Showing posts with label Science fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Science fiction. Show all posts

Friday, June 7, 2013

Friday Fun~ Book Review-


Today is my baby girl's birthday! Happy Birthday, Jenn! You've come a long way in 27 years. Momma is proud of you! Yeah I know too many exclamation points.

I'm really getting slack with this blog. At least in the past couple months, not that my readers would notice. Yes, it would appear that I'm writing it everyday, almost, but in reality I'm not. The beauty of the Scheduler here allows me to pre-write my blogs. Since the beginning of the year I wrote my blogs a month in advance. But today's blog was written a week in advance. I'm looking at my blog posts under scheduled and it's four or five versus ten to twenty. I am slacking off with pain and life issues.

 I read this book fast because I was the lucky winner of it in Shut Up and Read's section in GoodReads. I really got to stop signing up for those so I have time to read my ever expanding TBR pile and maybe do some writing. Yep the Lasix and Botox are working well again so it's time to get writing again. Yeeeeaaaah! Although I have enjoyed my time reading and not writing, I am a writer first despite my love of reading.

But enough about me... It Friday Fun time! Today I've got a book review for you.

 There Comes a Prophet
by David Litwack
  • Paperback: 266 pages
  • Publisher: Double Dragon Publishing; Large type edition edition (September 25, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1771150149
  • ISBN-13: 978-1771150149
  • Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy/YA

The Blurb

Who among us will cast aside a comfortable existence and risk death to follow a dream?

A world kept peaceful for a thousand years by the magic of the ruling vicars. But a threat lurks from a violent past. Wizards from the darkness have hidden their sorcery in a place called the keep, and left a trail of clues that have never been solved.

Nathaniel has grown up longing for more, but unwilling to challenge the vicars. Until his friend Thomas is taken for a teaching, the mysterious coming-of-age ritual. Thomas returns but with his dreams ripped away. When Orah is taken next, Nathaniel tries to rescue her and ends up in the prisons of Temple City. There he meets the first keeper of the ancient clues. But when he seeks the keep, what he finds is not magic at all.

If he reveals the truth, the words of the book of light might come to pass:

"If there comes among you a prophet saying 'Let us return to the darkness,' you shall stone him, because he has sought to thrust you away from the light."


The Author - David Litwack

The urge to write first struck when working on a newsletter at a youth encampment in the woods of northern Maine. It may have been the night when lightning flashed at sunset followed by northern lights rippling after dark. Or maybe it was the newsletter's editor, a girl with eyes the color of the ocean. But he was inspired to write about the blurry line between reality and the fantastic.

Using two fingers and lots of white-out, he religiously typed five pages a day throughout college and well into his twenties. Then life intervened. He paused to raise two sons and pursue a career, in the process becoming a well-known entrepreneur in the software industry, founding several successful companies. When he found time again to daydream, the urge to write returned.

There Comes a Prophet is his first novel in this new stage of life.

David and his wife split their time between Cape Cod, Florida and anywhere else that catches their fancy. He no longer limits himself to five pages a day and is thankful every keystroke for the invention of the word processor.

My Impressions
David weaves each of the three main characters into living beings by vivid imagery and the challenges these three face.

Entertaining and well thought out. As an author I can appreciate how he's meticulously plotted the story from beginning to end. As a reader it's a whirlwind adventure story.

As dystopian fiction goes there are readily recognized items of the past civilization ( our present time, ie road pavement) for the reader to see and know. It's a story of friendship, a quest of knowledge and truth, and ultimately courage. It begs to ask is the ruling party right in hiding the past by banning all technology. In brainwashing discontents, is that truly the answer to keeping power or suppressing the truth?

A nonstop, philosophical, thrill ride.

My recommendation
 A must read to appreciate the author's talent and the story itself.

Get it and follow info
Kindle
paperback
David's website
Twitter

Have a great weekend.

Friday, December 28, 2012

Friday Fun Review "Apollo 18"

 Apollo 18
2011   86 minutes
Starring:
Gonzalo Lopez, Brian Miller, Timur Bekmambetov  

Synopsis
NASA's cancelled trip to the moon in the 1970s is the basis for this found-footage-style picture exploring if the urban legend were true that the mission actually did occur and the proof of extraterrestrial life exists on film.

My grade:
"A" for content
"A" for acting
"Yes" for would I watch it again. In fact, I've watched it 3 times so far.

 My eclectic tastes are showing because this movie is science fiction, conspiracy theory, and a thriller all rolled into one. The film maker would have you believe that the movie was spliced together footage of a secret Apollo mission. Having had watched the news of all televised segments of the Apollo missions in real life this movie comes pretty darn close.

The tension is felt as is the fear. Exploring a Russian capsule on the moon was riveting filmed by headlamps so you only get tiny glimpses of what is going on so it up the watcher in the astronaut's point of view. Everything was true to the 1970s because I can remember back that far.

Filmed in black  and white adds to the "authenticity" of the footage shown. It is believable. The action sequences are true to life. The website they show at the end...don't bother going to it...it's a ploy. I was gullible enough to try. The movie has enough action and scares enough to jerk by paralyzed arm up. A reflex reaction like when I sneeze not positive/active movement.

My recommendation- See it and believe it or not.

Speaking of the Apollo missions did you know Neil Armstrong is often misquoted for his famous line?

He actually said, "This is one small step for a man. One giant leap for mankind."

Just a bit of trivia from a person who actually met him.