"Krat, a city of puppets and groundbreaking technology, invites those courageous enough to step into a twisted but beautiful journey."
Neowiz and Round"Krat, a city of puppets and groundbreaking technology, invites those courageous enough to step into a twisted but beautiful journey."
Neowiz and Round8's souls-like video game, Lies of P, is loosely based off of Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio.
Lies of P has become one of my fixations. The gameplay is fun, the story is excellent, and the worldbuilding and lore are incredible to behold. And the characters, their stories and history, are just as amazing. So, it only made sense to get The Art of Lies of P.
The chapters open with a brief paragraph, but I would have loved if there had been additional commentary here and there throughout the chapters; however, I do love and appreciate how those brief paragraphs were sure to include its connection to Pinocchio.
Definitely recommend for any fan of Lies of P....more
"Funny thing about Jokers. There's two in every deck."
When it comes to franchises involving superheroes, DC Comics' Batman is my number one favorite, "Funny thing about Jokers. There's two in every deck."
When it comes to franchises involving superheroes, DC Comics' Batman is my number one favorite, so it was a no brainer to have this book and its sequel shelved on my tbr shelf.
Set in Tim Burton's Gotham City, John Jackson Miller's Batman: Resurrection invites the reader to discover how the city is recovering after the Joker's mayhem. Thanks to Bruce Wayne, Gotham General Hospital has opened a new ward to help treat victims of the Joker's Smylex, but not everything is as it seems.
Let me start off by saying I LOVE THIS BOOK.
It was so incredibly good, and it has left me wanting more. I want more Batman books like this. Don't get me wrong; I still want comics, especially ones created and illustrated by my favorites, but there is just something so incredibly special when it is a novel.
It was a joy to see familiar faces from the Batman universe, especially the ones who never officially made it into Burton's films. (At least, I don't think they ever did.) For those well-versed in Batman lore, you may have an easier time identifying key figures ((view spoiler)[Karlo Babić/Clayface, Hugh Auslander/Hugo Stranger, Norman Pinkus/the Riddler (hide spoiler)]).
I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery aspect of the book. Even when I felt like I had the answer, or answers, there were still moments that made me second guess myself.
The audiobook, narrated by Will Damron, was very well done. I loved being able to listen to it as I followed along with my physical copy. In my opinion, Damron did a really great job when it came to the voices of the characters.
My only mistake was not rewatching the 1989 movie and its sequel before starting the book as there were a few faces I had forgotten about. That said, it was not enough to hinder my experience. If anything, I feel like Batman: Resurrection has given me a newfound appreciation for Tim Burton's Batman.
In the end, Batman: Resurrection proved itself to be a captivating, thrilling story all around and has me excited to its sequel, Batman: Revolution!...more
... For a book that has "A History of the American Bookstore" in the title, I expect it to be about history of the "Being surrounded by books matter."
... For a book that has "A History of the American Bookstore" in the title, I expect it to be about history of the American bookstore.
At the start of the book, it started off strong, promising, and I was so excited to learn.
Instead, this book was pretty much mediocre at best. The writing, the presentation, the organization, the audiobook—all of it was okay, and it is not the worst thing that I have consumed. But it also wasn't quite as gripping and captivating as I hoped for. It wasn't as rich and detailed as I thought it would be.
There were bits and pieces that I felt could have been delved into a little more because of how it caught my interest, and understandably there were parts that I felt dragged on for far too long. Sometimes what Evan Friss wrote (and how he wrote it, and/or how the narrator delivered the line) made me go fact-check it for myself because it felt more like his opinion than an actual fact.
I wish I loved it like so many others, so I'm disappointed that I didn't....more
"... if we truly think that allowing even one innocent to suffer to stop another harm is the will of the Force—then perhaps we do not understand it at"... if we truly think that allowing even one innocent to suffer to stop another harm is the will of the Force—then perhaps we do not understand it at all."
In anticipation of the 25th anniversary of The Phantom Menace returning to theaters May 3rd, I could not resist buying the book and reading it, in the hopes of finishing it before the movie was re-released.
Finished it before the 3rd of May, I have.
Enjoy it, I did.
Okay, enough Yoda-speak. For now. Let's get down to the basics.
Good, old Qui-Gon Jinn challenges the Jedi Council with a pretty easy objective: help someone. [image]
With the news of the Jedi outpost on Kwenn selected to be decommissioned, the Council comes to the decision to visit the planet. There, they will hold a celebration before deciding the fate of the Jedi outpost there.
Long story short, things don't go the exact way the Council has planned.
Even though the stakes weren't high concerning the Jedi Council members, Qui-Gon, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, it still was a worthy adventure. And boy, was I so happy when Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan joined up again!
I feel like out of all of them, though, Depa Billaba serves as the main protagonist. Already on Kweenn, Depa is undercover as she gathers intel on the five different gangs. She befriends a young girl, who happens to be in leagues with The Riftwalkers.
The Riftwalkers are led by Zilastra, a female Nautolan, who has a grudge against Jedi. As the main antagonist, Zilastra proved herself later as being quite a threat. Again, even though there was no fear for the main gang, I did worry for the other new faces that had been introduced in the book.
It was fun to see cameos of certain characters, like Veers and Heezo and (view spoiler)[Darth Maul (hide spoiler)], as well as getting acquainted with new characters, like Kylah Lohmata and The Idiot Threes Lobber, Ghor, and Wungo. The trio are more comic relief than anything, but they gave me quite a few good laughs. They reminded me of The Three Stooges and Burke, Beck, and Butch from the Final Fantasy VII remake.
I have to say the third part of the book is the strongest, if only because that's when the action happens. Don't get me wrong, the first and second parts were fine. It's just I had a more difficult time putting the book down once Part Three began.
Overall, I really enjoyed my time with this book.
[image] "He might tell Padawans that trying wasn't good enough. But never trying wasn't good at all."...more
It's got a few handfuls of good ideas and concepts, but it suffers from repetitiveness. That, and the flat writing that accompanies it. Because of thaIt's got a few handfuls of good ideas and concepts, but it suffers from repetitiveness. That, and the flat writing that accompanies it. Because of that, it's not quite as inspirational as it could be.
It's just okay, so it gets 2 stars from me....more
"Enjoy memories, yes, but don't be a slave to who you wish you once had been."
It's been a long time coming, but I finally did it.
I read my very first "Enjoy memories, yes, but don't be a slave to who you wish you once had been."
It's been a long time coming, but I finally did it.
I read my very first book by Brandon Sanderson.
Was it worth it? Well, I can't lie. I had my reservations about it in the beginning. Worry filled me as it seemed that my high expectations were a little too high. However, those worries were eased after a friend here on Goodreads told me some important key information to keep in mind. (Thanks again, Reagan!)
Much to my delight and relief, once the pacing improved, the plot thickened, and the characters underwent great growth and development, I found myself really immersed in this universe. Sure, it took me brain time to become accustomed to the world's mechanics, but eventually everything clicked into place. In fact, I find I'm going to miss these characters and the world they live in.
When it comes to the audiobook, Michael Kramer was the narrator. Similarly with the beginning of the book, I wasn't finding myself sold on his performance. It wasn't that he was doing an atrocious job, but there was something about it that wasn't quite clicking with me. Even once I was becoming invested in the plot, the characters, the drama, I still was one the fence when it came to Kramer's style.
I don't know when it happened, though, but by the end of the book, I found myself hoping that Kramer will be narrating more of Sanderson's books. Somewhere between the 29% mark to the very end, I had come to greatly appreciate and adore his narration.
In the end, I'm thankful to have begun my journey of Sanderson's books with Tress of the Emerald Sea. Because I ended up having a lot more fun than I thought I would, and this story holds a special place in my heart. I can already sense the desire to return to this story again in the future.
It's whimsical. It's fun. And it's wholeheartedly enchanting, thanks to its cast of characters and fascinating world mechanics.
“They were three lonely islands, separated by an ocean of misery.”
Striking synopsis, excruciating execution.
The audiobook's introduction delighted me.“They were three lonely islands, separated by an ocean of misery.”
Striking synopsis, excruciating execution.
The audiobook's introduction delighted me. Instead of one narrator, there were three: Michael Goldstrom, Kyla Garcia, and Assaf Cohen. Because of that, I expected it to make it easier to keep track of the characters.
The formula of the book went like this:
Josef (WWII) → Isabel (1994) → Mahmoud (2015).
Rinse and repeat.
This way of telling the characters' stories, jumping from one to the next to the next and back again, really made it difficult for me to grow attached to any of them. Sure, I got irritated and exasperated with the choices certain characters made, but beyond that there was practically nothing.
For the majority of the book, I pretty much wasn't endeared to any of them; (view spoiler)[however, closer to the end, I did feel bad for Josef and his family. But I think this is because it's, you know, the Holocaust. It's World War II. You already know there's a chance, going in, that his might not have a happy ending (hide spoiler)].
I think I would have grown attached to the characters if it'd been focused on two of the three, especially with the timeline jumping. I mean, don't get me wrong, I see at the end what Alan Gratz did there. The way he tied these three families' stories together, but there still wasn't anything satisfying about it. And that's because I felt like these characters remained strangers to me at the end....more
"Present but unnoticed, she was using life for her art."
I have mixed feelings about this book.
Maybe I should have realized Lucy Worsley would have inc"Present but unnoticed, she was using life for her art."
I have mixed feelings about this book.
Maybe I should have realized Lucy Worsley would have included spoilers of Agatha Christie's works, whether it was to talk about the author's tricks or some other reason, but I made the mistake of thinking she would be subtle. Instead, Worsley just loves throwing spoilers here, spoilers there.
Perhaps I should have read all of Christie's works before tackling this. But seeing as this was a gift, for Jólabókaflóð of 2024, I wanted to read it now.
When I don't focus on how she spoiled a good deal of books for me, I can appreciate this book for offering a new perspective on Christie. It is a good biography about the author, and it offered new pieces of information that I had not been aware of before or had forgotten about completely from previous readings about the Queen of Mystery.
Anyway, I have decided my rating for Worsley's book is a 3.5 out of 5 stars. Instead of rounding up, though, I'm rounding down for now as I'm still a little bitter about how she spoiled a great deal of Christie's books when she did not need to....more
"Iskat's thoughts and worries fell away, and she became . . . A song, a poem, a dance. A being of pure focus, intent on a singular goal." [image]
A stella"Iskat's thoughts and worries fell away, and she became . . . A song, a poem, a dance. A being of pure focus, intent on a singular goal." [image]
A stellar novel.
When I heard the announcement pertaining Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade, I was excited. I've enjoyed Delilah S. Dawson's previous Star Wars books: Phasma and Black Spire. Curiosity also took a hold of me as I'm not that well versed in the Star Wars comics.
So, of course, I did a little bit of digging before the book's release.
Even though I discovered the fate of Iskat Arkaris, who'd become the Thirteen Sister in the Inquisitorius, I still wanted to know more about the character. I wanted to hear her story, to learn it.
When my physical copy came in the mail, I didn't start off right away. I waited, hoping my library would get the digital copy in the next few days. Eventually, though, my patience ran out and I started my journey.
I was surprised to discover her story beginning soon before The Clone Wars. I honestly thought main focus would be on Iskat's time with the Inquisitorius with flash backs of her life as a Padawan/Jedi Knight. That doesn't mean I was disappointed, far from it, and I couldn't wait to see how Iskat grew from Padawan to Jedi Knight to Inquisitor. My progress was slow, partly due to trying (and failing) to pronounce certain characters' names correctly.
"Every time she thought she'd reached a place of calm, every time she felt pleased with her progress, something seemingly insignificant happened and she lost her composure." [image]
Once I got the audiobook, though, it was a game changer.
The narrator, Kristen Sieh, did a good job with her performance. I greatly appreciated the audio as it allowed me to know whether I was pronouncing certain names correctly (i.e.: Tualon) or not. The music, as always, really amped up the atmosphere when needed. It made the experience even better.
Focusing back on the story itself, I was finding myself never wanting it to end, (view spoiler)[especially since Order 66 was around the corner (hide spoiler)].
"... she sensed they had all been broken, somehow, crushed and pulverized and reforged to fit a very specific mold." [image]
I loved the interactions Iskat Akaris had with her fellow Inquisitors. I loved the name drops of others, like the Second Sister; although, I would have loved it even more if there'd been some interaction between the two. And I loved how Dawson really nailed down Seventh Sister and Fifth Brother; they felt so in character, and it was great to see how the members of the Inquisitorius interacted with each other.
I also loved seeing the dynamic between the Inquisitorius and Darth Vader himself, especially where Iskat was concerned. The comparison between the two was fascinating and it was a treat to discover what Iskat's thoughts were on the popular Sith Lord.
Despite already knowing the fate of Iskat and Tualon, Dawson still managed to sucker-punch me right in the feels.
All in all, this is one of the best Star Wars books that I've read! It's definitely made its way into my Top Ten....more
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