Hello! My name is Chie. I am likely to be the girl you'll see whose eyes would bulge out of their sockets at the sight of a book store and be seized by waves of epileptic shock whenever there is a book bargain. I'll probably be the one pushing you out of my way to get through the book bargain bins and tediously combing through the pile. (I forget my manners when it comes to books). I am tone deaf and have two left feet. But I would endure the embarrassment of a performance in exchange for books (terms and conditions apply). I have created this blog in order to find kindred souls. Those who would gladly share the same passion for books and reading because although reading is solitary task most of the time, it's no fun having no one to ramble to after..
Synopsis: It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn't much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children. While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to say where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.
Review: It is finally time for to review a new Harry Potter story and that feels amazing. What doesn't feel amazing is that my thoughts are so conflicted, I finished reading this play and immediately stamped 5.5 on my Goodreads review. It wasn't that I loved the story, it was that I loved being transported back to a world I love, to characters I adore so much and to experience that magic once again. I had tears in my eyes whilst finishing this book because it brought back all those nostalgic feelings. The problem was that the story wasn't good as I had hoped and the more I think about the book, the less happy with it I get. It's currently on a 3/5 with the potential to go lower if I dwell on it anymore. So, no more dwelling, time for reviewing. And don't worry, if you haven't read the book yet then I won't spoil it. I will keep this part completely non-spoilery and have the spoilers after a massive warning, for all those who have read it.
This was never going to be the story that most Harry Potter fans wanted. For one thing, it is a script of a play, and not a novel. We all knew this before buying so it's not a shock, but it does mean it's a weird new way to experience the Harry Potter world. This is something that is supposed to be experienced and watched, not read. The other main issue is that, no matter how largely they write her name on the cover, this was not written by J.K. Rowling. And that is a terrible thing to me as it meant that I felt the characters were just lacking in a way they wouldn't have been if she had wrote it. The characters always just felt a little off and not like the characters we spent seven books getting to know.
The story itself was not at all what I was expecting, but I am mentioning nothing about it here. I think it is better to go blind. We all know this book takes place 19 years after the Battle of Hogwarts, and follows Harry's son Albus rather than Harry. We meet some brilliant characters in this, but also some bad ones. My main issue with the story was that it felt all a bit ridiculous and that alot of it didn't make sense. I, quite honestly, can never view this play as canon because it all just feels ridiculous and as if it would never happen. Another major issue is the gaping plot holes that this book leaves us with, and I hate gaping holes!
So yes, overall I was disappointed, I loved some aspects of this but was really pissed about other, I need to go into spoilery detail to explain that. If you haven't read this yet or seen the play then now is the time to skip out.
I am actually excited to review this and go into all my spoilery thoughts. I have to, I won't be able to contain myself otherwise. I need to lay it all out on the table. First, I need to get this out of the way: I LOVE HARRY POTTER! If you know me in real life or from my blog, Twitter, or Instagram, then you already know this. Harry Potter is my life and has been since I was a teenager. And because of my Gran I bought the whole set of books. Harry Potter was basically my childhood and I loved every minute of it. It was a childhood of midnight releases of books and films. Harry Potter is life and forever will be. But I am never going to be one of those people who is blinded by my love for something. I wanted to love this play, I really did, but I didn't in the end and that is because it has alot of flaws and problems and things I didn't like. Plus, I feel that this is important, it is a script for a play and I feel it is better to experience as a movie.
I will do a very quick summary for anyone reading the spoilery side even if they haven't read the play. Basically the story focuses on Harry's son Albus as he begins attending Hogwarts and gets placed in Slytherin. This is a huge deal and Albus ends up sucking at magic and forever living in his fathers shadow, which he resents, and their relationship is basically strained. Harry is a terrible father for some reason. Scorpius Malfoy is the most adorable bean of all time, and him and Albus become best friends. who are totally in love with each other - we'll get to that later -. Amos Diggory shows up out of the blue with his niece Delphi, wanting Harry to go back in time and save Cedric's life. Harry even though the one last surviving time turner has been found, lies and says he can't. Albus then decides to do it himself, with the help of good ol' Scorpius. Of course going back in time and changing one tiny detail changes everything. So then they keep having to go back, changing things until we eventually figure out that Delphi is the love child of Voldemort and Bellatrix and she wants to go back in time to prevent him from ever killing Harry, so that he would never have been defeated. And, yeah, the simplified version of this messy plot.
The first thing I have to mention is probably what anyone who has read it wanted to discuss the most... Voldemort had a love child with Bellatrix Lestrange! REALLY?!?!?! I got to that point in the book and suddenly understood why I heard people saying that they felt this read like a fan fiction. My mouth dropped open and disappointment set in. It just makes zero sense tom me, and the explanation of it and timeline of those events also makes no sense to me. I just don't see Voldemort as someone concerned with having a child. His plan was to get the Deathly Hallows and master death, so he wasn't looking for an heir. And, come on, it's like the guy has even one tiny paternal bone in his body. The only thing that does make sense is that if Voldemort had a kid with anyone, it would be Bellatrix, you can totally see her wanting to have his baby. I still don't get how this all happened and no one knew. And that it was never alluded to in the final book. She apparently gave birth in the Malfoy Manor before the Battle of Hogwarts. So where was the baby whilst she was off fighting? Why did Draco not know about it? Or did he and just never felt like he should mention it? Come on, this is the most ridiculous Harry Potter story line in the history of ever and I am going to pretend that it is a fan fiction and not cannon because otherwise I'd have to rate this a 1/5 and I just can't deal with that right now.
The next thing we have to discuss is the main plot device here: Time Travel. Why?! Do not mess with the time travel, it's far too overused and just results in endless plot holes and problems. This book is not an exception to that rule. Especially when we take into account that the main plot here is that Albus and Scorpius want to use the time turner to go back in time and save Cedric Diggory's life.
They have a time turner that can take them back years and they are going to use this to save Cedric Diggory. Can we all take a moment to appreciate how utterly pointless and stupid that act would be if we think about the fact they could go back in time and strangle tiny, evil baby Voldemort and save thousands of people?! Oh no, let's just go back in time and save one boy.
That is like someone giving you a time turner in our world and going back in time to save Anne Frank, rather than killing Hitler. If you kill the evil overlord then you would save all the people that died at their hands. So the whole time I am just sitting here wanting to slap everyone for just being so stupid. But it is obvious why they can't all suddenly realise they have the power to murder Voldemort and prevent everything. It would mean that everything that came after that would completely change and the first seven Harry Potter books would never have happened. So of course we can't have that, so we will just have this giant stupid plot hole instead.
The next biggest problem with this book is the characterisation and how wrong it is in this play. Ron is suddenly reduced to just a little bit of comedic relief. He just eats food and pulls pranks and apparently got so drunk at his wedding and that he forgot most of it. Why has Ron suddenly turned into a Weasley twin too? I know he liked pranks and found them funny before but he was no Fred or George. And why is he giving a small boy a love potion as a joke gift? He was put under the influence of love potion and it wasn't an experience he particularly enjoyed, so I can't see him then being stupid enough to give one to a child. I hated seeing what Jack Thorne reduced his character to here, it was not fun to read.
Harry was even worse, I hated him being the world's worst father who would be horrible to tell his son that sometimes he wished he wasn't his son. I just don't see Harry ever saying that. I feel he would love his children, no matter how difficult they could be and appreciate being able to be there for them, as he never had that as a child. And watching him treat Professor McGonagall made even for even more unpleasant reading. Am I supposed to believe that Harry, the guy who flipped out when a Death Eater spat on her, would then go and treat her with so little respect? Nope, I am not buying that.
Hermione was just as hard to read, especially in the timeline where she and Ron and never got together. She basically becomes a female version of Snape. She's the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts who treats the children horribly. She's nasty and bitter, and apparently all because she didn't wind up with Ron?! No. Are we really reducing Hermione down to this? She is a strong, brave, kind person and I don't see her ever turning that bitter because of a guy. She is so much better than that. Why did J.K. Rowling give this her stamp of approval?
And I am still sold on the fact that getting humiliated one time would suddenly turn Cedric Diggory into an evil Death Eater situation but it is just awful. I don't believe for one second that Cedric would allow that one moment in his life change him so completely that he suddenly goes to the Harry Potter dark side and start working for Voldemort. No.
I have another big issue and that is, Scorpius and Albus are blatantly in love with each other. The issue isn't that they love each other, the issue is that it seems super obvious to 90% of people reading and yet it is never addressed. Come on, they totally love each other and I ship it endlessly. I just get so sad to see the potential to have our first openly gay couple in the Harry Potter universe squandered. These two were just utterly adorable. Not just watch them fill a play with so much homoerotic subtext and then just brush it all aside at the end. In my mind they become the most adorably squishy couple ever, get married and join the Potter and the Malfoy households.
It wasn't all bad though and there were aspects that I really liked. The biggest one being Scorpius Malfoy. He is adorable and I just loved his character. He is so sweet and kind, and I was just happy with his character. I also loved that Albus and Scorpius were both Slytherins, and both kind, wonderful Slytherins. I have a big spot for Slytherin house so I was happy that this plays shows that Slytherins are just as awesome. I also loved when Ron told Hermione he wanted to renew their wedding vows.
Writing this review actually felt quite therapeutic, but I must admit that the more I think about the story the more upset I get, I just wanted this to be amazing and everything I was hoping for, and it wasn't, I feel this was definitely missing J.K. Rowling's touch and I wish she had been the one to write the script, as I feel the characters would have felt more real if she had. It wasn't all bad and I enjoyed the story whilst reading. It blew my mind reading it, as I tried to figure out how they were going to pull this off on stage. I can't ever consider this as a canon because it is just had too many plot holes and makes little sense when you think back on the Harry Potter Books.
After angering his father Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disoriented, he lands in New York City as a regular teenage boy. Now, without his godly powers, the four-thousand-year-old deity must learn to survive in the modern world until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus's favour.
But Apollo has many enemies - gods, monsters and mortals who would love to see the former Olympian permanently destroyed, Apollo needs help, and he can think of only one place to go... an enclave of modern demigods known as Camp Half-Blood.
Review: Rick Riordan has done it again (and again and again). I don't know which god (Nordic/Roman/Greek/Egyptian?) Is responsible for inspiring him - though I have a feeling they would all clamor for the credit - and I have no complaints. The Hidden Oracle got my heartbeat racing - and I didn't even read the synopsis before buying.
As soon as I bought my copy. I hunkered down and read it straight. Reading The Hidden Oracle felt like one big fun adventure, especially since seeing the world through Apollo as a sixteen-year-old human was highly amusing. It's not that I needed full concentration to enjoy this, but because I wanted to lose myself in this world. How I missed Camp Half-Blood.
If you've been reading Percy Jackson/The Heroes of Olympus series, then you know that Apollo is one of the most arrogant gods, although he has his nice moments. The book was peppered with praises of his godliness and awesomeness. I love how Riordan modernises the portrayals of the Greek gods as seen in Homer's Illiad. If we had these books back when we were studying Illiad, I think alot of class would easily ace our quizzes on which god did what.
I love seeing Apollo fall - literally and figuratively - several times. It was humbling of a god who through his carelessness, brought so much downfall to humans (and consequently, the gods) the past few years.
And Meg, whose last name was not mentioned, as a twelve-year old kid blowing raspberries and being a great antithesis to his godly arrogance was easily charming that the end of the book had me anxious on her behalf. She has the potential of being an awesome and precious character.
We are also treated to a few glimpses of Percy Jackson which always thrills me, and Nico is also a secondary character. If you're a fan of Nico and his... revelation, you're in for a treat with The Hidden Oracle. We also get Leo Valdez back, and I am excited to see what other machines he's going to come up with in the next books in the series. We are also treated to scenes of Mother Rhea as a trippy hippy, and she is one of the characters I am most excited to know more about.
There is a surprising revelation in who the villain is - and I have a feeling this is the last book in the Olympus bracket (explaining would ruin the story). Hopefully we'll get more glimpses of our beloved heroes from his other series as Apollo faces formidable villains in The Trials of Apollo series.
Just like Riordan's other books, his writing transported me right in the thick of things and Chiron's red heels (read the book!). I would definitely recommend this to all fans of Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson and young adult fantasy, mythology and just generally great stories. Go get it.
Authors: Various Authors Edited by: Rick Riordan/Leah Wilson Ratings: 5/5
Synopsis: Spend a little more time in Percy Jackson's world - a place where the gods bike among us, monster man snack bars, and each of us has the potential to become a hero.
Find out:
Why Dionysus might be actually be the best director Camp Half-Blood could have
How to recognised a monster when you see one
Why even if we aren't facing manticores and minotaurs, reading myth can still help us deal with the scary things in our lives.
Review: Demigods and Monsters is a compilation of comprehensive essays about anything related to the world of Percy Jackson and The Olympians series. It features the insights of eight famous authors (Rosemary Moore, Cameron Dokey, Paul Collins, Carolyn MacCullough, Ellen Steiner, The Gods Among Us, J&P Voelkel, Jen Han, Sarah Beth Durst, Hilary Wagner, Hilari Bell, Elizabeth E. Wein, Kathi Appelt, Sophie Mason, Nigel Rodgers) regarding the series and guess what? Rick Riordan himself wrote the introduction. That was just WOW.
I really appreciated what Rick wrote in the intro that is served as my fire of inspiration to read through the whole book. Mind you, I am not a sucker for overly technical papers that you'd just die of boredom. But this has totally changed my whole perspective of reading essays and of looking at books on a general note. I just couldn't believe that these authors could come up with alot of takes with a supposed-to-be straightforward series. You know what, the book actually gave me this feeling of being with a wizened man and he is telling me, "You are only seeing the outside.. Look closer.... Read closer." I hope you get what I mean.
From now on, I am most certain that I will look at books at a different level. It's like stepping outside of your comfort zone and just absorb the most extraordinary things that could happen. And then finally, putting it into writing. The essays that have been featured in this cover the following:
Newbie guide to recognising a monster
Monster in the retail world - Why should one take caution even when buying a donut?
Fulfilling a heroic destiny even when one is suffering from a handicap
Choosing between a life of being forever young and immortal; or being old and wrinkly
Valid reasons of choosing an almost mad god to run kids summer camp
How gods and goddesses affect our daily lives
How would Percy Jackson fare when faced with other mythological monsters
Do you really want a god or goddesses to become one of your parents?
Just because one rules the World of the Dead doesn't mean he is wholly bad
A comparative study between the heroes of the past and of today
Having a handicap could very well mean that one is destined to fulfill extraordinary things
The dangers of foreseeing the future - Do you really want to be a seer?
Stories of the past would always be alive if we continue to believe in it... Influenced by it
Comprehensive glossary of ancient Greek myth
How good is that? And the good thing is that the essays did not give lifeless accounts of the author's views. Instead, I was treated to amusing reminisces of the Percy Jackson scenes that I love and provided me with equally hilarious new stuff to think about. My favourite essays from this compilation would that be of MacCollough about being a hunter for Artemis and that of Wagner's take on Hades's and Nico's side of heroic goodness.
Would I recommend this book? ABSOLUTELY! This book is a perfect enlightenment for those who want to look closer, to imagine beyond the realms of what was written in the pages. If you are an aspiring book analyst, book reviewer, or a student cramming to get his/her books essays right, then this book is must
Synopsis: The adventures unfolds in this third book in the best selling Seven Wonder series.
Three friends left.
Jack McKinley and his friends defeated the Colossus of Rhodes, unearthed the treasures of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and recovered two of the seven lost Loculi - only to find they've been betrayed.
Two sided split.
With Babylon in ruins, Marco on the Massa side, and ancient secrets coming unraveled, the Select don't know who to trust or where to turn. Their G7W powers are growing furious pace, their worlds have been turned upside down, and the Massa are on their heels. But Jack, Aly and Cass have no choice but to fight on.
One life lost.
With the fate of he world in the balance, the friends find the next stop on their quest, where they have to face down their own demons and engage in an epic battle with foes long gone. When promises are broken, blood is spilled, the Select have to destroy the one thing that might save them all.
Review: The characters. As a Select and a bearer of G7W, a gene which could give you exceptional talents and skills, you would expect them to be extra ordinary in some ways right? It did hold true for Ally and Cass, but as for Jack, let's just say up until this point, I couldn't see anything special about him. Charismatic and resourceful yes. But the kind that Ally, Cass, and Marco have? I don't think so.
Also, our main character faints alot. It really is not such a big deal but considering they were conditioned to protect themselves and to fight, well, you would expect some kind of a fight scene that doesn't involve running away or throwing something random at an enemy, now would you? It's like all their hard work were thrown out of the window. It's pretty much useless so why bother telling the readers that they were trained? On the bright side, you get to see them work things out through their wits, Some were actually pretty funny and decent. Whilst other were kind of forced.
What stopped me from giving it four stars was the fact that the author failed to make me feel connected to the characters. I don't seem to mind what will happen to them to the point when something extremely tragic happened to the characters. I barely even felt an ounce of remorse. For the sake of not giving away any spoiler,let's just say that this one particular moment was supposed to make me feel extremely sad for them, but you know. And mind you, I am a very emotional person.
I think the only time I was moved was when Jack got together with his Dad. I wouldn't even deny that I got teary-eyed on that part. The rest though, I could hardly care.
All in all, this was a quick, fun and easy read kind of book. Full of adventures and settings which could delight any kids or kids at heart. You could definitely find yourself chuckling a couple of times throughout your reading experience. The author brings you to alot of cool new places, unlike the second book which was mostly stuck in Babylon parallel world, so it doesn't sound repetitive. But if you are looking for something less than your formulaic usual read then I don't think you would love it. Liking it though is very plausible.
The Unofficial Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard Companion: The Norse Heroes, Monsters, and Myths Behind The Hit Series
Date: Tuesday, February 16, 2016 Time: 6:22 AM
Author: Peter Aperlo Ratings: 4/5
Synopsis: Long ago in the legendary land of Asgard, battles raged throughout the Heavens and Earth between powerful gods, Viking heroes and deadly monsters.. These timeless tales of bravery, deceit, and love come alive in this all-new illustrated guide.
As enthralling today as when first told around arctic campfires, these ancient myths are the inspiration for Rick Riordan's captivating new Magnus Chase books. An ideal source of Norse mythology for anyone reading his novels.
Important Reminder: This book is not associated with or authorised or approved by Rick Riordan or his publishers. This book is an independent and unauthorised fan publication. No endorsement or sponsorship by or affiliation with Rick Riordan, his publishers, or other copyright and trademark holders is claimed or suggested. All references in this book to copyrighted or trademarked characters and other elements of books by Rick Riordan are for the purpose of commentary, criticism, analysis, and literary discussion only. Review: Apparently the Norsemen of old tales had alot of the to make up stories about the Viking gods, heroes, giants, and other mythological creature during those long winter nights, because their well-populated pantheon makes the ancient Greeks and Roman tales pretty paltry.
With the release of Rick Riordan's already bestselling first novel in his new series Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, adventure loving young adult readers are going to need to bone up their Norse gods and goddesses, elves, dwarves, giants, and monster lore, and Peter Aperlo's just published The Unofficial Magnus Chase and The Gods of Asgard Companion: The Norse Heroes, Monsters, and Myths Behind The Hit Series is the perfect guide to have handy as they follow Magnus Chase, former homeless Boston orphan, who discovers that he is the demigod son of the god Frey with the mission of averting the end of the world and becomes a genuine hero of Asgard all in one day. All the many players who populate Magnus' story, plus many more, are identified in this small handy volume.
Peter Aperlo's unofficial guide offers a fascinating and illustrated rundown of Norse history and social mores, a generous sampling of some of the more famous Norse myths, and an extensive Who's Who biographical dictionary of the Scandinavian pantheon of deities, mortals, heroes, monsters and otherwise villainous characters that is sure to be indispensable in reading Riordan's first book and his proposed series. Apelo offers a bonus pronunciation guide to Old Norse vowels and some links to further reading into the world of Viking archeology. All this in an inexpensive paperback or even cheaper e-book that young readers can keep at hand, especially since the sequel, The Hammer of Thor is forthcoming in 2016. And with Riordan's Disney connection through the publisher of this series, there are surely prospects for a movie or so, with the Boston setting offering plenty of colourful location shots for the action.
Who knew that a ride on one of Boston's famous Swan Boats could secretly be a Viking Cruise? How wicked is that?
Bloomsbury Reveals Plans to Celebrate Twentieth "Potter" Anniversary
Date: Wednesday, February 10, 2016 Time: 7:51 PM
Last October saw the release of the first Jim Kay Illustrated Harry Potter. The next in the series, Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets, is due to be released this coming October. The first in the series had already sold over 94,000 copies in the UK. In the lead up to the release of the second illustrated book and following the second successful Harry Potter Book Night on February 4, Bloomsbury have revealed their upcoming Potter plans. With the twentieth anniversary of Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone looming in 2017, plenty of plans are in place to celebrate this exciting anniversary. Special Hogwarts house editions of the first book, Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone/Philosopher's Stone will be published in 2017 to coincide with the anniversary.
The plans also include ways of celebrating the upcoming Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them film, which is due to be released this coming November. An updated version of the school text book, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them originally published in 2001, will be released early 2017. The new edition will contain new content from J.K. Rowling.
Bloomsbury also plan to publish Illustrated editions of The Hogwarts Library books and the releases will be staggered from 2017.
Bloomsbury will commission three new illustrators to create lavish, full-colour illustrated editions of J.K. Rowling's three Hogwarts Library books, starting with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in Autumn 2017, The Tales of Beedle of the Bard in 2018, and Quidditch Through The Ages in 2019. Illustrator announcements will follow in due course.
Scholastic, Little Brown UK to Publish "Cursed Child" Script this Summer!
Only a couple of weeks ago, I was cautiously optimistic that Harry Potter and The Cursed Child would be published as a book sooner than I originally hoped, meaning those fans unable to make the trip to London to see the show wouldn't be missing out on reading the next chapter of Harry's (and Albus') story. Now, I have confirmed - the full script of Cursed Child will be released on Harry's (and Jo's) birthday: July 31, 2016. Of course this is only a day after the play officially opens (although it does run in previews for a few weeks prior) which means that readers around the world will get the chance to read the story almost in real time, greatly reducing the risk of running across spoilers on the internet.
In the U.S., the book will cost $29.99, and in Canada it will priced at $39.99. The British hardcover will be £20. A digital edition will be released via Pottermore simultaneously. Information released by the publishers states that this edition will contain the script of the play as it stands during the production's preview period - a Special Rehearsal Edition. As further rehearsal and transition to performing in front of the live audiences may produce changes to the script, this edition will be available for a limited time - a Definitive Collector's Edition with the final version of the script will be released at a later date.
The CEO of Little Brown Book Group UK, David Shelley said of the announcement:
We are so thrilled to be publishing the script of Harry Potter and The Cursed Child. J.K. Rowling and her team have received a huge number of appeals from fans who can't be in London to see the play and who would like to see the play in book format - and so we are absolutely delighted to be able to make it available for them.
Scholastic's promotion for the book's release has already got me excited. And planning which robes I am going to wear to the midnight release of course. Wait, there's no such thing as midnight release here in the Philippines.
Synopsis: None of us came here. We look like you. We live among you. But we are not you. We can do things you dream of doing. We have powers you dream of having. We are stronger and faster than anything you have ever seen. We are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books -- but we are real.
Our plan was to grow, and train, and become strong, and become one, and fight them. But they found us and started hunting us first. Now all of us are running. Spending lives in shadows, in places where no one would look, blending in. We have lived among you without you knowing.
But they know.
They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England
And Number Three in Kenya
I am Number Four
I am next.
Review: The story revolves around the "9" aliens or Lorics from the ravaged planet Lorien. They are called "Garde" because of their special powers, called Legacies, which not everyone has in the planet. They came here with their guardians who are supposed to keep them safe because they're the ones who will save the Earth. And get Lorien back.
Unfortunately, their enemy, the ones who ruined Lorien followed them on Earth. The 9 are protected by a special charm that allows them to be safe as long as the one preceding them is not killed. They can only be killed according to their number. Unfortunately for John, Number Four, the first three were already dead. The story actually revolves around Number Four. And the story slowly unfolds as to their history. The plot slowly reveals the powers that John has inherited from the elder Garde.
John has never really developed any close relationships with other people except for Henri, his guardian. However, once he got the signal that Number Thre is already dead - they get this searing pain and mark etched on their flesh. Dark Mark, anyone? - he and Henri decided that it's time to go. They went to this sleepy town called Paradise in Ohio and there, he meets Sarah and like every other story with a teenage boy and a teenage girl, they fall in love. Everything goes peachy until the Mogadorians tracked them and they had no choice but to fight?
Who wins?
Go read the book. I swear it's a good read.
The only thing I didn't look like about the plot is that it felt a bit too dragging especially on the part where he and Sarah were growing more in love. Furthermore the sudden entry of a surprise character in the end just really caught me by no surprise. It was good, perhaps it was needed, but there was no foreshadowing at all and it just felt confusing.
The story has all the elements of a good read: light humour, action, adventure and a bit of romance. There is also the play on family ties and solid friendship. I likednthe way it was written because the friendship and romance didn't feel shallow to me. I think John's relationships were really established, which helped cement the emotion behind the succeeding scenes when Henri died and when his new friend Sam Goode stuck by him til the end.
It's a good read for anytime of the day and I recommend it.
Synopsis: Westeros is a kingdom of swords and and scheming, a kingdom that has been enjoying a decade-long summer, a kingdom to which winter is returning. Lord Eddard Stark is content to rule House Stark and enjoy the company of his wife and children, but the King, Robert Baratheon - Ned's long time-friend and co-leader of the revolution that overthrew the Mad King Aerys Targaryen - has other plans. Robert wants Ned become the Hand of the King, and with no way to refuse, Ned must go to King's Landing and attempt to put the kingdom back in order... a daunting proposition whilst the scheming Cercei Lannister, a daughter of the most powerful house in Westeros, is Queen. And meanwhile, across the seas, the last of the Targaryen children wait and plot to reclaim the throne that is rightfully theirs.
Review: To say that this series is rich with detail is a laughable understatement, so I figured that having things fresh in mind would be a good thing. I completely enjoy Martin's writing style. His world-building, his action, his action and his character development, all wonderful. He's great at presenting complicated political maneuvering in a way that's easy to follow. His prose doesn't make me want to leap out of my seat, but it's smoothly fades into the background, which is exactly what you want when you've got a story this compelling.
Of the six major events that I remembered happening in this book, one actually happens in the next book, one I knew happened at the end, and the other four all happened within the first 25% of the book. And to make my point, the book doesn't feel front loaded at all. The pace keeps going strong throughout - clearly so much stuff happens that my memory couldn't hold it all.
And what does happen? Is of the no-holds-barred style of story telling. This book is casually brutal. Or I remembered this was brutal - The Red Wedding is pretty well seared into my brain permanently - how unrelentingly brutal they are. Martin's not shy about doing horrible things to his characters, and having them do horrible things are to each other, and no one is safe... and yet I let myself get attached to them anyways, even though I knew (more or less) what was coming.
It's impossible not to get attached to the characters. They're all really complex, and well-drawn that even the bad guys are still interesting, and still at least somewhat sympathetic (except Joffrey. Gods, I just want to punch Joffrey in his smug little face, even though it's not his fault he was raised to be a prattish jerkwad). On the flip side, even the good guys I occasionally want to slap and yell at to stop being dumb/blind/proud/annoyingly obsessed with their own honour. And the best part is that so many of the characters are neither good guys nor bad guys, but somewhere wonderfully meaty and fascinating in between. I remembered all that in principle.
Honestly even better than I remembered it being. Not for everyone, but if complex historicals or epic fantasy is your thing, it's a series well worth diving into.
Upcoming Film: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Cast: Eddie Redmayne (Newt Scamander), Katherine Waterston (Porpentina "Tina" Goldstein), Dan Fogler (Jacob Kowalski), Samantha Morton (Mary Lou), Ezra Miller (Credence), Collin Farrell (Percival Graves), Faith Wood-Balgrove (Modesty), Carmen Ejogo (Seraphina), Jon Bought (Henry Shaw), Ron Perlman (Gnarlack) Directed by: David Yates Date Premiered: November 18, 2016 Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures Based on: Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them (Newt Scamander -J.K. Rowling) Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Family
Synopsis: The story revolves around Newt Scamander's arrival at the Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA), for a meeting with an important official. Central to the story and this meeting is a magically expanded briefcase which houses a number of dangerous creatures and their habitats. When the creatures escape from the briefcase, it sends the American Wizarding after Newt, and it threatens even further strain the state of magical and non-magical relations, which is already in a dangerous place, due to the threatening presence of fanatical New Salem Philanthropic Society, an extremist organisation dedicated to the eradication of wizard-kind. The story tells of what effect this devastating mistake has on the state of wizard/No-Maj (the American term for a non-magical person) relations in New York City's community of wizards and witches in 1926, the effort to correct the mistakes, and the horrors of the resultant increase in violence, fear, and tension felt between magical and non-magical people.
Thoughts: I thought I would be done with this. I thought I had cried my final tears four years ago when the last Harry Potter film ended. Never would I have thought that I would be writing related to Harry Potter in my adult life, especially something that is relevant to our present day. But as Warner Bros. have decided to adapt J.K. Rowling's novel Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them to the big screen. I am obviously going to take any chance that I can get to write about it. Within the past couple of months, the public have been given a handful of information about the film here and there, which have been spread sporadically through our social media platforms. However, I am going to try and lay out all the information I could gather about the film for you all in one post. And I hope that my inner childhood Harry Potter fan girl doesn't take over.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is originally a 2001 novel written by J.K. Rowling under the pseudonym of Newt Scamander, a fictional magizoologist (the study of magical creatures). In the book, Scamander lists the 85 magical creatures that reside around the world, which he found through observations from his travel around 5 different continents. Within the Harry Potter Universe, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them is uses as a Hogwarts textbook that is compulsory for first year students (even though the class Care of Magical Creatures is not introduced until third year). However, the book is a helpful encyclopedia to identify dark creatures for the class Defense Against the Dark Arts, and according to Dumbledore, is a wonderful addition for a wizarding household.
Newt Scamander
As the current synopsis goes, the film will follow the adventures of Newt Scamander and his quest to find magical beasts. J.K. Rowling herself has stated that it does not serve as prequel or a sequel to the Harry Potter world, but will act as an addition to the Wizarding Universe. It will take place in 1920's New York, which is seven decades before Harry Potter and his gang go to Hogwarts.
Because the film is set in America, we definitely get to see US witches and wizards right? Absolutely! If your are religiously following Rowling on Twitter, you would know that she has already teased the idea of the American School of Wizadry. Even though it is uncertain that we will be introduced to this school, we do get to meet some of its ex-students and may even explore the inner workings of American magic, which apparently is influenced by Native American culture.
It's reunion time for the Harry Potter crew, as all have worked on most/all of the movies within the franchise. Producer David Hey man and Executive Producer Lionel Wigram are making their comeback alongside David Yates who directed the last four Harry Potter films. J.K. Rowling has written the script herself with the involvement from Steve Kloves, who has scripted all but one of the Harry Potter films.
Unlike the crew, we won't be seeing any of the original cast return for the film.
Like The Hobbit, this one singular novel will be turned into three films. Kevin Tsujihara has already confirmed that it will become "three mega movies" and J.K. Rowlkng has nearly finished the material for the first film and is already working on the two additional chapters. Release dates have already been chosen, with the first movie set to come out on November 18, 2016 and the two preceding on November 16, 2018 and November 20, 2020.
Thank you, Warner Bros. Thank you for keeping the Harry Potter and all its magic alive. From what I have read, the public, young and old, are genuinely excited to see this novel adapted into a live-action. Hopefully the success of this film will manifest into others within The Hogwarts Library like Quidditch Through The Ages and The Tales of Beedle The Bard
Synopsis: Eddie is a wounded war veteran, an old man who has lived, in his mind, an uninspired life. His job is fixing rides at a seaside amusement park. On his 83rd birthday, a tragic accident kills him as he tried to save a little girl from a falling cart. He awakes in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a destination, but an answer.
In heaven, five people explain your life to you. Some you knew, others may have been strangers. One by one, from childhood to soldier to old age, Eddie's five people revisit their connections to him on earth, illuminating the mysteries of his "meaningless" life, and revealing the haunting secret behind the eternal question: "Why was I here?"
Review: The reason which propelled me to read this book was its title, which hooked me and I wanted to know more. The book answers the question we all ask at some point in our life, "What will happen after death?" But do not think of it as a religious book indicating philosophy of a particular religion or scholar. It is just author's interpretation of afterlife and he explains it through a story in the most simplistic words possible. The book is just over 200 pages long, so it can be read easily in one sitting.
It is about Eddie, who works at an amusement park and the story starts from his 83rd birthday, the day when he dies whilst saving a girl from a fallen cart. I won't spoil the ending for you so you can enjoy the book, buy it and find out more. The gist of the book is that "Throughout your life, you come across many people, some of whom you know, somehow you don't, but all of them change the course of your life in some way or the other. You may or may not notice when you are alive but through the journey in heaven, you find out how and when the path of your life changed due to interaction with someone significant or insignificant individual in your life. " As I started this book, in spite of being able to predict what will happen next, I wanted to know who those five people Eddie meets in heaven are and how they changes his life at some point or the other, and at what levels his life got affected by them.
This is the theory of life and afterlife put forward by the author through the main character of this book. The only thing that bothered me was the way he tells the story, like an old man trying to teach morals to his grand children through "once upon a time" stories. Maybe the author could have out his thoughts in a non-fiction categorising the book under self-developmental/self-help/ spiritual book" to make it a mature reading. But in spite of his preaching style, you will not find it dull or boring. You may or may not agree with the writer's beliefs and how he perceives life hereafter but you will definitely like how the story unfolds smoothly from one chapter to another and keeps you engaged til the end. The book is suitable for children and adults because of its simple yet interesting style. So give it a read and let me know how did you find it.
Top Ten: Ten Things You Need To Know Before Dating a Bookworm
Date: Sunday, January 31, 2016 Time: 1:13 AM
Disclaimer: Everything written here is based on my opinion, it might not apply to all bookworms but I'll try to find a common ground.
Know the word "bookworm" actually means. A bookworm is not a book worm. It is a person who loves to read and spends alot of time doing so. If the person you're planning to date does not fall under this category, go, read another post instead.
Reading has set our standards in dating sky high. Let's be honest. Most, if not all, bookworms dream of meeting someone similar to or who resembles the fictional character they fell in love with (although most of the time we dream of meeting the fictional characters themselves.) Likewise we dream of experiencing some of the relationships we've read about, specifically, those that made us fall in love ourselves. This is the reason why some people perceive avid readers as the most difficult to date. We expect a wee bit too much (it's an oxymoron... I think).
We do spend alot of time reading. Our free time will always be consumed by reading (and swooning over fictional characters) so do understand that there will be times when we will not be able to respond to your text messages, or your phone calls, or whatnot. It's either we're sleeping or reading. There is no in-between. Just kidding we have work and school too.
We fall in love with fictional characters. They will be your greatest rivals. There will be times when all we would blabber about are fictional characters, how attractive they are and how much we want to marry them. It's like having a third party, only you cannot get back on fictional people.
We prefer books for presents. If there was one thing you should be grateful for, it's the fact that you no longer have to worry about what to give us on our anniversaries, birthdays, Christmas, maybe even Halloween. It's automatic: all we want are books. This can be a bit tricky though for the following reason a). You might get the same book, hence a double b). You might get a book that she or he is not interested in and c). It's not easy picking a book most especially when there's just too much to choose from. All you need is skill and adequate knowledge on your girlfriend/boyfriend's wish list and orders that month and you're fine.
Bookworms are the best lovers. Living different lives and being exposed to various feelings and people make us utterly sensitive. Thus, it's easier to know what you're thinking, how you're feeling and what can we do about it. We also know how to weave words and thoughts and make someone special in different ways. But the most important of all is that despite the "warnings" mentioned above, at the end of the day, we will always come back to you and you will always have us (though some pieces of our hearts would still be with fictional characters).
When we see your apartment for the first time, the first thing we will look for is your bookshelf or bookcase. It will be the first thing we gravitate towards and we will spend several minutes looking through your collection, trying to get know you better. If you don't have a single book in your apartment, we might be a little concerned.
Letting you borrow a book is a huge step for us, and we will resent you if you don't give it back. Books are amongst our most prized possessions. It doesn't matter if we've already read it. You still have to give it back. Because we might want to read it a second time. Or a 17th time.
Sometimes we just need to be alone for a little while. Nothing's wrong. We're not upset with you. We still love spending time with you. But we are accustomed to a certain amount of quiet time in our daily lives, and sometimes we just need to sit down with a good book for a few hours in order to feel refreshed and energised.
When you're upset, sometimes our first instinct will be to suggest to read a certain book. We're not trying to be cold or unhelpful or pushy. We're just trying to share a special piece of literature that has gotten us through some of our most difficult moments. Bookworms often have deep emotional connections to many different books, so if we suggest a book to you, it means we really want to help you so much as we can.
Synopsis: In the Republic of Greater East Asia, a frightening event called the "Program"takes place once a year in order to keep the citizens compliant and distrustful of one another. Third-year junior high classes are randomly selected throughout the nation, relocated to an isolated area, and forced to kill one another just one survivor - the victor remains.
This year, it's 15-year-old Shuya Nanahara's class that gets chosen and relocated to a small island. Shuya is forced to watched his friends die and his classmates go crazy. But what if there were some way to beat the fascist government's supposedly infallible system?
Review: Battle Royale is brutal, both physically and mentally. It tosses you into the middle of a corrupt world and forces you to be witness to an event that's deadly and well established. Innocent and not-so innocent teenagers die every few pages in unapologetic prose. No sooner do we come to know a student's personality and the past when he or she is killed, the abruptness of losing someone interesting you've just begun to know a definite stomach-turner, a definite shake up.
If this kind of dystopian literature is your kind of thin, there's plenty of it to be had. Even if you've got a weak stomach for violence, however, Battle Royale still gives you alot to think about. Koushun Takami's writing is nothing striking, and yet there's something about the plainness of it, the bluntness of the translated version that gets inside your veins and messes up your organs. It's the way he gives us a brief character of each of the 42 students - and then takes them away in horrifying manners. It's the way that this book's world takes the existence of the "Program" as expected, unchangeable. And it's the way that this book makes you doubt yourself and the characters, not sure whom you should trust, just as the government intends for you to react.
This book has inevitably been compared to The Hunger Games, so why not say what I think about the two? The Hunger Games is clearly YA, readers are spared the too-gruesome details and through the eyes of Katniss, are spared the intensity of the horror that arises when a character whose history you know dies. Battle Royale is a stand-alone novel, which makes its shocker of an ending all the more satisfying; whilst I have yet to read the next two books in Suzanne Collins' series, I can only hope that she will deliver an equally believable and satisfying answer for Katniss and her world.
If I had to make a choice between the two, I'd go with The Hunger Games, for its less stomach-churning material and the successful development of memorable characters. However, Battle Royale provides more questions to think over, more disturbing ideas and images that will keep you up later in the night. If you do not have a weak stomach and have the time to read an intense 600-page work, I suggest picking up Battle Royal in order to completely annihalate everything you've previously thought about the dark side of human nature and our curiosity in violence and death.
So here we are again, another year have passed us by. 2016 is gonna be a year that is filled again of anticipated books and growing TBR. So without further a do, here's the list of my most anticipated books of 2016.
Forever Doon by Carey Corp and Lorie Langdon
Release Date: August 2, 2016
It made me have this unputdownable wanderlust to Scotland, I fell in love with the magical kingdom of Doon and the characters, especially the MacCrea brothers.
Also if you've already read Shades of Doon, you know why I am so eager to have this beautiful book in my hands. Because if you've read the last book, that cliffhanger made me want to reap my hair out of my head.
The Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan
Release Date: May 3, 2016
Okay. Who would say no to this? Rick Riordan is one of my author buy books. Together with growing up with J.K. Rowling's books, shaping your book loving persona, I also have Uncle Rick to shape mine. I grew up with his characters by my side. Plus we're gonna be having Percy in this book, if that doesn't made it more exciting I don't know will. So yeah I am so looking forward in this book. Apollo is gonna be a teenage boy, and Percy is gonna be like in his 20's in this book. The excerpt had us crazy for the book. I can't wait to have it in my hands.
Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan
Release Date: October 4, 2016
Remember what I said earlier that Uncle Rick is one of my automatically buy authors? Yeah I am so excited for this second book of Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard. The first book is such a fun and amazing read. We met the ever sassy and witty Magnus, we get to see glimpses of Annabeth in the book too. I am just looking forward to reading this book and hang around with Magnus more and maybe we'll see our dear old Camp Half-Blood friends in this book too. And I love Magnus, he's such a fun dude. No official cover for this book just yet.
Demigods and Magicians by Rick Riordan
Release Date: April 5, 2016
This is going to be awesome! Rick Riordan does that just makes your insides go squishy and you can't help but be excited for months for his book releases. There aren't many authors that are on my auto-buy list but let's just say.. HELLS YEAH! RICK RIORDAN IS ON THAT LIST! Something would have to be MAJORLY wrong with me, to not immediately buy his book. This is even better than a Futurama/Simpsons crossover.
Uncle Rick has done it again.
Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard
Release Date: February 9, 2016
Red Queen was such such a blast to begin with. I am looking forward on seeing more of the Scarlet Guard, and Shade and Cal and Mare and of course, Maven. The first book had been mind blowing and feels shattering that I was in a cry fest when I am done. And if you see that tag line: "Kneel or Bleed", well I thin I should start get freaking nervous.
Soldier by Julie Kagawa
Release Date: April 26, 2016
I am currently loving Julie Kagawa's works. Soldier is the third book. The feels are totally hitting me like tidal waves and every time there's a climatic scene in her books I am just freaking the hell out. There better be more Ember and Riley scenes in this book. Like really, I wasn't done reading yet, and "if" Riley die on Rogue I don't know if I'll be able to go on.
The Winner's Kiss by: Marie Rutkoski
Release Date: March 29, 2016
I loved The Winner's Curse and The Winner's Crime. This is the final one and WAR. I love the politics in this book series. The world building is A++mazing and the characters are really remarkable and clever. I am just so excited for this book and what gonna become of Kestrel and Arin. There rumours that they changed the cover design and I am not liking it. The original covers are so fab why change it? My OCD shelf is growing inside. Please keep those amazing covers. No need to change it.
The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson
Release Date: August 2, 2016
The third and final book of Mary E. Pearson's The Remnant Chronicles. The first book has been mind blowing and drove the fans over the edge. The second book was kind of okay in comparison to the first book. But hey it's a middle of the book, it's a bridge between the first and last book, and it usually does, Fans are so looking forward on what gonna happen to this crazy love triangle too.
The Dark Artifices: Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare
Release Date: March 8, 2016
Another book in the Shadowhunter universe. There's no stopping Cassie Clare on revealing all the secrets of the amazing Shadow World to us. Just so you know Cassandra Clare is one of my auto-buy book authors. She wrote that, I am gonna buy it. Especially if it involves the Shadow World in it. I am so excited to meet Emma Carstairs and Julian Blackthorn and some appearances of our all time loved characters of the past. Shadowhunter books. I am just so excited to read this, my feels about this book is all over the place.
Starflight by Melissa Landers
Released Date: February 2, 2016
I loved Melissa Landers;s Alienated series and I am just so excited to read her works. Starlight is also gonna be a series and I need to have it. I love her amazing galactic imagination and her amazing writing and fun scenes. At some point I think it's gonna remind me of something Star Wars-y and I am gonna love it for sure.
United by Melissa Landers
Release Date: August 2, 2016
Another book from her Alienated universe. Yay. More Aelyx and Cara. I am just so fashing (see what I did there?) excited for this book to come out because if you've read invaded, the second of the series, you know it's not really the end even though the characters seemed fine with their happy ending. We know that there is more to the world that "that" and we've barely scratch the surface of the said invasion. So I am just so happy that we're gonna be having a third book in the Alienated series. The cover is yet to come.
A Torch Against The Night by Sabaa Tahir
Release Date: August 2, 2016
An Ember in the Ashes has been a mega amazing book. It was said to be a stand alone but the uproar from the readers who have finished reading the book have made the book two a possibility. I wonder if there's gonna be a Helene and Keenan, Such an amazing series.
Heartless by Marissa Meyer
Release Date: November 8, 2016
I love Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles, especially Winter. Such a great way to wrap up an epic series. I love her fairy tale re-telling style, it felt so Star Wars-y (again) to which it made mega amazing.
The Fever Code by James Dashner
Release Date: September 27, 2016
Finally a prequel that is related to the series' characters to where I could finally get the answers I am waiting for. Now I don't care if this takes two years or even ten years to be published. I just need my closure and I don't mean just some half-baked story, unanswered questions and forced explanations. It have to be something that would leave me saying "It sure was worth the wait". I won't expect much though, I might be left disappointed again but crossed-fingers.
So that is all. For all the books that I am anticipating this year.
Harry Potter and The Cursed Child is the upcoming two-part West End stage play scheduled to open in July 2016, set nineteen years after the end of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, which will be about Harry Potter (now a Ministry of Magic employee) and his son Albus Potter. Considered to be the sequel of the Harry Potter books, most fans are worried because they will not be able to experience it since it is only available for those who can visit London. However, the big hope of getting the play script published as a book was latent since the announcement.
And there seems to be good news now. I read that at least two publishers are trying to get the rights to publish the script play. Remember it is not a J.K. Rowling's work, given the play is written by Jack Thorne and he will probably listed as the author - which is an important fact to be considered in the negotiations.
This is all I know so far - but two publishers negotiating to get the publishing rights is a good sign and almost a confirmation that we will Harry Potter and The Cursed Child published as a book.
In a span of a week, and in the middle of combing my hair, I thought of another feature for this blog. Today, I am going to start to feature What Chie Says. It will feature news, a little bits and bobs about books, films, and author's life, and a whole lot more. So for the groundbreaking of What Chie Says, I am going to discuss the top five great movies that were turned into terrible books.
In the days before home video, fans who wanted to relieve their favourite films were able to do so through the wonder of movie novelisations. Or they would have done so, if those books weren't hastily written cash-ins based on early versions of the screen play that, on top of everything, often added totally insane subplots seemingly designed to make you hate the original movie.
These authors were being asked to produce a full novel based on someone else's screenplay, featuring characters they didn't create and probably didn't give a shit about, knowing that nobody at the studio was likely ever to read it. Why wouldn't they completely tank the job in the most hilarious ways possible?
#5 E.T. the Extra Terrestrial Turns E.T. into a Perverted Old Man
Steven Spielberg's beloved E.T. has remained a wholesome pop culture icon despite appearing in exactly one movie 3 decades ago. The character truly encapsulates the feeling of childlike wonder. Who wouldn't want E.T to be their best friend as a kid? Answer: You wouldn't Not after reading the novelisation. E.T. the Extra Terrestrial in his Adventures on Earth by William Kotzwinkle adds details not seen in the movie, starting with the fact that E.T is 10 million years old. And, as a fully developed adult, of course he gets sexually frustrated. I am confident that this is a prime example of the author saying, "Eh, they're not going to read this shit anyway," and just seeing what he could get away with. Thus, Kotzwinkle's E.T. is a book rife with reference to sexuality -- everything from Elliot's mother fearing her children's burgeoning sexual maturity to the totally unnecessary and disturbing detail that Elliot's former principal had been "a sexual offender, retired early after several private incidents in the supply closet became public." I am not kidding about any of this,
But the worst part is that E.T. himself not above being corrupted by this novel -- Kotzwinkle conveys the alien's inner monologue, and guess what -- he has the hots for Elliot's mum. E.T. refers to her as a "goddess the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen." To be fair, this plot line was filmed for the movie and ultimately cut, but the novel goes into disturbing amounts of detail regarding E.T.'s obsession over Mary, whom he affectionately calls "the willow-creature." "How ironic it was that the willow-creature, the lovely Mary, pined for her vanished husband whilst in a closet, close at hand, dwelt one of the finest minds in the cosmos." E.T. watches Mary whilst she sleeps and kisses a framed photo of her and when Elliot puts an ailing E.T. in the shower, we get the most horrifying revelation of all: "The water came on, soaking Elliot and E.T. The aged voyager shook his head as the water hit. 'Ah yes, the shower, where the willow creature dances'." Yeah, so it starts to border on serial killer shit at that point, Strangely, not only was it not necessary to devote on entire landfill to storing the unsold copies of this book, but Kotzwinkle even penned a sequel with the assistance of Spielberg, who declared himself a huge fan of his work, This is yet more evidence that it's a good thing E.T. only appeared in one movie 3 decades ago. #4 Total Recall Ruins Everything People Like About Total Recall
The main thing that prevents the original Total Recall from being just another shitty generic action movie is the ambiguity -- you're never really sure if Douglas Quaid's (Arnold Schwarzenegger's) adventure is actually happening or if it's all the result of a memory implant gone haywire. The film includes subtle hints that the entire thing is a dream,but it never makes it obvious, leaving the audience puzzling over whether Quaid is a true hero or some bored guy sleeping in a futuristic beauty salon chair. It's that ambiguity that keeps us coming back to this movie over and over again. That's the Total Recall movie. Total Recall the novel is another story, Actually, it's the same story just a whole lot dumber. Either the novelisation's author intentionally decided to crush the thing that made the movie special or he was just tragically bad at being vague about the crucial "Is it a dream or reality?" dilemma. For starters, after "Quail" (Quaid's original name in the script before Dan Quayle ruined it for everyone) has a fight with his "dream girl", Melina, I get this passage: "... no pre-packaged dream would have included that scene with Melina, where instead of fulfillment he had received a painful setback. Only reality did that kind of thing to a man!" That's not an inner monologue, by the way -- that's the book's narrator clumsily doing with any mystery the story might have had, basically just to say "Women, am I right?" Then, if that wasn't clear enough, this line after Quaid spits out the pill that is meant to bring him out of the dream: "But this wasn't the end of the dream! This was the confirmation of the Mars reality!" You can tell it's exciting! Because every sentence ends in an exclamation point! The novel even goes out of its way to point out that Melina is a model, thus explaining why Quaid saw her face on a monitor before the "dream" started, simply to quash any last trace of incertitude that may be left. And then there's the famous ending: In the movie, Quaid and Melina triumphantly gaze upon the Martian landscape as the image fades to while, and it's up to the audience to decide whether Quaid is in some kind of coma or the two of them are about to have passionate Martian crater sex. In the novel, not so much:
"Quail cast the specter away. He took Melina in his arms and kissed her robustly. He was through with dreaming, reality was much better" The most baffling part is that the movie was already based on a short story by Philip K. Dick, so I am not sure why they didn't just reprint tbat in size 72 font and call it a book. #3 Jaws The Revenge Introduces Magic to the Jaws Universe
When discussing Jaws: The Revenge (the third sequel to Steven Spielberg's killer shark extravaganza) scholars seem ti agree that it did exactly one thing right, Sure, it's a terrible movie in almost every aspect, but at least it didn't explain that the shark eats people because of a supernatural voodoo curse. The same thing can't be said about the novel. The even more terrible Jaws: The Revenge novelisation doesn't just shit on that particular movie (which would be like going on a used toilet without flushing first) but on the entire franchise, it indirectly suggests that when Chief Brody and Quint were hunting a savage force of nature in the first film, they might have actually been battling a wizard who was a remote-controlling that shark with his mind. Which is a perfectly fine premise for a motion picture, now that I think about it, just not this one. Admittedly, the novel didn't have alot to work with. The movie's central plot concerns a great white shark following Chief Brody's widow, Ellen, to the Bahamas where she's visiting her son Mike after her other son was killed by a different shark... or possibly the same shark, it's not really clear. Whilst it didn't really make sense that a shark would have a vendetta against a particular set of humans in the first place, author Hank Searls carried on the great literary tradition, then writing something even more ridiculous. Searls version includes an evil witch doctor named Papa Jacques who seeks revenge against the Brody family. I learn right off the bat that Papa Jacques hates Michael, and the novel heavily implies that the witch doctor is able to enter a trance and control a great white shark to attack the Brody's. "It was one of Michael Brody's shirts, stolen by a devotee from his washerwoman's line that day. The houngan fingered his shark's tooth necklace, sent his mind beneath the sea and into a trance himself." The most frightening part is how much sense all of this makes with the movie. How did a creature with the mental capacity if a fetus know to target a specific family? Because magic, of course. On the other hand, the fact that this is universe where witched exist would probably explain, much of Jaws 3-D. #2 The Gremlins Novel Turns the Gremlins into Aliens, for Some Reason
The first Gremlins movie is fondly remembers as another inexplicable oddity of the '80s, like Max Headroom or Ronald Reagan. The film doesn't even attempt to explain where the Gremlins came from, but it's hinted that they're of magical origin: Gizmo is purchased at a store manned by an old man who conforms to every Chinese stereotype ever, and old Chinese men are always selling magical shit to white people in movies. Also, these things replicate when wet and turn into monsters if they feed after midnight, so there's that. Anyway, like most hit movies, Gremlins spawned a boatload of crappy tie-in merchandise, like
trading cards, dolls, a breakfast cereal. And of course a novelization by George Gipe. Except that, for some reason, Gipe sat down at his desk, looked at the screenplay titled Gremlins, that he'd been hired to adapt into a book also called Gremlins, and immediately starting writing about... aliens. From the first chapter. "Centuries ago on another planet, Mogturmen had set out to produce a creature that was adaptable to any climate or condition, one that could easily reproduce itself, was gentle and highly intelligent" Turns out that his Mogturmen guy is the inventor of the Gremlins and "genetiv hero of three galaxies". Already this is starting to sound more like someone's terrible Doctor Who fan fiction than the movie we know and love. The first chapter explains that Mogturmen sent his genetically engineered creations to inhabited planets in a mission to spread peace, like Operation Iraqi Freedom. Apparently, Mogturmen didn't administer that crucial test to see if his creations had the potential to easily spawn large murderous monsters before he started jettisoning them out into space. So what was Mogturmen's fate? At one point, the surprisingly articulate Gizmo recalls that his creator was punished by other Mogturmens' before suddenly changing the subject, as if remembering that there might be kids reading this. There's no way that dude didn't get castrated. In fact, we can extrapolate from what we know that it must have been his attempt to build himself a new dong that eventually led to the events of Alien. The rest of the book ditches the space opera crap, but the tone is ruined -- when you watch the movie for the first time, you have no idea what to expect next, since it starts off relatively normal and gets more ridiculous as it goes. #1 Halloween Reveals That Michael Myers Is Just a Possessed Victim
Halloween is a 10-movie franchise based solely on how goddamn creepy Michael Myers was in that first 1978 film by John Carpenter. For the first time, here was a movie killer who didn't murder people because he wanted money or due to chronically untreated mummy issues, but simply because he was pure evil. He was the perfect boogeyman for the modern era. So naturally, the novelisation's author decided to go ahead and ruin all that.
Let's say you bought this book under the naive impression that it follows the plot of the movie, so you open it expecting to find a description of a suburban house on Halloween night or something like that. Then you look at the first page and it says: "The horror started on the eye of Samhain, in a foggy vale in Northern Ireland at the dawn of the Celtic race". Yes the book starts thousands of years in the past with the story of a young boy named Enda. Enda murders the king's daughter Deidre, succumbing to a curse on the druid day of the dead, Samhain, which would eventually become All Hallow's Eve, which would eventually become Halloween. It's always a good sign when the slasher movie novelisation you just bought begins with a history lesson. So basically, sweet innocent Michael Myers is just the victim of some ancient Celtic curse/demon thing. In fact, he's not even the first person in his family to suffer this fate, since it's mentioned that his great-grandfather went through similar problems. Had Michael's mum simply hired a good exorcist, the next nine movies could have been prevented (or the spirit would have moved to another member of the Myers clan, perhaps the famous cousin in Canada)
Synopsis: It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn't much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children. While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to say where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.
Review: It is finally time for to review a new Harry Potter story and that feels amazing. What doesn't feel amazing is that my thoughts are so conflicted, I finished reading this play and immediately stamped 5.5 on my Goodreads review. It wasn't that I loved the story, it was that I loved being transported back to a world I love, to characters I adore so much and to experience that magic once again. I had tears in my eyes whilst finishing this book because it brought back all those nostalgic feelings. The problem was that the story wasn't good as I had hoped and the more I think about the book, the less happy with it I get. It's currently on a 3/5 with the potential to go lower if I dwell on it anymore. So, no more dwelling, time for reviewing. And don't worry, if you haven't read the book yet then I won't spoil it. I will keep this part completely non-spoilery and have the spoilers after a massive warning, for all those who have read it.
This was never going to be the story that most Harry Potter fans wanted. For one thing, it is a script of a play, and not a novel. We all knew this before buying so it's not a shock, but it does mean it's a weird new way to experience the Harry Potter world. This is something that is supposed to be experienced and watched, not read. The other main issue is that, no matter how largely they write her name on the cover, this was not written by J.K. Rowling. And that is a terrible thing to me as it meant that I felt the characters were just lacking in a way they wouldn't have been if she had wrote it. The characters always just felt a little off and not like the characters we spent seven books getting to know.
The story itself was not at all what I was expecting, but I am mentioning nothing about it here. I think it is better to go blind. We all know this book takes place 19 years after the Battle of Hogwarts, and follows Harry's son Albus rather than Harry. We meet some brilliant characters in this, but also some bad ones. My main issue with the story was that it felt all a bit ridiculous and that alot of it didn't make sense. I, quite honestly, can never view this play as canon because it all just feels ridiculous and as if it would never happen. Another major issue is the gaping plot holes that this book leaves us with, and I hate gaping holes!
So yes, overall I was disappointed, I loved some aspects of this but was really pissed about other, I need to go into spoilery detail to explain that. If you haven't read this yet or seen the play then now is the time to skip out.
I am actually excited to review this and go into all my spoilery thoughts. I have to, I won't be able to contain myself otherwise. I need to lay it all out on the table. First, I need to get this out of the way: I LOVE HARRY POTTER! If you know me in real life or from my blog, Twitter, or Instagram, then you already know this. Harry Potter is my life and has been since I was a teenager. And because of my Gran I bought the whole set of books. Harry Potter was basically my childhood and I loved every minute of it. It was a childhood of midnight releases of books and films. Harry Potter is life and forever will be. But I am never going to be one of those people who is blinded by my love for something. I wanted to love this play, I really did, but I didn't in the end and that is because it has alot of flaws and problems and things I didn't like. Plus, I feel that this is important, it is a script for a play and I feel it is better to experience as a movie.
I will do a very quick summary for anyone reading the spoilery side even if they haven't read the play. Basically the story focuses on Harry's son Albus as he begins attending Hogwarts and gets placed in Slytherin. This is a huge deal and Albus ends up sucking at magic and forever living in his fathers shadow, which he resents, and their relationship is basically strained. Harry is a terrible father for some reason. Scorpius Malfoy is the most adorable bean of all time, and him and Albus become best friends. who are totally in love with each other - we'll get to that later -. Amos Diggory shows up out of the blue with his niece Delphi, wanting Harry to go back in time and save Cedric's life. Harry even though the one last surviving time turner has been found, lies and says he can't. Albus then decides to do it himself, with the help of good ol' Scorpius. Of course going back in time and changing one tiny detail changes everything. So then they keep having to go back, changing things until we eventually figure out that Delphi is the love child of Voldemort and Bellatrix and she wants to go back in time to prevent him from ever killing Harry, so that he would never have been defeated. And, yeah, the simplified version of this messy plot.
The first thing I have to mention is probably what anyone who has read it wanted to discuss the most... Voldemort had a love child with Bellatrix Lestrange! REALLY?!?!?! I got to that point in the book and suddenly understood why I heard people saying that they felt this read like a fan fiction. My mouth dropped open and disappointment set in. It just makes zero sense tom me, and the explanation of it and timeline of those events also makes no sense to me. I just don't see Voldemort as someone concerned with having a child. His plan was to get the Deathly Hallows and master death, so he wasn't looking for an heir. And, come on, it's like the guy has even one tiny paternal bone in his body. The only thing that does make sense is that if Voldemort had a kid with anyone, it would be Bellatrix, you can totally see her wanting to have his baby. I still don't get how this all happened and no one knew. And that it was never alluded to in the final book. She apparently gave birth in the Malfoy Manor before the Battle of Hogwarts. So where was the baby whilst she was off fighting? Why did Draco not know about it? Or did he and just never felt like he should mention it? Come on, this is the most ridiculous Harry Potter story line in the history of ever and I am going to pretend that it is a fan fiction and not cannon because otherwise I'd have to rate this a 1/5 and I just can't deal with that right now.
The next thing we have to discuss is the main plot device here: Time Travel. Why?! Do not mess with the time travel, it's far too overused and just results in endless plot holes and problems. This book is not an exception to that rule. Especially when we take into account that the main plot here is that Albus and Scorpius want to use the time turner to go back in time and save Cedric Diggory's life.
They have a time turner that can take them back years and they are going to use this to save Cedric Diggory. Can we all take a moment to appreciate how utterly pointless and stupid that act would be if we think about the fact they could go back in time and strangle tiny, evil baby Voldemort and save thousands of people?! Oh no, let's just go back in time and save one boy.
That is like someone giving you a time turner in our world and going back in time to save Anne Frank, rather than killing Hitler. If you kill the evil overlord then you would save all the people that died at their hands. So the whole time I am just sitting here wanting to slap everyone for just being so stupid. But it is obvious why they can't all suddenly realise they have the power to murder Voldemort and prevent everything. It would mean that everything that came after that would completely change and the first seven Harry Potter books would never have happened. So of course we can't have that, so we will just have this giant stupid plot hole instead.
The next biggest problem with this book is the characterisation and how wrong it is in this play. Ron is suddenly reduced to just a little bit of comedic relief. He just eats food and pulls pranks and apparently got so drunk at his wedding and that he forgot most of it. Why has Ron suddenly turned into a Weasley twin too? I know he liked pranks and found them funny before but he was no Fred or George. And why is he giving a small boy a love potion as a joke gift? He was put under the influence of love potion and it wasn't an experience he particularly enjoyed, so I can't see him then being stupid enough to give one to a child. I hated seeing what Jack Thorne reduced his character to here, it was not fun to read.
Harry was even worse, I hated him being the world's worst father who would be horrible to tell his son that sometimes he wished he wasn't his son. I just don't see Harry ever saying that. I feel he would love his children, no matter how difficult they could be and appreciate being able to be there for them, as he never had that as a child. And watching him treat Professor McGonagall made even for even more unpleasant reading. Am I supposed to believe that Harry, the guy who flipped out when a Death Eater spat on her, would then go and treat her with so little respect? Nope, I am not buying that.
Hermione was just as hard to read, especially in the timeline where she and Ron and never got together. She basically becomes a female version of Snape. She's the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts who treats the children horribly. She's nasty and bitter, and apparently all because she didn't wind up with Ron?! No. Are we really reducing Hermione down to this? She is a strong, brave, kind person and I don't see her ever turning that bitter because of a guy. She is so much better than that. Why did J.K. Rowling give this her stamp of approval?
And I am still sold on the fact that getting humiliated one time would suddenly turn Cedric Diggory into an evil Death Eater situation but it is just awful. I don't believe for one second that Cedric would allow that one moment in his life change him so completely that he suddenly goes to the Harry Potter dark side and start working for Voldemort. No.
I have another big issue and that is, Scorpius and Albus are blatantly in love with each other. The issue isn't that they love each other, the issue is that it seems super obvious to 90% of people reading and yet it is never addressed. Come on, they totally love each other and I ship it endlessly. I just get so sad to see the potential to have our first openly gay couple in the Harry Potter universe squandered. These two were just utterly adorable. Not just watch them fill a play with so much homoerotic subtext and then just brush it all aside at the end. In my mind they become the most adorably squishy couple ever, get married and join the Potter and the Malfoy households.
It wasn't all bad though and there were aspects that I really liked. The biggest one being Scorpius Malfoy. He is adorable and I just loved his character. He is so sweet and kind, and I was just happy with his character. I also loved that Albus and Scorpius were both Slytherins, and both kind, wonderful Slytherins. I have a big spot for Slytherin house so I was happy that this plays shows that Slytherins are just as awesome. I also loved when Ron told Hermione he wanted to renew their wedding vows.
Writing this review actually felt quite therapeutic, but I must admit that the more I think about the story the more upset I get, I just wanted this to be amazing and everything I was hoping for, and it wasn't, I feel this was definitely missing J.K. Rowling's touch and I wish she had been the one to write the script, as I feel the characters would have felt more real if she had. It wasn't all bad and I enjoyed the story whilst reading. It blew my mind reading it, as I tried to figure out how they were going to pull this off on stage. I can't ever consider this as a canon because it is just had too many plot holes and makes little sense when you think back on the Harry Potter Books.
After angering his father Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disoriented, he lands in New York City as a regular teenage boy. Now, without his godly powers, the four-thousand-year-old deity must learn to survive in the modern world until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus's favour.
But Apollo has many enemies - gods, monsters and mortals who would love to see the former Olympian permanently destroyed, Apollo needs help, and he can think of only one place to go... an enclave of modern demigods known as Camp Half-Blood.
Review: Rick Riordan has done it again (and again and again). I don't know which god (Nordic/Roman/Greek/Egyptian?) Is responsible for inspiring him - though I have a feeling they would all clamor for the credit - and I have no complaints. The Hidden Oracle got my heartbeat racing - and I didn't even read the synopsis before buying.
As soon as I bought my copy. I hunkered down and read it straight. Reading The Hidden Oracle felt like one big fun adventure, especially since seeing the world through Apollo as a sixteen-year-old human was highly amusing. It's not that I needed full concentration to enjoy this, but because I wanted to lose myself in this world. How I missed Camp Half-Blood.
If you've been reading Percy Jackson/The Heroes of Olympus series, then you know that Apollo is one of the most arrogant gods, although he has his nice moments. The book was peppered with praises of his godliness and awesomeness. I love how Riordan modernises the portrayals of the Greek gods as seen in Homer's Illiad. If we had these books back when we were studying Illiad, I think alot of class would easily ace our quizzes on which god did what.
I love seeing Apollo fall - literally and figuratively - several times. It was humbling of a god who through his carelessness, brought so much downfall to humans (and consequently, the gods) the past few years.
And Meg, whose last name was not mentioned, as a twelve-year old kid blowing raspberries and being a great antithesis to his godly arrogance was easily charming that the end of the book had me anxious on her behalf. She has the potential of being an awesome and precious character.
We are also treated to a few glimpses of Percy Jackson which always thrills me, and Nico is also a secondary character. If you're a fan of Nico and his... revelation, you're in for a treat with The Hidden Oracle. We also get Leo Valdez back, and I am excited to see what other machines he's going to come up with in the next books in the series. We are also treated to scenes of Mother Rhea as a trippy hippy, and she is one of the characters I am most excited to know more about.
There is a surprising revelation in who the villain is - and I have a feeling this is the last book in the Olympus bracket (explaining would ruin the story). Hopefully we'll get more glimpses of our beloved heroes from his other series as Apollo faces formidable villains in The Trials of Apollo series.
Just like Riordan's other books, his writing transported me right in the thick of things and Chiron's red heels (read the book!). I would definitely recommend this to all fans of Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson and young adult fantasy, mythology and just generally great stories. Go get it.
Authors: Various Authors Edited by: Rick Riordan/Leah Wilson Ratings: 5/5
Synopsis: Spend a little more time in Percy Jackson's world - a place where the gods bike among us, monster man snack bars, and each of us has the potential to become a hero.
Find out:
Why Dionysus might be actually be the best director Camp Half-Blood could have
How to recognised a monster when you see one
Why even if we aren't facing manticores and minotaurs, reading myth can still help us deal with the scary things in our lives.
Review: Demigods and Monsters is a compilation of comprehensive essays about anything related to the world of Percy Jackson and The Olympians series. It features the insights of eight famous authors (Rosemary Moore, Cameron Dokey, Paul Collins, Carolyn MacCullough, Ellen Steiner, The Gods Among Us, J&P Voelkel, Jen Han, Sarah Beth Durst, Hilary Wagner, Hilari Bell, Elizabeth E. Wein, Kathi Appelt, Sophie Mason, Nigel Rodgers) regarding the series and guess what? Rick Riordan himself wrote the introduction. That was just WOW.
I really appreciated what Rick wrote in the intro that is served as my fire of inspiration to read through the whole book. Mind you, I am not a sucker for overly technical papers that you'd just die of boredom. But this has totally changed my whole perspective of reading essays and of looking at books on a general note. I just couldn't believe that these authors could come up with alot of takes with a supposed-to-be straightforward series. You know what, the book actually gave me this feeling of being with a wizened man and he is telling me, "You are only seeing the outside.. Look closer.... Read closer." I hope you get what I mean.
From now on, I am most certain that I will look at books at a different level. It's like stepping outside of your comfort zone and just absorb the most extraordinary things that could happen. And then finally, putting it into writing. The essays that have been featured in this cover the following:
Newbie guide to recognising a monster
Monster in the retail world - Why should one take caution even when buying a donut?
Fulfilling a heroic destiny even when one is suffering from a handicap
Choosing between a life of being forever young and immortal; or being old and wrinkly
Valid reasons of choosing an almost mad god to run kids summer camp
How gods and goddesses affect our daily lives
How would Percy Jackson fare when faced with other mythological monsters
Do you really want a god or goddesses to become one of your parents?
Just because one rules the World of the Dead doesn't mean he is wholly bad
A comparative study between the heroes of the past and of today
Having a handicap could very well mean that one is destined to fulfill extraordinary things
The dangers of foreseeing the future - Do you really want to be a seer?
Stories of the past would always be alive if we continue to believe in it... Influenced by it
Comprehensive glossary of ancient Greek myth
How good is that? And the good thing is that the essays did not give lifeless accounts of the author's views. Instead, I was treated to amusing reminisces of the Percy Jackson scenes that I love and provided me with equally hilarious new stuff to think about. My favourite essays from this compilation would that be of MacCollough about being a hunter for Artemis and that of Wagner's take on Hades's and Nico's side of heroic goodness.
Would I recommend this book? ABSOLUTELY! This book is a perfect enlightenment for those who want to look closer, to imagine beyond the realms of what was written in the pages. If you are an aspiring book analyst, book reviewer, or a student cramming to get his/her books essays right, then this book is must
Synopsis: The adventures unfolds in this third book in the best selling Seven Wonder series.
Three friends left.
Jack McKinley and his friends defeated the Colossus of Rhodes, unearthed the treasures of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and recovered two of the seven lost Loculi - only to find they've been betrayed.
Two sided split.
With Babylon in ruins, Marco on the Massa side, and ancient secrets coming unraveled, the Select don't know who to trust or where to turn. Their G7W powers are growing furious pace, their worlds have been turned upside down, and the Massa are on their heels. But Jack, Aly and Cass have no choice but to fight on.
One life lost.
With the fate of he world in the balance, the friends find the next stop on their quest, where they have to face down their own demons and engage in an epic battle with foes long gone. When promises are broken, blood is spilled, the Select have to destroy the one thing that might save them all.
Review: The characters. As a Select and a bearer of G7W, a gene which could give you exceptional talents and skills, you would expect them to be extra ordinary in some ways right? It did hold true for Ally and Cass, but as for Jack, let's just say up until this point, I couldn't see anything special about him. Charismatic and resourceful yes. But the kind that Ally, Cass, and Marco have? I don't think so.
Also, our main character faints alot. It really is not such a big deal but considering they were conditioned to protect themselves and to fight, well, you would expect some kind of a fight scene that doesn't involve running away or throwing something random at an enemy, now would you? It's like all their hard work were thrown out of the window. It's pretty much useless so why bother telling the readers that they were trained? On the bright side, you get to see them work things out through their wits, Some were actually pretty funny and decent. Whilst other were kind of forced.
What stopped me from giving it four stars was the fact that the author failed to make me feel connected to the characters. I don't seem to mind what will happen to them to the point when something extremely tragic happened to the characters. I barely even felt an ounce of remorse. For the sake of not giving away any spoiler,let's just say that this one particular moment was supposed to make me feel extremely sad for them, but you know. And mind you, I am a very emotional person.
I think the only time I was moved was when Jack got together with his Dad. I wouldn't even deny that I got teary-eyed on that part. The rest though, I could hardly care.
All in all, this was a quick, fun and easy read kind of book. Full of adventures and settings which could delight any kids or kids at heart. You could definitely find yourself chuckling a couple of times throughout your reading experience. The author brings you to alot of cool new places, unlike the second book which was mostly stuck in Babylon parallel world, so it doesn't sound repetitive. But if you are looking for something less than your formulaic usual read then I don't think you would love it. Liking it though is very plausible.
The Unofficial Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard Companion: The Norse Heroes, Monsters, and Myths Behind The Hit Series
Author: Peter Aperlo Ratings: 4/5
Synopsis: Long ago in the legendary land of Asgard, battles raged throughout the Heavens and Earth between powerful gods, Viking heroes and deadly monsters.. These timeless tales of bravery, deceit, and love come alive in this all-new illustrated guide.
As enthralling today as when first told around arctic campfires, these ancient myths are the inspiration for Rick Riordan's captivating new Magnus Chase books. An ideal source of Norse mythology for anyone reading his novels.
Important Reminder: This book is not associated with or authorised or approved by Rick Riordan or his publishers. This book is an independent and unauthorised fan publication. No endorsement or sponsorship by or affiliation with Rick Riordan, his publishers, or other copyright and trademark holders is claimed or suggested. All references in this book to copyrighted or trademarked characters and other elements of books by Rick Riordan are for the purpose of commentary, criticism, analysis, and literary discussion only. Review: Apparently the Norsemen of old tales had alot of the to make up stories about the Viking gods, heroes, giants, and other mythological creature during those long winter nights, because their well-populated pantheon makes the ancient Greeks and Roman tales pretty paltry.
With the release of Rick Riordan's already bestselling first novel in his new series Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, adventure loving young adult readers are going to need to bone up their Norse gods and goddesses, elves, dwarves, giants, and monster lore, and Peter Aperlo's just published The Unofficial Magnus Chase and The Gods of Asgard Companion: The Norse Heroes, Monsters, and Myths Behind The Hit Series is the perfect guide to have handy as they follow Magnus Chase, former homeless Boston orphan, who discovers that he is the demigod son of the god Frey with the mission of averting the end of the world and becomes a genuine hero of Asgard all in one day. All the many players who populate Magnus' story, plus many more, are identified in this small handy volume.
Peter Aperlo's unofficial guide offers a fascinating and illustrated rundown of Norse history and social mores, a generous sampling of some of the more famous Norse myths, and an extensive Who's Who biographical dictionary of the Scandinavian pantheon of deities, mortals, heroes, monsters and otherwise villainous characters that is sure to be indispensable in reading Riordan's first book and his proposed series. Apelo offers a bonus pronunciation guide to Old Norse vowels and some links to further reading into the world of Viking archeology. All this in an inexpensive paperback or even cheaper e-book that young readers can keep at hand, especially since the sequel, The Hammer of Thor is forthcoming in 2016. And with Riordan's Disney connection through the publisher of this series, there are surely prospects for a movie or so, with the Boston setting offering plenty of colourful location shots for the action.
Who knew that a ride on one of Boston's famous Swan Boats could secretly be a Viking Cruise? How wicked is that?
Bloomsbury Reveals Plans to Celebrate Twentieth "Potter" Anniversary
Last October saw the release of the first Jim Kay Illustrated Harry Potter. The next in the series, Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets, is due to be released this coming October. The first in the series had already sold over 94,000 copies in the UK. In the lead up to the release of the second illustrated book and following the second successful Harry Potter Book Night on February 4, Bloomsbury have revealed their upcoming Potter plans. With the twentieth anniversary of Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone looming in 2017, plenty of plans are in place to celebrate this exciting anniversary. Special Hogwarts house editions of the first book, Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone/Philosopher's Stone will be published in 2017 to coincide with the anniversary.
The plans also include ways of celebrating the upcoming Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them film, which is due to be released this coming November. An updated version of the school text book, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them originally published in 2001, will be released early 2017. The new edition will contain new content from J.K. Rowling.
Bloomsbury also plan to publish Illustrated editions of The Hogwarts Library books and the releases will be staggered from 2017.
Bloomsbury will commission three new illustrators to create lavish, full-colour illustrated editions of J.K. Rowling's three Hogwarts Library books, starting with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in Autumn 2017, The Tales of Beedle of the Bard in 2018, and Quidditch Through The Ages in 2019. Illustrator announcements will follow in due course.
Scholastic, Little Brown UK to Publish "Cursed Child" Script this Summer!
Only a couple of weeks ago, I was cautiously optimistic that Harry Potter and The Cursed Child would be published as a book sooner than I originally hoped, meaning those fans unable to make the trip to London to see the show wouldn't be missing out on reading the next chapter of Harry's (and Albus') story. Now, I have confirmed - the full script of Cursed Child will be released on Harry's (and Jo's) birthday: July 31, 2016. Of course this is only a day after the play officially opens (although it does run in previews for a few weeks prior) which means that readers around the world will get the chance to read the story almost in real time, greatly reducing the risk of running across spoilers on the internet.
In the U.S., the book will cost $29.99, and in Canada it will priced at $39.99. The British hardcover will be £20. A digital edition will be released via Pottermore simultaneously. Information released by the publishers states that this edition will contain the script of the play as it stands during the production's preview period - a Special Rehearsal Edition. As further rehearsal and transition to performing in front of the live audiences may produce changes to the script, this edition will be available for a limited time - a Definitive Collector's Edition with the final version of the script will be released at a later date.
The CEO of Little Brown Book Group UK, David Shelley said of the announcement:
We are so thrilled to be publishing the script of Harry Potter and The Cursed Child. J.K. Rowling and her team have received a huge number of appeals from fans who can't be in London to see the play and who would like to see the play in book format - and so we are absolutely delighted to be able to make it available for them.
Scholastic's promotion for the book's release has already got me excited. And planning which robes I am going to wear to the midnight release of course. Wait, there's no such thing as midnight release here in the Philippines.
Synopsis: None of us came here. We look like you. We live among you. But we are not you. We can do things you dream of doing. We have powers you dream of having. We are stronger and faster than anything you have ever seen. We are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books -- but we are real.
Our plan was to grow, and train, and become strong, and become one, and fight them. But they found us and started hunting us first. Now all of us are running. Spending lives in shadows, in places where no one would look, blending in. We have lived among you without you knowing.
But they know.
They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England
And Number Three in Kenya
I am Number Four
I am next.
Review: The story revolves around the "9" aliens or Lorics from the ravaged planet Lorien. They are called "Garde" because of their special powers, called Legacies, which not everyone has in the planet. They came here with their guardians who are supposed to keep them safe because they're the ones who will save the Earth. And get Lorien back.
Unfortunately, their enemy, the ones who ruined Lorien followed them on Earth. The 9 are protected by a special charm that allows them to be safe as long as the one preceding them is not killed. They can only be killed according to their number. Unfortunately for John, Number Four, the first three were already dead. The story actually revolves around Number Four. And the story slowly unfolds as to their history. The plot slowly reveals the powers that John has inherited from the elder Garde.
John has never really developed any close relationships with other people except for Henri, his guardian. However, once he got the signal that Number Thre is already dead - they get this searing pain and mark etched on their flesh. Dark Mark, anyone? - he and Henri decided that it's time to go. They went to this sleepy town called Paradise in Ohio and there, he meets Sarah and like every other story with a teenage boy and a teenage girl, they fall in love. Everything goes peachy until the Mogadorians tracked them and they had no choice but to fight?
Who wins?
Go read the book. I swear it's a good read.
The only thing I didn't look like about the plot is that it felt a bit too dragging especially on the part where he and Sarah were growing more in love. Furthermore the sudden entry of a surprise character in the end just really caught me by no surprise. It was good, perhaps it was needed, but there was no foreshadowing at all and it just felt confusing.
The story has all the elements of a good read: light humour, action, adventure and a bit of romance. There is also the play on family ties and solid friendship. I likednthe way it was written because the friendship and romance didn't feel shallow to me. I think John's relationships were really established, which helped cement the emotion behind the succeeding scenes when Henri died and when his new friend Sam Goode stuck by him til the end.
It's a good read for anytime of the day and I recommend it.
Synopsis: Westeros is a kingdom of swords and and scheming, a kingdom that has been enjoying a decade-long summer, a kingdom to which winter is returning. Lord Eddard Stark is content to rule House Stark and enjoy the company of his wife and children, but the King, Robert Baratheon - Ned's long time-friend and co-leader of the revolution that overthrew the Mad King Aerys Targaryen - has other plans. Robert wants Ned become the Hand of the King, and with no way to refuse, Ned must go to King's Landing and attempt to put the kingdom back in order... a daunting proposition whilst the scheming Cercei Lannister, a daughter of the most powerful house in Westeros, is Queen. And meanwhile, across the seas, the last of the Targaryen children wait and plot to reclaim the throne that is rightfully theirs.
Review: To say that this series is rich with detail is a laughable understatement, so I figured that having things fresh in mind would be a good thing. I completely enjoy Martin's writing style. His world-building, his action, his action and his character development, all wonderful. He's great at presenting complicated political maneuvering in a way that's easy to follow. His prose doesn't make me want to leap out of my seat, but it's smoothly fades into the background, which is exactly what you want when you've got a story this compelling.
Of the six major events that I remembered happening in this book, one actually happens in the next book, one I knew happened at the end, and the other four all happened within the first 25% of the book. And to make my point, the book doesn't feel front loaded at all. The pace keeps going strong throughout - clearly so much stuff happens that my memory couldn't hold it all.
And what does happen? Is of the no-holds-barred style of story telling. This book is casually brutal. Or I remembered this was brutal - The Red Wedding is pretty well seared into my brain permanently - how unrelentingly brutal they are. Martin's not shy about doing horrible things to his characters, and having them do horrible things are to each other, and no one is safe... and yet I let myself get attached to them anyways, even though I knew (more or less) what was coming.
It's impossible not to get attached to the characters. They're all really complex, and well-drawn that even the bad guys are still interesting, and still at least somewhat sympathetic (except Joffrey. Gods, I just want to punch Joffrey in his smug little face, even though it's not his fault he was raised to be a prattish jerkwad). On the flip side, even the good guys I occasionally want to slap and yell at to stop being dumb/blind/proud/annoyingly obsessed with their own honour. And the best part is that so many of the characters are neither good guys nor bad guys, but somewhere wonderfully meaty and fascinating in between. I remembered all that in principle.
Honestly even better than I remembered it being. Not for everyone, but if complex historicals or epic fantasy is your thing, it's a series well worth diving into.
Upcoming Film: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Cast: Eddie Redmayne (Newt Scamander), Katherine Waterston (Porpentina "Tina" Goldstein), Dan Fogler (Jacob Kowalski), Samantha Morton (Mary Lou), Ezra Miller (Credence), Collin Farrell (Percival Graves), Faith Wood-Balgrove (Modesty), Carmen Ejogo (Seraphina), Jon Bought (Henry Shaw), Ron Perlman (Gnarlack) Directed by: David Yates Date Premiered: November 18, 2016 Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures Based on: Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them (Newt Scamander -J.K. Rowling) Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Family
Synopsis: The story revolves around Newt Scamander's arrival at the Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA), for a meeting with an important official. Central to the story and this meeting is a magically expanded briefcase which houses a number of dangerous creatures and their habitats. When the creatures escape from the briefcase, it sends the American Wizarding after Newt, and it threatens even further strain the state of magical and non-magical relations, which is already in a dangerous place, due to the threatening presence of fanatical New Salem Philanthropic Society, an extremist organisation dedicated to the eradication of wizard-kind. The story tells of what effect this devastating mistake has on the state of wizard/No-Maj (the American term for a non-magical person) relations in New York City's community of wizards and witches in 1926, the effort to correct the mistakes, and the horrors of the resultant increase in violence, fear, and tension felt between magical and non-magical people.
Thoughts: I thought I would be done with this. I thought I had cried my final tears four years ago when the last Harry Potter film ended. Never would I have thought that I would be writing related to Harry Potter in my adult life, especially something that is relevant to our present day. But as Warner Bros. have decided to adapt J.K. Rowling's novel Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them to the big screen. I am obviously going to take any chance that I can get to write about it. Within the past couple of months, the public have been given a handful of information about the film here and there, which have been spread sporadically through our social media platforms. However, I am going to try and lay out all the information I could gather about the film for you all in one post. And I hope that my inner childhood Harry Potter fan girl doesn't take over.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is originally a 2001 novel written by J.K. Rowling under the pseudonym of Newt Scamander, a fictional magizoologist (the study of magical creatures). In the book, Scamander lists the 85 magical creatures that reside around the world, which he found through observations from his travel around 5 different continents. Within the Harry Potter Universe, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them is uses as a Hogwarts textbook that is compulsory for first year students (even though the class Care of Magical Creatures is not introduced until third year). However, the book is a helpful encyclopedia to identify dark creatures for the class Defense Against the Dark Arts, and according to Dumbledore, is a wonderful addition for a wizarding household.
Newt Scamander
As the current synopsis goes, the film will follow the adventures of Newt Scamander and his quest to find magical beasts. J.K. Rowling herself has stated that it does not serve as prequel or a sequel to the Harry Potter world, but will act as an addition to the Wizarding Universe. It will take place in 1920's New York, which is seven decades before Harry Potter and his gang go to Hogwarts.
Because the film is set in America, we definitely get to see US witches and wizards right? Absolutely! If your are religiously following Rowling on Twitter, you would know that she has already teased the idea of the American School of Wizadry. Even though it is uncertain that we will be introduced to this school, we do get to meet some of its ex-students and may even explore the inner workings of American magic, which apparently is influenced by Native American culture.
It's reunion time for the Harry Potter crew, as all have worked on most/all of the movies within the franchise. Producer David Hey man and Executive Producer Lionel Wigram are making their comeback alongside David Yates who directed the last four Harry Potter films. J.K. Rowling has written the script herself with the involvement from Steve Kloves, who has scripted all but one of the Harry Potter films.
Unlike the crew, we won't be seeing any of the original cast return for the film.
Like The Hobbit, this one singular novel will be turned into three films. Kevin Tsujihara has already confirmed that it will become "three mega movies" and J.K. Rowlkng has nearly finished the material for the first film and is already working on the two additional chapters. Release dates have already been chosen, with the first movie set to come out on November 18, 2016 and the two preceding on November 16, 2018 and November 20, 2020.
Thank you, Warner Bros. Thank you for keeping the Harry Potter and all its magic alive. From what I have read, the public, young and old, are genuinely excited to see this novel adapted into a live-action. Hopefully the success of this film will manifest into others within The Hogwarts Library like Quidditch Through The Ages and The Tales of Beedle The Bard
Synopsis: Eddie is a wounded war veteran, an old man who has lived, in his mind, an uninspired life. His job is fixing rides at a seaside amusement park. On his 83rd birthday, a tragic accident kills him as he tried to save a little girl from a falling cart. He awakes in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a destination, but an answer.
In heaven, five people explain your life to you. Some you knew, others may have been strangers. One by one, from childhood to soldier to old age, Eddie's five people revisit their connections to him on earth, illuminating the mysteries of his "meaningless" life, and revealing the haunting secret behind the eternal question: "Why was I here?"
Review: The reason which propelled me to read this book was its title, which hooked me and I wanted to know more. The book answers the question we all ask at some point in our life, "What will happen after death?" But do not think of it as a religious book indicating philosophy of a particular religion or scholar. It is just author's interpretation of afterlife and he explains it through a story in the most simplistic words possible. The book is just over 200 pages long, so it can be read easily in one sitting.
It is about Eddie, who works at an amusement park and the story starts from his 83rd birthday, the day when he dies whilst saving a girl from a fallen cart. I won't spoil the ending for you so you can enjoy the book, buy it and find out more. The gist of the book is that "Throughout your life, you come across many people, some of whom you know, somehow you don't, but all of them change the course of your life in some way or the other. You may or may not notice when you are alive but through the journey in heaven, you find out how and when the path of your life changed due to interaction with someone significant or insignificant individual in your life. " As I started this book, in spite of being able to predict what will happen next, I wanted to know who those five people Eddie meets in heaven are and how they changes his life at some point or the other, and at what levels his life got affected by them.
This is the theory of life and afterlife put forward by the author through the main character of this book. The only thing that bothered me was the way he tells the story, like an old man trying to teach morals to his grand children through "once upon a time" stories. Maybe the author could have out his thoughts in a non-fiction categorising the book under self-developmental/self-help/ spiritual book" to make it a mature reading. But in spite of his preaching style, you will not find it dull or boring. You may or may not agree with the writer's beliefs and how he perceives life hereafter but you will definitely like how the story unfolds smoothly from one chapter to another and keeps you engaged til the end. The book is suitable for children and adults because of its simple yet interesting style. So give it a read and let me know how did you find it.
Top Ten: Ten Things You Need To Know Before Dating a Bookworm
Disclaimer: Everything written here is based on my opinion, it might not apply to all bookworms but I'll try to find a common ground.
Know the word "bookworm" actually means. A bookworm is not a book worm. It is a person who loves to read and spends alot of time doing so. If the person you're planning to date does not fall under this category, go, read another post instead.
Reading has set our standards in dating sky high. Let's be honest. Most, if not all, bookworms dream of meeting someone similar to or who resembles the fictional character they fell in love with (although most of the time we dream of meeting the fictional characters themselves.) Likewise we dream of experiencing some of the relationships we've read about, specifically, those that made us fall in love ourselves. This is the reason why some people perceive avid readers as the most difficult to date. We expect a wee bit too much (it's an oxymoron... I think).
We do spend alot of time reading. Our free time will always be consumed by reading (and swooning over fictional characters) so do understand that there will be times when we will not be able to respond to your text messages, or your phone calls, or whatnot. It's either we're sleeping or reading. There is no in-between. Just kidding we have work and school too.
We fall in love with fictional characters. They will be your greatest rivals. There will be times when all we would blabber about are fictional characters, how attractive they are and how much we want to marry them. It's like having a third party, only you cannot get back on fictional people.
We prefer books for presents. If there was one thing you should be grateful for, it's the fact that you no longer have to worry about what to give us on our anniversaries, birthdays, Christmas, maybe even Halloween. It's automatic: all we want are books. This can be a bit tricky though for the following reason a). You might get the same book, hence a double b). You might get a book that she or he is not interested in and c). It's not easy picking a book most especially when there's just too much to choose from. All you need is skill and adequate knowledge on your girlfriend/boyfriend's wish list and orders that month and you're fine.
Bookworms are the best lovers. Living different lives and being exposed to various feelings and people make us utterly sensitive. Thus, it's easier to know what you're thinking, how you're feeling and what can we do about it. We also know how to weave words and thoughts and make someone special in different ways. But the most important of all is that despite the "warnings" mentioned above, at the end of the day, we will always come back to you and you will always have us (though some pieces of our hearts would still be with fictional characters).
When we see your apartment for the first time, the first thing we will look for is your bookshelf or bookcase. It will be the first thing we gravitate towards and we will spend several minutes looking through your collection, trying to get know you better. If you don't have a single book in your apartment, we might be a little concerned.
Letting you borrow a book is a huge step for us, and we will resent you if you don't give it back. Books are amongst our most prized possessions. It doesn't matter if we've already read it. You still have to give it back. Because we might want to read it a second time. Or a 17th time.
Sometimes we just need to be alone for a little while. Nothing's wrong. We're not upset with you. We still love spending time with you. But we are accustomed to a certain amount of quiet time in our daily lives, and sometimes we just need to sit down with a good book for a few hours in order to feel refreshed and energised.
When you're upset, sometimes our first instinct will be to suggest to read a certain book. We're not trying to be cold or unhelpful or pushy. We're just trying to share a special piece of literature that has gotten us through some of our most difficult moments. Bookworms often have deep emotional connections to many different books, so if we suggest a book to you, it means we really want to help you so much as we can.
Synopsis: In the Republic of Greater East Asia, a frightening event called the "Program"takes place once a year in order to keep the citizens compliant and distrustful of one another. Third-year junior high classes are randomly selected throughout the nation, relocated to an isolated area, and forced to kill one another just one survivor - the victor remains.
This year, it's 15-year-old Shuya Nanahara's class that gets chosen and relocated to a small island. Shuya is forced to watched his friends die and his classmates go crazy. But what if there were some way to beat the fascist government's supposedly infallible system?
Review: Battle Royale is brutal, both physically and mentally. It tosses you into the middle of a corrupt world and forces you to be witness to an event that's deadly and well established. Innocent and not-so innocent teenagers die every few pages in unapologetic prose. No sooner do we come to know a student's personality and the past when he or she is killed, the abruptness of losing someone interesting you've just begun to know a definite stomach-turner, a definite shake up.
If this kind of dystopian literature is your kind of thin, there's plenty of it to be had. Even if you've got a weak stomach for violence, however, Battle Royale still gives you alot to think about. Koushun Takami's writing is nothing striking, and yet there's something about the plainness of it, the bluntness of the translated version that gets inside your veins and messes up your organs. It's the way he gives us a brief character of each of the 42 students - and then takes them away in horrifying manners. It's the way that this book's world takes the existence of the "Program" as expected, unchangeable. And it's the way that this book makes you doubt yourself and the characters, not sure whom you should trust, just as the government intends for you to react.
This book has inevitably been compared to The Hunger Games, so why not say what I think about the two? The Hunger Games is clearly YA, readers are spared the too-gruesome details and through the eyes of Katniss, are spared the intensity of the horror that arises when a character whose history you know dies. Battle Royale is a stand-alone novel, which makes its shocker of an ending all the more satisfying; whilst I have yet to read the next two books in Suzanne Collins' series, I can only hope that she will deliver an equally believable and satisfying answer for Katniss and her world.
If I had to make a choice between the two, I'd go with The Hunger Games, for its less stomach-churning material and the successful development of memorable characters. However, Battle Royale provides more questions to think over, more disturbing ideas and images that will keep you up later in the night. If you do not have a weak stomach and have the time to read an intense 600-page work, I suggest picking up Battle Royal in order to completely annihalate everything you've previously thought about the dark side of human nature and our curiosity in violence and death.
So here we are again, another year have passed us by. 2016 is gonna be a year that is filled again of anticipated books and growing TBR. So without further a do, here's the list of my most anticipated books of 2016.
Forever Doon by Carey Corp and Lorie Langdon
Release Date: August 2, 2016
It made me have this unputdownable wanderlust to Scotland, I fell in love with the magical kingdom of Doon and the characters, especially the MacCrea brothers.
Also if you've already read Shades of Doon, you know why I am so eager to have this beautiful book in my hands. Because if you've read the last book, that cliffhanger made me want to reap my hair out of my head.
The Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan
Release Date: May 3, 2016
Okay. Who would say no to this? Rick Riordan is one of my author buy books. Together with growing up with J.K. Rowling's books, shaping your book loving persona, I also have Uncle Rick to shape mine. I grew up with his characters by my side. Plus we're gonna be having Percy in this book, if that doesn't made it more exciting I don't know will. So yeah I am so looking forward in this book. Apollo is gonna be a teenage boy, and Percy is gonna be like in his 20's in this book. The excerpt had us crazy for the book. I can't wait to have it in my hands.
Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan
Release Date: October 4, 2016
Remember what I said earlier that Uncle Rick is one of my automatically buy authors? Yeah I am so excited for this second book of Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard. The first book is such a fun and amazing read. We met the ever sassy and witty Magnus, we get to see glimpses of Annabeth in the book too. I am just looking forward to reading this book and hang around with Magnus more and maybe we'll see our dear old Camp Half-Blood friends in this book too. And I love Magnus, he's such a fun dude. No official cover for this book just yet.
Demigods and Magicians by Rick Riordan
Release Date: April 5, 2016
This is going to be awesome! Rick Riordan does that just makes your insides go squishy and you can't help but be excited for months for his book releases. There aren't many authors that are on my auto-buy list but let's just say.. HELLS YEAH! RICK RIORDAN IS ON THAT LIST! Something would have to be MAJORLY wrong with me, to not immediately buy his book. This is even better than a Futurama/Simpsons crossover.
Uncle Rick has done it again.
Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard
Release Date: February 9, 2016
Red Queen was such such a blast to begin with. I am looking forward on seeing more of the Scarlet Guard, and Shade and Cal and Mare and of course, Maven. The first book had been mind blowing and feels shattering that I was in a cry fest when I am done. And if you see that tag line: "Kneel or Bleed", well I thin I should start get freaking nervous.
Soldier by Julie Kagawa
Release Date: April 26, 2016
I am currently loving Julie Kagawa's works. Soldier is the third book. The feels are totally hitting me like tidal waves and every time there's a climatic scene in her books I am just freaking the hell out. There better be more Ember and Riley scenes in this book. Like really, I wasn't done reading yet, and "if" Riley die on Rogue I don't know if I'll be able to go on.
The Winner's Kiss by: Marie Rutkoski
Release Date: March 29, 2016
I loved The Winner's Curse and The Winner's Crime. This is the final one and WAR. I love the politics in this book series. The world building is A++mazing and the characters are really remarkable and clever. I am just so excited for this book and what gonna become of Kestrel and Arin. There rumours that they changed the cover design and I am not liking it. The original covers are so fab why change it? My OCD shelf is growing inside. Please keep those amazing covers. No need to change it.
The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson
Release Date: August 2, 2016
The third and final book of Mary E. Pearson's The Remnant Chronicles. The first book has been mind blowing and drove the fans over the edge. The second book was kind of okay in comparison to the first book. But hey it's a middle of the book, it's a bridge between the first and last book, and it usually does, Fans are so looking forward on what gonna happen to this crazy love triangle too.
The Dark Artifices: Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare
Release Date: March 8, 2016
Another book in the Shadowhunter universe. There's no stopping Cassie Clare on revealing all the secrets of the amazing Shadow World to us. Just so you know Cassandra Clare is one of my auto-buy book authors. She wrote that, I am gonna buy it. Especially if it involves the Shadow World in it. I am so excited to meet Emma Carstairs and Julian Blackthorn and some appearances of our all time loved characters of the past. Shadowhunter books. I am just so excited to read this, my feels about this book is all over the place.
Starflight by Melissa Landers
Released Date: February 2, 2016
I loved Melissa Landers;s Alienated series and I am just so excited to read her works. Starlight is also gonna be a series and I need to have it. I love her amazing galactic imagination and her amazing writing and fun scenes. At some point I think it's gonna remind me of something Star Wars-y and I am gonna love it for sure.
United by Melissa Landers
Release Date: August 2, 2016
Another book from her Alienated universe. Yay. More Aelyx and Cara. I am just so fashing (see what I did there?) excited for this book to come out because if you've read invaded, the second of the series, you know it's not really the end even though the characters seemed fine with their happy ending. We know that there is more to the world that "that" and we've barely scratch the surface of the said invasion. So I am just so happy that we're gonna be having a third book in the Alienated series. The cover is yet to come.
A Torch Against The Night by Sabaa Tahir
Release Date: August 2, 2016
An Ember in the Ashes has been a mega amazing book. It was said to be a stand alone but the uproar from the readers who have finished reading the book have made the book two a possibility. I wonder if there's gonna be a Helene and Keenan, Such an amazing series.
Heartless by Marissa Meyer
Release Date: November 8, 2016
I love Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles, especially Winter. Such a great way to wrap up an epic series. I love her fairy tale re-telling style, it felt so Star Wars-y (again) to which it made mega amazing.
The Fever Code by James Dashner
Release Date: September 27, 2016
Finally a prequel that is related to the series' characters to where I could finally get the answers I am waiting for. Now I don't care if this takes two years or even ten years to be published. I just need my closure and I don't mean just some half-baked story, unanswered questions and forced explanations. It have to be something that would leave me saying "It sure was worth the wait". I won't expect much though, I might be left disappointed again but crossed-fingers.
So that is all. For all the books that I am anticipating this year.
Harry Potter and The Cursed Child is the upcoming two-part West End stage play scheduled to open in July 2016, set nineteen years after the end of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, which will be about Harry Potter (now a Ministry of Magic employee) and his son Albus Potter. Considered to be the sequel of the Harry Potter books, most fans are worried because they will not be able to experience it since it is only available for those who can visit London. However, the big hope of getting the play script published as a book was latent since the announcement.
And there seems to be good news now. I read that at least two publishers are trying to get the rights to publish the script play. Remember it is not a J.K. Rowling's work, given the play is written by Jack Thorne and he will probably listed as the author - which is an important fact to be considered in the negotiations.
This is all I know so far - but two publishers negotiating to get the publishing rights is a good sign and almost a confirmation that we will Harry Potter and The Cursed Child published as a book.
In a span of a week, and in the middle of combing my hair, I thought of another feature for this blog. Today, I am going to start to feature What Chie Says. It will feature news, a little bits and bobs about books, films, and author's life, and a whole lot more. So for the groundbreaking of What Chie Says, I am going to discuss the top five great movies that were turned into terrible books.
In the days before home video, fans who wanted to relieve their favourite films were able to do so through the wonder of movie novelisations. Or they would have done so, if those books weren't hastily written cash-ins based on early versions of the screen play that, on top of everything, often added totally insane subplots seemingly designed to make you hate the original movie.
These authors were being asked to produce a full novel based on someone else's screenplay, featuring characters they didn't create and probably didn't give a shit about, knowing that nobody at the studio was likely ever to read it. Why wouldn't they completely tank the job in the most hilarious ways possible?
#5 E.T. the Extra Terrestrial Turns E.T. into a Perverted Old Man
Steven Spielberg's beloved E.T. has remained a wholesome pop culture icon despite appearing in exactly one movie 3 decades ago. The character truly encapsulates the feeling of childlike wonder. Who wouldn't want E.T to be their best friend as a kid? Answer: You wouldn't Not after reading the novelisation. E.T. the Extra Terrestrial in his Adventures on Earth by William Kotzwinkle adds details not seen in the movie, starting with the fact that E.T is 10 million years old. And, as a fully developed adult, of course he gets sexually frustrated. I am confident that this is a prime example of the author saying, "Eh, they're not going to read this shit anyway," and just seeing what he could get away with. Thus, Kotzwinkle's E.T. is a book rife with reference to sexuality -- everything from Elliot's mother fearing her children's burgeoning sexual maturity to the totally unnecessary and disturbing detail that Elliot's former principal had been "a sexual offender, retired early after several private incidents in the supply closet became public." I am not kidding about any of this,
But the worst part is that E.T. himself not above being corrupted by this novel -- Kotzwinkle conveys the alien's inner monologue, and guess what -- he has the hots for Elliot's mum. E.T. refers to her as a "goddess the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen." To be fair, this plot line was filmed for the movie and ultimately cut, but the novel goes into disturbing amounts of detail regarding E.T.'s obsession over Mary, whom he affectionately calls "the willow-creature." "How ironic it was that the willow-creature, the lovely Mary, pined for her vanished husband whilst in a closet, close at hand, dwelt one of the finest minds in the cosmos." E.T. watches Mary whilst she sleeps and kisses a framed photo of her and when Elliot puts an ailing E.T. in the shower, we get the most horrifying revelation of all: "The water came on, soaking Elliot and E.T. The aged voyager shook his head as the water hit. 'Ah yes, the shower, where the willow creature dances'." Yeah, so it starts to border on serial killer shit at that point, Strangely, not only was it not necessary to devote on entire landfill to storing the unsold copies of this book, but Kotzwinkle even penned a sequel with the assistance of Spielberg, who declared himself a huge fan of his work, This is yet more evidence that it's a good thing E.T. only appeared in one movie 3 decades ago. #4 Total Recall Ruins Everything People Like About Total Recall
The main thing that prevents the original Total Recall from being just another shitty generic action movie is the ambiguity -- you're never really sure if Douglas Quaid's (Arnold Schwarzenegger's) adventure is actually happening or if it's all the result of a memory implant gone haywire. The film includes subtle hints that the entire thing is a dream,but it never makes it obvious, leaving the audience puzzling over whether Quaid is a true hero or some bored guy sleeping in a futuristic beauty salon chair. It's that ambiguity that keeps us coming back to this movie over and over again. That's the Total Recall movie. Total Recall the novel is another story, Actually, it's the same story just a whole lot dumber. Either the novelisation's author intentionally decided to crush the thing that made the movie special or he was just tragically bad at being vague about the crucial "Is it a dream or reality?" dilemma. For starters, after "Quail" (Quaid's original name in the script before Dan Quayle ruined it for everyone) has a fight with his "dream girl", Melina, I get this passage: "... no pre-packaged dream would have included that scene with Melina, where instead of fulfillment he had received a painful setback. Only reality did that kind of thing to a man!" That's not an inner monologue, by the way -- that's the book's narrator clumsily doing with any mystery the story might have had, basically just to say "Women, am I right?" Then, if that wasn't clear enough, this line after Quaid spits out the pill that is meant to bring him out of the dream: "But this wasn't the end of the dream! This was the confirmation of the Mars reality!" You can tell it's exciting! Because every sentence ends in an exclamation point! The novel even goes out of its way to point out that Melina is a model, thus explaining why Quaid saw her face on a monitor before the "dream" started, simply to quash any last trace of incertitude that may be left. And then there's the famous ending: In the movie, Quaid and Melina triumphantly gaze upon the Martian landscape as the image fades to while, and it's up to the audience to decide whether Quaid is in some kind of coma or the two of them are about to have passionate Martian crater sex. In the novel, not so much:
"Quail cast the specter away. He took Melina in his arms and kissed her robustly. He was through with dreaming, reality was much better" The most baffling part is that the movie was already based on a short story by Philip K. Dick, so I am not sure why they didn't just reprint tbat in size 72 font and call it a book. #3 Jaws The Revenge Introduces Magic to the Jaws Universe
When discussing Jaws: The Revenge (the third sequel to Steven Spielberg's killer shark extravaganza) scholars seem ti agree that it did exactly one thing right, Sure, it's a terrible movie in almost every aspect, but at least it didn't explain that the shark eats people because of a supernatural voodoo curse. The same thing can't be said about the novel. The even more terrible Jaws: The Revenge novelisation doesn't just shit on that particular movie (which would be like going on a used toilet without flushing first) but on the entire franchise, it indirectly suggests that when Chief Brody and Quint were hunting a savage force of nature in the first film, they might have actually been battling a wizard who was a remote-controlling that shark with his mind. Which is a perfectly fine premise for a motion picture, now that I think about it, just not this one. Admittedly, the novel didn't have alot to work with. The movie's central plot concerns a great white shark following Chief Brody's widow, Ellen, to the Bahamas where she's visiting her son Mike after her other son was killed by a different shark... or possibly the same shark, it's not really clear. Whilst it didn't really make sense that a shark would have a vendetta against a particular set of humans in the first place, author Hank Searls carried on the great literary tradition, then writing something even more ridiculous. Searls version includes an evil witch doctor named Papa Jacques who seeks revenge against the Brody family. I learn right off the bat that Papa Jacques hates Michael, and the novel heavily implies that the witch doctor is able to enter a trance and control a great white shark to attack the Brody's. "It was one of Michael Brody's shirts, stolen by a devotee from his washerwoman's line that day. The houngan fingered his shark's tooth necklace, sent his mind beneath the sea and into a trance himself." The most frightening part is how much sense all of this makes with the movie. How did a creature with the mental capacity if a fetus know to target a specific family? Because magic, of course. On the other hand, the fact that this is universe where witched exist would probably explain, much of Jaws 3-D. #2 The Gremlins Novel Turns the Gremlins into Aliens, for Some Reason
The first Gremlins movie is fondly remembers as another inexplicable oddity of the '80s, like Max Headroom or Ronald Reagan. The film doesn't even attempt to explain where the Gremlins came from, but it's hinted that they're of magical origin: Gizmo is purchased at a store manned by an old man who conforms to every Chinese stereotype ever, and old Chinese men are always selling magical shit to white people in movies. Also, these things replicate when wet and turn into monsters if they feed after midnight, so there's that. Anyway, like most hit movies, Gremlins spawned a boatload of crappy tie-in merchandise, like
trading cards, dolls, a breakfast cereal. And of course a novelization by George Gipe. Except that, for some reason, Gipe sat down at his desk, looked at the screenplay titled Gremlins, that he'd been hired to adapt into a book also called Gremlins, and immediately starting writing about... aliens. From the first chapter. "Centuries ago on another planet, Mogturmen had set out to produce a creature that was adaptable to any climate or condition, one that could easily reproduce itself, was gentle and highly intelligent" Turns out that his Mogturmen guy is the inventor of the Gremlins and "genetiv hero of three galaxies". Already this is starting to sound more like someone's terrible Doctor Who fan fiction than the movie we know and love. The first chapter explains that Mogturmen sent his genetically engineered creations to inhabited planets in a mission to spread peace, like Operation Iraqi Freedom. Apparently, Mogturmen didn't administer that crucial test to see if his creations had the potential to easily spawn large murderous monsters before he started jettisoning them out into space. So what was Mogturmen's fate? At one point, the surprisingly articulate Gizmo recalls that his creator was punished by other Mogturmens' before suddenly changing the subject, as if remembering that there might be kids reading this. There's no way that dude didn't get castrated. In fact, we can extrapolate from what we know that it must have been his attempt to build himself a new dong that eventually led to the events of Alien. The rest of the book ditches the space opera crap, but the tone is ruined -- when you watch the movie for the first time, you have no idea what to expect next, since it starts off relatively normal and gets more ridiculous as it goes. #1 Halloween Reveals That Michael Myers Is Just a Possessed Victim
Halloween is a 10-movie franchise based solely on how goddamn creepy Michael Myers was in that first 1978 film by John Carpenter. For the first time, here was a movie killer who didn't murder people because he wanted money or due to chronically untreated mummy issues, but simply because he was pure evil. He was the perfect boogeyman for the modern era. So naturally, the novelisation's author decided to go ahead and ruin all that.
Let's say you bought this book under the naive impression that it follows the plot of the movie, so you open it expecting to find a description of a suburban house on Halloween night or something like that. Then you look at the first page and it says: "The horror started on the eye of Samhain, in a foggy vale in Northern Ireland at the dawn of the Celtic race". Yes the book starts thousands of years in the past with the story of a young boy named Enda. Enda murders the king's daughter Deidre, succumbing to a curse on the druid day of the dead, Samhain, which would eventually become All Hallow's Eve, which would eventually become Halloween. It's always a good sign when the slasher movie novelisation you just bought begins with a history lesson. So basically, sweet innocent Michael Myers is just the victim of some ancient Celtic curse/demon thing. In fact, he's not even the first person in his family to suffer this fate, since it's mentioned that his great-grandfather went through similar problems. Had Michael's mum simply hired a good exorcist, the next nine movies could have been prevented (or the spirit would have moved to another member of the Myers clan, perhaps the famous cousin in Canada)
