.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/the-film-column-4-most-violent-year-dr.html">A
Most Violent Year, Dr. No, Fight Club, From Russia with Love </a><a href="http://thefictionalhangout.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/the-film-column-4-most-violent-year-dr.html"><span style="font-style: normal;">& </span>Mad Max: Fury Road</a></span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Film
Column #5: </span></b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://thefictionalhangout.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/the-film-column-5-death-proof-fargo.html">Death Proof, Fargo,Frank, Kill Bill Vol. 1 & Tomorrowland</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Film Column #6: </span></b><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Birdman, Drive, It Follows, Jurassic World </span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">& <i>Spy</i></span><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">BIRDMAN (2014)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rX-42fvgaM0/VZpnRc-yEqI/AAAAAAAABwg/T0Eq5LZBS1s/s1600/birdman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rX-42fvgaM0/VZpnRc-yEqI/AAAAAAAABwg/T0Eq5LZBS1s/s320/birdman.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Director:
Alejandro González Iñárritu | Genre(s): Comedy, Drama | Cast: Michael Keaton,
Zach Galafinakis, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts | Length: 119mins<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">After
watching <i>The Last Airbender</i> (which was dreadful) I needed a good
movie to watch and <i>Birdman</i> seemed like an excellent choice,
especially as it won four academy awards, not just best Picture, but also Best
Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Cinematography. That's pretty damn
impressive and whilst it may not be worthy of all four of those awards, it's
still one of the best movies that I've seen from 2014 (and I've seen a lot of
movies from 2014), and really impressed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
film itself follows an actor Riggan Thomson (Keaton), who is a faded Hollywood
actor famous for his role as Birdman, a fictional superhero (Keaton also used
to play Batman), and is now struggling to mount a Broadway adaption of a short
story by Raymond Carver. The play itself is produced by Thomson's best friend
and lawyer, Jake (Zack Galifanakis), and also stars Riggan's girlfriend,
actress Laura (Andrea Risenberg), a first time broadway actress, whilst his
daughter, a recovering addict, Samantha (Emma Stone), serves as
his assistant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
cast put in pretty incredible performances. Michael Keaton aces it as Riggan
Thomson and Emma Stone is impressive as his daughter. Edward Norton also shines
as Mike, a last minute replacement when one of the actors gets injured on set,
and coupled with the excellent directing from Alejandro González Iñárritu, this
film really shines. The camerawork (from cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki) is just
outstanding, made to look as though it was all a single shot. It's an
incredible achievement that really works, propelling <i>Birdman</i> to greatness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">This
black comedy has a perfect tone and never disappoints. The score is brilliant
and the ensemble cast really helps make this movie work. In a year of excellent
movies then, it's no small achievement that <i>Birdman</i> emerges as
one of the best of the bunch.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">VERDICT: <span style="color: red;">9/10<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">DRIVE (2011)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Kajy-ilWHP0/VZpnWwOfCSI/AAAAAAAABwo/yS8683dlRgE/s1600/drive.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Kajy-ilWHP0/VZpnWwOfCSI/AAAAAAAABwo/yS8683dlRgE/s320/drive.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Director:
Nicholas Winding Refn | Genre(s): Thriller, Crime, Drama, Action | Cast: Ryan
Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Christiana Hendricks, Albert Brooks, Bryan Cranston,
Ron Perlman | Length: 100mins <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Oh
wow, wow, wow. What an amazing film. I've been wanting to watch <i>Drive</i> for
a while due to all the praise and I was kind of worried that I'd be
disappointed given all the hype concerning this film, especially as the day
before I started watching this, I watched the first fifteen minutes before I
got called out to go and see some friends and one of my friends said that he
wasn't a big fan. However, I liked what I saw and I checked it out the
following day and Nicolas Winding Refn's movie just blew me away, it was
that good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Drive</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> follows the story of an unnamed driver (Ryan Gosling)
who works both as a stuntman and a getaway driver, and is caught up in a wider
conflict when he falls for his neighbour (Carey Mulligan), whose husband (Oscar
Isaac) is on the verge of returning from prison. It's a compelling drama that has stunning
cinematography, full of beautifully shot scenes of Los Angeles, and with its
nighttime atmosphere and flawed central character can be comparable with one of
my favourite films of 2014, <i>Nightcrawler</i>. Both are excellent, and both
are two of my favourite movies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
cast is great. Ryan Gosling plays a very cool lead character, and his chemistry
with Carey Mulligan is fantastic. Oscar Isaac, who is one of my favourite
actors at the moment puts in a good performance as Standard Gabriel, the
husband, and there's some awesome appearances from <i>Breaking Bad</i>'s
Bryan Cranston and<i>Sons of Anarchy</i>'s Ron Perlman too, with the latter
serving as a formidably imposing antagonist. There isn't really a weak link
there, with <i>Drive</i> knocking it out of the park in pretty much
every corner, not just casting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
soundtrack is great and it really adds an extra layer of depth to the movie. A
Real Hero works really well here. Just about everything does, and it's hard to
pick flaws in this film and no doubt I'll be returning to rewatch it before
long. It's an incredible masterpiece that is pretty much
essential viewing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://letterboxd.com/milo123/film/drive-2011/likes/"><br />
</a><b>VERDICT: <span style="color: red;">10/10</span><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">IT FOLLOWS (2014)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gsZlB5u2bdM/VZpnb2qJDEI/AAAAAAAABww/qFU_dvBjZRE/s1600/it%2Bfollows.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gsZlB5u2bdM/VZpnb2qJDEI/AAAAAAAABww/qFU_dvBjZRE/s320/it%2Bfollows.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Director:
David Robert Mitchell | Genre(s): Horror, Thriller, Mystery | Cast: Maika
Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Olivia Luccaradi, Lili Sepe | Length: 100mins<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I've
never really been a big fan of the horror genre, and the last few films that
I've watched as I've attempted to broaden my knowledge of it have largely come
from <i>We Are What We Are</i>, <i>The Silence of the Lambs</i> and <i>As
Above, So Below</i>. <i>It Follows</i> is the latest film to join
that list, another film watched as part of the Scavenger Hunt Challenge, and
it's probably one of the creepiest. Not relying on blatant jump scares, or
found footage gimmicks, <i>It Follows</i> is able to tell a well
paced, well handled, unnerving psychological horror with an excellent score
that instantly makes it a movie that I'd recommend to others looking for more
horror stuff.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">19
year old Jay (Maika Monroe) is chased by something that only she can see. It
doesn't think. It doesn't feel. It doesn't give up, until she's dead, and the
only way it can be stopped is by having a sexual encounter with someone, the
same way that it was passed down to her. The monster is creepy, unnerving and
never really developed to the point where it feels like too much is known about
it. There's enough unknown there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Maika
Monroe puts in an impressive performance as Jay, the lead character, and there
isn't a reliance on overly stupid decisions that the characters make to fast
forward the plot. Whilst there are a few standard horror clichés, there are
horror clichés in every movie. Given the low budget of this film it's great to
see what David Robert Mitchell can bring to the table, and he doesn't
disappoint, living up to the high expectations that I had going into this film
given the praise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">VERDICT: <span style="color: red;">8.5/10</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">JURASSIC WORLD (2015)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Director:
Colin Trevorrow | Genre(s): Action, Family, Science Fiction, Thriller | Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D'Onofrio
| Length: 124mins<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Well,
I was planning on seeing this movie yesterday, but the Cinema was fully booked
so I went and saw <i>Spy</i> instead which was pretty fun. <i>Jurassic
World </i>however, when I went and saw it today at a Cinema that was a bit
further away than the usual one that I go to, was awesome. Whilst not
everything about it was perfect and the characters were weak, I enjoyed it and
it had lots of awesome moments that really shined. The CGI was decent as well,
and it's a worthy reboot/remake/whatever they're calling it of the original,
and although of course not quite as good, does leave an impact and it's likely
to be one of the best Summer movies of 2015. Not the best, of course, because
NOTHING is going to top <i>Mad Max: Fury Road</i>, but it was still pretty
impressive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Twenty
two years after the events of the first <i>Jurassic Park</i>, Isla Nubar
is the home of a fully functional theme park that's bigger, better and
theoretically, a lot more safer than the original, but naturally, investors
want more, and the kids aren't satisfied by the average Dinosaur anymore. The
wonder is lost on them, so naturally, the solution is to create a new kind of
creature. Granted, not the smartest idea, but you can see their thinking.
Bigger and better sells. However, the cost is pretty dire when the genetically
modified Indominus Rex breaks loose and runs rampant on the Island.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">There
are plenty of scenes that do work. The action is fun and there are some kickass
moments that really make this film worth seeing (if you've seen the trailers,
Chris Pratt's bike raptor gang is awesome), and the pace is handled pretty well
as the tension gets bigger and bigger over the course of the film. It serves
well as a nice standalone movie as well, so you don't have to be familiar with
the original (let's be honest, at this point, who isn't? Of course, if you
haven't seen the original already, then you should remedy that ASAP), and has
plenty of homages to Spielberg's masterpiece.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">However,
what doesn't work quite so good is the characters. Of course Chris Pratt is
awesome as the dinosaur trainer, Owen Grady, but his character virtually stays
the same at the beginning as he does at the end. Whilst Bryce Dallas Howard's
Claire gets a bit better development, her character is still pretty clichéd and
you know exactly what's going to happen to Owen and Claire by the end of the
movie when they first meet on screen. The rest of the cast is a mixed bag as
well, with unfortunately Netflix <i>Daredevil</i>'s Vincent D'Onofrio not
hitting the high notes that he did as Wilson Fisk here, as the human
antagonist. The two kids, brothers Zach and Gray Mitchell, are typical
Spielberg characters - an eager kid who wants to see everything about the park
and an older one who's a bit less enthusiastic, aren't bad, but you'll have
seen their story several times before and if you've seen enough movies with
kids whose parents are alive, chances are you'll know what their parents are
experiencing and how it will no doubt change at the end of the film.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">However,
that said, <i>Jurassic World</i> still manages to be fun. There are a
couple of jokes, some work better than others, but it's mostly well handled and
the action is pretty awesome. It may not be a perfect film, but Colin
Trevorrow's blockbuster hit (the highest grossing movie ever?) is awesome and
well worth the admission price to see in the Cinema. Yes it may be cheesy and
predictable, but let's be honest, you're probably here for the dinosaurs
anyway.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">VERDICT: <span style="color: red;">8/10<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">SPY (2015)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Director:
Paul Fieg | Genre(s): Comedy, Action | Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Jude Law, Jason
Statham, Rose Bryne, Miranda Hart | Length: 120mins <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">So, I
planned on watching <i>Jurassic World</i> instead of <i>Spy</i>,
but <i>Jurassic World</i> was fully booked at my local cinema so I ended
up going to watch this instead (my cinema sometimes gets films a fair bit later
than others, it can be hit and miss sometimes) and was pleasantly surprised
having gone in with low expectations, it's a pretty funny movie that had me
chuckling a couple of times, even if at 120 minutes, it's a bit too long.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A
deskbound CIA Analyst volunteers to go undercover to infiltrate the world of a
deadly arms dealer to prevent a catastrophic disaster, and the results are
hilarious. I don't think I've seen Melissa McCarthy in anything before (apart
from<i>Hangover 3</i>, but I really can't remember anything about that dreadful
movie at all) but she was great here, but the best role goes to Jason Statham
who absolutely kills it playing essentially, a parody of himself. Whilst
Miranda Hart may be the only weak link, both Jude Law and Rose Byrne are good
as well, amounting to an impressive cast and a fun plot with some
great interactions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">There's
a lot more action than I was initially expecting and it certainly delivers.
Whilst some of the jokes didn't always work, plenty of them did and the other
people in the screening that I was in laughed quite a lot. Whilst not exactly
anything memorable and nowhere near the best film of 2015, <i>Spy</i> is
a fun movie that's worth giving a look if you get the chance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">VERDICT: <span style="color: red;">7.9/10<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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Milo MJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05145862452794634877noreply@blogger.com0