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Sep 21, 2024 | 
thoughtsfromthemountaintop.com | Patti Aliventi |J. Michael Straczynski |Larry DiTillio |Peter David
Written by J. Michael Straczynski, Larry DiTillio, and Peter DavidDirected by Michael VejarAt first glance, All The Honor Lies seems to just be a bit of humorous filler in the ongoing story. In actuality, it is one of those episodes that stands alone well while also managing to be humorous and give us a bit more background into some of the alien species we see on Babylon 5.
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Sep 7, 2024 | 
thoughtsfromthemountaintop.com | Patti Aliventi
Following the events in Without Warning, where a mysterious energy wave kills off most of the population of North America, comes After America by John Birmingham. Set five years later in the future, we find a country – and a world – trying to find itself and battle forces looking to take advantage of the vacuum that was created by the essential disappearance of the United States. President James Kipper is leading what remains of the United States population.
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May 27, 2024 | 
thoughtsfromthemountaintop.com | Patti Aliventi
Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Blackstone Publishing, and Rebecca J. Sanford for the advanced reader copy of the book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book. This is one of those books that hit me right in the gut. The author, Rebecca Sandford, doesn’t state that she’s an adoptee. If she isn’t, then somewhere along the lines she had some honest conversations with people who are. Her descriptions of what it’s like to be adopted are spot on.
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Feb 6, 2024 | 
thoughtsfromthemountaintop.com | Patti Aliventi
Nothing, really. But she’s making a lot of people crazy and it’s very eye-opening. For the record, I’m not a fan. I don’t like her music. A couple of my kids are fans of hers, which is fine. Every generation has their differences. I do like what she has done with her celebrity, though. She has tried to do what good she can, bringing issues to light that she feels strongly about and helping out various charities and food banks while on tour. Her employees all received “life-changing” bonuses on her tour.
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Feb 5, 2024 | 
thoughtsfromthemountaintop.com | Patti Aliventi |Diana Gabaldon |Ronald Moore |Anne Kenney
Written by Diana Gabaldon, Ronald D. Moore, and Anne KenneyDirected by Mike BarkerFollowing the events of the witch trial, Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire (Caitriona Balfe) aren’t safe at Castle Leoch. Although Jamie is still a wanted man, he believes they will be safe at his ancestral home, Lallybroch, and the two of them decide to make the journey there. Along the way, Claire regales Jamie with tales of the future, including airplanes.
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Feb 2, 2024 | 
thoughtsfromthemountaintop.com | Patti Aliventi
Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Bookoutre, and Kate Hewitt for the advanced reader copy of the book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book. There are so many historical fiction books out there for the period of the Second World War, it’s hard to find a new angle. Perhaps The Girl on the Boat isn’t quite a new angle, but there’s a good perspective here that’s different than many of the rest and is a good beginning to a promising series of books.
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Jan 31, 2024 | 
thoughtsfromthemountaintop.com | Patti Aliventi
Aden’s Chance is the fourth book in a time-travel/alternate history series by Michael Roberts. The premise here is a bit different, in that the main character is from a future that is different from what we know. In that future, the British won the Revolutionary War, and the United States were just colonies in rebellion who were quickly put down. Thomas Cain was sent back from a future where the British ruled most of the world with an iron fist.
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Jan 30, 2024 | 
thoughtsfromthemountaintop.com | Patti Aliventi |Richard Kelly
Written by Richard KellyDirected by Richard KellyBack around 2008, I’d heard so much about the film Donnie Darko, and yet I still didn’t know what I was in for when I finally watched it. Although parts of the story became clear early on, some of it even after the film was over left me scratching my head. That’s not to say it wasn’t a good film – it’s just one of those films that work quite well with repeat viewing as some nuances are captured then.
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Jan 10, 2024 | 
thoughtsfromthemountaintop.com | Patti Aliventi
Harry Turtledove writes in a genre known as alternate history. The premise is to usually take an event in history and to wonder if something different had happened what the effect on the world would be. In The Wages of Sin, Turtledove creates a world where HIV was spread via the slave trade in the 1500s, then takes the reader to 19th-century England. What if Henry VIII died of “The Wasting” (as it’s known) before he could separate England from the Roman Catholic Church?
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Dec 27, 2023 | 
thoughtsfromthemountaintop.com | Patti Aliventi
opinions, ideas, thoughts, & reviews Book Reviews I had a good year in reading books. Considering a few years ago I couldn’t read at all due to a head injury, this is a great accomplishment. I had my goal this year set at 60 books but upped it to 65 when I saw I was going to hit 60 easily. I think I’ll leave it at 65 for next year.
