The Big Dark Sky

tags: horror, mystery, sci-fi

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From Goodreads

A group of strangers bound by terrifying synchronicity becomes humankind’s hope of survival in an exhilarating, twist-filled novel by Dean Koontz, the #1 New York Times bestselling master of suspense.

As a girl, Joanna Chase thrived on Rustling Willows Ranch in Montana until tragedy upended her life. Now thirty-four and living in Santa Fe with only misty memories of the past, she begins to receive pleas—by phone, through her TV, in her dreams: I am in a dark place, Jojo. Please come and help me. Heeding the disturbing appeals, Joanna is compelled to return to Montana, and to a strange childhood companion she had long forgotten.

She isn’t the only one drawn to the Montana farmstead. People from all walks of life have converged at the remote ranch. They are haunted, on the run, obsessed, and seeking answers to the same omniscient danger Joanna came to confront.

All the while, on the outskirts of Rustling Willows, a madman lurks with a vision to save the future. Mass murder is the only way to see his frightening manifesto come to pass.

Through a bizarre twist of seemingly coincidental circumstances, a band of strangers now find themselves under Montana’s big dark sky. Their lives entwined, they face an encroaching horror. Unless they can defeat this threat, it will spell the end for humanity

Dean Koontz has written another satisfying novel - science fiction, mystery, fantasy, and horror. 

It has almost all the things I like in a novel - aliens, AI, resourceful good people, evil villains, and as a bonus, a hilarious young couple for comedic relief. A little romance, albeit one-sided. The 2 year-old AI falls in love with her creator, the handsome and elegant genius Ganesh Patel. No dogs in the novel but plenty of wild animals.

Highly recommended for Dean Koontz fans.

Jimmy Two Eyes

The Night Shift

tags: mystery, soap opera 

⭐

From Goodreads

What connects a massacre in a Blockbuster video store in 1999 with the murder of four teenagers fifteen years later?

It's New Year's Eve of 1999 when four teenagers working late are attacked at a Blockbuster video store in New Jersey. Only one inexplicably survives. Police quickly identify a suspect, the boyfriend of one of the victims, who flees and is never seen again.

Fifteen years later, four more teenagers are attacked at an ice cream store in the same town, and again only one makes it out alive. In the aftermath of the latest crime, three lives intersect: the lone survivor of the Blockbuster massacre, who is forced to relive the horrors of her tragedy; the brother of the fugitive accused, who is convinced the police have the wrong suspect; and FBI agent Sarah Keller, who must delve into the secrets of both nights to uncover the truth about the night shift murders.

Another soap opera disguised as mystery thriller. It has the same clichéd elements I have come to detest in new mystery novels:

• The rich haughty ice queen mother is becoming a staple in new books.
• A father estranged from daughter because of her career choice.
• Mentioning the race of characters as if it matters to the story.
• Most characters are cardboard cutouts with no difference in personalities for all ages and sex.
• Filled with annoying red herrings for higher page count.

Spoiler

Valley of the Dead: MalnaZidos

tags: movie, Netflix streaming. Spanish, zombies

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Valley of the Dead is a Spanish zombie movie set during the Spanish Civil War. Two opposing sides agree to a temporary alliance to deal with an army of the dead created by the Nazis. It uses a historical setting and I like it for its combination of zombies and smart comedic dialog but tells a good story. My only complaint is the English subtitles. Why are the names of people translated into English. Example: one guy named Mecha is translated to Fuse. It's a nickname like the female Matacuras (priest killer) but still. Just leave the Spanish names, not the English translated.

Recommended for zombie movie fans.

The Key To Midnight

tags: Dean Koontz, mystery, romance 

⭐⭐⭐

From Goodreads

This book was originally published under the pseudonym Leigh Nichols.

Who is Joanna Rand? Alex Hunter hasn't come to Japan to fall in love. But Joanne Rand is the most beautiful, exciting woman he has ever met. But Joanne is not who she thinks she is.

Ten years before, and halfway across the world, a brutally bizarre experiment recreated her mind. A violation so hideous that her dreams are filled with terror and her memories are a lie.

If they are ever to be free, Alex and Joanna have to reopen the dangerous door into the nightmare past. Somehow they have to find the key to midnight.

I hardly read any books by Dean Koontz published in the 70s and 80s. Dean Koontz explained that he revised the original 1979 edition, cutting 30,000 words and adding 5,000 and in August 2010, he released a "better" version in paperback. My Kindle copy was issued on November 30, 2021. 

The book is a mash-up of murder mystery, romance, Russian infiltrators, sci-fi. It is not the best Dean Koontz novel and it reads like a lethargic James Bond movie. Still a good enough read and I enjoyed it.

The Terminal List

tags: Amazon streaming, corruption, military drama, revenge

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Finally, an Amazon series that I watched and enjoyed regardless of a few flaws

*cough*honest journalist and righteous FBI agents*cough*

filmed in the dark, it's hard to see the scenes clearly

too many flash backs

last man on his list is predictable

Chris Pratt's acting is not bad and Taylor Kitsch stands out as his best buddy. This series is not for viewers with low tolerance for brutality which is necessary to convey extreme anger and thirst for revenge. One scene in particular is literally gut wrenching.😁 If you watch the series, you'll know which one I'm referring to. The death scene of the smug businessman, played convincingly by Jai Courtney, is short but still satisfying. I like that there are several witty one-liners here and there.

I have not read the book the series is based on and I plan to read it. According to reviewers on Amazon, 2 female characters, Liz and the journalist are not portrayed accurately. The journalist is supposed to be a blonde female European but here in the series is played by a short slightly overweight American of Chinese descent, the only woke hire for a main character, thank goodness. Her acting is sub par though, yelling for emphasis when it is not necessary, or sounding like a child psychiatrist. For example, on Episode 8, she was trying to convince Reece to not eliminate the next one on the list. She talks to Reece as though he is a 2 year old retard with her super clichéd lines and delivery. Ugh! Fault of director and actor herself. At least, I'm thankful the production left out the alphabet soup.

Recommended for revenge genre fans.

President Trump At The Wheel

Actual footage of Trump on Jan 6 pic.twitter.com/wwJWFrvmXK

— GTA Senator Poso (@JackPosobiec) June 28, 2022

So far, Trump’s second term has been a huge success. He has several major SCOTUS victories, looks better than ever compared to Biden, and the Jan6 theater just went full Jussie. You can’t win harder than that.

— Scott Adams (@ScottAdamsSays) June 28, 2022

Everybody knows you don't go full Jussie, man. 😂😂😂

 

Brief history of Trump hoaxes:

• Russia hoax
• 'Fine people' hoax
• Ukraine 'whistleblower' hoax
• 'This is MAGA country!' hoax
• Bleach hoax
• Trump 'church photo-op' hoax
• J6 Trump 'incitement' hoax
• Trump 'grabbed the wheel' hoax

This is all Democrats got, America.

— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) June 29, 2022

Snowflake Mountain

tags: Netflix streaming, reality show

⭐⭐⭐

Sometimes reality shows are more entertaining to watch than mediocre and badly written TV shows and movies. 

Snowflake Mountain features a group of delicate, immature 20-somethings who party hard, can’t hold down jobs and still live with their parents. These “snowflakes” — which the show defines as young people who are “overly emotional, easily offended and dramatic” — are sent into the wilderness, in an effort to push them into growing up. There is $50,000 waiting for one of them at the end of the show.

Filming took place in Cumbria, UK, in the Lake District National Park, and some filmed at The Graythwaite Estate owned by a family, the Sandys, who have lived on the 5000 acre estate for over 500 years. 

I thought after watching the first episode that it is scripted but after the second episode, I find the show is real and I ended up watching the comple series. I've grown to like a few of them and my favorite snowflakes are American Deandra Joseph and British Liam Brown. Deandra and Liam seem very real, honest, and they are so hilarious and entertaining. 

Most of the snowflakes are in their early 20s, some are overweight, don't have permanent jobs, and lazy so their parents sent them to the reality show to help them grow up a little. They did at the end. I didn't expect to like the series but I did and now I'm looking forward to the new set of snowflakes if Netflix decides to have another season. 

BTW, the word snowflake is a term that the political right dubs leftists who are easily triggered and offended and melt easily at the slight provocation. However, the term has expanded to anyone who is overly emotional and dramatic and the snowflakes in the show are non-political. I recommend the series for its entertainment value.

Persuasion...No Thank You!

 

Persuasion is the last novel written by Jane Austen and published after her death. It's a coincidence that I just finished rereading it last week so the story is still very fresh. Then I got a suggestion from Netflix an upcoming movie adaptation of the book.

I watched the trailer only to get insulted by these:

>Anne's character is perky and snarky, too forward, too modern, and extremely annoying. Austen's Anne Elliot is quiet, reserved, kind, and thoughtful.

>Turning a thought provoking satire into a 21th century almost slapstick rom-com is ill conceived and vomit inducing.

>Anne's younger sister Mary's husband is played by a Black actor so naturally the whole of his family would be black. He has a large family. Unacceptable casting #1.

>Mr. Elliot, a distant cousin and their father's presumptive heir, is played by a half Malaysian half English actor. Unacceptable casting #2.

>Lady Russell is played by a Black actress. Extremely unacceptable casting #3.

The movie would not have been as repulsive if it is just based on the novel and set in the present time. Example: Clueless took the idea from Emma and it was good. Funny and relatable without bastardizing the original. Emma with Gwyneth Paltrow is not bad but not good either although acceptable.

This is the reason why I LOATHE HOLLYWOOD WITH ALL MY HEART and I rarely watch their latest movies and TV shows. They have to change the original story, characters, skin color, etc. to fit their stupid woke virtue signaling diversity crap. Everything Hollywood [and the left, democrats, communists, etc.] touches turn to excrement. No way in hell will I watch this stupid movie. The trailer alone makes me ill. Jane Austen must be turning in her grave for making a mockery of her novel. Persuasion is not a comedy although the reader will smile at some satiric parts of the novel. I cannot wait to thumb down this idiotic movie when it arrives!

Avoid and thumb down when it appears on your Netflix suggestions

Money Heist Korea

 

Coming tomorrow, June 24, 2022 on Netflix streaming, 

Money Heist: Korea, Korean version of the Spanish drama Money Heist or La Casa de Papel.

A Gentleman In Moscow

tags: historical fiction, Russia

⭐⭐

from GoodReads

He can’t leave his hotel. You won’t want to.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Rules of Civility—a transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel.

In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, and is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him entry into a much larger world of emotional discovery.

Brimming with humor, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.

The novel published in 2016 has an impressive 4.5 star rating on GoodReads and Amazon but I was reluctant to read any books recommended by Oprah which are usually smarmy overly dramatic chick lit.

I was not wowed by the novel unlike most of the readers on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and pretty much all the book sellers with rating system. The writing is fine but I skipped tons of pages that aren't interesting. One of my complaints is the children, Nina and her daughter Sofia having the same voice as the adults as though they have no personality. It took me more than 5 days to finish the 460+ page novel. I would have devoured it in 2 days if the book is really good. 2 and a half stars.

Not recommended.