Review of Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

BOOK DESCRIPTION FROM GOODREADS

 From the Booker Prize-winning author of The Remains of the Day and When We Were Orphans, comes an unforgettable edge-of-your-seat mystery that is at once heartbreakingly tender and morally courageous about what it means to be human.

Hailsham seems like a pleasant English boarding school, far from the influences of the city. Its students are well tended and supported, trained in art and literature, and become just the sort of people the world wants them to be. But, curiously, they are taught nothing of the outside world and are allowed little contact with it.

Within the grounds of Hailsham, Kathy grows from schoolgirl to young woman, but it’s only when she and her friends Ruth and Tommy leave the safe grounds of the school (as they always knew they would) that they realize the full truth of what Hailsham is.

Never Let Me Go breaks through the boundaries of the literary novel. It is a gripping mystery, a beautiful love story, and also a scathing critique of human arrogance and a moral examination of how we treat the vulnerable and different in our society. In exploring the themes of memory and the impact of the past, Ishiguro takes on the idea of a possible future to create his most moving and powerful book to date.

I decided that I would read this book after seeing the movie trailer on the tele a few months back. The title was put in my "to read" list and on my Amazon wish list and I actually had forgotten about it till a few days after Christmas this title was put up on Amazon as a $5.00 Kindle mark-down so I thought I would pick it up. Well, the DVD will soon be coming out so I thought it might be a good time to knock it out. As with most books in this genre / age group / I don't even know how ...moreI decided that I would read this book after seeing the movie trailer on the tele a few months back. The title was put in my "to read" list and on my Amazon wish list and I actually had forgotten about it till a few days after Christmas this title was put up on Amazon as a $5.00 Kindle mark-down so I thought I would pick it up. Well, the DVD will soon be coming out so I thought it might be a good time to knock it out. As with most books in this genre / age group / I don't even know how to categorize something like this after I have read it type reads, I went into it not knowing what to expect. I have got to be honest in the fact that I really struggled getting acquainted and settled in to this book. In the beginning, I would read a little, put it down, pick it up, read a little, put it down, so on and so forth, till finally I was like, "where possibly can the author go with this storyline?" It was at that point I put everything else aside and told myself that I was either going to sit down and finish it or I was going to forget it. Generally speaking, I really have a hard time giving up and not finishing something. So, sitting down and finishing it is what happened and I must say that I am really glad that I did. Because an all in one finish like that is probably what made me see this book for the great read that it is. I doubt that I would have the same opinion if I had continued with the start/stop method I was doing. All that being said, I feel as though I was in total check of my feelings on this read clear up to the end and I had put it down. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. It felt to me that it was all leading up to this great thing in the end but, then in the end, there was nothing... I really can't even pin point exactly what it was that made me feel all this but, there it was. I had a deep down longing feeling for something... more. I was angry, I was sad, I was confused, torn, depressed, I honestly felt... Hollow. I desperately wanted all Carers/donors to rebel against the establishment. I kept hoping for Tommy, Kathy or even Ruth (despite not liking one thing about her the entire length of the novel) would just get this notion to, I don't know... walk away, start anew. Would this even been possible for everything they have been taught or put through. How can this even be considered as a possible existence? As someone who has lived as average as a life (a pretty good life actually) thus far, I keep thinking in the back of my mind that, "this... couldn't reeeeeaalllly happen... Could it?" In the end, I don't know if I have an answer or more distinctly, I don't want to know an answer. Hopefully, that won't be construed as condoning this from being stood for. I just couldn't turn my head as the world has in this book. I would probably be hiding deserters in my basement or something. I guess that pretty much covers my written thoughts for the time being about this novel. I am sure it will be thought of often and any book that is going to stir these types of feelings in me is always going to be thought of a something pretty special. I may not have needed the negative tones this put in my head but it definitely aroused some pretty strong emotions. Thank-you Mr. Ishiguro for a wonderful novel.

Review of Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel

BOOK DESCRIPTION FROM GOODREADS

"Lenah Beaudonte is, in many ways, your average teen: the new girl at Wickham Boarding School, she struggles to fit in enough to survive and stand out enough to catch the eye of the golden-boy lacrosse captain. But Lenah also just happens to be a recovering five-hundred-year-old vampire queen. After centuries of terrorizing Europe, Lenah is able to realize the dream all vampires have -- to be human again. After performing a dangerous ritual to restore her humanity, Lenah entered a century-long hibernation, leaving behind the wicked coven she ruled over and the eternal love who has helped grant her deep-seated wish.

Until, that is, Lenah draws her first natural breath in centuries at Wickham and rediscovers a human life that bears little resemblance to the one she had known. As if suddenly becoming a teenager weren’t stressful enough, each passing hour brings Lenah closer to the moment when her abandoned coven will open the crypt where she should be sleeping and find her gone. As her borrowed days slip by, Lenah resolves to live her newfound life as fully as she can. But, to do so, she must answer ominous questions: Can an ex-vampire survive in an alien time and place? What can Lenah do to protect her new friends from the bloodthirsty menace about to descend upon them? And how is she ever going to pass her biology midterm?"

I have to admit that I was skeptical about actually reading this book. The premise, centuries old vampire becomes human and is thrown headlong into ordinary human (high-school nonetheless) life. I could not have been more wrong in all my preconcieved notions about how this book would turn out. And for that I am very happy with the outcome of this first installation of a proposed trilogy. Quite honestly, the end of the book came all too quickly for me. Although, a very climatic ending it did not seem rushed which makes me nod to the author for her ability to tell her story so well. The story of Lenah Beaudonte is told so well in fact that I could not help wanting to actually meet her while I was reading it. A want for something like this to happen to myself. Sadly, I was never the Justin Enos of my school, but I could relate to Tony very well. Even more sad I guess, thinking how Tony ends up... But Lenah, beautiful Lenah. This story is hers and what a wonderful one it is so far. I very much look forward to the continuation of the Vampire Queen Trilogy. A lot of questions come to mind for the remainder of the series. Answers about Suleen (what a mysterious character he is) and Rhode, the long ago knight who I don't really think ever forgot what real love was throughout his vampire existence. That is what lies at the heart of this story and if I may use the authors very own words, "It is the intent that matters the most." Thank-you for another great story.

Review of Palimpsest by Catherynne Valente

BOOK DESCRIPTION FROM GOODREADS
"Between life and death, dreaming and waking, at the train stop beyond the end of the world is the city of Palimpsest. To get there is a miracle, a mystery, a gift, and a curse—a voyage permitted only to those who’ve always believed there’s another world than the one that meets the eye. Those fated to make the passage are marked forever by a map of that wondrous city tattooed on their flesh after a single orgasmic night. To this kingdom of ghost trains, lion-priests, living kanji, and cream-filled canals come four travelers: Oleg, a New York locksmith; the beekeeper November; Ludovico, a binder of rare books; and a young Japanese woman named Sei. They’ve each lost something important—a wife, a lover, a sister, a direction in life—and what they will find in Palimpsest is more than they could ever imagine."

This book is a secret, a secret that I am both ashamed and proud to reveal. From a readers standpoint it is so rare when the pages of a book will come along and wrap you up in them. Warm you with their heaviness, care for you like a child, leave you with want and worry when you are not with them. This book took me on a journey within myself that I did not know that I was ready or willing for that matter, to take. But take it I did and with it came the strongest of currents.

Admittedly I am a slow reader. But as I read the first couple pages of Palimpsest, I found myself repeating paragraphs over and over and over again. Letting my mouth taste them, savor them till I felt as if I had a five course meal. I feel as though I should be hiding this book now that its words are inside of me. As if the book itself has become its own city lost to the world and should only be graced by the eyes of few. Bury this book so that it may become an archaeologist’s find a hundred thousand years from now, so that the people of that time can share something of true beauty came when everything else seemed so peril less and without hope.

Beware; this book has a mask, a mask with horns and teeth. With this mask the unbelievers of imagination and the fantastical will surely be cast out of its realms forever never to be allowed admittance again. I write these words to pay tribute to the author, for she opened herself up and bled her dreams into these pages, bled an artwork onto a canvas that will be gazed at often on my shelves of so many places. It is one of the great pleasures of life to be able to hold a book in your hands after reading it, run your hands down its spine and feel its magic seeping into you.

The Characters in this book are well fleshed out. Their hearts and minds are sewn plainly onto their sleeves and this was also why the story was so enticing to me. I felt a little of myself in each one of the four that the book revolves around. Each one of them suffering inside, all desperate in their afflictions and destined to know one another. These are people that by the end of the book you could say that you knew well. The feeling comes to my mind, like when you are walking down the street and you pass someone, to some just a random stranger, but then your eyes meet and lock and in that very brief moment it is like you know that person, know their likes and dislikes, feel everything that pains them and what makes them smile. It’s the connection that nobody talks about but we yearn for like the feeling you get when you have been away for what seems a lifetime and finally walk through your own front door. Peace, a sighing relief, a built up tension that is finally released.

Like the tattoos of the people immigrating to Palimpsest, I will be forever marked by reading this wonderful work. I will seek deeper meaning in all because of it. I will see it on my shelf and smile to know that there are some and maybe only a select few that really feel things, read and write words that have meaning, deep meaning. Words that dispel any thought that magic in this world is lost. Thank –you.

Review of The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

BOOK DESCRIPTION FROM GOODREADS
"After the grisly murder of his entire family, a toddler wanders into a graveyard where the ghosts and other supernatural residents agree to raise him as one of their own."

Neil Gaiman sits very high up on the list of my very favorite authors. Like a modern day Beethoven, he writes complex but surprisingly simple lyrical masterpieces that flow from the pages through to your mind like a speeding locomotive. This wonderful little treat is the same and was exactly what I was looking for when I finished it. Bod will definitely go down in the history of my written friends as one of the greats. I don't know how someone can make life growing up in a graveyard sound even r...moreNeil Gaiman sits very high up on the list of my very favorite authors. Like a modern day Beethoven, he writes complex but surprisingly simple lyrical masterpieces that flow from the pages through to your mind like a speeding locomotive. This wonderful little treat is the same and was exactly what I was looking for when I finished it. Bod will definitely go down in the history of my written friends as one of the greats. I don't know how someone can make life growing up in a graveyard sound even remotely appealing, but I find myself envying Nobody Owens without any reproach. I don't want to give any other details away because the story is perfect in every way and I fear anything else other than, "It's freakin' great. Go buy a copy and revel in it!" will only diminish the book for someone else. Besides form your own opinion that is why you have a brain, right? The only other thing that I would like to say about this is that I truly hope that it makes it's way to the picture studios. I loved, loved, loved Coraline and this (If N. Gaiman has any say in it) will be, no doubt... awesome.

Review of Storm Front by Jim Butcher

BOOK DESCRIPTION FROM GOODREADS
"HARRY DRESDEN — WIZARD
Lost Items Found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment.

Harry Dresden is the best at what he does. Well, technically, he's the only at what he does. So when the Chicago P.D. has a case that transcends mortal creativity or capability, they come to him for answers. For the "everyday" world is actually full of strange and magical things—and most don't play well with humans. That's where Harry comes in. Takes a wizard to catch a—well, whatever.

There's just one problem. Business, to put it mildly, stinks. So when the police bring him in to consult on a grisly double murder committed with black magic, Harry's seeing dollar signs. But where there's black magic, there's a black mage behind it. And now that mage knows Harry's name. And that's when things start to get interesting.

Magic. It can get a guy killed."

Harry Dresden is one of my favorite characters plain and simple. Harry is just a character that I can relate to on a life experience level. I think that his attitude is what keeps me hooked throughout the series. He knows the talent that he posseses but he does not seem to get a big head about it. Despite all the things that are trying to bring him down he stays pretty positive and most of the time really hilarious! The whole magic and wizard P.I. give the story a little more than just your everyday murder mystery a twist that I need in books to keep me interested. Storm Front lays the ground work for the series in many ways but does not drag you out with a whole lot of back story. The one thing that I like about Butcher's writing is that he gets to the point with his characters and lets you get a real good opinion of them with just Harry's thoughts of them and some really fantastic dialogue.

I don't follow Jim Butchers web page or blog too often but I heard somewhere around the hinternet that the series will be 20 books long which is just fine by me as I have yet to be disappointed. I think that I will wait till it is finished though to see the t.v. series. I have not watched it yet and have thought about buying it, but all too often I am really disappointed in the whole book to t.v. series adaptation. It's amazing how someone else's view of how you perceive these fictional characters can just totally ruin a good story for you! Don't ya think?

Review of The Desert Spear by Peter V. Brett

BOOK DESCRIPTION FROM GOODREADS

The sun is setting on humanity. The night now belongs to voracious demons that arise as the sun sets, preying upon a dwindling population forced to cower behind ancient and half-forgotten symbols of power. These wards alone can keep the demons at bay, but legends tell of a Deliverer: a general—some would say prophet—who once bound all mankind into a single force that defeated the demons. Those times, if they ever existed, are long past. The demons are back, and the return of the Deliverer is just another myth . . . or is it?
Out of the desert rides Ahmann Jardir, who has forged the warlike desert tribes of Krasia into a demon-killing army. He has proclaimed himself Shar’Dama Ka, the Deliverer, and he carries ancient weapons—a spear and a crown—that give credence to his claim. Sworn to follow the path of the first Deliverer, he has come north to bring the scattered city-states of the green lands together in a war against demonkind—whether they like it or not.
    But the northerners claim their own Deliverer. His name was Arlen, but all know him now as the Warded Man: a dark, forbidding figure whose skin is tattooed with wards so powerful they make him a match for any demon. The Warded Man denies that he is the Deliverer, but his actions speak louder than words, for he teaches men and women to face their fears and stand fast against the creatures that have tormented them for centuries.

Once the Shar’Dama Ka and the Warded Man were friends, brothers in arms. Now they are fierce adversaries. Caught between them are Renna, a young woman pushed to the edge of human endurance; Leesha, a proud and beautiful healer whose skill in warding surpasses that of the Warded Man himself; and Rojer, a traveling fiddler whose uncanny music can soothe the demons—or stir them into such frenzy that they attack one another.  
    Yet as old allegiances are tested and fresh alliances forged, all are blissfully unaware of the appearance of a new breed of demon, more intelligent—and deadly—than any that have come before.

Peter Brett has done it once again. I think someone else pointed out in their review that there is only so long you can prolong the inevitable end of a book. Going back and rereading chapters just to be sure you did not miss anything. I managed to stretch this one out for about a month. I was blown away with The Warded Man and am almost speechless with The Desert Spear... Almost. The last sentence of the book hit me like a brick in the face! Thinking about the story after I was finished I should have seen it coming but I did not. The possibilities for The Daylight War are going to drive me up a wall (hopefully a well warded one) till it is in my hands!

Review of The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

BOOK DESCRIPTION FROM GOODREADS

"When we first meet 14-year-old Susie Salmon, she is already in Heaven. This was before milk carton photos and public service announcements, she tells us; back in 1973, when Susie mysteriously disappeared, people still believed these things didn't happen. In the sweet, untroubled voice of a precocious teenage girl, Susie relates the awful events of her death and her own adjustment to the strange new place she finds herself. It looks a lot like her school playground, with the good kind of swing sets. With love, longing, and a growing understanding, Susie watches her family as they cope with their grief, her father embarks on a search for the killer, her sister undertakes a feat of amazing daring, her little brother builds a fort in her honor and begin the difficult process of healing. In the hands of a brilliant novelist, this story of seemingly unbearable tragedy is transformed into a suspenseful and touching story about family, memory, love, Heaven, and living."

This book for me was... A pleasant reminder of why I typically stray and stay in the science fiction and fantasy section of a book store. That is not to say that I did not like it. On the contrary, this story sat in me like a heavy stone weighing me down for its entirety and as I turned the last page and sat the book down it was like all at once that weight was lifted. So, in that way the story did what we all want stories to do and that is take us away. This is just a place that I typically don't like to go. The words and thoughts of Susie Salmon caused me to tear up and break down my own thoughts on how I viewed something that I don't often think about, but happens everyday all around us. Death. This story shows you only one possible path of destruction a horrible incident like what happened to the Salmon Family. But the grief each individual family member felt was completely different from the other. It's like the the book pulls you with the characters turbulent emotions in 8 directions at once. I especially liked the parts of the book about Susie's sister Lindsey. She would be one of those people I would consider being the bravest sort of person. Having a daughter of my own made Jack Salmon's part in the story the hardest to get through. Whether you say it is slow or fast (I personally, think that I read to slow) the roughly figured 5 hours it took me to read this plus the in between time that I was not reading but yet thinking about it, was far to long to be focused on one dreaded thing... This story or a very close version of it... could be mine. I have no sympathy in my being for the people of this world like Mr. Harvey. And I walk away from this book with new found rage and personal hate for his kind.

As always, thanks to the author Alice Sebold for providing me with some of the greatest writing entertainment!