OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG
Now that I've gotten that out of the way, I need to warn you:
THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR ALL THREE BOOKS IN THE LEVIATHAN TRILOGY.
Moving on.
This book was amazing. Seriously. I loved it so much that I am going to start with the three things I hated about it and then move on to the fangirling. That way, I can get it off my chest.
1. Anastasia never showed up. I mean, durr, I knew she wasn't going to, but seriously! At the time, she'd have been fourteen, just old enough to fit into Alek and Deryn and Lilit and Newkirk's little gang. She's awesome. She was also a bit of a prankster, which would have been hilarious aboard the Leviathan. Moving on.
2. Remember the April Fool's Day art reveal? The one that made like fifty of us practically pee ourselves? This one? I really wanted it to be real. Really, really wanted it. I was also hoping that maybe it was two separate images stuck together, because I don't care about Alek destroying the chapel in his pirate walker as long as Deryn and Lilit are in some terribly awkward situation involving Lilit in a wedding dress. I like awkwardness, don't I?
Completely off topic, did you know that Scott's blog is the fourth most visited site on my browser? Because I'm totally not a stalker.
3. Alek never really got jealous of Deryn, which my buddy this girl recently pointed out to me, which sucks for Deryn because it's, like, not fair. Or something.
I don't know, all right?
Now, on to the important stuff.
THE REVEAL.
I'm glad Alek got to figure it out on his own. I mean, we're so mean to him anyway. He's a dummkopf in every fanfiction (especially mine... gah) and we sort of rag on him all the time, so he deserves something. Although it could have been more, you know, fun. Dramatic.
DERYN IN A KIMONO
Did not happen >:( C'mon, Scott, that would have taken like no effort to just stick her in a kimono for like five seconds. As long as there's an illustration we really don't care.
BOVRIL CREATING AN ARMY OF SPIDERS THAT LITERALLY BARK
Okay, fine. I have my limits.
Anyway, I finished this book about a day after I got it, and got it about five days after it came out, and then started this post about five minutes thereafter, but I kind of saved it as a draft, left off halfway through a sentence, and forgot to finish it. Oh well.
What Would Make Me Really Happy Right Now:
-Sushi
-Some of that soup that I can smell cooking but isn't done yet
-More books. Need more books
Next Books:
Birthmarked, WGWG (still...) 1984, some other stuff
Showing posts with label ranting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ranting. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Enclave
This may be my first intelligent post in a very long time.
Omiholywhatthegosh that was an epicgoodscarygoreycrazyomygod book.
This might be my favorite futuristic dystopia to date. What stands out about this one is that it feels so real. Possible. Like this could actually happen. That's why it's so hard-hitting. This was one of those books where the characters were on one side displaying that sense of detatchment that I hate, where they're not really characters but empty stereotypes to make the story move. These characters can be compared to those of Scott Westerfeld's Uglies because although there are some aspects of them that are completely vague, the emotions and connections between the characters go so far beyond the plot that I do feel like they are real people. I'm looking forward to Ann Aguirre's next book, Outpost, which is apparently going to come out fall 2012 and will be the sequel to Enclave. Yes! Except I'll have to wait more than a year. Darn it.
I've decided that this isn't like the Mortal Instruments Series (Cassandra Clare) which I literally would (and do) recommend to anyone over the age of twelve and under the age of thirty with no strict values or religious views that suggests that a gay romance would offend them. See, in MI, there is something for everyone--romance, action, fantasy, badassery--the list goes on. Enclave takes a certain kind of person to enjoy: someone who can read about the blood and the pain and the gore and take it, that knows that we need these warnings and wants to see them, to imagine the worst and work toward the best. The people that see history as a warning, whether it be the real Holocaust of WWII or fictional events such as the "second" one mentioned on the first page of Enclave. Some people want to know what's next. Some people want to influence it.
This is going to go a bit off topic, but I see it fitting considering that this is what this story makes me think about and I think it also relates to what Aguirre wanted to say when she wrote the book. I cannot stand it when people tell me they hate history, that they do not see the point in learning about people and governments and wars that existed a long time ago when they could just "learn about now" or "learn about the future" or some other dumb excuse for laziness and ignorance. Sure, history class can be boring and it's true that we don;t necessarily have to know the exact ways that every single republic liberated itself from the Soviet Union. But we do need to know that the Soviet Union existed, and that it failed, and why it failed, because it was a bad time and we need to make sure it does not happen again. You want to leave history to the nerds and the historians? All right. You go play Angry Birds on your iPhone and I'll go decide how the world will be run, and then you can let me dictate your life and indoctrinate your children and strip you of your rights. Without the education to know why this is bad or what could come of it, you are a helpless victim of my power. We cannot predict the future, so only knowledge of the past can help us ensure that it will be bright. We're lucky that we live in a time and place of relative peace and prosperity. If we don't think about our future, it might not be so bright, and your descendants will have no one but you to blame for it. If you think that all that matters is now, and because you are lucky enough to be a human in America in the twenty-first century, you're selfish. Your ancestors and your descendants are slapping you right now.
I may sound like a hypocrite--yes, I love history, but what am I doing to help the future other than talk? I'm speaking to myself as well when I write this.
What would make me really happy right now:
-An alternative universe generator
-Sushi
-More books
-Outpost
Next book: I'm going to take a look around my library for that now, actually.
BTW: I almost tagged this Love Triangle of Doom because there are two guys and both kiss the heroine, but really, it doesn't apply. The romance in this book was beautifully subtle and did not ever get in the way of the plot; in fact, it worked really well to strengthen the bonds between the characters and make slow action parts more interesting. Not that there are a lot of slow parts. I can honestly say that the romantic situation is actually fairly original, maybe due to its low profile, but it is well written and is probably the first good aberration from the Love Triangle of Doom that I have ever seen in a fantasy, sci-fi or dystopian novel. Congratulations, Ann Aguirre, you have somehow managed not to disappoint the Manon.
Omiholywhatthegosh that was an epicgoodscarygoreycrazyomygod book.
This might be my favorite futuristic dystopia to date. What stands out about this one is that it feels so real. Possible. Like this could actually happen. That's why it's so hard-hitting. This was one of those books where the characters were on one side displaying that sense of detatchment that I hate, where they're not really characters but empty stereotypes to make the story move. These characters can be compared to those of Scott Westerfeld's Uglies because although there are some aspects of them that are completely vague, the emotions and connections between the characters go so far beyond the plot that I do feel like they are real people. I'm looking forward to Ann Aguirre's next book, Outpost, which is apparently going to come out fall 2012 and will be the sequel to Enclave. Yes! Except I'll have to wait more than a year. Darn it.
I've decided that this isn't like the Mortal Instruments Series (Cassandra Clare) which I literally would (and do) recommend to anyone over the age of twelve and under the age of thirty with no strict values or religious views that suggests that a gay romance would offend them. See, in MI, there is something for everyone--romance, action, fantasy, badassery--the list goes on. Enclave takes a certain kind of person to enjoy: someone who can read about the blood and the pain and the gore and take it, that knows that we need these warnings and wants to see them, to imagine the worst and work toward the best. The people that see history as a warning, whether it be the real Holocaust of WWII or fictional events such as the "second" one mentioned on the first page of Enclave. Some people want to know what's next. Some people want to influence it.
This is going to go a bit off topic, but I see it fitting considering that this is what this story makes me think about and I think it also relates to what Aguirre wanted to say when she wrote the book. I cannot stand it when people tell me they hate history, that they do not see the point in learning about people and governments and wars that existed a long time ago when they could just "learn about now" or "learn about the future" or some other dumb excuse for laziness and ignorance. Sure, history class can be boring and it's true that we don;t necessarily have to know the exact ways that every single republic liberated itself from the Soviet Union. But we do need to know that the Soviet Union existed, and that it failed, and why it failed, because it was a bad time and we need to make sure it does not happen again. You want to leave history to the nerds and the historians? All right. You go play Angry Birds on your iPhone and I'll go decide how the world will be run, and then you can let me dictate your life and indoctrinate your children and strip you of your rights. Without the education to know why this is bad or what could come of it, you are a helpless victim of my power. We cannot predict the future, so only knowledge of the past can help us ensure that it will be bright. We're lucky that we live in a time and place of relative peace and prosperity. If we don't think about our future, it might not be so bright, and your descendants will have no one but you to blame for it. If you think that all that matters is now, and because you are lucky enough to be a human in America in the twenty-first century, you're selfish. Your ancestors and your descendants are slapping you right now.
I may sound like a hypocrite--yes, I love history, but what am I doing to help the future other than talk? I'm speaking to myself as well when I write this.
What would make me really happy right now:
-An alternative universe generator
-Sushi
-More books
-Outpost
Next book: I'm going to take a look around my library for that now, actually.
BTW: I almost tagged this Love Triangle of Doom because there are two guys and both kiss the heroine, but really, it doesn't apply. The romance in this book was beautifully subtle and did not ever get in the way of the plot; in fact, it worked really well to strengthen the bonds between the characters and make slow action parts more interesting. Not that there are a lot of slow parts. I can honestly say that the romantic situation is actually fairly original, maybe due to its low profile, but it is well written and is probably the first good aberration from the Love Triangle of Doom that I have ever seen in a fantasy, sci-fi or dystopian novel. Congratulations, Ann Aguirre, you have somehow managed not to disappoint the Manon.
Friday, June 17, 2011
The Woman Who Rides Like A Man
Dang that title is an innuendo.
ANYWAY
I think I need to do another letter to the character. She didn't answer my last one, and as I am on Facebook, I believe the correct way to deal with this situation is to KEEP BUGGING HER TILL SHE DOES. (for the record, that is a joke, because I know if anyone reads that they'll ask.)
Not like anyone reads this anyway.
Dear Alanna,
You did not completely disappoint me this time around. Only somewhat. See, what I love about you is that even though you get sluttier and less adorable (did you know google chrome recognizes "sluttier" as a word? Wait, you don't know what that is. You're from the middle ages. Also, you're NOT REAL.) by the minute, you also got more badass. You don't go all OMG I LOVE YOU SO IM GONNA JUST BETRAY LITTLE ADORABLE PAGE ALANNA AND EVERYTHING SHE WORKED FOR FOR LIKE FIVE YEARS AND JUST SPEND THE REST OF MY LIFE BEING ALL ILOVEYOU! WITH JON. Instead, well, you've asserted yourself as a total BA to that jerk prince of yours, who is now flirting with some DUMB BLONDE CHICK WHO'S HOTTER THAN YOU AND SLUTTIER BUT HEY YOU'RE BETTER THAN THEM SO WHO EVEN CARES because you have George who is way better anyway. I always preferred him.
I like your performance regarding the little shaman girls. And Ishak deserved to die. Do not cross a girl who rides horses, does magic, wields epic swords of awesome, and has a pet cat that may in fact be a god. Basically, is someone that cool tells you not to do something, for god's sake don't do it.
That is all.
-your least-favorite person in the world besides Duke Roger,
Manon
What would make me really happy right now:
-sushiiii
-more books
-more reading time
-to not be so tired
Next book: either Lioness Rampant or Enclave
PS this book is one of the few examples of the love triangle of doom (see Matched for an explanation of this, I might even start making posts on this sort of thing) that I actually like. I'm making a new tag: Love Triangle Of Doom.
ANYWAY
I think I need to do another letter to the character. She didn't answer my last one, and as I am on Facebook, I believe the correct way to deal with this situation is to KEEP BUGGING HER TILL SHE DOES. (for the record, that is a joke, because I know if anyone reads that they'll ask.)
Not like anyone reads this anyway.
Dear Alanna,
You did not completely disappoint me this time around. Only somewhat. See, what I love about you is that even though you get sluttier and less adorable (did you know google chrome recognizes "sluttier" as a word? Wait, you don't know what that is. You're from the middle ages. Also, you're NOT REAL.) by the minute, you also got more badass. You don't go all OMG I LOVE YOU SO IM GONNA JUST BETRAY LITTLE ADORABLE PAGE ALANNA AND EVERYTHING SHE WORKED FOR FOR LIKE FIVE YEARS AND JUST SPEND THE REST OF MY LIFE BEING ALL ILOVEYOU! WITH JON. Instead, well, you've asserted yourself as a total BA to that jerk prince of yours, who is now flirting with some DUMB BLONDE CHICK WHO'S HOTTER THAN YOU AND SLUTTIER BUT HEY YOU'RE BETTER THAN THEM SO WHO EVEN CARES because you have George who is way better anyway. I always preferred him.
I like your performance regarding the little shaman girls. And Ishak deserved to die. Do not cross a girl who rides horses, does magic, wields epic swords of awesome, and has a pet cat that may in fact be a god. Basically, is someone that cool tells you not to do something, for god's sake don't do it.
That is all.
-your least-favorite person in the world besides Duke Roger,
Manon
What would make me really happy right now:
-sushiiii
-more books
-more reading time
-to not be so tired
Next book: either Lioness Rampant or Enclave
PS this book is one of the few examples of the love triangle of doom (see Matched for an explanation of this, I might even start making posts on this sort of thing) that I actually like. I'm making a new tag: Love Triangle Of Doom.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Matched
Matched is the first book I've encountered by Ally Condie. (Wanna get the author's name in there early cuz I've heard this isn't the only "Matched" in popular YA literature.)
Okay, so I found this book on Amazon while hunting for more good YA dystopians (Yay futuristic hell holes!) and I read this first chapter anditwasgood. So I bought it.
I actually enjoyed it quite a bit, but I'm still going to be Critical in this one.
THIS IS WHAT WAS GOOD ABOUT THIS BOOK. (I had English finals today so I'm not even gonna try to be smart. Be prepared for poor grammar and random capitalization.) I like the writing style. It's not like the Goddess Of Writing Jodi Piccoult, but it's pretty. Most dystopians, like say, the Hunger Games, begin with a main character that already knows that the government is evil and Man This Place Sucks and all that because they're already a victim and have been their whole lives. However, this is the first one I've read so far where the character actually believed due to her lifetime of indoctrination that the Futuristic Conspiracy To Control Our Minds! was actually the way to go. Gradually she's been submerged into the idea of These Dudes Are Whacked and People Are Dying Man, mostly through Ky, who is in fact the character who knows how Man This Place Sucks. The dystopia itself was also well-developed. I think I'm going to come up with a set of guidelines for well-developed alternative universes/dystopias:
Each one needs to establish:
-the standard mode of transportation (for instance, we have cars and sometimes planes. The Hunger Games has trains. Uglies has hoverboards and hovercars. Matched has a hovertrain or airtrain or something.)
-the way they get their food (we buy it at a store and cook it ourselves, or go to a restaurant. We generally dispense it through a refrigerator. Uglies get fed through a hole in the wall where Magical Objects of Awesome! come out. Hunger Games people hunt (but only if they're badass) or buy it from the black market (if they're semi-badass) or get it from the government if they're chicken.
-propaganda--what makes them obey (uglies: YOU MUST BE PRETTY OMG. Hunger Games: well, the hunger games themselves. Matched: everything is better here because we use probability and our people livelongerandarehappierandcrap.)
-main source of entertainment--what the people do for fun. (Hunger games: watch the hunger games on TV [we're talking capitol idiots here] uglies: go to parties and get creepy surgeries. Matched: game center, music hall, movie showings, leisure activities)
-Clothing: there must be a fashion scheme. (matched: uniforms denoting students, workers and officials; Uglies: crazy fashioncostumethingies for pretties, and didn't the uglies have like a uniform or something? Hunger Games: lots of raggy old cloth stuff. They're madpooryo.)
-Government Creepers: like the gestapo. Publicly known; usually feared. (Hunger games: peacekeepers. Matched: Officials. Uglies: wardens. Also Special Circumstances, but less public.)
-Fancy Board Of Government Jerks Who Decide Stuff (Uglies: the Pretty Committee. HG: the Gamemakers. Matched: I think we find out in the next volume xDD )[I just realized that was my first emote all post.]
-I think they're all communists. (actually, that's not a principle. But i think it's true. I might make a post entirely devoted to the fact that I think that Matched, The Hunger Games, and Uglies are all set in communist "futures" and it's all 1984alloveragain.)
Ok, now for my Critiques:
I read all fourhundredsomeodd pages and I still don't feel like I'm BFFs with Cassia, Ky, Em and Xander. They're not the most developed characters, and they're still kind of in that stage of development like the book just started and I don't know them yet. I think the most developed characters were Bram and the granfather, and since Grandpa died in like chapter four, that's saying something.
AND THE LOVE TRIANGLE OMG. It's less creative than Twilight. It pretty much IS twilight. I am going to outline a situation, and you try to think of every YA novel with this basic scenario or one very similar:
Boy1 likes girl. Girl likes boy but doesn't know it yet. Girl meets boy2 and falls in OMGlove! but girl and boy2 can't be together. girl finds out about boy1 but since she can have him he's unappealing even though he's better for her and everyone around her. He's just not as hot. So girl makes out with both of them and eventually either ends up with boy2 or realizes that boy1 was better all along, often following the death or destruction, if not betrayal, of boy2.
How many books did you come up with? Like, every YA novel ever? See? they're all the same. WillsomeonepleasewritemeagooddystopiannovelwithaNEWromanticsituationthankyou?
Ok. That is all.
What would make me really happy right now:
-Suuushiiii
-for someone to write me a novel according to the guidelines above.
-no more tests please school ok?
-more time to read at school
next book: The Woman Who Rides Like A Man
CHALLENGE: outline a romance taking place in a dystopia that is ORIGINAL.
Okay, so I found this book on Amazon while hunting for more good YA dystopians (Yay futuristic hell holes!) and I read this first chapter anditwasgood. So I bought it.
I actually enjoyed it quite a bit, but I'm still going to be Critical in this one.
THIS IS WHAT WAS GOOD ABOUT THIS BOOK. (I had English finals today so I'm not even gonna try to be smart. Be prepared for poor grammar and random capitalization.) I like the writing style. It's not like the Goddess Of Writing Jodi Piccoult, but it's pretty. Most dystopians, like say, the Hunger Games, begin with a main character that already knows that the government is evil and Man This Place Sucks and all that because they're already a victim and have been their whole lives. However, this is the first one I've read so far where the character actually believed due to her lifetime of indoctrination that the Futuristic Conspiracy To Control Our Minds! was actually the way to go. Gradually she's been submerged into the idea of These Dudes Are Whacked and People Are Dying Man, mostly through Ky, who is in fact the character who knows how Man This Place Sucks. The dystopia itself was also well-developed. I think I'm going to come up with a set of guidelines for well-developed alternative universes/dystopias:
Each one needs to establish:
-the standard mode of transportation (for instance, we have cars and sometimes planes. The Hunger Games has trains. Uglies has hoverboards and hovercars. Matched has a hovertrain or airtrain or something.)
-the way they get their food (we buy it at a store and cook it ourselves, or go to a restaurant. We generally dispense it through a refrigerator. Uglies get fed through a hole in the wall where Magical Objects of Awesome! come out. Hunger Games people hunt (but only if they're badass) or buy it from the black market (if they're semi-badass) or get it from the government if they're chicken.
-propaganda--what makes them obey (uglies: YOU MUST BE PRETTY OMG. Hunger Games: well, the hunger games themselves. Matched: everything is better here because we use probability and our people livelongerandarehappierandcrap.)
-main source of entertainment--what the people do for fun. (Hunger games: watch the hunger games on TV [we're talking capitol idiots here] uglies: go to parties and get creepy surgeries. Matched: game center, music hall, movie showings, leisure activities)
-Clothing: there must be a fashion scheme. (matched: uniforms denoting students, workers and officials; Uglies: crazy fashioncostumethingies for pretties, and didn't the uglies have like a uniform or something? Hunger Games: lots of raggy old cloth stuff. They're madpooryo.)
-Government Creepers: like the gestapo. Publicly known; usually feared. (Hunger games: peacekeepers. Matched: Officials. Uglies: wardens. Also Special Circumstances, but less public.)
-Fancy Board Of Government Jerks Who Decide Stuff (Uglies: the Pretty Committee. HG: the Gamemakers. Matched: I think we find out in the next volume xDD )[I just realized that was my first emote all post.]
-I think they're all communists. (actually, that's not a principle. But i think it's true. I might make a post entirely devoted to the fact that I think that Matched, The Hunger Games, and Uglies are all set in communist "futures" and it's all 1984alloveragain.)
Ok, now for my Critiques:
I read all fourhundredsomeodd pages and I still don't feel like I'm BFFs with Cassia, Ky, Em and Xander. They're not the most developed characters, and they're still kind of in that stage of development like the book just started and I don't know them yet. I think the most developed characters were Bram and the granfather, and since Grandpa died in like chapter four, that's saying something.
AND THE LOVE TRIANGLE OMG. It's less creative than Twilight. It pretty much IS twilight. I am going to outline a situation, and you try to think of every YA novel with this basic scenario or one very similar:
Boy1 likes girl. Girl likes boy but doesn't know it yet. Girl meets boy2 and falls in OMGlove! but girl and boy2 can't be together. girl finds out about boy1 but since she can have him he's unappealing even though he's better for her and everyone around her. He's just not as hot. So girl makes out with both of them and eventually either ends up with boy2 or realizes that boy1 was better all along, often following the death or destruction, if not betrayal, of boy2.
How many books did you come up with? Like, every YA novel ever? See? they're all the same. WillsomeonepleasewritemeagooddystopiannovelwithaNEWromanticsituationthankyou?
Ok. That is all.
What would make me really happy right now:
-Suuushiiii
-for someone to write me a novel according to the guidelines above.
-no more tests please school ok?
-more time to read at school
next book: The Woman Who Rides Like A Man
CHALLENGE: outline a romance taking place in a dystopia that is ORIGINAL.
Monday, February 28, 2011
To Kill a Mockingbird
So, I hate this book. And I kind of like it.
It was one of those "curriculum" books, y'know?
The Negative Post (Where I vent my feelings...)
This book is a poorly written, verbose account of an interesting event told in the point of veiw of a Mary-Sue-ish elementary school girl named Scout. Scout has very little personality and I do not connect with her at all. The story is written in a way that rambles on about events or concepts that have absolutely no bearing on the story whatsoever and just made this book that much more painful for me to drag my eyes across these last couple of days. The number of words Harper Lee uses to convey a simple message is completely unnecessary. Her paraphrasis irks me.
However...
The events in the story are significant. I tried writing in the same style used by Lee, and it actually worked quite well in getting me interested in the story I was writing as I was writing it. However, it still sounded rambly and I am convinced another person reading it would feel the same toward my prose as I feel toward Lee's. In short, the story is awesome, but the style truly needs work.
What would make me really happy right now:
-A few more hours in the afternoon to read
-More books
-Some sushi
-The magical ability to make any food taste/smell like sushi
-Including mac and cheese ^
-Bagpipes
Next Book: Mockingjay, unless The Perks of Being a Wallflower doesn't distract me.
It was one of those "curriculum" books, y'know?
The Negative Post (Where I vent my feelings...)
This book is a poorly written, verbose account of an interesting event told in the point of veiw of a Mary-Sue-ish elementary school girl named Scout. Scout has very little personality and I do not connect with her at all. The story is written in a way that rambles on about events or concepts that have absolutely no bearing on the story whatsoever and just made this book that much more painful for me to drag my eyes across these last couple of days. The number of words Harper Lee uses to convey a simple message is completely unnecessary. Her paraphrasis irks me.
However...
The events in the story are significant. I tried writing in the same style used by Lee, and it actually worked quite well in getting me interested in the story I was writing as I was writing it. However, it still sounded rambly and I am convinced another person reading it would feel the same toward my prose as I feel toward Lee's. In short, the story is awesome, but the style truly needs work.
What would make me really happy right now:
-A few more hours in the afternoon to read
-More books
-Some sushi
-The magical ability to make any food taste/smell like sushi
-Including mac and cheese ^
-Bagpipes
Next Book: Mockingjay, unless The Perks of Being a Wallflower doesn't distract me.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Hush, Hush
I tagged this non-spoiler, but it might contain a minor or two, so be warned if you're picky.
Bonjour! So, when I took a look at this book, it having to do with angels and nephilim, I was like, OOH! Mortal Instruments Family! But then I started reading. See, the thing about the book is that it flies, which is a plus. However, it has a major, major Twilight connection. The mainchick is a plain but attractive brunette, the dude is dangerous, her biology partner, and possible attempting to kill her. Cars are stolen. There's a stalker scene while the girls are on a shopping trip and get split up. A crazy inhuman chick tries to kill her out of revenge and she gets tortured to hurt the maindude by an inhuman blond. She lives surrounded by fog in a rural, relatively coastal area. Maindude has an expensive car and a "dark" past. Someone watches mainchick sleep. Mainchick has limited but existing knowledge of self-defense that she never actually uses. You know, I had only thought of, like, two of those until I started writing this. There are so many and probably more.
However, I gotta say, it was better than the Evil Book. Just in case you were wondering.
I thought the mainchick was pretty weak. I hate weak mainchicks, just in case you were wondering. Hate them. Now, a mainchick that starts out kind of weak but goes badass by the end of the book, now that I can live with. But if she ends up pretty much the same person she started out as in a fantasy or sci-fi book with a long series of traumatic events, well, in real life she'd end up changed. In the book, it's vital.
Patch was likeable but not the greatest. I want to see more personality from him in the sequel, if I read it.
Now, I am not totally hating on this (well, I sort of am, but not completely) because it was a page turner. It kept my interest and whipped by, despite its *cough* flaws. So, if I read the sequel, I have some expectations: More personality. More originality. Less Twilight.
Honestly, if in book 2 Patch leaves her, she dies of patheticness inside, and she meets a dude who is also inhuman but not, *cough* a fallen angel, then I will proclaim it suckish, and Becca Fitzpatrick will probably be sued for copying Twilight.
What would make me really happy right now:
-For the next book I finish to pwn the Twilightness out of this last one
-Some sushi, b****!
Next book: Either Goose Girl, Nobody's Princess (or Nobody's Prize, whichever one is first) or Mockingjay or Paper Towns or whatever the heck I want.
Can you tell that my mood has become less than sublime?
Bonjour! So, when I took a look at this book, it having to do with angels and nephilim, I was like, OOH! Mortal Instruments Family! But then I started reading. See, the thing about the book is that it flies, which is a plus. However, it has a major, major Twilight connection. The mainchick is a plain but attractive brunette, the dude is dangerous, her biology partner, and possible attempting to kill her. Cars are stolen. There's a stalker scene while the girls are on a shopping trip and get split up. A crazy inhuman chick tries to kill her out of revenge and she gets tortured to hurt the maindude by an inhuman blond. She lives surrounded by fog in a rural, relatively coastal area. Maindude has an expensive car and a "dark" past. Someone watches mainchick sleep. Mainchick has limited but existing knowledge of self-defense that she never actually uses. You know, I had only thought of, like, two of those until I started writing this. There are so many and probably more.
However, I gotta say, it was better than the Evil Book. Just in case you were wondering.
I thought the mainchick was pretty weak. I hate weak mainchicks, just in case you were wondering. Hate them. Now, a mainchick that starts out kind of weak but goes badass by the end of the book, now that I can live with. But if she ends up pretty much the same person she started out as in a fantasy or sci-fi book with a long series of traumatic events, well, in real life she'd end up changed. In the book, it's vital.
Patch was likeable but not the greatest. I want to see more personality from him in the sequel, if I read it.
Now, I am not totally hating on this (well, I sort of am, but not completely) because it was a page turner. It kept my interest and whipped by, despite its *cough* flaws. So, if I read the sequel, I have some expectations: More personality. More originality. Less Twilight.
Honestly, if in book 2 Patch leaves her, she dies of patheticness inside, and she meets a dude who is also inhuman but not, *cough* a fallen angel, then I will proclaim it suckish, and Becca Fitzpatrick will probably be sued for copying Twilight.
What would make me really happy right now:
-For the next book I finish to pwn the Twilightness out of this last one
-Some sushi, b****!
Next book: Either Goose Girl, Nobody's Princess (or Nobody's Prize, whichever one is first) or Mockingjay or Paper Towns or whatever the heck I want.
Can you tell that my mood has become less than sublime?
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
The Book of Three
Lloyd Alexander is, like Scott Westerfeld, an awesome writer of female characters. In Westmark, it was pretty borinbg 'till Mickle showed up. Then things got interesting. Eilonwy of the Book of Three totally owns. She's a bit like me, as in talkative *cough cough... yeah* and she tends to babble (sound familiar?) Also, her epic mediocre-sorceressness is pretty amazing.
I love Gurgi. Last night I was going around Gurgi-talking--crunchings and munchings? Poor, humble Manon-y gets smackings and scoldings for talking and telling about readings and writings! Oh, poor underappreciated Manon!
Considering there are a few more books in this series (Although this is the first) I'm gonna cut this short and get started on the Black Cauldron.
What would make me really happy right now:
-A magic bauble
-A driver's liscence
-More books
-How has no one caught on to the Misaki-thing yet? Like, I might actually be free this Saturday night for once.
Next book: The Black Cauldron
I love Gurgi. Last night I was going around Gurgi-talking--crunchings and munchings? Poor, humble Manon-y gets smackings and scoldings for talking and telling about readings and writings! Oh, poor underappreciated Manon!
Considering there are a few more books in this series (Although this is the first) I'm gonna cut this short and get started on the Black Cauldron.
What would make me really happy right now:
-A magic bauble
-A driver's liscence
-More books
-How has no one caught on to the Misaki-thing yet? Like, I might actually be free this Saturday night for once.
Next book: The Black Cauldron
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Spells
I do have a million excuses for not finishing a book in, like, a week, but assuming you don't want to hear them, I shall cut to the chase.
Spells by Aprilyne Pike is the sequel to Wings, which has the same title and disturbingly similar beginning to Wings by E. D. Baker. I actually originally bought it to see if it was a complete copy of it. Although far too similar in beginningness and plot, they have very different vibes. I have decided to devote this posts to why I hate this book but still love it.
Report card! : Ms. Pike gets an A for the character Chelsea, because in this book she's actually pretty interesting. Or at least in the end, which is freshest in my head. Hopefully she'll get a bigger role in the action in book 3. Unfortunately, I do not like how Laurel treats the boys in her life. Also, she is very Mary-Sueish and not very dimensional. She gets a C. David gets a B-, because he lets his girlfriend walk all over him yet is still the whole knight in shining armour deal. Tamani gets an A-, because even though he's sort of jerkish in some parts he has a lot of conflict and his character has layers and all that.
Relationshippydramaness gets an F. The love triangle is way too Twilight and everyone worships Laurel even though she only deserves it, like, once every few chapters. Ish.
Fairy awesomeness gets an A, though, because it's actually very good.
What would make me really happy right now:
-Misaki. Seriously.
-Goliath
-Fang
-Mom to give up the everything-you-buy-gets-saved-for-Christmas because, like, I might run out of books. This is a very imposing threat.
-A couple of Austrailian time travel-related books that are not readily avaliable here, even though other books by those authors are. Gah. I'm gonna need an Amazon shipment by New Year's.
Next book: The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander (Maybe. As you may notice I'm not very faithful to these next-book thingies.)
Spells by Aprilyne Pike is the sequel to Wings, which has the same title and disturbingly similar beginning to Wings by E. D. Baker. I actually originally bought it to see if it was a complete copy of it. Although far too similar in beginningness and plot, they have very different vibes. I have decided to devote this posts to why I hate this book but still love it.
Report card! : Ms. Pike gets an A for the character Chelsea, because in this book she's actually pretty interesting. Or at least in the end, which is freshest in my head. Hopefully she'll get a bigger role in the action in book 3. Unfortunately, I do not like how Laurel treats the boys in her life. Also, she is very Mary-Sueish and not very dimensional. She gets a C. David gets a B-, because he lets his girlfriend walk all over him yet is still the whole knight in shining armour deal. Tamani gets an A-, because even though he's sort of jerkish in some parts he has a lot of conflict and his character has layers and all that.
Relationshippydramaness gets an F. The love triangle is way too Twilight and everyone worships Laurel even though she only deserves it, like, once every few chapters. Ish.
Fairy awesomeness gets an A, though, because it's actually very good.
What would make me really happy right now:
-Misaki. Seriously.
-Goliath
-Fang
-Mom to give up the everything-you-buy-gets-saved-for-Christmas because, like, I might run out of books. This is a very imposing threat.
-A couple of Austrailian time travel-related books that are not readily avaliable here, even though other books by those authors are. Gah. I'm gonna need an Amazon shipment by New Year's.
Next book: The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander (Maybe. As you may notice I'm not very faithful to these next-book thingies.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)