Mistborn: The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension, The Hero of Ages

I think that I am getting tired of Young Adult Novels. It is a great Genre but they really are not doing it for me right now. They are the 20 minute sit com when what I am craving is a 3 hour epic. Part of my problem with this is I am very selective of which Adult Fiction books I am going to read because I would really like to avoid some of the more gratuitous material present in so many Adult novels.

When I heard of a recommendation for Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn Trilogy I was interested in trying it out. I have a new author to add to my favorites and will be reading the rest of his books as soon as I can get a hold of them.

These books impressed me not only by the unique world that the author creates but also by the subtle twists that he inserts into the plot. I typically am pretty good at guessing the conclusion and picking up on a lot of the foreshadowing in books. Sanderson has succeeded at embedding these twists so deeply into the story that and they surprised me so much that I was urged to keep reading. Sanderson did not use cheep tricks (like Dan Brown or some other authors) to keep you reading. There was enough information to feel satisfied and yet a constant impulse to continue with the story.

This story, these characters have been ingrained in me so much that I find myself continuing to think about them even a month after finishing this book. There are lines from these books that I continue to think about "There is always another secret," "Unfortunately, I am the Hero of the Ages." There are scenes that were so moving that I still think about them. In short this is an amazing story that goes against convention and is surprisingly very very good.

The Princess and the Bear

It had been a long time since I read the Princess and the Hound and when I heard that there was going to be a sequel I was a little interested. I don't remember it being that impressed with the Princess and the Hound so I did not have very high Expectations. The Princess and the Bear met my expectations. It was a good story but there was not enough conflict or action to balance the characterization (at which Mette Ivie Harrison excels). A good story and it could stand alone as well.

The Dangerous Book for Boys

I had heard about his book a few times and was curious to see what was in it. Most of what I had heard was good. I was even more interested when I recognized the one of the authors as being the Author of Th Emperor series that I have been reading. However I was not so impressed with this book. The information presented is great information such as "Things every boy should have" and "How to Build a Tree House" or "How to make a perfect Paper Airplane". Again great information but I found this very similar to a Boy Scout Manual (complete with the page of badges at the end of the book). Great information in this book but it is nothing more than a pale imitation on a Boy Scout Manual.