John le Carré's classic novels deftly navigate readers through the intricate shadow worlds of international espionage with unsurpassed skill and knowledge and have earned him -- and his hero, British Secret Service agent George Smiley -- unprecedented worldwide acclaim.
In this classic masterwork, le Carré expands upon his extraordinary vision of a secret world as George Smiley goes on the attack.
In the wake of a demoralizing infiltration by a Soviet double agent, Smiley has been made ringmaster of the Circus (aka the British Secret Service). Determined to restore the organization's health and reputation, and bent on revenge, Smiley thrusts his own handpicked operative into action. Jerry Westerby, "The Honourable Schoolboy," is dispatched to the Far East. A burial ground of French, British, and American colonial cultures, the region is a fabled testing ground of patriotic allegiances and a new showdown is about to begin.
I was compelled to reread The Honourable Schoolboy after reading The Matchmaker: A Spy In Berlin which I borrowed because of high rating and glowing reviews, comparing it to works of Graham Greene and John le Carré. No way! The story and main character Anne of The Matchmaker are dull dull dull, the novel devoid of suspense. Nice try, Mr. Paul Vidich and promoters, but it was a no and zero star for me.
It was 10 years ago when I last read The Honourable Schoolboy which I deem the best of the George Smiley Versus Karla trilogy. The storytelling is beautifully written and brilliant with le Carré's signature biting sense of humor, and characterization is topnotch. Still 5-star out of 5 spy thriller.
The novel is set mostly in Asia - Hong Kong, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, a little bit in China and Tuscany, Italy. Extra point for making me nostalgic re familiar Hong Kong scenes such as Wanchai, Causeway Bay, Mid-Levels, Victoria Peak, Happy Valley, the shops, atmosphere, ferry, and people, etc.
True crime writer Wylie Lark doesn’t mind being snowed in at the isolated farmhouse where she’s retreated to write her new book. A cozy fire, complete silence. It would be perfect, if not for the fact that decades earlier, at this very house, two people were murdered in cold blood and a girl disappeared without a trace.
As the storm worsens, Wylie finds herself trapped inside the house, haunted by the secrets contained within its walls—haunted by secrets of her own. Then she discovers a small child in the snow just outside. After bringing the child inside for warmth and safety, she begins to search for answers. But soon it becomes clear that the farmhouse isn’t as isolated as she thought, and someone is willing to do anything to find them.
Oh for Pete's sake! Another highly rated "thriller" on GoodReads and Amazon but the book makes no sense and has zero entertainment value. It's a snoozefest from the first paragraph down to the last. It is poorly written with 3 POVs and timelines, going back and forth, back and forth, back and forth...Wylie is one of the dumbest fictional characters I have ever read.
Murder, kidnapping and imprisonment, rape, torture, more grisly murders that lasted for 22 years. If you are a normal person, don't bother reading unless you are not and love these icky stuff.
Michael McDowell was proclaimed “the finest writer of paperback originals in America” by Stephen King, and “one of the best writers of horror in this country” by Peter Straub.
Now, McDowell’s masterpiece—the serial novel, Blackwater—returns to thrill and terrify a new generation of readers, with all six volumes available for the first time as a single e-book.
Featuring an insightful new introduction by John Langan, Blackwater traces more than fifty years in the lives of the powerful Caskey family of Perdido, Alabama, under the influence of the mysterious and beautiful—but not quite human—Elinor Dammert.
The Flood heralds the arrival of a visitor who will change the Caskey family—and the town—forever…
When the town builds The Levee, it proves a vain attempt to control a horrific power that can never be contained…
The House hides terrible secrets that whisper in closed rooms and scrabble at locked doors…
The War reveals family secrets more deadly and devastating than anything Perdido has ever dreamed in its deepest nightmares…
The Fortune brings happiness and power—but even greater terror…
And finally, the mysterious saga of the Caskey family ends the only way it can—in terrible judgment and fury delivered under the cover of a relentless, earth-shattering Rain.
The book was originally published as a series of six volumes in 1983 and issued recently as one book. Wow! I didn't notice it has more than 800 pages. I couldn't put the book down, kept on reading from the first word to the last. It is a family saga a la Dallas, set in early 1900 but is more Southern Gothic than ordinary soap opera. It is equally sweet and creepy and I like the author's wit and sense of humor.
A river monster crawls out of the river, takes the form of a human, and marries the eldest son of the wealthiest family, disregarding the matriarch opposing the union. They have 2 daughters, one a full human and one half river monster.
The book is hard to categorize and some readers put it under the horror genre. It is a little bit specially when some characters unexpectedly are torn limb by limb like a ragdoll while still alive, one character's head torn and impaled with lumber from a moving truck. Yikes! There are also a few vengeful ghosts living in a closet, mother-in-law from hell who has unreasonable behavior towards everyone including her children and grandchildren. Very Southern gothic. And the children, oh my, the children.
tags: comedy, drama, post-metal music, Netflix streaming, teen movie
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
from IMDB
Two kids want to start a heavy metal band in a high school where exactly two kids care about heavy metal. They try to find a bass player, and fail but they do find a girl who is very good at cello. If the three of them can't settle their differences and work together, they're never going to win the Battle of the Bands.
I couldn't care less if the movie is rated unsatisfactory by "professional" reviewers. Yes, it is clichéd and has a predictable ending but it is funny and engaging. I loved it. Sometimes, Netflix comes up with an enjoyable movie about high schoolers that is worth a second watch.
Another Japanese TV show with children as young as 2½ years old running errands such as shopping, delivery, or doing chores ALONE. That's absolutely crazy! Only in Japan and I think in South Korea too. It's amazing the children can communicate properly with adults in the shops and can identify different vehicles such as police cars, buses, etc. Of course, a TV crew is filming so there isn't any danger of them getting hit by a car or snatched by perverts.
On the first episode, the 2 year 9 month old boy has a gross yellowish snot, walking 1 kilometer all the way to his house, dragging the flowers on the road, completing the 3 items to buy for his mother. Kawaii! Very entertaining and some of the kids are natural comedians and some have boundless energy. The camera people must be exhausted with the 2 children running and running even after going up 200 steps. The series is quite addicting to watch.
#1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz delivers a thrilling novel of suspense and adventure, as the lives of strangers converge around a mystery unfolding high in the Colorado mountains—and the balance of the world begins to tilt….
In the stillness of a golden September afternoon, deep in the wilderness of the Rockies, a solitary craftsman, Grady Adams, and his magnificent Irish wolfhound Merlin step from shadow into light…and into an encounter with enchantment. That night, through the trees, under the moon, a pair of singular animals will watch Grady's isolated home, waiting to make their approach.A few miles away, Camillia Rivers, a local veterinarian, begins to unravel the threads of a puzzle that will bring all the forces of a government in peril to her door.At a nearby farm, long-estranged identical twins come together to begin a descent into darkness. In Las Vegas, a specialist in chaos theory probes the boundaries of the unknowable.On a Seattle golf course, two men make matter-of-fact arrangements for murder. Along a highway by the sea, a vagrant scarred by the past begins a trek toward his destiny.
In a novel that is at once wholly of our time and timeless, fearless and funny, Dean Koontz takes readers into the moment between one turn of the world and the next, across the border between knowing and mystery. It is a journey that will leave all who take it Breathless.
Breathless is one of Dean Koontz books that I skipped reading because at the time the synopsis sounded the same as his other books. I was wrong to presume that Breathless has the same old same old supernatural sci-fi mystery. Good against evil is ever present but the story is more spiritual IMHO. Maybe I'm wrong but that's my opinion. The novel dismisses the belief of man's evolution and I agree with the novel that there is a creator. Grady Adams and his friend Camilla believe that the animals with human like intelligence that suddenly materialized in the woods belong to a new "created" species and did not evolve from some organism. Puzzle and Riddle, the names given to them by Grady Adams, are not only cute like small children, but very intelligent and adapt quickly to humans and the Irish Wolfhound. Although they cannot speak, they have their own way of communicating.
tags: Netflix movie, thriller wannabe, worst movie ever made
my rating: gazillion goose eggs００００００００００
from Netflix
A man breaks into a tech billionaire's empty vacation home, but things go sideways when the arrogant mogul and his wife arrive for a last-minute get-away.
"Arrogant mogul" description is inaccurate. I didn't see any arrogance in his character. The tech mogul is matter-of-fact and not flaunting his riches to the envious vacation home occupier.
What an embarrassment! The movie is a major fail in every category.
Acting -The only acceptable performance is done by Jesse Plemons who plays the husband. The other 3 actors Are. Truly. Awful. They have neither facial expressions nor believable delivery of lines.
Illogical Script - Extremely inane because nobody who is supposed to be smart to become a billionaire will leave a loaded gun inside an unlocked drawer in an empty vacation house. If you have a gun to use for your safety, you either store it where you reside everyday, not in a weekend home, or carry it with you everyday, or hire a bodyguard. A spare gun in a vacation home should be kept in a strong box if he is stupid to insist one should be kept there. Obviously, the script writer doesn't know anything about guns and its purpose. The stranger who decides to "experience being a a billionaire by squatting in the vacation home" is only there maybe for a week or days which does not serve his purpose. What an idiotic idea. He did not intend to stay there forever, so why did he declare he wanted to live like a billionaire? Since it is a vacation home, there are no food. The occupier still needs to go out and buy them. He can only enjoy the swimming pool, the sauna, the alcoholic drinks, and the house but nothing else. He is only seen drinking beer or some bottled drink. That's it. He never used the pool nor the sauna. Killing the only believable entrepreneur character is the dumbest idea ever. This movie is written mainly for lazy socialists and brainless viewers who envy rich accomplished people to satisfy their wish in "eating" and killing the rich.😠 There are no backstories for all 3 main characters to understand the stupid wife and the equally d'oh! stupid occupier. The late arrival of a Latino groundskeeper is contrived. He starts doing some noisy work outside which is a head scratcher. He is using a leaf blower or some tool that makes loud noise but the property has no green lawn nor trees very near the house. It is xeriscaped, no grass around and the driveway to the house. The ground is pristine. What is he using the tool for? His death is unnecessary and he is portrayed as lacking in common sense too. Rayciss!
Directing and Cinematography - amateurs
Music - amateur, computer generated garbage, annoying, and incongruous to the particular scenes
Entertainment Value - NIL. Watching paint dry or waiting for water to boil is more exciting. Trust me.
I love Sturgill Simpson's new bluegrass, country, old Appalachian music album, The Ballad Of Dood & Juanita. The album is very short like an EP, 10 tracks 28 minutes but the songs tell an interesting story that I'm imagining it as a movie, really "cinematic" lyrics. Someone should make a film based on the album and sell it to Netflix just like Sound & Fury. Yeah!
Tracks
1. Prologue
Come hear a tale, that awful trails of old Kentucky hills
Hear a story from the year they started hiding stills Back in pioneering days of 1862 About a maiden named Juanita, and a man called Dood Story of it's time, when time was tough on a man When all he had to get by was a pail and powder can Ol' Dude was an eagle eye, Juanita was his love He was a mighty mountain man, she was his one true love
2. Ol' Dood (Part 1)
Had a monster of a mule, was a mighty fine steed Sham, and Sam, a tomahawk, and that flintlock's all he need Finding food, and finding trouble, and always taking heat Any man who crossed him was surely gonna bleed And he'd stretch you up and burn you For calling him half-breed
3, One On The Saddle, One On The Ground
First time ol' Dood laid eyes on Juanita He knew then and there that she was the one She gave him a love every man knows is needed She gave him a daughter, she gave him a son
One day while Juanita was out in the garden A bandit rode up without making a sound Dood was working the plow far away from his rifle Tried to get to it, but the bandit drew down
Last thing he remembered was Juanita screaming As the world faded black and Dood crumpled down When he came to the bandit was nowhere to be seen His true love Juanita, nowhere to be found
A man and his rifle, a mule, and his hound One in the saddle, one on the ground
Saw the ball had passed through Clean as a church fold And the wounds washed up by Sam, his old hound So he saddled up Shamrock and powdered his rifle And put on his old hat, worn, weathered and brown
Told his son to stay strong Take care of his sister 'Til daddy returned, with mama safe and sound Then they set out together to go find Juanita Old Dood in the saddle, and Sam on the ground Vowing never to stop 'til Juanita was found
A man and his rifle, a mule, and his hound One in the saddle, one on the ground One in the saddle, one on the ground
4.Shamrock
Never was a finer breed than the steed who was Shamrock
Plain to see by his confirmation that he came from finest stock
Daddy was black mammoth jack, mama was a thoroughbred mare
Had four white feet on a buckskin coat, blonde mohawk in his hair
Stood about 19 hands, didn't need no kick to go
With ol' Dood up top, deep in the saddle, hollering
Whoa, boy, whoa
Whoa, boy, whoa
Only ever had one rider, anyone else was gettin' bucked
Cross any kind of land, through the rain, snow, and muck
Surefooted as a billy goat, with 33 inch ears
Clog dance on a snake with his front two feet, give coyotes the rear
Kick so hard it'll send 'em up and out the stratosphere
Make a coyote fly so far, it wouldn't land until next year
From the hightop to the holler, no place Sham can't go
With ol' Dood up top, deep in the saddle, hollering
Whoa, boy, whoa
Whoa, boy, whoa
Ain't scared to cross that river, jump clear across that creek
Steed don't need no shoes when his hooves is one foot thick
Leather and tack can't hold him back, he'll bite right through a bit
Rope bridle made of mooring line was the only thing that'd fit
Hot on the bandits trail, fence posting through the snow
Ol' Dood up top, high in the saddle, hollering
Go, boy, go
Go, boy, go;
Go, boy, go
Go, boy, go
Here's the live version
5. Played Out
Still no Juanita after 5 days and 5 nights of searching. The sad part - Sam died.
6. Sam
He was the hound of hounds
He was the wonder of all walkers He loved howling at the moon He loved treeing that raccoon
Most of all he was my best friend And he's gone too soon
7.Juanita
(ft. Willie Nelson)
Juanita, where'd your mama get that name There's no senoritas from the mountains where you came And if I ever saw one She wouldn't be pretty as you With black hair so long And soft eyes so blue
Juanita, I'll search the world 'til you're in my hands Juanita, I'll find you I'll find you again
8. Go In Peace
A group of Cherokee found Dood and Shamrock passed out. They recognize him as a Shawnee and they are brought to the Chief where Juanita is safe and sound. She was traded for a horse by the bandit, McClure. Ol' Dood, Juanita, and Shamrock went back home.
9.Epilogue Now that mama's safe and sound All peaceful and secure He set back out on Shamrock To find and kill McClure It didn't take him very long To track old Seamus down McClure wanted Juanita back And wanted to be found
These past two months I’ve realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands. That time will come. But it’s not now. I love my teammates, and I love my supportive family. They make it all possible. I’m coming back for my 23rd season in Tampa. Unfinished business LFG pic.twitter.com/U0yhRKVKVm
I am neither a sports nor Tom Brady fan but I saw a Tom Brady retirement playlist on Freegal 2 months ago which may no longer be applicable if Tom is really going back to play. So I made a playlist to make fun of and mock wishy washy Tom. 😒
