Buying a Fishing Rod for My Grandfather: Stories by Gao Xingjian
The Martian by Andy Weir
Genesis by Bernard Beckett
Book TWO! The first thing I noticed about book two in the "Guardians of Time" trilogy was the focus of the chapters. In book one, The chapters alternated between Ethan and Isabelle. In book two, they alternate between Arkarian and Isabelle. This bothered me at first because while Ethan was still a character in the book, I didn't get to see what was in his head like I was used to, and I liked the focus on him, he is a very likable and important character. The second problem I had with it was that I was in Arkarian's head, which was weird because he's a wise 18-looking 600+ year old man and so I didn't want to read about his fears and heartache and about the things he didn't know.
The second thing I noticed about book two was that the author assumed the reader had not read book one, and so Isabelle explains everything that is learned from book one and it's a bit annoying.
Having said that- the good stuff. We learn of Arkarian's past (should I make sure I'm spelling his name right? I really don't feel like it...). We meet his mother and learn of his father.
Am I getting ahead of myself? In book two, Arkarian is KIDNAPPED by the immortal that runs the Order of Chaos. With Arkarian gone, the Guard starts losing more missions and the present world begins to change for the worse. The reason why the order all of a sudden became so powerful was because the Immortal was angry at the guard for killing (/seriously altering the being of) Marduke. Added to the stress of saving Arkarian, Ethan's mother's depression has turned for the worse and there is reason to worry about her killing herself. And we get to find out why she hasn't recovered, after all these years!
Again, like book one, book two is filling with a quickly progressing story line and is never dull. Love interests are progressing the way they should, the Guard's immortal pulls another cheap move like he did at the end of book one (I won't elaborate) and another person changes sides. I am eager to read book three, to see how it all ends. Again, I highly recommend this trilogy. The books are pretty short at around 300 pages, much easier than the small print 600+ page books from the last series I read, but just as good! :)
This was the first book in a while that interested me almost from the start. The prologue was interesting, and I guess necessary, but once I got into the first real chapter, I was hooked.
The Named is a trilogy which focuses on a group called The Guard which guards against the Order of Chaos. Both groups are led by immortals. The Order of Chaos goes back in time (or rather, humans have a misunderstanding of how time works) to change history which results in Chaos, which makes the Chaos Immortal more powerful. The guard goes back in time to stop the Order from succeeding. The book alternates point of view from Ethan, a boy who had been in the guard since his sister was murdered and Isabel, a new recruit who's powers have just begun to show.
The book moves at a very fast pace and there is a lot of action. Ethan is at the end of his training and becomes Isabel's trainer. Also they have quests to the past as well as to the place where the prophecy is written. Along with the action, there is also that bit of romance for example, at one point Isabel is killed in the past, leaving behind her real body in the real world and her soul to wander the middle world. But there is hope. She can be retrieved if she hears her name called by her soul mate before she reaches the bridge.
So id you want a fast paced novel that is easy to read and easy to get into and are committed to reading books 2 and 3 as well then I would highly recommend it. I guess the only downside is that the main characters are teenagers with hero complexes and big egos. And stupid Isabel at the end was too concerned for her brother and was being annoying because she was supposed to be saving someone else. *sigh*
Also- Spoiler alert -
Ethan does get his wings at the end even though he was supposed to never be able to have them which is kind of annoying. I don't think he really needs them. He's not even the main focus of book two.
Evil for Evil is the second book of the Engineer series by K.J. Parker. Now Duke Valens needs to find a way to save himself from the Mezentines while Ziani pursues his own plan. Valens decides to make a marriage alliance while lamenting that he is both closer and further away from his true love. And he does silly things for love again.
Anyway, I realized why i got confused every time I saw the word "realize" in the book because it's spelled "realise" and it throws me off every time...
But anyway, the second novel is just as intense as the first one. So much happened and I don't want to give anything away but the war continues, who is in power changes hands (although that's at book 3 i believe)... And we learn some terrible things about Ziani's apprentice. I think everyone should read these books. They're amazing...
This is book one of The Engineer Trilogy. I had jury duty and correctly figured that I wasn't going to be put on a case, but instead be left to sit and read so I grabbed some books from the library. I hadn't been there in forever and the selection sucked but I found this large book and a few others. This one, I correctly identified as the most interesting. It begins with a teen boy, son of the Duke in one, i guess I'll call it a kingdom. There are three Kingdoms (or three that matter) Two are rival related enemies that had just recently signed a peace treaty and the third is this extremely technologically advanced place. And by technologically advances I mean they produce the best armor, have the best weapons, they make plates and basically whatever you can thing to do with metal they make it perfectly. So then the story goes on that Orsea's kingdom attacks the advanced ones and lose but it's all good timing for this one guy who made an advancement on one of the technologies, which is not allowed. He escaped from prison and followed Orsea home. Then naturally, stuff happens.
I really thought this book was amazingly well thought out. So planned. You see things happening and wish the lines of communication were more open so they wouldn't easily succumb to defeat but you know who the characters are, and what they're going to do. I really don't like Vaates, the prison escapee. He's apparently the protagonist though. I really like Valens and hope that he can work things out... Anyway, great book. There's a ton of war and hunting and planning things I don't too much care about but Parker makes it a page turner. I was not bored at all in jury duty. Sometimes I'd look up from the book and feel like I was being sucked out of another world. It's that good.
Final book in the Noble Warriors series. Seeker is still on his journey to destroy the Sevanters while everyone else tries to find faith now that the physical Nom is gone. Of the three books, I felt this one was a let down. I loved the first 2 and was excited to read the conclusion but I felt this book was more scattered. A lot of stuff was going on and everyone was in different places and people were being lied to all over the place. Also, Seeker seemed to lack a specific personality in this book. Maybe he didn't even have one in the first two but it seemed that in this book he was just there doing things. Also what he did to Wildman was crazy and it was obvious it would be undone. Aside from the plot and all of that, the final conclusion the "and they went of and lived happily ever after" part (It wasn't like that, but for purposes of an example) was good and respectable. But the book overall was a lot of craziness. It didn't have the same spirit as the first two, I felt.
Jango is the second book in the Noble Warriors trilogy. It begins with Seeker, Wildman, and Morning Star undergoing training in the Nom. Wildman is becoming impatient and wants to go into the garden. Morning Star is developing feelings for Wildman, and Seeker gains incredible power. Jango is just as amazing of a book at the first installment, Seeker was. We're introduced to a new character Echo who accidentally finds herself in the company of a warlord and his army, as he marches into Radiance. The new Radiant leader is still trying to destroy the Nom, and a lot of stuff happens. If you liked the first book, you'll like this one too.
Review By: Sasha
So I've read a lot of books for school, but haven't read much for fun recently. I started to read some fairy book but the guy was too perfect and it was painful. So I never got past the third page. So I moved on to the other book I got from the library. The Book of Lies. It's about this boy who has just been taken to an orphanage. A wizard tries to replace his memory with a false one, and a little girl who is good at disappearing into the shadows, interrupts this process. He still loses his memory, but she tells him his real name and he's like "OMG thats it" etc. And there's this whole adventure. I read it in a day like nonstop. I didn't want to get online or talk to people, this book sucked me in. And like, as I read i was guessing "oh they're this and this is going to happen" and then it was like oh no, this happened instead and this is how it is, but then i was right about this, and that turned out to be a lie and so i was right anyway, and it was great. And no i'm not going to go back to fix my grammar. So read it, get the sequal, and wait for the third book in 2009 (tear... so far away)
And this isn't a review, but i love myself for writing a seeker review because i know the next book is coming out soon and i couldn't remember the name of the series (yay me)
Review By: Shelby
I just picked up this book for two reasons:
1. it was $1
2. I like comics
Anyway this very smart comic tells the story of a girl who grew up in Iran when they were in war with Iraq and when they had taken people hostage at the American embassy.
Marji, the protagonist, is a young only child who lives with her mom and dad. She is smart and outspoken as a result of the environment of her home: her mom and dad are very opinionated and take everything with a grain of salt. also they are very modern.
Marji watches her home become like a backwards, scary place. She is young so she is torn between her love for her country and her modern ideals. She is fired up and wants to fight when she first learns of the war, but she is also proud of her relatives for being in jail because they stood up for their ideals. She even goes against her parents' wishes and protests! (very dangerous).
Marjane is still just a teenager, so she of course, has to rebel. She rebels against her parents and against the oppressive, extremist government, wearing jeans, and sneakers under her veil while singing along with Michael Jackson, Guns N Roses, and Kim Wilde.
Review By: Sasha
So, it's been awhile since I've written a review...
Seeker is about a boy named Seeker who wishes to join the Noble Warriors who are a group of monks that live to protest the All and Only. As Seeker turns sixteen, he is now allowed to join. But not only does the most horrible thing happen (his brother gets kicked out of the noble warriors, and is now a disgrace), but Seeker's father does not want him to join. This book also follows Morning STar, a girl who can see people's "colors" as in if their angry and other emotions. And Wildman who is...wild...These three people meet and become companions on a quest to become Noble Warriors.
This is a very great book. Everything the author writes has a purpose and it's fun to read and see how everything comes together at the end. Though this is a series, it actually has a real ending which I was happy to read. It's not often that I like endings to good books. It's long but easy to read. I would hihly reccommend this book.
