Stanislaw Lem: A Masterpost

The first book by Stanislaw Lem that I read was The Star Diaries which I absolutely loved and it got me itching to read more from him. And thus I bring you 3 different books in one post. XD

Source: Amazon

Spoiler alert: I didn't find Solaris nearly as compelling as its predecessor. The premise is that a scientist is sent to Solaris (a planet with a space station) only to discover that the 3 inhabitants which he was meant to meet have been reduced to two. Our main character, Kris Kelvin, arrives hoping to crack the enigma of the alien ocean which comprises the whole of the planet (and which is sentient). Once he arrives, strange and disturbing things start to happen such as resurrection of the dead into corporeal beings. Is the entity aware of its cruelty? Is it conducting an experiment on the scientists like the ones that it has been subjected to over the years? Have they actually gone mad?! The overarching message that Lem seems to be making is that humanity continually seeks out new worlds and beings only to impose their own values and agendas to further their reach. (Think colonialism of other cultures and peoples.) He likens it to religion and the search for redemption. (Sci-fi and philosophy go hand-in-hand more often than not as most lovers of the genre will know.) For me it's a 4/10 as I found myself putting it down and grabbing other things to read instead.

I'm kind of obsessed with these covers, ya'll. [Source: Amazon]

Now The Cyberiad completely got me back on board the Stanislaw Lem fan train. It was absolutely hysterical. This is a collection of short stories all about the adventures (or rather misadventures) of 2 (in)famous constructors as they make their way across the universe. (These journeys are called sallies which is a detail I adore.) Our heroes, Klapaucius and Trurl, are constantly trying to one-up each other not only with their creations but also with their status as constructors and benefactors to the cosmos. These robots are constructed for all kinds of constructive and inane reasons like storytelling, poetry, making war, etc. And the words that Lem makes up! I'm trying to think of a better word than delightful to describe my reading experience but honestly it was a treat to read a bit of this every night before bed. (If you don't laugh at the depiction of 'palefaces' i.e. humans then you have no sense of humor at all.) An absolute 10/10 for me. (And wait til you read the twist. O_O)

Source: Prosecraft 

Memoirs Found in a Bathtub caught my eye simply for the novelty of the title and that bizarre cover. This book is difficult to sum up or even to rate as it truly has no discernible plot. Lest you dismiss it immediately because of this fact, let me assure you that there's much to recommend this title. The word play and circuitous path of our main character (who remains nameless) is satire at its finest. Espionage, counterespionage, and counter-counterespionage abound in The Building where our character has been given a very important Mission...if only he knew what it was. He is continually beset by obstacles in the form of bureaucrats, winding halls with nondescript doors, and instructions that keep vanishing. What would happen if humanity was forced to abandon its cities and move into an underground bunker? Would society, culture, and technology survive and continue to advance?  Lem weaves a provocative tale of paranoia, confusion, and ultimately betrayal. 5/10 but would have been higher had there been a plot to follow.

What's Up Next: Exhalation by Ted Chiang

What I'm Currently Reading: The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Guide the future by the past

I FINALLY read Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, y'all. I absolutely loved the film adaptation of it and while I also enjoyed the book (hold on to your seats, folks) I preferred the movie version. While the book was able to go into more details in terms of world building and the puzzle solving aspect of the plot I enjoyed the storyline of the movie more. [A/N: I don’t want to give the impression that I didn’t enjoy this reading experience because I definitely did but the film just has an extra oomph.] Additionally, the book's version of Halliday seemed cruel and cold whereas Morrow was a lot of fun (and mostly absent from the film's version). The hero of this dystopian novel, Wade Watts, is living in a world that has become entirely taken over by The Oasis which is a virtual reality environment where anyone can be anyone. The majority of the human race has been crammed into tiny communities that are stacked one on top of the other but their consolation is getting to live their dreams online. Even school is conducted in virtual schools! The creator of this world, James Halliday, passed from this mortal coil but left behind a grand prize (ownership of The Oasis) for anyone who manages to solve his puzzles and find the 3 hidden keys buried within The Oasis.

This is a boy's quest to pull himself from his dire circumstances while learning that he's got the 'right stuff'. (Did I mention this book is chock full of 80's references? I definitely downloaded some Rush albums after I finished reading it.) All in all, a really fun book. 9/10

Source: Fonts in Use

A/N: Title courtesy of Rush "Bastille Day".

What's Up Next: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

What I'm Currently Reading: Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Afraid to sleep

Well, here we are once again after a prolonged absence on my part. I'd like to say it will never happen again but I'm now in the thick of Summer Reading at work and so I'm fairly certain it will happen again. I had planned to have a bunch of posts written so that I would only have to publish and promote but instead I'm finding a giant writer's block in my path. *sigh* At any rate, if you're reading this I've somehow managed to cobble something hopefully coherent together and I'm going to try to get back on schedule.

The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker is a dystopian sci-fi novel that takes place in a small town in California. (Is it still dystopian/apocalyptic if it's contained in one area?) The book begins with a young girl in college who is a bit of a misfit on her dorm floor. She doesn't even have much of a relationship with her roommate...and then that roommate doesn't wake up the next morning. This is the start of a sleeping sickness that spreads throughout the city radiating out from the college campus. Written with multiple narrative lines and only a few likable characters this probably isn't the one for you if you're looking for a more straightforward contemporary fiction. This book explores what happens when a biological contagion that is not fully understood (and clearly not prepared for) rapidly spreads and the ensuing chaos. I'm talking about governmental influence, hazmat suits, and lock-down quarantine with all the requisite fear and panic, ya'll. This is disaster relief (contemporary fiction style) meets sci-fi (those afflicted are experiencing REM i.e. dreaming...and it might be precognition). This was a fast paced book (I zipped right through it) which I enjoyed for the most part but I was left feeling like there were a lot of loose ends that the author didn't adequately tie off. So this was ultimately a middle of the road read for me. 5/10

PS Full transparency: I read this book back at the beginning of April. So since I average 1-2 books a week you can imagine just how far behind I really am. O_O

Source: Amazon

What's Up Next: Dread Nation: Rise Up by Justina Ireland

What I'm Currently Reading: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

It would be hard to sit in a chair if your legs faced backwards

Believe it or not, this is my second time writing this particular post. The first one which was ready for publishing was accidentally deleted in its entirety by yours truly. Well, I guess after this many years I was due a massively huge screw up. IT WAS SUCH A LONG POST, GUYS. I'm afraid this is going to be missing some essential points as a consequence but I'll do my best to recreate what I hardly recall writing (even though it was earlier this week).

Today I'm going to be reviewing Only Human which is the third and final book in The Themis Files trilogy by Sylvain Neuvel. If you've forgotten (or never knew in the first place) this series began with Dr. Rose Franklin who found a giant robot hand when she was a little girl and from that moment a series of events led to a giant robot (definitely of alien origins) being pieced together. Things spiraled out of control pretty quickly after that especially once other governments outside of the U.S. discovered that this behemoth could be piloted and used as a weapon. Moreover, raising this robot from the depths of the earth alerted the alien race which left it here and prompted their return to reclaim their property with mass genocide being the result. Cut to Only Human which opens years after the conclusion of Waking Gods with 2 pilots inside huge robots killing civilians in a war being waged between the U.S. and Russia while thousands of others are being held in interment camps because of impure bloodlines (sound familiar?). (This is where the dystopian tag on this post comes in by the way.) Meanwhile on a distant planet called Ekt, Rose and her team (Vincent, Eva, & the General) are trying to acclimate/come up with an escape plan back to earth. They are essentially refugees on this world which is wildly different from anything they've ever known. The parts where Neuvel focused on describing the planet, its people, and their customs were by far my favorites of this book, ya'll. So original and engrossing. The most distinguishing factor of the Ekt (besides their backwards facing legs) is that they have a strict policy of governmental non-interference which forbids them from any further action against or for the people of planet earth (even though they were the cause of its current state of awful). This is sci-fi political angst at its finest.

If I had to rank the books in this series it would be 1, 3, and then 2. A lot of the magic from the first book came from the total originality of the plotline and Neuvel's descriptive capabilities. A lot of that was lost in the second book which in my opinion was super dry. He got a lot of that oomph back with this book though. Taken as a whole, it's an excellent series and I wouldn't say no to checking out more of his work in the future. 7/10 for Only Human.

[A/N: To catch up with the first two books check out my posts on Sleeping Giants and Waking Gods.]

I loved the way all of the covers looked especially when next to one another. [Source: Goodreads]

What's Up Next: Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation by Cokie Roberts

What I'm Currently Reading: Space Dumplins by Craig Thompson

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

The conscientious killer

I have to be straight up about the fact that it took me several weeks to get through this book. This is not because I didn't enjoy it because I actually did quite a bit...it's just that once I put it down I didn't feel that overwhelming urge to get back into it again. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Scythe by Neal Shusterman is a dystopian (or utopian depending on how you look at it) young adult novel about what would happen if technology progressed to the point where disease, poverty, and even death were overcome. What would be humanity's biggest problem? If you guessed overpopulation then you're absolutely correct. The solution to this problem was to create the Scythedom which consists of specially recruited and trained individuals who seek out and 'glean' (strike down, kill, murder) members of the community. The Scythedom is purported to be a morally sound group of people who have the capability to decide who to 'glean' for the sake of the greater good. The Thunderhead which is the name for the evolved information cloud (think Google on speed) oversees the majority of day-to-day operations with the exception of this group of people. What could go wrong? When morality and mortality are inextricably intertwined is it possible to keep your objectivity and still be a good person? Can you be a conscientious killer?  If you enjoy asking questions about ethics, justice, and what it means to be truly 'human' then this might be one that you should check out. If you're squeamish about graphic depictions of death then I don't think this is the book for you. The sequel titled Thunderhead is already out and as the title suggests the primary focus is going to be on the all-seeing eye of the world. (I had it in my possession but didn't get to it before I had to send it back out to another reader. Maybe something to look forward to later in the year?) 8/10 but I had to take a few points off because it wasn't my first choice to pick up and continue.

Source: Simon & Schuster

What's Up Next: My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf

What I'm Currently Reading: From Here to Eternity by Caitlin Doughty

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Natasha Murray on the possibility of alien life on Earth

Hi, readers! Today's post is going to be a little different because I'm not the one who wrote it. :-) Instead of telling you why you should check out Natasha's books, why not find out about the inspiration for them from the author herself? Terrified of what might happen to humanity in a century? Look no further than 3004 and 3006!



Synopsis

London covers the whole of England and is protected by an invisible shield.  The shield is there as protection from terrorists and from criminals.  Lawbreakers are cast out of the cities and into the wilderness.  The Isle of Wight hosts ‘lifers’, A-class criminals, murderers, and the insane, who are left there to fend for themselves.  Thieves and anarchists, ‘wasters’, are sent to the wilderness around London to live a feral lifestyle.

London is run by a secret underground society who created software named the “Think Tank Program”, which, over time, has orchestrated a communistic life style due to the lack of resources, the rise of the Aids II virus, and the decline of man.  Love and sexual relationships are banned. It’s rumoured that women have hideous bodies beneath their clothes.  Only mentor partnerships are permitted, with one child and occasionally two lab reared children allocated to them.

   

At the age of sixteen, boys become ‘taskers’. They are taken into the wilderness and have to find their own way home.  This story is about two taskers, Kayleb Heinz and Rowan Gellpen, and their struggle to return to London. It is about their emotional journey as well as all the challenges they face. As they battle to get home, they meet David, leader of the Veenans, who has come to Earth seeking sanctuary for his people. Is this our future? What will become of us?

Author Bio

My name is Natasha Murray and I am a West Sussex author and artist. I am a diverse writer and as well as writing and illustrating children’s books, I write for adults and teenagers too. 3004 and 3006 are dystopian adventure stories for 12+ set in London and Paris a thousand years from now.

I have always looked up at the sky and wondered if we have ever had visitors from outer space and if they came from another planet similar to ours and discretely integrated. We are now able to look at our blood and DNA and work out what part of the world our ancestors originated from. I am quite sure there will be a few anomalies.

We have always feared being attacked by aliens. What if a population of another planet came to us seeking sanctuary as their planet was dying. Would we turn them away? So this is the idea behind 3004 and 3006. These dystopian novels look at life when we have become overpopulated. World population is increasing at 1.13% per year so unless we throw ourselves off cliffs like lemmings, then by 3004 we will be overpopulated and all be battling to survive. I do not believe that we will perish. Thankfully, despite acting barbarically at times, humans are resourceful, inventive, and the majority show kindness. Good will always conquer evil.

You can learn more about Natasha and her books by visiting her website at www.nmurray.moonfruit.com.



I have learned nothing.

Last week I talked about my first foray into the worlds of anime and manga with my review of Another. This time I thought I'd check out Attack on Titan 1 by Hajime Isayama mainly because I was hoping that it would answer the question that the anime posed "What are Titans?". It did not answer that question. In fact, it only covered up to about the fourth episode of the series which is probably why they've put out several volumes. (There are 19 out currently and each volume contains 4 separate chapters.) I now understand why people start with the manga and then watch the anime although in my defense I'm a newbie to both worlds. I will say that if I had known that I wouldn't learn anything new by starting with the first volume I would have skipped to where the anime ended (on a cliffhanger!) which is volume 8 (don't worry it's already on my list). The style of drawing is pretty much spot on to what was in the anime so if you enjoy that style then you'll most likely enjoy the manga (but like I said don't waste your time on the earlier volumes unless you just want to refresh your memory). Now about the story: Humans vs Titans. That's the basic gist. Humans (those remaining) have been forced behind walls to escape the terror of the Titans who are giant humanlike creatures with a taste for human flesh (and bones and pretty much all the viscera therein contained). The two issues are: What are Titans and how do the humans defeat them? If you can't stomach gore and/or violence then this one is definitely not for you. However, if you're interested in the struggle for survival against seemingly unbeatable odds then you might want to check out Attack on Titan.

Source: Amazon.com

I am incandescent with rage. Can you see why?

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

In a sci-fi kind of mood

Are you the type of person that watches the film adaptation before you read the book so there are no 'spoilers'? Or do you prefer to go into the film after reading the book so that you already know what's supposed to happen? Do you even care if an upcoming film is adapted from a book? For my part, if I know ahead of time that a movie has been adapted from a book I will 100% read the book first. Of course, there have been many instances where I've watched a film and during the credits I discover that it was based on a book and I have to whip out my phone and add it to my TRL (unless I didn't like the film obviously).

I ask all of these questions because I just read The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey which is the first book in a trilogy (I know, I know another series) and also a film coming out in theaters on January 22nd. I saw the trailer, did a little research, and immediately added the book to my library holds list. I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED. The setting is contemporary America right after aliens have come to our world. They aren't your friendly E.T. characters either. The name of the book denotes the 'waves' of terror that the aliens inflict on the planet. The point of view flips between 4 characters as they navigate their new reality. The 'main' character is Cassie (why are all of these young adult series books about a girl who never knew she had the strength within to rise up and be the hero?) who is a fairly typical teenage girl and I don't think the book would work if she weren't able to believably carry the narrative. I don't want to tell you about the other 3 narrators because I think that would be too big of a spoiler. >:-) Suffice to say that the book is sure to keep you on your toes and if you're a fan of sci-fi/fantasy novels that center around aliens this is one that you should definitely check out. (I've already made a note to pick up the second in the series, The Infinite Sea.)

Following that, I delved into Philip K. Dick's, The Man in the High Castle, which was recently turned into a miniseries. I became intrigued because not only did the trailer look amazing but its focus is on a turning point in history which I'm very interested in (you'll know if you've been here a while). The second (or does this count as the third?) thing that decided me on picking this book up was that I hadn't read any of Philip's work before and he's known for his award winning sci-fi works. The basic premise is that instead of the Allies winning WWII, the Japanese and Germans won..and the outcome is about what you'd expect. I think the reason that he's been hailed as a master in sci-fi is that his imagination is astounding. Undoubtedly, I've read better books before but... You can't deny that a book about the alternate history of the planet after WWII which has within it a book about what would have happened had the opposite outcome of WWII occurred (i.e. the Allies winning) is pure genius.  Also, I hope you followed that sentence because I read it back about a zillion times and I'm not so sure I follow it. So in conclusion, if you want to read a truly meta work which encompasses a truly novel (ha ha ha) idea then check The Man in the High Castle out. If you're looking for Isaac Asimov level stuff...read Isaac Asimov.

**If you're interested in buying any of these books or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

A case of reading withdrawal

I know what some of you are saying. "How on earth could you have reading withdrawal when you have so many books on your TRL?" Well, I'm talking about that feeling after you've read a really excellent series and you know that it's finished and you're filled with despair. (Harry Potter anyone?) That's the withdrawal that I refer to in today's post. Now on with the review!

Just to catch you up on the first part of The Lunar Chronicles series:
Cinder: Prejudice, Plague, and a Prince + Witches, Oh My!
Scarlet: A book series that should be made into film
Cress: When you read a book about a place you've just visited OR I love England
Fairest: Exercising Positivity

As you can see, I very much enjoyed The Lunar Chronicles. It has everything. I'm talking adventure, dystopia, romance, comedy, political upheaval, mutants, heroines, mental health issues, racial misunderstanding, and SO MUCH MORE. (No, this isn't a commercial.) The final book in the series, Winter, was a whopper at over 800 pages (Harry Potter anyone?) and Meyer covered a lot of ground. Not only did she have the gargantuan task of fleshing out the character of Winter as she had done with the first 3 (4 if you count Fairest) but she also had to tie it all together to bring a conclusion to the overarching struggle of the series. Will Levana succeed in marrying Kai and becoming Empress of the Eastern Commonwealth? Do Thorne and Cress have a chance at a happily ever after? Can Scarlet be saved from Winter's menagerie? Will Winter's Lunar sickness ultimately result in her complete break from reality? GO READ WINTER TO FIND OUT!

UPDATE: I just found out that Meyer is coming out with a collection of short stories set in the world of The Lunar Chronicles and the cover has been revealed today. You can click here to see the cover of Stars Above!

UPDATE DEUX: I just looked back through my posts and I already knew about Stars Above...I just completely forgot about it. ;-/

A book series that should be made into film

Yep I said it. The Lunar Chronicles should be turned into films. (I just checked to make sure this dream hadn't turned reality yet...it hasn't.) As I mentioned in my review of Cinder, Meyer has created a world where favorite fairytale characters are very different from the stories we read as children. Scarlet is the story of a regular farm girl who discovers that her grandmother has kept a secret from her and now it's gotten her into a lot of trouble. Cue Wolf (who I must say makes Jacob from Twilight a distant memory) to the rescue. He seems to have all the answers as to why her grandmother has disappeared and how this fits into the puzzle regarding the missing Lunar Princess. And we can't forget Cinder who is on the run from the authorities...all of them in fact. Long story short: The sequel didn't disappoint. It delivered an action packed, high energy, emotional rollercoaster that I highly recommend you give a shot. If you enjoyed the first in this series or The Dorothy Must Die series then you'll probably enjoy this one.

Next on deck is A Buzz in the Meadow: The Natural History of a French Farm by Dave Goulson. I was intrigued by this because of the beautiful butterflies on the cover and from the description of the first book that Goulson wrote (and which I fully intend to read as well) about his study of bees. A Buzz in the Meadow is a look at the other creatures that inhabit his farm (where he cultivated the aforementioned bees). It's a conservationist's call-to-arms, I believe. We shall shortly see!

Prejudice, Plague, and a Prince + Witches, Oh My!

I am really loving the current trend of turning popular fairy tales on their heads. I thought it was revolutionary to turn Dorothy Gale into an evil sorceress but THIS is extraordinary storytelling. Not only did the story have a dystopian feel but there are cyborgs (!) and the Prince is more than just a pretty face who rescues the damsel (refreshingly, that's flipped around also). Topics such as prejudice, slavery, plague, war, manipulation, and many more are covered in Cinder, the first book of the Lunar Chronicles. I found it intriguing how Meyer envisioned our world after its near annihilation after World War IV. Further proving that young adult novels tackle serious topics, Meyer doesn't shy away from giving the reader a glimpse of the dark underbelly that pervades a war torn society. Cinder is multifaceted and complex which makes it a no-brainer to continue with its sequel, Scarlet. It would be a mistake to dismiss this one, guys.

A few weeks back, I reviewed Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige. I mentioned that she had since written prequels to that novel as well as a sequel. I placed holds on all these books at my local library…along with everyone else apparently. Finally, The Witch Must Burn became available. This novella (just in case you're unfamiliar with the term this is used to describe a short story of a few hundred pages) focuses on Jellia, Dorothy's personal maid. (Readers of Dorothy Must Die will remember this character vividly.) We're also given a bit of a glimpse into Glinda the Good Witch. It's really nothing more than a tantalizing morsel to hold the reader until they can get their hands on the next installment…which might take a while in my case. :-/

So I just checked through my old posts and it seems that I have never mentioned one of my favorite books of all time, The Neverending Story by Michael Ende. (It was originally written in German and translated to English so it breaks my streak of Swedish translations.) You may recall the title from the 1984 (!) film of the same name which became somewhat of a cult classic. I try to reread this every year because it never fails to amaze me utterly. With that in mind, I've decided to read Ende's less-known book Momo which actually came out before The Neverending Story. It's a children's story about an orphaned girl, Momo, who has special gifts which she uses to combat the men in grey (I immediately thought of the epsiode Hush from Buffy the Vampire Slayer). I can't wait to let you all know what I think! XD

Divergent, Insurgent, & Allegiant (+ Four)

Divergent pulled me right in. It pulled me in so far that I had to go out and pick up the sequel, Insurgent. So I decided that I would focus on the trilogy for a bit and just keep updating this post. I hope that works for you guys. :-)

Divergent
So who knew that a utopian society could turn dystopian so quickly? Turns out that separating society into neat little factions doesn't solve all the problems of the world. In fact, trying to put people into neat little boxes creates an oppressive regime that is bound to spin out of control when members try to assert their individuality. The main character, Beatrice (or Tris if you will), is compelling and instantly relatable to the reader (at least to me she was). I found myself turning the pages as quickly as possible to find out if Tris could persevere and overcome the seemingly insurmountable obstacles in her path. The end of Divergent created a need in me to explore more of this world that Veronica Roth crafted. I hope you guys will travel on this journey with me...unless of course you're not interested in young adult dystopian fiction then I guess you'd better wait around until I've finished this series. Either way, I'll be seeing you on the other side. :-)

Insurgent
I have to admit that this one took me a little longer to get completely swept away. This does not mean that this book was in any way inferior to the first. Actually, I think the problem was that I had an idea of where I thought the characters were going and it didn't quite jibe with Veronica Roth. :-P That being said, by the midpoint in the book I was hooked again. This book was darker than the first (believe it or not) because the fight is not just about factions but about secrets. Those in the highest level of government know a secret and Abnegation was prepared to tell the entire population...until Erudite decided that it was too dangerous. That's what prompted the fighting (and Jeanine Matthews wanting to wield control over everyone). The Divergent, in particular, are impacted by this information but we won't know exactly to what extent until the next book in the series. Here we go again!

Allegiant
This book brought a major change in formatting as the author started to alternate the narrative voices (if you're a longtime reader of the blog you know how I feel about this narrative device) between Tris and Tobias. Because I had grown accustomed to reading things from Tris's perspective it was difficult for me to get into the rhythm of Tobias. For the majority of the book, I wasn't fully convinced that Roth had a good grasp on his 'voice'. The reason for this shift in formatting became clear as the action of the story was divided between the two characters and to stay with Tris would mean missing out on half of the picture (which would have made it impossible to flesh out the ending of the series). This series reminds me of Harry Potter in that as the books continue the story becomes gradually darker and the maturity of the characters is accelerated due to some (or many) struggle(s). That should give you a hint as to how this series ended. I don't want to give it away but I will say that I charged through the ending hoping that I had somehow misread what had happened or that some kind of sci-fi scenario to occur which would then fix everything. Did it? Well, I guess you'll have to read Allegiant to find out.


Four
In my review of Allegiant, I mentioned that at first I didn't feel Roth had a grasp on Tobias's 'voice'. I didn't feel that way after reading Four. Would it surprise you to learn that Divergent originally started out from his point of view?  Four is a collection of stories which helps to explain just how Tobias Eaton transformed from a lanky teenager in Abnegation grays that no one noticed to a Dauntless front runner who couldn't be forgotten. I, for one, really enjoyed this quick read (clearly as I finished it in one day) and I felt like it delivered exactly what Roth promised: a glimpse into the mind of a character that kept all his cards close to his vest. I especially liked seeing the scenes from Divergent with Tris through his eyes. If you're a fan of the Divergent series, I think this is worth picking up and giving a whirl.


A/N: I'm going to start fresh with the next blog post as I want to keep this one strictly about this series. I'll be posting that within the next week. :-D

Crossover done right!

At first, it might be difficult to conceive how two vastly different genres (especially two so well-known!) could merge so beautifully. However, as the author has shown it is not only possible but a BRILLIANT idea. As a big fan of the Star Wars franchise and its novelizations, I was blown away by how well the Bard's style was used to re-imagine this epic story. For a Shakespeare novice, it might be a little jarring at first but you get so caught up in the storyline that I don't think that will be a major issue. Star Wars newbies should probably start with the first in the series, William Shakespeare's Star Wars, in order to understand the cast of characters and storyline more fully. All in all, William Shakespeare's The Empire Striketh Back was fantastic and I HIGHLY anticipate William Shakespeare's The Jedi Doth Return due out this summer!

I seem to be caught in an endless loop of either starting a series in the middle and/or having to wait for the last of the series to come out. I want to break that cycle but unfortunately that time is not yet upon us. I'm going to be reading two books by Ben H. Winters back to back (I hope): The Last Policeman and Countdown City. These books follow a detective by the name of Hank Palace who seems to be the only policeman still interested in upholding the letter of the law and this is because the world is on the verge of ending. Seriously there's only a few months left before an asteroid destroys all life as we know it. It's no wonder that he's the only one still on the job. Hard questions come up in light of the impending doom of the planet which only causes the plot to thicken further. DUN DUN DUN