lots and lots
Jul. 5th, 2019 11:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lunabee341. I decided to do a Percy Jackson series reread before I reread Byatt's Possession. I don't want to get author fatigue, and Riordan is pretty much a 180 from Byatt. My palate is cleansed! LOL
The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I love Tyson so hard. I love that Percy comes to care for and rely on him as much as Grover and Annabeth.
This is really the book that solidifies the relationship of the core trio.
Luke continues to tug at the heartstrings; I do love a sympathetic villain.
View all my reviews
The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Oh, man. This is where the series gets real. The first sympathetic characters die (Zoe *sniffle*), the characters are old enough to be thinking about romantic love, and parent/child relationships are complicated (Annabeth's dad flying into battle in his little biplane always gets me straight in the feels; love it).
I can't wait until Nico becomes a real player in the narrative.
View all my reviews
The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book introduces Rachel Elizabeth Dare who is one of my favorite characters. We also get much more of Nico who is another favorite (so dark and tortured and angsty! LOL).
I had forgotten that Percy meets Calypso before Leo does in the Heroes of Olympus series; Calypso is also a favorite of mine.
I absolutely love that Grover is able to finish his quest for Pan and that Tyson gets to be a big hero.
View all my reviews
The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is such a satisfying conclusion. Percy levels up with the Achilles treatment but remains humble and an all-around good guy. Annabeth is able to find the good in Luke, and Luke goes out a hero. Silena goes full-on Patroclus to atone for her spying (and I love that the spy is someone I did not expect on first read) which leads to Clarisse being given the favor of Ares. Ethan Nakamura fulfills his destiny when Percy asks for all the children of the gods to be claimed and for Hades to be honored at camp as well. Tyson even levels up! Percy and Annabeth finally acknowledge their feelings for each other, and Rachel takes on a new role as the oracle. No loose threads, everything comes to fruition, and Riordan does a great job of making each book build on each other so that little moments from each book all culminate to create the ending.
And the final battle is once again just Percy, Annabeth, and Grover. Gotta love that symmetry.
I also love that Riordan finds all the whacked out creatures the ancient Greeks believed in (half horse, half chicken? really?) that don't feature in the most popular myths; I mean, I consider myself to be pretty conversant with Greek mythology, and I'd never heard of a significant number of most of the creatures/monsters in this series.
I can't recommend this series enough. Riordan is such a good writer.
View all my reviews
2. We took Fiona to her first movie in the theater yesterday, Toy Story 4. I think I have probably seen bits and pieces of the Toy Story movies, and I have osmosised a lot about the series, but I've never watched a full movie. This one was really cute, very funny and sweet. I cried like twelve times, and Fiona loved it. Forky's trash sequence was Fi's favorite part. :)
3. We finished Jessica Jones season 2!
I gotta say, as much as she is an awful person, and as much as what she does is awful, I am rooting for Jeri the whole way as she gets her revenge. I mean, damn. Badass doesn't just mean physical might.
I know that she walks it back in the finale, but I really like that Trish's mom doesn't blame Jessica for Trish's injuries. She is the best self she can be in these final two episodes, and I like seeing something real and good about her rather than her just being villainous (which is why abuse is so hard, right? most abusers are rarely evil on a 24/7 basis).
Jessica's mom is something else. I know she eventually realizes that what she's asking Jessica to do is wrong, but she doesn't get WHY it's wrong. She is worried about Jessica getting hurt or killed; if there was no danger of that, she'd still be all on team Eternal Oppression of My Daughter. She doesn't get that asking Jessica to give up her life and be her mother's keeper until they die is unfair and wrong and UNFAIR! And when Jessica inevitably fails to keep her in line, how much stronger would the guilt be then when that's literally her only job?
Trish is right that Jessica's mom has to die; I just wish that she didn't feel compelled to do it. Trish genuinely believes that she is saving Jessica's life by killing her mother. Jessica covers for Trish even in her sorrow and rage; she could just keep Trish there until the cops arrive and make Trish take the rap, but she doesn't. Even after everything, the two of them love each other so much, but I just don't see how they can get past this. :(
Jessica's mom says that people with superpowers can't have real friends or real relationships, and I love that Jessica proves her wrong by strengthening her relationship with the super and his kid (which I gotta say, he is a keeper; I would have noped out with Jess a long time ago because that is some scary and dangerous shit to be adjacent to).
I absolutely love that Malcolm repairs everything in Jess's apartment before he moves on; he ties up all his loose ends, and he moves on. I think that's a good thing for him. I think he and Jess can probably repair their relationship at some point. Absolutely love him helping Jeri to smoke her partners.
I am totally unspoiled for season 3. I probably won't watch it for awhile; Josh and I have switched to Daredevil, and we'll be mainlining Stranger Things as soon as Emma gets back from her vacation with Josh's sister. I have seen on the flist that general reactions to JJ season 3 have been negative, so I'm all eeeep.
4. We watched the first three episodes of Daredevil season 3.
I do not like the effect they're using to demonstrate that Matt's hearing is damaged; all it means is that I can't hear anything. LOL I also am confused; he spends the first two episodes thinking he's lost his powers, but then in the third, he's miraculously fine again but without the moment of becoming fine shown. Am I missing something? It seems like something got edited out to me, but IDK.
Totally digging Matt's crisis of faith and purpose. He's really having a dark month of the soul.
Love Karen. I love that her Spidey sense tells her that Matt's still alive even if her retaining his apartment is very sad. Love that she and Foggy are still close. Love that she is excelling as a journalist.
Sister Maggie is awesome. Like seriously awesome. Clearly this is because she used to be Sorsha in a past life (OMG, Sorsha!!!!).
Fisk is such a damn good villain. I love his imagination of his dinner in prison vs the reality of that dinner. And, of course, his one ennobling quality is his love for Vanessa.
Nadim is such an interesting character. I thought that Fisk was going to recruit him for his financial difficulties, and he still may, but I think Nadim is more interesting if he continues to behave ethically despite the obvious temptation.
I guess Karen's backstory about her brother is fully explained in Punisher?
Love seeing Foggy's family.
Have no idea what's up with Agent Dex. I think he might be a new villain. He's certainly stalking "Julie" like an utter creep.
And then Matt reveals himself to Foggy and steals his wallet! OMG. I mean, on the one hand, Karen and Foggy were absolute shits to Matt (and I'm not sure the narrative recognizes that IDK), and he is perfectly entitled to his hurt feelings. On the other, they love Matt and mourn him, and Matt is being so cold.
I JUST WANT THE THREE FRIENDOS TO BE FRIENDOS AGAIN!!!!!
The Sea of Monsters by Rick RiordanMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I love Tyson so hard. I love that Percy comes to care for and rely on him as much as Grover and Annabeth.
This is really the book that solidifies the relationship of the core trio.
Luke continues to tug at the heartstrings; I do love a sympathetic villain.
View all my reviews
The Titan's Curse by Rick RiordanMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Oh, man. This is where the series gets real. The first sympathetic characters die (Zoe *sniffle*), the characters are old enough to be thinking about romantic love, and parent/child relationships are complicated (Annabeth's dad flying into battle in his little biplane always gets me straight in the feels; love it).
I can't wait until Nico becomes a real player in the narrative.
View all my reviews
The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick RiordanMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book introduces Rachel Elizabeth Dare who is one of my favorite characters. We also get much more of Nico who is another favorite (so dark and tortured and angsty! LOL).
I had forgotten that Percy meets Calypso before Leo does in the Heroes of Olympus series; Calypso is also a favorite of mine.
I absolutely love that Grover is able to finish his quest for Pan and that Tyson gets to be a big hero.
View all my reviews
The Last Olympian by Rick RiordanMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is such a satisfying conclusion. Percy levels up with the Achilles treatment but remains humble and an all-around good guy. Annabeth is able to find the good in Luke, and Luke goes out a hero. Silena goes full-on Patroclus to atone for her spying (and I love that the spy is someone I did not expect on first read) which leads to Clarisse being given the favor of Ares. Ethan Nakamura fulfills his destiny when Percy asks for all the children of the gods to be claimed and for Hades to be honored at camp as well. Tyson even levels up! Percy and Annabeth finally acknowledge their feelings for each other, and Rachel takes on a new role as the oracle. No loose threads, everything comes to fruition, and Riordan does a great job of making each book build on each other so that little moments from each book all culminate to create the ending.
And the final battle is once again just Percy, Annabeth, and Grover. Gotta love that symmetry.
I also love that Riordan finds all the whacked out creatures the ancient Greeks believed in (half horse, half chicken? really?) that don't feature in the most popular myths; I mean, I consider myself to be pretty conversant with Greek mythology, and I'd never heard of a significant number of most of the creatures/monsters in this series.
I can't recommend this series enough. Riordan is such a good writer.
View all my reviews
2. We took Fiona to her first movie in the theater yesterday, Toy Story 4. I think I have probably seen bits and pieces of the Toy Story movies, and I have osmosised a lot about the series, but I've never watched a full movie. This one was really cute, very funny and sweet. I cried like twelve times, and Fiona loved it. Forky's trash sequence was Fi's favorite part. :)
3. We finished Jessica Jones season 2!
I gotta say, as much as she is an awful person, and as much as what she does is awful, I am rooting for Jeri the whole way as she gets her revenge. I mean, damn. Badass doesn't just mean physical might.
I know that she walks it back in the finale, but I really like that Trish's mom doesn't blame Jessica for Trish's injuries. She is the best self she can be in these final two episodes, and I like seeing something real and good about her rather than her just being villainous (which is why abuse is so hard, right? most abusers are rarely evil on a 24/7 basis).
Jessica's mom is something else. I know she eventually realizes that what she's asking Jessica to do is wrong, but she doesn't get WHY it's wrong. She is worried about Jessica getting hurt or killed; if there was no danger of that, she'd still be all on team Eternal Oppression of My Daughter. She doesn't get that asking Jessica to give up her life and be her mother's keeper until they die is unfair and wrong and UNFAIR! And when Jessica inevitably fails to keep her in line, how much stronger would the guilt be then when that's literally her only job?
Trish is right that Jessica's mom has to die; I just wish that she didn't feel compelled to do it. Trish genuinely believes that she is saving Jessica's life by killing her mother. Jessica covers for Trish even in her sorrow and rage; she could just keep Trish there until the cops arrive and make Trish take the rap, but she doesn't. Even after everything, the two of them love each other so much, but I just don't see how they can get past this. :(
Jessica's mom says that people with superpowers can't have real friends or real relationships, and I love that Jessica proves her wrong by strengthening her relationship with the super and his kid (which I gotta say, he is a keeper; I would have noped out with Jess a long time ago because that is some scary and dangerous shit to be adjacent to).
I absolutely love that Malcolm repairs everything in Jess's apartment before he moves on; he ties up all his loose ends, and he moves on. I think that's a good thing for him. I think he and Jess can probably repair their relationship at some point. Absolutely love him helping Jeri to smoke her partners.
I am totally unspoiled for season 3. I probably won't watch it for awhile; Josh and I have switched to Daredevil, and we'll be mainlining Stranger Things as soon as Emma gets back from her vacation with Josh's sister. I have seen on the flist that general reactions to JJ season 3 have been negative, so I'm all eeeep.
4. We watched the first three episodes of Daredevil season 3.
I do not like the effect they're using to demonstrate that Matt's hearing is damaged; all it means is that I can't hear anything. LOL I also am confused; he spends the first two episodes thinking he's lost his powers, but then in the third, he's miraculously fine again but without the moment of becoming fine shown. Am I missing something? It seems like something got edited out to me, but IDK.
Totally digging Matt's crisis of faith and purpose. He's really having a dark month of the soul.
Love Karen. I love that her Spidey sense tells her that Matt's still alive even if her retaining his apartment is very sad. Love that she and Foggy are still close. Love that she is excelling as a journalist.
Sister Maggie is awesome. Like seriously awesome. Clearly this is because she used to be Sorsha in a past life (OMG, Sorsha!!!!).
Fisk is such a damn good villain. I love his imagination of his dinner in prison vs the reality of that dinner. And, of course, his one ennobling quality is his love for Vanessa.
Nadim is such an interesting character. I thought that Fisk was going to recruit him for his financial difficulties, and he still may, but I think Nadim is more interesting if he continues to behave ethically despite the obvious temptation.
I guess Karen's backstory about her brother is fully explained in Punisher?
Love seeing Foggy's family.
Have no idea what's up with Agent Dex. I think he might be a new villain. He's certainly stalking "Julie" like an utter creep.
And then Matt reveals himself to Foggy and steals his wallet! OMG. I mean, on the one hand, Karen and Foggy were absolute shits to Matt (and I'm not sure the narrative recognizes that IDK), and he is perfectly entitled to his hurt feelings. On the other, they love Matt and mourn him, and Matt is being so cold.
I JUST WANT THE THREE FRIENDOS TO BE FRIENDOS AGAIN!!!!!
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Date: 2019-07-05 04:24 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2019-07-05 06:43 pm (UTC)Yay for Fiona going to the movies! I've only seen the first Toy Story movie. I'm glad she had a good time.
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Date: 2019-07-06 01:12 am (UTC)Fi did have a good time. Her attention began waning about 15 minutes from the end, but on the whole, it was a good time.
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Date: 2019-07-05 07:11 pm (UTC)Hee! ♥
I've never read the Percy Jackson books but they sound more and more interesting to me.
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Date: 2019-07-06 01:13 am (UTC)I like the Heroes of Olympus series best; it directly follows the Percy Jackson series and you need to have read it to get Heroes of Olympus.
Frankly, I've enjoyed all of the Riordan I've read: Magnus Chase series, Trials of Apollo series. He's just really good.
I mean, it's 100% for teenagers, but it's good storytelling.
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Date: 2019-07-05 07:50 pm (UTC)Jessica's mom is awfully damaged, but I have a soft spot for her. (Probably didn't hurt that she was played by Janet McTeer.) Beyond Jess' pain at losing her mom twice, I felt doubly (triply?) bad that Trish had to bring her own mom issues into the whole thing. Though I might be alone in the fandom in feeling that Trish needs a good hard kick in the ass. She spends way too much time feeling sorry for herself, trying to recover that Patsy shine, and bringing everyone around her down in the process.
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Date: 2019-07-06 01:17 am (UTC)The way she treats Malcolm alone is . . . wow. I mean, I can see that in the moment she kills Jess's mom that she really is trying to do the right thing to protect Jess there; but everything she does leading up to the moment is just such bullshit.
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Date: 2019-07-05 09:23 pm (UTC)OTOH DD S3 was GREAT and completely restored a lot of my happiness after that S2 and I really liked where it ended up. I hope you like it!
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Date: 2019-07-09 08:09 pm (UTC)And now Tyson has a girlfriend, Ella the harpy, in the Heroes series.
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Date: 2019-07-10 03:07 am (UTC)Love the sea horsey. Too bad they didn't make any merchandise from the movies. I would have bought the sea horsey stuffed animal!