This is the sixth of seven books in the Keys to the Kingdom series, and as such it's hard to talk about this one in particular without spoiling the others. So. The general idea of the series is that a 12-year-old boy called Arthur Penhaligon is whisked out of his normal life and charged with saving the world.
To do this, he must go to a world called the House, built by one called the Architect, and free the separated parts of the Architect's Will. He must also defeat some upstart Trustees and take control of their Keys (hence the series title). Each Trustee rules over one of the days of the week on Earth, though that period of time is much longer in the House. As the Trustees mess with the house (essentially tearing it down in their need to fight with each other), things on Earth aren't going so well, either.
In this one, obviously, Arthur is out to rescue part six of the Will and wrest the Sixth Key from Superior Saturday. There is also a plague in Arthur's hometown, and Superior Saturday is readying to attack at the stroke of her midnight.
These books are meant for younger YA readers (I found this one in the children's section, sigh), so they are very short and very formulaic. I quite enjoy them for both of those reasons, and because they are entertaining.
Superior Saturday irks me a bit because, as the penultimate book in the series, it breaks from the mold and does not resolve the capturing-the-keys part of the story, leaving that for the next book, Lord Sunday. I've waited a while for this book to come out, but if I'd known it would have that ending, I'd have waited a while longer — there's not enough story in these large-type 250 pages to really satiate me.
Rating: 6/10
(Countdown Challenge: 2008)
22 September 2008
18 September 2008
Booking Through Thursday (18 September)
This week's question:
Autumn is starting (here in the US, anyway), and kids are heading back to school–does the changing season change your reading habits? Less time? More? Are you just in the mood for different kinds of books than you were over the summer?
This is a question I'll be better able to answer next year... Now that I'm done with school my annual Summer Reading Project is essentially extended indefinitely. In previous years, I've barely read anything during the school year that wasn't assigned, except for short kids books — the Wrinkle in Time series, the Lemony Snicket books, Garth Nix's Keys to the Kingdom (the newest of which I'm reading right now!).
Now that I live in summer vacation land, it's much easier to keep up with books, so we'll see how that goes. I've been reading more slowly than I thought because I have started a few new fall endeavors like orchestra and swing dancing, but I think I'll be much better off without homework. :)
Autumn is starting (here in the US, anyway), and kids are heading back to school–does the changing season change your reading habits? Less time? More? Are you just in the mood for different kinds of books than you were over the summer?
This is a question I'll be better able to answer next year... Now that I'm done with school my annual Summer Reading Project is essentially extended indefinitely. In previous years, I've barely read anything during the school year that wasn't assigned, except for short kids books — the Wrinkle in Time series, the Lemony Snicket books, Garth Nix's Keys to the Kingdom (the newest of which I'm reading right now!).
Now that I live in summer vacation land, it's much easier to keep up with books, so we'll see how that goes. I've been reading more slowly than I thought because I have started a few new fall endeavors like orchestra and swing dancing, but I think I'll be much better off without homework. :)
15 September 2008
The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell (9 September − 13 September)
Read this book. Seriously.
The Sparrow mostly follows the story of Emilio Sandoz, a Jesuit priest who, through coincidences (or God's work?) ends up on a mission to a just-discovered planet near Alpha Centauri. The book follows two timelines, one starting when Sandoz returns to Earth, as the last surviving member of the crew, several years after some very embarrassing and horrifying information about Sandoz has made its own way back. He is to report on the mission to his superiors, but has to get over what happened to him before he can face the other priests.
The other timeline starts back at the beginning, with the events leading up to the discovery of the planet, then details the mission and what happens after the crew lands on Rakhat. This second timeline slowly fills in the large number of blanks left in the first, and helps make Sandoz's alleged crimes understandable.
I don't want to be too specific here, because a lot of what I loved about the book was the way Russell would bring in a fact without explanation, causing me to say, "What? When did that happen? Why?" and then a little while later the narrative would answer my question.
I loved this book a whole ridiculous bunch. It's an interesting take on what would happen if we found life on another planet and went out to meet it, and if meeting that life would go just how we might expect it. I'm a big fan of the dual timeline, and Russell uses this to her great advantage.
The one thing I didn't like terribly much is that the ending happens so fast − you spend a lot of time leisurely following the stories and then all of a sudden Russell is throwing in forced exposition in order to tie up the story. I would gladly have read another hundred pages (the book is about 400); the rushed ending was unnecessary and made the religious tie-ins at the end seem a bit trite.
Rating: 9.5/10
The Sparrow mostly follows the story of Emilio Sandoz, a Jesuit priest who, through coincidences (or God's work?) ends up on a mission to a just-discovered planet near Alpha Centauri. The book follows two timelines, one starting when Sandoz returns to Earth, as the last surviving member of the crew, several years after some very embarrassing and horrifying information about Sandoz has made its own way back. He is to report on the mission to his superiors, but has to get over what happened to him before he can face the other priests.
The other timeline starts back at the beginning, with the events leading up to the discovery of the planet, then details the mission and what happens after the crew lands on Rakhat. This second timeline slowly fills in the large number of blanks left in the first, and helps make Sandoz's alleged crimes understandable.
I don't want to be too specific here, because a lot of what I loved about the book was the way Russell would bring in a fact without explanation, causing me to say, "What? When did that happen? Why?" and then a little while later the narrative would answer my question.
I loved this book a whole ridiculous bunch. It's an interesting take on what would happen if we found life on another planet and went out to meet it, and if meeting that life would go just how we might expect it. I'm a big fan of the dual timeline, and Russell uses this to her great advantage.
The one thing I didn't like terribly much is that the ending happens so fast − you spend a lot of time leisurely following the stories and then all of a sudden Russell is throwing in forced exposition in order to tie up the story. I would gladly have read another hundred pages (the book is about 400); the rushed ending was unnecessary and made the religious tie-ins at the end seem a bit trite.
Rating: 9.5/10
09 September 2008
Tamsin, by Peter S. Beagle (3 September − 8 September)
My first book for the RIP Challenge, and a great one, at that!
Tamsin is the story of a girl called Jenny (not Jennifer) Gluckstein, who is forced to move from New York City to a farm in Dorset, England, when her mother marries an English bloke. She thinks it's going to be really boring, but it gets pretty exciting when she discovers boggarts, ghost cats, and the titular spirit. Jenny befriends Tamsin and works to help her get free from 300 years of wandering around the farm.
The book is written from the point of view of Jenny at 19 looking back on herself at 13, so a lot of the text is riddled with "Meena told me to write this," and "I'll come back and fix that sentence later," and after reading Special Topics in Calamity Physics I was feeling a little overloaded on self-aware novels.
It also takes a little while to get into the real story − there's lots of mostly-unimportant backstory at the beginning about Jenny's home and school life and how much she whined about moving to England − but once Beagle gets to the good part, it's really good. I appreciated that with 30 pages left to go I had no idea how the book was going to end, and the end of the real story didn't disappoint. There's a bit of a where-are-they-now epilogue after that which did, but let's ignore that, shall we?
Rating: 8/10
Tamsin is the story of a girl called Jenny (not Jennifer) Gluckstein, who is forced to move from New York City to a farm in Dorset, England, when her mother marries an English bloke. She thinks it's going to be really boring, but it gets pretty exciting when she discovers boggarts, ghost cats, and the titular spirit. Jenny befriends Tamsin and works to help her get free from 300 years of wandering around the farm.
The book is written from the point of view of Jenny at 19 looking back on herself at 13, so a lot of the text is riddled with "Meena told me to write this," and "I'll come back and fix that sentence later," and after reading Special Topics in Calamity Physics I was feeling a little overloaded on self-aware novels.
It also takes a little while to get into the real story − there's lots of mostly-unimportant backstory at the beginning about Jenny's home and school life and how much she whined about moving to England − but once Beagle gets to the good part, it's really good. I appreciated that with 30 pages left to go I had no idea how the book was going to end, and the end of the real story didn't disappoint. There's a bit of a where-are-they-now epilogue after that which did, but let's ignore that, shall we?
Rating: 8/10
08 September 2008
RIP Challenge
So apparently in the book-blogging world there are these things called "challenges," in which readers challenge themselves to complete a group of books within a set of parameters. I like it. I'm going to do some. :)
Since I'm nearly finished with a ghost story, my first challenge will be the RIP Challenge hosted by Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings.
Pretty picture!
I'm challenging myself to Carl's "Peril the First": Four books from any subgenre of scary stories, to be read between now and Hallowe'en. Those subgenres include mystery, suspense, thriller, dark fantasy, gothic, horror, and supernatural.
My pool of books to choose from:
Tamsin, by Peter S. Beagle
Ritual, by Mo Hayder
Misery, by Stephen King
Grave Peril, by Jim Butcher
The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield
The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
...and possibly others yet to be determined.
Books actually read:
1. Tamsin, by Peter S. Beagle (Review)
2. Misery, by Stephen King (Review)
3. Afterlife, by Douglas Clegg (Review)
4. Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer (Review)
bonus...
5. The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield (Review)
Since I'm nearly finished with a ghost story, my first challenge will be the RIP Challenge hosted by Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings.
Pretty picture!
I'm challenging myself to Carl's "Peril the First": Four books from any subgenre of scary stories, to be read between now and Hallowe'en. Those subgenres include mystery, suspense, thriller, dark fantasy, gothic, horror, and supernatural.
My pool of books to choose from:
Tamsin, by Peter S. Beagle
Ritual, by Mo Hayder
Misery, by Stephen King
Grave Peril, by Jim Butcher
The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield
The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
...and possibly others yet to be determined.
Books actually read:
1. Tamsin, by Peter S. Beagle (Review)
2. Misery, by Stephen King (Review)
3. Afterlife, by Douglas Clegg (Review)
4. Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer (Review)
bonus...
5. The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield (Review)
04 September 2008
Booking Through Thursday (4 September)
To break up the monotony of book reviews, let's try a Booking Through Thursday question:
I was looking through books yesterday at the shops and saw all the Twilight books, which I know basically nothing about. What I do know is that I’m beginning to feel like I’m the *only* person who knows nothing about them.
Despite being almost broke and trying to save money, I almost bought the expensive book (Australian book prices are often completely nutty) just because I felt the need to be ‘up’ on what everyone else was reading.
Have you ever felt pressured to read something because ‘everyone else’ was reading it? Have you ever given in and read the book(s) in question or do you resist? If you are a reviewer, etc, do you feel it’s your duty to keep up on current trends?
I don't think I've ever read a book that "everyone else" was reading... I've certainly taken recommendations from friends, but not from "everyone." I started reading Harry Potter after my grandmother gave the first three books to my brother, but I'd never heard of the series before that.
And the Twilight series... I still don't know much about it. No one I know reads them, and from what I hear they're super over-hyped. Maybe someday I'll read them, but not today.
There are also all those really big names out there, like The Lovely Bones or The Kite Runner or The Da Vinci Code, that I refuse to read until the hype dies down. I'm not the type that has to read all the popular books, and I don't want to be mistaken for that type, either.
I was looking through books yesterday at the shops and saw all the Twilight books, which I know basically nothing about. What I do know is that I’m beginning to feel like I’m the *only* person who knows nothing about them.
Despite being almost broke and trying to save money, I almost bought the expensive book (Australian book prices are often completely nutty) just because I felt the need to be ‘up’ on what everyone else was reading.
Have you ever felt pressured to read something because ‘everyone else’ was reading it? Have you ever given in and read the book(s) in question or do you resist? If you are a reviewer, etc, do you feel it’s your duty to keep up on current trends?
I don't think I've ever read a book that "everyone else" was reading... I've certainly taken recommendations from friends, but not from "everyone." I started reading Harry Potter after my grandmother gave the first three books to my brother, but I'd never heard of the series before that.
And the Twilight series... I still don't know much about it. No one I know reads them, and from what I hear they're super over-hyped. Maybe someday I'll read them, but not today.
There are also all those really big names out there, like The Lovely Bones or The Kite Runner or The Da Vinci Code, that I refuse to read until the hype dies down. I'm not the type that has to read all the popular books, and I don't want to be mistaken for that type, either.
03 September 2008
Special Topics in Calamity Physics, by Marisha Pessl (18 August − 3 September)
Ugh. This book. I can't really decide whether I liked it or not, because I'm not entirely clear on what actually happened in the book.
Basically, you've got your protagonist, Blue Van Meer, an extremely smart and overly educated 16-year-old who travels around the country with her professor father, never living anywhere for more than a semester at a time as he moves on to bigger and better professorships. For her senior year, her dad gives her a gift − they settle down in Stockton, North Carolina for the whole year. She gets reluctantly adopted into a group of friends by request of the teacher they hang out with, Hannah Schneider, and she proceeds to have a really really weird year culminating in the death of Hannah and Blue's investigation into it.
I can tell you that with no reservation because Blue tells us on the first page that Hannah dies... but the woman doesn't actually croak until page 335 out of 514. Lovely. There's certainly some interesting character development in those three hundred pages, and a lot of really good clues that build up for when we get to the mystery part, but oh. my. god. I really was just waiting for Hannah to die the entire time.
The story really drags up to page 335, and then all of a sudden it's riveting, and then as soon as Blue figures out the mystery we jump ahead a couple of months and learn about those months through poorly exposited backstory. Sigh.
I'm not upset about having read the book, but I'm not thrilled about it either.
Rating: 5/10
(Countdown Challenge: 2006)
Basically, you've got your protagonist, Blue Van Meer, an extremely smart and overly educated 16-year-old who travels around the country with her professor father, never living anywhere for more than a semester at a time as he moves on to bigger and better professorships. For her senior year, her dad gives her a gift − they settle down in Stockton, North Carolina for the whole year. She gets reluctantly adopted into a group of friends by request of the teacher they hang out with, Hannah Schneider, and she proceeds to have a really really weird year culminating in the death of Hannah and Blue's investigation into it.
I can tell you that with no reservation because Blue tells us on the first page that Hannah dies... but the woman doesn't actually croak until page 335 out of 514. Lovely. There's certainly some interesting character development in those three hundred pages, and a lot of really good clues that build up for when we get to the mystery part, but oh. my. god. I really was just waiting for Hannah to die the entire time.
The story really drags up to page 335, and then all of a sudden it's riveting, and then as soon as Blue figures out the mystery we jump ahead a couple of months and learn about those months through poorly exposited backstory. Sigh.
I'm not upset about having read the book, but I'm not thrilled about it either.
Rating: 5/10
(Countdown Challenge: 2006)
02 September 2008
The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde (28 August − 1 September)
The premise behind this book is an alternate universe in which weird things happen regularly − time gets out of joint, extinct animals can be cloned, religious fighting is replaced by "Who was the real Shakespeare" fighting. As in this universe, the government has a lot of bureaus to control its constituents, among these SpecOps 27, the literary division.
Our protagonist, Thursday Next, is an operative in this group who gets lured into a big investigation by the fact that she's seen the bad guy involved, Acheron Hades − few others have because he doesn't resolve on film. He is out to make a name for himself by stealing an original manuscript to Dickens' Martin Chuzzlewit as well as a machine called a Prose Portal invented by Thursday's uncle, Mycroft. With it he can enter original manuscripts, kill a character or two, and completely change every copy of whatever story he's gotten into.
Thursday works to rescue her uncle, restore a failed relationship, and save Jane Eyre from destruction, all while battling the forces of evil in Hades and government corruption.
I really liked this book. Fforde makes the alternate universe seem very real with little details (an ongoing Crimean War, Jehovah's Witness-like "Baconians") and writes entertaining characters. A couple of times, when time-travel and manuscript-revising were involved, I thought too hard about how things could actually work and lost the story a bit, but otherwise it was great. This is the first in a series of Thursday Next novels, and I will definitely be looking for the second the next time I hit the library.
Rating: 8/10
(Countdown Challenge: 2001)
Our protagonist, Thursday Next, is an operative in this group who gets lured into a big investigation by the fact that she's seen the bad guy involved, Acheron Hades − few others have because he doesn't resolve on film. He is out to make a name for himself by stealing an original manuscript to Dickens' Martin Chuzzlewit as well as a machine called a Prose Portal invented by Thursday's uncle, Mycroft. With it he can enter original manuscripts, kill a character or two, and completely change every copy of whatever story he's gotten into.
Thursday works to rescue her uncle, restore a failed relationship, and save Jane Eyre from destruction, all while battling the forces of evil in Hades and government corruption.
I really liked this book. Fforde makes the alternate universe seem very real with little details (an ongoing Crimean War, Jehovah's Witness-like "Baconians") and writes entertaining characters. A couple of times, when time-travel and manuscript-revising were involved, I thought too hard about how things could actually work and lost the story a bit, but otherwise it was great. This is the first in a series of Thursday Next novels, and I will definitely be looking for the second the next time I hit the library.
Rating: 8/10
(Countdown Challenge: 2001)
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