Tag: Book Reviews

Book Review – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood by Quentin Tarantino

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Once Upon a Time in Hollywood by Quentin Tarantino is a novel adaptation of the author’s 2019 film of the same name. Set in Hollywood in 1969, it tells the story of Rick Dalton, a washed-up TV actor who used to be a big star on a Western series from the late 1950s to the early 60s called Bounty Law. After a brief stint in movies, where he tried to elevate his career from TV star to movie star, Dalton is now relegated to playing guest spots as the “heavy” in different shows, where the next big faces in TV get to look good by defeating a recognizable has-been hero. As an opportunity to travel abroad and star in Italian Westerns is presented to him, Dalton must come to terms with where he is in his career and what he wants out of the future. Inter-cut with his story is a colourful, sometimes sinister, cast of characters who have all carved out their own little worlds in Hollywood and strive to make their own dreams a reality—or simply make do with what they’ve got.Read More »

Book Review – A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers

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A Closed and Common Orbit is the second novel in the Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers. During the events of the first book, the spaceship the Wayfarer suffered damage after an attack, compromising the ship’s AI. The crew failed to reboot her with her memories intact, so “Lovey” effectively died, leaving only Lovelace, the AI operating at factory settings. Lovey’s crew, alongside her human lover Jenks, were too grief-stricken to keep Lovelace with them, so they uploaded her into the android kit they had illegally intended for Lovey to use, and she left under the care of a close friend of the crew. Lovelace, giving herself the new moniker of Sidra, must now navigate living incognito as a human being, an existence far outside of the remits of her programming (and comfort) and one actively dangerous for herself and her new friends, should her true nature be uncovered.Read More »

Book Review – Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel

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Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel is the third and final novel of The Themis Files. For the past ten years, Rose, Vincent, and his daughter Eva have been stuck on an alien planet. Through Rose’s ingenuity, the alien invaders who made Themis and massacred 100 million people were persuaded to leave Earth, taking their creation with them. Unbeknownst to them, however, Rose and company were celebrating inside Themis when she was beamed away. Though initially prevented from leaving, Rose, Vincent, and Eva have managed to make their way back to Earth using Themis, where they hope they can finally return to living a normal life. Things are never quite that simple, however, and 10 years is a long time following so much destruction and so many lives lost. Humanity and their understanding of who they are in the universe has forever changed and must be reckoned with before peace can ever be attained again.

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Book Review – Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel

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Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel is book two of three of The Themis Files. It has been ten years since Themis, a giant robot found in pieces around the world and painstakingly reassembled, was turned over to the United Nations, founding the Earth Defense Corps, which stands on guard to defend the world against extraterrestrial threats. Though Kara and Vincent, the only people known to be able to pilot Themis, are living well in their renowned positions, physicist and Themis expert Dr. Rose Franklin has struggled to come to terms with her existence, having mysteriously re-emerged five years younger than she was when she died during an explosion at Denver Airport. Her brilliant mind may not have the luxury of such a personal crisis, however, as a second, larger robot suddenly appears in London, intent on destroying Themis on sight. Unless she can figure out what these visitors want, the very future of humanity may be at risk.

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Book Review – Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer

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Acceptance is a 2014 science fiction horror novel by Jeff VanderMeer and the third novel in the Southern Reach trilogy. With the Southern Reach having fallen and the fate of the world unknown after Area X started to expand, Control and Ghost Bird embark upon their own expedition into this anomalous landscape in the hopes of reaching a remote island that they believe may hold the answers they seek. For Control, it’s the secrets behind Area X and how to stop it from expanding; for Ghost Bird, it is the fate of the biologist from the twelfth expedition, of whom she is a copy, in the hopes of gaining closure and a better understanding of who she is separate from her progenitor.Read More »

Book Review – Authority by Jeff VanderMeer

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Authority

Authority is a 2014 science fiction horror novel by Jeff VanderMeer and the second novel in the Southern Reach trilogy. Following the disastrous 12th expedition into Area X, the Southern Reach (the organization in charge of containing and researching Area X) is in complete disarray. Members of the last expedition have returned under mysterious circumstances, the same as the 11th, except for the psychologist, who was also the Southern Reach’s director. Now, despite being an outsider, John Rodriguez (aka “Control”) must take the helm as acting director. Through a series of interrogations, briefings with staff, and reviews of disturbing videos and other documentation, Control must uncover the secrets of Area X and try to salvage the institution’s handling of it, something he soon realizes is deteriorating faster than anybody is willing to admit.Read More »

Book Review – Hellboy: The Dragon Pool by Christopher Golden

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Hellboy The Dragon Pool

Hellboy: The Dragon Pool by Christopher Golden is the sixth Hellboy novel, a spin-off series of standalone books about the iconic Dark Horse Comics character. High up in the Himalayan Mountains, archaeologist Dr. Anastasia Bransfield believes she has made a fantastic discovery: the ancient site of the dwelling of the legendary Dragon King, which used to rule the land with devastating power, demanding a child sacrifice for placation. Dr. Bransfield’s elation at her discovery is short-lived, however, as strange creatures begin lurking around the site, equipment has been sabotaged, and a colleague’s young daughter has gone missing. Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. may be her only hope at preserving lives and salvaging her work, but with them having been romantically involved once upon a time, putting their past behind them may just be their biggest challenge.Read More »

Book Review – Watership Down by Richard Adams

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Watership Down

Watership Down is a 1972 children’s novel by Richard Adams. The story follows two rabbit brothers, Hazel and Fiver, who live a seemingly peaceful life in Sandleford Warren, the only home they’ve ever known. One day, Fiver receives visions of death and destruction, convincing him that a great, unknown evil is coming to destroy their home. Although their chief rabbit does not listen, Hazel and Fiver, along with a handful of other rabbits who heed their warning, decide to venture off into the world beyond the boundaries of their warren. Fraught with dangers—both from predators and the elements, as well as the customs of strange rabbits in other warrens—Hazel and company endeavour to find a safe place to found a new warren of their own.Read More »

Book Review – Death in Her Hands by Ottessa Moshfegh

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Death in Her Hands

Death in Her Hands is a 2020 mystery novel by Ottessa Moshfegh. Vesta Gul is an elderly widow who lives alone in a cabin in the woods in a small town, alongside her beloved dog Charlie. One day, while walking Charlie along the nearby trails, she finds a note on the ground, held there by carefully placed stones. The note reads “Her name was Magda. Nobody will ever know who killed her. It wasn’t me. Here is her dead body.” Though there is no dead body to speak of and seemingly not a single other soul for miles around, Vesta is disturbed by what she has found and makes it a personal mission to unravel this mystery.Read More »

Book Review – Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

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Annihilation

Annihilation is a 2014 science fiction horror novel by Jeff VanderMeer and the first novel in the Southern Reach trilogy. Area X, a once lightly populated region, has been under quarantine for decades for unknown reasons, long since reclaimed by nature. There have been 11 expeditions into the region, most of them meeting bizarre and violent ends. The last expedition had all of its members return home under mysterious circumstances, mere husks of their former selves, before all succumbing to aggressive cancer. Now, the 12th expedition is underway, made up of four women including our narrator, the biologist, whose husband was part of the 11th expedition. They struggle to comprehend the phenomena they uncover in this hostile yet strangely captivating environment, the trust between them slowly eroding.Read More »