Sci-Fi

Arq (2016)

arq

Arq (2016)

Director:

Tony Elliot

Starring:

Robbie Amell

Rachael Taylor

Shaun Benson

Plot:

Trapped in a lab and stuck in a time loop, a disoriented couple fends off masked raiders while harboring a new energy source that could save humanity.

Review:

You’re pretty much thrown into the middle of a world you know nothing about following people you know nothing about. If you eventually learned more than these people are supposedly bad and these guys maybe not, the movie might have been more compelling. Instead I didn’t really care about anything or anyone.

I love repeat episodes and movies, but this was lacking and not something I would recommend.

2/5

Lost Stars (Journey to Star Wars- The Force Awakens) By: Claudia Gray

lost-stars

Lost Stars (Journey to Star Wars- The Force Awakens) By: Claudia Gray

Plot:

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…

Eight years after the fall of the Old Republic, the Galactic Empire now reigns over the known galaxy. Resistance to the Empire has been all but silenced. Only a few courageous leaders such as Bail Organa of Alderaan still dare to openly oppose Emperor Palpatine.

After years of defiance, the many worlds at the edge of the Outer Rim have surrendered. With each planet’s conquest, the Empire’s might grows stronger.

The latest to fall under the Emperor’s control is the isolated mountain planet Jelucan, whose citizens hope for a more prosperous future even as the Imperial Starfleet gathers overhead…

Review:

Wow was not expecting this when I picked up a young adult Star Wars novel. I’d heard good things, but I still didn’t expect to have a book that so capably portrayed both sides of a conflict. Gray showed how two people raised on the same planet with different ideals could look at the same things and come to different conclusions. It didn’t make one better than the other either. Yes one ended up on the “right” side, but you could see clearly why the other was still on the “wrong” it was very well written.

From the start I suspected that the ending would be sad and when I got to the halfway point I thought it was pretty much guaranteed but I ended up being pleasantly surprised. I wish there’d been a bit more, but the ending was touching.

Very happy with this book and I’d highly recommend it to anyone who’s a Star Wars fan, no matter what the age.

5/5

One Fell Sweep (Innkeeper Chronicles #30 By: Ilona Andrews

one-fell-sweep

One Fell Sweep (Innkeeper Chronicles #30 By: Ilona Andrews

Plot:

Dina DeMille may run the nicest Bed and Breakfast in Red Deer, Texas, but she caters to a very particular kind of guest… the kind that no one on Earth is supposed to know about. Guests like a former intergalactic tyrant with an impressive bounty on her head, the Lord Marshal of a powerful vampire clan, and a displaced-and-superhot werewolf; so don’t stand too close, or you may be collateral damage.

But what passes for Dina’s normal life is about to be thrown into chaos. First, she must rescue her long-distant older sister, Maud, who’s been exiled with her family to a planet that functions as the most lawless penal colony since Botany Bay. Then she agrees to help a guest whose last chance at saving his civilization could bring death and disaster to all Dina holds dear. Now Gertrude Hunt is under siege by a clan of assassins. To keep her guests safe and to find her missing parents, Dina will risk everything, even if she has to pay the ultimate price. Though Sean may have something to say about that!

Review:

The Innkeeper Chronicles is posted piece by piece on Ilona Andrew’s blog and this was the first one I read that way. It’s probably the last too if I can resist. I love Andrews books and I really love this series, however reading a book that slowly piece by piece is excruciating and I’m not sure if I could handle it again.

Thankfully once the books are complete they release them on kindle and anyone not able to take the blog route can just buy it and enjoy it like normal. Once I could I pre-ordered and with my Christmas vacation time I read this like a normal Ilona Andrews book, meaning I stayed up until almost four in the morning and I’m eternally thankful that my husband was home that week and I didn’t have to wake up with our daughter.

In book form the story has been edited and little things were added, not really enough to make someone who read on the blog feel cheated, but enough to tighten up the story and make it feel more polished. I don’t completely remember the ending on the blog, but the ending in the book really set up the next and it’s going to be difficult (impossible) for me not to read it online again.

I love Dina and the person she is. She’s nice and caring and even though she’s surrounded by excellent fighters she still brings a lot to the table in a battle situation. Sean is a wounded soul that you just want to cuddle and he hasn’t fallen into the much used trope of feeling he’s unworthy of love. There was a lot of character development for both of them and we got to meet more family which was awesome.

This is really such an awesome treat of a series and I feel so blessed that Andrews keeps writing more.

5/5

The Force Awakens (Star Wars Novelizations #7) By: Alan Dean Foster

the-force-awakens-star-wars

The Force Awakens (Star Wars Novelizations #7) By: Alan Dean Foster

Plot:

Set years after Return of the Jedi, this stunning action-packed adventure rockets us back into the world of Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2,and Luke Skywalker, while introducing a host of exciting new characters, including Rey, Finn, BB-8 and Kylo Ren.
Darth Vader may have been redeemed and the Emperor vanquished, but peace can be fleeting, and evil does not easily relent. Yet the simple belief in good can still empower ordinary individuals to rise and meet the greatest challenges.
So return to that galaxy far, far away, and prepare yourself for what happens when the Force awakens…

Review:

I’ve had this for a while but for whatever reason never got around to reading it. After watching Rogue One I’ve been filled with an extreme desire for anything Star Wars so I finally picked this up.

First off it was a lot easier to read than Life Debt, it did jump around from character point of views a few times without a clear indicator, but it wasn’t in first person so I fell into it a lot faster. There were several scenes that I thought were better than the movie, though a few the movie did better as well.

I really enjoyed seeing inside the characters heads and I got a better sense of their character and motivations than just from watching the movie. I really like Rey better than before after reading this. Some of the info about Finn contradicted what was already told in Before the Awakening. He wasn’t as adept at weapons as he came off in that book. I got to see more about Ren as well, though I still don’t think he’s a very scary villain, especially after that scene with Vader in Rogue One.

I thought the novelization was a good read, definitely if you liked the movie, but I’m concerned if what I learned will transfer forward. That doesn’t appear to always be the case, but Disney could want things to be more cohesive so we’ll see.

4/5

Aftermath – Life Debt (Star Wars – Aftermath #2) By: Chuck Wendig

star-wars-aftermath-life-debt

Aftermath – Life Debt (Star Wars – Aftermath #2) By: Chuck Wendig

Plot:

Set between the events of “Return of the Jedi” and “The Force Awakens, “the never-before-told story that began with “Star Wars: Aftermath” continues in this thrilling novel, the second book of Chuck Wendig s “New York Times” bestselling trilogy.


“It is a dark time for the Empire. . . .”


The Emperor is dead, and the remnants of his former Empire are in retreat. As the New Republic fights to restore a lasting peace to the galaxy, some dare to imagine new beginnings and new destinies. For Han Solo, that means settling his last outstanding debt, by helping Chewbacca liberate the Wookiee s homeworld of Kashyyyk. 

Meanwhile, Norra Wexley and her band of Imperial hunters pursue Grand Admiral Rae Sloane and the Empire s remaining leadership across the galaxy. Even as more and more officers are brought to justice, Sloane continues to elude the New Republic, and Norra fears Sloane may be searching for a means to save the crumbling Empire from oblivion. But the hunt for Sloane is cut short when Norra receives an urgent request from Princess Leia Organa. The attempt to liberate Kashyyyk has carried Han Solo, Chewbacca, and a band of smugglers into an ambush resulting in Chewie s capture and Han s disappearance.

Breaking away from their official mission and racing toward the “Millennium Falcon” s last known location, Norra and her crew prepare for any challenge that stands between them and their missing comrades. But they can’t anticipate the true depth of the danger that awaits them or the ruthlessness of the enemy drawing them into his crosshairs.


Review:

First person present is never going to be my favorite tense to read in and like last time it took me some time to get into. It also took me a little bit to remember who was who and what was going on.

I ended up putting this book down a lot and didn’t really feel inspired to finish it until after I saw Rogue One. However, I don’t blame that solely on the book but more on the fact that I’m days away from my due date and having serious issues concentrating on anything.

Lots happened and Han, Leia, and Chewie were a bigger part in this story. There was more of a focus on romance and love interests in this one and I’m not sure if I like it. Didn’t really need the love triangle with Norra, though that ended up being interesting so I guess it was alright. The other romance was just background and I don’t really see why it was necessary.

I really liked the parts that showed the New Republic and the issues that it was experiencing. The transition is difficult and I like that things aren’t just coming easy. It was realistic that these people who are supposed to be good were falling into the same old traps.

Jas has somehow become a female Han Solo which I could do without. She was such a badass on her own and now she’s dealing with pretty much the exact same issues he had without the swagger and cool. She’s distant and blunt, which works with badass, but the rest of her story that was revealed was boring and pretty much already done.

Jom has been chewed up and discarded. Sinjir tried to grow only to fail and apart from Jas seems to be ignored which is sad.

I like the characters in this series a lot. I like the nods that I’m getting to the movies and the universe that’s being fleshed out. I just think there were too many threads going on in this one. The crew split up into groups and we followed both of them, we followed Admiral Sloane, Han, Leia, and a few other people. It was a lot and I think the main crew ended up suffering because of it.

3.5/5