TV reviews

4/5 Stars Star Wars: Rebels

Julie Gilbert cartoon, scifi, Star Wars, TV reviews , ,
(FerRub, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Summary:

A scrappy band of Rebels try to resist the spread of the Empire’s tyranny further into the Outer Rim.

Additional Comments:

  • It’s not a must but it is good to watch before The Mandalorian.
  • Characters 4/5: Kanan Jarrus, Chopper (the droid with much attitude), Sabine Wren, Ahsoka Tano, Hera Syndulla, Ezra Bridger, Garazeb “Zeb” Orrelios take on Grand Admiral Thrawn and Maul. Captain Rex shows up too. Agent Kallus probably has the strongest character development.
  • If you were/are a fan of the old school EU books, then Thrawn will be familiar to you. He’s a tactical genius, an art lover, and a truly scary dude. Ezra has his moments, and I like his overall character arc, but there are entirely too many whiny teenager moments to make him completely likable. Hera’s your typical awesome pilot. Kanan’s the token Jedi. Zeb’s the muscle man of the crew. Ahsoka has some nice cameos in the series. I think Sabine might be my favorite character from the show. The Mandalorian chick has a lot of growing to do. Her mother’s kinda a trip. I enjoyed the few episodes focused on Sabine.
  • Side Characters 4/5: The show has some interesting side characters, including Bail Organa, Wedge Antilles, Ryder Azadi, Fenn Rau, Saw Gerrera, and Vizago. I do NOT like Hondo Ohnaka. Not sure you’re supposed to like him, but he’s not even a charming scoundrel, just a jerk.
  • Plot 4/5: As a cartoon, each episode is relatively short. I think they stick to a fairly strict 24 min marker. There’s usually some crisis involving the Empire or a scoundrel of one flavor or another. It typically gets resolved within the 24 minutes, but occasionally, there are part 1 and part 2 to cover slightly larger arcs.

Conclusion:

If you want to understand more of the side characters and reveals in the Mandalorian, then it’s worthwhile to watch Rebels. As a standalone cartoon, it’s decent, but if there wasn’t more to look forward to in other Star Wars shows, I’m not sure how much I’d like the series.

(I haven’t finished The Clone Wars, still slogging through Season 1. Not sure I will finish. Time will tell.)

Audiobook Promotions …

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Many of my 42 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Free codes are probably on audiobooks unleashed.
Normal links go to audible. *The Amazon labeled links are affiliate links. That means I get a very small payment from Amazon if you go through with a purchase.*
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Reshner’s Royal Ranger, Never Again, Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Holy War, Reclaim the Darklands, Eagle Eyes, Treachery Makes it Tense, Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts, The Dark Side of Science, Ashlynn’s Dreams, Nadia’s Tears, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest
There are plenty of UK codes, but not many US ones left.

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Awakening – Redeemer Chronicles Book 1, MG fantasy (Amazon) (free codes)
The Holy War – Redeemer Chronicles Book 2, MG fantasy (Amazon) (free codes)
Reclaim the Darklands – Redeemer Chronicles Book 3, MG fantasy (Amazon) (free codes)
River’s Edge Ransom – Prequel to Redeemer Chronicles (Amazon) (email devyaschildren @ gmail.com for free codes)

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Devya’s Children Series Links:

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – short stories featuring Jillian. (Amazon) (free codes)
The Dark Side of Science – official prequel to Devya’s Children; Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live. (Amazon) (Please email devyaschildren @ gmail.com for free codes)
Ashlynn’s Dreams – Genetically altered Dream Shaper learns her gift. (Amazon) (free codes)
Nadia’s Tears – Jillian tries to awaken her sister, Nadia, from a coma. (Amazon) (free codes)
Malia’s Miracles – Jillian and her siblings try to save a friend’s mother. (Amazon) (free codes)
Varick’s Quest – Jillian and Danielle get kidnapped. Nadia’s also in trouble. (Amazon) (free codes)
More Scifi:
Reshner’s Royal Ranger (epic sci-fi) just made it there. (Amazon) (free codes)

Guardian Angel Files:

Spirit’s Bane – Allister and Mina are training to be Guardians. Satan’s out to get them. (Amazon) (free codes)
Kindred Spirits – Mina’s exiled to Earth. Allister’s stuck in the Heavens. (Amazon) (free codes)

TV Reviews 4/5: Game of Thrones Season 7

Julie Gilbert dragons, Fantasy, TV reviews , , , ,

Don’t own the pic. I assume it’s a general Season 7 promo pic.

Spoilers ahead…

Summary:

Starts off pretty epic with Arya getting her revenge on the Frays. I like her more each season. Some of the training stuff got tedious but I suppose such a long, drawn out training would be necessary to make her a formidable fighter instead of a kid. She’s still a kid, just scary now. Seems one has to be scary to live around here.

Additional Comments:

– Sansa is ticking me off so far this season. That’s not unusual for her, but I have high hopes for her later.

– You get to see some shreds of decency from Legain.  Sorry about spelling, never read the books. And there are too many names around here.

– Dany’s homecoming is solemn and significant.

– Lots of shifts in alliances. Civil war for the iron islands.

– Jon Snow finally meets Dany. That’s probably going to be significant later.

– The red woman admits her mistakes. She has a strange conversation with Spider in the 3rd episode.

– Dany has a heck of a list of titles. Takes like 2 minutes to run through it

– Conversation with Dany includes a lot of posturing. But she does admit that her father was a madman. Jon tries to convince Dany of the Northern threat.

– Dany’s faith is in herself. Her allies are mostly captured. Though that is an improvement over the dead I thought them.

  • Euron Greyjoy gets a promotion.

– Cersi gets her revenge. Though at this point, don’t remember upon whom. Probably the Tyrells.

– Tyrion and Jon have a heart to heart.

– Jon and Dany’s second meeting is cool.

– Littlefinger is still being manipulative… big surprise. Somebody please kill him.

– Sansa gets a happy reunion. Bran says he can’t be lord of wintefell. He is the three eyed raven.

– Jorah gets his miracle thanks to Sam.

– Lannister army is on the move

– Olena has a heart to heart with Jaime. She kind of has the last word.

– Sam’s kin are Lannister lackeys. Shocking. No, not really. Sad though.

– Arya finds home not quite what it seems. She gets to meet Sansa. Interesting mtg. She also gets to see Bran. He’s still weird. But he gives her a gift I think will be significant later. Ep 4 largely calm compared to others.

– Jon gets to use ancient pictures to tell Dany a story. She promises to help if he bends the knee.

– Ayra is quite the swords woman now.

– Whole season should be called reunions. Jon meets Theon.

– Dany takes to the field. The battle is awesome… though they worked very hard to make sure all the key people survive for once.

– Dany has a fine speech… but the dragon roar fixes most of that. Dickson and Tandall get a lovely sendoff.

– Jon gets to pet a dragon.

– Gendry is back in the game.

– Ep 6 Arya confronts Sansa about the really old letter. Jon and the rest are hunting dead… kind of boring if u ask me into they get into a tight spot

– fire swords. Yay.

– Dany has an interesting conversation with Tyrion.

– can somebody please kill Littlefinger. Pretty please?

– And Sansa being stupid. Again. Oh, there’s a big surprise.

– Dany snow outfit is awesome. Jon gets stupid again. Sad.

– Arya proves she is a very scary person.

Conclusion:

Episode 7 has quite the parlay. Short season. Dany’s entrance is stylish . Truce? Intriguing. End awesome. Finally!!!!  Cersi is well, herself. Jaime at least has honor. The whole winter is here thing finally makes sense.

Associate links to follow…

(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 … not kidding, that’s basically it.)

Amazon Prime

 

Audible – If you’d like some free codes, please email me at [email protected] with requests for any of my works.

Try The Golden City Captives. Narrated by Reuben Corbett.


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TV Reviews 4/5: Game of Thrones Season 4

Julie Gilbert dragons, Fantasy, TV reviews , , , ,

Don’t own the pic. Thought it was pretty.

Definite spoilers ahead! Since I’m probably the last person on Earth who hasn’t seen the show …. probably not a problem.

Summary:

The saga continues. The Lannisters stand mostly in control of Westros. Theon’s a hostage and plaything for Ramsey Bolton. Stannis is still listening to whispers from Melisandre. Cersi’s becoming more suspicious…if that’s possible. The Tyrells and Lannisters are playing nice with each other, sort of, well, at least on the surface.

Additional Comments:

– We’ve added cannabalism to the list of distasteful things that happen here.

– You finally get to see what happens to all those poor baby boys Crasta has been leaving in the woods.

– Flaying becomes a thing. That’s just nasty.

– Dany’s still liberating slaves in the East, but every time she leaves a city, something bad happens. She’s faced with a tough choice.

– The story has become predictable yet still nicely complicated. For example Liza’s fate. And Tyrion’s champion and subsequent fate.

– The night’s watch portion was a tad boring. They dragged on the “hey, danger is coming” thing the entire season. Episode 9 all that waiting finally pays off. It’s a great fight, a tad predictable though.

– Episode 10: I like the game of thrones take on dragons. They are still wild beasts, dangerous. Dany’s conflict is simple yet powerful.

– As usual, the show isn’t afraid to bump off characters.

– I like how complicated the characters can be. Arya and the Hound.

– I totally missed Elia being Oberyn’s sister. Heck, I barely knew her name. Too many people.

– Usual HBO stuffs… viewer discretion advised. Strong language, lots of sleeping around, bloody deaths.

Conclusion:

This season too ends on violence and a bit of a high note. A lot of the story is just the viewer waiting for the next nasty person to get what’s coming to them.

 

Associate links to follow…

(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 … not kidding, that’s basically it.)

Amazon Prime

 

Audible – If you’d like some free codes, please email me at [email protected] with requests for any of my works.

Try Awakening.


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TV Reviews 4/5: Game of Thrones Season One *spoilers*

Julie Gilbert dragons, Fantasy, TV reviews , , ,

I don’t own the rights to the pic. I’m assuming it was a general promo pic created to generate buzz when this came out ages ago.

Spoilers Definitely Included:

Let’s face it, people, if you are seeing it this late like I am, you either know the whole story, don’t mind spoilers, or shouldn’t be reading this.

Summary:

As the last stages of summer, troubles brewing everywhere. King Robert Baratheon (sorry about spelling, never read the book) just lost his Hand (kind of like a viceroy) and wants his old friend Ned (Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell) to take on the role. Elsewhere, the last vestiges of the noble house Targaryen live in exile and plot for a way to retake the seven kingdoms of Westros.

Additional Comments:

– It’s a heck of a lot more complicated than that.

– People have told me for years that I’d like the show and the books that formed the basis of the show. I finally had the time to sit down and catch up.

– Overall assessment 4/5: Complicated story. Definitely fantasy. Most definitely HBO.

– Story 5/5: Who doesn’t love a story rife with backstabbing (literally and figuratively)? The characters excel at conniving. Some of the best conversations are the ones where they’re threatening each other through compliments. The dangers aren’t solely from within. Winter is coming. And along with winter there’s the threat of White Walkers and Wildlings from beyond the Wall, literally a giant wall meant to keep out dangerous things.

– Characters 4/5: There are redeemable things about most of the characters, except Joffrey, pretty sure you’re just supposed to hate his whiny little guts. Sansa’s pretty annoying too. Perhaps in future seasons she’ll be more useful. I love Arya. She’s adorable and spunky and she makes friends with many people. They don’t stretch her character quite yet, but there’s definitely potential to expand her role in the future. Ned’s too honorable for his own good. Cersi’s a right creeper. So is her brother, Jaime. I kind of like Tyrion. He’s definitely got redeeming qualities even while being a typical scheming Lannister. Dany’s journey is sad.

– Worldbuilding 5/5: It’s a very large world. It’s really hard to keep all the people and places straight sometimes. Magic and such is actually kept to a bare minimum in this season. There are hints of things to come though. It’s a little hard to track the passage of time. Sometimes the world gets too big because they’re juggling like 4 story lines at once. When they return to one you’re like who the heck are you?

– Content Warnings: Excessive sex, gore, language, and violence. Typical HBO. You see way more of the characters than you want to. Innards come out, blood gushes, heads roll… in short, people die in pretty much every conceivable way here. Nearly every episode features a sex scene of some sort. It’s actually just tiresome.

Conclusion:

If you can get past the HBO nonsense, there’s a worthwhile story with very interesting characters in Game of Thrones.

Associate links to follow…

(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 … not kidding, that’s basically it.)

Amazon Prime

 

Audible – If you’d like some free codes, please email me at [email protected] with requests for any of my works.

Try The Golden City Captives.


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