Fairy Frolics (Swallowing Darkness - Laurell K. Hamilton)

Advantages: fun, occasionally
Disadvantages: awful writing

...Summary: reasonably enjoyable if there is nothing better, lively, trashy fantasy "Swallowing Darkness" is the seventh Meredith Gentry novel and the first one I read. Despite that I had no problems at all in following the plot - even though there isn't that much obvious exposition in the novel. Meredith NicEssus is a faerie princess in a slightly alternative world (i.e. US) where faeries are known by the humans - a treaty allowed them to settle in the US three hundred years on the condition that they don't engage in war or make humans worship them. The faerie courts are obsessed by purity of blood and even more so by purity of looks and Meredith, who is mortal, curvy and has not just human but also lesser fey ancestors, flees the Faerie and starts working as a private investigator in the human world. But her disguise ends when...

magdadh 23.04.2009 · Read review
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Review of Swallowing Darkness - Laurell K. Hamilton

Swallows And Amazons - not for Duffers

Advantages: Heart warming, endearing, beautiful descriptive writing
Disadvantages: Younger readers could struggle with long description and technical sailing terms

...Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome ~~~Setting~~~ Swallows and Amazons was written in 1930, an adventure story aimed at children and the first of a series of 12 novels for which their author is most well known. Set in the Lake District, it follows the adventures during one summer holiday of the Swallows (brothers and sisters John, Susan, Titty and Roger) as they camp on an island of adventure, make enemies and then friends with the Amazon pirates (Nancy and Peggy), solving mysteries and chasing thieves. It is a very tame, but very charming novel, seemingly enjoyed by children and adults alike. I bought and read it earlier this year after visiting a permanent exhibition on Arthur Ransome in the Museum of Lakeland Life in Kendal. It is so evocative of the Lake District that it is a pleasure to read for this alone. ~~~The Plot...

sonic0209 14.10.2007 · Read review
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Review of Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

Swallow hotel (Kirlangic)

Advantages: Close to town centre and market
Disadvantages: not allowed own drink into rooms. No air conditioning

...It was last year that my wife and I stayed here. The hotel name was in Turkish which was called "The Kirlangic". This means swallow. The Hotel sits on the main road into the town and right opposite one of the entrances to the market which is on every Monday. So if you have a room facing the road you will be awake early (4 oclock ish). At the time only some rooms had air conditioning. The rooms are small in comparison to a lot of hotels in the area but you only sleep in then anyway. They are clean and fresh. I found the staff friendly, even more so if you speak a bit of Turkish (but dont let them know its only a few words, it keeps then on thier toes) they feel you are making an effort. You are close to all the bars and shops where you need a good haggling technique. The grounds of the hotel has a pool which is big enough to...

kindlyraccoon 04.01.2009 · Read review
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Review of Swallow Hotel, Marmaris

Real HEROES

Advantages: Excellent couragious stories, raising awareness of the charity
Disadvantages: May be hard reading for some

...?Today the word ?hero? is too often used; for me it is a very special word and should be used sparingly: a hero is someone distinguished by exceptional courage, nobility and fortitude. This wonderful book by Gill Shaw is to raise funds for just such men and women injured in the line of duty whilst serving our country - REAL heroes? Ross Kemp, Patron of Help for Heroes. This book came to my attention when I was looking on the Help For Heroes charity website in their shop. I am a supporter of the charity as my husband is a soldier and so too are my brother and his wife. For me it is a wonderful charity which is dong so much for our injured soldiers and personally I think it is the only way people are finding out the true extent as to what some men and woman are going through to fight for this country. The book is a paperback...

sewbizzie 13.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of The Hero Inside (Help for Heroes) - Quiller Publishing

MINIATURE HEROES (AND VILLAINS) !!!

Advantages: Fantastic Star Wars toys ideal for younger fans. Chunky, cute and collectable !!!
Disadvantages: The popularity of Galactic Heroes makes several of the more popular characters hard to find

...collectors to the Galactic Heroes range ... GALACTIC HEROES ... GREAT FOR KIDS ! Kids love Galactic Heroes because they have the "cuteness factor" ... and when you see them close up you realise what a fantastic idea it was to produce chunky miniature versions of some of the most iconic movie characters of all time. However, as a parent I also think that Hasbro have got these Galactic Heroes figures spot on because unlike many other Star Wars Figures they are exremely safe for younger children to play with because they have no small accessories that can be lost or even worse ... swallowed. GALACTIC HEROES ... GREAT FOR BIG KIDS ! The cuteness factor that kids find so appealing also makes Galactic Heroes popular with adult collectors and Star Wars fans. I know several friends of mine who have artistically arranged...

jedimastergray73 06.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of Hasbro Star Wars Galactic Heroes Figures

Review - The HTC Hero

Advantages: Too many to list in this small space...
Disadvantages: A little sluggish

... The HTC Hero I test and review a lot of mobile phones, but in a mobile phone market dominated by Apple, Blackberry, Samsung and Nokia, I can't help but have a soft spot for HTC; I think it is a British thing, a love for the underdog? But as much as I admire HTC, I can't help but worry that in trying to take on competitors like the iPhone their new HTC Hero is punching above its weight. So I turned it on to find out? Appearance When I was told that I was finally going to get my hands on HTC's latest handset, I thought I'd better do a bit of research? but when saw the publicity pictures I feared the worst? It looked a lot like its predecessor the T-Mobile G1, with that Jimmy Hill like chin. This was a bad start for me; I love the design of all of HTC's handsets, except one? the T-Mobile G1, so I wasn't expecting...

Luc2oo9 27.08.2009 (11.09.2009) · Read review
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Review of HTC Hero - Smartphone - WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM - white

Hero

Advantages: Visual feast, excellent cast, unique narrative style.
Disadvantages: Fights go on too long, lack of depth.

...Is there any way that I can review Hero without comparing it to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? Probably not, so we'll get it out of the way early. I wasn't a fan of that film at all, and was frankly amazed at the success it enjoyed. It deserves recognition on a technical level, and congratulations for pushing itself into the mainstream, but beyond that, it was lacking. It almost felt as if those hailing it were doing so because they hadn't seen any non-English films before and celebrated it as something new. Whether or not that's a good thing is something to be debated, but it did aid the future availability of foreign language films. As such, in the four years since Crouching Tiger, a wealth of foreign films have been available, with several opening each month instead of the yearly handful that arrived before. Audiences are...

eddie7sf 03.09.2004 · Read review
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Review of Hero (DVD)

Hard to swallow at first but easy to digest later

Advantages: tender and movivng
Disadvantages: The first few chapters

...An interesting or unusual title makes a book more alluring to the reader. I have often picked up a book on the strength of the title alone. When the novel "Swallowing Grandma" by Kate Long was suggested at my book group I had to vote for it, as I was curious about such an odd title. The book is a coming of age saga centred on the life of 18 year old Katherine Miller and her unconventional family in Banktop, a fictional mining village supposedly between Wigan and Bolton. Katherine lives with her professional northerner of a grandmother Poll, as her father died before she was born and then her mother abandoned her shortly afterwards. The book is about Katherine's (or Kat as she wants to be known) quest to find herself and ultimately her mother. Katherine's story is intertwined with her mother's tragic story of coming to terms...

duskmaiden 09.07.2006 (03.01.2008) · Read review
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Review of Swallowing Grandma - Kate Long

My hero

Advantages: Great cast, beautiful cinematography
Disadvantages: It's taken two years to come out over here

...In pre-unified china two thousand years ago, the emperor of the largest of seven kingdoms forbids anyone to come within a hundred paces of him, through fear of assassination. But when a nameless sheriff claims to have killed his three most dangerous enemies, he is allowed within close proximity of the ruler. But the more the king hears of Nameless? exploits, the stronger his paranoia becomes. Is he right to fear the nameless warrior? Director and former cinematographer Zhang Yimou is well known for his visual flair and lyrical style. Like many Chinese directors, he makes films that focus on universal themes. ?Hero? is a film that is both very Eastern and very Western reflecting the multi-national crew that put it together. It is an epic mystical tale of heroism, loyalty, love and sacrifice. Its subject is intrinsically Asian, based as...

afy9mab 28.09.2004 · Read review
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Review of Hero (DVD)

HTC Hero To The Rescue

Advantages: Well made, interface is surprisingly good, Android apps are excellent
Disadvantages: Battery life could be better, no bluetooth data transfer capability

...available on Orange. The choices were limited and having sustained a poor Blackberry experience for 18 months I was keen to explore new avenues. Luckily the HTC Hero presented itself to me as a viable option and despite having seen the television advertising campaign a couple of months prior and mocking it's cringe worthy 'Hero' branding I still took the plunge as it posed the most impressive package from the choices available to me. Out of the box: At this time I was still adamant that I wanted and IPhone and realised that the HTC Hero was easily fetching £300 on auction sites. I thought to myself "as soon as I take it out of the box I'll know whether to keep it or sell it for an IPhone". Indeed as I removed it from the box I immediately noticed how well built the phone is. It's of reassuring weight and the teflon finish of the Graphite...

conradburns 09.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of HTC Hero - Smartphone - WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM - white