Real Virtue (GR Review)

Author - Katy Lee

Published - April 2012 #Goodreads_Review

In a virtual reality game where she can fly, someone’s aiming to take her down.

Mel Mesini is a New York City restaurateur and an avid, virtual reality world traveler. But her successful life—both online and in reality—takes a swerve the night her father is seriously injured in a hit-and-run. To make matters worse, Officer Jeremy Stiles, the man who had once cut her deep with his harsh, rejecting words, is heading the investigation.

When Jeremy realizes Mel is the actual target, his plan is to protect her—whether she wants him to or not. What he wants is answers, especially about this online game she plays. Is it a harmless pastime as she says? Or is she using it to cover something up? As a faceless predator destroys the things that matter to her, Jeremy knows he’s running out of time before she loses the one thing that matters most—her real life.

Amazon link: http://tinyurl.com/cjtxzg5
BN link: http://tinyurl.com/bnjg5k5 

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Real Virtue is an engrossing story of a Mel, young woman who flees her past to recreate herself in a whole new image. The world she has made for herself—and thinks she controls—begins to unravel when her father is injured in a hit-and-run accident and Mel returns to the home she left many years before. Mel is forced to confront reality and fantasy on many levels: her own involvement with a video game, the mystery surrounding the attempts on her life, her mother’s schizophrenia, and the qualities of the man who once rejected her and is now trying to save her. This thriller kept me guessing until the end and was satisfying on many levels. The character of Mel I found to be very difficult to connect to because she basically lived in her own worlds where she saw negativity in every situation, even the most innocent. Jeremy on the other hand took everything so personally, as if he failed, and would preach about God and religion. I am not a terribly religious person so it was a little overwhelming to hear all of his speeches about his path and purpose. The progression of Mel’s understanding of the relationship she once fled from, contrasted with the world she created for herself was as intriguing as the stalker-mystery parts of the book. Real Virtue is a great read.

The Silvered by Tanya Huff (Review)

Hardcover, 454 Pages, Year 2012

ISBN - 0756407435

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The Empire has declared war on the small, were-ruled kingdom of
Aydori, capturing five women of the Mage-Pack, including the wife of the were Pack-leader. With the Pack off defending the border, it falls to Mirian Maylin and Tomas Hagen—she a low-level mage, he younger brother to the Pack-leader—to save them. Together the two set out on the kidnappers’ trail, racing into the heart of enemy territory. With every step the odds against them surviving and succeeding soar….

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Review

"I had a hard time figuring out what I thought of this book. It was fun to read, although parts of the middle did drag on a bit. The world building and the conflict between science and magic that has been set up is intriguing, and I am interested to see where this goes in future books. My main problem with The Silvered was the rather simplistic relationship between Tomas and Mirian (and, to a lesser extent, all other werewolf/mage pairings). The attraction between men and women of the wolf/mage pack seems to be based almost entirely on visceral and instant connection (whenever a wolf met Mirian they couldn't stop talking about how good she smelled). This type of instant magical connection takes away from the build-up of a strong relationship for me. I actually didn't see much of a romantic connection between Tomas and Mirian outside of the magical connection, and it seems like a kind of lazy way to set up a romance so that you don't have to actually think about what might connect two characters. Having said that, I did like the end of the book and will be reading any future volumes in the series."

Rating - 6.5/10

The Reapers are the Angels (Reapers # 1) Book Review

The Reapers are the Angels (Reapers # 1)

Pages - 225

Year - 2010

Author - Alden Bell

Zombies have infested a fallen America. A young girl named Temple is on the run. Haunted by her past and pursued by a killer, Temple is surrounded by death and danger, hoping to be set free.

For twenty-five years, civilization has survived in meager enclaves, guarded against a plague of the dead. Temple wanders this blighted landscape, keeping to herself - and keeping her demons inside. She can't remember a time before the zombies, but she does remember an old man who took her in and the younger brother she cared for until the tragedy that set her on a personal journey toward redemption. Moving back and forth between the insulated remnants of society and the brutal frontier beyond, Temple must decide where ultimately to make a home and find the salvation she seeks.

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Book Review (GR)

Over a hundred people have shelved this as a YA novel. This is not a YA novel! The prose is artful and does not condescend, there is a fair amount of (admittedly half-baked, being birthed in the brain of an illiterate fifteen-year-old) philosophy that does not bear directly on the story, but most importantly, it doesn't have a YA ending.

YA novels pretty much have to have a happy ending. Or at least a triumph. Sure, the author might kill off a kid sister or a friend or two, but ultimately the heroine is going to find some measure of peace and happiness, or at least safety. There is closure of a nature reassuring to the kids who read YA novels and the neotenous adults who prefer them to adult literature.

The Reapers are the Angels has closure, but not that kind.

Temple was born after the zombie apocalypse ended most of what passes for civilization, and doesn't remember the old world. She is a wanderer by nature, with no surviving kin, but by chance she comes across a mentally disabled man for whom, quite against her wiser inclinations, she takes up the burden of escorting on a road trip to probably no longer living family on the other side of a zombie-ravaged country. Why? She never explains this herself, but it seems she just really doesn't have anything better to do.

Along the way, they encounter any number of horrors, and a very small number of kindnesses. The "meatskins" are really the least of the dangers — Temple dispatches them quite readily with a gun or her Ghurka knife. But there are creepy ordinary folks in mansions, and even creepier Texas Chainsaw Massacre-type folks in the hills. And then of course there is Moses Todd, whom Temple irks by killing his brother. Even he admits that his brother had it coming, but now he has to kill her. That's just the way it is. And like a slightly more affable Anton Chigurh, he pursues Temple and her mute companion (whom she just refers to as "dummy") across a blighted American landscape.

It is written in Southern Gothic style, and the dialect of Temple, who was born after the zombie apocalypse ended most of what passes for civilization, has shades of McCarthy and Faulkner.

It has become something to her, that memory — something she can take out in dismal times and stare into like a crystal ball disclosing not presages but reminders. She holds it in her palm like a captured ladybug and thinks, Well ain't I been some places, ain't I partook in some glorious happenings wanderin my way between heaven and earth. And if I ain't seen everything there is to see, it wasn't for lack of lookin.

Blind is the real dead.

Plotwise, The Reapers are the Angels is derivative of Stephen King and any number of zombie novels; the story is good enough, but this is the sort of book you're likely to like, or else find annoying, because of the prose.

If you are not completely burnt out on zombie novels, The Reapers are the Angels is a short, literary take on this well-worn theme. Highly recommended for YA readers as well who might like to try something a little more upmarket. 

Pelican Bay (Book Review)

Pelican Bay Review by Wanda (GR)

Author - Jesse Giles Christiansen

Pages - 209

Year - 2013, Publisher - Imajin Books

"Pelican Bay begins in 1931, the year of the great depression, and the drowning of a young boy, Aspen Langsley. It then jumps to present day and the lives of Ethan Hodges and Morgan Olinsworth. Ethan loved the sea and at a very young age he met Captain Shelby, a fisherman whose ship was always docked off the edge of the bay. Captain Shelby was a man of some age. Just how old he was no one knew but, regardless, he was a friend to Ethan. Ethan’s first surf board was made by Captain Shelby when he was just twelve years old. As Ethan grew so did his love for the sea and for Morgan. Ethan was a writer and Morgan was a librarian with a strong love of books and research. They had been friends since they were kids and Ethan loved Morgan fiercely. Getting Morgan to admit any feelings for Ethan was virtually impossible but he never gave up hope.

Then, one day, strange things started happening and after three mysterious deaths, including the death of Aspen Langsley in 1931, everyone began to suspect Captain Shelby. While Ethan loved Captain Shelby he also knew there was something strange about him. With Morgan researching Captain Shelby and rumors about him flying around Pelican Bay, Ethan isn’t sure what to believe. Should he trust his fisherman friend or be wary of him? Is Captain Shelby nothing but an old fisherman that loves the sea or is he a mysterious figured that is literally a part of the sea? Join Ethan and Morgan on their perilous journey as they work to solve the puzzle that IS Captain Shelby.

I had such mixed feelings about this book. I really enjoyed the story from beginning to end and I kept finding myself wanting to know what would happen next. I did find it a little overly descriptive. Things were described with such fervor that I found it slowed my reading because I was trying to process the details, but, I DO think readers of mystery and/or fantasy will enjoy the plot. It is a book that I think would be more accepted by a young adult audience but, at the same time, I can’t in good conscience recommend it to young adults because it does contain strong language in a few places and I think the buyer needs to be aware of this in case they are purchasing the book for younger kids. Overall it was an enjoyable read.

Rating - 4/5

**A copy of this book was provided for free by the author for my honest opinion**"

The ever-awesome Parshuram Sharma ji sings...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tf7KGqaqGM0

System-Malfunctioning fanboy moment when I met Parshuram Sharma ji....and he sang for me. :) Yay!

Legendary writer, actor, singer, music director Mr. Parshuram Sharma ji's original composition "Tumne Humko Thoda Thoda Pyaar...." 

द रेसलिंग गेम रिव्यू - मोहित शर्मा (ज़हन)

द रेसलिंग गेम रिव्यू - मोहित शर्मा (ज़हन)

प्रो रेसलिंग से जुडी हर बात जैसे इस एक खेल मे समाहित कर दी गयी हों। ताकत, तकनीक, गति, स्टैमिना से लेकर स्टेज के पीछे की स्टोरीलाइंस, प्रतियोगितायें, हर स्टेज के टाइटल्स, टैग मैच, स्टेबल मैच जैसी विशेषताओं से भरा। जब आपका मन एक बात से ऊबे तब अनेको और फीचर्स आपको बांधे रखते है। हर कुछ समय में कुछ नयी बातें गेम में जोड़कर इसकी रोचकता और बढ़ा देते है। शायद यही कारण है जो मैं 2011 से लगातार यह ऑनलाइन गेम खेल हूँ। यह टेक्स्ट बेस्ड रणनीतिक, प्रबंधन आधारित खेल है, जिसका फ्लेवर धीरे-धीरे आप चढ़ता है। यहाँ निरंतरता की आवश्यकता नहीं है और आप स्वेच्छा से अपने अनुसार खेल में आगे बढ़ सकते है। कई सर्वर्स पर सक्रीय दुनिया भर के लाखो प्लेयर्स से आप अपनी तुलना कर सकते है। धीरे-धीरे खेल में ग्राफ़िक्स और एनिमेशन का समावेश किया जा रहा है आशा है आगे चलकर द रेसलिंग गेम और बेहतर एवम लोकप्रिय बनेगा। 

The Wrestling Game, TWG is a game about every aspect of wrestling.

After naming your wrestler you get the chance to take him through his entire life time career, from an unknown 18 year old (default age) who couldn't pin a poster to a wall, to a hulking power house of a champion with legions of loyal fans.

By deciding what moves your wrestler learns and what sorts of skills he trains, you are able to give him a unique fighting style, and hopefully the tools he'll need to layeth the smacketh down upon his opponents, ---- and opponents he has in plenty, sinse tousands of other players are pumping up their wrestlers to.

With detailed match descriptions, a truly complex and technical fighting and skills system, and even the chance to create your wrestlers own custom moves (with their own mighty names and descriptions), join a stable with other wrestlers, and participate in matches ranin from tag team t cage match ups, this is absolutely the game for fans of any sort of wrestling at all.

sinse everything is standard text web pages, this is highly screen reader friendly, ---- you don't even have to cope with long columns of statistics. Also, all important choices have confirm/cancel text boxes pop up, which is great if you find yourself clicking the wrong button.

the game is also entirely free to play, however supporting the game with a donation will give a few bennifits, such as ability to train skills faster, and get some of the interesting match types and other options at lower levels, pluss try out any new game features earlier than those who haven't donated.

It's highly recommended you play through the in game tutorial when starting, and also check the forum found here sinse this is deffinately a deep and complex game, which requires more than a head full of muscles to win any championships.

#TWG #mohitness #mohit_trendster

भारतीय फिल्मों में सुधार की गुंजाईश - मोहित शर्मा (ज़हन)

भारतीय (खासकर बॉलीवुड़) और विदेशी फिल्मो की तुलना में अक्सर कई प्रशंषको की शिकायत होती है कि बिना सन्दर्भ, बजट को समझे बॉलीवुड की निंदा करना या उसे हॉलीवुड सरीखें  उद्योगों से गुणवत्ता में कमतर बताना गलत है। तो पहले तो बता दूँ कि भारतीय फिल्म इंडस्ट्री से हर वर्ष कुछ बेहतरीन फिल्में निकलती है, जो दुनिया भर में सराही जाती है और विश्व की हर कसौटी पर खरी बैठती है, पर यह संख्या कुल निर्मित फिल्मो का बहुत छोटा हिस्सा है। बाकी मुख्यधारा या उन से इतर आयीं फिल्मो का स्तर साधारण / बेकार रह जाता है, खासकर कहानी-पटकथा के मामले में। बहाना यह मिलता है कि जनता का यही टेस्ट है, पर टेस्ट तो धीरे-धीरे बेहतर किया जा सकता है जिसकी कोई कोशिश नहीं की जाती। ऊपर से त्योहारो-छुट्टियों के समय अगर 1 बड़ी फिल्म दादागिरी से देश की 90-95 % सिनेमा स्क्रीन्स घेर लेगी तो दर्शकों के पास विकल्प ही कहाँ होगा कुछ और देखने का? इस से टेस्ट कैसे मापा जाये?

जैसे कथानक पर एक उदाहरण देता हूँ कहानी और दृश्यों पर। "चक दे इंडिया" (2007) में हर विपक्षी टीम की सिर्फ एक स्ट्रेटेजी थी। कोई एग्रेसिव खेल दिखाती टीम थी जो प्लेयर्स को चोट पहुँचा रही थी - टेकल कर रही थी, कोई टीम मैन टू मैन (प्लेयर टू प्लेयर) मार्किंग कर रही थी, इत्यादि। यह कोई हॉकी टूर्नामेंट ना होकर वीडियो गेम जैसी बात हो गयी, जिसमे हर स्टेज में कुछ फिक्स्ड बातें होती है। असल में एक स्ट्रेटेजी ना चले तो टीम्स के पास अनगिनत फोर्मेशंस और स्ट्रॅटजीज़ होती है जो वो तुरंत बदल भी सकती है। यह अंतर होता है मुख्यधारा बॉलीवुड और बाहर की फिल्मो में।

[बिंदिया नायक टू गुंजन - "फॉरवर्ड कन्याकुमारी, कन्याकुमारी....

"ऑपोसिशन प्लेयर - "थेम्स रिवर टू बरन्हेरी पैलेस... थेम्स रिवर टू बरन्हेरी पैलेस !!

"बिंदिया नायक - आंय ?????!!!!???] :p

इसके अलावा मुश्किल में एक मुस्लमान का अपमान करने वाला पूरा ज़माना बन गया, एक बड़ा तबका जो हमदर्दी और सहारा देता है उसको नहीं दिखाया गया। फिर कोच के प्लेयर्स के अगेंस्ट होने पर सब प्लेयर्स का साथ आ जाना, जब दुनिया इतनी ढीट है की कोच चाहे कैसा भी हो कई लोग चिपके रहेंगे उस से। ऐसे ही फिल्म में कई बातों को one dimensional दिखाया गया, मैं यह नहीं कह रहा की हर चीज़ टटोलो पर बाकी संभावनाओ की एक झलक तो दिखा दो। अंत में यह बताता चलूँ की मैं इस फिल्म को बेकार नहीं कह रहा, मैं कह रहा हूँ की और बेहतर हो सकती है ऐसी अच्छी फिल्मो में छोटी बातों का ध्यान रखा जाए अगर तो। :)

- मोहित शर्मा (ज़हन) #mohitness #mohit_trendster #trendster #trendy_baba #india #hindi