Summary:
Lizzy Tucker is a cupcake baker. That's all she wants to be. But Diesel, a magically inclined guy who says Lizzy's got a gift, keeps drawing her into his adventures, because she's one of two people in the world that can find magical objects. This time around, he's after another of the seven stones linked to the seven deadly sins. This time, they're after the Lust stone, and they need to find it before Diesel's handsome-but-creepy cousin, Wulf, gets it first. Add to the mix a cast of nuts: Glo is Lizzy's friend and a wannabe witch still looking for love; Hatchet is a medieval cosplaying weirdo Wulf recruited only because he's the OTHER magical object finder; Anarchy is the legitimately insane woman with no help finding the stone except to follow any clues she can find. Happy hunting, Lizzy and Diesel!
Thoughts:
Not bad. Solid story, some good twists at the end. And I'm digging Anarchy's addition to the series. She's made things crazier than ever. I will say, Glo still reads like Lula from the Numbers series. Hatchet drives me nuts, in a scared for the other characters kind of way. I'm fairly sure he's not going anywhere, but he's really not a nice person... Then again, that just means he's written well. Which I completely expect from Ms. Evanovich at this point. And boy, is she good at the sexual tension business. Lizzy and Diesel WANT to hook up, but they can't, for magical reasons. But they think about it real hard. Overall, not a bad addition to the series. I'm looking forward to more from this pair, but that could just be because I really like Diesel.
Book 14 of 50
Pages: 308
Genre: mystery, fantasy, and a touch of romance
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: Yup. Read the Plum between the numbers books first, or at the very least "Wicked Appetite" and you'll be caught up.
Showing posts with label fantasy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fantasy. Show all posts
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Wicked Appetite (Janet Evanovich)
Summary:
Lizzy is a cupcake baker in Salem, Massachusetts. Diesel is, well, Diesel. Operating in the same world as the holiday Plum series, Diesel is an Unmentionable, a human being who has some sort of magical powers. Diesel can unlock any door, and is apparently great in bed. He tells Lizzy that she's an Unmentionable too, someone who can identify mystical objects just by touching them. Diesel asks Lizzy to help him find a Stone that harnesses one of the seven deadly sins before his evil cousin, Wulf, finds it. Rounding out the cast of this new(ish) series is Glo, a wannabe witch who is far better at bungling spells than actually casting them, the object of a botched spell, Shirley, who speaks only in gobbledegook for most of the book (with laugh-out-loud-funny results!), Cat 7136, a shelter cat who seems to be Lizzy's Great Aunt Ophelia's cat, and Carl the monkey, whose antics can be seen first in Plum Spooky and who is really fond of flipping people off.
Thoughts:
It's nice to see Evanovich branching out a bit. Though, like Metro Girl, this book feels very much like Plum Lite. Lizzy is a different woman for sure, but it still feels a little like a Plum, especially with the added bonus of Diesel and Carl. I won't lie, though, it was nice to have some more Diesel, because he's just a fun character. It's interesting to see Stephanie Plum's fantasy-based world extended northward to Salem, for sure. Diesel does make references to his past in Trenton a few times, especially with respect to Carl. This book definitely had me giggling quite a bit. Particularly when spells start going wrong with Shirley and she tries in vain to get her point across. It's pretty spectacular. It even had Hubby laughing when I read it aloud, and he has just about the driest sense of humor I've ever come across. Another fun one from Ms. Evanovich. Approved! I'll be moving on to Wicked Business soon, too. Woo hoo!
Book 8 of 50
Pages: 313
Genre: Mystery with a hint of fantasy and a tiny bit of romance. TINY bit.
Grade: A-/B+
Would I Recommend?: Sure. I do recommend reading Plum Spooky before, at least, to get the full appreciation of Carl (and Diesel), but it's not entirely necessary.
Lizzy is a cupcake baker in Salem, Massachusetts. Diesel is, well, Diesel. Operating in the same world as the holiday Plum series, Diesel is an Unmentionable, a human being who has some sort of magical powers. Diesel can unlock any door, and is apparently great in bed. He tells Lizzy that she's an Unmentionable too, someone who can identify mystical objects just by touching them. Diesel asks Lizzy to help him find a Stone that harnesses one of the seven deadly sins before his evil cousin, Wulf, finds it. Rounding out the cast of this new(ish) series is Glo, a wannabe witch who is far better at bungling spells than actually casting them, the object of a botched spell, Shirley, who speaks only in gobbledegook for most of the book (with laugh-out-loud-funny results!), Cat 7136, a shelter cat who seems to be Lizzy's Great Aunt Ophelia's cat, and Carl the monkey, whose antics can be seen first in Plum Spooky and who is really fond of flipping people off.
Thoughts:
It's nice to see Evanovich branching out a bit. Though, like Metro Girl, this book feels very much like Plum Lite. Lizzy is a different woman for sure, but it still feels a little like a Plum, especially with the added bonus of Diesel and Carl. I won't lie, though, it was nice to have some more Diesel, because he's just a fun character. It's interesting to see Stephanie Plum's fantasy-based world extended northward to Salem, for sure. Diesel does make references to his past in Trenton a few times, especially with respect to Carl. This book definitely had me giggling quite a bit. Particularly when spells start going wrong with Shirley and she tries in vain to get her point across. It's pretty spectacular. It even had Hubby laughing when I read it aloud, and he has just about the driest sense of humor I've ever come across. Another fun one from Ms. Evanovich. Approved! I'll be moving on to Wicked Business soon, too. Woo hoo!
Book 8 of 50
Pages: 313
Genre: Mystery with a hint of fantasy and a tiny bit of romance. TINY bit.
Grade: A-/B+
Would I Recommend?: Sure. I do recommend reading Plum Spooky before, at least, to get the full appreciation of Carl (and Diesel), but it's not entirely necessary.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Alfred Kropp: The Thirteenth Skull (Rick Yancey)
Summary:
Alfred Kropp is the descendant of Lancelot. Yes, that one. He's got a whole lot of money thanks to his late father. He's the Beloved of the Archangel, Michael. Oh, and his blood can heal anyone on Earth, except for himself. In the third book of the Kropp saga, Alfred has more people after him than ever before. There's the son of the man he killed so the man wouldn't kill him. There's the man that wants him only for his magical heal-everything blood. And there's the Company, who wants him to give back the Seal of Solomon, which he kept himself so no one else could use it. He faces betrayal at every turn, and in the places he least expects it. Will he survive, or will any of these murderous foes kill him? Again. (Yup, he's already died once.)
Thoughts:
Not bad, though it's getting a little more predictable. I think my least favorite part is the fact that Yancey has used the countdown clock as his vehicle for drama at least twice now, drawing out the endings of the last two books for an extra 5 pages both times (I read the first so long ago that I don't remember if it used this "plot device" as well) to draw out the conclusion of the story. It just feels like he's padding the page count more than anything else. If it weren't for this countdown, I think the page count would've been more like 292 or 293ish, rather than its stated 297. That doesn't even count the extra two to three pages he soaks up in having a blank page around the "change of scenery" type pages. Kropp goes from Knoxville, TN, to Helena, MO and there's just a page that says "Helena, Montana" with a blank page after it, and then the next is the beginning of the new chapter. Lazy padding of a book, Mr. Yancey. But I digress. I enjoyed the story, though not as much as the first two. It's a good, action-packed book geared mostly to a teenaged boy. (Kropp is 16.) It's just a little disturbing, though, that at sixteen, Kropp has become comfortable with the idea of killing someone. He does it with little remorse in the midst of this book, and it just about glosses over the fact that someone just died. Kropp's adrenaline is pumping too hard for him to feel anything, it seems, and then he never really goes back to the fact that he just killed the guy except to say that his replacement in the squad of people that are after him looks exactly like the murdered guy. Seriously disappointing. He's killed at least two people now, if not more that I can't recall, and he seems to only really feel bad about the first guy he had to off, and only because he was an Arthurian knight's descendant. Not really something you want a teenage boy to get used to, you know?
Book 6 of 50
Pages: 297 padded pages
Genre: Teen lit, action, and fantasy
Grade: B
Would I Recommend?: Good for a fanciful story, and lots of action, but the previous two were far better.
Alfred Kropp is the descendant of Lancelot. Yes, that one. He's got a whole lot of money thanks to his late father. He's the Beloved of the Archangel, Michael. Oh, and his blood can heal anyone on Earth, except for himself. In the third book of the Kropp saga, Alfred has more people after him than ever before. There's the son of the man he killed so the man wouldn't kill him. There's the man that wants him only for his magical heal-everything blood. And there's the Company, who wants him to give back the Seal of Solomon, which he kept himself so no one else could use it. He faces betrayal at every turn, and in the places he least expects it. Will he survive, or will any of these murderous foes kill him? Again. (Yup, he's already died once.)
Thoughts:
Not bad, though it's getting a little more predictable. I think my least favorite part is the fact that Yancey has used the countdown clock as his vehicle for drama at least twice now, drawing out the endings of the last two books for an extra 5 pages both times (I read the first so long ago that I don't remember if it used this "plot device" as well) to draw out the conclusion of the story. It just feels like he's padding the page count more than anything else. If it weren't for this countdown, I think the page count would've been more like 292 or 293ish, rather than its stated 297. That doesn't even count the extra two to three pages he soaks up in having a blank page around the "change of scenery" type pages. Kropp goes from Knoxville, TN, to Helena, MO and there's just a page that says "Helena, Montana" with a blank page after it, and then the next is the beginning of the new chapter. Lazy padding of a book, Mr. Yancey. But I digress. I enjoyed the story, though not as much as the first two. It's a good, action-packed book geared mostly to a teenaged boy. (Kropp is 16.) It's just a little disturbing, though, that at sixteen, Kropp has become comfortable with the idea of killing someone. He does it with little remorse in the midst of this book, and it just about glosses over the fact that someone just died. Kropp's adrenaline is pumping too hard for him to feel anything, it seems, and then he never really goes back to the fact that he just killed the guy except to say that his replacement in the squad of people that are after him looks exactly like the murdered guy. Seriously disappointing. He's killed at least two people now, if not more that I can't recall, and he seems to only really feel bad about the first guy he had to off, and only because he was an Arthurian knight's descendant. Not really something you want a teenage boy to get used to, you know?
Book 6 of 50
Pages: 297 padded pages
Genre: Teen lit, action, and fantasy
Grade: B
Would I Recommend?: Good for a fanciful story, and lots of action, but the previous two were far better.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
How to Ditch Your Fairy (Justine Larbalestier)
Summary:
Charlie is a freshman in high school, in a magical place called New Avalon, where all the celebrities are cooler than everyone else in the world and are called "Ours," as in "Our Tom Hanks," or "Our Justin Bieber." And nearly everyone has a fairy. Different people's fairies help do different things. One of Charlie's best friends, Rochelle, has a "clothes shopping" fairy, the boy she's got a crush on has a "get out of trouble" fairy, and the girl she hates more than anything has an "every boy will like you no matter what" fairy. Charlie has a parking fairy, so that no matter where she goes, whether she's driving or not (which has always been a "not" because she can't yet drive), there will always be the perfect parking spot. Charlie gets sick of being used for her parking fairy's abilities, and has been walking everywhere for months, in the hopes that her fairy will go away since there's nothing for it to do. But it isn't working fast enough for her, and she keeps getting demerits from her super-strict school. If she can't find a way to get rid of her fairy, she might be expelled from school, and she doesn't want that. If only she knew what to do...
Thoughts:
Weird book. I thought it would be a little more fun than it was, but it turned out to be a little tedious. There were a few times I wondered where something was coming from, and why, but it wound up just being pretty mediocre. It is an interesting concept, but the main character is very selfish, and very self-centered, not to mention the town itself. (Apparently no one in New Avalon ever wants to leave because nothing else outside the town could nearly as wonderful as it is in New Avalon, and no one really thinks of anything from the outside, or knows anything from the outside. Strange.) The author creates a bunch of slang words for the book that are fairly stupid, and make the speakers sound strange. There's a glossary in the back, of course, because why wouldn't there be. I had been looking forward to this book for a while, in the hopes that it would be fun and worth the wait. It wasn't. I even had given this as an option for a book group at one point, but the idea was nixed for another book entirely. Thank goodness we didn't read this, because I would have been embarrassed for suggesting it. Boo.
Book 41 of 50
Pages: 320
Genre: fantasy, teen lit
Grade: C
Would I Recommend?: Meh. Not really worth the time and effort.
Charlie is a freshman in high school, in a magical place called New Avalon, where all the celebrities are cooler than everyone else in the world and are called "Ours," as in "Our Tom Hanks," or "Our Justin Bieber." And nearly everyone has a fairy. Different people's fairies help do different things. One of Charlie's best friends, Rochelle, has a "clothes shopping" fairy, the boy she's got a crush on has a "get out of trouble" fairy, and the girl she hates more than anything has an "every boy will like you no matter what" fairy. Charlie has a parking fairy, so that no matter where she goes, whether she's driving or not (which has always been a "not" because she can't yet drive), there will always be the perfect parking spot. Charlie gets sick of being used for her parking fairy's abilities, and has been walking everywhere for months, in the hopes that her fairy will go away since there's nothing for it to do. But it isn't working fast enough for her, and she keeps getting demerits from her super-strict school. If she can't find a way to get rid of her fairy, she might be expelled from school, and she doesn't want that. If only she knew what to do...
Thoughts:
Weird book. I thought it would be a little more fun than it was, but it turned out to be a little tedious. There were a few times I wondered where something was coming from, and why, but it wound up just being pretty mediocre. It is an interesting concept, but the main character is very selfish, and very self-centered, not to mention the town itself. (Apparently no one in New Avalon ever wants to leave because nothing else outside the town could nearly as wonderful as it is in New Avalon, and no one really thinks of anything from the outside, or knows anything from the outside. Strange.) The author creates a bunch of slang words for the book that are fairly stupid, and make the speakers sound strange. There's a glossary in the back, of course, because why wouldn't there be. I had been looking forward to this book for a while, in the hopes that it would be fun and worth the wait. It wasn't. I even had given this as an option for a book group at one point, but the idea was nixed for another book entirely. Thank goodness we didn't read this, because I would have been embarrassed for suggesting it. Boo.
Book 41 of 50
Pages: 320
Genre: fantasy, teen lit
Grade: C
Would I Recommend?: Meh. Not really worth the time and effort.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Insatiable (Meg Cabot)
Summary:
Meena is a script writer for a very popular soap opera, Insatiable. She's all set to fight for a promotion, when her arch rival shows up already having gotten the promotion, and is taking the show in an impossibly horrible direction. She's going to add vampires, which are, of course, all the rage right now. Her show is about to start a vampire war with their rival show Lust, and Meena thinks the whole thing is stupid. Meena is upset, and feeling downtrodden. But after a early morning (read: 4am) walk with her dog that resulted in a bat attack against her and a handsome stranger, though, things start looking up. The only problem is that Meena doesn't realize she's stepped into a real-life vampire war, and her knight-in-shining-armor is right at the center. Oh, and Meena knows how everyone's lives will end. She's magic like that.
Thoughts:
Anyone that has read anything from me over the last few years knows that I am hopelessly in love with Meg Cabot's writing. This was no exception. Granted, I'm starting to get sick of the vampire wars as much as the next girl. (I still maintain that they don't effing sparkle, and they never will. Dumb books.) But this was a nice twist on the norm. Sure, Meena falls for a vampire and has ridiculously hot sex with him, but she hates the idea of it, and wishes she never heard the word "vampire." She at least isn't crazy in love with the idea of living forever, and doesn't want to die to be able to do so. Cabot's writing was flawless, as usual, though the subject matter was bordering on cliche at this point. The ending left things far too wide-open for my taste, but I'll give her a pass, because I love her so much. Also, there's apparently a second book in the series too. (Shocker, with that ending.) Don't worry, I won't jump on it yet. You do know what a sucker I am for a series, though!
Book 32 of 50
Pages: 464 pages, read as an e-book
Genre: Fantasy, romance, and vampires
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: If you're into vampires, sure. If you like Meg Cabot, sure. If you like a fairly good romance novel, sure. Otherwise, it's not a must-read.
Meena is a script writer for a very popular soap opera, Insatiable. She's all set to fight for a promotion, when her arch rival shows up already having gotten the promotion, and is taking the show in an impossibly horrible direction. She's going to add vampires, which are, of course, all the rage right now. Her show is about to start a vampire war with their rival show Lust, and Meena thinks the whole thing is stupid. Meena is upset, and feeling downtrodden. But after a early morning (read: 4am) walk with her dog that resulted in a bat attack against her and a handsome stranger, though, things start looking up. The only problem is that Meena doesn't realize she's stepped into a real-life vampire war, and her knight-in-shining-armor is right at the center. Oh, and Meena knows how everyone's lives will end. She's magic like that.
Thoughts:
Anyone that has read anything from me over the last few years knows that I am hopelessly in love with Meg Cabot's writing. This was no exception. Granted, I'm starting to get sick of the vampire wars as much as the next girl. (I still maintain that they don't effing sparkle, and they never will. Dumb books.) But this was a nice twist on the norm. Sure, Meena falls for a vampire and has ridiculously hot sex with him, but she hates the idea of it, and wishes she never heard the word "vampire." She at least isn't crazy in love with the idea of living forever, and doesn't want to die to be able to do so. Cabot's writing was flawless, as usual, though the subject matter was bordering on cliche at this point. The ending left things far too wide-open for my taste, but I'll give her a pass, because I love her so much. Also, there's apparently a second book in the series too. (Shocker, with that ending.) Don't worry, I won't jump on it yet. You do know what a sucker I am for a series, though!
Book 32 of 50
Pages: 464 pages, read as an e-book
Genre: Fantasy, romance, and vampires
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: If you're into vampires, sure. If you like Meg Cabot, sure. If you like a fairly good romance novel, sure. Otherwise, it's not a must-read.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Dead Reckoning (Charlaine Harris)
Summary:
Sookie's got a vampire hubby who just can't seem to talk things through with her. They have a blood bond that Sookie is worried is the only reason she actually loves Eric. But when the bond is broken, and the love is still there, she's not quite satisfied. She wants Eric to talk to her, include her in his life and his worries. Not that she doesn't have enough to worry about. There's still someone out to kill her, and she can't stand Eric's new boss. She just can't figure out whether it's horrible to want people dead...
Thoughts:
Not bad. I wouldn't say it's one of the best in the series, but it could have been worse. The good news for you, dear readers (all three of you, haha!) is that you're not going to have to hear about Sookie Stackhouse much more. I've got one more published book to get my hands on, and then it'll only be once a year that you'll hear about Sook's adventures in vampirism. But back to the book. I found that this particular book didn't stick with me nearly as much as some of the others in the series. If something's really super-fantastic, it'll stick in my brain and make me want to read more of whatever it is so badly I can't wait to get the next in the series. This book in the series wasn't like that. I got more annoyed with the characters than usual, and was almost looking forward to getting to the end so I could move on to the next book. I'm not as pleased with Harris's work on this one as I have been in the past. Oh well, better luck next time!
Book 25 of 50
Pages: 368
Genre: Mystery, with romance and vampires and a few other fantasy characters...
Grade: B
Would I Recommend?: Yeah, it's still a good book, and the series is fabulous. But be sure to read from the beginning. This one will lose you if you start from the middle!
Sookie's got a vampire hubby who just can't seem to talk things through with her. They have a blood bond that Sookie is worried is the only reason she actually loves Eric. But when the bond is broken, and the love is still there, she's not quite satisfied. She wants Eric to talk to her, include her in his life and his worries. Not that she doesn't have enough to worry about. There's still someone out to kill her, and she can't stand Eric's new boss. She just can't figure out whether it's horrible to want people dead...
Thoughts:
Not bad. I wouldn't say it's one of the best in the series, but it could have been worse. The good news for you, dear readers (all three of you, haha!) is that you're not going to have to hear about Sookie Stackhouse much more. I've got one more published book to get my hands on, and then it'll only be once a year that you'll hear about Sook's adventures in vampirism. But back to the book. I found that this particular book didn't stick with me nearly as much as some of the others in the series. If something's really super-fantastic, it'll stick in my brain and make me want to read more of whatever it is so badly I can't wait to get the next in the series. This book in the series wasn't like that. I got more annoyed with the characters than usual, and was almost looking forward to getting to the end so I could move on to the next book. I'm not as pleased with Harris's work on this one as I have been in the past. Oh well, better luck next time!
Book 25 of 50
Pages: 368
Genre: Mystery, with romance and vampires and a few other fantasy characters...
Grade: B
Would I Recommend?: Yeah, it's still a good book, and the series is fabulous. But be sure to read from the beginning. This one will lose you if you start from the middle!
Sunday, February 26, 2012
The Thief (Megan Whalen Turner)
Summary:
Gen is a thief. He's landed himself in prison after stealing the king's seal, and then bragging about it in public. He's young, and talented as a thief, but not so talented at holding his tongue. He gets roped into a journey to find Hamaithes's Gift, which would aid the king of Sounis in his bid to marry the queen of Eddis.
Thoughts:
The book is, in essence, Lord of the Rings Lite. Or, at the very least, that's how it felt to me. It's set in a world that's very similar to Ancient Greece, with a little Roman and Mesopotamian influence for good measure. Of course, it throws sword fighting and gunplay together within about ten pages, but that's obviously neither here nor there to Ms. Turner. The book opens with us meeting Gen while he rots in prison. When he's finally brought out of the prison by the king's magus, who is basically the king's scholar type, he's forced to go on a quest. He's not told why, or where they're headed. He's just forced to be the tool to get whatever it is the magus is after. Two thirds of the book is traveling. Literally, they climbed up, they climbed down, this is what the world looked like. Holy God, I thought I was going to kill myself. The book is only 219 pages long, but I felt like it was Lord of the Rings long. Finally, when the characters start discussing the "old religion" of their ancestors, the book at least becomes a little more interesting. But the story itself doesn't pick up until the last fifty or sixty pages. At that point, not only have you finally found out where they're going, and what they're after, but they've finally reached the damn place. The whole thing reads very tediously. I understand that it's a Newberry Honor book, and that's great for Ms. Turner, but holy hell, I wouldn't want to be a kid having to read this in school. I was much more pleased reading the Indian and the Cupboard. I might've shot someone if this was a mandatory read from my school, and I loved reading as a kid. I had high hopes going into this book, because I'd read the cover at a book store, and thought it sounded awesome, and if you've read this blog before, you know how I like getting into a new series (there's three more books and two short stories in this set). However, I was not pleasantly surprised. At all. Boo. Literally, the only parts that I really enjoyed was the myths about their religion, and that accounts for about 20 pages' worth of text, and that's being generous. I doubt I'll ever get back to the rest of the series. I'm too afraid that it'll be another tedious journey. I'm proud of myself for even making it through this book. No more, please.
Book 7 of 50
Pages: 219
Genre: Fantasy, children's/teen lit
Grade: D+
Would I Recommend?: Eh. IF you're into fantasy, and IF you like mythology of any kind, and IF(!!) you really liked the Lord of the Rings series and don't mind a hundred pages of tree descriptions, go for it. Otherwise, skip it.
Gen is a thief. He's landed himself in prison after stealing the king's seal, and then bragging about it in public. He's young, and talented as a thief, but not so talented at holding his tongue. He gets roped into a journey to find Hamaithes's Gift, which would aid the king of Sounis in his bid to marry the queen of Eddis.
Thoughts:
The book is, in essence, Lord of the Rings Lite. Or, at the very least, that's how it felt to me. It's set in a world that's very similar to Ancient Greece, with a little Roman and Mesopotamian influence for good measure. Of course, it throws sword fighting and gunplay together within about ten pages, but that's obviously neither here nor there to Ms. Turner. The book opens with us meeting Gen while he rots in prison. When he's finally brought out of the prison by the king's magus, who is basically the king's scholar type, he's forced to go on a quest. He's not told why, or where they're headed. He's just forced to be the tool to get whatever it is the magus is after. Two thirds of the book is traveling. Literally, they climbed up, they climbed down, this is what the world looked like. Holy God, I thought I was going to kill myself. The book is only 219 pages long, but I felt like it was Lord of the Rings long. Finally, when the characters start discussing the "old religion" of their ancestors, the book at least becomes a little more interesting. But the story itself doesn't pick up until the last fifty or sixty pages. At that point, not only have you finally found out where they're going, and what they're after, but they've finally reached the damn place. The whole thing reads very tediously. I understand that it's a Newberry Honor book, and that's great for Ms. Turner, but holy hell, I wouldn't want to be a kid having to read this in school. I was much more pleased reading the Indian and the Cupboard. I might've shot someone if this was a mandatory read from my school, and I loved reading as a kid. I had high hopes going into this book, because I'd read the cover at a book store, and thought it sounded awesome, and if you've read this blog before, you know how I like getting into a new series (there's three more books and two short stories in this set). However, I was not pleasantly surprised. At all. Boo. Literally, the only parts that I really enjoyed was the myths about their religion, and that accounts for about 20 pages' worth of text, and that's being generous. I doubt I'll ever get back to the rest of the series. I'm too afraid that it'll be another tedious journey. I'm proud of myself for even making it through this book. No more, please.
Book 7 of 50
Pages: 219
Genre: Fantasy, children's/teen lit
Grade: D+
Would I Recommend?: Eh. IF you're into fantasy, and IF you like mythology of any kind, and IF(!!) you really liked the Lord of the Rings series and don't mind a hundred pages of tree descriptions, go for it. Otherwise, skip it.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Alfred Kropp: The Seal of Solomon (Rick Yancey)
Summary:
Alfred Kropp is a teenaged boy with no mom, living in the foster system. His father was the descendant of Lancelot of the round table. In the previous book, Alfred died and was brought back to life. Now he's got to help get the Seals of Solomon so the world doesn't get overrun by a bunch of demons. The trouble is, he's seen what the Seal does, and what demons can do to a person. He's told to never look into their eyes... So what does he do? Yep. He looked. Now he's got to deal with his worst fears while he fights to save the world. Again.
Thoughts:
A good book. The first was really cool, delving into the mythos behind the Knights of the Round Table. In this one, Kropp finds out that there are, in fact, such things as demons, and not just the mistakes that come back to haunt you later. Kropp has to deal with his inner demons as well as the physical ones, and find a way to best the demons that can't be bested. It's an interesting take on "the end of the world." It's good enough to keep you wondering how Kropp's going to make it through, but light enough that you can put it down for a week, then pick it back up and still remember what had been happening. Not bad for teen lit.
Book 37 of 40
Pages: 327
Genre: Fantasy, teen lit
Grade: B
Would I Recommend?: Eh. You've got to read the first one before this, and this is very definitely a fantasy book.
Alfred Kropp is a teenaged boy with no mom, living in the foster system. His father was the descendant of Lancelot of the round table. In the previous book, Alfred died and was brought back to life. Now he's got to help get the Seals of Solomon so the world doesn't get overrun by a bunch of demons. The trouble is, he's seen what the Seal does, and what demons can do to a person. He's told to never look into their eyes... So what does he do? Yep. He looked. Now he's got to deal with his worst fears while he fights to save the world. Again.
Thoughts:
A good book. The first was really cool, delving into the mythos behind the Knights of the Round Table. In this one, Kropp finds out that there are, in fact, such things as demons, and not just the mistakes that come back to haunt you later. Kropp has to deal with his inner demons as well as the physical ones, and find a way to best the demons that can't be bested. It's an interesting take on "the end of the world." It's good enough to keep you wondering how Kropp's going to make it through, but light enough that you can put it down for a week, then pick it back up and still remember what had been happening. Not bad for teen lit.
Book 37 of 40
Pages: 327
Genre: Fantasy, teen lit
Grade: B
Would I Recommend?: Eh. You've got to read the first one before this, and this is very definitely a fantasy book.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox (Eoin Colfer)
Summary:
Artemis Fowl is a reformed evil genius who's got a lot of friends in low places. And by low, I mean both figuratively and physically. He's got connections with the criminal underworld as well as the Fairy world under the ground. His mother turns up ill with a fairy illness that had been eradicated decades before by the fairies. and Artemis killed the last lemur that carried the cure. He gets the idea to go back in time. Thank goodness he knows some magical creatures! The book follows the paradoxical greatness of time travel.
Thoughts:
I love this series. It's so inventive, and no matter what Artemis thinks of to do next, it turns wrong quick, then right, and wrong again so fast your head could spin. I have yet to read one of these that I haven't loved. Colfer has a way of spinning a yarn that will make your head spin until the very last page, when everything comes together.
Just a note. Like many of the previous Fowl books, this one has a decoded message along the bottoms of each page. If you don't wait until you've finished the book, you might get a little bit spoiled. Just in case you're anti-spoilers.
Book 21 of 30
Pages: 391
Genre: Teen lit, fantasy
Grade: A
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely. When do I not recommend Colfer's work? never.
Artemis Fowl is a reformed evil genius who's got a lot of friends in low places. And by low, I mean both figuratively and physically. He's got connections with the criminal underworld as well as the Fairy world under the ground. His mother turns up ill with a fairy illness that had been eradicated decades before by the fairies. and Artemis killed the last lemur that carried the cure. He gets the idea to go back in time. Thank goodness he knows some magical creatures! The book follows the paradoxical greatness of time travel.
Thoughts:
I love this series. It's so inventive, and no matter what Artemis thinks of to do next, it turns wrong quick, then right, and wrong again so fast your head could spin. I have yet to read one of these that I haven't loved. Colfer has a way of spinning a yarn that will make your head spin until the very last page, when everything comes together.
Just a note. Like many of the previous Fowl books, this one has a decoded message along the bottoms of each page. If you don't wait until you've finished the book, you might get a little bit spoiled. Just in case you're anti-spoilers.
Book 21 of 30
Pages: 391
Genre: Teen lit, fantasy
Grade: A
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely. When do I not recommend Colfer's work? never.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War (Max Brooks)
Summary:
The "writer" opens with a forward saying that he's going to stay out of sight as much as possible in the writing of the book. He goes on to say that he did a fact finding for the US government on what exactly happened during the zombie war and the clean-up afterward. In his original report, he told all the stories of the survivors, but the government rejected it, saying that they only wanted the cold, hard facts. So he went ahead and published this book with all of those stories that the government didn't care about.
The book goes on to tell the stories of the "survivors" of a zombie invasion, and outlines all of the political, social, and economical ramifications of what a full-scale zombie invasion would look like.
Thoughts:
Honestly, it was really interesting. I was completely engaged in this book the whole way through. It actually reads like a hundred testimonials from war heros and survivors. This is exactly what I would expect from someone like Tom Brokaw, about WWII or the Vietnam War or something. It was mind blowing to think about what could happen if our planet was overrun with a fictional brain-eating menace. It's a study in hypotheticals, for sure, but truly a fascinating read.
Book 15 of 30 (Halfway there!)
Pages: 342
Genre: Fantasy/Horror
Grade: A-/B+
Would I Recommend?: Definitely. If you're into the zombie thing, you'll love this, and even if you're not, it was interesting at the very least.
The "writer" opens with a forward saying that he's going to stay out of sight as much as possible in the writing of the book. He goes on to say that he did a fact finding for the US government on what exactly happened during the zombie war and the clean-up afterward. In his original report, he told all the stories of the survivors, but the government rejected it, saying that they only wanted the cold, hard facts. So he went ahead and published this book with all of those stories that the government didn't care about.
The book goes on to tell the stories of the "survivors" of a zombie invasion, and outlines all of the political, social, and economical ramifications of what a full-scale zombie invasion would look like.
Thoughts:
Honestly, it was really interesting. I was completely engaged in this book the whole way through. It actually reads like a hundred testimonials from war heros and survivors. This is exactly what I would expect from someone like Tom Brokaw, about WWII or the Vietnam War or something. It was mind blowing to think about what could happen if our planet was overrun with a fictional brain-eating menace. It's a study in hypotheticals, for sure, but truly a fascinating read.
Book 15 of 30 (Halfway there!)
Pages: 342
Genre: Fantasy/Horror
Grade: A-/B+
Would I Recommend?: Definitely. If you're into the zombie thing, you'll love this, and even if you're not, it was interesting at the very least.
Vampyres of Hollywood (Adrienne Barbeau & Michael Scott)
Summary:
Ovsanna Moore is a Hollywood scream queen who runs a very successful horror movie studio. She's also a 500-year-old vampyre. Peter King is LAPD officer investigating multiple murders that keep leading him back to Ovsanna. What he doesn't know is that Ovsanna's vampyre clan is getting attacked, and she's determined to find out why.
Thoughts:
This is another book that is written alternatively between the two main characters, though not as evenly alternating as Will Grayson, Will Grayson. This vampire book, like most others written in the last five years or so, tries to turn all the old vampire stories on their heads. The murder mystery part was good, but the "vampires really do THIS" stuff is getting old to me. I guess I should probably stop reading vampire novels. There's another of the Sookie Stackhouse novels in the wings, but that series doesn't turn everything completely around. Other than, we'll see.
Book 14 of 30
Pages: 325
Genre: Fantasy/Mystery
Grade: B
Would I Recommend?: Kinda interesting for the writing style, but Will Grayson, Will Grayson was the same style done better. If you're into vampires and don't mind changing up their background, go for it.
Ovsanna Moore is a Hollywood scream queen who runs a very successful horror movie studio. She's also a 500-year-old vampyre. Peter King is LAPD officer investigating multiple murders that keep leading him back to Ovsanna. What he doesn't know is that Ovsanna's vampyre clan is getting attacked, and she's determined to find out why.
Thoughts:
This is another book that is written alternatively between the two main characters, though not as evenly alternating as Will Grayson, Will Grayson. This vampire book, like most others written in the last five years or so, tries to turn all the old vampire stories on their heads. The murder mystery part was good, but the "vampires really do THIS" stuff is getting old to me. I guess I should probably stop reading vampire novels. There's another of the Sookie Stackhouse novels in the wings, but that series doesn't turn everything completely around. Other than, we'll see.
Book 14 of 30
Pages: 325
Genre: Fantasy/Mystery
Grade: B
Would I Recommend?: Kinda interesting for the writing style, but Will Grayson, Will Grayson was the same style done better. If you're into vampires and don't mind changing up their background, go for it.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Witch & Wizard (James Patterson)
Summary:
Whit and Wisty are swept away from their home in the middle of the night by government soldiers. Before they're taken away, their parents give them a drumstick and a blank book, which baffles the kids. They get thrown into prison, accused of being a wizard and a witch, and they are told that they will be put to death as soon as they hit eighteen. The book follows them as they fight to escape the prison, and learn all the ins and outs of the new political regime, which hates children.
Thoughts:
I liked it. Patterson weaves a good yarn here, while the kids learn what they really are, and learn how to deal with their magic. I obviously go for fantasy stuff more often than not, and this was a new and different twist on the witch/wizard plot line. And unlike Twilight, it doesn't turn everything on its head. Instead, it just expands on the worlds that have already been created. Plus, I liked the characters in this one.
Book 12 of 30
Pages: 312
Genre: Fantasy
Grade: A-
Would I Recommend?: Yup. Interesting story, and a good start to the series. I'll definitely be going further in this series.
Whit and Wisty are swept away from their home in the middle of the night by government soldiers. Before they're taken away, their parents give them a drumstick and a blank book, which baffles the kids. They get thrown into prison, accused of being a wizard and a witch, and they are told that they will be put to death as soon as they hit eighteen. The book follows them as they fight to escape the prison, and learn all the ins and outs of the new political regime, which hates children.
Thoughts:
I liked it. Patterson weaves a good yarn here, while the kids learn what they really are, and learn how to deal with their magic. I obviously go for fantasy stuff more often than not, and this was a new and different twist on the witch/wizard plot line. And unlike Twilight, it doesn't turn everything on its head. Instead, it just expands on the worlds that have already been created. Plus, I liked the characters in this one.
Book 12 of 30
Pages: 312
Genre: Fantasy
Grade: A-
Would I Recommend?: Yup. Interesting story, and a good start to the series. I'll definitely be going further in this series.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
The Titan's Curse (Rick Riordan)
Summary:
In the third Percy Jackson installment, Percy finds himself stuck with Grover and a bunch of chicks on a mission to save a goddess, and his friend Annabeth. This time, the journey is a cross-country trek to San Francisco via Washington, DC. They have to save Artemis and get her to the Council of the Gods by the winter solstice, which is only a week away. Oh, and Annabeth's life hangs in the balance, too. Just another quest for poor Percy.
Thoughts:
Awesome as usual. I loved that this time, they weren't out to save just anyone. It was a goddess herself that was in trouble. And also Annabeth. Percy is just starting to realize he's got a thing for Annabeth, too, which makes life all the more interesting for the Olympian crew. Also, it begs the question, if Zeus is your dad, and Athena is your would-be girlfriend's mom, doesn't that mean that your would-be girlfriend's also your niece? Things to ponder. But yeah, this is awesome, just like the rest of Riordan's work. I'll be hunting down 4 and 5, for sure, and I'll probably be looking up more of Riordan's work when I'm through this series.
Pages: 312
Genre: Fantasy, Greek mythology, teen lit
Grade: A
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely!
40 down, only 10 to go!
In the third Percy Jackson installment, Percy finds himself stuck with Grover and a bunch of chicks on a mission to save a goddess, and his friend Annabeth. This time, the journey is a cross-country trek to San Francisco via Washington, DC. They have to save Artemis and get her to the Council of the Gods by the winter solstice, which is only a week away. Oh, and Annabeth's life hangs in the balance, too. Just another quest for poor Percy.
Thoughts:
Awesome as usual. I loved that this time, they weren't out to save just anyone. It was a goddess herself that was in trouble. And also Annabeth. Percy is just starting to realize he's got a thing for Annabeth, too, which makes life all the more interesting for the Olympian crew. Also, it begs the question, if Zeus is your dad, and Athena is your would-be girlfriend's mom, doesn't that mean that your would-be girlfriend's also your niece? Things to ponder. But yeah, this is awesome, just like the rest of Riordan's work. I'll be hunting down 4 and 5, for sure, and I'll probably be looking up more of Riordan's work when I'm through this series.
Pages: 312
Genre: Fantasy, Greek mythology, teen lit
Grade: A
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely!
40 down, only 10 to go!
The Sea of Monsters (Rick Riordan)
Summary:
In the second Percy Jackson book, Percy is sent on a trek to the Bermuda Triangle to help rescue his friend, Grover. Annabeth comes along, plus a new friend from Percy's most recent school. Along the way, he encounters all new and interesting mythical creatures, some that help him, and some that really don't.
Thoughts:
It's a great second step into the Olympian world of today. The series is fun, and the characters are lovable for sure. Even the ones that aren't so nice are written so well that you can't help but appreciate them for their awfulness. I'll be keeping up with this series. (Actually, I've already finished another of these books, I just haven't posted in a while, so I figure I'll go in order, haha!) I definitely suggest these awesome books for anyone, teen or not, because they're just that fun.
Pages: 288
Genre: Fantasy, teen lit, Greek mythology
Grade: A
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely.
38 down, 12 to go!
In the second Percy Jackson book, Percy is sent on a trek to the Bermuda Triangle to help rescue his friend, Grover. Annabeth comes along, plus a new friend from Percy's most recent school. Along the way, he encounters all new and interesting mythical creatures, some that help him, and some that really don't.
Thoughts:
It's a great second step into the Olympian world of today. The series is fun, and the characters are lovable for sure. Even the ones that aren't so nice are written so well that you can't help but appreciate them for their awfulness. I'll be keeping up with this series. (Actually, I've already finished another of these books, I just haven't posted in a while, so I figure I'll go in order, haha!) I definitely suggest these awesome books for anyone, teen or not, because they're just that fun.
Pages: 288
Genre: Fantasy, teen lit, Greek mythology
Grade: A
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely.
38 down, 12 to go!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Elsewhere (Gabrielle Zevin)
Summary:
Liz is nearly sixteen, and totally ready for life to come her way. She's on the way to help her best friend pick out a prom dress, but gets forever waylaid by a taxi to the torso. Oops. After she dies, she goes to Elsewhere, where everyone is dead, and instead of existing forever in whatever form they died in, they all age backwards. She meets her grandmother who died long before she was born, as well as plenty of other people who become very dear to her.
Thoughts:
It's a very interesting take on the life-after-death thing. I really like the idea, actually. There are images of elderly people holding hands with their young spouses that died long before they were ready. Sure, it's a little weird. But it's a nice story. Plus there's dogs and cats there in Elsewhere, so it's got to be okay, right? I just have to wonder about who I would be able to see again by the time I got there, if this was how it came about. Definitely a take on the afterlife that I'd never have thought about. I hope this is how it is, because I'd love to see my family in their younger forms.
A couple cool quote-ables that I came across from this book:
"In my humble opinion, love is when a person believes that he, she, or it can't live without some other he, she, or it."
"Love, Lizzie, is when we have irrationally convinced ourselves that we do."
--page 180
and
"A life isn't measured in hours and minutes. It's the quality, not the length."
--page 266
Just thought I'd share those. Definitely recommend this one, for the thoughts this could provoke.
Pages: 277
Genre: General fiction, maybe a little fantasy?
Grade: A-/B+
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely.
36 down, 14 to go!
Liz is nearly sixteen, and totally ready for life to come her way. She's on the way to help her best friend pick out a prom dress, but gets forever waylaid by a taxi to the torso. Oops. After she dies, she goes to Elsewhere, where everyone is dead, and instead of existing forever in whatever form they died in, they all age backwards. She meets her grandmother who died long before she was born, as well as plenty of other people who become very dear to her.
Thoughts:
It's a very interesting take on the life-after-death thing. I really like the idea, actually. There are images of elderly people holding hands with their young spouses that died long before they were ready. Sure, it's a little weird. But it's a nice story. Plus there's dogs and cats there in Elsewhere, so it's got to be okay, right? I just have to wonder about who I would be able to see again by the time I got there, if this was how it came about. Definitely a take on the afterlife that I'd never have thought about. I hope this is how it is, because I'd love to see my family in their younger forms.
A couple cool quote-ables that I came across from this book:
"In my humble opinion, love is when a person believes that he, she, or it can't live without some other he, she, or it."
"Love, Lizzie, is when we have irrationally convinced ourselves that we do."
--page 180
and
"A life isn't measured in hours and minutes. It's the quality, not the length."
--page 266
Just thought I'd share those. Definitely recommend this one, for the thoughts this could provoke.
Pages: 277
Genre: General fiction, maybe a little fantasy?
Grade: A-/B+
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely.
36 down, 14 to go!
Friday, July 30, 2010
The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp (Rick Yancey)
Summary:
Alfred Kropp is a fifteen year old hulk of a boy, whose mother died, and whose father left very early in his life. Alfred never even knew him. Alfred lives with his Uncle Farrell, who works as a security guard in Samson Towers. One day, Uncle Farrell is approached and asked to steal a sword from Bernard Samson's office. Uncle Farrell, in turn, says that Alfred has to help him steal the sword, or he'll send Alfred back to foster care. Given no other choice, Alfred goes along with it, only to learn that the man wanting the sword is evil, and the sword is really the Sword of Kings, Excalibur. Alfred feels horrible about the theft, and decides to do everything he can to get the Sword back to its rightful place. Along the way, he learns more and more about the legends and history of King Arthur, and his Knights.
Thoughts:
Wonderful! I'm definitely planning to get the rest of the series. Some of the plot twists were easy to see coming, but the writing was fantastic. It was one of those can't-put-it-down kind of books. This, like the Percy Jackson book from earlier this year, was one that I never looked to see how many pages I had left. It was engaging. At every turn, I felt more and more awful for Alfred, and was rooting for him more and more. Great stuff. The worst part was the end, because I couldn't get another dose of story until I get the next book!
Pages: 339
Genre: Fantasy/mystery
Grade: A+
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely.
33 down, 17 to go!
Alfred Kropp is a fifteen year old hulk of a boy, whose mother died, and whose father left very early in his life. Alfred never even knew him. Alfred lives with his Uncle Farrell, who works as a security guard in Samson Towers. One day, Uncle Farrell is approached and asked to steal a sword from Bernard Samson's office. Uncle Farrell, in turn, says that Alfred has to help him steal the sword, or he'll send Alfred back to foster care. Given no other choice, Alfred goes along with it, only to learn that the man wanting the sword is evil, and the sword is really the Sword of Kings, Excalibur. Alfred feels horrible about the theft, and decides to do everything he can to get the Sword back to its rightful place. Along the way, he learns more and more about the legends and history of King Arthur, and his Knights.
Thoughts:
Wonderful! I'm definitely planning to get the rest of the series. Some of the plot twists were easy to see coming, but the writing was fantastic. It was one of those can't-put-it-down kind of books. This, like the Percy Jackson book from earlier this year, was one that I never looked to see how many pages I had left. It was engaging. At every turn, I felt more and more awful for Alfred, and was rooting for him more and more. Great stuff. The worst part was the end, because I couldn't get another dose of story until I get the next book!
Pages: 339
Genre: Fantasy/mystery
Grade: A+
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely.
33 down, 17 to go!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
The Lightning Thief (Rick Riordan)
The first in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.
Summary:
Percy Jackson is a dyslexic kid with ADHD who can't manage to stay in the same school for two years in a row, thanks to his ability to get himself into trouble so very easily. But a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, complete with a really bad encounter with his pre-algebra teacher, leads to Percy discovering that he is a half-blood. Half what, you ask? Half human, half god. Percy is sent to Half-Blood Hill, a summer camp for demigods. All the campers there are sons and daughters of the Greek gods and goddesses. He and the rest of the "undetermined" go through their days, hoping to get claimed by one of the gods.
Percy does get claimed, and gets sent on a quest to find the master bolt, Zeus's most powerful lightning bolt, which was stolen at the winter solstice. Oh, and Percy has a grand total of ten days to go west to LA, find the bolt, and get it back to Zeus before the summer solstice on June 21st, when Zeus and Poseidon will break out in all-out war. Along the way, Percy comes face-to-face with five gods, as well as countless mythical creatures that are kind enough to impede his progress.
Thoughts:
AWESOME. I loved it, and will be reading the rest of the series very soon. The throwbacks to Greek mythology are great. Seeing how Riordan work the old Greek myths into the story was awesome. Sure, I knew where much of the story was going before it got there (except one little twist that I didn't pick up on thanks to not remembering everything from my mythology class), but it was great watching it all unfold. I can't wait to see the rest of this series play out. Now I can totally get myself to the video store (I think?) to get the movie.
Seriously, though, this book was can't-put-it-down great. This was the second book this year that I wasn't checking page numbers all the time to see where I was and how much I had left. The writing feels exactly like being inside a pre-teen's brain. The way Riordan tells his story, it's truly like talking to a teenager. Beautifully done. I can't wait to get my hands on more.
Pages: 375 (wow, really? Didn't feel that long!)
Genre: Fantasy, mystery, with some Greek Mythology thrown in.
Grade: A+
Would I Recommend?: Abso-freakin'-lutely.
13 down, 37 to go!
Summary:
Percy Jackson is a dyslexic kid with ADHD who can't manage to stay in the same school for two years in a row, thanks to his ability to get himself into trouble so very easily. But a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, complete with a really bad encounter with his pre-algebra teacher, leads to Percy discovering that he is a half-blood. Half what, you ask? Half human, half god. Percy is sent to Half-Blood Hill, a summer camp for demigods. All the campers there are sons and daughters of the Greek gods and goddesses. He and the rest of the "undetermined" go through their days, hoping to get claimed by one of the gods.
Percy does get claimed, and gets sent on a quest to find the master bolt, Zeus's most powerful lightning bolt, which was stolen at the winter solstice. Oh, and Percy has a grand total of ten days to go west to LA, find the bolt, and get it back to Zeus before the summer solstice on June 21st, when Zeus and Poseidon will break out in all-out war. Along the way, Percy comes face-to-face with five gods, as well as countless mythical creatures that are kind enough to impede his progress.
Thoughts:
AWESOME. I loved it, and will be reading the rest of the series very soon. The throwbacks to Greek mythology are great. Seeing how Riordan work the old Greek myths into the story was awesome. Sure, I knew where much of the story was going before it got there (except one little twist that I didn't pick up on thanks to not remembering everything from my mythology class), but it was great watching it all unfold. I can't wait to see the rest of this series play out. Now I can totally get myself to the video store (I think?) to get the movie.
Seriously, though, this book was can't-put-it-down great. This was the second book this year that I wasn't checking page numbers all the time to see where I was and how much I had left. The writing feels exactly like being inside a pre-teen's brain. The way Riordan tells his story, it's truly like talking to a teenager. Beautifully done. I can't wait to get my hands on more.
Pages: 375 (wow, really? Didn't feel that long!)
Genre: Fantasy, mystery, with some Greek Mythology thrown in.
Grade: A+
Would I Recommend?: Abso-freakin'-lutely.
13 down, 37 to go!
Monday, April 19, 2010
The Good Fairies of New York (Martin Millar)
Summary:
A disjointed tale of two Scottish fairies, Heather and Morag, who get kicked out of Scotland, and wind up somehow in New York City. The story follows their misadventures in the big city, where they piss off the native New Yorker fairies (who were originally from China, Italy, and Ghana) and set off a turf war. Meanwhile, over in England, the Cornish fairies start a war of their own, and somehow decide it's necessary to invade NYC. And there's a Scottish clan of fairies who are pissed at the two main character fairies, and are hunting everywhere for them.
Oh, and there's this guy, Dinnie, and this chick, Kerry, and the two Scots make a deal with Dinnie to get Kerry to fall in love with him. And there's a couple other humans involved, and the ghost of a long-dead rock star who's out to find his guitar.
Thoughts:
This book is so effing all over the place, it's hard to keep track of everything. The story bounces from Heather and Dinnie, to Morag and Kerry, to the Italian fairies, to the Scottish clan, to the Chinese, to the Cornish government-type fairies, to the Cornish rebellion, to the Ghanaian, to the Italians, to Heather and Morag again, all in a matter of 10 pages. It's so disjointed that while you know it's all connected, and you can pretty much see the connections coming, when they DO get there, you wonder how you've gotten there. Another character involved in this whole mess is a schizophrenic bag lady who thinks she's an Athenian army commander from ancient Greece, and honestly, while reading this, I felt a little like I was going to be her soon.
Also, Kerry (one of the two main humans) has Crohn's disease, and every other chapter or so, it talks about her colostomy bag, and describes what exactly is going on with her physical ailments. I'm sorry, I don't expect to read about which tubes are connected to what and for what purpose when I pick up a book about fairies.
It's a bizarre book, and I didn't particularly like it. I muddled through because I read great reviews for it, but now that I've read it, I'm wondering why. Oh, and this printing had so many amateurish mistakes in it, I kept getting brought out of the story (such as it was) to wonder how this didn't get caught in the editing process.
Pages: 242
Genre: Fantasy
Grade: D+
Would I Recommend?: No.
12 books down, 38 to go!
I'm reading the first Percy Jackson book now, and it's really good so far. A great leap from the crap that this one was.
A disjointed tale of two Scottish fairies, Heather and Morag, who get kicked out of Scotland, and wind up somehow in New York City. The story follows their misadventures in the big city, where they piss off the native New Yorker fairies (who were originally from China, Italy, and Ghana) and set off a turf war. Meanwhile, over in England, the Cornish fairies start a war of their own, and somehow decide it's necessary to invade NYC. And there's a Scottish clan of fairies who are pissed at the two main character fairies, and are hunting everywhere for them.
Oh, and there's this guy, Dinnie, and this chick, Kerry, and the two Scots make a deal with Dinnie to get Kerry to fall in love with him. And there's a couple other humans involved, and the ghost of a long-dead rock star who's out to find his guitar.
Thoughts:
This book is so effing all over the place, it's hard to keep track of everything. The story bounces from Heather and Dinnie, to Morag and Kerry, to the Italian fairies, to the Scottish clan, to the Chinese, to the Cornish government-type fairies, to the Cornish rebellion, to the Ghanaian, to the Italians, to Heather and Morag again, all in a matter of 10 pages. It's so disjointed that while you know it's all connected, and you can pretty much see the connections coming, when they DO get there, you wonder how you've gotten there. Another character involved in this whole mess is a schizophrenic bag lady who thinks she's an Athenian army commander from ancient Greece, and honestly, while reading this, I felt a little like I was going to be her soon.
Also, Kerry (one of the two main humans) has Crohn's disease, and every other chapter or so, it talks about her colostomy bag, and describes what exactly is going on with her physical ailments. I'm sorry, I don't expect to read about which tubes are connected to what and for what purpose when I pick up a book about fairies.
It's a bizarre book, and I didn't particularly like it. I muddled through because I read great reviews for it, but now that I've read it, I'm wondering why. Oh, and this printing had so many amateurish mistakes in it, I kept getting brought out of the story (such as it was) to wonder how this didn't get caught in the editing process.
Pages: 242
Genre: Fantasy
Grade: D+
Would I Recommend?: No.
12 books down, 38 to go!
I'm reading the first Percy Jackson book now, and it's really good so far. A great leap from the crap that this one was.
Friday, March 26, 2010
A Charmed Death (Madelyn Alt)
Summary:
The second book in the series finds Maggie, a 30-something living in Small Town America, starting to deal with the fact that she is, in fact, an empath. She meets a young bitch-in-training who subsequently gets murdered after leaving the antiques/Magic Box-esque shop Maggie works in. The book follows Maggie as she plays super sleuth to find out just exactly what happened to "poor" Amanda. At the same time, she pines for the man she hooked up with, and then broke up with over her new-found magical abilities, while hanging out a lot with the guy that she thinks her boss/magical mentor is seeing.
Thoughts:
Another good turn for Alt. She has a way of writing that draws you in, and holds on tight, so that even though you've put the book down and walked away to do something else, it's still on your mind, and you're wondering whodunnit. The books in the series seem to be a slightly more adult version of the early seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer without the vamps, with a freak-of-the-week type mystery that needs to get sorted out with or without magic. Alt's writing style is fun. The way she paints her characters makes you want to know them. She also ends the books in a way that leaves you hungry for more. I'll definitely be keeping up with this series.
Pages: 289
Genre: Mystery/fantasy
Grade: A
Would I Read Again?: Totally.
I'm thinking I'll be changing that last question to "Would I recommend this to others?" because I'm not a re-reader by nature, because I tend to remember a lot of details once I get into re-reading something.
Also, I cracked into Murder with Peacocks by Donna Andrews, and I'm only about 40 pages in, and it's hilarious. That one will go fast, I wager, and you'll be hearing about it soon. Oh, and I'm still in the middle of Kermit's book.
9 down, 41 to go!
The second book in the series finds Maggie, a 30-something living in Small Town America, starting to deal with the fact that she is, in fact, an empath. She meets a young bitch-in-training who subsequently gets murdered after leaving the antiques/Magic Box-esque shop Maggie works in. The book follows Maggie as she plays super sleuth to find out just exactly what happened to "poor" Amanda. At the same time, she pines for the man she hooked up with, and then broke up with over her new-found magical abilities, while hanging out a lot with the guy that she thinks her boss/magical mentor is seeing.
Thoughts:
Another good turn for Alt. She has a way of writing that draws you in, and holds on tight, so that even though you've put the book down and walked away to do something else, it's still on your mind, and you're wondering whodunnit. The books in the series seem to be a slightly more adult version of the early seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer without the vamps, with a freak-of-the-week type mystery that needs to get sorted out with or without magic. Alt's writing style is fun. The way she paints her characters makes you want to know them. She also ends the books in a way that leaves you hungry for more. I'll definitely be keeping up with this series.
Pages: 289
Genre: Mystery/fantasy
Grade: A
Would I Read Again?: Totally.
I'm thinking I'll be changing that last question to "Would I recommend this to others?" because I'm not a re-reader by nature, because I tend to remember a lot of details once I get into re-reading something.
Also, I cracked into Murder with Peacocks by Donna Andrews, and I'm only about 40 pages in, and it's hilarious. That one will go fast, I wager, and you'll be hearing about it soon. Oh, and I'm still in the middle of Kermit's book.
9 down, 41 to go!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Tales of the Vampire Slayer, vol. 2 (Various)
Summary:
This is a collections of short stories about slayers through the ages. It starts and ends with Buffy, and passes through Japan, in the year 980, France in 1320, the Caribbean in 1661, London in 1843, Georgia in 1864, London again, 1897 this time, New York in 1922, and Chicago in 1943. This volume, like its predecessor, is a glimpse at all those who came before the Slayers we knew, and gives a little more insight to the way things worked according to the Whedonverse.
Thoughts:
Some stories were good. Others shouldn't have even made it to print. But that's the risk you take when diving into a book of short stories, isn't it? Even when they're all based in the same subject matter, they still have varying levels of quality, and this book is, of course, no exception.
It starts with a Buffy story set in 2000. It's absolute crap, and reads like fan fiction. Most of the rest are fairly good, though some seemed to run a little too long for my taste. The 1843 London one is a rip-off of Dickens' Christmas Carol, only with a Watcher meeting Slayers of the past, present, and Buffy, from the future. There are two with Slayers masquerading as men (one as a pirate captain in the Caribbean, the other as a Lieutenant in the Union army during the Civil War), and both are very interesting stories. I'm torn over a possible favorite, though, because I liked the Caribbean one, the 1943 Chicago Slayer, and I really liked the ending Buffy story, written by one of the show's regular writers.
I think, though, if I were to choose which volume I enjoyed more, I would probably say vol. 1. This set had all happier endings, except for Buffy's second story, and a Slayer's existence is not all rainbows and puppies. Also, this seemed to focus a little too much on the Watchers' points of view, pointing out that the Watchers were there to take care of their Slayers, and were always right about one thing or another. I wasn't looking to read Tales of the Watchers. If I were, I'm fairly sure there's something like that out there. I wanted Slayers' stories.
That said, I'll probably hunt down the other two volumes, in the hopes there's more good material, and also because I'm the crazy type that loves Buffy and needs as much material about the show as possible. Sad, but true.
Still reading the Kermit book, and will probably pick something else up too.
7 down, 43 to go...
Pages: 351
Genre: Fantasy, and a little mystery?
Grade: B-/C+
Would I Read Again?: I don't regret reading it...
This is a collections of short stories about slayers through the ages. It starts and ends with Buffy, and passes through Japan, in the year 980, France in 1320, the Caribbean in 1661, London in 1843, Georgia in 1864, London again, 1897 this time, New York in 1922, and Chicago in 1943. This volume, like its predecessor, is a glimpse at all those who came before the Slayers we knew, and gives a little more insight to the way things worked according to the Whedonverse.
Thoughts:
Some stories were good. Others shouldn't have even made it to print. But that's the risk you take when diving into a book of short stories, isn't it? Even when they're all based in the same subject matter, they still have varying levels of quality, and this book is, of course, no exception.
It starts with a Buffy story set in 2000. It's absolute crap, and reads like fan fiction. Most of the rest are fairly good, though some seemed to run a little too long for my taste. The 1843 London one is a rip-off of Dickens' Christmas Carol, only with a Watcher meeting Slayers of the past, present, and Buffy, from the future. There are two with Slayers masquerading as men (one as a pirate captain in the Caribbean, the other as a Lieutenant in the Union army during the Civil War), and both are very interesting stories. I'm torn over a possible favorite, though, because I liked the Caribbean one, the 1943 Chicago Slayer, and I really liked the ending Buffy story, written by one of the show's regular writers.
I think, though, if I were to choose which volume I enjoyed more, I would probably say vol. 1. This set had all happier endings, except for Buffy's second story, and a Slayer's existence is not all rainbows and puppies. Also, this seemed to focus a little too much on the Watchers' points of view, pointing out that the Watchers were there to take care of their Slayers, and were always right about one thing or another. I wasn't looking to read Tales of the Watchers. If I were, I'm fairly sure there's something like that out there. I wanted Slayers' stories.
That said, I'll probably hunt down the other two volumes, in the hopes there's more good material, and also because I'm the crazy type that loves Buffy and needs as much material about the show as possible. Sad, but true.
Still reading the Kermit book, and will probably pick something else up too.
7 down, 43 to go...
Pages: 351
Genre: Fantasy, and a little mystery?
Grade: B-/C+
Would I Read Again?: I don't regret reading it...
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