Ink of Blood

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Wonder Woman

Posted by cat2002116 on June 5, 2017
Posted in: Movies, Reviews. Tagged: movies, reviews. Leave a comment

Wonder Woman

(This review may contain spoilers).

Having watched the previous movies in this current franchise, I was immediately interested in watching this one and jumped at the opportunity to while on holiday.

On the whole, I’d say Wonder Woman was fairly good as a movie. Diana’s naivety and innocence came across really well and I felt Gal Gadot was perfect to portray her. It was really good to have the opportunity to see Diana as a child and her relationship with not only her mother, but the rest of the Amazons. And it was interesting to see the story of their history as told to Diana as a child.

I thought it was particularly good to see how Diana adapted to leaving the island, but there was less of a culture shock than I might have expected. I did like the elements of humour in this movie and I really did like the fight scene right at the beginning with the Amazons. At the same time, it was good to see war wasn’t justified and that there was a stark contrast between the battle Diana was used to and the war mankind was fighting.

I also cared about the secondary characters. They came across as real people and I liked the interactions between them and Diana. I was amused by the way a lot of them didn’t seem to know how to take her… and I found myself getting a bit emotional at times during the film, especially in regards to learning about what some of the other characters truly wanted to do.

I found myself on the edge of my seat for a lot of the movie and while there were some good special effects, I didn’t feel like they took away from the storyline. It was also nice to see the way it fit in with Batman VS. Superman.

There aren’t any scenes at the end credits, so don’t stay back.

I did enjoy watching this movie and I personally thought it was really good. While I wouldn’t buy it as soon as it comes out on DVD, I definitely wouldn’t mind watching this movie again.

80AD: The Hammer of Thor

Posted by cat2002116 on May 31, 2017
Posted in: Books, Reviews. Tagged: books, reviews. Leave a comment

80AD The Hammer of Thor

(This review may contain spoilers).
I haven’t yet read the first book in this series, but the basic premise was one that I liked the idea of and I found the storyline and characters easy to follow in this.
I thought it was interesting to see how the lives in the real-world game worked. I also liked how the game translated to the real world, such as the whole side-quests thing. I’ve played computer games before and there never seems to be a real time limit, as multiple side quests can be completed. So it was good to see that the time limit was indicated.
I liked the characters of both Phoenix and Jade, but I felt Truda seemed like a very stereotypical spoiled child. It also wasn’t clear why it was so important to get her back to Asgard within the time limit, as what she said seemed to indicate her task was only to help and not to do anything on her own.
While I liked all of the group, I have to say, my favourite was definitely Marcus. It was good to see his more mature personality at odds with Phoenix and Jade, who I felt were realistic in the conflicts between them and the way they were thrust into a whole other world.
I did feel that the danger the characters were in was real and I cared about what was happening to them. It was good to see the use of the myths and that there were realistic problems like the language barriers. Plus, the characters’ strength wasn’t inexhaustible.
I did think there was a bit too much telling rather than showing going on and where there were larger groups of characters, they all seemed to have one personality. With the Light Elves, the villagers and the Aesir, I would have liked to see more of the individual characters, as it was more difficult to care about the danger they were in. Then again, many of the ‘bit’ characters in computer games aren’t really explored as fully as they could be.
I did enjoy reading this book and I do plan to read the next books in the series, and the first, at some point in the future. I definitely liked the realism.

Ice Warriors

Posted by cat2002116 on May 30, 2017
Posted in: Ice Warriors, Promotion, Writing. Tagged: Ice Warriors, Promotion, Writing. Leave a comment

Briggs_Sarah_Jayne_IW-1_KoM_front-page-001

A reminder that, if you’d like to enter a giveaway to win a free copy of Ice Warriors: Key of Midgard, it can be found here.

It’s important that people buy copies of the book and help me to spread the word. If you’d like to support me by purchasing a print copy or Kindle copy (the Kindle app is free), the book can be found on the various Amazon websites. On Amazon UK, the print copy is £10, which means that postage and packaging is free. And the Kindle book is only £2.70.

If you’d like to help spread the word through social media, please use #IceWarriors. If you buy a print copy, take a photo of yourself with the book and post it on somewhere like Tumblr.

If/when you’ve read it, please put an honest rating on Amazon and/or Goodreads. Anything people can do to spread the word would be a massive help.

If you have any questions, I’ll respond to any comments here on my blog.

King Arthur: Legend of The Sword

Posted by cat2002116 on May 24, 2017
Posted in: Movies, Reviews. Tagged: movies, reviews. Leave a comment

King Arthur Legend of The Sword

(This review may contain spoilers).

King Arthur was one of the legends I thoroughly enjoyed reading while I was growing up, enchanted with the tales of chivalry, knights and magic. So when I saw this movie advertised, I was immediately intrigued and wanted to see it.

Almost as soon as this film started, at least when Arthur became an adult, it felt like a Middle Ages mafia movie. In spite of this and the several instances of modern-day language, I did like Arthur’s character, but I felt very few of the minor characters were really developed that much. I often found myself completely lost over who was who.

I did really like the way the story was told, even if the constant flashbacks were somewhat confusing. There were some really intense scenes, in particular the one where Arthur first comes into contact with Excalibur. And it was difficult to learn of and to see the ultimate fate of Uther.

I actually found myself feeling sympathy for the Lady of the Lake, even though she only appeared the once. It seemed like she had quite a lonely existence…at least from what I could see.

I did find the Mage an intriguing character, but I felt that she was left very much in the background. She was supposed to be the next Merlin, but there was very little detail shown about her history or even much of her personality. I felt like there was a lot left unfinished by the end of the movie.

There were some good elements of humour and I liked the relationship between Back Lack and his son. I felt the ladies in the brothel were just grouped together as one character and there was no individuality shown to them.

I also noticed that none of the characters seemed to age – barring Arthur and his cousin, who were children at the start.

I liked the acceptance and hints of magic and it was good to see a new take on the origins tale of King Arthur. But although this film was entertaining to watch and drew me in, it’s definitely vastly different to the original versions.

Two Conventions Coming Up (Plus Another Giveaway)

Posted by cat2002116 on May 20, 2017
Posted in: Giveaway, Ice Warriors, Promotion, Writing. Tagged: Giveaway, Ice Warriors, Promotion, Writing. Leave a comment

In light of the fact that, this time next weekend, I’ll be in London at the Heroes and Villains convention and the following weekend, I’ll be in Blackpool at Ultimates… I thought for this giveaway of an e-book copy (mobi, epub, PDF, word format…) of Ice Warriors: Key of Midgard, I’d ask readers which celebrity they’d most like to meet and what you’d say to him or her.

Join in even if you don’t want to win a copy of the book. Just indicate you don’t want to be in the drawing, but please do join in.

A reminder that Ice Warriors: Key of Midgard is available on Amazon UK at £2.70 and Amazon US at $3.48 and also on other variations of the Amazon site. It is also available in paperback format, but the Kindle app is free to download. You can also read a free excerpt on Amazon.

Please continue to help me spread the word on Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc. Buy a copy. Leave an honest rating and even a review on Amazon and Goodreads. And I’ll continue to keep readers updated about how Ice Warriors: Key of Helheim is getting on, along with the other books I have in the works. And, of course, I will continue to post reviews.

Alien: Covenant

Posted by cat2002116 on May 17, 2017
Posted in: Movies, Reviews. Tagged: movies, reviews. Leave a comment

Alien Covenant

(This review may contain spoilers).

I’ve seen all of the Alien movies to date, though the only Predator movie I’ve seen is Alien VS. Predator.

While I did find this movie entertaining to watch, I did feel like the characters made one bad decision after the other. It wasn’t very clear how the crew had been chosen for the mission. If any of them were scientists or doctors… and if any of them were, the decision to go onto an unknown planet with no protective gear, no matter how breathable the air supposedly is, was an insanely stupid idea.

I felt only a handful of the characters were really developed a lot. There were some relationships, but as the majority of them weren’t really shown, it was hard to care when people began dying. I spent most of the movie just waiting for each person to die.

Ironically, the characters I felt were developed the most weren’t even human – Walter and David. It was good to see their almost human reactions and interactions, though I definitely preferred Walter over David. It was a mark of how good an actor Michael Fassbender is that he could play two totally different characters.

A lot of this movie was visually dark, which made it hard at times to see what was going on. And there were some motivations that didn’t make a whole lot of sense, even by the end of the movie.

While there was a lot of gore in this film, it wasn’t until the end that the iconic Alien actually put in an appearance. There were, however, quite a few other iconic scenes, such as the face-hugger and creature bursting out of someone’s chest.

This movie was entertaining to watch, but I didn’t particularly care about the fate of a lot of the characters. And I also picked up on certain things long before they happened. I felt the fact the other characters didn’t made them come across as quite inept.

All told, I wouldn’t watch this movie again…but if you’re a fan of the Alien franchise, you probably do want to see this.

Fury Rising

Posted by cat2002116 on May 17, 2017
Posted in: Books, Reviews. Tagged: books, reviews. Leave a comment

Fury Rising

(This review may contain spoilers).
I’ve read (and now re-read) the previous two books in this trilogy. Even after reading this one, though, I would still consider book one to be my favourite.
While I did still find this book to be really engaging and I cared about more characters than just the main ones, while I was reading this, I felt like all I was doing was waiting for the real end to come.
I’ll be honest. I liked Aries, Mason and Daniel as separate characters, but I was really off the love triangle by the end of this final book. I liked seeing the survival of the characters, but I was kind of disappointed in how many of the characters seemed unable to organise themselves. I would have liked to see a bit more of the attitude in the base, rather than just being told that all of the adults didn’t really trust Aries and the other teenagers to know what they were doing.
I did feel that the characters had become complacent. I would have liked to see more details about how the plans were made, rather than just the aftermath and what seemed like characters making really poor decisions they shouldn’t have, given the world they were in at that time. I couldn’t believe one character risked an entire mission to feed a dog. I actually assumed they were lying about it at first.
I was with Clementine towards the end of the book. I couldn’t believe so much had been crammed into a day, two at the most. The appearance of the ferals was really creepy… and that was saying something. I wasn’t sure which was the worst threat: the mob of psychos, or the Baggers still able to think, feel, reason.
I was kind of disappointed there wasn’t more of a resolution. While this book was the final one in the trilogy, I felt there was still a lot of the story to be told and not enough answers. For instance, why was Aries able to bring back a Bagger’s conscience, however temporarily? And what was the whole deal with Daniel? I did enjoy seeing the friendship growing gradually between Daniel and Mason, though.
I would definitely be interested in reading more books by this author in the future; and also any more books set in the Dark Inside universe.

Ice Warriors Giveaway

Posted by cat2002116 on May 10, 2017
Posted in: Giveaway, Ice Warriors, Promotion, Writing. Tagged: Giveaway, Ice Warriors, Promotion, Writing. 1 Comment

Briggs_Sarah_Jayne_IW-1_KoM-page-001

The giveaway is now live for Ice Warriors: Key of Midgard on Goodreads. It is completely free on Goodreads to enter and can be found here.

I will also be giving away one ebook of Ice Warriors through here, whether in mobi or PDF format. All you have to do is comment with your favourite myth or legend, or even just a figure from mythology. Doesn’t even have to be from Norse mythology. Next Tuesday, I’ll pick one person at random who will receive a free ebook copy.

I look forward to your responses.

 

Links to buy Ice Warriors

Posted by cat2002116 on May 2, 2017
Posted in: Ice Warriors, Promotion, Writing. Tagged: Ice Warriors, Promotion, Writing. Leave a comment

Briggs_Sarah_Jayne_IW-1_KoM-page-001

Ice Warriors: Key of Midgard is now available in paperback format on Amazon and Lulu. Both of these are print-on-demand services. Unfortunately, because printing is quite expensive, the physical books are a lot more than the Kindle versions. You can, however, get the Kindle app on both the phone and the laptop.

Amazon UK Kindle e-book

Amazon UK paperback book

Amazon US Kindle e-book

Amazon US paperback book

Lulu paperback book

Please do help me spread the word by sharing and, where possible, leaving a rating and even a review on one of these sites, or even on Goodreads.

And it’s live!

Posted by cat2002116 on May 2, 2017
Posted in: Ice Warriors, Promotion, Writing. Tagged: Ice Warriors, Promotion, Writing. Leave a comment

At least the Kindle version is. Paperback is still in review on Amazon, but I’m planning to also publish on Lulu with a physical copy, which will hopefully be cheaper.

The book costs £2.70 on the Amazon UK Kindle and $3.50 on the Amazon US.

The UK version can be found here: Ice Warriors Book One Kindle UK

The US version can be found here: Ice Warriors Book One Kindle US

Please help me spread the word! And if you read the book, feel free to leave a rating at least. Even if you didn’t like the book, it’ll still help to know.

I’ll post once the book is available in paperback format.

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