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Book Review: The Last Days of Magic by Mark Tompkins

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
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View on Amazon.co.uk
 If you like any sort of fantasy fiction then The Last Days of Magic by Mark Tompkins is a must read novel that you’ll love.

The Last Days of Magic is set in the past where Ireland is the last magical stronghold in the world.

But it is under threat. The Vatican is determined to wipe out all creatures and men with magic. All creatures and men with magic came from fallen angels mating with humans. The Vatican believes that this is against God’s will.

In Ireland you have the Morrigna (twins that wield the power of the triple Goddess and are born when Ireland is in a time of great need) Sidhe (faeries), Druids, Witches, Sorcerers and the formations. The formations are hostile creatures that live in the water around Ireland and have kept it protected from invading ships.

But a plot is underway for King Richard in England to conquer Ireland, supported by the Vatican.

The Last Days of Magic mixes mythology, magic and fantasy wonderfully. It’s a gripping story, with a wide range of compelling characters, that is easy to read, captivating and thoroughly enjoyable.

It’s a novel about how Ireland falls to the English and the Vatican and the parts played by the magnificent characters which includes:

  • Aisling & Anya – twins and aspects of the triple Goddess.
  • Liam – Aisling & Anya protector. His mother is Sidhe, his father human.
  • Brigid – High Priestess of the Order of Macha.
  • Conor – Aisling’s love interest.
  • Jordan – Marshal/Vatican Representative.
  • Najia – Jodan’s lover and a Witch.
  • Ty – A fascinating creature and character. Immune to all spells and enchantments.
  • Richard – King of England.
  • Isabeau – Queen of France and Grand High Sorciere of a Coven.

The Last Days of Magic is an average length novel and this meant it had some restrictions.

First character growth felt like sudden jumps. This was due to the time hopping required in the average length novel to cover the scope of what Tompkins wanted to cover.

Second that only snip its from the war between the Irish and English were written about. Again for the same reason: the large scope of the idea being fit into an average length novel.

Tompkins could have turned his idea for The Last Days of Magic into a series of novels. I would have bought, read, enjoyed and recommended them all – due to Tompkins well thought out plots, brilliant description, completely real characters and engaging writers voice.

The Last Days of Magic is available to buy on Amazon and at all good book shops.

Review soon,

Antony

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Sunday 26 August 2018

Wonderful Websites – Music & Radio

By Amazon, Music & Radio, Technology, The WebNo Comments
wonderful-websites-image This is the ninth blog post in a series titled Wonderful Websites. The first focused on general health and can be read here. The second focused on mental health and mental illness and can be read here.

The third post focused on shopping and can be read here. The fourth focused on money and can be read here.

The fifth focused on gigs, shows and theatres and can be read here. The sixth focused on paganism and can be read here.

The seventh focused on gay culture and society and can be read here. The eighth focused on TV, Online Streaming & Films and can be read here.

Here’s Wonderful Websites for music & radio:

1. YouTube – It’s great for discovering new music. You can watch official music videos or lyrical videos. Plus YouTube will automatically find related videos.

2. iTunes – Podcasts – I love a good Podcast. Podcasts are like prerecorded talk radio shows. Two I enjoy are Desperate House Witches and The Gay Agenda.

3. iTunes – A quick and convenient way to buy and download music. I dislike the restrictions Apple are placing more and more on the music you buy through their store.

4. BBC iPlayer Radio – The great way to listen to and catch up any BBC radio station.

5. Gaydio Radio – If you like dance music you’d love Gaydio. I listen on the odd occasion. However a wider variety of music and some discussion programmes would better represent the diversity in the gay community.

6. Spotify – I got a Spotify Preimum free trial with a phone contract a number of years ago. I loved it. But when the free trial ended the £9.99 per month was in my mind too expensive for a service that you get nothing tangible from.

I tried the free version but the advertising was too frequent and quickly became too irritating to stand. So I don’t use Spotify at all now.

7. Heart Radio – I’ve recently discovered Heart Radio thorough hire car and courtesy car radios as my car has been off the road (see It Comes in Threes).

8. Smooth Radio – I like a bit of Smooth radio as it helps me relax. Even if they do repeat the same tracks far too often.

9. Amazon Music Unlimited – I’ve never tried Amazon Music Unlimited. I bet it’s great if you have Amazon devices such as the Amazon Echo.

Are there any music & radio websites that you think are useful that aren’t on the list? If so leave a comment below and let me know.

In the next post in my Wonderful Websites series I will list great websites for technology.

Blog soon,

Antony

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Monday 16 July 2018

Wonderful Websites – TV, Online Streaming & Films

By Amazon, The Web, TV, Online Streaming & Films2 Comments
wonderful-websites-image This is the eighth blog post in a series titled Wonderful Websites. The first focused on general health and can be read here. The second focused on mental health and mental illness and can be read here. The third post focused on shopping and can be read here.

The fourth focused on money and can be read here. The fifth focused on gigs, shows and theatres and can be read here. The sixth focused on paganism and can be read here. The seventh focused on gay culture and society and can be read here.

Here’s Wonderful Websites for TV, Online Streaming & Films:

1. Netflix – Is great for TV series and films. I use Netflix for rubbish watching when I want to relax. I like American documentaries like Lock Up and Prepers.

I like all Sci-Fi series of Star Trek and other programmes like Designated Survivor, Z Nation, Zoo, classic films and the large variety of comedy on offer.

2. BBC iPlayer – The iPlayer has a great variety of programmes. I enjoy watching programmes like Planet Earth, Doctor Who, Question Time and The Last Kingdom. I don’t regularly watch the iPlayer, just when I know there’s been something on TV that I’d like to watch.

3. YouTube – Has some great content on it. From music videos, tutorials for just about anything and funny cat videos. You can also find some old TV programme in full on there.

4. All 4 – I only occasionally watch things on Channel 4, but what I like about it is that it has full box sets available to watch.

5. ITV Hub – Good to watch the odd programme that I like on ITV. What’s off putting is the repetitive adverts. For this reason I can’t stand to watch more than a couple of programmes at any one time.

6. TED: Ideas worth sharing – Has some brilliant videos by experts and specialists in a wide range of fields. The videos are around a wide range of topics and mostly are fascinating, informative and enlightening.

7. Amazon Prime Video – I’ve never used this service, but know people that swear by it.

8. iTunes Video – I’ve only ever bought one film off iTunes. This is because a lot of times buying the DVD on Amazom is cheaper or the same price. I’m also not keen on the restrictions Apple are placing more and more on content you buy through their store.

Are there any TV, Online Streaming & Films websites that you think are useful that aren’t on the list? If so leave a comment below and let me know.

In the next post in my Wonderful Websites series I will list great websites for music.

Blog soon,

Antony

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I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


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Sunday 15 July 2018

Book Review: It by Stephen King

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
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View on Amazon.co.uk
 In Derry a dark force has awoken, named It.

Seven children battled It twenty seven years before and almost beat it. This monster wakes every twenty seven years and murder, dismember and feed on children. It has the ability to change its form, to become the things that individual children fear and likes to take the form of Pennywise the clown.

Then following a big event were It reaches its peak of activity, then the monster sleeps. This cycle has been repeating since before records began, but nobody likes to talk about it or write about it. It’s like all the citizens of Derry have willful blindness.

It tells the story of Bill (Big Bill), Eddie, Richie, Bev, Ben, Stan and Mike. Their battle with It as children and their return to Derry as adults to face It again.

As adults will they have the same magic that they had as children to beat It? And this time, will they be able to finish what they started twenty seven years ago?

This book is way too long. It has 1,166 pages and the reader will find themselves counting down the pages. The plot is simple, most of the book is character development, rather than storytelling. Whole sections of this book could be cut without any interfering with the plot and would still have give the reader a good sense of each individual character. The description was overly wordy at times.

There are some iconic horror scenes that will stay with the reader long after they have read the book. These scenes would lend themselves brilliantly to film, which is why it is no surprise that it was recently made into a film.

Overall what made It mildly enjoyable was getting to know the characters. The plot lacked any captivating moments, twists or turns. This story could easily have been told in a standard novel size, rather than this massive book. Inadequate editing and seemingly no harsh cutting let this book down.

It is available to buy on Amazon and at all good book shops.

Review soon,

Antony

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I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


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Saturday 7 July 2018
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