Book Review (11): Stitching Snow

Hello, I'm back with another review. This was an impulsive buy. I had no clue what story it was. I just liked the cover of the book. After I bought the book, I read reviews and I was afraid that I would be disappointed.

It's funny that I read books that I've just bought instead of reading books that have been in my shelf for years unread.



Stitching Snow
R.C. Lewis

Synopsis (in my own words): Essie was stuck in a snowy planet and she's a tinkerer, fixing robots and stuff. One day, this beautiful man crashed into her place on a space shuttle. She wanted to help him and thus got herself pulled into her past.

Reviews on Goodread were less than stellar. The book is a retelling of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves", set in a futuristic world where people travel between planets. Let's see what I think.

1.
Firstly, Kudos to the author. Everyone said that it's boring and reused, I did not notice that the story was an adaptation. Maybe I was a little dumb in that, usually I spot references really quickly, but it was not until the last third of the book that I suddenly went, "Oh! Why did I not see that her seven drones were the seven dwarves?"

I'm an idiot.

I did not think that it was such a bad thing. The retelling was not obvious, in my opinion. Reused ideas? Come on, people, storytellers have been retelling stories for centuries. Get over that. I always like originality, but in this age, originality is hard to come by.

2. Setting
The setting was interesting. Maybe it was because I don't read sci-fi, but I liked the different environments of the planets.

Now, the things that I didn't like:

3. Characters
This was supposed to be a strength, but as I wrote, I realised that I didn't like it much anymore. So I have turned this into something that I didn't like.

The protagonist Essie is quite a strong-willed, feisty character. She had learnt to survive on her own in the icy tundras for many years. However, that's kind of what all the female protagonists are like nowadays. What happened to sweet, demure girls? I guess they never become protagonists. Maybe I should look for a book with a demure girl.

Back to Essie, the author did toughen her up, but I think she could have been just a tinge bit more crude. In terms of her character, I find her personality pretty generic and would not have thought of her as an interesting character. It was the same for her seven drones.

However, the character Dane was a strong complement to Essie. He was sweet and humorous. Even when he did things that I cannot say (because that would spoil the story), I never disliked him. I kept rooting for him and had my prediction on what Dane would turn out to be in the end. I was surprised with his development in the end.

4. Vocabulary
Rich, descriptive vocabulary EXCEPT for their verbs. Their spoken vocabulary was limited. It's always 'rigging' or 'botch' or something like that. It gets repetitive over 300 pages.

----------

Overall, it was a good read, I wouldn't reread it though. Not when I have many books to finish.

Verdict: Consider it

Pictures taken from:
Cover page

Book Review (10): The Legend of Drizzt (The Dark Elf Trilogy)

Nice. I've managed to hit 10 book reviews. I kinda thought that my diligence would fizzle after a while. But 10 book reviews, yo? Baby steps, people... baby steps.

Another review that ought to be posted a long time ago, though not as long as Eragon. I think I read this in 2013. Let's get this started!



Once again, I've proven that even when I'm displaying pictures of trilogies. They have to be from the same publisher. That's why the third book does not look as sharp as the first two... I went to other websites to find the third book cover. Yes, have you forgotten my idiosyncrasies?

The Legend of Drizzt (The Dark Elf Trilogy)
R.A. Salvatore

Sypnosis (in my own words): Dark elves are considered the race of the most evil. In the midst of them, a dark elf was born... with a different conscience. Watch how he struggles between what he feels is the right thing and what his society and culture wants him to believe is the right thing.

-------

In case you don't know, this whole series is based on the game Dungeons and Dragons. Well, one part of it. I find that pretty fascinating. It's as close to getting fanfiction officially published as you can get. Well, I shouldn't be surprised anymore. More fanfiction are getting published as we know it. I may say it this way, but I only know of two. The famous one being Fifty Shades of Grey and the other one being "My Disjointed Life", which I've not read but will leave the link here so that you can have a look.

Apparently, if I'm not wrong, the original series is Book 4, 5 and 6. (Star Wars, anybody?) The trilogy that I've read was Book 1, 2 and 3. After Book 6, there are approximately another 20 books. I kid you not. Ask Wikipedia.



Well now, that's seriously - too many books.

Let's get on with the positives and negatives.

1. Firstly, setting.
The beginning of the book kind of confused me, but not in the way that is confusing to the story. It took me a while to understand how the world was like. Basically... I give a rough image of the place and I continued.

R.A. Salvatore took time to explain the concept of dark elves and the world around them. Basically, dark elves are in a system of morals and values completely different from us. I appreciate that the explaination was done in detail. Yet, he explained it so simply that I did not need to do a double take to think again.

2. That moral story again.
The story describes Drizzt's struggle to find balance in his morals. When I was reading this, I found the moral struggles that it described very apt because that was the struggle that Meia felt in "I Want To Be A Turk!" This grey area of morality is a very common and highly sought after theme in young adult books, I guess?

Do I like that? Yeah, I do! But I had my reservations in the middle of the story.

3.Character
Drizzt was a wonderful character. He was handsome. He was talented. He fights beautifully. He had a conscience that a drow/dark elf would never have. He was caring (which is not desired in his world). And many, many, many more.

That was the problem. He's too philosophical. Too perfect, if I dare say. There were basically no flaws about him. *gasp* Gary Stu alert! Yeah, I admit. That was a littttttle annoying. If I can pinpoint a flaw in Drizzt, probably that he's too emo. That man... er... elf... needs to lighten up!

How about the other characters? Umm... I can't remember. Sorry.

4. Action..
Yup, this story has good action and a fair bit of fighting. I'm a bit on the fence for this. It's all about whether you like it fast-paced or complicated. I like the description and pace of the fights. I could imagine how the moves were executed, which is something I usually gloss over in other books. Just to be fair, I started glossing over in the second and third books eventually.

If you are looking for battle flair and beauty, none. Fights in this book are straightforward, melee actions. That is, you hit until the enemy falls. If there's something that I would like to learn from, however, it would be the description of the fights.

5. Pace of the story
I read other reviews which said that the author wastes no time with his story. I agree with that. The pace of the story was just right. It gives enough information for context, yet moves fast enough to see action and plot. It's something I appreciate

6. Way too many books.
I've said it too many times, but I must say it again. There are too many books. Twenty? No way.

*insert "Ain't nobody got time for that" meme, because I'm too tired to find one for you*

I stopped after the third book, which is Soujourn. It's kinda sad because the real story is Book 4 to 6, the Icewind Dale Trilogy. However, I think I'm pretty done. The prequel was good enough and I'm satisfied already.

-------

Rating: Love it.

It's funny. Despite my many reservations, I enjoyed reading the series while it lasted. BUT I will definitely not need to reread it, neither will I pick up the rest of the 20 books. I say again, 3 has been good, I'm satisfied.

Pictures are taken from:
Homeland Cover
Exile Cover
Sojourn Cover
The lineup of books

Disclaimer: Despite the official term, the above book review is not a wholesome and fully critical one. The book is merely reviewed and reflected on based on story writing skills and other literary elements.

Book Review (9): Eragon - The Inheritance Cycle

Holy smokes!! (pun not intended) It's been wayyyyy too long since I last read this book, it's technically not supposed to be accurate. *gasp* The review below is meant to be done during Jan 2014, but I just wrote a few notes and I forgot all about it.

So, another 'new' review. I read the Inheritance Cycle in the last quarter of 2012 and I've put off the review till now. Yup. 2 whole years. That's pretty embarrassing.

History time! I first picked Eragon up in mid 2011, and I was hooked onto the book until I was half way through the book. I got a little bored of the travelling and for some reason, I could not pick it up anymore. I've watched the movie and was intrigued by the storyline but I just can't seem to get my book up. So Eragon joined Lord of the Rings in my stack of incomplete books... Until I reread in 2012. Since then, I finally got hooked onto it and from there, I finished the entire series.

Basically, I should've written the review when I was done. I'm kinda regretting this because I can barely remember the details. So I'm going to try to recall as much as I can. If I had all the time in the world, I don't mind rereading the book. Yes, it was such a wonderful story that I am quite looking forward to rereading it. Alas, the lack of time.

I will review the book as the whole series rather than just the standalone book.

(picture taken from here)

(The line up of the series, starting from Eragon, 

followed by Eldest, Brisingr and Inheritance.)

Eragon - The Inheritance Cycle
Christopher Paolini

Story sypnosis (in my own words): ... I can't do it man. It's too long ago. You will need to search for the blurb somewhere else because I ain't stealing sypnoses from others. That's the least I can do.

-------

What can I say?

After finally reading through the series, I'm so so so glad that I made myself finish the book. It. Was. Awesome. Eragon became my favourite book of the year... Year 2012, that is. Till now, I doubt I've read any book that really topped that... Oh, maybe "The Legend of Drizzt", but for different reasons as you can see heree... oh what do you know? I have not done that review too. Typical.

1. Stunning visuals... I mean, description.

Eragon had such vivid detail in its description. Author Christopher Paolini mentioned that he drew inspiration by looking at mountains where he lived. Gee, I'm super jealous. He either has really breath-taking mountains to look at, or he has a really outstanding imagination. I love how the world that he paints is not biased towards a certain colour. As you read, you find that the world is very colourful, despite the oppression from the antagonist, Galbatorix.

With Eragon, sometimes it's super easy to visualise what the author was trying to say. Sometimes, not so, but I place that blame on myself more because I tend to speed read and not grab the details.

2. Motivated protagonist

I've decided to only talk about the description and characters because it has been a long time since I read Eragon. The characters in the story are at decently fleshed out, with backstories and characteristics that vary from character to character. They don't have a whole myriad of different personalities, but they are decent. Eragon, however, had enough character development, with a smattering of flaws to balance him nicely. I like that he has a few humbling experiences that made him better.

3. Only gripe: Lousy ending
If there is one thing that I hated in this series, it was the ending. When the author decided to make his trilogy a quadrology, I was ecstatic. But I was really hoping that the ending could have had more closure.

After reading Eragon, I quickly searched through the websites looking for information. Apparently, the author mentioned that he may have novellas and he stated something like Eragon and Arya having long lives. The end of the series was just the beginning for everyone.

Well. we'll see about that. Who knows if your fanbase will still be around when you actually get around to do it :(

EDIT (1st Feb 2015): How can I forget? This is one rare book that has no love triangles!!!

-------

Rating: LOVE IT.

It is with much regret and embarrassment that I am reviewing a book that I don't remember specific details. Nevertheless, the book left such an impression on me that I kept telling people to read it. It's a book that I'll definitely reread. In fact, this series is a series that I want to bring to my new house and keep, because it's that precious a title.

Seriously. Don't be fooled by the movie. Just... read the book. At least it's not as draggy as LOTR. Sorry LOTR... there is a reason why you are still in the stash of incomplete books.

Book Review (8): Fire and Thorns

I realise that I have not posted a book review for a long time. Therefore, in the interest and the convenience that I've just finished a book, I shall post a review as soon as I can.

Here it is.



Fire and Thorns
Rae Carson

Story Sypnosis (in my own words): Sixteen year-old Elisa was marked by birth to be God's chosen one. However, she was definitely not looking like it and no one seemed to see her like it. An arranged marriage led her to discovering that her fate was more than what she had expected.

-------

I picked up this book by a very sheer random process of running my finger through the book spines until I found a title intriguing enough. Apparently, this book had a longer title called "A Girl of Fire and Thorns" but my book is just titled "Fire and Thorns". The story is the same.

1.  I was hooked onto the book really quickly.
When I was in the bookstore, I flipped through the first chapter and quickly found myself wanting to know more about the arranged wedding that Elisa got herself into. That was exactly what happened after I bought the book and read it properly again. Basically, I started on Saturday morning and just finished it half an hour before midnight. I did think about the book during the hours that I wasn't reading. (It took me a total of 5-6 hours or so to finish... If I'm not wrong.)

The book picked up a pretty good pace and kept at the pace throughout the entire book. I had no problems sustaining my interest over the 400 odd pages. Quite surprising, actually. It was almost too easy for me to be hooked like that. Maybe it's because it has been such a long time since I read a novel.

2. Elisa as a protagonist... together with a plethora of colourful characters.
As usual, characters make or break the story for me. You can have a cool story plot but if the characters can't deliver, the story can't shine.

Elisa is one of those unconventional heroines. Not the sort in Eon/Eona. Elisa is a fat, insecure and naive heroine who falls in love with people who give her attention because she had yearned for attention and acknowledgement all her life. She binges when she's upset and she is constantly going on about how fat she is.

I had no idea how fat she was. I mean, people were saying 'fat' in her face, she was complaining about how fat she was but it did not register in my mind. I was still thinking that she's just chubby. It was when she talked about prying breasts away in order to see her navel that I realise, "Good Lord, she is fat!" She shoves pastries in her mouth and thinks about scones. I love it.

That flaw in her was so stark, so apparent, so constant throughout the book. This really breaks all stigma about heroines needing to be beautiful and skinny. Although inexperienced, clumsy and naive, Elisa has a rather sharp acumen when it comes to reading people and gathering intelligence. She has read scriptures that makes her not only an educated princess, but one that is well-versed in war, even though she had never physically been in one.

The other characters do not pale in comparison either. Each one has some kind of quirk, a particular way of description that is so signature.

3. Twists.... Golly, I had NOT expected that!
There were SO many things that I DID NOT expect in this book. I had started the book not knowing what to expect. All my predictions came through... and then veered off into oh-my-gosh-how-did-that-happen revelations. I do not want to reveal any spoilers so I can't say more nor give examples.

I had mentioned in the Throne of Glass review that so far, the love triangles had no twists. I have to take my words back now. At the end of the book, I was quite at loss. "What now?" I ask myself.

-------

1. First person narrative.
I shouldn't really put this as a dislike because many, MANY young adult fiction are written in first person narrative. Eon/Eona (review here), Fifty Shades (review here), Twilight, Hunger Games and many, many chick-literature. Really, people. Is it so easy to write in the first person narrative?

Personally, it was hard for me to write in first person. I used to do it in my first serious fanfiction, which was Samurai Deeper Kyo's "KISS Me!", but when I started "I Want To Be A Turk!", something pushes me in the direction of a third person narrative. I eventually grow so used to it that now it's a little weird to write in first person. I feel that I lack perspective. Hurhur.

There aren't many stories that portrays a third person perspective, but they were all good novels. Harry Potter, Eragon, Throne of Glass (review here)...

Just saying.

2. I was apprehensive at the end.
Despite being hooked from beginning to the end, I was not blown away by the ending of the book. I did not have a strong urge to buy the sequel. In fact, I even considered borrowing from the library. Perhaps the reason was because the book ended itself quite well. There was obviously a hook for the sequel, but I'm pretty contented with how the book turned out enough to not pursue the sequel. What a weird thing to say, I know.

3. Too much reference to her Godstone.
Every few pages, Elisa HAD to refer to the mark of the chosen one, a gemstone embedded in her navel called the Godstone. She uses it for prayer, for reassurance, for warning, for clue finding... It's too much for me. It reminded me of Anastasia Steele and her limited vocabulary of "Oh my"s and "Holy cow"s. However, this may just be my personal thing, since the Godstone is the main plot trigger.

-------

Rating: Consider it.

It's in between Consider It and Love It, but I've placed this book under "Consider It" because as compared to the other books that I've labelled "Love It", this book does not quite make the cut. However, I do value this title very highly and will consider reading the rest of the trilogy and novellas.

Pictures taken from:
Book Cover

Disclaimer: Despite the official term, the above book review is not a wholesome and fully critical one. The book is merely reviewed and reflected on based on story writing skills and other literary elements.

Book Review (7): India Black - Madam of Espionage

Been a LONG while since I last reviewed. I meant to write this review as soon as I was done with the book, but I never got around to finishing it. (Note to self: Always finish the review when you're done with a book.)

Back to what I was saying. I was ploughing through Anne of Green Gables, which is a really lovely book to read when you don't want any of those fantastic twists. Then, a random decision to go to the library brought me to this book.



India Black - Madam of Espionage
Carol K. Carr

Story Sypnosis (in my own words): India Black is an intelligent and charming owner of a brothel, and minds her own business, technically. However, a death of a high-ranked customer in her premises led her on a spy-filled journey where she suddenly becomes a spy for the British government. Don't worry, there'll be a handsome gentleman who will spice the story up for you.

-------

It's a rather difficult concept to accept - not because of the plot's complexity, but because it's really, really hard to imagine a courtesan being a government spy. Which brings me to:

1. Preface
If you usually skip the prefaces, I suggest you read this one. It is a snarky but funny introduction of the book, narrated by India Black herself. In the preface she did mention the laughable possibility of a whore being a government spy, but once she explains the resourcefulness of a prostitute, it all makes sense. She also draws some parallels too-close-for-comfort.

All in all, the preface was the determining factor for me to continue reading the book, which goes to show how easily one can win over a reader with just a simple preface.

2. India Black as a protagonist
Snarky. That's it. I really enjoyed her character and how she tries to explain things in her opinion. To the eyes of French and the other men and 'bints' in the story, India was a calm and composed woman who knew how to get what she wants. If you read on, you know that she is very talkative in her own head.

The book was written in a first person narrative. I'm usually quite awkward with first person narratives because I feel that it limits the readers' perspective. However, the book was written in her perspective. That really shows the readers her true feelings, and it's rather funny. I kinda like her. She talks like a young adult who thinks that she is so educated. She has this arrogance yet sometimes behaves so immaturely. In fact, she at times reminded me so closely to one single character, that the only thing she lacked was 'Oh my'.

I had this thought about India Black and Anastasia Steele. I think that India Black's personality would be so perfect as Anastasia. For one, India Black has the bombastic words that EL James covets, but she delivers them so elegantly and not so... flippantly like Anastasia. Then again, the whole spiciness about 50 Shades of Grey is the fact that Ana is so innocent and pure... Who wants a shrewd virgin?

3. The world of Dickens
The story is set in the 19th century, UK. Dickens fans, hurray for you... Unless you are a HUGE Dickens fan, of course. You may then have your own standards. I'm not a huge Dickens fans, so I'm pretty cool with the whole Industrial period setting.

This was totally what I had in mind when I was reading the book.

-------

I've got an interesting thing that I dislike in this book.

1. I. Really. Dislike. Parentheses. (yeah. like those brackets around the words that you see.)

Remind me, not to do that to you guys (unless you really like it, then let me know). I mean, what is the point? Why can't you just write them out in sentences? Parentheses served to provide extra information (or a quick and suitable remark). However, I found it utterly distracting. Parentheses are littered everywhere in the story (even during the preface!). It's really hard to read something (anything!) when a stupid parenthesis comes and stands in your way.

Sometimes it works (sometimes it doesn't). Now that I've experienced it as a reader, I'm definitely going to cut down on that. And now that you've experienced it (refer to above paragraph), are you sure you want to do it on your own story?

2. Attraction between India and French
Simple question. Where is it??

I was quite bummed out. I thought there would be some romance or flirting between the two of them. But nada. Maybe the sequel might appease me. Then again, I appreciate that the protagonists didn't get it on immediately, unlike that of Maria V Snyder. No offense, I love Maria V Snyder!

-------

Rating: Consider it.

A cute read to put by your bedside, but not that difficult to put down. Come to think of it, months after I've finished reading it, I don't feel like picking it up again. Not even the sequel. Whatever it is, it's not in my priority list. So you decide.

Pictures taken from:
India Black - Madam of Espionage
Picture of London

Disclaimer: Despite the official term, the above book review is not a wholesome and fully critical one. The book is merely reviewed and reflected on based on story writing skills and other literary elements.

Book Review (6): Throne of Glass

You might remember that I've mentioned this some time ago. I'm done with the book shortly after that post, but it took me a while to get the review out. But I've done it, and here it is :)



Throne of Glass
Sarah J. Maas

Story Sypnosis (in my own words): Celaena Sardothien, legendary assassin who suffered a year in captivity, was promised freedom upon some conditions. She was to participate in a series of competitions against other fighters and emerge champion. Failure to do so will mean sure death. Celaena obviously accepts, and soon found many twists in what seemed like an innocent tournament.

-----

Let me get this straight - I love this book!

I did take a long time to get past the first 4 chapters (though that wasn't the story's fault, but my own work priorities). But one fine Saturday, I sat down, I read, and I didn't stop till I was done on Sunday morning... Okay, so I cheated, I slept a bit before I finished it on Sunday morning, but that's not important.

Overall, this book has gotten me on my toes and I'm eagerly waiting for the sequel to be out this fall (Yes, there will be a sequel!!) Let's get started!

1. Setting
The author spent about five chapters setting the story, which is really nice and stable. Five chapters to set the stage. The world is a medieval-like realm with castles and towns. The era was in oppression; a man who conquered the main city and declared himself King. Magic was banned, its books were burned and its people killed.

Yup, that's the underlying theme there. Oppression.

2. Costumes
I love the costumes. Nothing more I can say. Okay, so this has absolutely nothing to do with writing, but I just love the costumes. The description was lovely, though not as graphic as Memoirs of a Geisha (did you see the way the author describes the kimono? Absolutely love it.)

3. Celaena as a protagonist
I mentioned before that Eona was an interesting character, but I meant it in a negative way more than positive. Now, Celaena Sardothien is, in my opinion, a wonderful character. She is arrogant, cunning and witty, but also nice to the people that she likes. She also knows that she is beautiful, and often tries to use it to her advantage.

There is just something so attractive about her. To outsiders, she's elusive and mysterious. No one knows what the greatest assassin might do next. However, when the author writes in the perspective of Celaena again, you'll be surprised to find how normal she actually is. Also, it's so interesting to see her think throughout the book the thousand and one ways to assassinate people around her, albeit done too frequently.

In a way, she is like Christian Grey. Same multifaceted personality, but different. Different in the fact that Christian Grey's multicoloured personality backfires on him because he became very flat. For Celaena, the different parts of her personality, however extreme they may be, they made sense given the circumstances of her background.

4. Love Triangles
Argh. I hate this. I've said it again and again, I am so sick of love triangles. It's quite typical - Girl falls in love with Boy A first, but then there's Boy B. Plus, you can tell that eventually where the love triangle would result.

For some reason, even though I dislike love triangles, I'm super darn bad at guessing the result. I always brace myself for a possible twist. Never happened.

5. Plot
I appreciate the fact that the story has a pretty straightforward plot. There were some underlying subplots and foreshadowing, but nothing confusing. I need to take notes from these focused authors!!

Being a first part of a series, the book took some time to lay out its setting. However, what stood out for me was that the main plot was introduced by the end of Chapter 2. It's pretty risky to just throw out the main plot so early. You might lose the flavour and most authors prefer to roll out the story little by little. Well, it worked for me. I immediately got to know what the story is going to be about and that determines whether I'm going to like it or not.

Another author who did that was Maria V. Snyder. The initial plot was out by the end of Chapter 1, of which at the end of it I thought, "Sounds cool, let's go!" Some stories that dragged a little too long for my liking was Fifty Shades of Grey (review here) and "The Fire Within" by Chris D. Lacey. Alright, I'm about to be stoned because I know many people loved it. I've only read the first book and so far, meh. I am not giving up on the series though. So I'll try again!

Maybe I'm just a superficial reader who can't wait for the plot to thicken. Hmph.

---

Rating: Love It

I loved the book, I'm looking forward to the sequel. Need I say anymore?

Pictures taken from:
Book Cover

Disclaimer: Despite the official term, the above book review is not a wholesome and fully critical one. The book is merely reviewed and reflected on based on story writing skills and other literary elements.

Book Review (5): Eon/Eona

I admit.

When I first saw the two books side by side each other last year, I sniggered to my friend. "Can they get more boring with their sequel books?"

But with encouragement from a friend, I finally got the book, "Eon".

Eon/Eon Duology
Alison Goodman

Story Sypnosis (in my own words): Eona was a candidate to be a dragoneye, key leaders who held powers of the 12 dragons in their world. Problem is that Eona is actually posing as a boy, Eon. When the Mirror Dragon, missing from 500 years, chose Eona to be its Dragoneye, Eona faced many difficulties trying to cover up her true identity.

-----

I wasn't expecting much from this book, so I only bought Eon. Truth be told, as a child I would buy the entire series but as I grew up, I realised that I began to be quite choosy with my books. I admit that I have some series in my bookshelf that weren't touched because I wasn't impressed with their first book (*cough* Anne of Green Gables... sorry for not liking such a classic!) So nowadays, I realised that I'd rather spend another time to go to the bookstore to get the sequel. It's better than to get the entire series in one go, only to find out that I didn't like the first book in the first place.

So the fact that I've read both Eon and its sequel Eona, you'd expect that I like it?

Well... yes, and no.

In general, I must say that I didn't love this book. It wasn't a bad read, but it's not really a book that I'll read again. So maybe borrow it from the library or something, but it's not necessary to own one copy.

The setting of the book was a fusion of the Chinese and Japanese culture. The land was ruled under an emperor. As a Chinese, I identified many, many oriental elements in this book. The 12 Dragons are from the Chinese Zodiac and the imperial court was very similar to that of the Eastern countries. Not a problem for me, but Westerners may take a while to take it all in, I suppose?

-----

Now, there were some annoying parts of the entire reading experience, and some parts that were simply great. So... I'm gonna start off with the good.

1. Amazing Protagonist

Meet Eona. She had the typical background - orphaned to unknown parents, rescued by her master to be a Dragoneye candidate. Just when I thought it was getting really normal-going... surprise surprise. I discovered her to be really... flawed. She lied constantly... and lied about lying. She had the biggest doubts of her ability and she lived in constant fear of having her true identity discovered.

In the sequel, more of her flaws surfaced (can't say more in case I spoil the story). You find that she is actually inching on Mary Sue at times, but ultimately, the author really brings Eona's character down. It's one of those books where you put down the book in the middle of it and go, "Dang, Eona, that was a dumb move." It's one of those moments that you think to yourself that protagonists aren't goody goody as you thought.

Do I like Eona? No, I don't. I really dislike her (and I have people who agree with me!), but I salute the author for making her so... different from a typical protagonist. There's a certain quality about Eona that is very different from other girls.



This is the best picture I can get of Eona, poor thing :P It's pretty accurate as how my mind sees it, all the way down to her twin swords.

2. Asian culture research, I give you props

As mentioned, the book was set in a fusion of Chinese and Japanese culture. From the clothing that people wear, to the rituals that people have, to the customs (such as bowing towards the senior) and the setting of the imperial court and the emperor's monarchy... you know this author really did enough research. As a Chinese I don't go all, "Pooh! This is all crap!", so you know it's not that ridiculous.

3. Conflicts of beliefs

This book played the dangerous card of conflicting beliefs. The theme of power versus compassion was dominant in the book, and Eona constantly struggles at the fine line between both. That means, this book is kinda philosophical and all. Not everything is as black-and-white as we like.

Well, seeing how similar this is with "I Want To Be A Turk!" and "Days of Exile", I gotta say, I'm quite intrigued with how the author deals with the conflicting beliefs. And she did it quite well. I really suck at writing philosophical chapters, so I wonder how did I survive explaining why Meia could be a Turk even though she disliked what they did...

Alas, that's all the goodies I have for this book, so let the baddies begin :X

4. Love Triangles... AGAIN?

First it was Twilight. Then it was Hunger Games. Now this. And in all three series, the female protagonist was deeply swayed by the third party. Okay, maybe not so in Eon/Eona but still there is! I doubt I really need to explain more about love triangles. I mean it's great, but I've been reading too many of those. This is just a personal complaint.

5. Yes, Eona does get annoying.

Another personal complaint of mine. She lies and she harps too much about her lying, her unworthiness and her flaws. Honestly, I quite liked the experience of disliking Eona. This book gave me my first - I've never disliked a protagonist till now. Previously, I had absolutely no issues with any protagonists. Now I know. It was quite a novel experience.

In fact, I liked it so much I kinda incorporated it into my own story. As some of you have commented, my recent chapter, Chapter 20 of Days of Exile, Meia did some things that you are not fully agreeable with. Well, that's great. Enjoy the feeling of 'Oh man, why did you do that you nincompoop!!"

So... I disliked Eona, yet I liked the experience. Is that a compliment for the book? You decide.

---

Rating: Consider It

Yeah, it's not a book that'll change your life, but it's not too bad if you are willing to read it in an unbiased manner.

Have you read the book before? What do you think?

The pictures above were shamelessly taken from these websites:
- http://www.thereadventurer.com/1/post/2012/7/three-heads-are-better-than-one-or-two-is-there-hope-for-ya-fantasy.html
- http://veari.deviantart.com/art/Eona-257692864


Disclaimer: Despite the official term, the above book review is not a wholesome and fully critical one. The book is merely reviewed and reflected on based on story writing skills and other literary elements.

Book Review (4): Fifty Shades of Grey

(YOU NEVER THOUGHT I'LL ACTUALLY READ IT, DID YOU??)

I wish I can go back my posts here, here and here... and change my views.

Because I LOVE IT.

...

Ha! I'm joking! (I hope no one has switched off the window in frustration) Well, I did mention the other time that I would read it, then the book was in my office untouched for almost three weeks (for it would be most inappropriate to read such a book in my workplace). But I finally brought it home and I read it.

I better give my opinion before going into details. As many of you know, I was pretty apprehensive about the book because so many people flames the book for being really bad. As in, bad writing. I wouldn't say that after reading it my mind has been completely converted. I have different feelings about this book in many areas, which I'll reveal shortly.

The plan was to review only after I've read all three books, but as I've found out, I should review after I read because the book is still fresh in my head and delaying the review will dull the feelings and criticism. So I'm going to just jump in.

(by the way, my reviews will have a bit more structure, but I'm still ironing out the crinkles. Please bear with me!)




Fifty Shades of Grey
E. L. James

Story Sypnosis (in my own words): Anastasia Steele meets Christian Grey, who is hot, wealthy and very very desirable. However, Ana soon finds out that he is a terrible control freak. Yet she falls for him anyway. The book continues in a medley of uncomfortable positions (pun intended) as Christian and Anastasia bare themselves to each other (literally and figuratively).


Characters
This is my number one gripe in this book. I hate the characters. HATE. Most of them all, Anastasia Steele. She is, in essence, very very unrealistic. I'm sorry, but just WHO in this world actually still don't know anything about the birds and the bees? Heck, even ten year olds are speaking in innunendos, how so for a twenty one year-old? She has none. No desirable thoughts of guys, in fact she didn't see any guy that way until she met Christian. Oh-kayy... if you say so, Ana. But how does this innocent girl all of a sudden become this sexually-deprived woman who would do anything (even enduring pain) for... that? A little too much of a character jump.

Another thing, how is it that she does not know ANYTHING about laptops and email accounts? How the heck did she go through her college? This book is printed in 2011, no excuses there, EL James. Don't get me started on her appetite. She's perpetually not hungry. No breakfast, no lunch and still, "No thanks, I'm not hungry"??? Thank goodness she didn't go all whiny about her weight, I'll clobber her with a turkey leg.

Many reviewers have criticised the book for shallow characterisation, and I join them in this accusation. The other characters didn't irk me as much as Ana, but it's just that she could've done so much more. Her best characterisation, ironically, was Kate the roommate. Always sharp, bossy and overprotective. Good.

Christian Grey... ah. Apart from his ridiculously good looks, I don't know much else about him. He has a very wide spectrum of characteristics, which should've made him more real and 3-dimensional, but instead I feel really confused. What is he really like? The only thing I know is that he's a control freak (and trust me, that's all you need to read this book).

Perhaps I should move on.

Twist
No twist. Everything was within my expectations. The story has yet to reveal what is that dark, sinister past of his. It has dropped hints, and nothing much else.

Writing (general)
It's fanfiction standard. I'm sorry. When I read her story, the entire feeling was like reading fanfiction. Sometimes overdescriptive, sometimes vague. Not wanting to be a snob, but if I work hard enough, I can publish something of that standard in the next five years. In fact, I think in terms of writing, some fanfiction writers have already surpassed her. So you'll be sure to know that I'm not reading the book because it has wonderful writing.

Also, the wonderful feature of Fifty Shades is this. Every page is littered with at least one of these:

- Oh my
- Holy crap
- Holy shit
- my inner goddess
- my subconscious

As you might have figured out by now, I don't like vulgarities (look how clean my stories are! *insert cute unicorn and rainbow here*). Seriously, these words are more offensive to my eye than the vulgarities.

Writing (description)
Ana is a Literature student, giving EL James a reason to put in bombastic words that I basically skim through just by reading in context. For some reason, Christian Grey likes to use bombastic words too. The whole feeling is rather thesaurus-ish. You know... like the author writing "That's really reckless of you" and decides to check the thesaurus to see if there's a more fanciful name for reckless. Then she changes the sentence to "That's really profilgate of you." I know because that's my trick too. Well, the word is kinda out of place. That, or I'm not well read enough to feel that it's appropriate in normal conversations.

Going back to Ana's inner goddess and subconscious, I couldn't understand the author's intentions. I kept asking myself what is their role? Only further research with my trusty friend Google told me that they are her desire and her logic respectively, the heart and the mind kinda thing. Ah. That finally made sense, if not I wouldn't have gotten it at all.

[sidenote: she uses it an awfully lot]

Content (sans sex scenes)
Probably the only reason why I'll continue reading this. I'm really interested to know why Christian Grey is so messed up. And just how is he going to get rid of his inner demons. As of now, there are  no subplots. Okay, there are, but not significant enough to affect the main plot.

(a short commercial break as we enjoy the little comic below)



I shall not comment on the sex scenes because I do not have the experience nor writing expertise in that area to judge. Nevertheless, I should say that thank goodness our local bookstores have the sense to shrinkwrap and stick a rating sticker on it.

Association with Twilight
On that note on content, perhaps it's time to assess its similarity to Twilight. As I've mentioned before, it started off as Twilight fanfiction. I sincerely hoped that there had been major changes that led to Fifty Shades, because I'll totally shoot her for being OOC. Ana was fashioned off Bella Swan, but man, she is NOT like Bella at all. I actually liked Bella, for Twilight at least. Ana is nothing like Bella, puh-lease. And Christian Grey is a control freak. Edward Cullen will never do that to Bella. See how he abstained from even kissing Bella? This is like the vertical opposite!

Still, I see how the story parallels lightly with Twilight. The entire helpless-for-the-other feeling, the knowledge that the guy has never fell for other people but the girl, breathlessness, not knowing what the other is thinking, the girl's cluelessness on just how pretty she is... yeah.

I prefer Twilight to Fifty Shades.

Themes... and a bit of a moral lesson here.
The book centralises around submission. But rather than talk about the themes of the book, I really should set my foot down on this. I am not advocating the actions of the characters. Christian Grey is a compulsive control freak. He controls EVERYTHING about Ana and I'm not talking about the dirty stuff. He decides what she wears, what she eats, what she does, who she talks to... ARGH! No one should subject themselves to that. Nobody. By the way, I've not found anything romantic in this novel. Nothing. Boys, please take notes. This is NOT the way to win a girl.

Of course, Ana is at fault too. She could walk away from all these. Grey had the slightest bit of sense to let her decide from the beginning. Of course, she wouldn't leave Christian. No, she'd rather go through all that just to be with him. In Chinese when we see a situation whether it's very disadvantaged but both parties aren't complaining, we would say (literally), "One is willing to punish and one is willing to endure".

What many reviewers are saying is right: I don't care how good-looking you are, how traumatised your past is. You don't treat people like that. Will you allow your daughters to be in such a relationship? I wouldn't... I can't bear to. I hope my readers, if they ever read this book, will not be over their heads with the 'romance' and thus endure abusive relationships. If you need to get out, get out.

---

In conclusion, this book is over hyped-up. But the entertainment value is there, alright. There is a school of thought that sometimes it doesn't matter if you can write well... as long as your story can captivate readers. That is indeed the case for Fifty Shades. You either like it or hate it. I can thrash the story and writing all I want, but I know that it wasn't boring me for the 4-5 hours that I was reading it.

Rating: Consider It. I'm serious. I'm not loving it, but I'm really not going to give it a "thrash it" rating. If you have the time and brain cells to spare, do it. Also, if you're like me and you cannot help but wonder what the fuss is about, spare yourself the torture and read it.

Finally, for my little readers, Fifty Shades of Grey is rated M18 (in my opinion). Don't read it if you're not of age.

Don't worry, you aren't missing much.

aichioluv

-

Disclaimer: Despite the official term, the above book review is not a wholesome and fully critical one. The book is merely reviewed and reflected on based on story writing skills and other literary elements.

Layman terms: Don't judge my reviewing skills. Thank you. :P

Book Review (3): The Manhattan Hunt Club

I told myself that I would spend tonight relaxing. And relax I did. I committed the rest of the night to read "The Manhattan Hunt Club" by John Saul. I've read another of his books just this year, The God Project, and I thought that it was pretty good.

Here's my thoughts about The Manhattan Hunt Club (MHC). I won't spoil the story because I'm not in the good for any story summary :P

As usual, John Saul's story is rich in character background, I find that he narrates character background much better than  character portrayal. i enjoy reading how each character went through their experiences to be the character they are today. Whatever that I've mentioned in The God Project is pretty much the same.

This story has lesser twists, but still a very nice one. the twist for this story is kinda a no-brainer (but i didn't think about the story so i read it and had the entire experience without 'spoilers'), it is the sit-down-and-reflect moment that you realise how creepily possible it can happen in real life that wins it all.

okay, my brain is not working tonight. So i'll be signing off here.

Disclaimer: Despite the official term, the above book review is not a wholesome and fully critical one. The book is merely reviewed and reflected on based on story writing skills and other literary elements.

Book Review (2): Coraline by Neil Gaiman

It isn't common nowadays for me to finish a book. In fact, it isn't common for me to finish a book in four hours.

That's how long it took for me to finish the newest book that I've bought, Coraline, by Neil Gaiman. It's funny how the moment overwhelms you and you can put down books that you've been having or reading just to go on a short little detour to another universe.

Quick note to myself: Congratulations, dear girl. You've read more books than you ever did in the past four years! Since the year started, you've completed these books: Warriors of Alavna, The God Project, Coraline. You are still trying to plough through: Eragon, The Manhattan Hunt Club, The Star of Kazan. Keep it up.

The story is about a little girl named Coraline, duh. While struggling with self-perceived neglection and getting bored with freaky neighbours, Coraline finds a door that opens into a parallel universe. In this universe everything is the same, except that her mother and father, creatures with buttons sewn where their eyes should be, are devoted and centred around Coraline. Sounds good, until they offer her to stay in this fun-filled world forever, in return she must allow them to sew buttons into her eyes. Suddenly not too keen on the idea, Coraline rejects and retreats into her real world. Things didn't end there, for in the real world Coraline discovers that her real parents were kidnapped into the parallel world. The rest of the story depicts how Coraline braved into the world again to save them.

It was one of those books that I wanted to get a few years back but never gotten around to it because I didn't think paying 17 dollars for a kiddy book was worth it, even if it's Neil Gaiman. I finally got it at an awesome price of 10 dollars a few days back and I thought 'Might as well.'

I felt sick over the long holiday weekend so I read the book. Now here are my thoughts.

As a horror fantasy, I think that two criteria were met perfectly. Coraline had this creepy undertone throughout the entire story that never lightened the slightest bit. No lighter moments, no 'let's take a breather here'. Neither was it intense horror either, but then again when you're targeting this at middle-aged children then I suppose it's pretty intense. It takes a child with fantastic imagination to visualise what Gaiman illustrates though, so for children who aren't that great with language the entire story might just not work for them.

The theme of courage in this book was portrayed very strongly, which was something I really like. This was a quote from Coraline herself: When you're scared but you still do it anyway, that's brave. And we see that in the book she was freaked out a number of times, but she did it all in the motivation of saving her parents. If anything, this book displays courage in a manner that is simple for children to understand.

You ask if I like it personally? To be honest, no. I didn't quite like it and felt quite reluctant to admit that I paid 10 dollars to read a book that didn't blow my mind. What did I not like about the book? I don't know, actually. Perhaps I no longer hold the same mind of a child, maybe if I were younger I might sing a different tune. It was the general feeling. I didn't read the ending, close the book, sigh and smile to myself (which is what I usually do whenever I read something good). It's a personal opinion, and unfortunately, I have nothing to back my dislike.

Still, personal opinion aside, this book is the winner of the Carnegie Medal. Other winners include CS Lewis' "The Last Battle" (part of the Narnia Chronicles) and Philipa Pearce's "Tom's Midnight Garden". Both books I own and thoroughly enjoy. There will be a reason why Coraline was such a highly-esteemed story and I urge everyone to give it a try. You never know if you like it till you try :)

Disclaimer: Despite the official term, the above book review is not a wholesome and fully critical one. The book is merely reviewed and reflected on based on story writing skills and other literary elements.

Book Review (1): The God Project by John Saul

Aloha!

No, today we are not going to talk about my fanfiction. Rather, we will be talking about book reviews from other authors. The last time I talked about someone else's book... happened to be my first in this blog too. That was Robin McKingley's "Pegasus" (which I'm still waiting for its sequel). Since then, I've read two more books (and am now reading through one of it).

For someone who hasn't read a book from cover to cover for more than 5 years... this is an achievement. So I hope that I'll have more opportunities to read :)

The first book that I've completed this year is 'The Warriors of Alavna' by Browne. I'll talk more about that story another time.

I would like to talk about the book that I've just finished. Literally, just a few hours ago. If you are wondering, I'm still reading 'Eragon'. I find myself slowing down that story to read the others first. I wonder why :/

Reading "The God Project" started because I mentioned in a post that I wanted to expand my reading repertoire. So I picked up John Saul (a recommendation from the Boyfriend, who said that it was his first novel... he has been reading Marvel comics till then XD) and began to read.

And two days flew by.

It was a little hard to pick up at first. You gotta understand that I am a very childish reader. I bloom rather late when it comes to reading. Not bad I struggle with reading, just that things aren't as appealing to me. I was reading Enid Blyton when I was 12 years old, when my friends were reading books from Goosebumps, Jeffrey Archer and Agatha Christie. I read Sweet Valley High (and Sweet Valley Twins!!) when classmates were enjoying books from Stephen King and Anne Rice. I started Harry Potter WAY too late (I started when Goblet of Fire was long published. I was around 13 years old then.) When my friends were tackling biographies and memoirs I was reveling in magic-ky stories. I still love magic-ky books.

But I digress. I was saying that it was hard for me to get used to the fact that I was reading such an 'adult' book (many would beg to differ that the book was hardly an adult book). However, once I kinda caught the essence of the story, I was hooked. I couldn't put it down. That feeling of not being able to function until the story is complete brings nostalgia of how I would spend hours in the afternoon pouring over books :)

I guess I've spent too much time already. I'm going to summarise my thoughts of the book into point forms.

1. Language
John Saul's language in this book struck me oddly familiar. Then, it dawned upon me that his writing style is like mine. Or rather... my writing style is like his. The variations of complex sentences, with simple sentences in between to make a point. The little extra information about each character and their background... Simply put, if I continue to hone my writing skills, I may end up writing like John Saul (in description).

Of course, I can never be half as good as these authors, but that doesn't mean that I can't hope :) John Saul's description is written more on the characters rather than the setting, which kinda isn't what I'm doing, but is something that I hope to improve :)

2. Unpredictable
As with horror-thriller stories, you will be expecting twists in the plots. However, what I love about this story is how you think you know how it's going to end, but it... doesn't. There were some people that I thought were the baddies but they were not. The awesomeness comes because in the end you realise that you were thrown another twist, just pages before the end. And well... the ending is chilling.

From the beginning to the end, I couldn't be sure what the end would be like. That, I guess, would be the hallmark of a plot with twists. I could blame it on my inexperience in horror-thriller stories, or I could give John Saul the credit... so I might as well be nice :)

3. Timeless
Being printed in 1982, you would expect the content to be blah. After all, it's 30 years since it's first printing.

To this, I give a resounding NO.

The technology and concept behind The God Project is an area that is constantly explored and examined - Genetic Engineering. I remember that when I was in high school/Junior College, my teacher first introduced that to me (Yes, I am a noob who doesn't read the newspapers.) and it was a little hard to stomach. Imagine the concept of genetic engineering... in 1982. Before Windows 95 were made, for all we know!

Absolutely timeless. The concept doesn't make me feel that the book is unrelevant and outdated.


Oh, now that I'm tired, I suppose I'll take a rest. So here it is, my (somewhat) short afterthoughts of 'The God Project'. I've received some recommendations on books to read, but I doubt I'll have time to read, though i'll try my best to get around it. Enjoy your week!

Disclaimer: Despite the official term, the above book review is not a wholesome and fully critical one. The book is merely reviewed and reflected on based on story writing skills and other literary elements.

Why didn't I think of this sooner?

As the title plainly states.

i guess back then i had to manage my personal blog and so it was hard to support two blogs. hmm... perhaps i'll give my introduction once i get all my recent thoughts down.

two more things to say before i give introduction (for i am one who forgets... really easily.)

1. the movie "suckseed"
2. NaNoWriMo

okay, back to what i really want to say!

this would be my writing blog. not that i'll post any original or fanfiction stories here (though I will put a link back to my Fanfiction.net profile). It's just somewhere that i want to write about my writing. if i can invent a word for it... metawriting? like how metalanguage is the 'language of language' and metacognition is 'thinking about thinking'... you get my drift.

basically this is going to be a boring blog of:
- my thoughts when i write fanfiction
- my deeper thoughts when i write scenes in my stories
- my thoughts on books ive read
- other mishmash (for lack of better description)

till i discover more things to say... that'll be all.

I have just finished reading "Pegasus" by Robin McKingley. I don't really have much thoughts right now. The book is a complexity by itself. Hmm... there were two main plots running the show and all the names and everything got confusing. Maybe it's because I'm so eager to finish a book >.> All in all, it was most enjoyable and I absolutely loved the description. The author seems to have a wonderful way of describing indescribable things. XD you will know what i mean if you've read it :)

i'd hardly call this a review. a review is one that targets the book in all its technicality. i prefer to call it an afterthought... like aesthetically my feelings and reflections *snort*. okay no more about that.

Signing out.