Timstar

I love a big world to explore, but only when there are waypoints/quest markers and some way to define if you've already been there or not. The mutants were terrifying! especially in a dark corridor. But Fallout 3 did have the voice of Liam Neeson which is always good. Hmm Witcher 2 is only £15 on Amazon... They are awesome! But I do slightly agree that they were a bit tedious to kill after a while, especially when they don't stay still so you can shoot them

Yeah they are pretty brutal, I remember being surprised when reading, just wasn't expecting it after what I had read and seen so far. Wouldn't say I had a strong inclination but I was interested, and they are so short and easy to read I didn't think they would too bad.

Yeah I agree but she 'claims' she had never heard of battle royale. Yeah I felt exactly the same and Well maybe you are... but I do agree. Whether she is capable of writing such a book I don't know, but I always thought it was silly having so much death and no blood (in the film). There is a bit more in the books especially Mockingjay but I doubt they will put it on screen.

Ditto most of the above. Have an Xbox 360 and playing Borderlands 2 at the moment which is a great game. Loved Dragon Age but couldn't get into DA2, you could tell straight away that the same amount of effort just wasn't put into the sequel. Oblivion and Skyrim are amongst my favourite games ever, as is Fallout 3 and New Vegas. Couldn't get into Mass effect at all though... far too much travelling miles and miles just to talk to some one and then doing the reverse. Going to buy Witcher 2! Hadn't heard of it before

Yeah I got mine in a boxset, not seen them separately but I'll keep an eye out. I know most people do like her as a character but we couldn't get on at all!

The Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins Synopsis Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. But Katniss has been close to death before-and survival, for her, is second nature. The Hunger Games is a searing novel set in a future with unsettling parallels to our present. Welcome to the deadliest reality TV show ever... Review Well first of all I owe Jennifer Lawrence an apology, I watched her in The Hunger Games and thought her performance wasn't great, she came across as a very bland character showing hardly any emotion despite all these things happening to her. But it turns out she played it exactly how the character is written. Katniss is a bit of a 'Mary Sue', and the descriptions of her never go into any real detail. She also gets more annoying as the books, acting like a petulant teenager for no apparent reason, and she realises she is doing this and then complains about that as well, without making any effort to cut people some slack. Not to mention the whole drawn out 'which boy do I choose?' scenario made her seem very immature. I know the book is aimed at teenagers and maybe if I had read this ten years ago it wouldn't have bothered me so much. Saying this, I didn't hate them. They are good page turners and the world is an interesting albeit simple one. I think it was a bit of a missed opportunity for Collins (although I'm sure her bank account says different), if she had focused more on creating a detailed world and had come up with a decent plan at the beginning of where she wanted the story to go it could of been a lot better. The ending felt very rushed and lacklustre, there were times, when reading it, that I actually groaned out loud as the characters had made such bad decisions, from a writing point of view. There are some interesting characters, especially Haymitch, Ceasar and Snow but they never get the opportunity to become great and memorable characters, just pushed to the sidelines for Katniss and her 'lovers'. Catching Fire spoiler: The first instalment was definitely the best and then they get progressively worse which is a real shame. I'm not looking forward to the next movies as much now, I also have no idea how they will split Mockingjay into two films with the lack of content in there. But I suppose if the Hobbit can become 3 long films then anything is possible. The Hunger Games - 8/10 Catching Fire - 7/10 Mockingjay - 6/10 Overall 7/10

Hey, welcome to the forum. Some great books on your lists, looking forward to reading more reviews

Looking forward to it but will be waiting for the paperback cause I don't like hardbacks.

Can't say I'm a French expert... or even slightly grasp the language but I thought S was commonly silent at the end of a word. As in Dumas is pronounced 'Do-Mar' But maybe i'm wrong...

I have started listening to the audio book The Count of Monte Cristo, great so far. But the narrator pronounces Dantès name as 'Dan-tez' whereas I always thought it was 'Daan-tey' how would you pronounce it?

The Impossible, hard-hitting film but Ewan McGregor is fantastic. The ending let it down a bit though.

Well done on sticking with the plan, you started King of Thorns then? Good news about the return, they won't often pay for return postage

Glad you enjoyed it, I am slowly making my way through the series, when would you suggest the best time to read the prequel is? I believe it was published around the time of the 9th or 10th book?

Not much updates from me lately, I will get some reviews written soon. I have been cracking on the small plan: The Prestige - Christopher Priest Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen Sharpe's Sword - Bernard Cornwell The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins Damned - Chuck Palahniuk Behold the Man- Michael Moorcock Now reading Catching Fire, I will review the series as a whole when I finish it, but so far it is enjoyable but not without its flaws.

Silver Linings Playbook, great film with brilliant acting.

You wouldn't want to get 'author burn out' again... Google image!

Yeah I did, only £1.99. I haven't downloaded it yet, I assumed it would have, I'll check. Would you say the map is essential?

I can trump that... just bought it 'twas a great review Steve, did you read the Kindle version? I love the cover art as well.

that's such a shame! Hopefully they will need you again in the future. Enjoy the rest of your time there!

Yeah I saw that, been a sad year. I have Gateway by Pohl on my TBR pile.

Thanks, will post my views shortly. Don't mind at all, it's a good idea, reminds me every so often that I am aiming to complete certain series before starting more. ... yeah....

Cambridge, I live and work there, but only for the last couple of years and I absolutely love it! So much character and so many academics. Yay! Not sure if there are others from BCF near Cambridge...

I'd always recommend a trip to the UK, especially Cambridge! tonnes of bookshops and lovely people but I may be bias in that.

Time for some lists: Former reading plan (now on hold): WarBreaker - Brandon Sanderson Cabal - Clive Barker The Great Hunt - Robert Jordan (Wheel of Time 2) The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie The Wind Through the Keyhole - Stephen King (Dark Tower 8) The Man in the High Castle - Phillip K. Dick The Shrinking Man - Richard Matheson The Daylight War - Peter V. Brett The Iron Lung Captain - Chris Wooding (Ketty Jay 2) She Wakes - Jack Ketchum Necessary Evil - Ian Tregillis On the Road - Jack Kerouac Joyland - Stephen King My Wife has recently read The Hunger Games trilogy and has persuaded me to as well so we can discuss them together... So I have made a small plan with some light books to whizz through: The Prestige - Christopher Priest Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen Sharpe's Sword - Bernard Cornwell The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins Damned - Chuck Palahniuk Behold the Man- Michael Moorcock Finished The Prestige earlier, enjoyable and well written but I think I prefer the film My series and big reads for the year that I set up in January: The Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan 2 of 15 The Kingkiller Chronicles - Patrick Rothfuss Up to date, abandoned Night's Dawn Trilogy - Peter F. Hamilton Not started Stormlight Archive - Brandon Sanderson Not started First Law Trilogy - Joe Abercrombie 1 of 3 Under the Dome - Stephen King Completed Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin 3 of 5 Ketty Jay - Chris Wooding 2 of 3 Books of the Art - Clive Barker Not started The Demon Cycle - Peter V. Brett Up to date Malloreon - David Eddings Not started Warlord Chronicles - Bernard Cornwell Not started Milkweed Triptych - Ian Tregallis Completed Codex Alera - Jim Butcher 2 of 6, abandoned Getting through them very slowly but not as much progress as I would of liked.

Happy Birthday!!