Book Review: The Immortal Circus: Final Act by A. R. Kahler (Cirque des Immortels #3)

Hello my lovely readers!
I just finished the final installment of A. R. Kahler’s Immortal Circus trilogy and I am beyond pissed. Want to why? Keep on reading…

The Immortal Circus: Final Act (Cover from Goodreads)

The Plot:
Vivienne finally know what she’s been running from for so long. But instead of making her life easier, it all just got even more complicated. Especially since the demon Kassia is about the make hell break loose and war seems inevitable…

 

The Rating:
You know, I’ve had my problems with this series and mixed feelings about the whole thing.
However, the final novel seemed very promising. Despite a few confusing moments (and big gaping holes in the logic) the third part was very intriguing and I was very excited to see where Kahler would lead us.
Everything was good until the final two chapters and the epilogue. Just was just about the worst ending ever. You know who in highschool you just wrote “and then she woke up and realized everything was just a dream” when you couldn’t come up with a good end for a story?

Advertisements

Book vs. Movie: The Circle

Hey guys!
It’s book vs. movie time. Today I chose a very recent adaptation released in 2017. The Circle is based on David Eggers 2013 novel. So let’s get down to business!

 

The Plot:
Mae just got very lucky. Her friend Ally got her a job at the Circle. The single most influential company in the world. They are not only revolutionizing the internet but also the world. Mae is eager to become part of everything circle related and ends up being the flagship of the company by going fully transparent and streaming every aspect of her life…

 

Book vs. Movie:
David Eggers wrote a fascinating and dark novel that hits the spot. He brings up so many ideas and even if some of them may sound a bit weird or ridiculous at first, I am convinced that the world he pictures isn’t far away. What he mentions feels very credible which is exactly why this very Orwellian story is so scary.
While is ideas are highly intriguing, his characters are not. Especially Mae, the main character, seems to be incapable of forming a single (critical) thought of her own. She annoyed me just so much, I wanted to smack her and shake her. I understand that the only way for the story to work like this is a characters like hers, but still – Eggers had me rolling my eyes at her several times. Let’s be honest, not everything makes sense to 100% but it’s still a very good book.
However, the movie is a bit of a letdown. While the in the novel Eggers takes his time to let the full implications of everything sink in, the film presentation just sucks.

Movie Mania: Dracula Untold

Hey guys!
It’s time for another review. Today we’ll look into Dracula Untold, the 2014 take on the story of the Transylvanian prince. Let’s see how it turned out!

 

The Plot:
In short: Dracula Untold focuses not on the bloodsucking vampire but on the man Dracula was before. We find out how he finally became one of the most iconic creatures of horror literature and film…

 

The Rating:
I had pretty high hopes for this one as the trailer seemed very promising.
But, boy, this turned out to be so crappy. First of all, I don’t even know what it is supposed to be. It’s not really dark enough to be a horror film. Then it’s also too sentimental to work as action flick. And for a historical epic it’s too glamorized. Within the first couple of minutes you can already tell that the movie makers tried hard to create a hybrid of some sort but definitely failed the attempt.

American Horror Story: Season 7 (Cult) – A Review

Hey Guys!
I neglected to give my two cents on the last season of American Horror Story which was titled Cult. It took me a while to get my thoughts in order on that one, so let’s see about it before season 8 starts this fall!

 

The Plot:
Ally is very distraught by the results of the 2016 presidential election which was won by Donald Trump. Several of her long-standing phobias seem to be taking over and Ally fears she’s losing her mind. But is it really her imagination? Or is somebody targeting her?

 

The Rating:
This season was weird. I mean, all AHS seasons are weird, but with this one it took me some time to get pulled in.
Not everything about this season made sense. But apart from that, my problem was that things were pictured to be very black and white. It started out very promising but seemed to be going in many different directions, some of them featuring plot holes and not coming together all that well. 

Book Review: The Immortal Circus: Act Two by A. R. Kahler (Cirque des Immortels #2)

Hey Guys!
Remember my review on Act One of The Immortal Circus by A. R. Kahler? Well, I just finished Act Two. So without further ado, let’s get started!

The Immortal Circus: Act Two by A. R. Kahler (Cover from Goodreads)

 

The Plot:
No matter how hard Vivienne tried to run from her past, it seems to be catching up with her. Despite her new life with at the circus with her glittering boyfriend Kingston, visions keep plaguing her. Is she strong enough to find out what she tried to escape? And how does it tie in with the war to come?

 

The Rating:
Act Two is definitely better than Act One. However, I am still not happy.
The story get slightly more interesting and you keep reading out of fascination (not just out of pure obligation to finish the book). I have a hard time really caring for any of the characters, so my connection with the novel is shallow at best.
At least things get moving and the plot moves forward. That’s a thumbs up on this front. Kahler did good on that respect. But as I’ve mentioned in my last review, The Immortal Circus is his first series of books. And that shows. I’m not sure whether I can keep up with his style of writing for another novel. It just not as refined and he keeps repeating himself a lot. If it were just one book, I might be okay with it, but for three books straight this is rather annoying. 

Book vs. Movie: The Time Machine (1960)

Hello my lovely readers!
For this book vs. movie post I checked out one the most influential science fiction novellas of all time: The Time Machine by H. G. Wells and the 1960 adaptation which marks a milestone in sci-fi films!

 

The Plot:
A couple of friends arrive at the home of the inventor George. It January 5th 1900. The guys are surprised when after some initial delay George arrives – exhausted and clearly shaken. He claims that he’s been travelling through time since the group had last met…

 

Book vs. Movie:
Let’s see about the novel.
I was absolutely fascinated by Wells’ amount of imagination. He wrote the novella in 1895, so anything even resembling time travelling was yet to become a think to talk about. That’s why The Time Machine has been so extremely influential on the entire science fiction genre afterwards.
In general, Wells idea for the future are still relevant and fascinating. His novella gave me a lot of food for thought!
In 1960 director George Pal delivered the most iconic adaptation of this story with Rod Taylor in the main role.
Similar to the novella, the movie also mark a mile stone in movie history. The time-lapse photographic effects even won an Academy Award!