Tag: 2 Star Reviews

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“Strawberry Spring” by Stephen King Review

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An article in the newspaper causes the narrator to recall a time when he was in college and several students were killed. It was a strawberry spring, a false spring, that brought cool weather and fog at night. The first night of fog ended when a young man tripped over the body of a co-ed.

It’s important to say that this short story isn’t a typical Stephen King story where there is monsters running around and chasing kids. This story is a mystery thriller story about a killer who strikes only when it’s foggy outside during the “Strawberry Spring”.

The whole plot story is pretty good, however the whole idea of a killer who kills people during a special time which in this case is the “Strawberry Spring” isn’t that unique now on days but since this story was published in 1978, it needs to get its points for sort of being unique. 

The ending is probably the best part of this whole story, because it comes with a twist and it sort of makes this whole story so much better than it was. But of course this review is spoiler free. 

The twist at the ending was that great but most of you wont probably see it coming. So there will be a little surprise at the end for some people. 

The whole atmosphere in this story is spooky, moody and it will give you chills. And the descriptions in this story which make it even better than expected. But still story is far as good as the huge novels written by Stephen King as “IT” or “The Shinning”.

Some of these descriptions which Stephen King gives us in this story sort of gives you the vibe of Edgar Allan Poe or H. P. Lovecraft. Because these descriptions in this story have some gothic elements to it which makes you feel that it was written many years before it was actually written. 

It’s important to say that this story isn’t a horror story is more a thriller story. Because it isn’t scary enough to be a horror story but definitely it has some mass hysteria, suspecting each other, and searching for the killer elements which makes this story to a thriller story.

However this story could have been much better if it was a novel than a short story. But again it is personal thing which people will disagree on so it’s up to you on this one. 

I give this story 2 / 5

“The Man in the Black Suit” by Stephen King Review

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Gary, a nine-year-old boy, whose brother has died, not long ago, due to a bee sting. One day, Gary goes out fishing and falls asleep. When he awakens, he’s startled to discover a bee sitting on the edge of his nose.

Another pretty good story from Stephen King, it wasn’t the best thing ever. There were a lots of things in this story which could have been much better but in the end this story was pretty good.

This story is one of the best short stories written by Stephen King have written so far. But as we all know his novels are much better than the short stories. 

This story needs to get points for being short and enjoyable. This story is far from the “average” Stephen King novel because there are a lots of things in this story which could have been better.

Stephen King in this story does a good job in building up the tense atmosphere for the entire story as well as creating an unforgettable & terrifying imagery describing this monster.

The beginning of this story may remind some of you of “IT”, because it involves a young kid, a monster and water. Which some of you may find dark and powerful.

The whole plot was pretty basic, it could be much better if Stephen King would have put much more effort into creating a little bit deeper plot in this story. 

The writing style was pretty good, however it is far from the classic Stephen King style which we can see in his novels. 

It’s important to mention that this whole story have some nostalgic parts in it, which the adults and older folks will appreciate.

The concept of this story is pretty good. But still not much to talk about here. For me this story shows that some authors should stick with the long novels which they are known for.

This story is for the most part about grief and centers around a young boy and his fear of losing his Mom, which most kids relate to.

I give this story 2 / 5

“Ligeia” by Edgar Allan Poe Review

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The story follows an unnamed narrator and his wife Ligeia, a beautiful and intelligent raven-haired woman. She falls ill, composes “The Conqueror Worm”, and quotes lines attributed to Joseph Glanvill shortly before dying

Lady Ligeia which this story is about gothic woman’s image in this tale.

The ending is for the most part unexacting and enjoyable. Isn’t that why people love Edgar Allan Poe’s work?

The whole story is definitely creepy and interesting. However the point of this story might be hard to understand for some people. The basic premise of this story is the narrator’s relationship with Ligeia, his wife, to the grave and beyond.

The tone to this story is very gothic and very Edgar Allan Poe style. Which makes this story to a classic Edgar Allan Poe tale. But in the end this story is very similar to other Edgar Allan Poe’s work, which doesn’t make this story to something remarkable.

Some people will have hard time with this tale because they will feel that this tale is the same tale told in another perspective. Because this tale have all the main topics which some other Edgar Allan Poe’s work has. These topics are death of a beautiful woman, monomania, drug and narrator wondering if falling in love with another woman is right or wrong.

This tale is another story about a man descanting into madness because of his love have died. 

The writing style is of course very gothic, moody and amazing. As we all can expect from Edgar Allan Poe.

I give this tale 2 / 5

“The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins Review

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In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister’s place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weight survival against humanity and life against love.

Let me just start this review by saying that this whole series or at least the first book is way overhyped.  And I personally wouldn’t recommend this series to anyone who is over the age of 20.

It is an enjoyable read, but there are a lot of stuff missing. There were a lot of silly and cringe parts.

The characters are okay. Katinss is okay as a main character but she is also annoying at time. She annoying by acting like a 5-year-old at times. However we need to appreciate her ruthlessness and that she wanted to protect her sister. But in the end that Suzanne Collins could use some more effort to creating these characters. Because we just cant care about the characters in this book.

The writing style is okay for the most parts. I mean this wasn’t something to brag about because we can read it but no one said that we will enjoy it.  It felt sometimes that the writing was something a teen in high school had written for an boring assignment.

However the dystopian setting together with the rebellions rising up makes this whole franchise more interesting.

I give this book 2 / 5

“Hop Frog” By Edgar Allan Poe Review

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94Hop-Frog and his friend Trippetta have been captured by one of the king’s generals and brought back to the King as servants. Hop-Frog serves as jester to the king and Trippetta helps to plan and decorate for social events. She is also forced to dance for the king and his court. Both Hop-Frog and Trippetta are dwarves. The King and his ministers enjoy laughing at and abusing Hop-Frog. Even his name is the result of their making fun of the way he walks. When the abuse becomes unbearable, Hop-Frog devises and carries out an ingenious but horrific plan of revenge upon the King and his ministers.

This is a very short story written by Edgar Allan Poe. This is sort of a horror / fiction short story, which for the most part is like survivable. Of course it can’t be compared with “raven” by Edgar Allan Poe but  after all this was a pretty decent revenge story.

This short story was one of the lesser known story written by Edgar Allan Poe. And whole story can be wrap up with only 3 words which are “Revenge, retribution and dark”.

It was a pretty unique story about a dwarf.  However the narrator of this story wasn’t named, and it wasn’t said what relation the narrator had to this story. I personally like to know what relation to the story the person who narrates the story have. There are a point in the story where you will think that the narrator was actually the dwarf himself.

I mean this book wasn’t that great, so that I could talk for 2 hours about it but nether it wasn’t so bad that I would put horse shit on it.

There are few characters in this story. Which for the record is fine as long as the characters are good.

I give this book 2 / 5

“Talking with Serial Killers – A chilling study of the world’s most evil people” By Christopher Berry-Dee Review

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97An investigative criminologist, Christopher Berry-Dee is a man who talks to serial killers. Their pursuit of horror and violence is described in their own words, transcribed from audio and videotape interviews conducted deep inside some of the toughest prisons in the world. Berry-Dee describes the circumstances of his meetings with some of the world’s most evil men and reproduces, verbatim, their very words as they describe their crimes and discuss their remorse — or lack of it. This work offers a penetrating insight into the workings of the criminal mind.

This book is said to be a book where the author is talking with serial killers but in my opinion this book isn’t about talking with serial killer as much as it was talking about the serial killers.

This book would be better if the author would have given us information about these serial killers or the crime scenes which we couldn’t find anywhere on the internet. But the author gives us the same fucking information which we can find on Wikipedia or somewhere else on the internet

This book is not as much about the interviews which the author has with the serial killers in this book than it is about the author telling us about them. The author could have at least given us some fragments of the interviews at least.

This book isn’t good nor bad, it is pretty much up to you to decide it. But the same information which the author is telling us in this book can be found on the internet for free and it will only take 3 seconds to find it.

There were chapters where the author basically went like “he / she did this, then that and she / he drove somewhere”. There were also moments where it seemed that the author tried to write fiction but without any success. Because every time it was feeling like this the chapter was going down hill.

There are some confusing involving this book. Because there is some small distinction between confessions, real facts, reliable, the logical and the pure form of speculation.

The writing style is pretty poor. There are couple of grammatical errors in the book and there are times where the author goes tells us over and over again something similar to “he / she did this, then that and she / he drove somewhere”.

I will say that you are not missing out on anything if you don’t read this book.

I give this book 2 / 5

"Run Away" By Harlan Coben Review

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86You’ve lost your daughter.She’s addicted to drugs and to an abusive boyfriend. And she’s made it clear that she doesn’t want to be found. Then, quite by chance, you see her busking in New York’s Central Park. But she’s not the girl you remember. This woman is wasted, frightened and clearly in trouble. You don’t stop to think. You approach her, beg her to come home. She runs. And you follow her into a dark and dangerous world you never knew existed. Where criminal gangs rule, where drugs are the main currency, and murder is commonplace.

The whole story blows my mind, that’s how amazing it is. We have a lot of things involved in the plot in this book. We have cult, we have headhunters, we have private detective being killed, missing people, drug addicts and even more, the typical rich white family and even more.

The characters were brilliant, and there was a huge dynamic between them. The parents are doing anything they can to find their daughter. And we can feel the fathomless love of a parent throughout the whole story. You will be able to feel the pain of some characters as the story goes on.There are times when the character are annoying specially the cult people.

There were times when it was hard to put this book down, because it was so interesting and a lot of action happening.

No plot holes are relevant in this book. The whole plot is good and it is very good explained at the end.

The twist at the end is just priceless. Is so good. It started innocent with only some references to 23andMe and other DNA sites but then at the end the huge twist happened. I think that you will at least appreciate it.

You will have hard time being emotionally involved with a lot of stuff which is happening in this book. However there will be couple of times where you will sympathizine with some of the characters in this book.

I give this book 2 / 5

"Frozen Hell" by John W. Campbell Jr. Review

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In 1938, acclaimed science fiction author John W. Campbell published the novella Who Goes There?, about a team of scientists in Antarctica who discover and are terrorized by a monstrous, shape-shifting alien entity. The story would later be adapted into John Carpenter’s iconic movie The Thing (following an earlier film adaptation in 1951). The published novella was actually an abridged version of Campbell’s original story, called Frozen Hell, which had to be shortened for publication.

The copy I at least have a super long first word from the publishers about the author and what he wrote before and after this book came out. So it ended about that my copy was 300 pages long but the story itself was 150 pages. However I give my copy extra point for the fancy the illustrations which are pretty much super fun to look when you are read the story.

This book was was published in 1938 and when we look at this book from the 2020 perspective then we will see that this book isn’t that unique after all. Because because there are a lot of books and series / movies which are very similar in plots to this book. But when we look back at 1938 then this whole idea behind the plot was pretty fresh and not so overused as it is today. So keep that in mind.

This book since it was published in 1938 was more or less a part of the origin stories behind the whole alien concept we see today in movies, books and series.

As you can expect the characters in this book are pretty flat and boring. I personally had very hard time to separating them apart, because many of these characters are so much similar in behavior that it makes it hard to say who is who in this book. It almost feels like that the author didn’t care as much about the characters as he did about the whole plot. If you want me to be honest here I need to say that all character in this book feels like just different version of the same person.

The descriptions about the characters aren’t much better from the characters themselves. What the author does with the descriptions about the characters is pretty much “he have blue jeans on, and she have nice shoes on”.

The decisions which are taken by the character feels like decisions taken by a 2 year olds and not like decisions taken by scientist with hopefully some experience. 

Writing style is actually good. To be honest the writing the style was the best part of the whole book. The writing style was interesting, and it was keeping me interesting. But there are times where it felt like it was written by a 14 year old.

The dialogs in this book were pretty hard to follow up with, it almost felt like the author smoked too much weed before writing the dialogs in this book. Because there were times where the dialogs on the same page felt like the chapters were separating them.

I give this book 2 / 5

«Assassin’s Creed: Renaissance» by Oliver Bowden Review

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97Betrayed by the ruling families of Italy, a young man embarks upon an epic quest for vengeance. To eradicate corruption and restore his family’s honour, he will learn the art of the assassins. To his allies, Ezio will become a force for change, fighting for freedom and justice. To his enemies, he will become a threat.

Sometimes writing a book of a video game is a bad idea. However, this book wasn’t that bad as I thought it would be. As long as you have played the games and you are a fan of them, this book will work for you.

This is the first book in the Assassin’s Creed series. If you want to compare this book to the video games than this book is basically Assassin’s Creed II (game) and not the first one as you would think.

This book are a good book, when you want to just turn off your brain and read something which is both fantasy and involves some couple historical figures and events in it.However the most historical events are given to us as memories of the characters which have some bigger part of this book.

In the end this book isn’t a great literature piece. But it is rather a extra content to the video games.

Action in this book are basically the same as it is in Assassin’s Creed II (game), and if you will rather read it than play it than you won’t miss out on anything for the most part.

Characters here are actually better described than in the games. And I liked them much more in this book than in the video games.

The writing style is very poor. But it is sort of how it ends when you write a book based of video games. The best way to describe the writing style is, that it sorts of reminds me of a game narration.

Silly and cringe parts in this book are also on point. I’m not talking about anything else than the dialogs between Ezio and the girl he has a crush on.

The ending is even more silly than the dialogs between Ezio and the girl. It is so silly and cringe that it becomes laughable.

Everyone who is a fan of the video games will more or less appreciate this book, even though it isn’t the best.

Beginning of this book was interesting, the middle was okay, and after this it went completely downhill. However I will say that this book will help you to understand more the games, if you didn’t pay much attention while you were playing or if you don’t remember much from them.

If you like fantasy books with some historical events or figures you will more or less enjoy this book. And you will have a fun time reading this book.

I give this book 2 / 5

"Co Naprawdę Myśli Elon Musk" by Maciej Gablankowski Review

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It’s important to keep in mind that at the time of writing this review this book is only available in polish.

I’m not sure if you can call this a book a book because everything you will find in it is comments and statements made by Elon musk. Which means that this so-called book can’t be reviewed as a “normal” book.

All these comments which you will find in this book are about Elon Musk’s future plans / ideas, Tesla, SpaceX and about Solarcity. So, everything you can read in this book can be found on the internet somewhere and probably much better explained.

I need to be honest here, if you aren’t interested in Tesla, SpaceX or what Elon Musk and you don’t know anything about them than maybe this book isn’t the best idea to read for the moment.

However, don’t get me wrong, this book is amazing to have. Because you have all important comments and statements said by Elon Musk in one place. And if you will need it someday you know where to look.

It’s a short book, with a lot of empty space so as you may think, it’s a very quick read. Which can be read in 2-3 hours if you try.

Before reading this book you need to know something about Tesla, Space x and Elon musk just to fully understand this book.

I give this book 2 / 5