by Clive Barker
The second Abarat book, Days of Magic, Nights of War, is just as spectacular as the first. Complete with hundreds of full-colour illustrations and a lot of storyline, it is again an intimidating read. Christopher Carrion is still chasing after Candy but you don't know why. On the other hand, his grandmother, Mater Motley, is also chasing Candy, but the evil old lady wants to kill her. Candy and her geshrat friend Malingo get separated quickly after eight weeks of travelling together, so Malingo goes on a search to find her. Candy's not an ordinary girl, but she definitely still needs help finding her way around the Abarat.
Remember Henry Murkitt, from the first book? He's a ghost now, haunting his sorrowful little Room Nineteen, and has realized a change in the balance of the world. His wife, Diamanda, who was one of the three magical women stationed in the tower on the Twenty-Fifth Hour, gets killed while trying to help Candy and returns to Chickentown to visit her husband and spread the warning: "Get to higher ground!" Both sense the coming of the Izabella Sea, the magical sea that separates the Abarat from the Hereafter (our world).
I really liked this book, too, and again, it is a childrens' book, so almost anyone with a lot of patience and time on their hands can read it. If you don't have a lot of time, then I'd suggest not starting until you do... these books get really addicting.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Abarat
by Clive Barker
Candy Quackenbush lives in the most boring town in the world: Chickentown, Minnesota, USA. Their main "crop" is chickens (obviously), and the only thing even remotely interesting about it is a tale that hasn't even been confirmed, about a man whose family name was originally the name of the town, and was so devastated by its name change that he committed suicide.
One day, bored out of her skull, Candy wanders off, outside of the borders of the small town, and discovers a new, amazing, utterly different world: the Abarat. Teaming up with a master thief and his seven brothers (who are all just heads, attached to his head on antler-like protrusions), all named John, Candy begins her discovery of the world of the Abarat. In the Abarat, there are twenty-five islands, one for each hour in the day and the last a mysterious place.
The Lord of Midnight, Christopher Carrion, is after Candy for some reason. He wants her captured and brought back to his island, Twelve Midnight, also called Gorgossium. He sends his main henchman, the Criss-Cross Man, Otto Houlihan, to retrieve her, along with an endless supply of the bewitched rags called stitchlings. Candy is constantly on the run, learning as she goes along... and yet it all seems very familiar to her. Has she been there before? If so, when?
I really liked this book. It, unlike a lot of the other books I've reviewed lately, is a children's book, though it's quite a hefty read. Clive Barker also did all his own illustrations, to accompany the text. It's amazing, really, just how much work Mr. Barker put into one book alone--and there are at least two Abarat books, both in the same style of illustration and writing. I recommend them for someone who has a lot of time on their hands and loves a good adventure story. A word to the wise, though: if you carry it around for too long, your arms will get tired. It's a big book.
Candy Quackenbush lives in the most boring town in the world: Chickentown, Minnesota, USA. Their main "crop" is chickens (obviously), and the only thing even remotely interesting about it is a tale that hasn't even been confirmed, about a man whose family name was originally the name of the town, and was so devastated by its name change that he committed suicide.
One day, bored out of her skull, Candy wanders off, outside of the borders of the small town, and discovers a new, amazing, utterly different world: the Abarat. Teaming up with a master thief and his seven brothers (who are all just heads, attached to his head on antler-like protrusions), all named John, Candy begins her discovery of the world of the Abarat. In the Abarat, there are twenty-five islands, one for each hour in the day and the last a mysterious place.
The Lord of Midnight, Christopher Carrion, is after Candy for some reason. He wants her captured and brought back to his island, Twelve Midnight, also called Gorgossium. He sends his main henchman, the Criss-Cross Man, Otto Houlihan, to retrieve her, along with an endless supply of the bewitched rags called stitchlings. Candy is constantly on the run, learning as she goes along... and yet it all seems very familiar to her. Has she been there before? If so, when?
I really liked this book. It, unlike a lot of the other books I've reviewed lately, is a children's book, though it's quite a hefty read. Clive Barker also did all his own illustrations, to accompany the text. It's amazing, really, just how much work Mr. Barker put into one book alone--and there are at least two Abarat books, both in the same style of illustration and writing. I recommend them for someone who has a lot of time on their hands and loves a good adventure story. A word to the wise, though: if you carry it around for too long, your arms will get tired. It's a big book.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
The Protector of the Small Quartet
by Tamora Pierce
Whew! Finally finished. It's quite a read, definitely. For those of you that haven't read it yet but would like to, here's the order:
First Test
Page
Squire
Lady Knight
I'll do a review on all four at once.
Keladry of Mindelan has nerve. She wants to be a lady knight. Now that girls are allowed to become pages, which is the first step to becoming a knight, she goes to join the ranks of the boys and train to be a true knight. However, Lord Wyldon, the training master, puts her on probation for a year since she's a girl, so she has to be even better-behaved than the boys. Life's tough when you're trying to be a pioneer. The well-written quartet views Keladry from ages ten to eighteen, growing up and experiencing life as The Girl in an all-male world.
I began the series and thought that it would be a good read for anyone around the age of twelve or so, but as it goes on, it becomes... questionable. I can see why it's in the young adult section of the library, now that I've finally finished all four. Since it's utterly addicting and makes you want to keep reading, I'd recommend it to female audiences around fourteen or so. That way, anything questionable is understood.
The first two books were amazing, but, in my opinion, they sort of went downhill from there. I really enjoyed First Test and Page, though I think First Test was the best one. The only reason I kept reading is because I wanted to know what happened to Kel, and was hopeful that maybe the books would get better and equal in quality to the first one. While First Test may be the smallest, it is by far of the highest quality and definitely worth reading.
Whew! Finally finished. It's quite a read, definitely. For those of you that haven't read it yet but would like to, here's the order:
First Test
Page
Squire
Lady Knight
I'll do a review on all four at once.
Keladry of Mindelan has nerve. She wants to be a lady knight. Now that girls are allowed to become pages, which is the first step to becoming a knight, she goes to join the ranks of the boys and train to be a true knight. However, Lord Wyldon, the training master, puts her on probation for a year since she's a girl, so she has to be even better-behaved than the boys. Life's tough when you're trying to be a pioneer. The well-written quartet views Keladry from ages ten to eighteen, growing up and experiencing life as The Girl in an all-male world.
I began the series and thought that it would be a good read for anyone around the age of twelve or so, but as it goes on, it becomes... questionable. I can see why it's in the young adult section of the library, now that I've finally finished all four. Since it's utterly addicting and makes you want to keep reading, I'd recommend it to female audiences around fourteen or so. That way, anything questionable is understood.
The first two books were amazing, but, in my opinion, they sort of went downhill from there. I really enjoyed First Test and Page, though I think First Test was the best one. The only reason I kept reading is because I wanted to know what happened to Kel, and was hopeful that maybe the books would get better and equal in quality to the first one. While First Test may be the smallest, it is by far of the highest quality and definitely worth reading.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Catch-22
by Joseph Heller
Okay, I read this one partially on recommendation and partially because it caught my eye. I'd like to establish, first of all, that it is NOT a children's book and should be filed with 1984 and Animal Farm.
Captain Yossarian is a pilot in the military, and is currently stationed overseas. His unit commander is weird, and he keeps raising the number of missions the men must fly before they can go home to their families. You, the reader, meet an assortment of individuals amongst the motley crew that is their unit: Major Major Major Major, who is forever a major and will be neither promoted nor demoted; Orr, who shares a tent with Yossarian and enjoys methodically taking apart and reassembling anything; Milo, the enterpreneur, who creates a black-market smuggling business on both sides of the war; Doc Daneeka, a physician who spends his time moping and thinking he's ill, and many more that I simply don't remember right now. Different as they may be, they share a common goal: complete their missions so they can be done.
Catch-22 is absolutely hilarious, following Yossarian through his struggles as a pilot and a squadmate who cares for few people but himself in the world. As time goes on, however, he begins to develop what could be called a conscience, though you'll have to judge that for yourself.
I really enjoyed this book, though a lot didn't make sense, since there are so many different storylines to follow. A character that you see only briefly in the beginning could very well end up becoming their own storyline, so keep your eyes peeled!
Okay, I read this one partially on recommendation and partially because it caught my eye. I'd like to establish, first of all, that it is NOT a children's book and should be filed with 1984 and Animal Farm.
Captain Yossarian is a pilot in the military, and is currently stationed overseas. His unit commander is weird, and he keeps raising the number of missions the men must fly before they can go home to their families. You, the reader, meet an assortment of individuals amongst the motley crew that is their unit: Major Major Major Major, who is forever a major and will be neither promoted nor demoted; Orr, who shares a tent with Yossarian and enjoys methodically taking apart and reassembling anything; Milo, the enterpreneur, who creates a black-market smuggling business on both sides of the war; Doc Daneeka, a physician who spends his time moping and thinking he's ill, and many more that I simply don't remember right now. Different as they may be, they share a common goal: complete their missions so they can be done.
Catch-22 is absolutely hilarious, following Yossarian through his struggles as a pilot and a squadmate who cares for few people but himself in the world. As time goes on, however, he begins to develop what could be called a conscience, though you'll have to judge that for yourself.
I really enjoyed this book, though a lot didn't make sense, since there are so many different storylines to follow. A character that you see only briefly in the beginning could very well end up becoming their own storyline, so keep your eyes peeled!
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