I finished Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. An amazing book with great plot, sinister government, crazed teens and the works. Enjoyed it - I know there are two more - not sure if I have the heart to read them, but I know the writing is excellent (it's teens, forced to KILL each other).
My Pages
- Home
- Books Read by Me in 2014 {and 2013, 2012,2011, 2010, 2009...}
- Latest Winner - Bitter Seed of Magic and Doc;Vampire-Hunting Dog
- B.A.D.D. (Book Attention Deficit Disorder) - symptoms
- The Bitter Seed of Magic - excerpt
- I explain my rating system (haha - system! it's arbitrary)
- Reading Challenges 2011 and past; progress, goals and epic failures. :)
Monday, October 31, 2011
It's Monday - and Halloween
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - review
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Pathfinder by Laura E. Reeve - review
Pathfinder
Laura E. Reeve
Military SciFi
******
cover-this cover, compared to the other two, was a little tame, but there is something kind of cool about this hallway. However, the way a certain building and hallway was described in the novel, I would have liked to see something a bit more colorful and fantastical, something that really would have made a first time observer gasp, as in the book. Also -FINALLY, Ariane's hair looks more dark than blonde. Every book describes Ari's dark curls and she keeps showing up as a blonde on the covers. I know this is nothing compared to the whitewashing that goes on in many other novels...but just another example of covers not really matching books. Now I also admit that I'm not an artist - but I AM a part of a huge family with a large percentage of artistic types, and I can't help wondering what one of them would have come up with....This isn't meant to disparage the artist's work here - it's good for what it is, but it's a little plain, when this final novel had more wondrous things to convery - an eggshaped habitat for one! Take a look at the book trailer from youtube
Pathfinder was the final novel of the Ariane Kedros trilogy. It was kind of bittersweet reading it, since I'd enjoyed the novels so much - yet halfway through Pathfinder, I had actually looked on the Laura E. Reeve's website and learned that there was to be NO MORE Ariane books - becauase Tor/Nal hadn't renewed their option or asked for more, or in their dis-wisdom decided they didn't need to publish anymore. I strongly disagree with their decision. I so want to read more about all the characters in these novels - Hell, Ariane was just starting to think about doing something about her drinking....
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
New Weekly Meme - Daring You To Read...
I wanted my first post to be on J.A. Campbell's first e-book novel, but it's only been five months since the debut, so Senior Year Bites will have to wait another month for this dare.
Since I think everyone should be interested in every single book I like (LOL-well, they SHOULD) I have lots more books in mind, but I'll stick with one per post. :)
Vigilante by Laura E. Reeve - review
Military SciFi/alt history
******
Laura E. Reeve
cover-Like the first cover, love it...however, the gun and the hair don't really match the story - small potatoes though when compared to the other factors of the cover.
I LOVED this series. Emotionally scarred, functioning alcoholic, n-space pilot, military reservist with undercover assignments, mixed feelings for her civilian boss, a job on an exploration ship, "Destroyer of Worlds, Explorer of Worlds, Ariane as Kedros", full of guilt and ghosts in her head - and that's just one woman. The other characters are just as interesting. Her military commander, her civilian boss, the newly growing Artificial Intelligence, the spies/enemies turned "allies". This is one hell of an interesting novel full of intrigue, betrayal, twists, aliens, space ship travel and danger. Loved it.
One of the best things about this book is the dialog and the differing pov's in the narration. I guess some would call this the characterizations. Each character had a distinct voice and style. The dialog between all the characters was so believable because it all read so naturally - all the differing characters had their idiosyncrasies and manners of speech. I feel like I might be raving a bit, but sometimes in these SciFi books, the dialog can be a bit....over-dramatic or overly formal to denote a different planet or country. These all meshed nicely. Some of the characters even had the added depth of a type of sign language - little flicks and gestures that added to the conversation.
In Vigilante Ariane Kedros is off duty, traveling with her business partner to a generational ship that is in a new system. Things are complicated when the generational ship is attacked and taken over by extremists - extremists who don't care how many people they kill or if they cause a sun to go nova. They have an extremist agenda - and yet the leader is being led by someone else. Many layers are well - layered on this plot. Once again Ariane has to deal with a weapon of mass destruction, only this time it's a stolen one and she has a very slight chance of saving the system. Her former enemies are suddenly uneasy allies, because everyone wants to survive and they're all under attack.
There is one more book to go in this trilogy (which I've read by now)
I think the trilogy is worth reading and I wish Roc/Penguin would ask for more from Reeve. Fortunately, Reeve is working on a prequel to Ariane's story and hopefully it'll be available for purchase...I'm hoping. anyway, you can check out the website and sign up for notification, which I did. sometimes, I'm quite the geek. The website also includes some of her worldbuilding, alternate history, info about the mysterious Minoans (the aliens) and the characters. I'm already missing the novels, now that I've finished reading them. It's fantasy/UF time now, though. I've ran the gamut of all the SciFi I could find that caught my eye. (I am a bit picky about my SciFi Space Travel novels)
The Trilogy includes:
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Teaser Tuesday - or Tuesday Teaser
which brings me to one of my favorite weekly blog/book memes (do you know, a few years ago I didn't know what the hell "meme" was? There are many new computer/blogger terms that weren't around 10 years ago-that's me stating the obvious. LOL.) Teaser Tusdays is hosted by MizB of ShouldBeReading. We tease each other with our current reads, avoiding spoilers.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Peacekeeper
Sunday, October 23, 2011
It's Monday!
Hosted by Sheila of Book Journey - we share what we've been reading.
It's been a challenging reading month. I can't seem to stay away from science fiction books, even though I have many many many many urban fantasy novels I want to read. They are not only backing up, but I'm running out of room to put them, and some I can't even FIND.
like these below. I bought them. Don't know where they are. oops.
After I finish Hunger Games, I have a plan to catch up a quite a few e-books that have been sent to me and one that I bought. I don't have covers for all of them, because they aren't all published yet, I'm not even sure I should give titles out - until I get permission. But the one I bought is The Weaverfields Heir - a book by David Bridger that I've been wanting to get for quite a while. Finally bought it and hope to read it either this week or next, depending on how many of the beta reads I can finish.
What I HAVE finished -
Also just finished Pathfinder (#3) by Laura E Reeves and am hoping that she's going to write more about Ariane Kedros and co. I also finished the book that came right before (same author), called Vigilante (#2). Enjoyed the whole trilogy very much. Satisfied the SciFi craving along with some intrigue and suspense.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
The Drorgan Slayer's Choice by Tahlia Newland
Contest Links and other random bits
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Principles of Angels by Jaine Fenn - review
*****
Jaine Fenn
cover-at first glance, this cover looks a bit run of the mill. But then look a little closer, especially after reading a bit of the book (one of the reasons I love holding a print book - the ability to simply turn my hand and see the cover) and then you'll see how much the cover matches the story. There's the arid, almost uninhabitable planet. There's this flexible dome, and within the dome you can see the suggestion of a structure. This is where the story takes place.
Principles of Angels is a gift from a wonderful person all the way 'across the pond' from me. It took me a while to get to it, but that's part of the fun of getting books for gifts - they wait for us to read. (Thank you very much, Wonderful British Woman - loved the book)
I am not sure that I can explain this novel well enough, or even the intricate world that the characters live in. There's this structure above an uninhabitable planet that is ruled in turns by three separate factions. It's a mysterious place, that seems self contained. Things are recycled - even urine. Some of the little details are a bit squicky - but this does not take from the story. Anyway I'll try to explain just a bit in my wandering way.
The society is ruled by a consortium, there is a prime minister type that keeps things running smoothly (as far as government) and one of his jobs is to assign assassinations to an "Angel". These assassinations are voted on by the governing body, usually when a member of the consortium has fallen in public favor. The consequence is death by assassination. The assassin is an Angel (not really an angel but one who is given the power to float, to fly and has ninja like skills and weapons). These Angels are both revered and feared. They are also considered "line mothers". The whole thing is intricate and can be a bit confusing but I just keep reading.
This brings me to the fact that in this structure are a few levels...the upper level for the rich and priviledged, and the lower level for the others. The people who have to struggle for a living, the prostitutes and pickpockets etc. There is a whole separate society in this second level, which oddly - is where the Angels live. This level has webbing and catwalks, all the dwellings have holes or openings in the middle of the rooms for lowering wastes and bringing up water, etc. This is where one of the main characters live - Taro. As mentioned in the blurb of the book - his line mother (who is really his aunt) is an Angel who has been murdered. Murder of an Angel is unheard of. This is just a small part of a intricate (my new word for the day) plot.
Visiting this structure, the upper part at least, is a singer from another planet. Elarn is on tour, singing deeply religious songs and comes from a very religious planet. She also has another reason for being on tour.
The paths of Taro and Elarn come together by accident after Taro unwittingly ruins an assassination attempt by an angel of one of the city's rulers. After that, things become complicated in more ways than one until at the end of the story there is such a twist, such a interesting twist - that I just have to read more. There is way more to the plot than the things I mentioned - there is a history of Sidhe - considered ancient and died off. Part of the history of this planet is the long ago migration of people from Earth - which is long gone.
Once I was able to concentrate solely on this novel, I found myself absorbed by it. The different characters had distinctly different voices. Jaine Fenn did a wonderful job of drawing these characters, making them stand out from each other. I also enjoyed the dialog (one of my pet peeves) - found each character's way of speech consistant and "fitting" each person. Written in third person - I also found the narration interesting and not once was I bored with info-dumps or huge chunks of explanations. There may have been a few things that seemed a bit involved, but I was able to keep reading and eventually understand what was happening, or understand the different levels of people/society. I think the author put a lot of thought into building her world and her different societies and fringe societies. I also enjoyed the way she let the reader learn little bits here and there without overwhelming me with too many details and long explanations.
As soon as I finished Principles of Angels (and of course when I had a few bucks in the bank) I ordered the second novel in this trilogy (or is it a four-bit now?). According to Fenn's website, the second book takes place at the same time as the first, though on a different planet. The third book has the characters of both first and second books coming together for a story. Looking forward to it.
Note, that if you're squeamish about prostitution or drug use, there is some of that going on. For me, that's not any worse than reading about murder and violence, though - so it doesn't bother me to read about, especially when it seems to be an accepted part of life in a story's society.
Very interesting read that has me wanting to read more. Just different enough to satisfy my SciFi cravings and Fantasy cravings at the same time.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Tuesday Teasers, and etc.
AHHHHH! Tuesday Teaser. One of my favorite weekly book memes. Hosted by MizB of ShouldBeReading, we tease each other with what we're reading, making sure to avoid spoilers.
I've read many good reviews of The Hunger Games, but since it's YA and I rarely buy YA books, I haven't yet bought a copy; to be honest, I really wasn't in to buying a copy - preferring to spend my money on either adult fiction or books by YA authors that I am already familiar with (like J.A. Campbell, Lili St.Crow, etc). But a reading teacher happened to have a copy and told me that I would absolutely LOVE it, finish it in one night. I just started it, and can't really afford to stay up all night to read, but it does seem pretty interesting... so from page 11 of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins;
"The predators ignore us on a day when easier, tastier prey abounds. Buy late morning, we have a dozen fish, a bag of greens and, best of all, a gallon of strawberries. I found the patch a few years ago, but Gale had the idea to string mesh nets around it to keep out the animals."
I haven't read very much yet, and so far, no huge infodumps so I'm slowly learning as I read what is going on....I like it that way.
I hadn't planned on reading this series - in fact I picked up the first (Peacekeeper) on impulse almost a year after I bought the third in the series. Since I had bought the third, so long ago and tried to read it then, I really wasn't very interested. But then I found the first novel, got into it week before last, finally finished it Sunday night. Luckily, on my last book shopping trip (desultory trips since Borders shut its doors) I found the middle and Voila! Now I can't stop thinking about this series, so I'm now reading the second.
More Tuesday Teaser fun can be found at J.A. Campbell's writerly blog, where she's teasing us with a bit from her newest novel - Summer Break Blues. (the sequel to Senior Year Bites)
Monday Madness
I finally finished Peacekeeper by Laura E Reeve and Principles of Angels by Jaine Fenn. I've developed a headache tonight, so I'm failing at providing book or author links...hopefully I'll catch up on that later.
I will say, though, that each of the books I finished (both SciFi in different ways) were very interesting, even though it took me so long to read. It wasn't any reflection on the books, just my own issues with sleeping, working and etc. Now I've picked up the second in the series by Laura E. Reeve, titled Vigilante, and have just started it....
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Grandchildren and t.v. shows
I sat down, too tired to eat dinner and thought I would stretch out, rest the back. Woke up just in time for the start of Middle. Watched about 10 minutes of it and woke up again, just in time to see the beginning of Suburgatory....then I woke up yet again just in time to watch the second 10 minutes of Modern Family...and again in time to see the last five minutes of it. DAMN!
Then, I found out that I can watch full episodes of some of my favorite shows online!
Grand-Pets; substituting for grandchildren
When you get to a certain age; when your children are all grown and it's time for grandchildren, there is no guarantee that you're going to get grandchildren from them. I consider myself blessed that I do have one granddaughter and one grandson. Sometimes you just have to take what you get. And sometimes you get a grandkitty. That's right...a grandkitty. This is the newest grandkitty. And true to grandbaby type duties, last night I ended up cleaning up a bottom, washing pee soaked towels (with the help of the proud new owner) and even feeding it a kitty bottle. This kitty is three weeks old, drinking out of a small cat bottle because the mother was a feral cat that died after giving birth to three kittens. A couple took the three babies in and in a clever move brought them to visit a bar (in an area with many hippy & bohemian types) and found homes for all three baby kittens with people who were just buzzed enough to think it's a great idea to take home kittens that have to be bottle fed and hugged alot. hahahahahahahahahahahaha. Just in the few hours that they were visiting our house, the kitty became comfortable enough to climb over to my arm and fall asleep draped lengthwise along my forearm. Strange little thing. Showed no fear or hesitation to our two dogs, just looked at them. No hissing, no hunching, just looked at them. Meowed a lot, but also purred and snuggled. At one point she even tried to breastfeed from my son's neck. LOL. Possibly not the smartest cat in the world. :)
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Waiting On Wednesday and Book B-Day coming up
Waiting On Wednesday is hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine. Full guidelines available at Breaking the Spine. I'm listing three books that I've been waiting for, and all three are established writers, all favorite authors. One was just released this week (getting myself to the bookstore very soon!), one comes out in November and the other one comes out
Snuff by Terry Pratchett came out in hardback October 11th. One of my rare auto in hardback buys now, as soon as I can, I'm treating myself to a copy. It's hard for me to describe just why I like Terry Pratchett's writing so much. Some of the complaints I've heard from readers are parts of the reasons I love reading his novels (varying pov, jumping from character to character and back again - love this type of writing, keeps you on your toes! and it's really not that hard to keep up.) This is one of the few series, that has over 30 books that I've enjoyed and am enjoying every single novel. This guy could keep going and going and I'd be happy. But he won't, since he's ended up with Alzheimer's which will eventually end his writing career long before it should have.
Reckoning by Lili St.Crow is another bittersweet wait - it's the final novel in the Strange Angels' series. The fifth and final. One of my rare young adult reads, I've enjoyed them since the first novel and have found it refreshingly dark, even with the inevitible teen angst. It all fits, and I enjoy the main character's attitude and teen anger. Due out October 27th, 2011.
Suzanne McLeod - who has a U.S. book b-day coming up. In December, The Bitter Seed of Magic will come out in paperback over here in the States. It's also coming out in mmppb (mass market ppb size). It's been out in the UK in hardcover - time to celebrate the ppb version! If you've been waiting for the US ppb to come out.
Along with having book b-days and contest, Ms Suzanne is being interviewed - more information is on her blog. Seems she's sharing some interview space with Ann Rice, which is pretty cool. Hopefully Suzanne's part will survive the inevitable edits that always seem to take place with interviews, but how exciting for her.
I've just spent a very long time waiting for blogger to upload a short video of my grandchildren. I give up. It's taking so long that you're now either to be disappointed or spared (whichever you choose to be) the unbearable cuteness of my two grandchildren battling with two soft bowling pins (used them as swords). It was pretty cool, because this was from last winter, just about the time when Liliana started realizing that her cousin is pretty fun to play with. She was doing slow motion moves, he was fighting her pretty softly and waiting like a gentleman when her back was to him (could have taken her down, but he chose to wait. He's a very thoughtful, considerate opponent.) This is probably a good thing for y'all because, (snickerk shickWerk hahahaha). also had plans of sharing videos of them playing the drums, dancing in the kitchen, and in geneal being very cute, as grandchildren often are. And THEN I was going to share videos of the pets - playing, chasing the grandkids, etc.....you just barely escaped...
MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ....(but then - of course, there's always YouTube!!! go ahead - you know you want to. click on it. good rock blues)