Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Define "Normal" by Julie Anne Peters

Antonia is a straight A student, wears knee length skirts and keeps her hair neatly cut. She is also practically raising her little brothers, because her mother is too depressed to even get out of bed.

Jazz has purple hair she keeps as wild as possible, plenty of tattoos, doesn't care if the teachers hate her, and hangs out with a gang of other punks. Her family has a huge estate, with maids and servants to take care of their every need.

Is either girl "normal"? That is the question readers must examine as they read this book. The characters are realistic and witty. The writing is simple enough for middle school students, but interesting enough for even an older teen to keep enjoying.

The dialogue is very snappy and will make you grin.

5 Stars

Emme

Vicious Circle by Linda Robertson

Persephone is taking care of her grandmother and, despite the fact that werewolves and witches aren't suppose to get along, letting weres stay with her in confinement during the full moon to pay her bills. But when her friend is murdered and another witch offers her a lot of money to do in her killer, Seph takes the dangerous job. She ends up way over her head when the mark finds out and goes after her other friends. She has to overcome her grandmother's prejudices and bring in a group of weres to help her, including Johnny, the rather frightening tattoo-and piercing-covered singer of a Were band.

Pretty uninteresting. The plot is cliche and the characters flat.

The writing isn't too bad, and is at times witty, but this is a forgettable novel. There were two things I liked though. The way magic worked in a very natural and traditional way and that the romance part of this paranormal romance wasn't about sex! I have read way too many paranormal romances where there is little to no actual love or feelings, just lots of sex. That's not romance in my book. This romance was well set up, and there was attraction between the characters.

3 Stars

Emme

The Copper Crown by Patricia Kennealy

Long ago the Kelts left Earth, using technology left behind by the people of Atlantis, and headed into space. When the rest of the planet discovers interstellar travel, they encounter the Kelts.

The Kelts mix magic and tech, making them a powerful force in their corner of the 'verse. But when the also powerful Earth and Keltia decide to form an alliance it triggers war, as two other races have been looking for an excuse to destroy the Kelts for a long time.

The universe created in this book is wonderful. I loved the mix of traditional sci-fi (spaceships, hovercraft, energy-charged weapons) and historical (chariots, horses, heirloom objects, storytelling.) It created a unique place for the interesting and well-constructed characters to be. My only real quibble with this book is the writing. The sentence structure was frequently confusing, requiring at least one re-read in order to understand.

The author sometimes used double negatives and too many adjectives. The dialogue was at times a bit stilted. A good read, but not a fast one. It takes a good bit of brain power to understand.

4 Stars

Emme

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Star Trek: Mind Meld by John Vornholt

Spock's niece, Teska, is to be married to a Romulan boy whose family believes in Reunification. To keep her travel secret she and Spock travel in the midst of a group of Rigelians. Things go well until they stop on Rigel V, where while several members of the crew stop for a drink Teska wanders off. She discovers a dying man who has been stabbed through the throat; she mind-melds with him in order to discover his killer and quickly she and Spock are involved in a murder case. However someone
doesn't want Teska to prove who it was, and she and Spock are at risk.

This was quite interesting. I found the discussions of possible genetic links between Rigelians, Vulcans and Romulans interesting, and have always thought the concept of Reunification fascinating. In the show we only really see Vulcans interested in it, so I liked seeing some Romulans taking active roles. Teska was very well-written, and a good combination of childlike behavior and careful Vulcan training. I felt the author made a bit too much of a big deal about Spock's mixed heritage and had him struggling with his control too much. He is shown as having the same level of control as a pure-blooded Vulcan most of the time, and I doubt one child to whom he has little attachment, would alter it drastically. I also felt that the author was really stretching to try and make Spock relate to Teska. They simply didn't have that much in common. The writing was otherwise solid, although a bit melodramatic at times.

4 Stars
Emme

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Star Trek: Shell Game by Melissa Crandall

While collecting space junk, the Enterprise comes across a Romulan space station, drifting in Federation space. When they go aboard in hopes of getting information they find that the crew died of hypothermia in temperatures that should have been perfectly safe. Several away team members start to feel cold, and see something out of the corners of their eyes. As the away team gets more and more jumpy, the Enterprise develops strange malfunctions and power deficits. The crew must figure out what is happening, before their ship also ends up floating and dead.

Mediocre novel. The plot has been done to death (particularly when you find out what is causing the problems) and the Romulans were TOS stereotypes. Every now and then we got a hint of them being actual beings, particularly in the opening, but for the most part I was stuck rolling my eyes. By the time this book was published it was a well known fact in the Star Trek 'Verse that Romulans were not the pure evil, sneaky thieves they were shown as at first in The Original Series. I suppose it is too much to ask for those writing novelizations to have an understanding of the universe they attempt to portray.

On the other hand, the characterizations of the crew were pretty good. Kirk was softened WAY too much in an attempt to make him more likable, but Bones and Spock's banter was great. The writing was pretty good, there were rough patches I thought an editor should have taken better care of, but all in all it was okay.

3 Stars
Emme

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Daughter of Light: Kung Fu Princess #1, by Pamela Walker

On her 14th birthday Cassidy gets a box of 5 old, gold coins from a strange man. She starts to have strange dreams, ones with a pair of women who tell her that she has a destiny to fight 5 evil spirits. Shortly she starts to feel ill and concludes that something strange is happening. She discovers that she is going to have to fight the spirits, and the first one is weakening her with a curse before trying to take her out.

Pretty much as I remembered from years ago, a light teen fantasy. The author is an okay writer, not exceptional, but smooth and evenly paced. The plot is rather "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"-ish, and not particularly original, but fun. The characters are interesting, but not fully developed.

4 Stars
Emme

Dragon Heat by Allyson James

Lisa has had a dragon living in her spare room for a long time, that she can deal with. But when he turns in a (very good looking) human man and tells her that her life is in danger, things get weird. Turns out she has some kind of odd power that an evil black dragon trapped in the human world wants. She is going to have to take her eyes off the golden dragon's body and start paying attention to staying alive.

I think this author should try her hand at urban fantasy rather than romance. The plot was interesting and I loved many of the supporting characters, who I wish had been given a chance to really play a part. The author definitely has an ear for snappy, witty conversation. But the romance was heavy-handed, I frequently found myself rolling my eyes and skipping pages. In order to keep the book a reasonable length, but make it a typical romance, plot was sacrificed in favor of mostly, poorly written sex scenes.

3 Stars
Emme

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett

A group of men summoning a dragon for nefarious purposes, a young hero, raised far away by dwarves, coming to his first city, a group of rather incompetent guards; these are common enough cliches in fantasy stories, but Pratchett turns them on their head and makes them hilarious. Fooling with cliches and assumptions, he keeps you on your toes by throwing you for a loop when things don't follow along a standard storyline.

This was the first of Prachett's books I had read, as I have always been daunted by the length of his Discworld series. I live in a rural area, and getting stuck in the middle of a series for an extended length of time because you can't get the rest of the books is not at all fun.

I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more of this author's work though, as this was quite possibly the best comedic fantasy I have read. His writing is witty and sharp, with plenty of laugh out loud spots. (Per-maybe-haps best not read in public, as you get odd looks and people edge away when you sit there laughing and giggling over a book.)

5 Stars

Emme

Friday, February 12, 2010

The Dragon Queen, by Alice Borchardt

Born in a dangerous world of warfare fought by both magic and sword, young Guinevere may have the abilities needed to change that. This makes her a target of those who would keep themselves in power. Raised by a runaway druid, shapeshifter who can go from man to wolf, a woman rescued from pirates and a she-wolf, her talents are considerable. She learns magic, weaponry, and discovers her destiny.

This interesting take on the King Arthur stories is well-done.  The writing is smooth for the most part and the characters are fabulously detailed and interesting. It is written in a more "epic," highbrow, reserved style (think Tolkien) which I know some people find annoying when they are use to more "modern" writing with high, dramatic emotion and lots of fight and sex scenes. The plot is tight, with few troublesome, wandering digressions. I have placed an interlibrary loan to get the sequel.

Emme
5 Stars

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Death Note: Volume 2, by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

After Light kills all the FBI agents investigating his case he figures he will be safe. But one of the agents had an ex-agent for a girlfriend, and she wants revenge. L has also agreed to reveal himself to a small select group of NPA members, in hopes of catching Light.

Same serious flaws as the first: a boring plot, lifeless, stilted dialogue and even more stilted and boring drawing. None of the characters are anything more then paper cutouts and although the concept is interesting, the execution is dreadful! l seriously wonder how this series has become so popular.

1 Star
Emme

Ash, by Malinda Lo

After Ash's mother died her father remarried. After he died she stayed with and worked for her step-mother, who treats her as little more then a slave. After a wander deep into the woods she meets Sidhean, a fairy man. After they meet several times she believes that she may be falling in love, and it seems he might feel the same. But when she meets Kaisa, a fiery, beautiful huntress who secretly teaches Ash to ride, her heart feels like it is being ripped apart. How will she ever choose between the two of them?

This retelling of Cinderella was mediocre. Although the writing wasn't bad, it was rather bland and uninteresting. The characters were unoriginal. The plot was wobbly and unclear at points and felt rather loose, like there were many details that should have been filled in and sections that didn't lead anywhere that should have come out.

A fun 2-hour read when you are bored, but not a great book if you want something serious.

2 Stars
Emme

Friday, January 8, 2010

Pigman, by Paul Zindel

John and Lorraine were just messing around when they made a prank call that ended up changing their lives. John has pushy parents and Lorraine's mother is just paranoid. Neither of them feel like they can really be who they want to be. After meeting Mr. Pignati, a old man with a young heart, they learn that sometimes you can just do what you want. But will they find the line between too much freedom and not enough before someone gets hurt?

An interesting and emotional book. I have to say I didn't feel much connection with the characters, and felt they were rather immature and self-centered. The writing was good and felt authentic to how a teen expresses him/herself. Their were a number of nice little turns of phrase and clever ways of saying things. I felt that if the author had spent that much effort on the characters it would of been a better book.

3 stars
Emme

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

The Inheritor by Marion Zimmer Bradley

After Alison Margrave died, several people tried to move in.  Some died, the rest fled. But Leslie Barnes, a psychologist who starts having psychic flashes, is determined to move in. Mostly the house is perfect for herself and her little sister, a gifted musician, but parts of the house start to have awful, dark occurrences. Lights flash, things fall down the stairs, windows brake or won't stay closed. Her sister sees a cat, horribly murdered in the garage, that vanishes when she tries to help.  Leslie sees a man who can possibly have access to her house wandering around. Soon Leslie is in the midst of a feud between a group who practice earth magic, both those dead and alive, and a man who was once one of them, before turning to dark magic. And they want Leslie to choose sides; to take Alison's place in the group or to stay with a man she believes she loves.

Very fast paced and hard to put down! The writing was solid, although rambling at times. The characters were very realistic and interesting, nicely layered and full of issues.

4 Stars
Emme

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Death Note: Volume 1 by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

When Light finds a strange notebook called the Death Note that claims if you write someone's name in it they will die, he assumes it is a joke. He tests it out on a criminal who is holding hostages and 40 seconds later the man dies of a heart attack.  When Light realizes that he has the power to kill anyone in the world he decides to start killing criminals to make the world safer, but there is a line between helping and using the power of the Death Note for his own purpose, which becomes to create a utopia-like world in which he is god.

I decided to give this book a go because it is so popular among Manga fans. I have to admit that although the premise is interesting, this is quite predictable, even dull. There is no real depth or interesting enigmas to the characters and the plot is very predictable with few interesting spots. The dialogue isn't interesting, it is flat and lacks any grace, wit or character. The art is static and although technically proficient, lacks life and an interesting layout. Perhaps the later books improve, but I doubt I will read them unless my sister checks them out from the library and I am very bored and have nothing else to read.

1 Star
Emme