Deadline; Book Review

Deadline; A Book Review

Deadline: Book 2 in the Newsflesh trilogy

Author: Mira Grant

Genre: Science Fiction

Synopsis: The story continues  under Shaun's narration. However, he isn't alone. Georgia talks to him, but only he can hear it. Everyone thinks he is crazy, but he couldn't care less. All he cares about is getting revenge on anyone who had a hand in dealing in his beloved sister's death. 

   Now he gets the chance, when a supposed dead CDC doctor comes to his door with information that can change everything he knew. Shaun is now back on the road searching for answers.

This book is just as powerful as the first. It continues the readers emotional ride as Shaun searches for answers with his blogging team. Dare I say, that one third of the way through the book, I was already shedding tears. 

The Good: The book continued to be very well written. Shaun dealing with the grief of losing his sister gives the book a plausible dynamic. Shaun develops from this slow, unsure moving character into a more motivated person just as quickly as the plot develops. He makes a great protagonist in this novel. The reader still has the emotional connection that the readers developed in Feed.  As in Feed, I found some points hard to read because things could have been so different for Shaun. The reader learns and feels along with Shaun and the other bloggers.

   The book continues with the blog posts between chapters, including some unpublished blog posts from his, deceased, sister (Georgia Mason). The book also has a bit of a subplot between Shaun and one of his crew members, Rebecca "Becks". So it was nice to read the tender moments of the story and not everything being completely serious. It also shows how much Shaun is grieving for his sister.

   The ending was a huge surprise for me. I was absolutely dumbfounded. Left speechless, I couldn't have waited to start Blackout right away. Lucky for me I didn't have to wait. I bought the eBook right away! I won't tell you what happens at the end of the book that left me this way, but prepare yourself for the third book review.

The Bad: The book does seem to have a slow start, with Shaun just unsure of what to do. He isn't the same person in the previous novel. He doesn't go into the field like he use to, and isn't as interested in writing. He is lost without his beloved sister (not that this is bad thing. Grieving is absolutely normal). At some points it seems to lack the action that Feed had. However, it does get into it again.

The Ugly (Truth): Even though the book as slow parts, it is still a great read. The ending threw me off guard completely. The good outweighs the bad definitely here. It is a good change of pace from the perspective of Georgia, in the previous novel, to Shaun in this one. I think that many readers can handle the slow moving bits, some including the tender moments with Shaun and Becks.

   The books does seem to give hints at where it will be going. So if you can pick them up, you might be ahead of the rest. ;p

My Final Diagnosis: If you enjoyed Feed, read Deadline. You won't be disappointed. The book is great and had me more than looking forward to the final installment of the trilogy. I absolutely love this book and plan on reading the series over and over again, (yes, I think it is just that good :})

Note: The next post will be on Blackout, the third book. I have already finished reading it and am onto the next book of my choice. As always, I am taking suggestions on both books and fillers. Just leave me a comment here or on my Facebook (if you have it). Hope you guys enjoyed it!

                                                                                                                               ~Bunny~

Hard Candy: A Movie Review.

Note: So this time, it was suggested that I do a movie review for my filler. Hard Candy to be specific. Not sure if it will be another filler with the upcoming post, but it shouldn't be. I'm already halfway, if not more, through Deadline. 

Hope you enjoy.

                                                                                                                    ~Bunny~

Hard Candy

Director: David Slade

Starring: Ellen Page and Patrick Wilson. With a short appearance by Sandra Oh

Year: 2005

Runtime: 104 Minutes.

Genre: Thriller

Rating: R for disturbing violence, sexual content involving a teen and language.

Plot Synopsis: Fourteen year old, Hayley Stark, has been talking to a thirty-two year old photographer, Jeff Kohlver. After three weeks of ongoing flirtation, they decide to meet at a local cafe. The flirtation continues and Hayley proposes going over to his house. Playfully reluctant, Jeff agrees.

   Once there a game of cat and mouse starts. A game on the verge of torture. Hayley, the cat, drugs Jeff and accuses him of pedophilia. Jeff continually denies until the end.

The Good: The movie is good. Especially if you consider the budget and how long it took to shoot (18 days, $1 million.) It's not very often that you see a young woman taking the reigns of the crime, subtext, of pedophilia. Ellen Page does an amazing job portraying a young, innocent teen in the grips of an adult man with lust in his eyes. Equally giving props to Patrick Wilson. I can honestly say that every movie I watch, with him in it, I can only think of the creep he plays in Hard Candy. 

   The movie is filled with to the brim with thrilling movements. You don't know what exactly to expect with a teen at the hands of the terrorism. Page threw some curve balls, that even I wasn't expecting. I was never disappointed and glad that my father introduced the movie to me. Thanks Dad!

   The movie didn't take long to get to the suspenseful parts, only about twenty minutes. Once the suspense starts, it doesn't let up. Now I won't try to convince you this is a horror film, it isn't. This is a psychological thriller. It leaves the audience wondering the true identities of the characters and wraps up nicely at the end. This movie blew my mind away and left me only one unanswered question: Who the hell is that girl?

   The camera work was amazing. One needs to consider that they shot this from a distance and wasn't actually right up in their faces. The color draining and filling was nicely placed. I was pretty impressed with how things evolved and occurred. 

   It definitely makes the audience reconsider judging people at first glances. It also gives the audience of what could happen with meeting people online. I was impressed with how this small, innocent looking teen could take control over the situation, even when you think she didn't. 

The Bad: I can also understand the other side, the negative side, of the film. It does want answers to questions like "Who is that girl?", "Why is she involved in this?", etc. It doesn't give much of a background to Hayley and very little background to Jeff. As it does answer some questions in the end, but not all of them. 

    While, as a female, I easily rooted for Hayley and wanted Jeff to suffer. There were a few moments when I actually felt sorry for Jeff. This shouldn't really happen when you should be taking sides. Even if the pedophile tells you some horrible sob story. 

    If the audience looks at things a little more closely, than just the typical movie for enjoyment, the see a lot of faults. Hayley could carry the dead weight of a grown man? Does the director see that she probably weighs 90 pounds soaking wet? How could she have possibly planned everything to go this way? Seems unrealistic that she could do these things, even with drugging and tying him up. Not to mention that Hayley quickly moves past being the innocent teenage and into being someone way past her years. 

 

 

 The Ugly (Truth): Both sides have good arguments. I, honestly, think that it is the point of the movie. People everywhere aren't all about to agree on everything. We all know that won't happen. So it just comes down to what we, as individuals, think. So I advise you to go in, knowing that this movie could go either way with you. If you choose to look at it in the form of entertainment, as it is, or to take a more calculated, in depth look at everything, that plenty of people manage to do, it is up to you.

 

 

 

My Final Diagnosis:  Watch the movie. It can really open you mind, especially if you're into psychological thrillers. While there are negative aspects other audience members might think rule this film, I think this film is worth the watch. The audience can just overlook some of the neglectful things and just enjoy the film. I still found myself enjoying the movie, even though I can be over-analytical..

I could say you won't be disappointed, but I won't, as it just might be for you. I know I wasn't. This film is suppose to controversial and I will let it stand at that.  I would like to hear your opinions on it, though. 

Did you love or hate the movie, or anything in between? 

 

 

Next Post: As I said before, I am currently reading Deadline. I hope to finish is and plan for my next post to be the review of the book. I am still looking for ideas on fillers, so please feel free to leave me a suggestion here or on Facebook. Until next time, readers.

 

 

                                                                             ~Bunny~

Feed Book Review

Note: Please forgive my book reviewing format. I am trying to find a way I like to review the best. I am all up for suggestions from you guys. Not just for review formats but for books, as well. Just leave a comment for me on here or Facebook, if you have me added. Love to hear what you guys think.

Also, I know this one is early. I wanted to make up for Twilight being so late. Remember, as I am reading books, I will be posting fillers on whatever topic. Could be a hot topic, random, or suggested. Hope you guys enjoy this one.

  

                                                                                                      ~Bunny~

Feed; A Book Review 

 Feed: Book 1 of Newsflesh Trilogy

Author: Mira Grant (Pseudonym for Seanan McGuire)

Genre: Science Fiction

Synopsis: Feed follows a trio of bloggers in a post-zombie apocalyptic world. Georgia (George) who likes to report the facts and is focused on getting to the truth of a story. Her brother, Shaun, who prefers the adrenaline-inspired chances to poke a zombie with a stick whenever the chance presents itself. Their friend, Buffy, who is a fiction writer. She writes poems and stories about whatever the hot topic of the hour is. 
   Twenty years after The Rising, in an America where zombies are part of everyday existence. The three bloggers are chosen to follow a senator on his path to become President. This also provides them with the opportunity to start their own blogging network, as opposed to writing for one. Along their journey, they encounter so much more than expected. A story of a lifetime, filled with politics, espionage, terrorism and murder. They will risk everything for the truth. 

Don't worry it has a good dose of zombies too! 


I love this book and am currently looking forward to reading the sequel. As in my previous blog, I will post reasons I feel that this book is amazing.


1. The characters are intelligently written. They are well rounded and their love and dedication doesn't become uncomfortable. A person can easily find them believable as they are neither dull nor perfect. I found myself identifying with them and even rooting for them.

2. An emotional attachment occurred because the characters were written well. I found myself feeling how each character felt. It was as if they were my friends. One cannot help but get emotionally attached. The blog entries between characters made it feel as if the reader is closer to them. This also made it harder to read some of the more difficult parts as they happened. Honestly, I found myself distraught to the point I couldn't continue (at least for a few moments).


3. The plot is amazing. Grant managed to keep me on my toes as I tried to figure things out along with George, Shaun and Buffy. I found that with all the twists and turns I was unable to predict what would happen next. This book keeps the reader wanting to read. I loved every moment of it. 


4. Zombies! Of course, anyone who knows me knows that this would make it on my list. However, it is more than just zombies. Instead of the book ending when the zombie arrive, that is where it picks up. More specifically 20 years after it occurred. Honestly, when I first picked up the books I thought the premise would be like any other zombie book I have read. Although, it did start out that way, but the more I read the more I realized that this wasn't a typical zombie book. I wasn't displeased with what I read. Even more to like, was the fact that the idea of the zombies rising was thought of as an era (much like The Great Depression). Even though this didn't turn out to be the zombie book I expected, it did have a good amount of zombies to ensure that the reader always knew that this was the life now.


5. This goes along with four. The world didn't end, like most books or movies might make it out to be. The Rising was an era and humanity suffered through it. They also survived and fought back, taking back cities, while others remained quarantined. Grant made something that potentially could have screwed humanity over big time into an amazing back-story. It also provided the the source for blogging becoming the way to receive news (and entertainment). 

6. The subtext of the book. George and Shaun show what loyalty, love and honesty are (among other things). They show that their dedication goes to no end. The truth is worth getting at all costs. This is something to live by. Now just to keep on, these are not just the qualities they exhibit. Determination, strength, teamwork, responsibility, and passion are others. These all being great qualities to admire in people. Just remember, I said they weren't perfect so be sure they have their faults and they do show.


7. Grant went the distance. What I mean is that to ensure that readers could understand how The Rising happened, Grant studied virology. Don't worry I won't give out too much information. I do want you to explore this world and discover things for yourself. To continue, Grant expanded beyond the idea of a zombie apocalypse and went into ways of adapting. For instance, the aspect of testing a person for the infection when a person leaves a quarantined zone. This made me stop and think "Why didn't I think of this?" I was fairly impressed.


My Final Diagnosis: Read it, right now! This book is well worth the time to read, whether you borrow or buy it. I would recommend this to any science fiction nut, especially if they enjoy a few zombies ;p. Feed grabs the readers attention and refuses to let go until the very end (and what an ending it is!). It had me in tears as I had to face the truth of the situation and wanting to know "why". So whatever you do, read it. You won't be disappointed.


Book 2 of the Newsflesh trilogy, Deadline, being read and a review to come soon (perhaps not the next one.)  

Next post will probably be a filler. Let me know in a comment, here or Facebook, what you would like it to be. I'll take a look by Sunday evening and come up with a topic. Hope you enjoyed this post :}


                                                                                                  ~Bunny~

Twilight (series) Book Review.

Note: I'm doing Twilight first, as I am in the process of reading Feed by Mira Grant. Some people may have seen my opinion on the series on Facebook. That is fine because I am going to post it again ;p.  Also I didn't post sooner because I had other things going on. I should be finishing Feed soon so that I can post it by Monday/Tuesday. I will try to get new posts out by then as well. Hope you enjoy even if you don't agree :}.

                                                                                                           ~Bunny~                                         

Twilight; A book review

My Opinion: I honestly hated the series. I would never consider recommending this series to anyone, even if it were the last books on the planet. Now I enjoy a good vampire book, love story, etc. However these books were on the verge of ridiculousness. I had an extremely hard time trying to read these books. They didn't hold my attention and they truly lacked imagination.

   Twilight confuses me. I don't understand how people can identify with characters or get lost in reading. More than half the time I was reading it, I managed  to zone off thinking about some other interesting read. I wasn't captured by the words or characters.

   Now you may think that I haven't come up with things that are relevant to my opinions/finding. As a matter of fact I have a list, that I am happily going to share with you. 

Reasons I HATE Twilight:

1. There is no real plot to the books (which I am sure leads to the movies). It feels like a glorified fan fiction of a vampire love story that turned into wildfire. Wildfire that we still cannot get rid of. Now when I say it doesn't have a real plot, I don't mean lack of plot. If there were no plot at all there would be no book. The plot is entirely thin and predictable. The plot consists of short burst(s) of action between long points of drawn out boredom. 

2. Twilight is sexist. Yes, I really mean that. Bella set the feminism movement back quite a bit. She is a very bad influence on impressionable young women. Her reaction to losing her "soul mate" was to fall into a pit of despair. Something which, as women today, doesn't need to happen. Bella shows no interest in being an independent person. She is often relying on Edward to come save her. Women today are quite capable of handling themselves just as well as, if not better than, men. 

3. As much as some of you might disagree; Edward isn't romantic. Face it, climbing into someone's room to watch them sleep all night isn't cute. It's scary and shows an unhealthy relationship with the object of affection (Bella in this case). Edward is an emotionally and mentally abusive stalker. There are many examples of this during the book, but so as not to make this excruciatingly lengthy I won't name them all. 

4. Meyer has a habit of creating under-developed characters. Everyone has the personality of a bag of rocks. I hear that people can "identify" with characters. However, that is solely because each character is generalized. It would be like giving everyone a bowl of oatmeal at breakfast. Then telling them each one is different  because the bowl is a different color. Twilight, just like oatmeal, is completely bland and could use a few kicks of flavor.

5. Meyer has the descriptive ability of a third grader, and that could be an insult to third graders these days. She (figuratively) raped the English language with her misuse of words. repetitive nature and lack of imagination. Even her grammar and spelling need work. She could have easily used a thesaurus to step up the adjectives used to describe characters. Instead it was always the same words over and over again. Meyer could definitely stepped up from one - two syllable words to three or four. At least strive to be impressive with your word usage.

6. I know the books are a work of fiction. However, Meyer could have made attempt to have some historical accuracies. It wouldn't have been that laborious to sort through some history text (Hell use Google!) to make the background of each "vampire" history more rich. I didn't even have to go through any sort of documentation to say "Hey, that wouldn't have happened like that." when it came to their histories. 

7. The book as atrocious subtexts. I have mentioned some of these above, but for this purpose I will reiterate. Abuse (mental/emotional), sexism, rape, pedophilia and suicide are just some of them. Most of these are obvious (even for subtext), but rape might be hard for the reader to fathom. Let me awaken your mind's eye with this. After Edward and Bella's marriage, they move to have intercourse for the first time. Bella awakens to bruises on her body, yet no memory on what exactly occurred the night before. This is typically the result of the date-rape drug Rohypnol  (roofies). I understand in the book that the sex was consensual, however, any sexually active person should know that this isn't normal sex. 

My final diagnosis: Don't waste your time reading this lack of entertainment. If you want something richer in text, creatively and well written than I suggest you go read Anne Rice's books (before she saw the light of "God"). 

What are your thoughts?

Zombies: Our Future

   Zombies  have been the talk lately, even in the news. Recently being the "Miami Zombie". Everyone has their own opinion about whether or not zombie/zombie apocalypse is real or could happen. Both sides have decent arguments and answers to questions. Personally I think it will at some point or time.

   I can't predict when it will happen. Its questionable if it would happen in our lifetime, although the news shows "signs" of zombie craziness. Honestly, in my opinion, if there were actual signs of a zombie apocalypse the news wouldn't be showing it. It would be like a media blackout about it. We would only know about it when it got out of hand and infected the rest of us, or too large to control. Also we could only guess on how this happened to us. I highly doubt there would be  a reason it did happen throughout the media. If there were something about it, I doubt that it would be the truth. Maybe part of it, but not the whole truth.

   So we can only guess how it would occur. I have my own prediction on how it would occur. I believe it will be our own doing. Now when I say "our" I don't necessarily mean that it would be America causing this chaos. It could be any country. However, I mean the human race will be at fault. More specifically, I think that will be the result of a race for the best tool for biological warfare. Biological terrorism gone wrong. Now this is only my view on it, completely opinion. Now I'm sure readers would like to wonder how I come to this conclusion. So I have a little story to tell (opinion only). This shouldn't be taken seriously by Anyone!

                          Zombies, the Story!

   America is a cautious country. It is also needy, selfish and on the verge of paranoia. With a need to always be the first and the best; war is  no different. There is an ever lasting need to compete for the highest and best recognition. There is just no telling when this could possibly happen. We are always evolving. Everything is constantly changing: technology, people, and warfare included. The always eager country needed to stay ahead of the times, especially in warfare.

   America is faced with the possibility of threat. Its an ongoing thing with many countries continuing to develop weapons of mass destruction. Enemy faces are everywhere. America decides to act fast. The decide to move ahead and work towards a new weapon front: biological warfare. A quick way to neutralize any enemy they may face; a preemptive strike. 

   The government sets up a lab and puts a group of scientists to work. They need to quickly come up with something that is fast acting and will get the job done. A virus is quickly made by mutating two already existing ones together. Now I'm such a task like this just wouldn't happen in a matter or weeks or months, but the team would move as quickly as possible to get what was needed done. Now they have a super virus. One that starts on the cellular level, destroying everything as it enters the blood stream. 

   At some point they need to test this new, super virus. At first they test it on pig flesh, as it resembles that of people. Then, once it has shown that it does what they want, they move onto our primate relatives. Now one of two things happen once they inject it. Either the primate dies, as they foresee and they move to test on a human or the primate becomes infected and the circle of hell begins. Either case works for this hypothetical situation, but for now with will go with the primate just dying. 

   So now the government has one final test. The human one. Well I can't imagine anyone willingly wanting to test this on themselves. I'm sure the government can't either. So the government improvises. They capture a known terrorist and, for his crimes, sentence him to death. Now the media will be told its by lethal injection (the humane type) and they will take it from there, but the government has other plans for him (or her, really doesn't matter).
   The elite scientists set him up in a room to observe him. He is hooked to machines that monitor heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, etc. However, they also what to observe the stages that he goes through, so not only are they observing from a safe distance but there are a couple also in the room. (As you can imagine, he is strapped down.) They inject him, and from that moment they chart the virus' rampage through the body. The terrorist gets the things we would imagine: fever, chills, vomiting blood, paling of the skin, etc. They  continue to observe and chart the progress. Hours have passed (the virus would act quicker in bodies of compromised immune systems) and its showing signs that he should be dying soon. Finally the moment has come that his heart monitor flat-lines. 

   Happy that they created the virus the government wanted, they prepare the final steps. Curious, as scientists typically are, they set in motion his autopsy and clearing the room. What they fail to realize that, even though still hooked to the monitor, the (now) corpse is starting to twitch and move slightly. It is the mild groaning that catches their attention. When they turn to examine him, they don't quite believe what they are seeing. No pulse, not heart beat, and no breathing; yet he's moving and groaning. 

   At that point, the virus has done its complete job. It has also confused the currently gawking scientists. After all this isn't some horrible movie. The, now, zombie starts making violent movies. Being stronger than in life, he's (perhaps) able to free and arm. Though, not enough to cause any real danger, the scientists try to restrain him again (with some help). The zombie continues to  fight, claw, attempt to bite into the closest flesh possible. Terrified, the scientists have no clue what to do. They had never actually seen something of this caliber.

   So the troops are sent in to handle the situation and the smart guys are removed. However, once in the clear, one scientist doesn't realize doesn't realize that not only did he get scratched but it appears that coagulated blood is around it. When he does notice, he thinks nothing of it. It is just a scratch after all, right? So he cleans up and heads home. His day has been quite exhausting.

  I'm sure you can guess what happens. Either he turns into the abominable creature, he helped to make, and bites/kills his family or he unknowingly passes it on to them before turning. He kisses his wife and the virus passes by way of saliva and because it takes a bit longer to absorb into the blood stream, she takes longer to show symptoms. Meanwhile, little Suzie got hurt on the playground and needed mommy to kiss it better. Boom! Another infected. This happens until everything spirals out of control.

   Next thing you know your neighbors are looking for your flesh. Friends and family are either trying to eat you or have managed to survive as well. The question is, though, what do you do for survival? 

 

With the thought of a virus turning humanity into flesh craving bastards, it leaves me (and maybe you) with some questions.

Is there a possibility of a cure if you have only been infected and haven't turned yet?

Is there a possibility of a percent of people being immune to this virus?

Could you cut off the spread of the virus if you were bitten on your hand/arm/leg/foot and it was amputated fast enough?

Logically thinking, the answer to each of these questions should be a resounding "yes".

Everyday we face the possibility of being infected with some virus and while some there are cures and others have none, it doesn't mean that there couldn't be. I don't mean that we would immediately find one. It would be a process, much like creating it.

An immunity to the virus is also logical. There are immunities to plenty of viruses. I'm not saying that a ton of people would have it. Perhaps just a small percentile of the whole world's population. With that thinking, it could also mean a quicker, potential cure.

Finally, if the virus starts to infect where it enters and can only spread as quickly as blood travels through the body. Then there is a possibility that, if bitten far enough away from that heart, there is  a chance of survival if action is taken quickly.

These are only some of the questions and possible answers.

I know I said I would be doing book reviews, but I also need fillers while I am reading said books. This topic is a clue to the book review I'll be doing on here. The book will be Feed by Mira Grant.

I hope you guys enjoy everything. Just remember, this is all my opinion. I don't mean to offend anyone with my views. Whether it be my opinion about a book or the topic of my fillers.

Also I happily accept requests for books, along with comments on what you all think.

I might even post my Twilight series review on here, even some of you have read it before.  Enjoy and have a good night.

                                                                                            ~Bunny~