Today I’m taking a break from the blogosphere. I’ve come down with a nasty fever and stomach ache, so I’m going to be AWOL the rest of the day and unfortunately I wasn’t able to type up a book review. But rest assured, I’ll publish two tomorrow to make up for it.
(Cover picture courtesy of Infinitas Bookshop.)
When an investigation into a series of mysterious deaths leads agents to an elite prep school for rebellious kids, MI6 assigns Alex Rider, fourteen-year-old reluctant spy, to the case. Before he knows it, Alex is stuck in a remote boarding school high atop the Swiss Alps with the sons of the rich and powerful, and something feels wrong. Very wrong. These former juvenile delinquents have turned well-behaved, studious—and identical—overnight. It’s up to Alex to find out who is masterminding this evil plot, before they find him. The clock is ticking—is Alex’s luck about to run out?
You honestly can’t accuse Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider series of being completely original. In fact, it has a few allusions to James Bond, which anyone who has watched Octopussy can tell you. Smithers, the man who supplies all of Alex’s gadgets, was named after the man in Q’s makeshift office in India during that movie. The plots of the books take elements from James Bond movies, but Horowitz never strays anywhere near plagiarism. In fact, he puts his own spin on the familiar franchise.
Alex Rider is not a great character by any stretch of the mind, but he is not a complete cardboard cutout either. He really doesn’t want to put his life on the line again after the events of Stormbreaker, but is once again manipulated into spying for MI6. This time, the stakes are even higher and Alex is in more danger than ever before. Anthony Horowitz keeps his descriptions at just the right length to convey this concept and creates an aura of suspense throughout the novel. Really, this is a book that deserves its place at the top of YA literature for boys. It’s basically a less violent, less sexual James Bond series for young male readers.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
When tragedy strikes Michele Windsor’s family, she is forced to move from Los Angeles to New York City to live with the wealthy, aristocratic grandparents she has never met. In their historic Fifth Avenue mansion, filled with a century’s worth of family secrets, Michele discovers the biggest family secret of all—an ancestor’s diary that, amazingly, has the power to send her back in time to 1910, the year it was written. There, at a glamorous high-society masquerade ball, Michele meets the young man with striking blue eyes who has haunted her dreams all her life. And she finds herself falling for him and into an otherworldly romance.
Soon Michele is leading a double life, struggling to balance her contemporary high school world with her escapes into the past. But when she stumbles upon a terrible discovery, she is propelled on a race through history to save the boy she loves—and to complete a quest that will determine their fate.
Have you ever read a book that you couldn’t put down? One that was absolutely captivating? One that literally made you gasp for breath when you finished it? Well, that’s how Timeless was for me.
I know a time travel romance is very clichéd and time travel itself is wrought with problems, not the least of which is the time paradox (more commonly known as the grandfather paradox). But once my scientific instincts were quieted, I really did enjoy Timeless. I must admit that I know next to nothing of America circa 1910, so I can’t critique its accuracy, unlike books about ancient Egypt or ancient Rome. But I think Alexandra Monir did quite a lot of research and her writing really brought the period to life. Her writing is absolutely captivating because she has found the perfect balance between description and dialogue, something a lot of writers—especially the younger ones—struggle with.
In addition to her amazing writing, Alexandra Monir has great characterization. Michele is a very believable character and I could really feel her grief over her mother’s death. She falls in love very quickly, but when you meet someone who has haunted your dreams all your life, what do you expect? She is very sympathetic because in the end she does what she thinks is the right thing, even though it cuts her to the core. And because of her decision, we get a very nice cliffhanger ending that makes me anxious for the sequel, Timekeeper.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
I’m a bit late with this list this week, but here it is for those of you who are curious:
Tuesday: Timeless by Alexandra Monir
Wednesday: Point Blank by Anthony Horowitz
Thursday: Extras by Scott Westerfeld
Friday: The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong
Saturday: The Amaranth Enchantment by Julie Berry
Sunday: Gregor the Overlander and the Curse of the Warmbloods by Suzanne Collins
On Friday I’m going to post a special essay on a certain popular YA book and why it’s popular. Can you guess which one it is?
Update: I didn’t anticipate a sick day this week and someone has borrowed my copy of the book in question. Sorry guys, it’ll have to wait until I get my book back!
(Cover picture courtesy of Fairfieldbooks on Kids.)
It began with Eragon…
It ends with Inheritance.
Not so very long ago, Eragon—Shadeslayer, Dragon Rider—was nothing more than a poor farm boy, and his dragon, Saphira, only a blue stone in the forest. Now, the fate of an entire civilization rests on their shoulders.
Long months of training and battle have brought victories and hope, but they have also brought heartbreaking loss. And still, the real battle lies ahead: they must confront Galbatorix. When they do, they will have to be strong enough to defeat him. And if they cannot, no one can. There will be no second chance.
The Rider and his dragon have come farther than anyone dared to imagine. But can they topple the evil king and restore justice to Alagaësia? And if so, at what cost?
This is the spellbinding conclusion to Christopher Paolini’s worldwide bestselling Inheritance cycle.
After three long years of eager anticipation, I finally got my hands on the last book of the Inheritance Cycle. Boy, was I disappointed. I don’t even know where to start, but I think I should start with the worst part of it: the characters.
The characters in this novel have gone way into left field, especially minor characters like King Orrin and Angela. Orrin, who was always supportive of the Varden suddenly becomes a mean, irrational and selfish drunk. I understand that the pressures of war may have made him snap, but Christopher Paolini never showed this huge transition from eccentric to drunk. We see more of Angela and she goes from somewhat dangerous and mysterious to a really mysterious, incredibly dangerous…thing. We never find out what she really is, which makes me think Paolini is going to write a fifth book. In addition to minor characters changing, the main characters become caricatures of their former selves. Roran becomes a city-destroying killing machine that’s completely unrealistic (even for fantasy), Arya does a total 180 near the end of the novel and Eragon becomes a super-powerful magician and warrior to the point of ridiculousness.
This book is over 800 pages long, yet it probably could have been condensed to 500 pages. Christopher Paolini’s descriptions become excruciatingly long, but suddenly trail off with about 100 pages left. The last hundred pages are so poorly written I think that after 13 years of writing the same series, he just wanted to get it over with. Unfortunately, the result is a lot of disappointed fans.
I give this book 0.5/5 stars.