Anyway, I was only 7 when I started reading this and I remember making my way to the living room, settling down on the carpet with a glass of orange juice and diving into Brazil. Even to this day, this has been the only school curriculum book that has remained with me - I detested all the others, 'Hamlet, Swiss Family Robinson, The Old Man and the Sea, etc., etc.', simply because studying literature at school was the ultimate buzz kill. But seriously, I hated The Old Man and the Sea - it made me want to stab someone, pull my hair out, or scream at the old man to jump into the sea to end his deluded life. Ironically, Ernest Hemingway, the author, did take his own life ... sad. The man had quite a life, survived 2 plane crashes, a bush fire and served in the war.
A very long time ago, when I was young and carefree, with all the time in the world to do nothing because my house was stuck in the middle of nowhere and I had no one to play with, I wandered into the storage room and dug this out of my sister's carton of discarded curriculum. Not many people have heard of this book, because it was only circulated around schools and the recommended reading age was between 8 and 12 years old.
Anyway, I was only 7 when I started reading this and I remember making my way to the living room, settling down on the carpet with a glass of orange juice and diving into Brazil. Even to this day, this has been the only school curriculum book that has remained with me - I detested all the others, 'Hamlet, Swiss Family Robinson, The Old Man and the Sea, etc., etc.', simply because studying literature at school was the ultimate buzz kill. But seriously, I hated The Old Man and the Sea - it made me want to stab someone, pull my hair out, or scream at the old man to jump into the sea to end his deluded life. Ironically, Ernest Hemingway, the author, did take his own life ... sad. The man had quite a life, survived 2 plane crashes, a bush fire and served in the war.
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Sulin Young's Ice Phoenix is a rare kind of novel that melds elements of science fantasy and manga to create a dreamlike experience full of wonders, exotic worlds, and epic battles. Much of Ice Phoenix'scharm is pinned on the book hitting different fan sectors. Young-Adult readers would find its adventurous story exciting. Anime fans have the novel's fast-paced Shōnen-style action, mobile suits, and an energy or "qi" system that reminds me of the chakra in Naruto or the power in Dragon Ball Z. Comedy fans have Baneyon (a significant comic-relief character). Lastly, the epic fantasy fans would relish its vast and outlandish milieus, and its undying struggle against evil.
Light, entertaining, and different - 4 star read!
I apologise if I've been slow on the review front but there have been so many things to keep me away from reading that I literally had to wrestle my life to the floor and grab it in a headlock just so that I could spend some time reading this book. I had started it much earlier and from what I read, everything seemed good, so far. So what can I say? I really liked this book. A.J. Locke has a quick, flowing style that keeps you absorbed all the way through, with wit and humour scattered throughout. It is fast-paced, with just enough slow (and heated) moments to keep you grinning like a satisfied woman. I really liked the concept of Affairs of the Dead. It is set in a world much like ours except that people acknowledge the existence of ghosts. That ghosts exist is accepted completely and unquestioningly by normal, ordinary people and that there is an actual department that polices the supernatural. The A.O.D. or Affairs of the Dead department employs witches and necromancers who can commute with ghosts and round them up if necessary. The importance of their work comes to light when ghosts remain in our world. Ghosts must pass on to the next world and when they don't, they manifest into beasties – senseless monsters that attack normal people. Selene Vanream is a stubborn, rebellious necromancer who works at the A.O.D. She willfully breaks rules, goes out of her way to help ghosts, and she is hiding a dark secret, among others. Not only is Selene a necromancer who can see ghosts, she is also a reanimator – she can bring the dead back to life. Anyone discovered to be a reanimator must be stripped of all their powers which renders the person senseless, for life. So Selene has a lot to hide. There is enough excitement in her personal life with the sexy Micah and her boss, Andrew. Selene is an interesting character in that I did not find her very likeable. She is a bit too stupid (stupidly headstrong) at times, she is selfish and in contrast to how much she sacrifices herself for her work, she lacked compassion for Ethan's plight. A.J. Locke developed her faults pretty well but I felt she could have worked a little more on Selene's better side – I would like to have felt more compassion for the protagonist. Saying that however, Selene is definitely not a wooden heroine. The fact that there is a dangerous individual who can bump a soul out of a living person and take that body over for himself lends to a very intriguing and suspenseful story. Ethan is the poor teenager who finds his soul displaced and under Selene's protection. While trying to find the individual responsible for poor Ethan's fate, Selene learns more about her powers as a reanimator and at the same time, buries herself in more trouble. Affairs of the Dead has a good plot, it is written very well but I have to admit, I found the ending a little unsatisfying or rather, incomplete. While things were mostly resolved, I had a feeling I was left in a tower built from twigs that was about to collapse. I suppose I'm wondering, "Is the ending sustainable?" I'm guessing that A.J. Locke is saving it for the sequel which I'll definitely be reading. Before I begin with my review of 'Hunter's Navy — The Arachni Rebellion', I have to be honest and say that it has been a long time since I've read pure sci-fi. More than ten years ... probably more as my love for young adult/fantasy took over. This long absence may in some part have affected my affection for sci-fi and I questioned myself several times whether I was being fair in my assessment of Hunter's Navy — The Arachni Rebellion. This review is really for readers to decide and to make up their own minds. I will also apologise for my inappropriate use of terminology regarding officer rankings, ship descriptions and tactical vocabulary in advance — after a while they become one jumbled mess and so I tend to spout the most generic terms for these. Anyway here we go …
This was a very long, drawn out story that could have been condensed into half of what it currently is. I gained the gist of the plot early on, in the first four chapters or so, which were very well written. Saying that, this book is well edited and the beginning draws the reader in quickly. Whaler has a clear purpose of where this story is going, the plot is solid and everything about Stones is precise and detailed.
There are two main characters in Stones, father and son, Kent and Matt. Ever since his wife was murdered, Kent has been on the run, raising his son with multiple identities while continuing his spy work on large corporations, exposing them for their crimes whenever he can. Matt is tired of life on the run and when he is of age, he makes the decision to attend university in Japan, away from his over protective father. I give this 4 stars. An absorbing, wonderful collection of short stories that takes you into an alternative time and place and yet, you think, the situations could so easily apply to our everyday lives - if it isn't happening already! The best part for me was the author's writing style - simple and elegant, it commands your attention easily and there is absolutely no need to read things twice or thrice to make sure you understood. But I failed to mention something in my original review on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/707423943) and that was, this book was translated from Italian to English. So really, I failed to acknowledge the translator who in this case is Andrea Pakieser (https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7265257.Andrea_Pakieser). Andrea did a brilliant translation and being in the translation business myself, I feel guilty for overlooking her. So ... kudos to Andrea. Now onto the review.
A well written, intense, psychological short story
I have to say, this was a very good short story. I'm not a fan of short stories in general, but I was intrigued that this was a horror, and I was in need of some scary creepiness. That being said, Beneath the Willow imparts a psychological bang rather than a scare/shock/gore tactic which I appreciated. But geez, that under-the-bed scene made me freak a little! And I enjoyed seeing a story deviate from the normal scheme of vampire/zombie clichés (and boy have I been seeing a lot of them), playing with the emotions of our torn protagonist. When I picked up Bounty Hunter, I initially wondered whether it was going to be a slow read or if I was going to bounce and space jump with it like the description indicated. After reading the first few pages, I didn't have to worry. I knew I was going to like it. So much that I read it all in one sitting – well, actually that's a lie. I went out twice – once for a cappuccino so I could curl on the sofa with some white choc and cranberry cookies, and then some Vietnamese Bun bo nam bo – cos I was too lazy to cook and wanted to get back to reading. It's been so long since I stayed home on a Saturday to curl up and read, and Bounty Hunter did not disappoint.
Warning: Spoilers ahead! |