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.

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Well, I was Tagged

Yep, it was going to come sooner or later.  Today it came from one of my regular readers, turntherice, so I’ll play along.  But I’m not going to perpetuate the cycle, since most of the people I know have already been tagged and I hate to bother them.  So here are the questions and my answers.

1. What do you think about the 2012 end of world “crisis”? Is it hogwash? A misunderstood interpretation of the Mayan calendar?

There’s a word for this “crisis”, but it’s not appropriate for my generally family-friendly blog.  Many cultures have predicted the end of the world and it hasn’t come yet.  When I went to Mexico, my guide explained that it’s simply a new cycle of the calendar, nothing to worry about.  I’m not going to lose sleep over it.

2. If the world were to really  end, what’s one thing you’d like to do before you die?

That information is classified.

3. What’s your best advice to new bloggers?

Stick to a regular blogging schedule, whether it’s once a day or once a week.  Your readers will expect regular posts and you’ll lose them if you don’t.  Also, comment on other people’s blogs in your niche to build an audience and connect with other bloggers.

4. If Pinnochio lies, does his nose grow?

According to Shrek, yes.

5. What’s one thing you could not live without in your daily life?

Sleep.  I couldn’t live without my precious sleep.

6. What’s the most interesting news you’ve read/heard about recently?

Well, the whole clown circus GOP nomination process is pretty amusing.  There’s always something new from GOP headquarters, whether it’s Herman Cain’s many scandals, Newt Gingrich’s arrogance or Mitt Romney’s very odd speeches.  “The trees are just the right height…”  Puh-lease.

7. Do you believe in love at first sight? At what point can one consider oneself “in love”?

Nope.  Love at first sight is based on looks, therefore it is lust or infatuation.  As for when someone can consider themselves in love, I suppose it’s when you feel completely comfortable with your partner and accept all of their flaws without trying to change them.

8. What do you think of reality television?

Idiotic.  A waste of air time.  When will it go away?!

9. How many countries have you visited? Which would you like to visit?

I’ve visited three different countries, if you count stopping in the USA for a while to change planes.  I’d like to visit Egypt since I would like to see all of its rich history, but that trip will be far in the future.  I’m definitely going to wait until things calm down there, if they calm down at all.

10. What is your favourite outdoor activity?

Barbecuing.  Or eating Spitz.  I love my food, probably more than I should.

11. What’s stopping you?

Stopping me from what?  Barbecuing?  Blogging?  Sleeping?  Pretty much nothing except myself.

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.

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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.

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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.

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