Some Thoughts On Ready Player One (2018)

I finally watched Ready Player One. Before that, I read the book—my review—and was surprised by how much I liked it. And based off the trailers and feedback from my sister—who saw the movie before I did—I was expecting to like it. I don’t know why I was so worried, because I did enjoy the movie. And now I have a confession to make: I liked the movie more than the book. Usually, the book and movie are on equal footing, but in this case, I’m leaning more toward the latter. It was due to the changes. There were a lot of noticeable changes between the book and the movie adaptation, particularly the challenges and how the keys were found. However, I liked those changes. It had more of an emotional impact later on, because it put the some of the characters together sooner than the events in the book allowed. Even so, the 2018 movie adaptation remains true to the basic premise of the book.

The visual effects were on point. It was one of the aspects I liked best about Ready Player One as demonstrated by the transition from a more real-world setting to the virtual one, and one of the first major scenes to take place in the OASIS. There was no background track except for the noise to match what was happening on-screen. It was pure, fast-paced, chaotic adrenaline. And I loved it. There was a lot of action and a heaping dose of pop culture references with everything from the Iron Giant, Overwatch, Halo, and even a Batmobile just to name a few. For a movie of its kind—one that basically takes place in a virtual reality, video game-esque world—the references from other media franchises just sort of worked.

So, there was a lot I liked about Ready Player One movie. It managed to balance the story with narrative changes, good acting, and spectacular visual effects. It made for an enjoyable movie. And while the end is pretty complete—just like the book—I would be open to a Ready Player One 2 book or movie. Or should I say Ready Player Two?

Have you read Ready Player One or seen the movie? If so, what are your thoughts about it?

Music Monday (53): Twenty One Pilots

   Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: Originally, I wasn’t going to participate in Music Monday this week. However, I realized that Twenty One Pilots had released three new songs that's part of their next album, Trench, which is supposed to come out on October 5th. I must have missed that announcement. Needless it to say, the hype train is already rolling and I’m more than excited to see what else Trench has to offer. So far, my favorite song is Nico And The Niners....

Are you a fan of Twenty One Pilots? Are you looking forward to Trench?

ARC Review: Star-Touched Stories by Roshani Chokshi

Title: Star-Touched Stories
Series: The Star-Touched Queen #2.5
Author: Roshani Chokshi
Source/Format: Netgalley; eARC
More Details: Young Adult; Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: St. Martin's Press; August 7, 2018

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Three lush and adventurous stories in the Star-Touched world.

Death and Night...

He was Lord of Death, cursed never to love. She was Night incarnate, destined to stay alone. After a chance meeting, they wonder if, perhaps, they could be meant for more. But danger crouches in their paths, and the choices they make will set them on a journey that will span lifetimes.

Poison and Gold..,

Now that her wish for a choice has come true, Aasha struggles to control her powers. But when an opportunity to help Queen Gauri and King Vikram's new reign presents itself, she is thrown into the path of the fearsome yet enchanting Spy Mistress. To help her friends, Aasha will have to battle her insecurities and perhaps, along the way, find love.

Rose and Sword...

There is a tale whispered in the dark of the Empire of Bharat-Jain. A tale of a bride who loses her bridegroom on the eve of her wedding. But is it a tale or a truth?

Star-Touched Stories by Roshani Chokshi was gorgeous. Written in the same lyrical prose as the author's other books, these stories returned to the world of The Star-Touched Queen. There was happiness and new adventures; lost and found love; and bittersweet beginnings and endings. This is probably one of my top favorite collections of stories. In Death and Night, there’s the love story that tells a clearer history between the characters of The Star-Touched Queen. In Poison and Gold, Aasha got her own adventure and it was great. And in the Rose and Sword, the story is a little bittersweet but still as good as the other two in the collection. What worked for me is that this collection visited a lot of familiar character, places, and stories. The overall world building was excellent and rife with vivid detail that made for an immersive read. So, if you’ve read and enjoyed The Star-Touched Queen and A Crown of Wishes, then Star-Touched Stories need to be on your TBR list....

About the author...

Roshani Chokshi is the New York Times bestselling author of The Star-Touched Queen and A CROWN OF WISHES. Her middle grade debut, ARU SHAH AND THE END OF TIME, will release April 3, 2018 with Disney/Rick Riordan Presents. Her next young adult novel, THE GILDED WOLVES, is slated for Winter 2019. Chokshi's work has appeared in Strange Horizons, Shimmer, and Book Smugglers. She was a finalist in the 2016 Andre Norton Award and the Locus Top Ten for Best First Novel. Her short story, "The Star Maiden," was longlisted for the British Fantasy Science Award...

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Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by St. Martin's Press via netgalley for this review, thank you!

The Friday 56 (136) & Book Beginnings: Uprooted by Naomi Novik

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life. Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood. The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her. But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose....

Beginning: "My feelings didn't change on that last night. Kasia and I ate our chestnuts. The sun went down and our fire went out, but we lingered in the clearing as long as the embers lasted."

56: "But it wasn't Midwinter dinner. There was no eager ache of hunger in my belly from the long day of cooking and cleaning without a pause; there was no joyful noise of too many people crammed in around the table, laughing and reaching for platters."

Comments: I haven't read anything new this week. So I figured I might as well share some quotes from a book I read awhile ago: Uprooted by Naomi Novik. I liked this book. There were things I really loved about it, namely the world building. It was done so well. Since Uprooted has been out for a long time, I skipped over the opening sentence because it's already pretty well known. My beginning comes from page 10 instead. What are you reading this week?

Watercolor: Places #3

Comments: This is the third watercolor painting I worked on, and I wanted to try something a little different from the others. It came out how I wanted it to—particularly the background behind the city. However, I almost wish I’d reversed the colors and made the sky darker while reserving the lighter shades for the city itself. It’s too late to go back and change it for this one, but I may incorporate the idea into a different painting....