Category: Book Review
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
[Book review by ForTheLoveOfBooks, my first guest poster! –CS]
Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy.
He would be completely normal if he didn’t live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead.
There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy-an ancient Indigo Man beneath the hill, a gateway to a desert leading to an abandoned city of ghouls, the strange and terrible menace of the Sleer.
But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the Man Jack-who has already killed Bod’s family…
I personally don’t remember when I became familiar with Neil Gaiman, but I do remember one of my friends mentioning The Graveyard Book as one of the books she was planning on reading. I forgot about it for a while and then when I was on vacation in Sri Lanka last summer, I saw it in a bookstore, however the version that I saw was this one which was published by Bloomsbury. I find the cover of the Bloomsbury version much more appealing; there’s a darkness to it which I find lacking in the American publication. I’ll move on from my usual cover gushing now!
The book takes place somewhere in England and follows the adventures of Nobody Owens, a.k.a. Bod to the Graveyard Folk as he walks between the living and the dead. The story begins when Bod is a baby and his family are murdered by the mysterious man called Jack and continues till he is about 14/15 years old. Jacks always seem to get a bad name don’t they? You’ve got Jack in The Graveyard Book, Jack The Ripper, the list can go on and on. In his time growing up in the Graveyard, Bod encounters strange and fantastical people and creatures. To name a few they are: the Indigo Man, the Sleer, the ghouls, Ms. Lupescu, Liza the witch and the human girl Scarlett.
Plot wise, I enjoyed the story. I liked the darkness of the opening sequence in the book and the illustrations by Dave McKean add to the drama. Some chapters of the book were definitely fillers and sometimes it did feel like they were unnecessary, but regardless they did add a certain charm to the story. The ending of the story caught me by surprise. I didn’t expect a larger scheme of things to be occurring on the sidelines, but the story behind the scenes definitely helps to understand the connection between Jack and Bod. However it felt rushed to me; everything happened in a matter of hours. I also enjoyed the magical concepts Gaiman incorporated into the story such as ‘Fading’ and ‘Dreamwalking’ and I thought they were used well within the situations Bod found himself in.
Character wise, my only complaint is that there was a lack of character development. But then again this is a Children’s book and I suppose character development is not a requirement. I liked Bod’s character, he was sweet, genuine and likable. His parents; the Owens family were also likable characters, but I felt that they didn’t appear enough and I would have liked to see more of them. Bod’s guardian Silas was one of my favourite characters because he was so mysterious. At first I wasn’t too fond of Ms. Lupescu because she was giving Bod horrible food and didn’t seem to like him all that much, however when she appeared in Bod’s hour of need as a ‘Hound of God’ I thought she was awesome.
I personally didn’t like Scarlett’s teenage version. I liked her as a child, but she grew up to be an angsty teenager and I felt that there had been too much time lost between Bod and her that she didn’t quite understand him. I suppose who would teenagers be if they weren’t angsty and driven by hormones? The character Jack was well written; he was dark and scary and everything you want in a villain. The illustrations of Jack were also great because having him appear in front of you visually gave me goosebumps and I felt scared every time he appeared in the story.
Overall, The Graveyard Book was an enjoyable read. The concept of the book is unique and it’s different from my own reading experiences as a child. I personally don’t think I would have read this book as a child because it’s quite dark, but that’s my personal opinion. The book had some great quotes such as “Of all the organs, ‘the tongue is the most remarkable. For we use it both to taste our sweet wine and bitter poison, thus also do we utter words both sweet and sour with the same tongue” and “A graveyard is not normally a democracy, and yet death is a great democracy.” However there was something about the book that fell short for me. I don’t know how to explain it, but maybe I had too many expectations for it.
My Rating: 4/5
Would I recommend it? Yes
The Warlock by Michael Scott
(Cover picture courtesy of Michael Scott’s website.)
The twins of prophecy have been divided—the end has begun.
Alcatraz:
Although their ally Dr. John Dee has been declared utlaga, Machiavelli and Billy the Kid will follow the plans the Elders have laid before them: they will loose the monsters of Alcatraz on the city of San Fransisco, thereby triggering the end of the humani race.
Danu Talis:
The Shadowrealm that Scatty and Joan of Arc have entered is far more dangerous than they could have ever imagined. And they haven’t landed here by chance—the warriors were called for a reason. So were Saint-Germain, Palamedes, and Shakespeare. The group was summoned because they must travel back in time to Danu Talis and destroy it. For the island of Danu Talis, known in humani myth as the lost city of Atlantis, must fall if the modern world is to exist.
San Fransisco:
The end is finally near. Josh Newman has chosen a side, and he will not stand with his sister, Sophie, or with the Alchemyst, Nicholas Flamel. He will fight alongside Dee and the mysterious Virginia Dare.
Unless Sophie can find her twin before the battle begins, all is lost—forever.
Unlike a lot of people who have read The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series, I like how Josh’s character has developed Although Dee and his kind would like to see the Elders return to the world, which would be bad, the true motives of Nicholas Flamel are shrouded in mystery. In the first few books of the series, there was a clear line between good and evil, but now everything is in shades of grey. And since Sophie and Josh are reunited at the end of The Warlock, it will be interesting to see what side they take, especially when we find out who Dee’s mysterious Elders are.
As usual, the plot zips by at an incredibly fast pace as Litha approaches. Old enemies become allies and old alliances have changed as the battle for humanity’s future draws ever closer. I think you’ll be just as surprised as I was at the interesting turn my favourite villain, Machiavelli, takes in this book. It was very unexpected when it happened, but in hindsight Michael Scott had been dropping hints about the change throughout the series. If you’ve read all the way up to The Necromancer, The Warlock is a must-read that you will thoroughly enjoy.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.
The Goddess Test by Aimée Carter
(Cover picture courtesy of Reading Angel.)
It’s always been just Kate and her mom—and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate’s going to start a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won’t live past the fall.
Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld—and if she accepts his bargain, he’ll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.
Kate is sure he’s crazy—until she seems him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she’ll become Henry’s future bride, and a goddess.
If she fails…
I love the Greek myths, so I thought I would love The Goddess Test. It had an interesting premise, with the promise of a good light read. But I have to say my overall impression of the book can be summed up in one word: meh.
Kate is an interesting protagonist and a decent enough character, but I had a hard time getting inside her head. Aimée Carter truly needed to add more emotion to her writing to pull off a romance like this one, but she didn’t. The chemistry between Henry and Kate was thoroughly unsatisfying because there was little to none of it. Henry remained too distant and enamored with his lost love, Persephone, and it still seemed like Kate was only there out of a sense of duty, even toward the end when she supposedly ‘loved’ him. For me, the characters and the romance they had just didn’t ring true.
The whole premise of the book had a lot of promise, but it too fell flat. I was expecting actual test, rather than just completely secret ones that weren’t really obvious until the end. This is a spoiler, but Kate actually failed one of the tests, but still got to be a goddess because of a loophole. It is probably my own fault for expecting The Goddess Test to be more like Ever by Gail Carson Levine, but I feel like I was let down when I read this.
If you love fast-paced plots and romance, you will love The Goddess Test as long as you don’t pay much attention to the characters.
I give this book 3/5 stars.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
(Cover picture courtesy of The Book Cover Archive.)
Harriet Vanger, scion of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families, disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pierced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and astonishing corruption.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has certainly gathered a lot of attention from the media, but is all of the hype justified? In my opinion, absolutely!
The story starts off rather slowly, but there is something about Stieg Larsson’s writing style that keeps you hooked until things really start to get interesting. The main character, Mikael Blomkvist is a very three dimensional character that you can’t help but like, but the real star of the novel is Lisbeth Salander, a woman declared mentally incompetent by the state.
Lisbeth is so complex; she really is unlike any character I’ve encountered. She is incredibly smart and truly doesn’t care what anyone else thinks about her, yet we also see her more vulnerable side when she begins to fall in love with Mikael. Lisbeth is also incredibly opinionated and her opinions are very unorthodox and nearly always challenge the status quo. In a way, I think she is a mouthpiece for the author, who probably wouldn’t have dared to voice such opinions.
Stieg Larsson’s writing style is very descriptive, yet not so descriptive as to bore the reader. When he describes the beautiful Swedish countryside, you feel like you are really there, even if you have never been to Sweden. Despite this descriptive style, he manages to create a constant undercurrent of tension that grows ever larger as the novel progresses. A lot of credit for this has to go to Reg Keeland, who translated The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo into English from its original Swedish. Translating a novel into a different language while preserving the subtleties of the author’s style is ridiculously difficult and for that alone, Reg Keeland deserves much praise.
The plot of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo twists and turns with astonishing complexity, yet it is not overly difficult for readers to follow. It isn’t exactly fast-paced by conventional standards, but I guarantee that the last 200 pages will go by in the blink of an eye. The ending was a bit cliché—aside from Lisbeth’s decision, even though it stays true to her character—but was very satisfying all the same.
This book does contain explicit sex and violence. I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone under the age of 14, at least. While it is a great book, it’s probably not good for sensitive readers.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Eagle Strike by Anthony Horowitz
(Cover picture courtesy of ESC-Reads.)
Sir Damian Cray: Millions adore him. He is a philanthropist, peace activist, and the world’s most famous vintage pop star. But still it’s not enough—not if he is to save the world. Trouble is, only Alex Rider recognizes that it’s the world that needs saving from Sir Damian Cray. Alex has seen his share of evil masterminds in the short time he’s been an agent at MI6. But in the past, Alex has always had the backing of the government. This time, he’s on his own. Can one teenager convince the world that the most popular man on earth is a madman bent on destruction—before time runs out?
This is the fourth book in Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider series, so I’m not even going to comment on the fact that it’s a rip-off of James Bond. If you’re already this far in the series, you obviously don’t care about the predictable plot. But if you’re new to the series, you should read Stormbreaker first, to get an idea of what you’re in store for.
By this book, Alex is a bit less of a cardboard cutout than he was in the first few books, but that isn’t saying much. He gets a little bit of character development here in Eagle Strike, but he is still only a two dimensional character. As for Damian Cray, the villain, well, let’s just say that he will never make my list of good villains. He is about as three dimensional as the villains in the early Bond films.
If you can ignore the characters, you will enjoy Eagle Strike because despite all my criticism, Anthony Horowitz is a good writer. His descriptions are just the right length to be informative and still maintain the fast pacing. There is also no denying that he has done his research, particularly about Air Force One. The confident way he writes makes it seem like he has been to all of the exotic places his books are set in, which is highly unlikely. Yet, his imagination combined with a huge amount of research is what sets his books apart from most action books.
I give this book 3/5 stars.