January 2015 – Mostly books…

So… new year, more books to read! Got a chance during the Xmas break to catch up with some overdue reading, and now find myself with some overdue reviews. So, here are some quick and short thoughts on a couple of recent reads:

The Martian

By far one of the best Sci Fi novel’s I’ve ever read. I was aware of the hype surrounding this novel, billed as Apollo 13 in Mars, but still didn’t know what really to expect. Quite frankly, it was an amazing story. I found myself completely gripped with an amazing story of human spirit, laughing out loud at some points, hooked in suspense at others, Hands down, an amazing read, and very strongly recommended. 5 stars!

The Great Zoo of China

It’s a very fine line between homage and rip-off. Very early on in “The Great Zoo of China”, one of the characters asks “Have they not seen Jurassic Park?” Perhaps Mr Reilly thought it was sufficient to acknowledge the existence of Jurassic Park, and people wouldn’t judge his book as a copycat (here’s a clue: it’s dragons instead of dinosaurs). As such, he goes to different lengths to show how the stories are different… However, what you end up is with a vastly inferior book with way too much action and not enough substance. Bit disappointing really… wished the author had spent more developing the character, less creating implausible action pieces and constantly attacking the Chinese culture. Oh well… 1.5 stars

Station Eleven

I finally got around reading Station Eleven… Had been on my reading list since early in the summer, and just seemed to keep getting dropped back. Well, I’m quite glad I finally did. Station Eleven has popped up in countless Best of the Year lists, and with good reason. The writing is exquisite, the plot ingenious and refreshing, the story leaves you with a warm sense of hope for mankind. In an age where dystopian fiction is so commonplace, this book definitely stands out as one to read. My only gripe with the book is perhaps the length of it… one feels there could’ve been more to he story, the ending more developed. In any case, 4.5 stars.

2014 was a big year… For starters, this happened:

Yep, Nico joined our family in October, and we are both over the moon with him. It’s quite an amazing experience to see a little person grow every day, watch him learn and act differently by the hour… We can spend hours and hours just staring at him.

Now, as you may have guessed, this has had a major impact in my reading, viewing, playing time. But as this blog is focused mainly on books, movies and games, I guess if you are here, that’s what you want to see. So here goes my year in review:

What I read

This year I read 27 books. A very disappointing tally to be frank… I continue to target over 40 books, but, as mentioned, this happened!

So, yes, I blame my child for not reading enough. Clearly, this will impact my reading amounts for the next 18 years or so. But that won’t stop me from trying to read as much as possible when possible. In any case, I did read 27 books, so that gives me something to talk about. From all the books, only one really stands out: The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August (2014). An amazing cross-genre story, unlike all others. I couldn’t recommend it more. Other top reads for me where Blood Song (2013) and The Magician’s Land (2014), two top fantasy novels. I also got around to reading some Pulitzer winning novels this year, The Goldfinch (2013) and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (2004), both excellent pieces of work which fully deserved their accolades. Beyond that, not many books really did it for me. I’m still working through an insane large to-read shelf, so there might be some great reads in there. Here’s hoping 2015 will be a much better reading year for me.

What I saw

I was averaging close to 100 new movies per year! This year… I barely managed 43, and that number will probably continue to drop. Why? you may ask. Well, this happened:

(Yes, get used to pics of my baby in this blog!!)

Haven’t been to the movies in months, and not sure when I’ll be going again (have you seen the cost of a babysitter?). So, no Interstellar, Hunger Games or Hobbit film for me this year… waiting for the DVD.

But, of what I managed to see this year… The Edge of Tomorrow was my stand-out film. It had been ages since I had walked out of a cinema with such a giddy feeling, having seen a truly amazing film. Tom Cruise get’s way too much stick, and his personal life aside, there’s few actors out there who can make a movie work as well as he can. The movie got everything right,m the tone, the action, the comedy, the cast. If you haven’t seen it, very very strongly recommended.

The other films I really enjoyed where mostly superhero related (what a surprise): X-men: Days of Future Past, really enjoyable. Much better than the previous entries in the franchise since X-2, effectively rebooting the series nicely and setting up a nice future for the X-men films. Also, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, much much better than the first, more of a sequel to Avengers, and more of a spy thriller than a superhero movie. Impressive. Other worthy movies include Guardians of the Galaxy (great fun, albeit overhyped), Bad Neighbours and 22 Jump Street (was not expecting to laugh so much on both films).A special mention to The Lego Movie. The first time I saw it, thought it was brilliant. Second time, not so much… nonetheless, kudos to the makers for creating a great film out of lego blocks.

2015 is shaping like an amazing year for movies, with the new Star Wars due in December, Jurassic World and Avengers 2 in the summer. Hopefully, we will be able to afford babysitters!!

What I played

This year I got the PS4, but truth be told, haven’t played it much. Can’t blame the baby on this one, because quite frankly, there has not been any games that have had me really crazy for. Having said that, I still have Destiny fully wrapped as haven’t been able to find the time to play it! But of those that I did manage, truth be told, very few have impressed, and most have disappointed (Thief, Infamous, Killzone… just not good enough). So, only two games really stand out for me this year:

The Last of Us – not having a PS3 before, I never got to play it. But, with the remastered edition, got the chance to play what has been an amazing story, and truly deserving of all the praise this game has received.

Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor – this has been a truly great game. The much talked about Nemesis system (where each fight against even the lowliest minion has a story) has been an incredible experience, and I’m sure we will see this replicated in many more games in the future. Add that to the gameplay, beautiful graphics, and a good story, and you get what has been a truly great game.

I still want to play a few games from 2014 (Destiny, Dragon Age) and I’m looking forward to many more games this year (the new Batman, the new Witcher, the new Tomb Raider, The Order 1886, to name a few). So, high hopes for 2015 in gaming!

So that was my year. Quite a few more things happened. Won my Fantasy Football League (Ha!), moved south of the river (Thames) for the first time (and hopefully last move?), and again… this happened: