Brandon Sanderson shows up with yet another world in the Infinity Blade series. Ancient yet futuristic, Nier Gestalt type of thing. A hero is sent as a Sacrifice to rescue his people from the Deathless King. He then discovers that no one particularly was ready for him to win and killing the enemy is only the beginning of the fight for freedom . He gets a crash course in humanity and learns that freedom is not necessarily what the enslaved want.
I love the Protagonist. With Brandon Sanderson that’s almost par for the course honestly. Siris’s curiosity and naivety are so endearing. Possibly because he’s not actually so ridiculous he gets a bed in the Too Stupid To Live dormitory. He is however extremely good at what he does know and is very self aware.
Sanderson has no problem writing women either,Isa is a great addition to the book. She’s skilled and the perfect foil for Sirus’s innocence but also not boorish in that try hard manner that YA authors trying to write strong women end up crafting. The protagonist is attracted to her but it doesn’t overwhelm the plot. They are hilarious together, an important ingredient for well written camaraderie.
I cannot wait to see how the rest of this short story goes. I love a good mass deception plot. 5 stars!
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| So apparently I played myself by not reading any Dan Simmons book all these years. First of all, a scifi author that doesn’t use sexual violence against women for shock value? I’m shocked! I didn’t appreciate how tired I was of that trope until I realized that I was tense and waiting for it. So many good sci-fi plots in one book, it felt like eating a tin of assorted cookies. My favorite was the story about the cruciform. A plot that can carry an intersection between religion and science fiction? A back story for Christianity that has interstellar origins? Inject it into my veins! This also has a theme of time travel,nanobots, evil AI, futuristic technology. Classic science fiction. 5 stars. |
I have over time, become an icecream snob. I sniff at the icecream machines in MacDonald's and gasp in horror at the packaged bars in the supermarket. I probably appreciate Gelato so much because seeing a stand or store means I'm in a mall shopping. The feeling of having a nice crunchy cone of flavourful icecream after a few hours of struggling with clothes is just so nice.
Now I'd heard of Haagen-Dazs ice-cream and was interested because of the fancy flavours and it also came with a funny story. The owners of Haagen-Dazs just conjured up a Danish sounding name for their company because it sounded old and fancy. Unfortunately for me the only place that sold it in my city was a wholesale supermarket on the outskirts . I couldn't justify leaving my house to travel for an hour just to go get expensive ice-cream. I however found out that the supermarket delivered groceries to homes! I almost made a habit of buying household items online but the subtle mark-ups on the products took their toll on my budget eventually.
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| Frozen bliss in a cup... |
I was minding my business as usual when I saw that my favourite local online beauty store carries Hada Labo. At that point I was running out of everything; face wash,essence,even already out of moisturizer. Not only did they have Hada Labo, they were also on their spring sale. So I copped this at $14.00!It goes for $26.00 on Amazon so I can't pretend to not be glad I saved that much.I also got the Hada Labo Gokujyun Premium Lotion but that review will be coming later. It has a very Japanese looking package, and I really love it. I'm always so sad I can't read the many things written on the boxes of their products. It looks like a jar of hair wax and also has a similar texture.
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| Looks so much like hair gel! |
It is an occluding moisturizer and it was touted as super moisturizing, maybe even too moisturizing for some people. It contains 100g of product! I am very heavy handed with moisturizers so large sized products make me so happy. I have combination dry skin(really dry perimeter, oily to normal t-zone) that claim was really interesting to me. Everyone one with combo skin knows the struggle is about finding a moisturizer that can hydrate dry zones without clogging the oily zones. Using two moisturizers for is appealing to very few people.
When you first apply the moisturizer it is so hydrating! It makes my skin feel very soft and smooth, instant chok chok feel. I've been using it for a week and my skin is definitely brighter and has more of a glow. Keep in mind that my skin was a little dehydrated before I got the moisturizer. I'm careful not to slather it on when wearing it under my sunscreen because it'll never dry down and it slows down my routine .Its a perfect night moisturizer, some people say it leaves a film but its really just right for me(not noticed a film). Looking at the claims ''HADA LABO Goku-jyun Perfect Gel has 5 functions: Lotion, Milk, Cream, Serum and Mask in one product.'' What a lot of pressure to put on one product! Its a pretty good moisturizer, but probably only normal skinned people will enjoy using only this all day. If I had no choice I could use this alone and be ok for a few days. I like this, but is it really better than French Pharmacy moisturizers? I'll be back after I empty this jar.
Price: $26.00
Texture: Gel
Rating: 4 Stars!
I was wrong.Totally hooked well before I was done with the first ten pages. I related to Kambili so strongly. The appearance of wealth when you really have very little that is yours in every sense. The discomfort of shyness when your mind is filled with a thousand things you'd rather say. The awkwardness that comes with being broken by fear. It all felt so familiar even though her story had nothing to do with my life.
The sensations! I felt every emotion Chimamanda wanted me to feel. Hated Kambili's father, felt afraid for her brother while admiring him, exasperated by Kambili's mother, had a crush on her priest, strong love for her aunt and grandfather. I could smell and taste things! I know its probably because as a Nigerian I'm familiar with the sights and sounds of the details in the book but do you know what it takes for an author to make you Taste! I felt the heat and buzzing mosquitos. I felt the anticipation that comes with being a Christmas visitor in the village.
Reading the book again as an adult made me...understand her father. He really did love them in the way he knew best. He really did think he was doing the right thing by refusing to enable his father's "idolatry''. Unfortunate that he missed all the scriptures that would have told him he was so terribly wrong. As a Christian the oppressive nature of her father's religion really hurt my heart. I hate seeing Christianity being used as a weapon to cudgel people. Its not supposed to be that way but it's the truth of many people's lives and experiences.
When I finally settle down professionally and I begin to build my hard copy library, I'd definitely be buying this book as it has great a reread value. Chimamanda Adichie is a national treasure. She taught me that the term ''first book'' is not synonymous with amateur nonsense and she helped me Consciously accept that being an impactful Nigerian writer has nothing to do with gender.
5 stars!
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