Movie Monday: I am Legend

This week for Movie Monday I’m back with a movie that I have only seen once and will never, ever watch again. It’s I am Legend!

Plot Synopsis: In 2009, a genetically re-engineered measles virus, originally created as a cure for cancer, turns into a lethal strain which kills 94% of those it infects, mutates 5% into predatory, nocturnal and vampiric mutants, who are extremely vulnerable to sunlight, with only 1% immune. Three years after the outbreak, US Army virologist Lieutenant Colonel Robert Neville lives an isolated life in the deserted ruins of New York City, unsure if any other uninfected humans are left in the world…

Plot: I really don’t like Horror movies, but somehow one of my college roommates convinced me to watch this. I hate that roommate for absolute destroying my ability to listen Bob Marley’s song Three Little Birds (Don’t Worry Be Happy) without bursting into tears. The irony of that fact is not lost on me, believe me. The story is okay, but honestly I will never ever watch this movie again.

Cast: The cast is okay, but with the majority of the screen time captured by Will Smith and the German Shepards who play Sam, they don’t get a bunch of chances to shine.

Cinematography: The special effects are pretty decent, but honestly it wasn’t even the most spectacular movie of that year for special effects.

Music: Like I stated above the music really gets to me, and not really in a good way. The music is good I guess because of that, but I can’t help but feel bitter about that fact.

Overall: A good movie, but honestly I can’t recommend this one to anyone who cares even a little about animals.

For those who like: Sci-Fi, Post-Apocalyptic, Drama, Action, Will Smith, Good Special Effects, a very memorable musical score.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Bookish Wednesday: The Airship by Skyler Grant

This week for Bookish Wednesday I’m back with the sequel to a fun LitRPG series I’ve covered before. It’s The Airship, Book 02 of the Laboratory Series, by Skyler Grant!

Plot Synopsis: Emma is back! The core has been transferred to an airship crashed deep on the Rim. There, Emma and Anna will encounter feuding factions, terrifying monstrosities, and new powered foes in need of becoming research experiments. With a badly damaged vessel, they must steal, scavenge, and fight for what they need to upgrade to survive. More upgrades, more insults, more science…

Plot: The plot is pretty awesome, and just as snarky as the first entry, which is excellent as that was my main draw to the first book. While fairly short it does do the plot justice and I really enjoyed this entry.

Characters: We get a ton of newcomers in this entry, and while I won’t say who is my favorite newcomer, I will say that Emma is just as crabby as always.

Overall: If you enjoyed playing Portal, again this would be the book for you. A solid sequel.

Serial Saturday: Ghosthound Chapters 41-80 by Puddles

This week for Serial Saturday I’m back with the second set of chapters in one of my favorite web novels. It’s Ghosthound Chapters 41-80 by Puddles!

Plot Synopsis: As the system initializes, the world shifts. Geography is rearragned and mixed, and levels and stats are instituted across the globe. On that night, one young man was walking through an underground tunnel, his mind on the small problems of his easy life. Because of his location during the shift, he starts in a dungeon far above his level, with no knowledge or teacher, or Newbie Village to guide him. Without a class, he struggles simply to survive in this world changed by its new connection to the Nexus. But struggle he will, for he is Randidly Ghosthound, and this is only how his legend begins…

Plot: This continues the start of Ghosthound’s rise to fame in the ruins of Earth. While these chapters are still fairly foundational, they are also still fun as hell to read. While this isn’t where I would say the series is at it’s best, it’s also just starting to take off.

Characters: We get to meet quite a few new characters in these chapters and while they are all good overall, Randidly is still my favorite by far. That being said Lyra is quite fun too.

Overall: A solid set of chapters, if you haven’t started reading this series you really ought to start.

 

Bookish Wednesday: EverRealm by Jake Bible

This week for Bookish Wednesday I’ve got another LitRPG’s series first entry. It’s EverRealm, Book 01 of the Level Dead series, by Jake Bible!

Plot Synopsis: In the 23rd century, the world is at an end, and a group of gaming and programming friends decide that their only way to survive is to discard their bodies and send their minds into the quantum matrix of a virtual gaming world. They have created the Domains and there they plan to reside forever. Except, the nightmares of reality have followed them into their new quantum dimension and those nightmares threaten to destroy it all!

Plot: The plot is pretty bad, in fact it’s so terrible that I ended up dropping the book entirely about 3 hours into the stupid thing. The whole world is at an end thing? Zombie outbreak, that somehow get’s into virtual reality because some of the smartest people left alive were so blindingly stupid as to let zombies connect to the system. It was such a stupid piece of plot mechanics that I was utterly disgusted and wanted to drop the book completely. I stuck through with it until they started describing one of the Domains, EverRealm, that is like an MMORPG that not only can you never talk bad about, but still includes perma-death for some god awful reason the author contrived up.

Even the main character says it’s a stupid reason, and this is the Domain run by the smartest guy of them all. No one that intelligent would have done such a thing by default.  I still stuck through with it as they proceed to high tail it into the world of EverRealm until they had an enemy NPC appear that literally kills you for badmouthing the game. I had had enough of the book by this point.

Characters: I’d like to tell you I remember the main character’s name, but I don’t remember it. In fact I don’t remember any of their names, the book was that dreadful, and I’m not going to listen to it to get some names again.  Sorry.

Overall: Stay far, far away from this book. This isn’t as terrible as some of the worst I’ve covered, but it comes darn close.

For those who like: Stupid plot devices and Casts of Characters who are equally idiotic.

Not for those who don’t like: Either of the above.

TNT: Everyone Else is a Returnee Book 01 by Toika

This week for Translation Necessary Thursday I’m covering the first book in a just recently completely translated series! It’s Everyone Else is a Returnee Book 01 by Toika!\

Plot Synopsis: Left out during the elementary school picnic. Left out during the middle school camp. Left out during the high school trip. I finally became a college student, and what? I’m left out from all of humanity? Yu IlHan watches over the earth alone while everybody’s away in other worlds…

Plot: The plot in this first book (each book is 25 chapters long excepting the final book which is 24) is pretty awesome. I mean I don’t think I’ve ever really enjoyed reading about a person like Yu IlHan before. He is the biggest loner in the universe. But it was very interesting and entertaining with tons of references to a bunch of Asian pop culture ranging from Doraemon to Digimon.

Characters: Yu IlHan is an awesome main character, frankly he’s probably one of my favorites of all time thus far. He’s scary smart, except about himself, but he’s also pretty hilarious. Lita is also quite fun, although she’s really not around that much in these chapters. Erta is also pretty funny, although she is prone to info dump, it’s usually pretty important info. The rest of the cast we get to meet in this book is great as well, although we’ve got a small amount compared to later on.

Overall: If you love the Isekai Genre this is a great take on it, but it’s also an awesome LitRPG at the same time. This is a must read for pretty much everyone, it’s a pretty awesome series.

For those who like: Isekai, LitRPG, Action, Adventure, Amazing Plot, Fantastic Cast of Characters.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.