I read the "Talisman Trilogy" over the last week and I'm really not sure why. The series consists of "The Emerald Talisman", "The Sapphire Talisman" and "The Onyx Talisman". The first one was free and the others were $2.99 so that might explain why I finished the series. So two disclaimers: first this is a young adult series, second it was recommended by a person with a young adult daughter. I am not however a young adult woman and parts of this series just pissed me off. Other parts just bored me.
The main character is 16 year old Julia Parker who is an empath, who can sense what others are feeling. The first part of the book sets up Julia, her friends, her school, her classes, etc. Being a long way from high school I just skimmed these parts. Then one night on her way home, Julia is attacked and rescued by Nicholas, cute alpha male with a capital "A". Soon Julia meets cute beta male Phil and our triangle is complete. Turns out Nick is a half vampire vampire hunter, who's been watching over Julia for most of her life. Then throw in the prediction that Julia is the key to stopping the vamps and there is basis for the series. The twist is that as a vampire sires a new vampire his bloodline is tied to that vamp and any that they sire. So if you kill the head of the blood line every vamp attached to it will *poof* die. So Julie needs to kill the father of all vampires to destroy this curse. I actually like that part of the series. It was interesting and what actually kept me reading.
What I did NOT like was the characterization of the female characters. It's the same thing that bugged me Twilight, but at least with that I didn't notice until after I was done with the series. With this series, it pissed me off all the way through. Julia spends so much of time caught up in this storm of dramatic emotion, it just made me tired. Julia goes from I just met you to I'll die without you over the course of about one date. Later when Julia and her friend talk about sex, Julia says she not ready and that she wants to wait until she is married. Later on Julia and her friend again have this conversation and the friends says she wants to marry her boyfriend and again wait to have sex until after she is married. I have no problem with waiting for the right person, I have no problem with being committed to a person, and I have no problem with marriage. The thing is, if you asked a group of teenage girls what they were going to do after high school, I don't think get married immediately would be the top answer. None of the female characters express any desire to be anything but part of a couple. No mention of future goals or career plans. Even Julia's aunt does nothing but be a surrogate mother to Julia and have a baby. Where is the girl power? Where is the strength and confidence that you yourself are enough.
Finally, in the third book you really get a look at what Julia's dad does and it is so ridiculous that I could barely keep reading. I honestly don't even know why that part was even included. Generally I try to stay away from writing negative reviews, but I just couldn't do it in this case.
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Sunday, November 11, 2012
"The Chalk Girl" ~ Carol O'Connell
"The Chalk Girl" by Carol O'Connell is the latest in her mystery series featuring Kathy Mallory. I was happy to hear this book was coming out. After the events in "Find Me", I was afraid Mallory's story was done. The amazing thing O'Connell does is make Mallory the main character without ever having her tell the story. It's always told by the characters around her.
It was a good Mallory book. It was good to have her back in New York and back on the job. One of the drawbacks to the series is that you don't spend much time, if any, with Mallory's internal thought process. And I wanted some, just a hint of what happened after the end of "Find Me" and the beginning of "The Chalk Girl". I enjoyed the conflict between Charles and Mallory, who despite his unrequited love for her, stands up to her several times in this book.
This series is not sweet and light, but it is good. It's a love it leave it kind of deal no middle ground. The book starts with a school field trip in Central Park where we are introduced to a young child named Coco right before a rat swarm. Turns out Coco, in a bloody t-shirt, isn't part of the class. She says "The blood fell from the sky while she was looking for her uncle Red who turned into a tree". There starts a complicated story of murder and revenge. As I said I liked it and am waiting paitently for the next installment. Side note ~ I actually read this back in June of this year, but it was summer and summer is short in Minnesota, so you have to take advantage while it's here.
It was a good Mallory book. It was good to have her back in New York and back on the job. One of the drawbacks to the series is that you don't spend much time, if any, with Mallory's internal thought process. And I wanted some, just a hint of what happened after the end of "Find Me" and the beginning of "The Chalk Girl". I enjoyed the conflict between Charles and Mallory, who despite his unrequited love for her, stands up to her several times in this book.
This series is not sweet and light, but it is good. It's a love it leave it kind of deal no middle ground. The book starts with a school field trip in Central Park where we are introduced to a young child named Coco right before a rat swarm. Turns out Coco, in a bloody t-shirt, isn't part of the class. She says "The blood fell from the sky while she was looking for her uncle Red who turned into a tree". There starts a complicated story of murder and revenge. As I said I liked it and am waiting paitently for the next installment. Side note ~ I actually read this back in June of this year, but it was summer and summer is short in Minnesota, so you have to take advantage while it's here.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
"Unseen Academicals" ~ Terry Pratchett
"Unseen Academicals" on the surface is about football, or soccer to us crazy Americans. The Unseen University must field a football team or face losing a substantial endowment. Underneath, it's a about growing, challenging the status quo, and prejudices, both ours and others. It was a good book and I mostly enjoyed it. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood.
Maybe I still harbor some ill-will toward this book that is no fault of it's own. See I had checked this book out of the library and it was on the floor in the back seat. So last summer I'm taking my two nieces, 6 & 7, to Como Park for the day. As we are cruising across town, Niece #1 says "I don't feel so good". Then as I frantically try to find an exit, Niece #2 says "Too late, she threw up." We got everything cleaned up and ended up having a great day, but I did end up with a ruined library book. So I bought them a new one and took it in. Turns out it wasn't the "right kind" of hardcover book with the same isbn number and I had to pay for the ruined one as well. In the end I had two copies, one that went right into the trash and one that sat on a shelf for over a year.
Anyway, This book is full of new and old characters. I especially liked Glenda and Mr. Nutt. Glenda in some ways reminds me of myself. When you look at you life and your routines and think why do I do this. What are the invisible restrictions and rules that are so ingrained that you don't even question how they came to be. Mr. Nutt is hard to describe, especially without giving away crucial information. I'm not a football fan, but Pratchett pulls me right in with his descriptions of the crowds and the sense of loyalty to the sport.
Since the University has to field a team anyway, Lord Vetinari tasks them with revamping the game and drag it into the century of the fruitbat. The clash of old and new, street vs university, and rival clubs provides plenty of action. I liked this book and while not my favorite book, I would recommend it to anyone who likes smart, funny or football books.
Maybe I still harbor some ill-will toward this book that is no fault of it's own. See I had checked this book out of the library and it was on the floor in the back seat. So last summer I'm taking my two nieces, 6 & 7, to Como Park for the day. As we are cruising across town, Niece #1 says "I don't feel so good". Then as I frantically try to find an exit, Niece #2 says "Too late, she threw up." We got everything cleaned up and ended up having a great day, but I did end up with a ruined library book. So I bought them a new one and took it in. Turns out it wasn't the "right kind" of hardcover book with the same isbn number and I had to pay for the ruined one as well. In the end I had two copies, one that went right into the trash and one that sat on a shelf for over a year.
Anyway, This book is full of new and old characters. I especially liked Glenda and Mr. Nutt. Glenda in some ways reminds me of myself. When you look at you life and your routines and think why do I do this. What are the invisible restrictions and rules that are so ingrained that you don't even question how they came to be. Mr. Nutt is hard to describe, especially without giving away crucial information. I'm not a football fan, but Pratchett pulls me right in with his descriptions of the crowds and the sense of loyalty to the sport.
Since the University has to field a team anyway, Lord Vetinari tasks them with revamping the game and drag it into the century of the fruitbat. The clash of old and new, street vs university, and rival clubs provides plenty of action. I liked this book and while not my favorite book, I would recommend it to anyone who likes smart, funny or football books.
"Desert Places: A Novel of Terror" ~ Blake Crouch
I was so impressed by the "The Pines" that I bought "Desert Places" almost the next day. I did not enjoy it nearly as much. This is Crouch's first book and I can see where he wanted to go, he just didn't get there for me. I'm again reminded of Dean Koontz. Koontz is one of my favorite writers, but I'm not a fan of all his books. In fact there's about 1/3 that I think are brilliant, 1/3 that are good, and a 1/3 that I just don't like.
Desert Places starts with a bang. Successful mystery writer Andrew Thomas is living the good life. Career, money, friends, then one day he gets a letter telling him there is a dead body buried on his property. That she has his blood on her and the murder weapon is a missing knife from his kitchen. If he goes to the police, the killer will let the police know where more bodies can be found on Andrew's property. The killer is looking to make a connection with Andrew.
The why and the who are interesting, but lack a substantial back story. It is supposed to be a story about survival and what makes us tick. What can push us over the edge and can we come back. I just don't think Crouch ever really answers his own questions. There are moments when I see the potential that will come in future books like "The Pines". I bought the second one in the Andrew Thomas series at the same time I bought the first. I will read it and see how it goes. I might just need to stick with his later books.
Desert Places starts with a bang. Successful mystery writer Andrew Thomas is living the good life. Career, money, friends, then one day he gets a letter telling him there is a dead body buried on his property. That she has his blood on her and the murder weapon is a missing knife from his kitchen. If he goes to the police, the killer will let the police know where more bodies can be found on Andrew's property. The killer is looking to make a connection with Andrew.
The why and the who are interesting, but lack a substantial back story. It is supposed to be a story about survival and what makes us tick. What can push us over the edge and can we come back. I just don't think Crouch ever really answers his own questions. There are moments when I see the potential that will come in future books like "The Pines". I bought the second one in the Andrew Thomas series at the same time I bought the first. I will read it and see how it goes. I might just need to stick with his later books.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
"The Pines" ~ Blake Crouch
This book was recommended to me by my uncle. I always pay attention when he does this for a couple reasons. The first is that he doesn't do it that often, so if he says take a look, I take a look. Second he is one of those scary smart people who is not easily impressed. That is not to say he isn't a cool guy, because he is very cool, but you aren't going to find him reading "Twilight" or a couple of my other guilty pleasures. "The Pines" is a creepy, intense, mind bending, really good book.
"The Pines" opens with the main character, Ethan Burke, waking up hurt in an empty field. He can't remember who he is or why he's there. He sets out into town to find out what's going on and ends up in the hospital. Eventually he remembers he is a secret service agent on his way to Wayward Pines, Idaho to investigate the disappearance of two other agents. Upon arriving in town he is involved in a car accident. The townsfolk, including the sheriff give every appearance of helpfulness without actually providing any help. All Ethan wants is a way to communicate with the outside world and he's not having much luck. He and you are left with one really big question, "What is going on in Wayward Pines?"
I read this book in one day. Crouch has a way of writing suspense and tension in the most everyday situations that I haven't seen in a long time. The opening sequence of Ethan walking through town was so creepy and I could feel myself being pulled into the story. My arms were tense and my brow was furrowed. And that's just the beginning of the book for crying out loud! It just keeps building from there. Then just when you think it's going one way, the story shifts and you're shaking your head going "What? Huh? What?" Then it shifts again. I don't usually talk about the end of the stories, because I don't want to spoil things, but WOW does this have one HELL of an ending that I did not see coming.
Crouch reminds me of Dean Koontz at his best. I finished this book and went looking for more. It was creepy and weird and good. I can't tell you if it was well written or not. I didn't pay that much attention, I was completely caught up in the story. It was the perfect book to read right before Halloween.
"The Pines" opens with the main character, Ethan Burke, waking up hurt in an empty field. He can't remember who he is or why he's there. He sets out into town to find out what's going on and ends up in the hospital. Eventually he remembers he is a secret service agent on his way to Wayward Pines, Idaho to investigate the disappearance of two other agents. Upon arriving in town he is involved in a car accident. The townsfolk, including the sheriff give every appearance of helpfulness without actually providing any help. All Ethan wants is a way to communicate with the outside world and he's not having much luck. He and you are left with one really big question, "What is going on in Wayward Pines?"
I read this book in one day. Crouch has a way of writing suspense and tension in the most everyday situations that I haven't seen in a long time. The opening sequence of Ethan walking through town was so creepy and I could feel myself being pulled into the story. My arms were tense and my brow was furrowed. And that's just the beginning of the book for crying out loud! It just keeps building from there. Then just when you think it's going one way, the story shifts and you're shaking your head going "What? Huh? What?" Then it shifts again. I don't usually talk about the end of the stories, because I don't want to spoil things, but WOW does this have one HELL of an ending that I did not see coming.
Crouch reminds me of Dean Koontz at his best. I finished this book and went looking for more. It was creepy and weird and good. I can't tell you if it was well written or not. I didn't pay that much attention, I was completely caught up in the story. It was the perfect book to read right before Halloween.
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