After having read Harry Potter again I was very anxious to read the next Falehaven book. When it comes to fantasy stories set in modern times often we are hearing about an underground culture of things that are hidden from view except for few who are either invited in or stumble upon it by accident (for example Harry Potter, The Dark is Rising, The Spiderwick Chronicles etc.), or we are listening to stories from different worlds that modern individuals are sucked into, in such as series as The Chronicles of Narnia, FarWorld or Leven Thumps. Fablehaven falls into the former category but adds the unique circumstance of having mythical creatures relegated to sanctuaries or preserves similar to those set up for endangered animals. This twist added to the hidden culture theme pulled me into the first book (probably my least favorite) and got me interested enough to read the second. And the second book blew me away (I still want a cat with nine lives as my guardian).
I have been anxiously awaiting this book for some time now but even more so after I reread the third book not long ago. And I was not disappointed. One thing that I have feared the most about these books is that the repetition of the characters continuously braving a series of obstacles to recover some magical item. This is possibly why I was not so excited about the third book as the character try to retrieve the item at Lost Mesa after having done the same thing in the second book. In this book there continues to be some similar situations but they are not the focus of the story. I hope that in the next book there is not much more of these obstacle course types of scenes.
This being the biggest disappointment of the series says a lot about the author and the world that he has created. I am in awe as I learn more and more about the characters and the things that make them special. Kendra and Seth have both been endowed with mythical powers that complement each other and illustrate their differences. The Dialogue between these two is as close to actual sibling dialogue as any author can get.
Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary picks up where Grip of the Shadow Plague left off with the characters looking for more artifacts to protect from the Society of the Evening Star. Two items are known to be in their possession and one in possession of the Knights of the Dawn. Where are the other two and who will get to them first? The process through which these are accomplished is enthralling and the action continues to excite (though nothing yet as good as that 3 headed panther). Some mysteries are explained and there are not many unanswered questions at the end of the story.
I continue to enjoy Mull's writing style, the characterization, the dialogue and especially how he depicts the action within the story. These stories continue to amaze me and I can't wait until next march to read the final book.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows
It has been almost 2 years since this book came out and I read it the first time. I had reread all of the other Harry Potter books before this one was released and when this one did come out I sequestered myself to read it pausing only for a few hours to sleep. Since I had finished I planned on reading it again to pick up on anything that I might have missed and to be able to say that I had read each book twice.
I have also been distancing myself from the Harry Potter Books. As you will notice they are not in my list of favorite books and I do not talk about it much. In part this comes from my desire to not appear trendy. I would much rather appear to be different. However as I started this book again I recognized that it really is a great book. This series deserves a spot along with the most influential works of fantasy books of all time, Lord of the Rings and the Chronicles of Narnia.
The seventh book of the Harry Potter series is one of the best (my favorite is The Goblet of Fire). It is a very satisfying finish to a thrilling and enthralling story. The one disappointment that I had with this book was the chapter called the Princes Tale (or something like that). This is where all of Snape's back story comes out. This section of the book feels like a dumping of information that is fairly overwhelming even the second time around when I know that it is coming.
Overall the Author does a great job of presenting new information that puts everything else we know into perspective. She starts by presenting information about Dumbledore and then continues as we learn about the Deathly Hollows. The chapter call Kings Cross is also an enlightening view on an internal conversation that Harry has with himself (Dumbledore takes the form of the sounding board). And finally the emotions that the Author is able to elicit over the course of the series is amazing as we have come to care for these characters and we learn of their fates at the end of the story, of those that die and that survive.
This is a great series and it is no wonder that these books were so popular. They deserve it.
I have also been distancing myself from the Harry Potter Books. As you will notice they are not in my list of favorite books and I do not talk about it much. In part this comes from my desire to not appear trendy. I would much rather appear to be different. However as I started this book again I recognized that it really is a great book. This series deserves a spot along with the most influential works of fantasy books of all time, Lord of the Rings and the Chronicles of Narnia.
The seventh book of the Harry Potter series is one of the best (my favorite is The Goblet of Fire). It is a very satisfying finish to a thrilling and enthralling story. The one disappointment that I had with this book was the chapter called the Princes Tale (or something like that). This is where all of Snape's back story comes out. This section of the book feels like a dumping of information that is fairly overwhelming even the second time around when I know that it is coming.
Overall the Author does a great job of presenting new information that puts everything else we know into perspective. She starts by presenting information about Dumbledore and then continues as we learn about the Deathly Hollows. The chapter call Kings Cross is also an enlightening view on an internal conversation that Harry has with himself (Dumbledore takes the form of the sounding board). And finally the emotions that the Author is able to elicit over the course of the series is amazing as we have come to care for these characters and we learn of their fates at the end of the story, of those that die and that survive.
This is a great series and it is no wonder that these books were so popular. They deserve it.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Here is another book that I thought it might be worth reading before the movie came out. I sow this preview and it intrigued me as I watched a young, innocent boy exploring his backyard to find a fence with another boy on the other side wearing "stripped pajamas." Of course the movie is set in Germany in the mid 1940's and one is left to draw your own conclusions.
I picked up the book because the movie looked interesting (and I would still like to see the movie) and I was not disappointed. The book is pretty short and very easy to read and would definitely be a kids book if not for the holocaust content. It is actually told from the point of view of the nine year old main character Bruno and his experiences at his new home in "Out-with." The author does an excellent job at portraying the innocence through this style but it does get annoying to read.
Though he book is far from an accurate portrayal of German/Holocaust history, nor does the characterization feel right for what I know about Germany and the history of WWII, but the author qualifies this by calling the story a "Fable."
This is a great depiction of the emotional impact of the holocaust and how it would have impacted the most innocent of us, a nine year old boy. A book that I will be thinking about for a while.
I picked up the book because the movie looked interesting (and I would still like to see the movie) and I was not disappointed. The book is pretty short and very easy to read and would definitely be a kids book if not for the holocaust content. It is actually told from the point of view of the nine year old main character Bruno and his experiences at his new home in "Out-with." The author does an excellent job at portraying the innocence through this style but it does get annoying to read.
Though he book is far from an accurate portrayal of German/Holocaust history, nor does the characterization feel right for what I know about Germany and the history of WWII, but the author qualifies this by calling the story a "Fable."
This is a great depiction of the emotional impact of the holocaust and how it would have impacted the most innocent of us, a nine year old boy. A book that I will be thinking about for a while.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague
In anticipation of Fablehaven: The Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary, I figured I would go back and read book 3. I had already reread the first two before 3 came out and just wanted a quick refresher before the next one. Am I glad that I didn't read the other first.
The Rise of the Evening Star is by far my favorite book of the series so far. There are so many scenes from that book that I have embedded in my memory almost as if I had seen them happen myself. Most notably Seth and the Revnant and the final battle with the guardian, an cat with 9 amazing lives. Even now as I talk about it the images in my mind are just breath taking. Reading this book before I picked up the third really tainted by expectations.
The first time I read Grip of the Shadow Plague I was not very thrilled with it. It was good and a decent addition to the series but I didn't walk away with the same types of images as I did after the second. Rereading the book without having read the second one was a revelation. I was impressed with the complexity of the story and the additions to the overall story of the conflict with the Society of the Evening Star.
I am excited to see how the quest for the 5 artifacts continues and how the increasing magical abilities of Seth and Kendra will contribute to this quest. How is Navarog (Prince of the Dragons) going to be involved in the next book, Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary? Who really is the Sphinx? Is he also a Dragon appearing in Human form? Patton Burgess now knows what kind of conflicts will be facing Fablehaven a hundred years after his time what kind of information is he going to include in his Journal of Secrets that Kendra now has. So many questions I am excited to find the answers to and I hope that we can get a glimpse of some scenes similar to those from book 2.
The Rise of the Evening Star is by far my favorite book of the series so far. There are so many scenes from that book that I have embedded in my memory almost as if I had seen them happen myself. Most notably Seth and the Revnant and the final battle with the guardian, an cat with 9 amazing lives. Even now as I talk about it the images in my mind are just breath taking. Reading this book before I picked up the third really tainted by expectations.
The first time I read Grip of the Shadow Plague I was not very thrilled with it. It was good and a decent addition to the series but I didn't walk away with the same types of images as I did after the second. Rereading the book without having read the second one was a revelation. I was impressed with the complexity of the story and the additions to the overall story of the conflict with the Society of the Evening Star.
I am excited to see how the quest for the 5 artifacts continues and how the increasing magical abilities of Seth and Kendra will contribute to this quest. How is Navarog (Prince of the Dragons) going to be involved in the next book, Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary? Who really is the Sphinx? Is he also a Dragon appearing in Human form? Patton Burgess now knows what kind of conflicts will be facing Fablehaven a hundred years after his time what kind of information is he going to include in his Journal of Secrets that Kendra now has. So many questions I am excited to find the answers to and I hope that we can get a glimpse of some scenes similar to those from book 2.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Inkheart
I have been very curious about Amazon.com's recommendations and how accurate they would be. Looking at these as I have bought and rated items through Amazon I have been curious about several books that they think I will like. As I have used this as a resource I have found that it is very obvious what I would not like however there are many that am peak my interest yet I don't know how much I will actually like them. Many series that have been suggested include Septimus Heap, The Sisters Grimm, Nicholas Flamel, Percy Jackson, Charlie Bone, Inkheart, Ember and others. As I have sampled some of these none have really stood out as great books.
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke has had quite a following. It was a best seller and has even been made into a movie. The story is about a Single Father raising his daughter and their love of Books. Mo the father discovers that he has the ability to read things out of books and to the pain of him and his Daughter he reads the villains out of a book called Inkheart.
This story enthralled me because it is a unique take on fantasy and the fantastic elements were not overbearing in the tale until the end. The story flows well and is very interesting but it is not a book that you can't put down. Towards the end of the book many of the fantastic elements (which are not explained clearly) seem to become exaggerated and leave many more questions about the magic that is depicted. This may be a set up for the other books but it seems that even a general explanation would have been welcomed within the book.
Overall a decent book and I will read the other two but I am in no rush to do so.
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke has had quite a following. It was a best seller and has even been made into a movie. The story is about a Single Father raising his daughter and their love of Books. Mo the father discovers that he has the ability to read things out of books and to the pain of him and his Daughter he reads the villains out of a book called Inkheart.
This story enthralled me because it is a unique take on fantasy and the fantastic elements were not overbearing in the tale until the end. The story flows well and is very interesting but it is not a book that you can't put down. Towards the end of the book many of the fantastic elements (which are not explained clearly) seem to become exaggerated and leave many more questions about the magic that is depicted. This may be a set up for the other books but it seems that even a general explanation would have been welcomed within the book.
Overall a decent book and I will read the other two but I am in no rush to do so.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
The Dark is Rising
The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper is a series of books that I have been considering reading for quite a while. I have heard many good things about them. They have been compared to The Lord of the Rings and The Chroicles of Narnia and it is a Newbury Honor Book. They even made a movie out of this book last year, though it did not do so well. So I picked it up.
I was actually fairly disappointed in this book. The story was alright but the way it was written was more likely to put me to sleep than to keep me interested in what was going on. It seemed like everything just took a very long time to happen, even when characters are explaining some key plot points the story just seems to drag on. The story was OK but nothing really different or noteworthy.
I was actually fairly disappointed in this book. The story was alright but the way it was written was more likely to put me to sleep than to keep me interested in what was going on. It seemed like everything just took a very long time to happen, even when characters are explaining some key plot points the story just seems to drag on. The story was OK but nothing really different or noteworthy.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Bailout?
I have been having a really difficult time with all of this talk about an economic bailout and as I have listened to the discussion about it from a variety of sources and it just bothers me that all everyone wants to do it throw blame and money at the problem.
First lets talk about the blame. I am sick and tired of hearing that the blame is to fall on "the failed economic policies of the past 8 years." Is it the Bush tax cuts that got us into this?
From what I understand this is a credit issue. Too many banks making too many risky loans to too many people who were not able to keep up with these absurd adjustments in the mortgage rates.
Are the people who took out the loans to blame? Well, yes they should have realized that there was no way they could keep up, but why were these individuals offered these programs in the first place?
Are those greedy banks to blame? Why are banks offering these illogical loans anyway? I guess in a way they were playing the housing market and hoping to bennefit. Isn't that what the individuals who took out the loans were doing as well?
Or maybe it is the governments fault, this lack of regulations that everyone is talking about. Was there a relaxing of regulations during the last 8 years? Probably, but what about the increase in regulations that required certain banks (including Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae), to issue more risky loans in order to assist low income families in buying a home?
So the government pushes the program for political gain, the banks push the program for financial gain and the individuals who took out the loan did so for personal gain. In a case where houses continue to sale and home values continue to rise this situation could continue to bennefit everyone. However, as with all forms speculation there are down turns and when all of these payments began to increase almost simultaneouly everyone party to these loans suffers. Unfortunately in this situation not only those who participated in these programs suffer but everybody is suffering to one extent or another our whole economy is seffering.
So how do we fix the problem? I am no economist but if this crisis is a function of credit than lets help banks increase their ability to lend money. We already tried that before Bush left office. What about helping people keep their homes? Is this really the best idea? Most of these people bought houses that they could not afford and will not be able to pay off their loans. I don't want them to be stuck but something needs to happen so that they are not thrown out on the street but all should not just be forgiven either. This is a complicated situation to which we all wish there was a simple solution but throwing money at it is not going to work.
What of this $789 Billion dollar plan that congress has come up with? What exactly is in this bill? All I have heard is that it is needed immediatly to stimulate the economy and if it does not happen things will get worse and that it will create 3.5 Million jobs. The only substantial claim in there is that this bill will create Jobs. So if we are spending $789 Billion to 3.5 million jobs than each of these jobs is costing the government $225,428.57. If that is the pay for these new jobs than line me up for one. I'll take it right now!
What I want to know is how is this Bill going to increase the amount of credit?
How is this bill going to help these individuals who are not able to pay for their house but still holding them accountable for their mistakes?
And finally how do we increase the cash flow in the economy?
Can anyone answer me that?
First lets talk about the blame. I am sick and tired of hearing that the blame is to fall on "the failed economic policies of the past 8 years." Is it the Bush tax cuts that got us into this?
From what I understand this is a credit issue. Too many banks making too many risky loans to too many people who were not able to keep up with these absurd adjustments in the mortgage rates.
Are the people who took out the loans to blame? Well, yes they should have realized that there was no way they could keep up, but why were these individuals offered these programs in the first place?
Are those greedy banks to blame? Why are banks offering these illogical loans anyway? I guess in a way they were playing the housing market and hoping to bennefit. Isn't that what the individuals who took out the loans were doing as well?
Or maybe it is the governments fault, this lack of regulations that everyone is talking about. Was there a relaxing of regulations during the last 8 years? Probably, but what about the increase in regulations that required certain banks (including Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae), to issue more risky loans in order to assist low income families in buying a home?
So the government pushes the program for political gain, the banks push the program for financial gain and the individuals who took out the loan did so for personal gain. In a case where houses continue to sale and home values continue to rise this situation could continue to bennefit everyone. However, as with all forms speculation there are down turns and when all of these payments began to increase almost simultaneouly everyone party to these loans suffers. Unfortunately in this situation not only those who participated in these programs suffer but everybody is suffering to one extent or another our whole economy is seffering.
So how do we fix the problem? I am no economist but if this crisis is a function of credit than lets help banks increase their ability to lend money. We already tried that before Bush left office. What about helping people keep their homes? Is this really the best idea? Most of these people bought houses that they could not afford and will not be able to pay off their loans. I don't want them to be stuck but something needs to happen so that they are not thrown out on the street but all should not just be forgiven either. This is a complicated situation to which we all wish there was a simple solution but throwing money at it is not going to work.
What of this $789 Billion dollar plan that congress has come up with? What exactly is in this bill? All I have heard is that it is needed immediatly to stimulate the economy and if it does not happen things will get worse and that it will create 3.5 Million jobs. The only substantial claim in there is that this bill will create Jobs. So if we are spending $789 Billion to 3.5 million jobs than each of these jobs is costing the government $225,428.57. If that is the pay for these new jobs than line me up for one. I'll take it right now!
What I want to know is how is this Bill going to increase the amount of credit?
How is this bill going to help these individuals who are not able to pay for their house but still holding them accountable for their mistakes?
And finally how do we increase the cash flow in the economy?
Can anyone answer me that?
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