Month: April 2015

Review: Mr Ruins

~ sharisakurai ~ Leave a comment

Mr_Ruins

Mr Ruins (Ruins Sonata #1) by Michael John Grist

Book 1 of the Ruins Sonata trilogy.

Ritry Goligh is a former Arctic marine living in a dystopian, tsunami-wrecked future. He works as a graysmith- a specialist capable of diving the minds of others and implanting or erasing memories. Scarred by the events of the Arctic war, he leads a directionless life of alcohol, violence, and sex, until a man calling himself Mr. Ruins offers him a devil’s bargain- gain a future, but forfeit his soul.

At the same time, a crew of hardened marines rouse in a unique submarine designed to dive through lava within a planet’s molten core. They have no memories except their names, ranks, and a burning urge to complete their mission. Yet none of them know what their mission is, or what the stakes will be if they fail.

Purchase Link: www.amazon.com

Mr Ruin’s on Goodreads

Review

*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review*

Rating: 5 Stars

Mr Ruins is the first book of the Ruins Sonata trilogy. It tells two stories; the first of one man’s struggle against a terrible evil and the second of a group of marines tasked to complete their mission no matter what.

Ritry Goligh is a broken man. Working as a graysmith he fills his empty life with booze and women. When the story begins he’s weak, seriously flawed and at times a difficult character to like. As the novel progresses and Ritry is struggling to get his life back in order he becomes stronger and very likeable, and definitely I found myself caring for the character and his fate.

Mr Ruins is an excellent antagonist and the perfect adversary for Ritry.  He incorporates everything a villain should be; ruthless, devious, manipulative, charismatic, frightening. You could literally feel the atmosphere of the novel change with every scene that he was in.

Alongside Ritry’s battle against Mr Ruins runs the story of a group of marines who are tasked with completing a mission without any knowledge of their time before it began and what might happen should they fail. At first the two stories seem unconnected but further into the novel how they are interlinked becomes clear.

Mr Ruins is a fantastic and extremely well-written science fiction novel. The plot is engaging, compelling and very cleverly thought out, which kept me guessing right up until the very end. I highly recommend Mr Ruins to lovers of the science fiction genre!

JAPAN NIGHT comes to London, July 2015

~ sharisakurai ~ Leave a comment

Japan Night Banner

JAPAN NIGHT comes to London, July 2015

10 July

VAMPS

[Alexandros]

Okamoto’s 

11 July

VAMPS

[Alexandros]

Ling tosite sigure

VENUE: Indigo at The 02

JAPAN NIGHT – MOVE WITH THE MUSIC OF JAPAN announces its first London shows taking place on 10 & 11 July bringing the best talent from Japan to us here at Indigo at The O2. The two fabulous shows coincide with Hyper Japan, which will be taking place on the same dates in The 02.

JAPAN NIGHT was initially held in 2014 as the last music event at Kokuritsu Kyogijo (National Olympic Stadium in Tokyo), welcoming leading Japanese artists including L’Arc-en-Ciel with the theme “Move with the music of Japan”. The new show will bring us both fresh and established talent with a strong line-up that will culminate in a performance from the fantastic VAMPS truly not a performance to miss.

“We are proud to be chosen as the promoter of the 1st JAPAN NIGHT in London and we will make sure that this will be a memorable concert for all Japanese music fans in London!” said Rob Hallett, CEO of Robomagic.

Tickets go on sale 9am Friday 10 April and are available from Robomagiclive.com or 0844 856 0202

Purchase Tickets at: http://www.theo2.co.uk/events/detail/japan-night

VAMPS

VAMPS

Formed by HYDE from L’Arc-en-Ciel and K.A.Z (Oblivion Dust) in 2008, in the 7 years since their formation, they have played a total of more than 350 live shows both in Japan and internationally. Well known for their signature “take-over” style live shows at the ZEPP venues throughout Japan, the duo continue to play a vast variety of shows, including arena venues, outdoor gigs and their famous annual Halloween Event.

Alexandros

[Alexandros]

Officially started in 2007, the band has released four albums and successfully sold out all of their tours. Despite being independent, their single and album releases have all charted in the Oricon top 10. [Alexandros] have opened up for bands like MUSE, PRIMAL SCREAM, and KASABIAN when they have played in Japan. Recently, they have played overseas at “SXSW” in the U.S., “THE GREAT ESCAPE” in England, and “one-man” concerts in Taiwan. They sold out their first Nippon Budokan solo show, the day tickets went on sale. The band continues to headline festivals all across the country.

Okamoto's

OKAMOTO’S

A four-piece rock band of junior high school classmates.  The band name and the members’ names come from avant-garde artist Taro Okamoto and the legendary punk band Ramones, both of whom they highly respect.  In 2014, the band celebrated their 5th debut anniversary with a commemorative album, which was a collaborative project with a spectacular list of artists such as RIP SLYME and Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra to name a few, and with a tremendously successful concert at the Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall in Tokyo in the fall.   OKAMOTO’S is the leading figure among the young bands on the Japanese music scene.

Ling tosite sigure

Ling tosite sigure

Trio rock band, Ling tosite sigure are making a great breakthrough in Japan at the moment. They don’t make many media appearances but word of mouth about the bands live performance is a key factor in boosting their popularity. Not only their remarkable performance, but the bands signature sound is also uniquely appealing – sharp and tough guitar sounds, male-female intertwined high-pitched vocals, strong and steady distorted bass sounds, hard drum play, and progressive beats weave together to make exquisite music. The band released their “Best of Tornado” album and the latest single “Who What Who What”  on the same day in January 2015. “Who What Who What” was used for “PSYCHO-PASS: The Movie” as the title tune.

Review: Death Defiant

~ sharisakurai ~ 1 Comment

death_defiantDeath Defiant by Paige Reiring

When humans began hunting them thousands of years ago, demons locked themselves away in their own dimension, leaving their half-demon spawn to wander the earth. Abandoned, alone, and outcast from all societies, half-demons formed their own small cities or learned to live, mutilated and hidden, from the humans who wanted them dead.

After saving a stranger in a busy New York street, Cherifa reveals to the world her two biggest secrets: she’s a half-demon, and she can’t die. With humans, demons, and everything in-between wanting to harness her power, Cheri must go on the run with the eccentric person she saved. But her death has sparked waves of revolution in the half-demon community, and if she wants to stop an interdimensional war, she’ll have to go through Hell to do it.

Purchase Links: www.amazon.com

Death Defiant on Goodreads

Review

*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review*

Rating: 3 Stars

I had mixed feelings about this novel as I reached its end. Some things I enjoyed and others I was not so keen on.

The concept and characters I really liked. The author has clearly taken time to develop her ideas and characters. Cherifa, the protagonist, is a half-demon who cannot die. By saving the life of a stranger Cherifa places herself in the middle of a war where all sides wish to use her to their advantage. Not knowing who to trust Cherifa must make decisions that not only affect her but possibly the outcome of the war.

The characterisation is excellent and as the novel progresses you see Cherifa and the supporting cast growing and developing further. I really enjoyed the beginning of the relationship between Cherifa and Belkor. It happened so naturally and wasn’t rushed at all so you can really appreciate the little moments between them and recognise them for what they are even before they do!

However, I did feel that perhaps there could have been some further description of the dimensions in some places as I was left trying to fill in a few more blanks than I would have liked too. I also did feel that the pace was hurried and that a little more time could have been taken to develop the story-line in places.

Overall Death Defiant is a good fantasy read with an engaging plot and interesting characters, but there are some things that I felt could made it even more enjoyable for me. This is probably more for readers who prefer a faster pace, but I would definitely like to read more of Cherifa’s story in the future.