![]() ![]() And, for the flying spaghetti monsters sake, once something without paranormal psi superhero detectives in depressing dark noir big steampunk cities. I´m totally looking forward to reading the other parts, Mulls´style and combination of good characterization, witty dialogues, and great worldbuilding just screams to be read and he avoids lengths, unnecessary exposition, or any other plagues of the fantasy genre. Enough for suspense, not too extreme, just the perfect dose to give the thing some thrill. Ok, this may be a bit exaggerated, but Mull serves a perfect balance of white and grey morality I can´t overemphasize this enough, unicorns aren´t gently playing around with gnomes under rainbows, they rip flesh out of the dying victims they stabbed with their horns. The whole thing is also a bit like the exposition for Harry Potter freestyle homeschooling with many outdoor activities, because this will become the driving force of the other parts. Not just because the siblings are a perfect match for many funny and dangerous situations, but because the old idea of being the keeper for magic creatures in special nature reserves around the world to avoid the revitalization of the dark powers that want to take over the worldcomes in shiny new clothes. I´ve seen the 2 kids get dumped at the grandparents' house by their parents trope many times, but this is one of the far best executions of it. Now that´s a magic wildlife reservation one just wants to visit with a competent guide and not late at night ![]()
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![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() On 16 May after two-months of reading I finally finished Stalingrad. Could we expect the same amount of carnage in our lifetime? Reading about the grim battle of Stalingrad now seemed to be the right time. Stalingrad was the most decisive battle of WWII, 1.8 million people became casualties, so this would fit in with the looming coronavirus crisis. I started reading Stalingrad on 16 March figuring this should get me through the crisis. Of course, when the COVID19 shutdown came I decided to attack this huge tome. I resisted the commitment to read Stalingrad for some time, wondering where I would get the time to read it and how many other books could I read in the same period. The novel itself is 895 pages, the Afterword and Notes – believe me you need to read them – are a further 65 pages. However, when the book was presented to me, I baulked at reading it. ![]() After some strong hints, my daughter bought it for me for Father’s Day. When I read the review of the first ever English translation of Stalingrad by Vasily Grossman in June of last year I decided this was a must-read edition to my book collection. Review by: James Durney, Newbridge Library ![]() ![]() The crew has one mission: stay alive, and take down Aric's armed and armored fleet. ![]() She captains her ship, the Mors Navis, with a crew of girls and women just like her, who have lost their families and homes because of Aric and his men. ![]() Paste After her family is killed by corrupt warlord Aric Athair and his bloodthirsty army of Bullets, Caledonia Styx is left to chart her own course on the dangerous and deadly seas. The San Francisco Chronicle The best kind of fantasy. NPR One of the most spell-binding adventures of the year. Booklist The pace of the book is fast and relentless, and the action sequences tense and believable, but the best moments are the ones in which the female relationships shine. ![]() This is Mad Max by way of Davy Jones, a high-energy, breathless adventure a group of damaged girls who find home in one another. Now, on the deadly Bullet seas, Captain Caledonia Styx and her all-female crew are ready for revenge. A warlord killed Caledonia's parents and kidnapped her brother. ![]() ![]() ![]() The story of AlphaZero has a wider impact. Both professionals and club players will improve their game by studying AlphaZero’s stunning discoveries in every field that matters: opening preparation, piece mobility, initiative, attacking techniques, long-term sacrifices and much more. Game Changer also presents a collection of lucidly explained chess games of astonishing quality. Sadler and Regan reveal its thinking process and tell the story of the human motivation and the techniques that created AlphaZero. They also had unparalleled access to its team of developers and were offered a unique look ‘under the bonnet’ to grasp the depth and breadth of AlphaZero’s search. The selection of ten games published in December 2017 created a worldwide sensation: how was it possible to play in such a brilliant and risky style and not lose a single game against an opponent of superhuman strength?įor Game Changer, Matthew Sadler and Natasha Regan investigated more than two thousand previously unpublished games by AlphaZero. The artificial intelligence system, created by DeepMind, had been fed nothing but the rules of the Royal Game when it beat the world’s strongest chess engine in a prolonged match. ![]() It took AlphaZero only a few hours of self-learning to become the chess player that shocked the world. ![]() Matthew Sadler y Natasha Regan investigaron para la realización de este libro más de 2000 partidas no publicadas de AlphaZero. Tan solo unas horas de autoaprendizaje le hicieron falta a AlphaZero para convertirse en el jugador de ajedrez que asombró al mundo. ![]() ![]() ![]() I felt like Laymon was describing my youth. I could feel Dwight’s pain as he battled with longing and turmoil that only a 16 year-old boy can know. When Laymon conjures up the image of an enormous man gliding down the center of the street while wearing a ghost costume- I can see myself as a kid, believing with all my heart that what I am seeing is real. The type of magic that made monsters real and dreams attainable. There are elements in the story that bring me back to the magic of childhood. This is the backdrop for one of the best coming-of-age stories I’ve ever read. The show is strictly an adult affair but these three are determined to get in. The novel takes place in a single day as this trio attempt to get into a road show called The Traveling Vampire Show. The story follows three 16-year-old best friends: the eternal Boy Scout Dwight, a well read tomboy Slim and dim witted Rusty. The Traveling Vampire Show has all of that and more. I’m also a fan of over-the-top Looney Tunes brutality and gore. ![]() Boy’s Life, Dweller and It sit firmly atop my ‘Best Novels of All Time’ list. ![]() In case you were not aware, I am a complete sucker for a well told coming-of-age story. Not the perfect novel for everybody but the perfect novel for me. ![]() The Traveling Vampire Show may be the perfect novel. ![]() ![]() ![]() Drew’s mother and younger sister were often victims of domestic abuse from Stuart. This time, a 16-year-old child, Drew Gamble, stands accused of murdering his mother’s abusive boyfriend, Stuart. The book revolves around Jake Brigance, a small-town “ street lawyer” ,trying to save yet another person in Clanton, Mississippi ,from death row. Having spent a lot of time in courtrooms and in front of juries, Grisham is able to use his writing skills to make the reader his “second chair” in his fictional courtrooms. Grisham was a practicing lawyer for over a decade, but he’s most famous for writing legal thriller novels. You may have heard of the first novel of this series – A Time to Kill -which was adapted into a film, starring Sandra Bullock, Matthew McConaughey, and Samuel L. A Time for Mercy, John Grisham’s latest novel and the third book in the Jake Brigance Series was finally released on Oct. ![]() ![]() ![]() When Veronika awakens in the purgatory of Villete, the country's famous lunatic asylum, she is told her suicide attempt weakened her heart and she has only days to live. Veronika, 24, works in a library in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and rents a room in a convent she is an attractive woman with friends and family, but feelings of powerlessness and apathy tempt her to find "freedom" in an overdose of sleeping pills. ![]() The bestselling Brazilian author of The Alchemist delicately etches this morose but ultimately uplifting story of the suicidal Veronika, who creeps along the boundary between life and death, sanity and madness, happiness and despair. ![]() ![]() Queer Images surveys a wide variety of films, individuals, and subcultures, including the work of discreetly homosexual filmmakers during Hollywood's Golden Age classical Hollywood's (failed) attempt to purge "sex perversion" from films the development of gay male camp in Hollywood cinema queer exploitation films and gay physique films the queerness of 1960s Underground Film practice independent lesbian documentaries and experimental films cinematic responses to the AIDS crisis the rise and impact of New Queer Cinema the growth of LGBT film festivals and how contemporary Hollywood deals with queer issues. ![]() The most up-to-date and comprehensive book of its kind, it explores not only the ever-changing images of queer characters onscreen, but also the work of queer filmmakers and the cultural histories of queer audiences. ![]() From Thomas Edison's first cinematic experiments to contemporary Hollywood blockbusters, Queer Images chronicles the representation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer sexualities over one hundred years of American film. ![]() ![]() The objective of this study is to define the concept of sexist language To identify and evaluate the cultural factor, social factor, physiological factor and psychological factor which influence the existence of sexism in English language, and showing and explaining the concepts of gender in speech discuss if the following differences between men and women in speech : a) women talk more/less than men b) women break the ‘rules’ of turn-taking less than men c)women use more standard forms than men and d) women’s speech is less direct/assertive than men’s, and what is the relationship between gender and politeness. Even though in English speaking countries all the people are considered equal, discrimination against women exists and this fact is observed in language. Thus, the language is presented as a powerful tool of patriarchy. ![]() Characteristically, the bias is in favor of men and against women. As a phenomenon of society, sexism is reflected through language that expresses inclination in favor of one sex and treats the other one in a discriminatory manner. Sexism in language represents one of the major issues in sociolinguistic studies. ![]() ![]() As the title indicates the study deals with gender within the language. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() My heart genuinely ached for Alyce at portions of this book because I have seen what she went through reflected in the stories of so many kids who never were given a shot in this world. We call kids thugs and delinquents and then punish them for lashing out. Buuuut for whatever reason we, in the *real* world go round and round in circles with it like there’s no possible solution. It is LITERALLY the trope as old as time in fantasy fiction and we canonize basically every character it happens to. ![]() Here’s the thing this book has going for it: if you treat someone like a villain long enough they are going to become one. But WHO EVEN KNOWS what I’ll be feeling tomorrow. While there’s much I really did like, there are also things that let me down and I’m equally invested in both feelings! So three stars it is for the time being since that feels like a middle-ground rating. I have wavered between giving this book 3 and 4 stars (□) for the better part of the day. I received a free advanced reader copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.ĮDIT I have updated my rating now that it has been CONFIRMED that there will be a sequel. Malice by Heather Walter □□□□ ( three four stars, as rated in angsty little teenage chaos demons that are literally gonna snap ANY MINUTE NOW!) ![]() |