One of the things I adore most about Stephanie Meyer is her ability to see every side of the story. Many authors will write from the point of view of several characters in a book, but they way Stephanie does it is something I haven’t seem, or noticed before.
In this novella, Stephanie writes solely from the point of view of a newborn vampire named Bree. Bree is a character that shows up for only a few pages in her third Twilight book, ‘Eclipse.’ There is nothing really remarkable about her in that book with the exception that she surrenders her fight after it is offered to her by the Cullen clan only to be killed by the Volturi a short time later.
The novella describes what Bree’s life was like as a newborn that lives with a large group of other volatile newborns. It talks about what they are taught, told and expected to believe about their new life and eventually about their enemies.
It is a short story, only about 180 pages. But in those pages you get a sense of what most newborn vampires are like and how uneducated about their new life they really are, especially when the other older newborns lie to them about everything. You get to experience her journey to her death and how she accepts her fate. She even tries to help the Cullens before she dies in her own subtle way, because of the undeserved kindness they showed.
I won’t say that its as good of a story as the Twilight’ saga, but it’s still a good story. I read this in about 2 hours and it was worth the effort. If you enjoyed the Twilight books, you should definitely read this as well.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
'Speaker for the Dead' by Orson Scott Card, 6/16/10
Almost one year to the day after finishing ‘Ender’s Game’ I finished the second book, ‘Speaker for the Dead.’ I wish I hadn’t waited so long to read it.
I didn’t write a review for ‘Ender’s Game,’ so if you don’t know that story, let me give you a brief overview.
Ender is short for Andrew Wiggin. He is considered a Third, meaning he is the third and youngest child in the family. In the time that he was born, couples were not allowed to have more than two children without special permission from the government. The government allowed Ender’s parents to have a third child is because they were looking for something specific from their genetic line….a child that was a military genius. They found it in Ender.
Ender was sent to a military school at a very young age, six if I recall correctly. Through tactical training, Ender became very good at what he did. During the course of his training he played what he thought was a video game against the enemy, known as Buggers. Unbeknownst to Ender, the video game was real; he was really commanding starships and was solely responsible for the destruction of the entire Bugger race. He became know as Ender the Xenocide because of the destruction of the Buggers.
Three thousand years later, ‘Speaker for the Dead’ picks up. After the Bugger Wars, Ender became a speaker for the dead, someone who travels from world to world, upon request, telling the story of those that have died. Because of star travel, even though it is three thousand years, the same Ender is traveling telling the stories of the dead. He is now about 35 years old.
In this particular situation Ender is called to the planet of Lusitania to tell the story of Pipo, who is a scientist studying the planet’s other species, most notable what they call the “piggies.” Piggies are humanoid creatures with a language and a culture. At this time, Pipo is not allowed to teach the piggies anything that might move forward their evolution faster than what it is meant, but he is to learn of everything the piggies will teach him. When the piggies kill Pipo, one of his assistants and friends call for a speaker so that the truth may be known.
Much happens on Lusitania from the time Ender gets the call to when he arrives twenty-two years later. His arrival sparks fear, excitement, sadness and nervousness among the people of Lusitania. Much happens after his arrival, including the planet rebelling against the main form of interstellar government, the Starways Congress.
But for me the story held so much more than just a tale of time travel and interstellar wars. I saw it as a brief history of men exploring Earth and what happens when you encounter people with different beliefs than you. It is a story of what can happen out of miscommunication, jealously and fear of the unknown. By the end of this book it takes an outsider, Ender, to bare the truth of peoples lives, to break all the rules so that the humans and the piggies can join forces against the Starways Congress who is on its way to Lusitania to destroy them both.
I didn’t write a review for ‘Ender’s Game,’ so if you don’t know that story, let me give you a brief overview.
Ender is short for Andrew Wiggin. He is considered a Third, meaning he is the third and youngest child in the family. In the time that he was born, couples were not allowed to have more than two children without special permission from the government. The government allowed Ender’s parents to have a third child is because they were looking for something specific from their genetic line….a child that was a military genius. They found it in Ender.
Ender was sent to a military school at a very young age, six if I recall correctly. Through tactical training, Ender became very good at what he did. During the course of his training he played what he thought was a video game against the enemy, known as Buggers. Unbeknownst to Ender, the video game was real; he was really commanding starships and was solely responsible for the destruction of the entire Bugger race. He became know as Ender the Xenocide because of the destruction of the Buggers.
Three thousand years later, ‘Speaker for the Dead’ picks up. After the Bugger Wars, Ender became a speaker for the dead, someone who travels from world to world, upon request, telling the story of those that have died. Because of star travel, even though it is three thousand years, the same Ender is traveling telling the stories of the dead. He is now about 35 years old.
In this particular situation Ender is called to the planet of Lusitania to tell the story of Pipo, who is a scientist studying the planet’s other species, most notable what they call the “piggies.” Piggies are humanoid creatures with a language and a culture. At this time, Pipo is not allowed to teach the piggies anything that might move forward their evolution faster than what it is meant, but he is to learn of everything the piggies will teach him. When the piggies kill Pipo, one of his assistants and friends call for a speaker so that the truth may be known.
Much happens on Lusitania from the time Ender gets the call to when he arrives twenty-two years later. His arrival sparks fear, excitement, sadness and nervousness among the people of Lusitania. Much happens after his arrival, including the planet rebelling against the main form of interstellar government, the Starways Congress.
But for me the story held so much more than just a tale of time travel and interstellar wars. I saw it as a brief history of men exploring Earth and what happens when you encounter people with different beliefs than you. It is a story of what can happen out of miscommunication, jealously and fear of the unknown. By the end of this book it takes an outsider, Ender, to bare the truth of peoples lives, to break all the rules so that the humans and the piggies can join forces against the Starways Congress who is on its way to Lusitania to destroy them both.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
'A Reliable Wife' by Robert Goolrick, 6/2/10
Robert Goolrick’s is a story of love and betrayal. Set in the early 1900’s, the story begins with a man, Ralph Truitt, a lonely and wealth man in Wisconsin who has placed a personal ad looking for ‘a reliable wife.’ Someone who could sit with him at dinner and he could talk to. He is waiting at the train station to pick up the woman he has chosen from the ad responses who has described herself as ‘a simple, honest woman.'
When this woman, Catherine Land, steps off the train, Truitt immediately notices that she is not the woman whose picture he has in his pocket. He almost puts her back on the train, but since the train isn’t leaving that night he takes her to his home in the country for the night. It is the beginning of winter and the snow is starting to fall. On their way, there is an accident with the carriage and Truitt is injured. Catherine helps heal him back to consciousness and heath and in the course of doing so Truitt has grown to respect her.
They do get married. Catherine may have advertised that she is ‘a simple, honest woman’, but that anything but true. Her plan always was to wed Truitt and slowly kill him with arsenic for his money.
Truitt, on the other hand, has a different plan in mind. He requests that she go to St Louis and bring back is son that ran away 12 years ago. She does as she is requested to do and the issues that result are nothing if not intriguing.
Throughout the Wisconsin winter, where the solitude and loneliness are described in riveting detail, you learn that there is more to love and marriage that money. The story was great. Although I hadn’t had a chance to read for several months, I finished this book in two days. The ending was a complete shocker, not what I was expecting at all.
When this woman, Catherine Land, steps off the train, Truitt immediately notices that she is not the woman whose picture he has in his pocket. He almost puts her back on the train, but since the train isn’t leaving that night he takes her to his home in the country for the night. It is the beginning of winter and the snow is starting to fall. On their way, there is an accident with the carriage and Truitt is injured. Catherine helps heal him back to consciousness and heath and in the course of doing so Truitt has grown to respect her.
They do get married. Catherine may have advertised that she is ‘a simple, honest woman’, but that anything but true. Her plan always was to wed Truitt and slowly kill him with arsenic for his money.
Truitt, on the other hand, has a different plan in mind. He requests that she go to St Louis and bring back is son that ran away 12 years ago. She does as she is requested to do and the issues that result are nothing if not intriguing.
Throughout the Wisconsin winter, where the solitude and loneliness are described in riveting detail, you learn that there is more to love and marriage that money. The story was great. Although I hadn’t had a chance to read for several months, I finished this book in two days. The ending was a complete shocker, not what I was expecting at all.
'Eldest' by Christopher Paolini, 1/28/10
‘Eldest’ by Christopher Paolini was even better than the first.
Eragon has gone to the land of Elves to continue his training as a Dragon Rider. While he is there he learns more about how to wield magic, connect with his dragon and how to fight with his personal sword given to him in the first novel by Brom.
His cousin, Roran, has lead the villagers to a new place to live. Galbatorix destroyed the village that Eragon grew up in during his search for the dragon egg. While Roran is trying to find a new place for the villagers to live he learns of a new Dragon Rider, although he doesn’t realize it is his young cousin until the battle near the end of the book in which the two work together.
During that same battle, a new Dragon Rider is revealed. The twist and turns on who this person is and how they are connected to Eragon was a shock to me….I honestly didn’t see that one coming.
I still love this series. I enjoy reading about Eragon’s quick maturity and love for what he was destined to become. I would love to tell all, but that would ruin the magic of the story. Read it and enjoy.
Eragon has gone to the land of Elves to continue his training as a Dragon Rider. While he is there he learns more about how to wield magic, connect with his dragon and how to fight with his personal sword given to him in the first novel by Brom.
His cousin, Roran, has lead the villagers to a new place to live. Galbatorix destroyed the village that Eragon grew up in during his search for the dragon egg. While Roran is trying to find a new place for the villagers to live he learns of a new Dragon Rider, although he doesn’t realize it is his young cousin until the battle near the end of the book in which the two work together.
During that same battle, a new Dragon Rider is revealed. The twist and turns on who this person is and how they are connected to Eragon was a shock to me….I honestly didn’t see that one coming.
I still love this series. I enjoy reading about Eragon’s quick maturity and love for what he was destined to become. I would love to tell all, but that would ruin the magic of the story. Read it and enjoy.
'A Caress of Twilight' by Laurell K Hamilton, 1/7/10
In the second installment of Laurell K Hamilton’s Meredith Gentry series, ‘A Caress of Twilight’ we learn more about how the fey courts and hierarchy work. We learn more about the backgrounds of the knights that Meredith has chosen to guard her and possibly impregnate her with the next in line for the throne of the Unseelie Court.
Meredith still tries to balance her new objective of getting pregnant with her work as a magical detective. There is mystery, murder and intrigue.
A woman who was banned from the Seelie Court has called upon Meredith to perform a fertility rite, so that she and the man she loves can have a child before his demise. Against all the rules of both courts, Meredith is not supposed to help this woman. But Meredith is not really good at following rules of a court that regularly has tried to kill her.
While solving the mystery of murders around Los Angeles, Meredith gets tied up in this woman’s need to have a child. In the process she discovers that she truly loves one of her guards, which will make things interesting in the future books.
I read this book several months ago and without rereading it I cannot honestly remember all the twists in it. I do recall that it wasn’t quite as overpowering as the images from the first, but enjoyable nonetheless.
Meredith still tries to balance her new objective of getting pregnant with her work as a magical detective. There is mystery, murder and intrigue.
A woman who was banned from the Seelie Court has called upon Meredith to perform a fertility rite, so that she and the man she loves can have a child before his demise. Against all the rules of both courts, Meredith is not supposed to help this woman. But Meredith is not really good at following rules of a court that regularly has tried to kill her.
While solving the mystery of murders around Los Angeles, Meredith gets tied up in this woman’s need to have a child. In the process she discovers that she truly loves one of her guards, which will make things interesting in the future books.
I read this book several months ago and without rereading it I cannot honestly remember all the twists in it. I do recall that it wasn’t quite as overpowering as the images from the first, but enjoyable nonetheless.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
'Eragon' by Christopher Paolini, 1/4/10
‘Eragon’ is the story of a young farm boy, Eragon, living in a time where electricity doesn’t exist but legends still hold magic. He lives with his uncle and cousin. What happened to his parents are a mystery, his uncle will only say that his mother had to leave and he doesn’t know anything about his father. The village that Eragon and his family live near has the typical characters, from the butcher and the healer to the storyteller who still talks about the legends of the Dragon Riders as if he is awaiting their return.
But when Eragon finds an odd blue stone in the mysterious mountains surrounding the village, his life goes from ordinary and simple to extraordinary and dangerous. The stone is actually a dragon egg; the dragon inside has chosen Eragon to be their rider. However, the evil king, who was once a dragon rider himself, seeks the egg, not knowing it has hatched and chosen a rider.
Thus begins Eragon’s adventure, heartbreak and loss of childhood.
It is a great story. It is beautifully written, the characters are lovable and easy to connect with. The story is a somewhat typical epic tale of love, loss, adventure and travel with the elder who teaches, child who learns but is stubborn and thinks he knows all. It sort of reminds me of the ‘Lord of the Ring’ series, which I have only read ‘The Fellowship of the Ring,’ but the basic idea is the same. A linguist didn’t write this story, so it is easier to follow. If you like LOTR and stories of that sort of sci-fi fantasy, then you will enjoy ‘Eragon.’
But when Eragon finds an odd blue stone in the mysterious mountains surrounding the village, his life goes from ordinary and simple to extraordinary and dangerous. The stone is actually a dragon egg; the dragon inside has chosen Eragon to be their rider. However, the evil king, who was once a dragon rider himself, seeks the egg, not knowing it has hatched and chosen a rider.
Thus begins Eragon’s adventure, heartbreak and loss of childhood.
It is a great story. It is beautifully written, the characters are lovable and easy to connect with. The story is a somewhat typical epic tale of love, loss, adventure and travel with the elder who teaches, child who learns but is stubborn and thinks he knows all. It sort of reminds me of the ‘Lord of the Ring’ series, which I have only read ‘The Fellowship of the Ring,’ but the basic idea is the same. A linguist didn’t write this story, so it is easier to follow. If you like LOTR and stories of that sort of sci-fi fantasy, then you will enjoy ‘Eragon.’
Saturday, January 2, 2010
'The Alchemist' by Paulo Coelho, 12/17/09
This book was fairly popular a couple of years ago. I have always been slow to follow trends.
The book is about a Shepard boy named Santiago who had a dream one night while sleeping in an old church that there is buried treasure at the pyramids in Egypt. He is about 17 years old. As Santiago is traveling to a village to sell his wool and see a girl he has a crush on he meets a mysterious stranger who tells him that he should pay attention to that dream, go to the pyramids and find his treasure. This stranger is a wise man who says that he can always come home, but he is young and should travel to this place, find what he is seeking first.
So the Santiago sells the stranger all his sheep and gets on a boat, which takes him to the area of Morocco, Africa. He doesn’t know where the pyramids are or how long it will take him to get there. His first day in Africa he meets someone who speaks his language, gives him all his money to buy camels which the stranger says will get them to the pyramids the next day. Of course this newfound friend has stolen his money and has disappeared into the crowd.
Santiago is destitute, alone is a strange place and jaded by the mysterious man he met in Spain telling him to follow that crazy dream. But over the course of the couple of years, Santiago has many adventures, meets many people he learns things from, learns a new language and eventually makes it to the pyramids.
At the pyramids Santiago does not find his treasure. Instead he is attacked by a man who says that if he had followed after everything he dreamed about he would be looking for treasure that was buried near a tree in a churchyard in Spain. That is where Santiago finds his treasure; near a tree in the very churchyard where he had is dream about the pyramids.
I enjoyed this book. It was dreamy, hopeful and had great insights to things you have probably heard a hundred times but thought was fluff. The moral of this story, from my point of view, is that the treasure you seek is probably where you would never think to look, but before you can find it you have to take a journey, where you learn to be satisfied with what you have.
The book is about a Shepard boy named Santiago who had a dream one night while sleeping in an old church that there is buried treasure at the pyramids in Egypt. He is about 17 years old. As Santiago is traveling to a village to sell his wool and see a girl he has a crush on he meets a mysterious stranger who tells him that he should pay attention to that dream, go to the pyramids and find his treasure. This stranger is a wise man who says that he can always come home, but he is young and should travel to this place, find what he is seeking first.
So the Santiago sells the stranger all his sheep and gets on a boat, which takes him to the area of Morocco, Africa. He doesn’t know where the pyramids are or how long it will take him to get there. His first day in Africa he meets someone who speaks his language, gives him all his money to buy camels which the stranger says will get them to the pyramids the next day. Of course this newfound friend has stolen his money and has disappeared into the crowd.
Santiago is destitute, alone is a strange place and jaded by the mysterious man he met in Spain telling him to follow that crazy dream. But over the course of the couple of years, Santiago has many adventures, meets many people he learns things from, learns a new language and eventually makes it to the pyramids.
At the pyramids Santiago does not find his treasure. Instead he is attacked by a man who says that if he had followed after everything he dreamed about he would be looking for treasure that was buried near a tree in a churchyard in Spain. That is where Santiago finds his treasure; near a tree in the very churchyard where he had is dream about the pyramids.
I enjoyed this book. It was dreamy, hopeful and had great insights to things you have probably heard a hundred times but thought was fluff. The moral of this story, from my point of view, is that the treasure you seek is probably where you would never think to look, but before you can find it you have to take a journey, where you learn to be satisfied with what you have.
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