Inkdeath. – Cornelia Funke.

Synoposis.

Life in the Inkworld has been far from easy since the extraordinary events of Inkspell, when the story of Inkheart magically drew Meggie, Mo and Dustfinger back into its pages.

With Dustfinger dead, and the evil Adderhead now in control, the story in which they are all caught has taken an unhappy turn. As winter comes, there is reason to hope – but only if Meggie and Mo can rewrite the wrongs of the past and make a dangerous deal with death..

Review.

Okay I promised myself that I’d read this finale to the series with an open mind, for several reasons. For a start I’d already heard from others that this novel was a bit of a let down in the terms of the fact that the others, Inkheart and Inkspell were so much better. Also I didn’t expect that there could be a good ending to such a fantastic series. This being said, however, if we didn’t attempt to read books just because we heard a couple of bad reviews from others, then surely nobody would ever read? It turns out that I had absolutely no reason to be worried.

From the first page I was drawn back into Cornelia Funke’s world of words and magic, once again.

Dutsfinger is dead, but Farid isn’t ready to say goodbye. He and Meggie turn to Orpheus, a man who has the words and the power to bring him back from the dead. However, Orpheus does nothing for free and we soon find that he has greedy, power-hungry intentions. He’ll do anything, including going against his promise to bring Dustfinger back.

Three months have passed since Meggie and her parents arrived in the Inkworld and it hasn’t been an easy journey. They’ve lived amongst a band of robbers – led by the Black Prince and his giant bear – who are always on the move. They’re trying to stay one step ahead of the Adderhead’s bloodthirsty soldiers who hunt Mo, day in day out.

Everyone mistakes Mo for the Bluejay, a fictional character created by Fengolio, who according to the stories, shares the same characteristics as Mo. But lately, Resa – Mo’s wife – has been noticing a change in Mo. He is becoming the Bluejay, heart and soul, acting recklessly and fearlessly just to play the part of the hero. Resa desperately wants to leave the Inkworld before he dies.. Or forgets who he is.

Months ago, Mo bound a book for the Adderhea that would make him immortal. But now the book is falling apart, and so is the Adderhead. He’s sick and weak, and terrified of death. So he sent his soldiers to capture Mo and force him to bind a new book.. Can Mo find a way to stop the Adderhead and more importantly, save himself?

In this finale full of suspense, action and love, we see the story draw to a conclusion. The final words are being woven in and amongst the pages, but where will the path end..

9/10.

9987. – Nik Jones.

‘Gripping, cinematic, voyeuristic. A delightfully disturbing debut.’

Synopsis.

The shop is everything to him – always neat and tidy, safe and reliable, the rental DVDs carefully categorised, alphabetised and memorised.
He thinks he knows his customers, until the bloodstains begin to appear – on grubby banknotes, on porn DVDs and on the shops fresh new carpet.
Then the girl comes into his life, green eyes and fresh scarlet slashed between her thin cotton blouse. He wants to rescue and protect her. He wants to be with her. Forever.

Review.

I finished 9987 by Nik Jones not so long ago, and I have to admit it was one of murkiest reads I’ve had the – shall we say pleasure – in coming across, in a long time. It took me less than a day to read, and that has got to be purely a tribute to the author. From the first page the novel gripping me with grubby, blood-stained hands and kept me enthralled from start to finish. The novel is very confusing at first; however I found that if you just let yourself be swept up by the main protagonist, the store-manager, the narrator, then it all comes together in the most interesting and exciting way possible. Without giving too much away, not all is as it seems at the Total Rental store, and not all is as it seems with ‘him’, the narrator. In the end, Mr. Jones managed to leave me amazed as I did by no means see the finale coming. Maybe I’m gullible or maybe it is a tribute to such a well written novel and a chillingly written plot.

What I will say is this. It novel is written in a dirty manner, and not for the younger, less-matured audiance. There is many sexual references throughout the book; enough to annoy people that don’t enjoy that kind of story-line, but not enough in my opinion to draw the reader away from the action, away from the characters and plot. So just be careful, this fantastically well written debut novel from Mr. Jones, is certainly not for the faint-hearted. At a short 264 pages though, you’ll be left wondering where your day went as you get wrapped up in the pages.

9/10. A superb, bloodthirsty debut novel.

Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince. – JK Rowling.

Synopsis from the back of the book.

Harry’s sixth year at Hogwarts begins, and it feels like a reassuring place to return to after the strange events of the summer. Disappearances, murder and an ominous chilling mist which swirls through both the Muggle and wizarding worlds are harbingers of more sinister purpose. Voldemort’s army is swelling, and with it the Death Eaters are growing bolder and more deadly. Suspicions are rife, and allegiances questions as even the safest havens cease to feel secure from the Dark wizards. As the storm gathers strength, Harry must face the terrifying truth of his destiny.

Review.

Okay where to begin? The penultimate instalment of a world-wide acclaimed series, is, in fact now officially one of my favourites. This time we plummet back into the Wizarding world and Voldemort is back and up to his usual evil deeds and re-building his army. The Death Eaters are back at large again, and a veil of mysteries and allegations swirl around like the omniscient mist that surrounds Hogwarts.

So the plot; Harry is now 16, and is getting ready for another year at Hogwarts, were new challenges await him, even more dangerous than the ones he has faced before. The most minor of which including learning to be able to apparate and attempting to pursue a career as an Auror. Along the way, Harry and his friends discover the meaning of adolescence, with young romance blossoming all around them.

After realizing and building up his wizarding abilities for the past 5 years in attempt to be ready for a fight that he knew would always come, Harry and Professor Dumbledore, are on a mission to understand Voldemort’s past – in attempts of getting the upper hand in defeating him and his dark followers.

Meanwhile, Harry suspects that Draco Malfoy is working closely with Voldemort, stewing up a plan to put them all in danger. Harry spends a lot of time trying to incriminate Malfoy, even though Ron Weasley and Hermoine Granger try to dissuade him from the idea. Along the way, his Potions teacher, Professor Slughorn unknowingly gives Harry a textbook containing potion-making shortcuts and un-heard of spells and charms. Harry finds that the book once belonged to a student who called himself the “Half-blood Prince”.

In this, the 6th instalment, Harry and his friends face their toughest challenges yet, and we all know that the good cannot always triumph. Prepare yourself for a page-turning, emotionally written story that like always with the series, will leave you glued to the pages in anticipation.

9/10. One of my favourite books of the series.

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher. – Kate Summerscale.

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher / The Murder at Road Hill House. – Kate Summerscale.

Synopsis from the back of the book.

It is midnight on the 30th of June 1860 and all is quiet in the Kent family’s elegant house in Road, Wiltshire. The next morning, however, they wake to find their youngest son has been the victim of unimaginably gruesome murder. Even worse, the guilty party is surely one of their number – the house was bolted from the inside. As Jack Whicher, the most celebrated detective of his day, arrives at Road to track down the killer, the murder provokes national hysteria at the thought of what might be festering between the closed doors of respectable middle-class homes – scheming servants, rebellious children, insanity, jealousy, loneliness and loathing.

Mini-review.

Well.. I’ve taken just over a month to finish this book that I have been reading called ‘The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher.‘, by Kate Summerscale. However, it’s not from want of trying; it’s just purely the face that I’ve had so much to concentrate on with exams, and the revising that comes with that.

The novel was good though, entertaining and I enjoyed it thoroughly. The suspense throughout the story-line, the characters and the general plot just had me captivated, intrigued and wanting to read on (despite not having time). The book is based on a true story, of the murder of a young child in an old Victorian house. Most of the novel is based on information from actual metropolitan police files. I didn’t know anything about it before I started and I did have to resist from reading upon about it to find out what happened. This is credit to the author, Summerscale for writing a good novel, keeping the reader hooked. The is because I continued to read on knowing that it would take me longer to find out who actually committed the murder, rather than looking it up on the internet and finding out much easier. The story is written in a way that will keep you guessing. The characters are what made this story for me. The book has all manner of characters, from ‘Scheming servants and rebellious children‘ as it says on the blurb, to mysterious parents and even a suspicious house-maid.

Overall it was an enthralling read.. and although was slightly tricky in parts with many references to other novels, these didn’t really hinder the reader and didn’t make you want to stop reading.
7/10.

The Host. – Stephenie Meyer.

Synopsis from the back of the book.

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed.

Wanderer, the invading “soul” who has been given Melanie’s body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn’t expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

Melanie fills Wanderer’s thoughts with visions of the man Melanie loves–Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body’s desires, Wanderer yearns for a man she’s never met.As outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off to search for the man they both love..

My thoughts.

When I first picked this up, I wasn’t too sure about it. I had read Stephenie Meyer’s other books; Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. Although I enjoyed these previous novels, I’m not the only one that says that some parts dragged on.. and that some of the writing style was far from perfect. I thought this might be the same with The Host, hence my reluctance to read it. In the end, after putting it off by reading some of my other books before, I just went for it, in the hope that I would enjoy the novel better than those previous.

***

I have to say that I was certainly not disappointed. The story is a little slow to start off with, but you soon become caught up with the characters, and you soon forget the slow start. In this story, an ‘alien race’ of parasites has taken over the planet, using humans as hosts and leaving only a handful of human rebels behind. While the humans fought a good fight, in the end, well, they lost. The main plot follows Wanderer, a soul who has been recently inserted inside a human host. Her host is called Melanie Stryder, and she turns out to be apart of the human resistance. We find out that Melanie had attempted to commit suicide after discovering she was trapped by the alien invaders. She threw herself down an elevator shaft, only to be later healed by ‘The Healers’, and then deemed as a viable host.

***

Melanie’s presence is known to her new host almost immediately, and the two battle for the upper-hand. Resistant hosts are rare. Needless to say that Wanderer controls the body but Melanie’s thoughts and memories are hard to suppress. Wanderer is to find at report any info that she learns about resistence from the humans, from Melanie. However, Melanie makes it extremely hard for her to do so. Wanderer does know that Melanie left behind two people she loved most: her little brother Jamie and the love of her life, Jared. Wanderer does discover the band of human rebels led by Melanie’s Uncle Jeb and she spends most of the story in captivity with them. She, of course, receives a lot of interest from the human rebels, whether things turn out for her or not, you’ll have to read the book to find out.

***

The story maintains a nice tension throughout its 625 pages. I worried for the outcome of these characters, which shows that I was caught up in everything they did, with each turn of the page. The epilogue seemed to hint at a sequel, which makes my very intrigued about what will happen next. I’d recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys a journey packed with love, tension and emotion.

9/10.

Cell. – Stephen King.

Synopsis from the back of the book.

Civilization slipped into its second dark ago on an unsurprising track of blood, but with a speed that could not have been foreseen by even the most pessimistic futurist… and the world as it had been was a memory. The event became known as The Pulse. The virus was carried by every cellular phone operating in the world. Within hours, those receiving calls would be infected. Clayton Riddell, a young artist, knows he has to reach his son before the boy turns on his phone. And time is running out.

***

My thoughts.

I’d never read anything by Stephen King, before I picked up this book, so I did not really know whether his work would suit me. I’d heard of many people recommending his novels, so I was looking forward to it. I probably would have never started on this particular book; but after trudging up to the co-op and discovering they had a book sale, I snapped it up for a mere 50p. I thought why not!

***

Cell starts out immediately with the action. On a pleasant ordinary October afternoon downtown in Boston everything suddenly goes crazy. People attack and bite strangers, smash things up and speak in wild gibberish, all this because of the mind-probing called The Pulse. It has been delivered via cellphone. Only the people that don’t own a mobile phone, or heard in time not to pick it up, are safe.

***

The author’s main character, a comic book artist named Clayton Riddell, immediatly caught my attention. From the start of the novel to the very end he is frightened, but he keeps going and takes control of the situation by trying to fight back. In his search for his son and wife, Johnny and Sharon; Clay, as he prefers to be called in the book, must battle with his conscience when making some important decisions. Clay is thrown together with a few comrades, throughout the book. These include; Tom, a short man with thinning dark hair, a tiny mustache, and gold-rimmed spectacles, and Alice; a teenage girl that has lost her mum in the early onset of The Pulse. The characters band together and begin heading north, road by road where they meet others in their journey.

***

King spends part of Cell considering the darkness of human nature. The people infected can be found reeling, staggering, biting eachother or fighting over Twinkies.

***

The cell-from-hell story-line gives this novel an instantly powerful attraction. However, there are times when the book threatens to come to a stand-still. Though Cell is not long, it moves slowly and somewhat repetitively along its highway of horrors. And King is in no hurry to build upon the Pulse idea after he has deployed its initial shock value. However, the book, after awhile, seems to regain some original steam. The zombies evolve in interesting ways, which keep you turning the pages wanting more.

***

My only criticism would be that at some points it struggled to keep my attention. However, I enjoyed it, and recommend to anyone that likes a good action-packed adventure.

7/10.

Noughts and Crosses. – Malorie Blackman.

Synopsis from the back of the book.

Callum is a nought – a second-class citizen in a world run by the ruling Crosses..

Sephy is a Cross, daughter of one of the most powerful men in the country..

In their world noughts and Crosses simply don’t mix. And as hostility turns to violence, can Callum and Sephy possibly find a way to be together?
They are determined to try..

And then the bomb explodes..

***

My thoughts.

After hearing a lot of good things about this book, including a few good recommendations from people on this forum, I decided this would be my next read. Noughts and Crosses is the first in a trilogy followed by Knife Edge and finally Checkmate. Malorie Blackman has had an unaccountable amount of acclaim for this book and its the winner of the Children’s Book Award.

***

Although the book does contain a warning that it is not suitable for younger readers, it is also generally categorized under ‘teen reading.’ I wouldn’t recommend the book for children of roughly under eight or nine, depending on the maturity of the child, as it
does have things of an explicit nature written down, including a pretty heavy love scene around half way through the book.

***

This book focuses on two different groups of people, that make up society. The noughts are white people, and they are considered inferior; they have the manual labour, mindless, unskilled jobs and are generally of a lower class. Crosses are black people, and they hold the power, they are in government, they are the rich people and have only the best jobs. There is a divide between the two, the Crosses are not openly hateful towards the noughts, but you can tell the hatred is there. The noughts put up with their lot, but there is an underlying hatred which will end in tears.

***

The story revolves around two main characters; Sephy, who is a Cross, and Callum, who is a nought. They have been friends all their lives, since Callum’s mum worked as a house-keeper for Sephy’s mum. They gradually become closer, and fall in love, as Callum gets accepted into Stephy’s school (An all Cross school). They break all kinds of social boundaries possible. Crosses and noughts do not mix, and are certainly not friends or lovers. As the story unfolds, they are driven apart by societies prejudices. Callum joins a military terrorist group after a family tragedy, and swears revenge. His brother, Jude, is also a part of this group called the Liberation Militia who plot and scheme in an attempt to bring the Crosses to their downfall. As things take a devastating turn, the two young lovers will meet again but in very different circumstances, circumstances that will decide with whom Callum’s loyalties truly are.

***

The two main characters in this book are amazingly written and very real. The story is told in first person, however with a difference. You get a section from Sephy’s point of view, then a section from Callum’s point of view and so on. This sounds like it might be confusing, but each section is clearly labelled, and it is a very effective way of storytelling.

***

A book full of polictical, racial and moral issues, Malorie Blackman has provided the perfect balance of the topics covered. A book that had me glued to the pages until I’d finished, it really does make you look at society with a different perspective.

9/10.

Ice Palace. – Robert Swindells.

Synopsis from the back of the book:

Starjik! Whisper his name and it was winter in your heart. No one sees Starjik and his hungry wolves when they come in the dead of the night, but always a child is missing in the morning. Who can rid the land of this curse and melt the fear in its people’s hearts? Only Ivan, who loves his little brother enough to follow him through many dangers to Starjik’s cavern.

***

My thoughts:

The  reason I picked up this book was because I had heard a lot about the author; Robert Swindells, and I was interested in reading something by him. So I was kindly leant this book, and I gave it a shot.

***

This book tells the journey of Ivan, a young boy that loves his brother dearly. When his brother is taken from the village by the mysterious and widely feared Starjik, Ivan resolves to do something about it. With just some bread to keep him from going hungry, and his fur parka to keep him from going cold, he sets out on a perilous journey through the icy winds to rescue his brother.

***

This book is obviously aimed at the younger age bracket of readers, so it wasn’t my usual type of read. Despite this, I found myself to be enjoying it. Because it was such a light read, at only a mere 91 pages, the story flowed well, and kept me turning the pages. Swindells manages to write a story full of love and adventure, which compels the reader to follow Ivan whole-heartedly in his journey. Battling through the freezing cold and snow-storms, Ivan encounters many obstacles on his rescue mission. From hungry wolves, to the illusions weaved by Starjik, that make Ivan confused and lost, Ivan has to pull himself together in time to rescue his brother. Ivan will need all the help he can get, and when an unexpected ally is there in the snow to help him, not everything seems lost.

***

Will Ivan make it through the wind and the cold and arrive at Starjik’s cavern in time to save his brother? Take a plunge through the icy shadows, and see for yourself what awaits.

I would recommend this to younger readers, who enjoy an adventure.

7/10.

The Colour of Magic. – Terry Pratchett.

Synopsis from back of book.

Twoflower was a tourist, the first ever seen on Discworld.

Tourist, Rincewind decided, meant idiot.

***

Somewhere on the frontier between thought and reality exists the Discworld, a parallel time and place which might sound and smell very much like our own, but which looks completely different. Certainly, it refuses to succumb to the quaint notion that the universe are ruled by pure logic and the harmony of numbers.

But just because the Disc is very different doesn’t mean that some things don’t stay the same. It’s very existence is about to be threatened by a strange new blight: the arrival of the first tourist, upon whose survival rests the peace and prosperity of the land. But if the person charged with maintaining that survival in the face of robbers, mercenaries and, well, Death, is a spectacularly inept wizard, a little logic might turn out to be a very good idea…

***

My thoughts.

After never reading a Pratchett book, and while hearing so many things about how people have enjoyed his novels, I decided to give one a go. Because of the amount of novels in the Discworld series, it’s quite hard to know where to begin. So I thought I’d just go for the simple option, start at the begining; The Colour of Magic.

***

At first I found it tricky to get into; the writing style of Pratchett surprised me a lot, and I wasn’t expecting what I got, so I guess it pays to do your homework. After reading on though, I discovered something. Terry Pratchett is a comic genius. He engages his writers in a world of magic and adventure, and weaves a thread of octarine light through time. I’ve been told that this novel isn’t as good as his others in the Discworld series, and if that’s the case, then I’m pleasently surprised.

***

In this, the start of many adventures to come for the Discworld’s occupants, you are offered an exciting journey through space and magic alike. Rincewind is an inept and cowardly wizard who carries in his mind one of the eight spells from the Octavio, The Grimoire, left (accidently) by the Creator after finishing the Discworld. As a result, he is not a very good wizard, as none of the spells will stay in his mind. He has come to the conclusion that they are too scared to stick around for long. Rincewind has the gift of languages and meets Twoflower, the first tourist of the Discworld. Closely followed of course, by the “The Luggage”, a chest that has a mind of its own and follows Twoflower around on hundreds of little legs. Lets not forget about Death, lurking glumly away in the background, swirling his scythe expertly.

***

All sorts of strange events occur around Rincewind and Twoflower. My personal favourite is when they are swept of the edge of the Disc (rim) and rescued by a sea troll, Tethis. Lets just say the pair aren’t short of excitement, by any stretch of the imagination. As Pratchett leads us through a fantastical world filled with gods, dragons and trolls, everything is described so well you could imagine being there.

***

With a brilliant cliff-hanger, I was left wanting the next instalment. So dive in and and take a plunge into Pratchett’s world of magic and adventure. I would recommend it to all fantasy and magic lovers out there.

8/10.

The High Lord. – Trudi Canavan.

Synopsis from the back of the book.

In the city of Imardin, where those who wield magic wield power, a young street-girl, adopted by the Magicians’ Guild, finds herself at the centre of a terrible plot that may destroy the entire world.

Sonea has learnt much at the Magicians’ Guild and the the other novices treat her with a grudging respect. But she cannot forget what she witnessed in the high lord’s underground room – or his warning that the realm’s ancient enemy is growing in power once more. As Sonea learns more, she begins to doubt her guildmaster’s word. Could the truth really be as terrifying as Akkarin claims, or is he just trying to trick her into assisting in some unspeakably dark scheme?

***

My thoughts.

After waiting to borrow this book from a friend for several days, I can say that I haven’t been disappointed. It was worth the wait. The final volume in Trudi Canavan’s stunning trilogy of action, magic and adventure. The Black Magician trilogy is a trilogy of fantasy books about a young slum-girl, Sonea, who finds she has magical potential inside her. Discovered by the Guild after what can only be described as an interesting incident, Sonea is forced to flee through the slums to try and escape the magicians. Eventually, Sonea finally sees sense and in the end goes back to the Guild and learns Control over her powers. Sonea is one of her kind, gifted and a powerful magician.. but enough of that, you will need to read books 1 (The Magician’s Guild), and 2 (The Novice) to follow Sonea through her earlier adventures.

***

The plot and characters in this book are what makes it such a good novel. The story is very fast paced and full of action. The mysterious Thieves are at the thick of the action again, and this time they cannot hide away amongst their tunnels to escape what is coming. We will finally see how resourceful the Thieves really are in this thrilling finale. Through this book you’re rushed along through the slums of Imardin wondering with each turn of the page what will happen next. The character that probably made this book what it was for me, was probably Akkarin. The mysterious black-robed magician that through the day watches and takes care of guild matters, while at night stalks the slums in ordinary clothes stained with blood in the glow of the night. A murderer is lose on the streets of Imardin, murdered in a very strange way. He is thought to be a magician, from the marks found upon the bodies. Everything is not what it seems in the Guild, and an ancient enemy is coming, that maybe even the Guild cannot be prepared for. In a race through time, can the truth be uncovered and the city of Imarin be saved? Master your own Control, call on your own power and open up the book to a different world.

***

Another thing that I noticed with this book was that I found it touched upon some important issues such as sexuality. Through brief mentions and snippets we see how growing up is showed throughout this book. Trudi Canavan manages it really well, bringing up issues regarding what is moral and what isn’t. This I found really interesting how the author manages to fit this in the novel in such a way that you take notice of it but at the same time you aren’t drawn away from the plot.

***

It’s with a sad sense of regret that I have found that I have finished this magical trilogy, but I’m happy that I found these fatastic fantasy books. With unexpected turns and twists this is a very good series for anyone who enjoys a good fantasy novel or three.
10/10 – A thrilling end to the series.

***