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: 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.
Cast: Elijah Woods (Frodo Baggins), Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Orlando Bloom (Legolas), John Rhys-Davies (Gimli), Sean Bean (Boromir), Sean Astin (Sam), Billy Boyd (Pippin), Dominic Monaghan (Merry)
Directed by: Peter Jackson Release Date: December 19, 2001 Genre: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Basedon: The Fellowship of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Distributed by: New Line Cinema Ratings: 4.5/5
Plot: This film sees Frodo Baggins begin a journey to destroy The One Ring, that he received from his Uncle Bilbo Baggins, and destroys it in the fires of Mount Doom, and destroy Sauron once and for all. He is joined by The Fellowship of the Ring, which consists of his Hobbit friends, Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin Took, and Meriadoc Brandybuck, as well as the Wizard Gandalf, who originally set him on this journey, Aragorn true King of Gondor, and Boromir, from the race of Men, the Elf Prince of Kirkwood, Legolas, and the Dwarf Gimli, son of Gloin (who featured in The Hobbit)
Review: I was inspired by a co-blogger to start a Books That Comes To Life feature on this blog. I was thinking to do this a month ago but sadly, I now barely go to the cinemas due to my busy schedule at the uni. And I also have to think and stick with the theme of this blog, book review. Because most of the films that I am watching weren't from a book. Moving on.. this was a brilliant film and I have alot to thank it for, as it was this film that got me into Tolkien's work, and all things related to The Lord of the Rings. I've always been a fan of things that are unusual, and have loved fantasy films, and books all my life, so this film was a natural choice for me. The way this film starts so light heartened, and how the characters become even more desperate, and distressed, just in the events of this film is enough to know that you're in for some brilliant story telling.
The cast in this film was brilliant, and think that it helped that most of the main cast were relatively unknown actors. I have more recently learnt that more well-known actors like Daniel Day-Lewis, Bruce Willis, Nicolas Cage, Russell Crowd, Vin Diesel, and Liam Neeson had all been asked to play the role in the film to succeed. The cast were all brilliant and suited their respective roles brilliantly, with Ian McKellen, and Viggo Mortensen being the ones that stood out the most to me.
The Fellowship
The Fellowship itself is one of the big things throughout all three films, although it has more effect in this one, and it's the only film where the entire Fellowship is together. When you have a character like a Hobbit, which is innocent and very vulnerable as the main character you need many people around them, and what better way than to have a group of nine people (including Frodo) that has all different ally races in it. This is in my opinion what really brought Tolkien's mythological world together, as you have all these different races that usually barely coexist, if at all working together. The way Legolas and Gimli's friendship grows over this film even is probably the most interesting out of all, as elves and dwarves usually hate each other. The characteristics in all characters was also shown very well, and the way they reacted to certain events throughout was brilliant and made the film more dramatic.
Sauron forging The One Ring
The main antagonist throughout this film series is Sauron. Although he's the main villain he doesn't have much of a physical presence throughout the film, and none during the main story. It's interesting that someone can live due to an object they created, and this kind of reminds me of Voldemort from the Harry Potter books/films, although Sauron did this first literature wise. I actually found the great eye of Sauron intimidating that his physical form in the flash backs as it gives a more sinister feel, as well as the knowledge that he will know where Frodo is if he wears the ring.
Saruman with an Uruk-hai
Although Sauron was the main antagonist, Saruman was the villain that did most of the work and was of valuable help to Sauron. The casting of Saruman couldn't be any better, as who else but Dracula himself Christopher Lee could do a better job. I've always enjoyed anything that Christopher Lee's been in and especially when he's a bad guy, and his presence always makes a film even better whether it's already a brilliant film like this was or something that wouldn't be as good without him. I also liked how Gandalf didn't see this coming, as it shows that no matter how wise someone is, they can't see all that lies ahead.
Frodo wears The One Ring
The One Ring itself is probably the most interesting thing, and although it doesn't get as much screen times as the battles it's still hanging over the story, showing that it's evil, and there is a lot at stake. Since watching the first part of The Hobbit adaptation, I feel that I can appreciate these films even more than I used to, as there are lots of things that happened in The Hobbit that are either re-told in this film, or have an impact on this film. I could appreciate The Ring itself more, as well as the Mithril armour, or Sting (Frodo's sword, originally Bilbo's)
Nazgûl
I also loved the Nazgûl in this film. As they embody everything evil about The One Ring, and how greed can corrupt people. We get back story about Sauron creating other Rings of Power, seven for dwarves, which Sauron couldn't control properly, three for elves, who never used them so couldn't they get controlled. And nine for men who are greedy. It's nice to see how this affected the world around, and how that affects this story. Although you don't see much of them unless Frodo's wearing The One Ring, they are still very menacing looking, and add more dread, and desperation to Frodo's quest, especially in the earlier part.
Strider (Aragorn) in the shadows
Aragorn's development throughout this film, and later films is probably the most interesting, or at least in my opinion, as he starts off as a simple ranger who is tasked by Gandalf to watch over Frodo (this is mentioned in the appendix of The Lord of the Rings novels) and how he is destined to become the King of Gondor. The lighting in the earlier scenes to feature Aragorn was very well done, as he was in the shadow alot of time, which adds mystery to the character. I also liked that Aragorn shows that he has a good heart, as even though he abruptly removes Frodo from the tavern, he still shows kindness.
This was a very good film, and a brilliant start to a tremendous film trilogy. It has given me a great joy over the years, it's a good adaptation, and fairly honest to the book . I would highly recommend this film, as you are bound to love it.
Synopsis: Michael is a gamer. And like most gamers, he almost spends more time on the VirtNet than in the actual world. The VirtNet offers total mind and body immersion, and it's addictive. Thanks to technology, anyone with enough money can experience fantasy worlds, risk their life without the chance of death, or just hang around with Virt-friends. And the more hacking skills you have, the more fun. Why bother following the rules when most of them are dumb, anyway?
But some rules were made for a reason. Some technology is too dangerous to fool with. And recent reports claim that one gamer is going beyond what any gamer has done before: he's holding players hostage inside the VirtNet. The effects are horrific - the hostages have all been declared brain-dead. Yet the gamer's motives are a mystery.
The government knows that to catch a hacker, you need a hacker. And they've been watching Michael. They want him on their team. But the risk is enormous. If he accepts their challenge, Michael will need to go off the VirtNet grid. There are back alleys and corners in the system human eyes have never seen and predators he can't even fathom - and there's the possibility that the line between game and reality will be blurred forever.
Review: James Dashner does it again. A competent successor to The Maze Runner series, The Eye of Minds is a captivating and suspenseful sci-fi adventure that left me craving the next installment of the trilogy.
The Eye of Minds follows the journey of Michael and his friends, Bryson and Sarah, as they tracked down a crooked madman hacker who has been using his skills in the VirtNet to corrupt others and render the human bodies of his victims brain dead.
In the world that Dashner establishes, those who can afford to purchase a "Coffin", the piece of technology that can transport the mind to the VirtNet, are empowered with the ability to explore an almost limitless world, in which death does not exist. When reading, it is evident that Dashner put alot of detail and forethought into the workings and infrastructure of the VirtNet, and this is what really makes the world that Michael lives in an original one.
As for the characters, I found the dialogue that they exchange amongst themselves entertaining, but I could muster nothing on a more profound level. Although the frequent exchanges of banter and sarcasm among the trio of friends brought a sense of realism to the story, I did not sympathise with or relate to any of the characters on a deeper level, which I presume has to do with the lack of character insight and development throughout the course of the novel.
Although the premise of the book kept me turning page after page, I began to lose interest somewhere near the hundred page mark, when Michael and his friends are in throes of their journey. This was undoubtedly influenced by the repetitive nature of the tasks that the characters faced. After they moved past an obstacle, another would appear shortly after, and following that one's completion, the characters would be faced with yet another obstacle to overcome, and so on and so forth. This is where I began to focus less on the character's current situation and just wanted to reach the final pages of the book to discover what conclusion was in store. However, I put my big girl panties on, sat down and read through it all.
Good decision. After braving through the book's drier sections, fueled primarily by anticipation of its conclusion, I was presented with a major completely unexpected plot twist. And boy, was it a twist - the kind that causes the story to make sense on an entirely new level. I won't delve into further details for obvious spoiler avoiding reasons, but I will mention that upon reflection, I realised that Dashner does provide subtle clues that foreshadow the plot's sudden twist. However, I had gullibly attributed these clues to a cause that Dashner leads the reader to believe, but is essentially a distraction from their real cause, which only contributes further to the element of surprise contained in those last few pages.
Overall, despite my criticisms of the book, I recommend this to any YA'ers out there who are craving a sci-fi adventure with a hint of danger and mystery. Read through the weaker spots and you will encounter an ending well worth the wait.
Synopsis: When Digory and Polly are tricked by Digory's peculiar Uncle Andrew into becoming part of an experiment, they set off on the adventure of a lifetime. What happens to the children when they touch Uncle Andrew's magic rings is far beyond anything even the old magician could have imagine . Hurled into the Wood between the Worlds, the children soon find that they can enter many worlds through the mysterious pools there. In one world, they can encounter the evil Queen Jadis, who wreaks havoc in the streets of London where she is accidentally brought back with them. When they finally manage to pull her out of London, unintentionally taking along Uncle Andrew and a coachman with his horse, they find themselves in what will come to be known as the land of Narnia.
Review: The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis published in 1955. Before I begin I should probably address the fact that the reading order of The Chronicles of Narnia series is a topic in which many people are passionate about. Whilst many believe that they should be read in the order they were published, in which The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is the first book, others myself included, feel the need to read the series in chronological order (starting at The Magician's Nephew).
Before reading this book, I would recommend keeping in mind the fact that this story is obviously meant to be enjoyed by young children. It seems to me that many people over-look this statement when they read the book, and it is therefore criticised for it's almost overly-simplified story line and stereotypical evil-for-no-reason protagonist. Keeping this statement in mind, The Magician's Nephew is easily enjoyable. Whilst I will always recommend that this book should be the first to read in the series, it is almost twice as interesting for people who began the series with The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe because it answers many questions such as the origins of the infamous lamppost, and how Queen Jadis came to be along with the wardrobe.
Whilst this book can be disagreeable to some people due to its obvious Christian themes and outdated ideas about gender roles, it makes up for it due to Polly and Digory's bumbling idiocy, and Lewis' simplistic yet imaginative writing. Whether you start the series off with The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe or never continue the series after The Magician's Nephew, it's an interesting book that, with the right frame of mind, is enjoyable for any and all ages. I truly believe this is a book everyone should read at least once.
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.
Cast: Elijah Woods (Frodo Baggins), Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Orlando Bloom (Legolas), John Rhys-Davies (Gimli), Sean Bean (Boromir), Sean Astin (Sam), Billy Boyd (Pippin), Dominic Monaghan (Merry)
Directed by: Peter Jackson Release Date: December 19, 2001 Genre: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Basedon: The Fellowship of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Distributed by: New Line Cinema Ratings: 4.5/5
Plot: This film sees Frodo Baggins begin a journey to destroy The One Ring, that he received from his Uncle Bilbo Baggins, and destroys it in the fires of Mount Doom, and destroy Sauron once and for all. He is joined by The Fellowship of the Ring, which consists of his Hobbit friends, Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin Took, and Meriadoc Brandybuck, as well as the Wizard Gandalf, who originally set him on this journey, Aragorn true King of Gondor, and Boromir, from the race of Men, the Elf Prince of Kirkwood, Legolas, and the Dwarf Gimli, son of Gloin (who featured in The Hobbit)
Review: I was inspired by a co-blogger to start a Books That Comes To Life feature on this blog. I was thinking to do this a month ago but sadly, I now barely go to the cinemas due to my busy schedule at the uni. And I also have to think and stick with the theme of this blog, book review. Because most of the films that I am watching weren't from a book. Moving on.. this was a brilliant film and I have alot to thank it for, as it was this film that got me into Tolkien's work, and all things related to The Lord of the Rings. I've always been a fan of things that are unusual, and have loved fantasy films, and books all my life, so this film was a natural choice for me. The way this film starts so light heartened, and how the characters become even more desperate, and distressed, just in the events of this film is enough to know that you're in for some brilliant story telling.
The cast in this film was brilliant, and think that it helped that most of the main cast were relatively unknown actors. I have more recently learnt that more well-known actors like Daniel Day-Lewis, Bruce Willis, Nicolas Cage, Russell Crowd, Vin Diesel, and Liam Neeson had all been asked to play the role in the film to succeed. The cast were all brilliant and suited their respective roles brilliantly, with Ian McKellen, and Viggo Mortensen being the ones that stood out the most to me.
The Fellowship
The Fellowship itself is one of the big things throughout all three films, although it has more effect in this one, and it's the only film where the entire Fellowship is together. When you have a character like a Hobbit, which is innocent and very vulnerable as the main character you need many people around them, and what better way than to have a group of nine people (including Frodo) that has all different ally races in it. This is in my opinion what really brought Tolkien's mythological world together, as you have all these different races that usually barely coexist, if at all working together. The way Legolas and Gimli's friendship grows over this film even is probably the most interesting out of all, as elves and dwarves usually hate each other. The characteristics in all characters was also shown very well, and the way they reacted to certain events throughout was brilliant and made the film more dramatic.
Sauron forging The One Ring
The main antagonist throughout this film series is Sauron. Although he's the main villain he doesn't have much of a physical presence throughout the film, and none during the main story. It's interesting that someone can live due to an object they created, and this kind of reminds me of Voldemort from the Harry Potter books/films, although Sauron did this first literature wise. I actually found the great eye of Sauron intimidating that his physical form in the flash backs as it gives a more sinister feel, as well as the knowledge that he will know where Frodo is if he wears the ring.
Saruman with an Uruk-hai
Although Sauron was the main antagonist, Saruman was the villain that did most of the work and was of valuable help to Sauron. The casting of Saruman couldn't be any better, as who else but Dracula himself Christopher Lee could do a better job. I've always enjoyed anything that Christopher Lee's been in and especially when he's a bad guy, and his presence always makes a film even better whether it's already a brilliant film like this was or something that wouldn't be as good without him. I also liked how Gandalf didn't see this coming, as it shows that no matter how wise someone is, they can't see all that lies ahead.
Frodo wears The One Ring
The One Ring itself is probably the most interesting thing, and although it doesn't get as much screen times as the battles it's still hanging over the story, showing that it's evil, and there is a lot at stake. Since watching the first part of The Hobbit adaptation, I feel that I can appreciate these films even more than I used to, as there are lots of things that happened in The Hobbit that are either re-told in this film, or have an impact on this film. I could appreciate The Ring itself more, as well as the Mithril armour, or Sting (Frodo's sword, originally Bilbo's)
Nazgûl
I also loved the Nazgûl in this film. As they embody everything evil about The One Ring, and how greed can corrupt people. We get back story about Sauron creating other Rings of Power, seven for dwarves, which Sauron couldn't control properly, three for elves, who never used them so couldn't they get controlled. And nine for men who are greedy. It's nice to see how this affected the world around, and how that affects this story. Although you don't see much of them unless Frodo's wearing The One Ring, they are still very menacing looking, and add more dread, and desperation to Frodo's quest, especially in the earlier part.
Strider (Aragorn) in the shadows
Aragorn's development throughout this film, and later films is probably the most interesting, or at least in my opinion, as he starts off as a simple ranger who is tasked by Gandalf to watch over Frodo (this is mentioned in the appendix of The Lord of the Rings novels) and how he is destined to become the King of Gondor. The lighting in the earlier scenes to feature Aragorn was very well done, as he was in the shadow alot of time, which adds mystery to the character. I also liked that Aragorn shows that he has a good heart, as even though he abruptly removes Frodo from the tavern, he still shows kindness.
This was a very good film, and a brilliant start to a tremendous film trilogy. It has given me a great joy over the years, it's a good adaptation, and fairly honest to the book . I would highly recommend this film, as you are bound to love it.
Synopsis: Michael is a gamer. And like most gamers, he almost spends more time on the VirtNet than in the actual world. The VirtNet offers total mind and body immersion, and it's addictive. Thanks to technology, anyone with enough money can experience fantasy worlds, risk their life without the chance of death, or just hang around with Virt-friends. And the more hacking skills you have, the more fun. Why bother following the rules when most of them are dumb, anyway?
But some rules were made for a reason. Some technology is too dangerous to fool with. And recent reports claim that one gamer is going beyond what any gamer has done before: he's holding players hostage inside the VirtNet. The effects are horrific - the hostages have all been declared brain-dead. Yet the gamer's motives are a mystery.
The government knows that to catch a hacker, you need a hacker. And they've been watching Michael. They want him on their team. But the risk is enormous. If he accepts their challenge, Michael will need to go off the VirtNet grid. There are back alleys and corners in the system human eyes have never seen and predators he can't even fathom - and there's the possibility that the line between game and reality will be blurred forever.
Review: James Dashner does it again. A competent successor to The Maze Runner series, The Eye of Minds is a captivating and suspenseful sci-fi adventure that left me craving the next installment of the trilogy.
The Eye of Minds follows the journey of Michael and his friends, Bryson and Sarah, as they tracked down a crooked madman hacker who has been using his skills in the VirtNet to corrupt others and render the human bodies of his victims brain dead.
In the world that Dashner establishes, those who can afford to purchase a "Coffin", the piece of technology that can transport the mind to the VirtNet, are empowered with the ability to explore an almost limitless world, in which death does not exist. When reading, it is evident that Dashner put alot of detail and forethought into the workings and infrastructure of the VirtNet, and this is what really makes the world that Michael lives in an original one.
As for the characters, I found the dialogue that they exchange amongst themselves entertaining, but I could muster nothing on a more profound level. Although the frequent exchanges of banter and sarcasm among the trio of friends brought a sense of realism to the story, I did not sympathise with or relate to any of the characters on a deeper level, which I presume has to do with the lack of character insight and development throughout the course of the novel.
Although the premise of the book kept me turning page after page, I began to lose interest somewhere near the hundred page mark, when Michael and his friends are in throes of their journey. This was undoubtedly influenced by the repetitive nature of the tasks that the characters faced. After they moved past an obstacle, another would appear shortly after, and following that one's completion, the characters would be faced with yet another obstacle to overcome, and so on and so forth. This is where I began to focus less on the character's current situation and just wanted to reach the final pages of the book to discover what conclusion was in store. However, I put my big girl panties on, sat down and read through it all.
Good decision. After braving through the book's drier sections, fueled primarily by anticipation of its conclusion, I was presented with a major completely unexpected plot twist. And boy, was it a twist - the kind that causes the story to make sense on an entirely new level. I won't delve into further details for obvious spoiler avoiding reasons, but I will mention that upon reflection, I realised that Dashner does provide subtle clues that foreshadow the plot's sudden twist. However, I had gullibly attributed these clues to a cause that Dashner leads the reader to believe, but is essentially a distraction from their real cause, which only contributes further to the element of surprise contained in those last few pages.
Overall, despite my criticisms of the book, I recommend this to any YA'ers out there who are craving a sci-fi adventure with a hint of danger and mystery. Read through the weaker spots and you will encounter an ending well worth the wait.
Synopsis: When Digory and Polly are tricked by Digory's peculiar Uncle Andrew into becoming part of an experiment, they set off on the adventure of a lifetime. What happens to the children when they touch Uncle Andrew's magic rings is far beyond anything even the old magician could have imagine . Hurled into the Wood between the Worlds, the children soon find that they can enter many worlds through the mysterious pools there. In one world, they can encounter the evil Queen Jadis, who wreaks havoc in the streets of London where she is accidentally brought back with them. When they finally manage to pull her out of London, unintentionally taking along Uncle Andrew and a coachman with his horse, they find themselves in what will come to be known as the land of Narnia.
Review: The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis published in 1955. Before I begin I should probably address the fact that the reading order of The Chronicles of Narnia series is a topic in which many people are passionate about. Whilst many believe that they should be read in the order they were published, in which The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is the first book, others myself included, feel the need to read the series in chronological order (starting at The Magician's Nephew).
Before reading this book, I would recommend keeping in mind the fact that this story is obviously meant to be enjoyed by young children. It seems to me that many people over-look this statement when they read the book, and it is therefore criticised for it's almost overly-simplified story line and stereotypical evil-for-no-reason protagonist. Keeping this statement in mind, The Magician's Nephew is easily enjoyable. Whilst I will always recommend that this book should be the first to read in the series, it is almost twice as interesting for people who began the series with The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe because it answers many questions such as the origins of the infamous lamppost, and how Queen Jadis came to be along with the wardrobe.
Whilst this book can be disagreeable to some people due to its obvious Christian themes and outdated ideas about gender roles, it makes up for it due to Polly and Digory's bumbling idiocy, and Lewis' simplistic yet imaginative writing. Whether you start the series off with The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe or never continue the series after The Magician's Nephew, it's an interesting book that, with the right frame of mind, is enjoyable for any and all ages. I truly believe this is a book everyone should read at least once.
