Tagged: masq1
Snakehead by Anthony Horowitz
(Cover picture courtesy of Harford County Public Library.)
They murdered his parents. They shot him and left him for dead. And yet Alex Rider thought he was finished with the terrorist organization known as Scorpia. He was wrong. Back, and more dangerous than ever, Scorpia is working with ruthless gangs operating across Southeast Asia. Known as snakeheads, the gangs smuggle drugs, weapons, and, worst of all, people. When the Australian Secret Service asks Alex to infiltrate one of the gangs, Alex accepts for one reason only: to work with the godfather he never knew existed in hopes of learning more about his parents. What he uncovers, though, is a secret that will make this his darkest and most dangerous mission to date.
What is the saddest thing of all?
Wasted talent, of course.
Perhaps I’m getting emotional because I’m watching the last act of Aida as I write this, but the Alex Rider series makes me kind of sad. Anthony Horowitz is an absolutely amazing writer—he can create breath-stopping suspense and throw in some truly unexpected plot twists, but he is wasting this talent on a cliché series. Sure, Alex has a bit more depth by now, but he is still a cardboard cutout. And yes, the plot of Snakehead is exciting, but the ending is predictable: Alex saves the world yet again. The only thing I truly love about this series is the fact that kids who have never read before are discovering the joy of reading, which is something that lasts a lifetime.
The plot of Snakehead is fairly predictable, but there are occasional plot twists, especially at the end. You know that Alex saves the world, but this is another case where the journey is more interesting than the destination. Of course Anthony Horowitz keeps things moving along with his perfect way of balancing dialogue and description. He also informs readers about how horrible smuggled refugees have it, especially when they travel by ship.
Alex isn’t a complete cardboard cutout by Snakehead, but neither is he an exemplary character. He is still far too perfect for a fourteen year old boy, even if his uncle did train him all his life to be a spy. Meeting Ash, his godfather, gives him a lot more depth, but he’s pretty much back to the same old Alex by the end of the novel.
I give this book 3/5 stars.
The Mirror of Merlin
(Cover picture courtesy of Open Library.)
There is something wicked in the swamplands on the magical isle of Fincayra—an encroaching evil intent on destroying the land—and only young Merlin possesses the power to stop it.
Together with Hallia, the deer-woman Merlin has fallen in love with, he must embark on a journey through the haunted land that will test his knowledge and his courage to find his stolen sword.
But then Merlin discovers a magic mirror capable of altering a person’s destiny—and the visage he finds within the glass is someone he never imagined he’d see…
What if you could go back in time to talk with your younger self and warn him/her about impending danger? Or what if you could look into a mirror as a teenager and see the person you will become? Well, that’s what the mysterious mirror in the middle of the Haunted Marsh allows Merlin to do. But first he must travel to the very centre of the swamp with the deer-woman he loves in order to retrieve the sword Nimue stole from him.
“Mirrors, I assure you, can cause more pain than broadswords, more terror than ghouls.”
The novel’s prologue starts out with a haunting observation from Merlin looking back on his youth and it definitely sets the tone of the entire novel. Filled with mystery, despair and tragic prophecies while still managing to captivate readers, The Mirror of Merlin is my second-favourite book in The Lost Years of Merlin series, only surpassed by the first novel.
T. A. Barron’s world-building is second to none in the world of fantasy fiction. Filled with creatures from Celtic mythology as well as completely new creatures, it contains more diversity than many mainstream novels. Just the way all people are filled with both light and dark, Fincayra is populated with dark creatures like marsh ghouls but balanced out with good creatures like the ballymag. This is a nod to Merlin’s parentage as well; his evil father and his good mother give him a sort of symmetry.
Readers will cheer for Merlin every step of the way through his difficult quest and will be thrilled as more familiar elements from the Arthurian legends fall into place.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Fire Star by Chris d’Lacey
(Cover picture courtesy of Great Books by Doshisha International Readers.)
There is a fire star coming, signalling a time of new beginnings. A time for dragons to rise again.
A research trip to the Arctic and a contract for a new book—life can’t get much better for David Rain. But as soon as David finds himself in the icy climes, he begins to write his legend of bears, dragons, and the mysterious fire star. Soon he realizes that his tale is beginning to mirror real life, and that an old enemy is on her way to meet him. Can David thwart her terrible plan? Or will his world be destroyed forever?
After hinting at it in the first book and explaining a little bit in the second book, Chris d’Lacey finally gives readers a full explanation about the origin of dragons—both the clay kind and the real ones. As it turns out, Liz Pennykettle was hiding quite a few things from both David, her tenant, and Lucy, her own daughter. This time, it’s going to cost her dearly as the scheming Gwilanna returns, with one thing on her mind: returning dragons to the world.
The thing I like most about Fire Star is how much depth the characters have. We see David behaving more like a college student now that he’s temporarily out of the Pennykettle house and around Zanna, the quirky goth girl he loves. Their relationship is believable, but it’s also unusual because they seem to be complete opposites. This definitely makes for weird chemistry, but it works very well.
Filled with plot twists and turns, especially at the end, Fire Star is—to use the cliché—absolutely riveting. It’s surprisingly fast-paced for a children’s novel, which makes it an enjoyable read for both children and tweens. I would definitely recommend it.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Matched by Ally Condie
(Cover picture courtesy of Writing from the Tub.)
Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander’s face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham’s face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. The Society tells her it’s a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she’s destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can’t stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society’s infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.
(Summary courtesy of Amazon.)
Matched by Ally Condie has garnered quite a bit of attention and hype, but once again we must ask ourselves: Does it deserve it?
Well, in a word, no.
Yet because it doesn’t live up to all of the hype doesn’t mean it is a bad novel. In fact, it’s quite a good novel. But is it absolutely amazing and the best thing since man learned how to make fire? Of course not. If I had to classify Matched, I’d put it under the ‘average’ category. It’s an average YA novel, nothing more.
At the risk of sounding like every other book reviewer that’s read this book (and even a few that haven’t), I would describe it as ‘Orwellian’, simply because there is no other word for it. The level of control the Officials have over every aspect of people’s lives is frightening and teens will be able to see the allusions to our own world. For example, every meal is tailored to the individual so they receive the proper amount of nutrition for their age, occupation, metabolism and body type. This could be seen as an allusion to how obsessed we are today with the fitness culture—all Ally Condie did was take things up a notch. People who are so politically inclined could point out that if the government continues to ‘intrude upon our lives’, the society in Matched is a natural progression.
Like in pretty much all YA novels, there is a love triangle. This one, however, is a bit different because in the beginning, Cassia is quite willing to accept Xander as her Match. She didn’t start out as a rebel, but the poem her grandfather gave her and her growing love for Ky change her. One of the best parts of Matched is the character development—the love triangle isn’t forced at all.
So there are quite a few good things about Matched, but I wouldn’t say there was really anything exceptional. It was good, but not memorable because even though I have an excellent memory for books and it’s only been six days since I’ve read this book, I wasn’t able to remember the name of the main character without looking it up. I can recall every detail of Scroll of Saqqara, name every character in Feed and can rant about everything I hated about Inheritance for hours, but I wasn’t able to remember Cassia. Which, of course, brings me back to my original point: Matched is good, but it’s not great or memorable.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice
(Cover picture courtesy of Midshelf.com.)
In Anne Rice’s extraordinary new novel, the vampire Lestat—outsider, canny monster, hero-wanderer—is snatched from the world itself by the most dangerous adversary he has ever known: Memnoch, a mysterious being who claims to be the Devil. He is invited to be a witness at the Creation. He is taken like the ancient prophets into the heavenly realm and is ushered into Purgatory. Lestat must decide if he can believe in the Devil or in God. And finally, he must decide which, if either, he will serve…
I really didn’t see why so many people were upset about this novel until I actually read it a few times. Now, however, I can see why it has been deemed offensive—or even blasphemous—and why Anne Rice, now a born-again Christian has repudiated her Vampire Chronicles. Especially since this one. Memnoch the Devil doesn’t tell the conventional church-approved story of Satan’s fall from heaven. No, it is Satan, or Memnoch, who tells his side of the story.
From a theological perspective, this is a very interesting book. In it, Anne Rice has combined both old and new Christian ideas from many denominations with a bit of Jewish theology. Memnoch’s justification for his rebellion reminds me very much of the character of Satan from John Milton’s Paradise Lost. Without getting into all of the nasty little details, let’s just call this novel experimental theology and leave it at that, shall we? I’m not going to bring my personal beliefs into this review.
From a less biased, more literature-focused perspective, Memnoch the Devil is not exactly the greatest novel ever written. Lestat is a cardboard cutout by now, the plot is slow and predictable and Memnoch is the only redeeming thing, character-wise. Memnoch is complicated, yet sympathetic in a bizarre way if you put your religious beliefs aside while reading this. But other than Memnoch, this novel doesn’t have much going for it.
As usual, my warning: Memnoch the Devil contains mature content including bad language, explicit sex scenes and violence. Personally, I would not recommend it for anyone under the age of 14, but it really depends on the reader’s maturity level.
I give this book 2/5 stars.