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Wow... so sorry for not getting these up sooner. I've just been busy lately, so I have barely been checking LJ or having a moment to spare to actually post something.
But now that I have a few spare minutes on my birthday to post, I decided now is the best time, in case I don't get an opportunity to later.
Book: Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Genre: Fiction
Length: 318 pp. (I think, don't feel like getting up right now to check)
Grade: A
Amazon Summary: A fabulous romp through an imagination by turns ecstatic, cunning, despairing and resilient, this novel is an impressive achievement "a story that will make you believe in God," as one character says. The peripatetic Pi (ne the much-taunted Piscine) Patel spends a beguiling boyhood in Pondicherry, India, as the son of a zookeeper. Growing up beside the wild beasts, Pi gathers an encyclopedic knowledge of the animal world. His curious mind also makes the leap from his native Hinduism to Christianity and Islam, all three of which he practices with joyous abandon. In his 16th year, Pi sets sail with his family and some of their menagerie to start a new life in Canada. Halfway to Midway Island, the ship sinks into the Pacific, leaving Pi stranded on a life raft with a hyena, an orangutan, an injured zebra and a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. After the beast dispatches the others, Pi is left to survive for 227 days with his large feline companion on the 26-foot-long raft, using all his knowledge, wits and faith to keep himself alive. The scenes flow together effortlessly, and the sharp observations of the young narrator keep the tale brisk and engaging. Martel's potentially unbelievable plot line soon demolishes the reader's defenses, cleverly set up by events of young Pi's life that almost naturally lead to his biggest ordeal. This richly patterned work, Martel's second novel, won Canada's 2001 Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction. In it, Martel displays the clever voice and tremendous storytelling skills of an emerging master.
My Thoughts: I read this book a few weeks ago, and I do have to say I enjoyed it. In fact, I was going to start this review with the statement that it almost made me want to become a vegetarian and, since I'm an avid meat-lover, that's an incredibly hard thing to accomplish.
This book was very good, really, as you can probably deduce from the above paragraph. I don't understand why people are utterly obsesed with it, but I enjoyed it and may read it again. When I first realized what the plot was, it struck me as something incredibly boring, but it was strangely engrossing—I wasn't able to put it down, even though it did take me five days to finish (don't ask me how I manage that; I don't know myself).
Pi Patel was... interesting. I liked him, but I found myself... not disapproving, I guess, but raising my eyebrow in surprise and wonder at how he can call himself a Hindu, a Muslim and a Christian all at the same time. For me, it's impossible to be all three at once—you can take tenets from those other faiths to add to yours if necessary, but being a part of all three? It's incomprehensible to me, but I did have to admit it intrigued me, even though I definitely didn't agree with the... possibleness of it. But then again, that's just because of my conservative Christian nature.
I found the rest of his character fascinating, though. I can't imagine being as brave as he was, trying to tame a Bengal tiger in the middle of an ocean, but he succeeded. I don't think I could have survived as long as he did at sea, that's for sure, so I do admire him a bit for that. He's a strong character, and I enjoyed that in the story. He never gave up either, so that's a good thing.
There were a few things I didn't like about this book, but not many. For example, some parts were a tiny bit hard to understand, but everything else was quite clear, so that redeemed it in my eyes. And, like I already said, the religious aspects were both amazingly profound and slightly ridiculous to my ears, but that's just a difference in opinion, not in quality.
So, all in all, a highly recommended book. Not my favorite, but it was good in the end.
Genre: Fiction
Length: 318 pp. (I think, don't feel like getting up right now to check)
Grade: A
Amazon Summary: A fabulous romp through an imagination by turns ecstatic, cunning, despairing and resilient, this novel is an impressive achievement "a story that will make you believe in God," as one character says. The peripatetic Pi (ne the much-taunted Piscine) Patel spends a beguiling boyhood in Pondicherry, India, as the son of a zookeeper. Growing up beside the wild beasts, Pi gathers an encyclopedic knowledge of the animal world. His curious mind also makes the leap from his native Hinduism to Christianity and Islam, all three of which he practices with joyous abandon. In his 16th year, Pi sets sail with his family and some of their menagerie to start a new life in Canada. Halfway to Midway Island, the ship sinks into the Pacific, leaving Pi stranded on a life raft with a hyena, an orangutan, an injured zebra and a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. After the beast dispatches the others, Pi is left to survive for 227 days with his large feline companion on the 26-foot-long raft, using all his knowledge, wits and faith to keep himself alive. The scenes flow together effortlessly, and the sharp observations of the young narrator keep the tale brisk and engaging. Martel's potentially unbelievable plot line soon demolishes the reader's defenses, cleverly set up by events of young Pi's life that almost naturally lead to his biggest ordeal. This richly patterned work, Martel's second novel, won Canada's 2001 Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction. In it, Martel displays the clever voice and tremendous storytelling skills of an emerging master.
My Thoughts: I read this book a few weeks ago, and I do have to say I enjoyed it. In fact, I was going to start this review with the statement that it almost made me want to become a vegetarian and, since I'm an avid meat-lover, that's an incredibly hard thing to accomplish.
This book was very good, really, as you can probably deduce from the above paragraph. I don't understand why people are utterly obsesed with it, but I enjoyed it and may read it again. When I first realized what the plot was, it struck me as something incredibly boring, but it was strangely engrossing—I wasn't able to put it down, even though it did take me five days to finish (don't ask me how I manage that; I don't know myself).
Pi Patel was... interesting. I liked him, but I found myself... not disapproving, I guess, but raising my eyebrow in surprise and wonder at how he can call himself a Hindu, a Muslim and a Christian all at the same time. For me, it's impossible to be all three at once—you can take tenets from those other faiths to add to yours if necessary, but being a part of all three? It's incomprehensible to me, but I did have to admit it intrigued me, even though I definitely didn't agree with the... possibleness of it. But then again, that's just because of my conservative Christian nature.
I found the rest of his character fascinating, though. I can't imagine being as brave as he was, trying to tame a Bengal tiger in the middle of an ocean, but he succeeded. I don't think I could have survived as long as he did at sea, that's for sure, so I do admire him a bit for that. He's a strong character, and I enjoyed that in the story. He never gave up either, so that's a good thing.
There were a few things I didn't like about this book, but not many. For example, some parts were a tiny bit hard to understand, but everything else was quite clear, so that redeemed it in my eyes. And, like I already said, the religious aspects were both amazingly profound and slightly ridiculous to my ears, but that's just a difference in opinion, not in quality.
So, all in all, a highly recommended book. Not my favorite, but it was good in the end.
Book: Seven Deadly Wonders by Matthew Reilly
Genre: Fiction
Length: 543 pp.
Grade: B+
Amazon Summary: Full-stop "Screams. Splashing. Crunching. Blood" punctuate and come to epitomize Reilly's (Area 7; Ice Station) latest video game–style thriller about a race to find the seven pieces of the Golden Capstone that once sat atop the Great Pyramid at Giza. Two millennia ago, Alexander the Great broke the Capstone into seven pieces and hid them in the seven ancient wonders of the world. According to legend, whoever finds and replaces them during a rare solar event called "Tartarus Rotation" (predicted for March 20, 2006) could secure a thousand-year reign of absolute power. The race is on, and among the contenders are the United States, a coalition of European nations (and the Vatican), an Islamic terrorist group, and a team of smaller nations (including Canada, Ireland and New Zealand) led by the novel's hero, Australian Jack West Jr., a next-generation Indiana Jones. The Europeans, goaded by evil Jesuit Francisco del Piero, and the U.S., headed by Jack's nemesis Col. Marshall Judah, want the Capstone for their own aggrandizement, while Jack's noble team believes it's too potent to belong to any one superpower. The "greatest treasure hunt in history"—a nonstop roller-coaster ride that lurches around the globe—might make a summer blockbuster—if American audiences will swallow their compatriots as the baddies.
My Thoughts: This book was a gift from my ex for my birthday, and I'm glad I received it. It wasn't the best book I've ever read in my life, but it was incredibly entertaining and worthy of reading. It kept me turning the pages until the very end, something a lot of the books I attempt to read don't. Matthew Reilly is incredibly good at writing action, that's for sure.
Within ten pages or so, I found myself connecting to all of the characters. The book kept me guessing until the vwery last page and, even then, I wasn't sure what would happen in the sequel, Six Sacred Stones. It was an action thriller of the highest caliber in my opinion. The plot was, as I already said, woven in a way that kept me guessing until the last page.
My favorite part of this book was probably the addition of the Seven Wonders of the World. I keep forgetting what little i've learned about them, so it was nice to have it put in a context that's actually understandable to the average person. All of the different facts and data were very intriguing to me and made me want to know more about the Wonders.
The action was, again, one of the best parts, considering the book was indeed written as an action thriller. There was really no moment where the action stopped and I know how hard it is to accomplish something like that from personal experience.
However, a few minor things irked me: for one, the few main characters (Jack West, Lily and a couple more) were developed quite well, but the rest sort of fell into the background a tiny bit, so I would have appreciated if Matthew Reilly developed those background characters a bit better, even the villians. Also, I was annoyed a bit by the exclamation points and italics to indicate something exciting was happening—we're smart enough, I think we can tell when something extremely bad and/or exciting is happening.
But other than that, this book was good. I'd recommend it, but not for those people who enjoy character study books over books full of plot.
Genre: Fiction
Length: 543 pp.
Grade: B+
Amazon Summary: Full-stop "Screams. Splashing. Crunching. Blood" punctuate and come to epitomize Reilly's (Area 7; Ice Station) latest video game–style thriller about a race to find the seven pieces of the Golden Capstone that once sat atop the Great Pyramid at Giza. Two millennia ago, Alexander the Great broke the Capstone into seven pieces and hid them in the seven ancient wonders of the world. According to legend, whoever finds and replaces them during a rare solar event called "Tartarus Rotation" (predicted for March 20, 2006) could secure a thousand-year reign of absolute power. The race is on, and among the contenders are the United States, a coalition of European nations (and the Vatican), an Islamic terrorist group, and a team of smaller nations (including Canada, Ireland and New Zealand) led by the novel's hero, Australian Jack West Jr., a next-generation Indiana Jones. The Europeans, goaded by evil Jesuit Francisco del Piero, and the U.S., headed by Jack's nemesis Col. Marshall Judah, want the Capstone for their own aggrandizement, while Jack's noble team believes it's too potent to belong to any one superpower. The "greatest treasure hunt in history"—a nonstop roller-coaster ride that lurches around the globe—might make a summer blockbuster—if American audiences will swallow their compatriots as the baddies.
My Thoughts: This book was a gift from my ex for my birthday, and I'm glad I received it. It wasn't the best book I've ever read in my life, but it was incredibly entertaining and worthy of reading. It kept me turning the pages until the very end, something a lot of the books I attempt to read don't. Matthew Reilly is incredibly good at writing action, that's for sure.
Within ten pages or so, I found myself connecting to all of the characters. The book kept me guessing until the vwery last page and, even then, I wasn't sure what would happen in the sequel, Six Sacred Stones. It was an action thriller of the highest caliber in my opinion. The plot was, as I already said, woven in a way that kept me guessing until the last page.
My favorite part of this book was probably the addition of the Seven Wonders of the World. I keep forgetting what little i've learned about them, so it was nice to have it put in a context that's actually understandable to the average person. All of the different facts and data were very intriguing to me and made me want to know more about the Wonders.
The action was, again, one of the best parts, considering the book was indeed written as an action thriller. There was really no moment where the action stopped and I know how hard it is to accomplish something like that from personal experience.
However, a few minor things irked me: for one, the few main characters (Jack West, Lily and a couple more) were developed quite well, but the rest sort of fell into the background a tiny bit, so I would have appreciated if Matthew Reilly developed those background characters a bit better, even the villians. Also, I was annoyed a bit by the exclamation points and italics to indicate something exciting was happening—we're smart enough, I think we can tell when something extremely bad and/or exciting is happening.
But other than that, this book was good. I'd recommend it, but not for those people who enjoy character study books over books full of plot.
