For adults who grew up delving into fantasy worlds of swords and magic, Wizard’s First Rule is yet another novel for you to sink your teeth into. Set in a new fantasy universe with new rules of magic, we follow Richard Cypher, a woodsman born into the belief magic doesn't exist. One day he comes upon a woman being chased by a band of killers, and during the struggle to save her, he is shown magic does indeed exist. The event triggers a journey into lands beyond his own to stop an all-powerful wizard from ruling the world, or destroying it in the process.
A pretty basic storyline: All-powerful evil overlord threatening the world, and someone of no importance trying to stop him. Still, a tried and true plot formula doesn’t fail, especially when it’s well written, making for an enjoyable read. Wizard’s First Rule is by no means a happy-go-lucky tale of heroism, and is very deep and disturbing at some points. You may even resent the author for what he put the characters through, due to how much suffering they are given. But as they say: The greater the fall, the greater the comeback, and thankfully this is the case, making for a glorious feeling.
The book is over 800 pages long, only overshadowed by the fact this is the first book in The Sword of Truth series, which to date contains eleven books, all of which are approximately the same length. Prepare yourself for a lot of reading if you wish to read this, because you are sure to be hooked once you start.
Somewhere in California, a chemical weapons plant experiences an unknown error, releasing a "super flu" into the winds. One of the guards managed to escape with his family before the area was locked down, spreading the virus. Piece by piece the world dies off, leaving roughly 1% of the population behind. The survivors are then drawn to two different people: Mother Abagail, a 108-year-old prophet, and Randall Flagg, the Dark Man.
Those of you who have read other revelation stories will recognize this plot, though it has a darker twist. Jesus doesn’t take them away peacefully in this one, but wiped them all out with a plague, making for a darker Revelations story. I’m sure Stephen King receives a lot of heck from the God-fearing people of the world due to this, But don’t let that stop you from reading it. As with many of King’s stories, there is so much depth put into the world he created, with characters spanning the whole of the USA, each with their own detailed lives, and each very entertaining.
There are two things a reader must be prepared for when about to read The Stand or any other Stephen King novel. Expect to be reading this for a long while, because it is a very large story, even without the extra 500+ pages King added in his complete and uncut republication (which totaled 1,153 pages in small type). Second, this is an adult book, so teenage readers should either refrain from reading or receive guidance while doing so. As a whopper of a story, The Stand takes on many issues, and doesn’t pull back any punches when showing the darker side of humanity.
As One of Stephen King’s more recognized works, The Stand is a brave test for reader’s patience in terms of its length. Even so, if you start reading it, I believe you will want to finish it, because it's worth the read, putting you in the personal level of what would happen to the United States should everyone die, from the President on down.
One day when a sudden storm arises, the son of an Indian chief is out fishing and is thrown into the ocean. He wakes up on the shore of a village filled with giant men, under a strange sky where fish fly instead of swim. He is welcomed by the giant men, who then have him partake in the nights festivities, where they share each of their perspective tribes’ teachings.
Storm Boy is actually a collection of myths/traditions of the Haida, Tlingit, and other native peoples of North America's Pacific Northwest Coast. Boys who were coming of age would go out into the wild and enter the spirit world, where they would meet human forms of the animals (the “giant men” in this story were killer whales). With what they have learned from the spirits, they would gain honor and fame for their travels with the spirits.
Because Storm Boy is a picture book, there are more pictures than words, so I felt bummed when I finished it in a few minutes. The art is still something to see, and it's not everyday you see a giant with huge lips and eyes.
Who Moved My Cheese? was given to me by my parents for an early birthday present due to a “cheese” saying I had in the past. Whenever I got tired of repeating myself to people, be it talking too soft or they weren't listening, I said, “I like cheese,” when they asked me to repeat myself. This took awhile for friends and family to get used to, but it eventually became a common occurrence in communication. It only cost a few dollars, and those few dollars were spent on quite a catch.
The story begins with four characters: Sniff, Scurry, Hem and Haw, and how they find themselves without cheese one day. Sniff and Scurry, being the simpleminded mice they were, went out into the maze of the world to look for new cheese in their own respective manners. Meanwhile, Hem and Haw, who were little people and more intellectual than Sniff and Scurry, stayed behind, thinking that the cheese would one day reappear for them.
Through its simple and childlike storytelling, Who Moved My Cheese? shows that sometimes it's necessary to change in order to survive, along with other tidbits of knowledge. The nice thing is you don't have to spend days at a time reading it, like other large and complex philosophies, as a skim through the book will take an hour or so. The lessons it teaches are basic common sense, but it's always good to be reminded.
For the past year, Roz Jacoby has been walking through the motions of her life since her mother died falling off a mountain to save Nate Thompson. Living with her laid back her uncle Mike, Roz wonders how her mother, an avid believer in God and His will, died atop the mountain, because no one had a proper explanation, be it suicide or accident. The only one who would know is Nate Thompson, whom she has been calling but never says anything. Then Nate’s phone number changed to an unlisted number. Roz takes this as a sign from God to finally discover the truth for what happened to her mother.
Tell Me Everything tells a painful story of a young girl who doesn’t know what to do with her life, a common feeling felt by people of all ages. Reading Roz’s many conflicting thoughts make you want to give her a hug, and have people of common sense tell her what to do. As with stories of this type, however, we need to wait and see if she does the right thing. Underlying the desire to see her succeed, you never really know how old Roz is, who could be a middle or high scholar. It can be confusing if thought upon, but the storytelling is seamless enough the ages of the characters don’t matter, and we focus in on the emotions.
The only complaint readers may have with Tell Me Everything is Roz herself, who can sometimes be too conflicted and ignorant to actually like. But due to the fact readers don’t get to chose who the lead characters are, it’s an invalid dislike to have, but may still affect readers all the same. The story gives an interesting perspective on the life of one overcoming the death of a loved one, and I'm sure it has something to offer most people, including the sad parts, which it has plenty.
Jennifer and Lisa Paige arrive at their home in Snowfield, California, to find it is a ghost town. Almost all of the villagers are missing, and the rest have died in the grip of terror. At first, they think it is the work of terrorists, a toxic contamination, a new disease or all three. They soon realize the truth of what happened is much worse than they can ever imagine, and it could also happen to them.
Most people today heard of Phantoms through the movie starring Ben Affleck, which was the case for me. I never even knew it was first a book until reading a collected list of Dean Koontz’s novels. And after reading it, I was given more proof movie adaptations never tell the full story. The book is much spookier and in-depth, and beyond a doubt one of the scariest books I've read. Weeks after reading it, I was still getting shivers at the memory of certain parts.
If you are interested in learning a few scientific facts about the human body (Koontz loves to do this), while at the same time have your pants scared off, pick up Phantoms. I wouldn't recommend it for the easily spooked, as fear, violence, pain and other related emotions are rampant, and should be taken with a level head. A good test to see if you can read Phantoms is to see the movie, which is frightening but more light-hearted. If you are fine with it, you might be able to handle reading this work of horror.
Bradley Chalkers is one year older than everybody in the 5th grade, due to being held back twice in 4th grade. Even though he is young, he already learned to distance himself and hate others as a method of protection. He hates everyone including himself, because everybody calls him a “monster”. His school recently hired a counselor named Carla, whom he was required to see because of his “serious behavior problems”. By habit, he hated her on the spot, but after awhile he begins to realize she truly cares, and he begins to open up, learning to do more than hate others.
I bought There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom during 4th grade with merit points I gathered from being a good student. Despite taking place in the grade I was graduating into, it didn’t give me a good idea what to expect the next year, but it has been one of the most influential books I've ever read, and it still moves me. Because it’s such a deep story, I'm surprised this is called a children’s book. There is so much pain and sadness portrayed by Bradley, and the perspectives of the other characters within the story make you feel for him all the more.
Louis Sachar is a great man to create a book everyone can enjoy. If you are an adult, read this book. If you are a kid, read this book. The young will laugh at the comedy, and the adults will see the deeper issues which go unnoticed by young minds.
Join Me! tells the true story of how Danny Wallace started a cult by accident. It began with an ad he put in the paper which asked "Join Me!" followed by his address. His intention was to have like-minded people come together and hang out, as a legacy to his recently buried great uncle who once tried something similar. Before long, he had scores of “joinees” calling him “The Leader”. Intent on using his new rule for good, he went into the community with his joinees and shared their goodwill with the rest of the world, all the while trying to keep up with his life outside of the cult, especially with his girlfriend.
Danny’s story is hilarious and fills you with a sense of wonder. Why people would willingly go out of their way to join something they knew nothing about amazes me. It even shows there is trust in one another, and the ability to still do things spontaneously in an otherwise numbed world. That Danny had the will and motivation to do what he did makes him a role model to me.
Though I’m not a fan of nonfiction, Join Me! was worth breaking out of my "fiction only" rule. If the comedy isn’t enough for you to go out and read it, do so for learning about another culture. Being British, hearing Danny talk of pounds and quid instead of dollars is a nice change of pace for Americans, who desperately need a large dose of world culture.
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