Posts Tagged ‘review’
Book Review – 30 Days of Night: Light of Day by Jeff Mariotte
The 30 Days of Night graphic novels have always been a guilty pleasure for me, a trip on the ultra-violent side with vampires that are portrayed as actual bloodthirsty monsters. (No sparkles here!) And being a bloodthirsty monster, these bloodsuckers only wanted to do one thing: tear a few new orifices in folks, often in the most gruesome and grisly manner possible. (Sure it’s not the Disney Channel, but not everything can be that terrifying. I mean, really, have you watched Hannah Montana?)
So having enjoyed the 30 Days of Night comics in the past, I decided to try the latest novel set in that horrific universe, 30 Days of Night: Light of Day by Jeff Mariotte. So would I be sorry? How much was this going to hurt? See, usually I’m wary of shared universe books, never really expecting much, and getting just what I expected. Most of these books deserve to be doused in gasoline and invited to a bonfire as the special guest of honor.
I also harbored doubts about whether an ultra-violent comic like this would translate well into a book; too much grisly mayhem could get old rather quickly, the reader becoming desensitized to vampire shock and awe. One or two decapitations might be a bucketful of gruesome giggles, but three hundred pages filled with heads being popped off like champagne corks at a rapper’s birthday party would be tiring.
30 Days of Night: Light of Day embraces its comic book roots like lovers entwine around each other on Valentine’s Day. It’s a non-stop, action-packed geyser of intestine soup; gruesomeness piled upon gruesomeness like a stack of Sour Cream Pringles, a hot-sticky-copper-flavored-going-to-need-three-school-janitors-to-clean-it-up mess. Now copious amounts of gory, squirting bodies aren’t a problem if there’s a story behind the mayhem. Unfortunately, there’s hardly even a tweet of story in 30 Days of Night: Light of Day.
And what there is is standard fare, an utterly tired cliché lounging on three pillows of unoriginality. Vampires seek a vaccine that will get rid of their pesky aversion to daylight, while a super-secret group of vampire hunters tries to stop them. Mariotte adds nothing new to the vampire mythos, never rewarding the reader with a new thought or a new angle. It’s like watching a rerun of a TV show you’ve seen a hundred times before, totally mindless.
There are subplots and scenes in the novel which prove to be completely unnecessary, as they don’t further the narrative. One scene late in the novel has a group of vampires descending on a mall, slaughtering shoppers. It’s a throwaway scene that adds nothing to the book, only an excuse for more gore and comic mayhem; it could have been removed and the reader would have lost nothing. Another subplot featuring losers Walker and Mitch, who are trying to get a vampire to turn them, ends with a final twist that is more laughable than shocking. It’s a surprise twist that smacks of desperation, of trying and failing to be cool.
All the characters are clipped from cardboard, and most of them get by without showing a single intelligent thought (much like my reviews.) Sure, characters in horror stories aren’t known for showing much wit, but they need to have at least one crazy aunt in the attic to make me believe they can even feed themselves. I doubt whether these characters could even leave their house without being an immense danger to themselves and society.
30 Days of Night: Light of Day is a train wreck of a novel. It adheres to its comic book roots maybe too well, but what works for a graphic novel doesn’t necessary translate into an enjoyable book.
Banish Cold Sores in 3 Simple Steps
Cold sores, now that’s a subject worth discussing about especially as your menstrual cycle is just about to kick in. If you have had cold sores in the recent past, then you know what it feels like to have your face peppered with the same just as you are about to host the party of the year. It is bad enough to worry about what you are eating without all the baggage that accompanies a case of cold sores. For that is what a really bad case of cold sores will turn your face into, a collection of fluid filled sores or at best, give you the crusted cream pie look.
Cold sores are caused by the Herpes Simplex 1 Virus or the HS1; it is highly contagious when in full bloom across your nose, lips and mouth, not to mention painful. You can actually give cold sores to someone else by just kissing them on the mouth or better yet, sharing your saliva with someone else. This is one virus that is determined to come into play for an encore season on your face every time your hormones go into high gear or when you get unduly stressed, you can take your pick. If you are looking for effective methods to help you deal with cold sores, ways to eliminate them permanently without resorting to a concoction of chemicals, you may want to try out the ‘banish cold sores in 3 simple steps’.
The ‘banish cold sores in 3 simple steps’ is all about natural remedies and does not include chemicals of any kind. In a sense, that makes it stand out from the rest of the so called miracle methods, as they often include meds of one kind or another. Better yet, the methods listed out here do not include lotions or any expensive treatments, just a few natural remedies that have been effective in handling the ‘cold sore episodes’.
Here are a few specs on the product itself; it provides you with the requisite information that enables you to banish cold sores as quickly as they came on. Sounds a bit far fetched doesn’t it? Well, I thought so at first but now, after having duly tried it out, I am a believer. This book enables you to use simple grocery products to help you deal with cold sores and even points out methods by which you can ensure that you do not go into relapse anytime soon. If you have had cold sores in the recent past, then you are aware of the increasing frequency by which they come back on. However, this book shows you how you can prevent that from happening and ways to boost your immune system at the same time.
This book will provide you with the information that you need to eliminate the virus from your face, with the first application of the natural remedy listed here. As you can see, this book goes into all the essential details of cold sores and ways to deal with the lot. If you are not keen on cold sores and are on the lookout for ways to eliminate them permanently, you will need to take a closer look at this book.
Grandson Researches Grandfather’s WWII History
Review – Finding Granddad’s War
It is very fitting that Ancestry Publishing (Ancestry.com) was the publisher for Jeffrey Badger’s Finding Granddad’s War. As it’s title states, this book details the research methods and the travels of a young man in search of the history of a grandfather he never knew.
Jeffrey Badger was only two months old when his grandfather, Leo Kavanaugh, passed away in 1970. Twenty seven years later Jeffrey Badger began to piece together the life of his grandfather and learn where he had been, who he knew and what some of his experiences had been.
As part of the 9th Army’s 978th Engineer Maintenance Company, Leo Kavanaugh visited 9 countries, trailed almost 30,000 miles and was one man in a unit of 377. Finding Granddad’s War is not about a frontline soldier, action packed with combat stories, but is a deeply personal rebuilding of a war experience, tales and memories from those who were there, and filling in the memories for a grandson who never knew his grandfather.
Badger reached out to many people, finding a little information here and there, but also found and met many of the men his grandfather served with. They told him their stories, personal, funny and painful, which helped him to know what really happened in his grandfathers life. Badger ended up tracking to 17 states and Europe to meet 32 veterans and get their story.
What really is of value in this book is Jeffrey Badger describes how he went about researching this chronicling history, what you should do to research your own family. This is a great guide that shows just how much information is out there to find, where you can look, and how to go about getting official records.
This book is a good read for anyone looking to research their own family history. I found it to be very entertaining and insightful, getting to hear the histories of so many people that were involved in one man’s life. There are a lot of good resources contained and detailed that will assist in researching individuals histories. Finding Granddad’s War shows how even a beginner with little background knowledge can end up traveling the globe and filling a book with what he learned.
"Walk Like You Have Somewhere to Go" by Lucille O’Neal – Book Review
Walk Like You Have Somewhere To Go is an autobiography written by NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal’s mother, Lucille O’Neal. The book details Lucille’s hardships through life from becoming a teenage mother to conquering alcoholism, and dealing with her son’s rising fame; all the while relying on motivation and faith to help her. Lucille also introduces the term “mental welfare”, which she uses to help describe her mental health condition as it progresses over the years.
Overall, Walk Like You Have Somewhere To Go feels incredibly short in length, and I would have liked more specifics on how push comes to shove in terms of motivation and also how God plays His role. Lucille tells us about the EVENTS that lead to her life rejuvenation, but she goes into even less detail about her thoughts and feelings. Lucille quotes scripture throughout the book and we read a timeline of her life, but again, more bulk behind what drives her to do certain things would make the book infinitely more motivating.
I didn’t find Walk Like You Have Somewhere To Go incredibly memorable and I found it to be very similar to other autobiographies written by celebrities. I recommend this book to fans of Shaquille O’Neal and to mothers of well-known media icons or celebrities.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle Review – The Key to Discovering Ways How You Can Have a Healthier Body
There are myriads of weight loss and bodybuilding programs offered by fitness specialists and clinics. Some are even available through online courses. One you could look at is the Burn The Fat Feed the Muscle electronic book guide.
This is one of the biggest and best selling product in internet history, according to ClickBank.com. Currently, it has reached more than 200,000 readers coming from 144 countries around the globe. This Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle review will go over the features that make this fat loss guide such a success.
Get to Know the Program Creator
This system was devised by Tom Venuto. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Adult Health and Fitness (Exercise Science) from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. In 1983, he started training his body for ultimate fitness. Six years later, he joined various competitions for bodybuilding. His discipline in getting fit has been recognized by a lot of media such as being featured in the Oprah magazine, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.
Product Features
This e-book is composed of 341 pages, which are subdivided into individual modules. Each of the modules is about various topics on fitness and health from fat loss to proper nutrition. These discuss the topics in a very detailed manner, including rationales of particular fat loss disciplines to the accurate measures how to employ these fat loss steps into practice.
It also comes with a lot of bonuses. There are two additional reports about the foods one should include or eliminate from daily diet. These are entitled as ‘Foods That Burn Fat’ and ‘Foods That Turn to Fat’. In addition to these lists are twenty five recipes for fat loss and muscle gain and the proper mechanism how to measure body fat.
Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle Review – High and Low Points
The creator is firstly a big come on. With his experience, knowledge and background, he is truly among the best authorities when it comes to formulating a program for one to gain a healthy body. Thus, his product is believable and realistic.
A great plus point for this guide is its upgrade capability. Once the upgrade, called ‘The Fat Burn Files’, is purchased, you could access a series of ten interviews with Venuto himself. This is composed of 265 transcribed pages. Another upgrade is the access to the eBook’s community site. The membership fee starts at only a dollar. Through this site, you could take advantage of accessories needed in understanding the lessons in the book such as body fat calculator, Q&A audio files, supplement reviews and forums.
Perhaps there is only one con for this e-book – it has quite a lot of information. However, you could just take your time understanding each module and move on to the next when you have fully absorbed the previous one.
Hopefully this Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle review will help you decide whether this fat loss guide is appropriate for you. Then again, do not forget to seek the opinion of your doctor especially if you have existing health problems.