YA Fantasy Classic....But....

I actually read Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game a week or two back but have been thinking about what I want to write about it. On one hand, I can completely see why it's a classic; on the other, I'm not completely enthralled with it.

Ender's Game is a classic YA fantasy novel about an incredibly intelligent (and basically grown-up) little boy who has been chosen as the person who can save mankind from the buggers, an alien race that mankind fought nearly a century ago. Ender isn't exactly aware of this and is forced to become a leader and overcome all sorts of miserable obstacles. He's a child that is and was never truly a child.

I read an interview with Card in which he describes his style as American Plain (or something along those lines) and that is a fabulous way to explain how he writes: plain and simple. I don't really enjoy that style and I think that's where my issue with the book lay: I generally remembered I was reading a book instead of being completely sucked into the story with more descriptions and emotions, etc. I love forgetting that I'm reading but Card didn't really achieve that for me with this work.

A few years ago, I did read another fantasy book by him, Enchantment, which I liked, so I'm not ruling him out by any means.

Rating: 7/10

SO GOOD

Suzanne Collins' Catching Fire did not disappoint. At all. I started it Thursday night, finished it Friday. Then I re-started it on Sunday and finished it Monday. So yeah, I liked it. A LOT. (It's a rare book that garners an immediate re-read.)

I love where Collins has gone with the series--the Districts are starting to rebel against the Capital. Katniss is struggling to find where she belongs in the uprising when she and Peeta are forced to face their worst nightmare. The title is perfect (and so's the cover! beautiful!). AND THE ENDING....GAAAHH. I can't wait for book three.

I loved the plotting, the characters, the setting and basically everything about the book. All the elements that made The Hunger Games a success are back.

If you can't tell, I highly recommend this series. It's adventure and action with a bit of dsytopia and some love thrown in. And, in honor of Muse's new CD released today, here's the perfect theme song for the book: Uprising.

Rating: 10/10

Zombies

Much to the disgust of my brother, I read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem! by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith. I think my brother's disgust lay in the fact that Grahame-Smith is blatantly adding in a shock factor to drum up sales...which, yes, is true, but obviously caught my attention (and many people's).

First up, the cover. It's gross. So gross that I kept it face down when I wasn't reading it.

The book itself...well, yes, it's a gimmick. It was sometimes amusing, sometimes weird and other times, well, bizarre.

I did notice that Grahame-Smith made Elizabeth an anti-Christian character, which wasn't necessary. The reader's guide questions at the end of the book made the author's opinions toward Christianity and the church made it clear that Grahame-Smith wanted to add mockery about that faith. That sort of tainted the book for me. I mean, it's one thing to enjoy the addition of zombies and all that silliness but to add his own worldview and opinions to a classic novel that doesn't say anything on the topic is another matter.

So read it for the gimmick but don't expect much more.

Rating: 5/10

It provoked my thoughts

Cory Doctorow's Little Brother invaded my subconscious. I suppose what really got me about this book is that Doctorow's privacy-invading future is feasible.

Little Brother is a look at America's not-too-distant future, one where its citizens are monitored closely with cameras, chips, etc. Seventeen-year-old Marcus and his friends are happy to simply get around their school's technology to play games and hang out. But when a terrorist attack kills 4,000 people in San Francisco and his group is in the wrong spot at the wrong time, Marcus learns the hard way about freedom, rights and torture. But he believes in a free America, so he starts to fight back using awesome, hacker-inspired methods.

Here's where the story seeps in my subconscious:
I read a few chapters of Little Brother before read. At 2 a.m. I wake up to sirens---really loud sirens close by. And I'm terrified because I think the cops are coming for me. I was honestly expecting them to knock on my door and take me in because I'm part of Marcus' hacking group. I even got out of bed to check to see if the cops were in my parking lot. It took me another minute or so to calm down and realize that I was still kind of in dreamland. How bizarre, huh?

I do recommend reading this YA novel because it does inspire thought. I'm pretty conservative (but honestly apathetic--although I do vote!) politically speaking and while I could see the liberal bias the book takes, I think it's out of legitimate fear of where our nation could head. Intriguing (and dream/nightmare-inspiring) stuff....

Rating: 8.5/10

(Spoiler alert as to why I rated it an 8.5: The end wasn't super believable; I just don't believe a state's police force could overturn national security. That's not legal, is it? Good does prevail in the end but is it sad that I don't believe it actually would?)

A week's worth

Evidently I haven't been in a posting mood. Ah well, inspiration comes in waves. So here's what I've been reading this week:

Mark of the Lion by Suzanne Arruda

Plot, courtesy of Amazon: An ambulance driver during WWI, Jade del Cameron promises a dying soldier that she'll track down his brother. The only problem is that the soldier's mother, whom Jade goes to visit in London, insists that she had only one son. Jade reasons that the missing brother must have been born to another woman, conceived when the now deceased family patriarch was exploring East Africa. So off she goes to Nairobi, where she mingles with the colonial elite, kills a hyena, learns Swahili, fingers a drug smuggler, romances a man twice her age, uncovers a murder and attracts the attentions of a local witch.

My thoughts: Kind of dark with a mystery I wasn't a huge fan of, interesting setting, I'll probably read the next one...

Countdown by Michelle Maddox

Again, courtesy of Amazon: Kira Jordan wakes up in a pitch-black room handcuffed to a metal wall. She has 60 seconds to escape. Thus begins a vicious game where to lose is to die. The man she's been partnered with--her only ally in this nightmare--is a convicted mass murderer. But if he's so violent, why does he protect her? No one to trust. Nowhere to run. And the only hope of survival is working together to beat the COUNTDOWN.

My thoughts: Action-packed, fun, quick reading...it's a SHOMI book and I think I may like the genre.

As Shadows Fade by Colleen Gleason

My thoughts: The last book in the Gardella series...and it had an excellent ending. I am thoroughly satisfied with how Gleason ended the love triangle.

Actually really fun

Every now and then I'm surprised by what I actually like. For instance, I've realized I don't mind sci-fi/fantasy--as long as there's romance and adventure. Grimspace by Ann Aguirre is the perfect example of this.

Note: I apologize for any bits of wrong info in my review...I don't have the book handy, so I'm working off of my faulty memory.

The plot is this: Sirantha Jax is a jumper (a certain type of pilot that can jump time/long distances/something in space... That's the thing about sci-fi; it doesn't have to totally be understandable or make sense and you don't really have to care). She's been blamed for a major crash that killed everyone onboard--including her co-pilot (who was also her lover). Jax can't remember the crash and the crazy control-freak government is blaming her for it. She's being tortured by the gov't in hopes that she'll remember and acknowledge her fault.

She's offered an escape from certain death by a mysterious man named March who breaks into her jail cell. His offer doesn't come without risk...but also possible reward. Jax accepts and adventure and romance follows.

The book was just fun--plenty of action and enough romance to keep it spicy. I like how fast-paced it was, which kept my interest. It was actually a book I thought about and wanted to get back to when I wasn't reading it. One negative note: there was a lot of swearing, which was distracting. Still, it was a fun read. I'd definitely pick up another Aguirre book.

Rating: 8/10

Not quite mayhem

Looking back on my reading past, I can't really pinpoint the time when I said "okay, sci-fi might not be so bad." It have been the Lord of the Rings series. I'm not hardcore by any means; books purely about aliens, spaceships and conquering new worlds don't really excite me. I like sci-fi books (or TV shows--yeah Firefly!) that are about people and just happen to be set in a different time, world and place.

So that's a long introduction to say that I like Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan saga. My latest read in that series is Miles, Mystery & Mayhem. It's actually three stories in one, but they do connect.

Yeah, cheeeesy cover. Why do most sci-fi books have super-cartoony covers?

Anyway, the three books follow a basic theme: genetics and humanity--and what role humans play in controlling those two. Still, the books are fast-paced, interesting, have great dialogue and keep me entertained. There's basically no romance (at least so far)--and I still like it!

If you're in the mood for just a good adventure read, I'd recommend this series.

Rating: 8.5/10

Days later...

It's not a secret that I really like Stephenie Meyer's writing. I think she's amazing and has such an incredible imagination. Really, I could gush about her. (But I promise I'm not like the girls that dress up like her characters from the Twilight series or have a fansite; I just like her writing.) That being said, I was still a little "hmmmm" about The Host because it's about an alien.

First of all, what a mesmerizing cover! I had to flip it over to the back whenever I wasn't reading it because the eye was too intense.

The book itself was also intense--but so good! Here's a quick plot summary from Amazon: "Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed.Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human...But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind...Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer yearns for a man she's never met. As outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off to search for the man they both love."

The awesome part of this book? It's not really about a love triangle--it's about defining what a human is and what connects people. The ending is powerful and beautiful (and happy! As you get into the book, you realize there can't be a happy ending, but again Meyer strikes with a perfect answer. I was so thrilled.)

Her treatment of love is great--you'll see that at the ending. Love is about a person's soul and not based on looks and lust. That's sadly a rare concept in many romance--and other--books.

That's enough; go read it. Days later I'm still thinking about it!

Rating: 10/10

The smartest monster ever

As I've been reading "light" fiction lately, I thought it was time to break out another classic. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was my pick.

I surprised myself by actually enjoying it. (What a cool cover! And yes, electricity was a big part of the book.)

First of all, I'm fascinated by Mary Shelley. She's the daughter of feminist authoress Mary Wollstonecraft and philosopher William Godwin. She married Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. She wrote Frankenstein when she was 18. Wow.

Anyway, the plot of this novel is familiar, so I won't go into that. Let me just say that the monster is not at all what I expected. He's very....introspective. And literate. And emotional.

Rating: 9/10

I'm off to Tennessee tomorrow, but I've packed my bags full of good reading. Here's hoping I get to read all of it!

Fizzled out

I was really looking forward to reading Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder. It's the last book (I think) in a trilogy that began with Poison Study. I loved Poison Study! It was a bit of a fantasy--Yelena, a murderess, is sentenced to death but is offered a chance to live--by becoming the foodtaster for the Commander of Ixia. She is trained by Valek, who teaches her about poison and how to detect them. It was subtle, magical, fascinating and basically, I'd give it a 9.5 or 10.

Magic Study is where Yelena learns more about her true abilities--including her connection to magic. It was, again, slower paced, with a focus on Yelena learning. It was still interesting, although I liked Poison Study more.

With Fire Study, well, Maria didn't flame out--she fizzled.

This may sound odd, but there was too much action! One of my favorite aspects about this series has been the slow pace that's still interesting. Yelena learns about poison and magic and develops her abilities. With fire, she doesn't actually study or conquer any magical abilities associated with it. I don't feel like getting into details, because it's complicated, but the entire book was spent traveling, with constant decisions.

Although, to be fair, I'm glad the ending was okay--I really didn't think everything would work out and it'd be another Pirates of the Caribbean 3, where Elizabeth only sees Will once every 10 YEARS and she's still somehow content with that?!? That movie upset me; I'm glad this book's ending didn't. I hate bad endings.

Rating: 6.5/10

Sci-fine

First, I am not going to put up a picture of Young Miles, which I finished reading last night. Why? I don't like the cover. I have this aversion to cartoon characters and the cover of this book has particularly silly-looking ones. Pssh.

Anyway, I was feeling quite bold, so I decided to give a bit of sci-fi a try. I have heard excellent things about Lois McMaster Bujold's writings and had done a bit of reading on Amazon about her Miles Vorkosigan Saga Series. I started with the first book about Miles, which technically isn't the first book in the series.

I liked it; it's definitely an adventure series, which was a nice change in variety. It kept me entertained and amused. I don't feel like explaining the plot, because the book was actually an omnibus...three books in one. Let's just say the story involves: space, mercenaries, genetic defects, fighting and much more.

Rating: 8/10

Seriously

I have been reading all week...but it's been a busy week and the book I've been reading (Young Miles) is actually three books in one, so take that. Maybe I'll finish it this week....just like I finished Firefly last week. And now I'm sad it's over. That show definitely gets a 10.