The Rendition Experience

All those times when I despaired because I was almost done reading a book have come to an end for me. Unfortunately, so has my willpower and ability to cope with more mundane things like house chores.

The world of fan fiction has given me back the characters I love in the long hard times when an author has to write a book and publish it. Sadly, this means that the book that I got hooked on suddenly turns into a whole universe with hundreds of stories. So far this has meant that meal times are an excuse to sit and look at the tiny screen of my smart phone absorbing a little bit more of the worlds I missed when the book was finally closed. I have also learnt to walk while reading and engineered some contraptions in my kitchen in order to have my laptop near me while cooking or doing the dishes.

However, make no mistake! These stories are not just amateur half arsed compilations. These are written by talented people that are so passionate and imaginative that a lot of the stories rival the books themselves. There are a lot of talented writers that seem to just lack the base. Their favourite stories provides them the platform in which to unleash their imagination.

My favourite fan fictions are book based, but there is a whole universe out there. Pick any topic (be it a Movie, a book or a TV series) you want and all you need is to let your imagination reign free.

Ok, ok so I cheated a little and went straight onto the third book, I just could not help myself!!

I'm telling you addictive!

This book is wrapped once again around Bella and Edward and countless enemies (mainly vampires) that hanker after this young woman. I'm telling you she is either the unluckiest girl in the world or the luckiest it does depend on how you look at it.

Jacob Black features prominently in this story as well, Bella surrounds herself with guys who have big BIG secrets, Jacob is no exception.

I hate to say too much about the story at this point, after the film has come out I may say more, most people probably already know this gist of the tale. Vampires have a mortal enemy and have done so for centuries that is apart from the Cullens who because of their strange way of living have a truce with said enemy.

The story centres around this truce and the now apparent competition between Edward and Jacob for Bella's love. This is brilliantly done I might add, it has the right amount of jealousy mixed with humour that make it so enjoyable to read, it's almost like it's being acted out in front of you. The uneasy truce between Edward and Jacob for Bella's safety makes you laugh, and cringe when emotions run raw.

I have to say though my one critique of the whole sage is Edward's slightly over controlling demeanour toward Bella and her seemingly inability to think for herself when he's not around. At times I really want to slap the girl tell her to stop whining and pull herself together, for Vampire or not he is just a boy and he hurt her, she should definitely not let him have so much control. Throughout the book I can see that he is simply guilt ridden over what he did to her and now wants to protect her at all costs, I suppose I can understand that a bit, but I do like it when Bella gets brave and rebels.

Her friendship with Jacob Black has however come at a price as he now feels for her, just as strongly as Edward does and in some ways he is much better for her, (I feel). I enjoyed this story thoroughly and once again read it in two nights (I do have to work and sleep at some point). The story moved me more than the other two, I really feel how torn Bella is as the characters are so well written, if I had to choose between the two, I am not too sure I could.

The book kind of ends on an anti climax, which is good in a way as the story the climatic end is yet to come. But I once again have to promise myself to keep writing. Breaking Dawn will be my reward. I just hope something else just as potent to read comes out so I will continue to give myself the motivation to write lol or I will just read the saga again.

I digress, very well written, and more thought provoking and multi faceted than the other two, there is a maturity to this book that is lacking in the others, I find this deepens the book and gives it more meaning, suddenly the world isn't all Bella and Edward anymore and I like it.

Well, I kept my promise to myself, I wrote more of my story before I allowed myself to buy this, the second book in the Twilight saga. If you dont know what Twilight is by now, then you've been living under a rock or clearly have more of a live than I do lol.

To the book!!

This tale is following directly on from Twilight continuing the romance between Vampire Edward Cullen and human teenage girl Bella Swan. This story however takes a dramatic turn and becomes a story simply about Bella. I shall explain.

*Small Spoiler alert - do not read if you wish to read the book first hand or see the up and coming film*

It begins with Bella's 18th birthday party thrown for her by the Cullens, and due to an accident (they happen frequently to Bella as she is a trouble magnet) she gets a paper cut on her finger and a single drop of blood appears, this causes Jasper (Edwards adoptive brother) who struggles to control his thirst, to try and attack Bella, Edward intervenes (of course) and sends Bella flying which results in a serious gash on her arm and now free flowing blood. This is not good for the vegetarian Cullens who dont drink human blood. Carlisle, the Doctor is the only one who stays with Bella to stitch up her arm. This is when all Bella's troubles begin.

Edward quite understandably freaks out a little and distances himself from Bella before finally telling her that he doesnt want to be with her anymore and that he and his whole family are leaving and it will be like he never existed, (I was sort of expecting this as he can be very melodramatic at times, forgive me if I am too attached lol). He leaves Bella in the forest, heart broken and a complete mess.

The next few pages simply have what month it is on each as it passes for Bella, who is pretty much zombified by Edward's disappearance. And if anyone out there has felt the pain of a seriously broken heart, then you'll find that a nice touch to the book, in those few simple words Stephanie tells you of Bella's state of mind and how badly hurt she is. The real story begins when Bella seems to come out of her waking comatose like state and starts hanging out with family friend Jacob Black.

Jacob appeared briefly in Twilight and it was plainly obvious he had a soft spot for Bella despite being slightly younger than her. He is a fun loving character who enjoys taking risks such as cliff diving and riding his motorbike. Throughout the book the two teenagers become very close, with Jacob making his feelings toward Bella not so subtle. Now Bella is still hurting badly because of Edward but feels quite safe and happy when she's with Jacob, as I read personally, I found myself becoming more in tune with the Jacob character and hoping that somehow she would choose him.

The book goes on obviously with Edward coming back into it, but with a twist which I dont want to spoil for you, all I can say is well done Stephanie, the book kept me gripped once again from beginning to end and I do so hate the band wagon I am neither a teenage girl nor a twilight mum and I love this saga so far. It's addictive and innocently written, it is by all accounts simply a romance based in a fantasy, written in such a way that you can go back to believing in Vampires and magic and true love.

See for yourself, let go and enjoy!

I have been reading several medical thrillers by Patricia Cornwell and while they have been extremely entertaining, they did not thrill me anywhere near as much as Gravity by Tess Gerritsen. I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that it is not thrillers in general that I love. It is Tess Gerritsen!

She is an extremely versatile writer. Gravity brushes on the sci-fi category. The story is about an apparently harmless organism that starts multiplying in a space station and infects and begins killing its occupants. At the centre of the story we have a heroine again. Emma Watson becomes the space station's physician when the current physician is forced to come home due to his wife suffering an accident.
When the organism starts killing the habitants inside the space station, they see themselves stranded and unable to come back to Earth. It is Jack (Emma's nearly-ex-husband) that will do everything in his power to bring her back home.
The book started quite technical to get us used to the NASA setting which made it a bit difficult to start for a NASA newb like me. However, once I got used to the acronyms, the story flowed wonderfully. The story had everything I could possibly like in it. There was the romantic tension between Emma and Jack and the realization of true love when facing disaster. The biology of the organism infecting the crew was interesting and kept me on edge. I really thought they were all going to die and that there was no cure possible.

I was expecting an average story due to the change in genre but it was great. I loved it.

I picked this book up from the MIL's shelf when I had finished Patricia Cornwell's "Postmortem" at the start of my weekend away. I may write about it later.

The author wrote about his experience with a very troubled Border Collie.
I thought it would be a bit of frivolous reading to avoid my boredom. It was afterall, nothing more than a guy's experience on raising a Border Collie (I have one too... Big Deal!). I read the introduction where the author mentions all the dogs he had before and I itched to read more. I was surprised but put it to the fact that I love dogs, so it would only be natural to want to read more about them.

Jon Katz managed to drag me into his life and feel what he felt even without seeing what he saw. His emotional honesty was humbling and brave. It was very personal and made me feel like I was just a friend listening to him tell his tale. I laughed when he was happy or annoyed at "things that dogs do" and I cried when he suffered.

I can't forget that it wasn't just his writing that got me interested in the book. Devon (the trouble dog) is the most amazing (real) dog I ever read or heard about. His intelligence, cunning and pride that I can only really see a hint in my own dog, were so outstanding that sometimes I thought there had to be a person's soul inside him. This book is a wonderful insight into the mind of the misunderstood Border Collie and I a reference to any person thinking of getting one. I shall recomended it to any person thinking of getting one in the hopes that less of this beautiful breed end up in kennels.

Arthur Golden's "Memoirs of a Geisha" left an itching curiosity to learn more about this secret world. I was searching for Liza Dalby's book about her experience in becoming a Geisha when I stumbled upon this book.

Despite being an autobiography, it isn't the correct factual content that charms you to keep on reading. Sayo Masuda, can only write in hiragana (one of the three alphabets required to write comprehensively in Japanese). This is the equivalent of a small child's ability. Yet she found it within her skill to portray her story in a simple way, baring her emotions honestly.

The main difference between this book and the many other Geisha themed books out there is that Sayo Masuda did not write it for profit or fame. She remains anonymous within her own community and her current family has not even read the book.
The reasoning for writing her story was unveiled for the first time by G.G. Rowley - the person responsible for translating the book into English - when for the first time Sayo Masuda decides to meet someone due to the book.
The story may not be chronologically accurate or full of factual content, but Sayo Masuda and G.G. Rowly do a wonderful job at involving us emotionally in this real tale.

First things first: I adored this book.
It was cute like any fairy tale book should be and yet a little disturbing with all the inherent moral messages it tries to transmit. If you add the fact that it is meant to be written for a magically capable audience, the strangeness adds to the charm of the small but gripping stories.

The notes written by Dumbledore are actually more interesting than the stories themselves for a fan of the Harry Potter series like me. It is like immersing in the Harry Potter universe again.

Summary:
Girl meets boy, boy repulsed by girl, boy is vampire wants to suck girls blood, girl falls in love with boy, boy freaks out a little before giving in, boy falls for human girl.

We go from there...

Ok... ok so I got sucked in (excuse the pun) by the hype and the film. My friend had been saying for ages read this book, read it you’ll love it, I never did. So when I was finally persuaded to watch the film earlier this month, which I assumed would be just another chick flick, I wasn’t all that excited.
Happily I can say I loved the film which prompted me to start reading the book, my friend had leant it to me and I hadn’t even touched it!!
The film (I know we’re not here to be critics of films but I feel it is relevant) in my opinion made the book far more enjoyable to read (it is a very enjoyable read anyway) but I was pleased I had seen the film first so the book could not ruin it for me and I already had formed images in my head of who and what the characters are. If I had read the book first I would have been disappointed with the film, because to be fair it is lacking in a lot of substance that the book has, but with a book you can get away with a lot more especially to do with romance and emotion as it is all written on the page whereas the film you can only do scenes with the characters interacting you never really get to know what they’re thinking, so I am glad I watched and read them in the order I did I found that in this way they complement each other well. They complement each other so well in fact that after watching the film I sat down 2 days later and read the entire book in about 5 hours he he he, honestly I could not put it down.

Right let’s begin, you must all have heard of it or even read it yourself, if not I shall try not to spoil it for you if you do decide to read it. It’s based in a small town in a remote part of America, called Forks. The story is a narrative from the main character Bella who is a 17 year old school girl who has just moved to Forks to live with her father. Bella is a shy, almost plain girl who is obviously a loner and doesn’t seem to fit in well with the crowds although she does become instantly popular with the boys at school though she really doesn’t see why. I liked her because I could relate to her I remembered being the shy quiet girl at school who didn’t really fit in, but then most people I have spoken to have felt that at some point in their school life, it’s quite a generic feeling of being a teenager really in my opinion. Now Edward (the strange boy she’s curiously drawn to) is a very difficult character to relate to, as you can imagine, who can imagine being beautiful, immortal, a monster and 17 all at the same time?? (Although don’t most 17 year olds feel this way he he he (joke)). He starts out appearing to hate Bella and be completely disgusted by her, which he actually does feel as well as finding her irresistible, well her blood more than her.

This awkward collection of discomfort and attraction is carried on throughout the book until Edward finds he can’t keep it up and decides to “break all the rules” this is where the romance begins. Now don’t get me wrong it is a romantic novel, Stephanie Meyer makes no qualms about it being a love story, and I like this it is a fresh, original way of writing a teen romance. To be fair I found that as I read the book the beginnings of the romance did feel to me like quite adolescent but as the story grew the two characters seemed to grow too, so it ended up being a much more adult relationship in my opinion with only a hint of the awkwardness that they had started out with, while everyone else around them remains the same and almost become a blur.
The story as a whole is in 4 books, but this does not take away the novelty of the first story. It’s like a separate story all by itself and I would have been happy if this was the only book with these two characters, because it is so well written and, unlike a lot of ‘forbidden love’ stories it steers away from the realistic, painful reality of love, where in life we don’t always get to be with the one we love especially if it’s forbidden, no matter how much we want to be, life doesn’t work that way, call me a cynic but I believe to truly love there has to be a certain amount of pain at some point in your life otherwise how do you appreciate the real, honest true love? And love at first site? Well that to me is a fairy tale in itself, but I do love to read a fairy tale.

This story provides me with escapism and a healthy dose of an unrealistic view of love and romance, if only for a brief time. I was completely absorbed in this book and not since ‘The last vampire’ series by Christopher Pike, have I felt so connected with the main characters and so caught up in the plot that; if it didn’t end well I felt like part of me would die (I get involved). This to me really felt like an old fairy tale with a very modern and unique twist, how many frogs turn into a beautiful Vampire?

Well a girl can dream ha ha. Not only girls though I know a couple of lads who really enjoyed this book (one was mithering for me to return their copy). The twists and intensity of the action and the depth of emotion appeal to all people who have ever loved or ever dreamed, I sometimes forget that even guys fall in love and feel awkward when they like someone they shouldn’t or can’t be with, so if you think it’s just a girlie story you’re wrong, give it a chance I think you’ll be surprised.

I can’t wait to read the next 3 books I am using them as my reward to write my own story, so I will appreciate them all the more without rushing through them.

I quote now from the film best line I think;

"These things just don't exist" - Bella
"They do in my world" - Edward

This to sums up the magic of the book (although I cant remember if this line is in the book) for the time you're reading this book, it'll be your world too.

Enjoy!! If you do read it let me know what you think :)

Now I have literally only just discovered that this book is also a film!! Impressed, it has the same name and is directed by Terence Young. It came out in 1979 so this book is a little older.

This is a good story!! I couldnt put it down on the way back from Reading. The time it was written in isn't even noticeable I thought it was a new book haha that's how timeless it is.

It's about Eliabeth Roffe a 23 year old young heiress to a giant Pharmaceutical and cosmetics company owned and ran by her father Sam Roffe and controlled by her extended relatives and their families.

In places this was hard to follow, there were so many threads to keep track of different family members having their own domestic problems each so very unique and all wanting the same outcome... let the company shares go public. Now Elizabeth doesnt do this she becomes suspicious about her fathers death (dont worry i havent spoiled it) is someone in the family trying to take down the company?? This is a completely family run company with no outside stock holders or board members so the story follows Elizabeth on her journey of being her fathers little girl to the most powerful member of the company. And buy does she do it well!! She's strong, beautiful and intelligent. You get to see her grow from being a child to a woman and all that she went through, you can empathise with her every step of the way.

The book starts with another character Rhys Williams who was Sam Roffe's closest aide and the only person allowed at board meetings who isnt family. He is a mysterious and yet completely raw character, who seems to be shaped by the presence of Elizabeth's character.

The family itself is amazingly well written, you have Helene Roffe a domineering, terrifying ambitious woman who is sadistic and cruel especially with her long suffering husband. You have Sir Alec Nichols born from his mother who was a Roffe and is an a reknown MP in England married to the most spoilt little girl whom he completely adores, and will do absolutely anything for and because of her. You have Simonetta Roffe a beautiful aggressive italien married to the italien male tart Ivo who is playing the field and managing two families!! And finally you have Anna Roffe frail, daydreamer married the love of her life Walther Gassner who is a movie star in his looks and personality but did he marry for love or for money??

There's so much in this book I cant even start to describe it. You're just going to have to read it I'm sorry :). I will leave you with a quote from the book I think it's a good one.

"Never let a friendly fox into your hen-house, one day he's going to get hungry"

Oh and this book shows you how the same can be true with friendly foxes amongst their own.

This story was a joint venture between the two above authors of which both you may have heard of they are quite reknown. They weren't for me authors I would normally choose, I am not sure why I think I like to stay with a particular author until someone recommends something else or I get bored. In this case I just wanted to get away from murder and gorey killings, investigations with cops etc... hmmm I couldnt be more wrong.

The story starts in the tibetan mountains, two travellers who aren't revealed to you are heading up the mountains to visit the monks temple. It obviously has more detail than that but the way it was written and how the story was described helped me visualise it in such a way that it made me want to find out who these characters were. So I bought it!

It's a slow starter this book but as you read on you do realise that this is necessary because further into the book just turns into chaos, the story line unfolds at such a rate after the first half that it's breathtaking. And sometimes not in a good way, there were a number of times I gasped out loud at this book too.

One of the main characters is Special Agent Pendergast, he's a strange leading man in this story not your typical tall dark hero but mysterious, quiet, almost smug with others as he has superior intellect with blonde hair and blue eyes (he sounds like bond doesnt he) but for me he did not have the suave attractiveness of a typical 'bond' like character, he was understated almost and with no romantic interests as it were in the story. This is complimented by the darkness inside him that's revealed later on in the book, this story gives you a window into the human soul and what it would be like to be completely free and ruled by evil. N0w I found this strange but in a good way a refreshing way, this story wasnt about love it is about sacrifice, darkness and the disgustingness of human nature that contains a few bright lights within it.

It's quite a mystical story but very much a murder mystery too. In fairness I am finding this book hard to describe because the plot is so intertwined if I say anything too much I will spoil it for anyone that may want to read it.

There are other stories with the main characters in Pendergast and his ward Constance Green, I will have to read more just so I can discover the relationship between these two strangest of characters.

This time I am to talk about Japanese manga books. I have been a fan of the Lone Wolf and Cub movies for a while and I started buying this manga for my fiancé. It has become a tradition with every celebration he gets one of these. It wasn’t till last month when I had a book break that I started reading these little manga books in between my regular books.

Yamada Asaemon is not really the Shogun’s executioner unlike what the name may suggest. Technically he is the sword tester. He is a Ronin but he works for the Shogunate on a regular basis. He is already a brilliant swordsmaster but in order to start his career as the sword tester, he needs to cut through a living body. This living body was his own father who ordered Asaemon to cut through him to get the feel for it and become the best. Only the first story and it already goes into extreme Japanese mental-ness.

The short stories happen in the period of feudal japan portraying tales that would not be seen in your average history book (not so graphically). All the comics I have read so far have an impressive consideration to the historical details. Asaemon is flawless in respect to code of conduct and honour despite the dodgy nature of his work that sometimes requires him to execute criminals. He is a fierce advocate who happens to have a sword.

I felt very surprised in book 2 where he gets harassed by a woman whose brother he executed. The man he killed happened to be innocent and Asaemon goes on a big mission to ensure that the police only send people to be executed if there is clear proof that they are guilty because he does his work based on trust and he needs to be confident that they are guilty when he executes them despite them screaming innocence upon their death hour.
I’ve only read three so far. The fantastic drawings and the history lessons make the comics worthwhile but Asaemon is the cherry of coolness on my triple chocolate sundae.
V.

I am annoyed and impatient once more. I was going to patiently wait for Brisingr to come out in paperback and read it in a few months time. I had to travel back to my home country (Portugal) recently and encountered something called an Airport Edition. It is in paperback but has the same size as a hardback. Not being able to contain myself I thought to myself that it was close enough to the rest of the books already at home and bought it. When it comes to books, I do get the stupidity bug. I had to carry this 800-page book all around the airport and try to stuff it in my hand luggage. The worse thing is that being abroad (or travelling home even... it is just weird), I’m meant to do all sorts of things I would not normally do at home (U.K.) like going out and enjoying the beach and sunshine and surfing. Well, I started reading this book in the plane because I had finished the other one I wrote about earlier. I was happy when my mom arrived late at the airport because it meant I had more time to read. I even wished she had taken longer because I was half way through a chapter.
My surfing morning was botched because I was reading till 4.30 am and could not wake up before 11am the next day. Luckily there were no waves that morning...The following days I managed to survive on 4-5hours sleep. On the return journey, my fiancé was late too so I read the book till there were two chapters left and I got even more annoyed that the story was nowhere near finishing.
So (some of you might wonder), why was I annoyed? Because the book is part of a series of books called Inheritance. Brisingr is book number three and instead of finishing here, Mr Paolini decided three wasn’t enough so there will be a fourth book. And why is this reason for annoyance? It is very very annoying because he hasn’t written it yet and I want to read the rest of the story!

*Venting finished*... On to the book now!

I want to spot the immaturity in the style of such a young writer because it is not fair that one so young should have all the talent when others like me have none. I want to say that it is a puppy of a story amidst the big hounds of fantasy. Truth is, Inheritance is pretty much on the epic scale of story writing. The books have grown with the author and to me Christopher Paolini was Eragon when he wrote it. All the feelings are genuine and it is evident that he is living the story as he writes it.

Inheritance is about a land ruled by the immortal evil King Galbatorix. He is the last dragon rider as he killed all other dragon riders who opposed him. Eragon (a young farm boy) finds a dragon egg and it hatches for him. He becomes a threat to the king so he is pursued. He joins these rebels who oppose the king and fights alongside them. He also gets to learn how to be a true dragon rider. His ultimate goal is to defeat the King. This is my oversimplified synopsis.
Brisingr is the ancient word for fire in the book. The title becomes clear towards the end (I can’t believe I didn’t see it coming!). This book is more complex than the other two as it portrays the finesse of treading in the political world. The world of Algaesia is populated with humans of different tribes, dwarves (who tend to stick to their own business), elfs (who are cryptic, beautiful and cruel as they do not share the same concerns as the mortal races), Urgals and Kull (ram like biped creatures). In order to defeat King Galbatorix, there needs to be unity between all races and difficulty arises when there is trouble even within the races themselves.

In this book, Eragon faces some trials that do not require his physical strength to be resolved. He needs to be separated from Saphira (his dragon) for long periods of time which leaves him with a sense of loneliness and abandonment. The biggest test is the battle in his conscience as he suffers everyday from remembering all the souls he extinguished. It becomes a search for a philosophy through which he can live by that will prevent him from becoming power-crazed. Along with this inner search, he is also in a quest for a weapon (he lost his old sword - read the other books for more details :P) as no normal weapon can withstand his new elf like strength.

I really want to write more but what I want is to talk to someone who has read the book so that they don’t get angry with me for telling them everything that has happened. I’m tempted to re-read Eragon and Eldest. Maybe I will do just that and write about them.

V.

Well, I did not follow through with the Kathy Reichs’ book last time. Instead, I followed the advice of my one and only commentator up to now (C. doesn't count) and got myself a book by Chuck Palahniuk. I started with Fight Club of course because it was the first one to be written and I had seen the movie.
There will probably be some spoilers in this…

I shall start with the end, the afterword by the author.
I was surprised to find that it all started with a short story. When he was asked to expand that story into a book, all the author did was gather experiences from men all around him and put them together. I am over simplifying this… He collated these experiences together, writing in a simplistic half cynical way that made the story extremely compelling to me. In this, he wrote a code which men all around the world were already following or discovering for the first time. It amazes me how something done in a few hours of boredom could have triggered such an effect. Men all around the world.

So, basically, it is about a white collared job man who goes about his life feeling miserable. He makes himself feel better by being materialistic and by frequenting help clubs that help people cope with all sorts of random ailments. He doesn’t really have any diseases but goes there looking for some comfort for his misery.

He meets Tyler Durden during one of his business trips and after losing his home to a gas leak explosion, they start living together and start gathering to fight so that men can be men as they were meant to be.

Enough with the spoilers. I’m sure it is more interesting to actually read it.
I wish I had read the book before I watched the film. I think the impact might have been a lot bigger when, after the surreal read of intertwined of contradictory thoughts and dialogues, it all clicked into place and you realize it is two in one and the whole split personality thing.

So, what else makes this book so great? The answer is… it just tells you how it is. It is fiction but it is so real. We are all materialistic sheep defined by what we own and most don’t even know how to live and feel alive.

This is the story of a guy who is becoming lost in this world of pleasantries and fakeness and how his sub-conscious creates a personality in a cry for liberation.
His name is Tyler Durden and he is everything everyone wants to be.

PS - I never ever noticed in the movie or in the book until after I had finished that the narrator’s (main character’s) name is never mentioned, only his alternate personality.

PSII – This was one of the hardest reviews I have written so far. I have found it difficult to express the multitude of feelings I had when reading this book and I’m still not sure it is everything I wanted to say.

Wow 3 books to my one I better get cracking.

I had decided to give the slasher stabby killer novels a rest for the time being and read something more mystery and far fetched as it were, I do like the escapism from time to time. The book I chose was by an author I hadnt heard of before much but wrote in a similar style to the author who wrote the bourne supremacy and is similar to dan brown who i really like.

The story is based around the theories surrounding the untimely death of the great composer Mozart and the conspiracy theory that he was part of the masons and that it was rival sects of the masons that potentially got him killed. The central character is Ben Hope who appears in another of Scott's books and I think there is a planned series of books with this character. At first it's not something I immediately warmed to although it does grab you right from the start and you learn what kind of man Ben Hope really is. A well written story that twists and turns and leaves you breathless at times with shock at some of the ordeals that characters are put through.

This book was all action and plot twists the characters were developed enough for you to start to care about them but other than Ben Hope you never really get to the nitty gritty of any of the characters. In some ways this is a relief as the book is quite a detailed and action packed one. I didnt get tired of reading this book and there are times when I couldnt put it down in places as all I could think is "has he really done that to them??" There is also a certain amount of gore which made even me cringe.

The ending wasnt one that I liked for escapism purposes but in terms of plot twist it was a work of genius as now I cant wait for the next Ben Hope book and I am going in search of the last one with him in it. It is a good read for anyone into stories written in the style of Dan Brown or Ian Fleming. Give it a try you maybe surprised at its understated start but keep reading and the surprises keep coming.

C :)

I have always enjoyed the Bones series on TV (it is not just the fact that David Boreanaz stars on it, although that is a good contributor to my liking of the series...) so I have been looking forward to starting to read the books that inspired it all.

There are quite a few differences to start with. The character in the book is more believable as we get to hear her thoughts and doubts. Anyhow, this is about the book, not a comparison between television and book.

Temperance Brennan is a Forensic Anthropologist who specializes in determining causes of death by analyzing bones. She's middle aged divorced woman and mother to a teenage girl. She takes a position in Canada in order to take a break from her marriage and ends up staying there. 

The story starts when a mutilated corpse is found inside bin bags. After analyzing the remains, she sees a connection between the current case and one she analyzed before. The connection is faint but her instinct keeps telling her there is a connection. She has to deal with Claudel, a cynic detective who doesn't know the meaning of "being nice", scrutinizing her findings and dismissing her due to the lack of concrete evidence of a connection.

Throughout the rest of the story, she keeps finding these links to a puzzle that the police department doesn't think exists. She keeps investigating for herself, despite the admonition of her colleagues and puts herself in danger as the killer starts seeing her as a threat and targets her.

I have found this book difficult to read at times, as the mind of Dr. Brenan is a maze unlike any. The technical expertise of the author is evident when Brenan starts discussing her work with her old colleagues and a rain of technical jargon is spilled out, leaving me a bit lost. This would make it a bit tiring to read at times but did not affect the story which kept creeping surprise after surprise. The character does put herself in some stupid situations when I thought “Why are you doing that??”, but the state of mind that leads her to these is evident and helps keep it more credible.

Maybe I am a little biased because I do like the series where she is a strong confident woman who has a knack for jiu jitsu. But despite enjoying the book, it made me feel like something was missing.

I grabbed another Kathy Reichs’ one this morning. I have yet to decide whether to read it or not.

V.

I finished reading the previous book while I was away and ended up with nothing to read since I already borrowed all the books I wanted from the MILTB.

I finally found one stuck in the corner of the shelf. I had not heard of the author before so did not know what to expect but the little summary at the back of the book seemed decent enough.

The story starts as the relic bones of the three wise men are stolen from the Cathedral in Cologne. I always enjoy reading about places where I have been already. I can see it clearly in my mind as I imagine the events of the book developing on those locations.

The book gathered many aspects of my favorite genres. It had the specialized assault team (Sigma Force) with some very clever and charming characters who could all kill you in a blink of an eye. Gray Pierce the lonely commander, Monk the big guy with big guns and Kat the lady with blades in any imaginable place in her body. It also involved the Vatican and all its mysteries due to the fact the initial attack was seen as a direct attack to the church. There were plenty of riddle solving as this assault team along with Vigor, a Vatican official, and Rachel, his niece (an Italian expert in stolen artwork) worked against the clock trying to stop the culprits of the attacks and thefts (an ancient society called the Royal Dragon Court).

All the action happens on the most famous European Gothic Cathedrals and the author's descriptions have made me want to visit all the cities he mentions. Despite the rush of events, the author does not neglect to pay homage to the beauty of such places.

As we get enveloped in all the fast paced action, we get to know the main characters and how un-stereotypical they are. Without lengthy narrations of their personal characteristics, the author gives us the layer beneath the characters' mask to the world through their actions and through glimpses of thoughts.

My favorite aspect was definitely the riddle solving as they go through their hunt for more religious relics. The use of the religious knowledge to achieve the solutions has made me curious about religious texts. Not sure yet if to the point of wanting to read the entire Bible.

It is not often I am made to gasp while reading and there were occasions when I had to re-read several times just because I could not believe the author had dared to put the character through such ordeal.

I simply adored the main characters and was hoping to see them again and again as I believe they still have exciting lives to live in paper. 

V.

This was the first time I ever bought a book that came as a suggestion in a magazine. I read the mini description and just felt like buying something on impulse.

When I got it, it had a big sticker mentioning how it had been advertised on Richard and Judy's show. I started growing a little skeptical of my new acquisition.

Please forgive me if I leak too many spoilers.

The book starts as this teenage girl (Cynthia) wakes up to find her house completely empty. It then jumps forward 25 years later where

At first the book seemed to be about this girl (now a woman) and the way she is coping with her family disappearance. There's a coziness about the way the author writes that makes me want to know about all of the character's habits, insecurities and fears. I could have kept reading if it was just about the emotional and psychological gripes of her everyday life.

So it was a bit of a surprise when that carpet of coziness got taken from under my feet even though at the back of the book it said something like “She goes looking for her family but will end up regretting it..." (Not so eloquently put obviously).

The book is written from the point of view of her husband after the first, maybe the second chapter too. Through him we get what the world sees of her without ever penetrating into her psyche. When she mentions any strange events we see them as her own paranoia due to the events that scarred her 25 years earlier.

As it becomes more obvious that the strange events are not her paranoia, some doubt arises as to whether she has something to do with what is happening just to get attention.

All throughout the book Cynthia keeps mentioning dreams where she can hear her family talk. In between chapters you also get anonymous dialogues full of evilness and creepiness. Despite these being anonymous, you get hints and it seems like the voices off Cynthia's dreams, like it is her family talking about her without her being there. It got me so intrigued as there was no hint earlier that her family was anything but a loving normal family until they had disappeared.

It was cleverly written so that you get surprise after surprise right to the last page when you think all it is over. I could keep on writing about how each chapter surprised me and made me want to read every single word, but I think I have done enough spoiling.

Finally I got to read the final book of the Harry Potter series. I had decided a while ago that I was not going to be putting extra money into publishers pockets and get the hard back version. Mostly it was because all my collection is paperback and I decided to be stubborn and wait.

The torture was only a couple of months long as everyone else read theirs fairly quick. After that I had nearly forgotten it until I got the newsletter from Waterstones announcing it.

As you can tell, I am just filling post space because there isn't a lot to say about this book apart from... Wow! It was great!
Very dark... not sure how it can get away with being a children's book. It was a very fulfilling finale and I can safely say: "Aha! I knew it about Snape!". Despite a few correct guesses, the way it was delivered filled my imagination and made me a very bad employee as I slept late every night and was antisocial spending every lunch hour reading.

Now I just wonder, what else will J.K.Rowling have to offer in the future...
V.

This is another of Tess Gerritsen's masterpieces, it is now official... I am hooked!!

The books do all follow the same sort of style, all surrounding the Boston PD and their affiliates. This does not in anyway make the stories 'samey' or boring. Each one revolves around a character you may or may not have gotten involved with in the last Tess Gerritsen novel. You get wrapped up in each case that they have to solve and you along with the characters try to profile the 'unsub'. The read is as challenging as it is gripping but not in the tiring sense of challenging there is always something new, something fresh to take away from these books. They are truly a work of art. I have incidentally on another note found another who enjoys these books as much as I do and just like me they helped her get back into some good old fashioned keeping your light on at midnight gritty reading!!

Now to the story, of course surrounding murders of sometimes the most gruesome type, this one wasn't like Vanish, this one related very closely to The Surgeon. It lets the reader get closer to the hard female detective Rizzoli and see a much more vulnerable side to her character and also showed that like any human being that she sometimes needs protecting. Oddly enough this one was quite a warming empathic story even when Tess Gerritsen scrutinises the life of the killer. You get to see much more of the Apprentice from The Surgeon get deeper into his psyche. It never fails to make my skin crawl.

You do have to forgive me if while writing these posts I misquote or get my characters confused from one story to the next. Don't misunderstand this to be forgetfullness due to the lack of difference in the stories because I will put you straight they are all very different, but if you read them and find yourself hooked you will also find yourself as caught up in the world of Boston written from these books as I have, it's very easy to confuse events when they are so vividly written and the characters so well developed you feel as though you know them and all their work intimately.

Go on I dare you, pick one up, see if you can resist the pull of the gruesome, gritty and dark ;)

C