The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug directed by Peter Jackson Genres: Epic Fantasy Format: Cinema release Starring: Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Ian McKellan Length: 2 hours 49 minutes The Desolation of Smaug is the second in Peter Jackson’s trilogy based on J.R.R Tolkien’s The Hobbit and stars Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage and Ian McKellen and continues the story of our party of dwarves accompanied by Bilbo the titular hobbit and Gandalf. It follows them through Mirkwood and their encounter with Thranduil’s woodland elves and finally to the goal of their quest, the Lonely Mountain. However, they still have a lot of work to do before they can reclaim their homeland and all the gold it contains. Check back at a theatre near you Christmas 2014 to find out what happens. There are spoilers here so please check back after the cut
Cinder by Marissa Meyer is a YA sci-fi novel and is the first in a series of four books based on classic fairytales. This first one is based on Perrault’s Cinderella. Many elements of the original are incorporated: the persecuted heroine, the wicked stepmother and stepsisters, Prince Charming, a ball at the palace, the protagonist’s desire to attend thwarted by her stepmother, the pumpkin turned coach, footwear left on the palace step. Cinderella is an interesting choice for the basis of a YA novel. Generally speaking, YA heroines tend to be strong, proactive heroines (we’ll try to forget Bella Swan for a moment). This fairytale princess is the epitome of a passive character. In part, that is why the tale is so beloved. The idea that a fairy godmother could suddenly whisk you away from your humdrum existence to a life of luxury and privilege is very appealing to many people. it’s the ultimate rags to riches story. As a character though Cinderella is, well, boring. She does very little to earn her happy ending other than to be generally nice. Fortunately, that is one aspect that Meyer did change for her novel. Her Cinder is strong, assertive and willing…
Cinder by Marissa Meyer is a YA sci-fi novel and is the first in a series of four books based on classic fairytales. This first one is based on Perrault’s Cinderella. Many elements of the original are incorporated: the persecuted heroine, the wicked stepmother and stepsisters, Prince Charming, a ball at the palace, the protagonist’s desire to attend thwarted by her stepmother, the pumpkin turned coach, footwear left on the palace step. Cinderella is an interesting choice for the basis of a YA novel. Generally speaking, YA heroines tend to be strong, proactive heroines (we’ll try to forget Bella Swan for a moment). This fairytale princess is the epitome of a passive character. In part, that is why the tale is so beloved. The idea that a fairy godmother could suddenly whisk you away from your humdrum existence to a life of luxury and privilege is very appealing to many people. it’s the ultimate rags to riches story. As a character though Cinderella is, well, boring. She does very little to earn her happy ending other than to be generally nice. Fortunately, that is one aspect that Meyer did change for her novel. Her Cinder is strong, assertive and willing…
Pawn by Aimee Carter is a YA dystopian novel that tells the story of Kitty Doe a young woman whose similarity in looks to the niece of the Prime Minister catapults her into a dangerous game of politics. I absolutely loved this book and breezed through it so quickly. What I liked The setting. Carter has done a wonderful job in creating the setting for Pawn. Kitty lives in a society in which every member sits a test on his or her seventeenth birthday which determines his or her worth to society and therefore his or her caste. In Kitty’s world, as in ours, a formal test isn’t always a true indicator of a person’s intelligence and Kitty’s dyslexia means she is assigned a lower ranking than she’d hoped and that her intelligence deserves. She is clearly very smart, but not in a way that can be reflected in a written exam. Kitty’s rank is tattooed on her neck, implying that once a rank is assigned there is no way of improving one’s status in life in Kitty’s world. Those who are judged to be able to provide no value to society are banished to “Elsewhere’ and one of the…
My review of Pawn by Aimee Carter buy from Amazon, Kobo, iTunes, Audible
The Dream Keeper by Mikey Brooks tells the story of Parker and Kaelyn, two teenagers who must work with Dream Keeper Gladamyr in order to defeat Fyren and save Dreams. it is aimed at middle grade readers and to be perfectly honest I struggled to finish the book. Harry Potter or Percy Jackson this is definitely not. It is the first in a series, but I doubt I will be reading the next one. What I liked The concept. I thought the concept was interesting and well thought out – sleeping humans being sent to either Mares or Favor and the impact an imbalance in those two realms could have. I would have liked to have seen more of the impact of dream deprivation on the human population to show just how devastating that could be. I did feel though that the author had the magic system well thought out and planned. Gladamyr. I felt this character was interesting and intriguing. I liked his history and that it was his choices that made him what he is in the story. What I didn’t like The writing style. In fairness, I received an advanced readers copy of this book via…
The Dream Keeper by Mikey Brooks tells the story of Parker and Kaelyn, two teenagers who must work with Dream Keeper Gladamyr in order to defeat Fyren and save Dreams. it is aimed at middle grade readers and to be perfectly honest I struggled to finish the book. Harry Potter or Percy Jackson this is definitely not. It is the first in a series, but I doubt I will be reading the next one. What I liked The concept. I thought the concept was interesting and well thought out – sleeping humans being sent to either Mares or Favor and the impact an imbalance in those two realms could have. I would have liked to have seen more of the impact of dream deprivation on the human population to show just how devastating that could be. I did feel though that the author had the magic system well thought out and planned. Gladamyr. I felt this character was interesting and intriguing. I liked his history and that it was his choices that made him what he is in the story. What I didn’t like The writing style. In fairness, I received an advanced readers copy of this book via…
All Our Yesterdays by Cristen Terrill is a YA dystopian sci-fi time travel novel which tells the story of spoiled teen Marina and freedom fighters Em and Finn. The twist – Marina and Em are the same character, only four years apart in age. Em and Finn have travelled back in time to try to prevent the creation of the dystopian police state in which they are living. To do this, they must kill “the doctor” a figure with close connections to all three of them. It is the first in a two-book series although it could work as a standalone, depending on your interpretation of the ending. What I liked Character development. One of the great strengths of All Our Yesterdays is seeing the characters’ journey. Through time travel timey wimey we meet three characters at two separate stages of their lives, Marina/Em, Finn and James. We see how their experiences in a four-year period have changed them. Through Em we see where Marina will end up if Em and Finn are unable to complete their task. The Marina we meet at the beginning is, let’s face it, one of the most annoying, bratty teens in YA – think…
All Our Yesterdays by Cristen Terrill is a YA dystopian sci-fi time travel novel which tells the story of spoiled teen Marina and freedom fighters Em and Finn. The twist – Marina and Em are the same character, only four years apart in age. Em and Finn have travelled back in time to try to prevent the creation of the dystopian police state in which they are living. To do this, they must kill “the doctor” a figure with close connections to all three of them. It is the first in a two-book series although it could work as a standalone, depending on your interpretation of the ending. What I liked Character development. One of the great strengths of All Our Yesterdays is seeing the characters’ journey. Through time travel timey wimey we meet three characters at two separate stages of their lives, Marina/Em, Finn and James. We see how their experiences in a four-year period have changed them. Through Em we see where Marina will end up if Em and Finn are unable to complete their task. The Marina we meet at the beginning is, let’s face it, one of the most annoying, bratty teens in YA – think…
As I may have mentioned a time or two recently, the 23rd of November was the 50th anniversary of the British sci-fi show, Doctor Who. The BBC released a significant number of documentaries, interviews and special episodes to mark the event. For me, three highlights were An Adventure in Space and Time, The Night of the Doctor minisode and the multi-Doctor Day of the Doctor 50th anniversary episode. Day of the Doctor written by Stephen Moffat Genres: Sci-Fi Format: iTunes Season Pass, Blu-Ray DVD Starring: Matt Smith, David Tennant, John HurtLength: 75 minutes Buy from Amazon • iTunes There are full spoilers below for all three, so please join me after the cut.