Monday, August 30, 2010

[Novel Review] Corydon and the Island of Monsters (Corydon Trilogy #1)


Corydon and the Island of Monsters (Corydon Trilogy #1)
by Tobias Druitt
Corydon: I am just a normal shepherd boy.... except that my foot isn't one of a human's.
Stheno:According to the stars, he's the Mormoluke that can lead the monsters to survival....
Corydon: That's impossible...
Medusa: You're the one who will save us from the Olympians, Corydon.
Corydon: But I'm no hero...
Perseus: I so don't wanna fight but I HAD TO because I'm a HERO! Let's go to Monster Island, boys! I'm already so physically prepared even if mentally unprepared!
Corydon: *gulps*!
The author had a very interesting idea for this trilogy. He didn't modernize mythology unlike the other mythology based series nowadays; he maintained the classic storytelling with a little twist: the monsters are the good guys. Through this we were given a different perspective on mythological events, and the monsters were given personality.... not just some beings that are like defeatable per stage until the hero reaches the final boss and becomes victorious.

Unfortunately, despite the potential, it failed to become as impressive as it seemed. The monsters are portrayed too symphathetically, making them drama queen and drama king wannabes. I could no longer count how many times it was mentioned in the book on how badly they were treated, how they prefer soltitude and nature,, and how much their fate relies on the young hero... thus making them such boring characters.

They whine and rant a lot.... but none of them beats the main character as the most annoying creature in the book. Ignorance is forgivable, but the boy's beyond stupid. I believe it's more than once when he did something dangerous right after he has been warned about it and informed about the consequences. What's worse is that he always relies to another being, who is unconditionally protective towards him, to help him out. He was useless except for around the end of the book, when he finally thought of using the skills he had been so proud of since the earlier chapters. I don't expect him to be a courageous hero too early, but not having any character development except around the end makes him so despicable.

The only chapters that had been quite fun to read are those that are centered on the "bad guys". They are very silly, but at least they are humorous, unlike the "good guys". I believe this book would've been more entertaining if only the main characters are as silly and wacky as the antagonists.

Unfortunately, the most that the funny chapters of this book could do is to make you giggle a little. Yeah, they're funny, but not funny enough to make you laugh your head off. In other words, some jokes are pretty lame. But if you're someone easy to laugh, then you might not feel the same.

The best part of this book for me is: The Glossary. The descriptions were really amusing that makes me wonder WHY this type of humor hadn't been used in the entire book?! The author had the potential in making this book fun and hilarious, but it appears that he preferred his audience to feel sorry for the monsters rather than laugh at them.

I have so many other complains on this book like with how disturbing it is for a YA novel (Please, there's no way Corydon only saw Medusa as a mother with how he sees her), how absurd some parts of the story had been (A human became Corydon's companion so easily), how dumb some solutions had been (Corydon was able to know an answer from a riddle by BEGGING), and so on. But my biggest complain on this book is: BORING. VERY BORING.

It was a pain to finish this thing. I have no intention of experiencing the same pain by reading the next book.


D+ (REALLY DISAPPOINTING! How could you do this to me?!)
Interesting idea on making the monster in mythology the "good guys" but.... it's extremely boring!
2 Hearts ---> DISLIKE
I like Kharmides. I find Perseus amusing. But the overall I didn't enjoy it so nah...

Sunday, August 22, 2010

[New Books] Aug 17 to 22 2010

== NOVELS BOUGHT:
  • Skellig (David Almond)
    The "Dr. Death" thing intrigued me xD And it got an honorary book stamp so I think it might be good.
  • Artemis Fowl 6: The Time Paradox (Eoin Colfer)
    FINALLY I've managed to get my hands on its paperback edition!!! But the 7th book is still in hardbound.... bummer.
  • The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins)
    I don't find this interesting at all (from reading the plot) since I'm not into reality TV shows anywayz. However, it's reaaaaaaaaaally popular and even Stephen King admired it? Perhaps it's something worth checking out.
  • Leonardo's Shadow (Christopher Grey)
    I have a feeling anything connected to Leonardo da Vinci will be interesting for me, ahaha!
  • The Tapestry 2: The Second Siege (Henry H. Neff)
    I'm not yet done with the first book but I'm liking it so far! Better grab the sequel while it was still on sale ^^
  • Madapple (Christina Meldrum)
    It had religious references.... and the Solomon's Seal thing reminded me of a favorite manga.... I can't resist, haha!
  • Lirael (Garth Nix)
  • Abhorsen (Garth Nix)
    I've read Sabriel ages ago but I told myself that I would only buy the other installments of this series if they are on sale. Surprisingly, these two showed up recently, so I didn't hesitate. Hehe.
  • The Icarus Girl (Heleen Oyeyemi)
    It's about imagination and this is my first try to read a novel about Nigerian mythology~
  • The Red Pyramid (Rick Riordan)
    The plot didn't really impress me... but Egyptian mythology from the author of the Percy Jackson series? I love that series, and it's a bestseller in my place; I guess it's worth checking out~
  • Septimus Heap 2: Flyte (Angie Sage)
  • Septimus Heap 3: Physik (Angie Sage)
  • Septimus Heap 4: Queste (Angie Sage)
  • Septimus Heap 5: Syren (Angie Sage)
    Ahahahahahaha.... yeah, I completed it. I'm mad, I know. Haha!
  • Guys Write for Guys Read (Jon Sciezka)
    It's an anthology for boys actually.... but lots of my favorite authors are there. I think this would be fun~
  • Vampirates 1: Demons of the Ocean (Justin Somper)
    I loooove the idea of vampires + pirates~ And twins who got separated and desperately want to see each other???!!! Ooooo.... this will delight me~ Hopefully they're nothing like the Newman twins from the Nicholas Flammel series.
  • Heroes of the Valley (Jonathan Stroud)
    Rick Riordan had a positive review for this book. And the trilogy that this guy made seems popular. It got me cruious for this one, hehehehe.
  • The Monstrumologist (Rick Yancey)
    I've been eyeing on this for a long time already but it was in hardbound so.... uuuugh! Then finally I saw a paperback version with a blue cover! Yay!
  • The Prince of Mist (Carlos Ruiz Zafon)
    Anything with the word "Prince" attracts me. Hahahah! And I'm really impressed with Zafon's debut novel, so I thought of getting my hands on this one while discounted! =D

== GRAPHIC NOVELS BOUGHT:
  • solanin (Inio Asano)
    I see positive reviews on this and I can finally own a viz media manga in a much much affordable price ^^ The original price is insanely expensive x_x
  • The Count of Monte Cristo 2 (Mahiro Maeda & Yura Ariwara)
    I bought the first book.... and I didn't expect to see the second one on sale too! Yay! I'll wait for the last book to be on sale before I marathon it, hehe. Which reminds me, I should rewatch and marathon the anime too *only seen around 2 episodes*
  • Yokai Doctor (Yuki Sato)
    I do not know why I picked this up but hopefully it won't disappoint x_x


I've bought all of these on sale (and at least 20% off) Today's the last day of the sale at my favorite bookstore so..... I'll start to avoid entering bookstores in order to be not tempted to buy anything no matter how cheap it is, ehehe.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

[Reading Status] I wonder if Corydon is as disappointing as it seems so far...

READING:
Corydon Trilogy 1: Corydon and the Island of Monsters by Tobias Druitt (68 of 283)

TO CONTINUE:
Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (166 of 486)

NEXT:
Septimus Heap 2: Flyte by Angie Sage

ON-HOLD:
Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan (148 of 322)

FOR RE-READING:
Leviathan by Scott Westerfield
Blood Red Snow White by Marcus Sedgwick
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell by Sussana Clark


I thought of reading Corydon as soon as possible because its sequel is also on sale (50% off; hardbound). I've reserved it but my reservation expires in a few days. I have to decide whether to buy the sequel or not, or else it would be a waste if I didn't buy it but it turned out to be cool.

So far, to be honest, I find it pretty boring. But its glossary had fun descriptions, which leaves me wondering why the actual story doesn't have the same style =( Ah well, I have a few more days before Friday. Hopefully things will become more interesting later.

Waaaahhh.... I can't decide whether I should continue the Septimus Heap series (while the prequel is still fresh on my mind) or continue Shadow of the Wind already (while I still remember its story). There are also plenty of books I would really want to start already. *sigh*

Monday, August 16, 2010

[New Books] August 10 to 16 2010

== BOOKS BOUGHT:
  • The Hellbound Heart (Clive Barker)
    I didn't get hooked to Barker's Abarat series but writing's okay. The premise of this one intrigued me a lot~
  • Half Moon Investigations (Eoin Colfer)
    I didn't read the plot. I just thought of collecting anything by the author of the Artemis Fowl series because I'm sure they'll be good. Hehe.
  • Belle: A Retelling of "Beauty and the Beast": Once Upon a Time (Cameron Dokey)
    I. Absolutely. Can't. Resist. Fairy. Tale. Adaptations/Retellings.
  • The Lost World (Arthur Conan Doyle)
    Huge fan of Doyle because of the Holmes series. I didn't expect that he had the dinosaurs idea too! Awesome!
  • Corydon Trilogy #1: Corydon and the Island of Monsters (Tobias Druitt)
    Mythology.... I really couldn't resist. Haha!
  • Interworld (Neil Gaiman & Michael Reaves)
    It's not often for me to see a Neil Gaiman book on sale~ And I'm a sucker for different worlds stuff~
  • Capt. Hook: The Adventures of a Notorious Youth (J.V. Hart)
    The popular villain as a main character? That will always interest me =D
  • Philosophy Made Simple (Robert Hellenga)
    Novels involving philosophical ideas... can't resist. Haha! And I haven't read a novel with a Hindu marriage and a main character befriending an elephant. I wonder how those things got connected to philosophy, haha!
  • Journeys in the Dead Season (Spencer Jordan)
    A psychological thriller! The idea of a murderer being inspired by a soldier's memories in war intrigued me~
  • The Rose of Sebastopol (Katharine McMahon)
    It reminded me so much of Sedgwick's "The Foreshadowing", which I loved so much~
  • Breathe: A Ghost Story (Cliff McNish)
    I've been seeing this author's name for so many times because many of this person's works had caught my interest but I had second thoughts on buying them. Then recently I saw this one on sale, I no longer hesitated. Hehe.
  • Bible of Clay (Julia Navarro)
    I haven't read the more popular Navarro novel but.... this book's pretty new. Rare to see something pretty recent and popular on sale. Ehehe
  • The Tapestry 1: The Hound of Rowan (Henry H. Neff)
    I've heard that though it has so many similarities with Harry Potter, it had tons of positive reviews. That got me really interested.
  • The Painter of Battles (Arturo Perez-Reverte)
    I have yet to read the other works of this author that I have but the premise of this one seemed really interesting. I hope I won't regret it.
  • Pendergast #9: Cemetery Dance (Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child)
    The plot got me interested me so much but now I kinda regret it when I found out that it's the NINTH installment of a series I'm not familiar with! Waaah! Can I read this without reading the previous books? Huhu.
  • Septimus Heap #2: Flyte (Angie Sage)
    I loooooooooooove Magyk, so I'm totally completing this series~
  • Septimus Heap: The Magykal Papers (Angie Sage)
    I got it on sale! It's what motivated me to start the Septimus series in the first place, hehe.
  • The Youngest Templar #1: Keeper of the Grail (Michael Spradlin)
    It sounds cliche but it had sooooooooo many positive reviews. That made me really interested on it. Besides, I'm a ucker for medieval stuff.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

[Novel Review] Magyk (Septimus Heap #1)


Magyk (Septimus Heap #1)
by Angie Sage
Silas Heap: Our seventh son was born.
Sarah Heap: Hello Septimus.
Silas Heap: During that night in the Forest, when I was on my way home I've come across a baby girl freezing in the snow. That poor child.... I thought of adopting her.
Marcia Overstrand: Tell no one you found her. She was born to you. Understand?
Silas Heap: And when I arrived home with the baby....
Midwife: DEAD! Septimus Heap is dead!
What's most intriguing in this book is that the plot tells you that the main character of this book is DEAD. But naturally, since he's the title character, you expect that he can't really be dead. Knowing that the main character's death is one big joke is already something that you can list in your things-that-I-had-predicted-about-this-book's-story-which-happened even before reading it. And no, its predictability unfortunately doesn't end there.

Surprisingly though, despite its predictability, it still had good twists. In other words, even if you have an idea of what will happen, learning about how things exactly happened had still been impressive.

However, the storytelling wasn't really anywhere near outstanding. What made it worse is that it gives you the "You should've done it earlier!" feeling. Like for instance, the mystery behind the main character's past has been unknown until the end, and the process was actually something that could be done anytime as long as certain circumstances are meant (there wasn't any mention that they can only be availed once after many years. So I assume it can be done as frequently as they please). If it weren't for that odd delay, the matter would actually have been resolved much earlier. There's only one reason that I see why things didn't turn out that way: the author can't think of how to continue the story after that and also prefers to have the kids who were born during that time as the main characters that would play a bigger role in it. In other words, if Septimus had been 100% confirmed to be alive in earlier chapters, we wouldn't be having this story in this book at all.

Not that I don't like the story. I just wish the author had thought of other ways of developing it. But nonetheless, even with the poor execution, the disappointing plot holes, the annoying cliches, and the typical good-always-wins-against-evil stuff, the actual story was good, fun, and interesting enough to engage readers in reading more to know what happens next. How fast paced it had been is how fast you would want to turn to the next page as soon as possible, haha!

I really like its presentation on the character's emotions. It's interesting to know that they way they act and think actually have reasons behind them. Moreover, not everything is focused on the emotions of a single character. I really love the variety.

The book has a lot of characters that are silly yet cool in their own way. I love it that the main characters don't get all the glory. Even supporting characters could stand out and save the day! And it's fun that we even get to find out what happened in the end even to characters who only appeared once or have a really minor role.

Though I'm pleased on the non-excessive bias on the main characters, it appears that for that sake, character and relationship development had been sacrificed to give a little development on as many characters as possible.... which was still unsuccessful because several characters still don't have much of a personality nor background. Most of the main and supporting characters did have enough, but I can't help but wish for there to have been more. Especially on the main ones.

Speaking of background, though it shared background on its magical history, the many of actual enchantments hadn't really been that explained at all. Some are obvious, I agree; those bolded words had been helpful, but still it would be better if the spells are explained, and the long ones aren't just mentioned but are actually written in the book. I won't accept the reason: thinking of a nice sounding written spell of the long ones is difficult to think of. That's just author laziness.

Yeah, yeah, the book is totally not exempted from flaws, but still, overall it has been really fantastic! It's full of exciting adventure and its wonderful set of characters make it even more entertaining.

What draws me most into this is the imperfectness of the characters. Even protagonists can screw up and be as annoying as they please. I really appreciate children/YA series that aren't too biased on its main characters, especially if they aren't annoyingly angsty.

The most interesting character for me is the greatest young wizard who has military background. Yes, he's very powerful thanks to his natural gift BUT his fighting abilities doesn't rely only on his powers, unlike other fantasy series wherein the fighting type-wizards gain combat skills thanks to their magic, or magical weapons, or school training (which will only start at the beginning of the series). But our wizard in this series has gone through the real tough army training; for certain he knows danger and battle... and even has the experience. I really love seeing uncommon types of characters.

I look forward to the next book very much! I'm excited for its movie version to be released~ Hopefully they won't screw this up.


B (COOL! So good I like it, baby!)
Yeah, there are a lot of flaws, so what? So many things made up for it! It's remarkably creative and it rocked!
4 Hearts ---> ADORATION
It's very very enjoyable~ I love it! My new favorite series! Yay!

Friday, August 13, 2010

[Reading Status] I'm liking Septimus Heap~

READING:
Septimus Heap 1: Magyk (249 of 564)

NEXT:
Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (166 of 486)

ON-HOLD:
Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan (148 of 322)

FOR RE-READING:
Leviathan by Scott Westerfield
Blood Red Snow White by Marcus Sedgwick
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell by Sussana Clark


Fantasy adventure series usually capture my attention, naturally the Septimus Heap series had been no exception. I had been wanting to check this out for a long time already but I had been having seconds thoughts on purchasing it because I feared that it might not be as good as I hope it would be (there were two fantasy series that just disappointed me during that time).

But an online friend recommended it. And recently I've stumbled upon Septimus Heap: The Magykal Papers ON SALE (more than 60% cheaper =D). I reserved it but I only have several days left before it expires. I had to decide whether it's worth it or not, so I purchased the first book as soon as possible (And it was 20% off! Yay!).

Now that I'm almost halfway on it... to be honest I still can't say if I'm hooked to it, but I am definitely enjoying it! =D Oh dear.... I think I'll be tempted to purchase until the latest installment! Haha!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

[Novel Review] The Alchemyst (Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flammel #1)


The Alchemyst (Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flammel #1)
by Michael Scott
Nicholas Flamel: I am an immortal and my role is to guard an important book... which I failed to do so in this story.
Female Twin: My name is Sophie Newman. I'm the older twin and I am very protective of my overprotective brother.
Male Twin: I'm Josh Newman. I love my laptop, iPod, and cellphone. One day in a bookshop I worked in, our lives changed forever.
Dr. John Dee: Their lives have changed thanks to me, the bad guy in this novel! I'm so evil yet so awesome because I have so many talents! But since my role is to be a villain, I use all my might to make their lives as miserable as possible... no matter how many times I fail!
This book has been very engaging and it's a real page-turner for I already wanted to throw it away after reading the first chapter! It was also full of surprises; so many of what I had expected had happened! I was very shocked!

I was very thrilled with its action scenes because none of the main characters did any special moves.... even though they mentioned about attending to martial arts classes and getting a red belt in taek won do. The book has also been good with the drama, for it made the twins have as many touching moments as possible; I didn't even shed a tear.

More importantly, let's give praise to the author for being so thoughtful that he considered how forgetful readers are. I could no longer remember how many times it was mentioned on how much the lives of the twins have changed, how much they don't want to believe it yet they couldn't help it because of what's going on, and also in how much danger they're currently involved in. We are also constantly being reminded of how old the Alchemyst and his wife are. And of course, we are also being frequently reminded of the little things like the profession of the twins' parents. Thanks to that I had become sooooo aware that their parents are archaeologists, and thanks to them, the twins know stuff related to myths and legends. They're so knowledgeable about these things that they need to research about it through Google or hear the explanations or descriptions from the other characters. It looks like they do know these myths and legends really well!

Speaking of the twins, they are so multi-dimensional that even after I've finished the first book, I still don't know them very well! What I'm certain of is that they've been together since forever and no plans of changing that. I also often notice about their annoyance in being treated as kids in the book, even if they really are. They sure have shown the great qualities of teenagers nowadays!

And oh, because they're the main characters of this story, naturally they're very very special. They are prophesized to be the ones who can save or destroy the world.... and of course their abilities are rare and the most powerful ones.... even against the gods! And even if the other characters have more experience.... and no matter how many victories the other characters have bragged about.... in the end, the twins are still the ones who save the day! And yes, even if they're still amateurs and ignorant! Aren't they incredible?!

....................................

OF COURSE I WAS BEING SARCASTIC.

I'm so disappointed. This book had so much potential! How the author had managed to connect mythology, legends, and history was beautiful! I believe the author should be complimented for the research done for this book. They were real people connected to "fictitious" events yet they make sense! It was really remarkable!

However, they were placed in a horribly cliche-rich story centering on typical leading characters. What's supposed to stand out didn't stand out! No thanks to that, the story became annoyingly dull. It was very PAINFUL to read.

The book has interesting ideas and a nice selection of the cast.... but they were placed in the wrong story. I think the author made a mistake for oversimplifying things and trying to please the teenage audience as much as possible. It may have worked for some, but it made me lose my faith in him. What a waste!

I think this would've been better if Flamel was the main character. His life in those earlier years seem more interesting. If not Flamel, Dee would do. He's the one who was originally planned to be the main character in the first place. I wish he didn't change his mind. It would have been more intriguing to read about Dee's story... a great character who succumbed to the dark side afterwards. That might not sell though. Most good stories don't sell. *sigh*

On the bright side, I find the cover of the book very tantalizing and enchanting. The material is also of very good quality (doesn't smell bad either). It was pretty affordable too (or maybe it's because the actual worth of the book would be much less if it weren't for the pretty publication?). Hopefully I'll be able to see good books (that are unlike The Alchemyst) from Delacorte Books some day.

Sadly, this book hadn't been good enough to make me wish for more. I'm so relieved that I didn't decide to purchase its sequel. It certainly saved me from a terrible headache.


C- (SO-SO! Very average and typical whatever!)
It really wasn't that horrible but it had so much potential. It's such a waste.
2.5 Hearts ---> NEUTRAL
It was disappointing, but I don't really hate it... can't say I like it either though.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

[Novel Spotted] White Cat


Curse Workers 1: White Cat
by Holly Black

Cassel comes from a family of curse workers -- people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn't got the magic touch, so he's an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail -- he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.

Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. Could she still be alive? To find that out, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen.

Holly Black has created a gripping tale of mobsters and dark magic where a single touch can bring love -- or death -- and your dreams might be more real than your memories. (Fantastic Fiction)

I first saw it at the bookstore. The cover attracted me at first glance and the reading the plot made me convinced to buy it as soon as possible!

The concept of what these curse workers could do is really creative and interesting~ It's not often you get to encounter a unique type of con artists with a dark fantasy twist~

Moreover, though a main character who appears normal but belongs in a totally not-so-normal family isn't really something new, Cassel doesn't seem to be the 100% goody-goody type of hero. And he seems to be caught in something dangerous and mysterious.... sounds intriguing! And I'm most intrigued on the white cat! Well, usually this kind of fantasy story deal with black cats, right? Hehe.

Sadly.... the price wasn't very nice. Huhuhuhuhu.... When the heck will the paperback version come =_=

Monday, August 9, 2010

[New Books] July 16 2010 to August 9, 2010

=== BOOKS BOUGHT:
  1. The Book Without Words (AVI)
    I adored AVI's Midnight Magic so another fantasy novel by this author would be splendid~
  2. Crispin: The Cross of Lead (AVI)
    I actually have the sequel of this which I've mistaken for the first book x_x Now I finally have this! It's award-winning so it has to be good! Its main character kinda reminds me of the Crispin from Noli Me Tangere (by Jose Rizal). Hehe.
  3. The Traitor's Gate (AVI)
    I think a detective-ish novel by AVI would be interesting~
  4. The Last Unicorn (Peter S. Beagle)
    I absolutely love unicorns and I finally got the best unicorn related classic ever after several years of searching!
  5. The Unicorn Road (Martin Davies)
    The word "unicorn" got my attention.... and the story seems interesting.
  6. The Myth Hunter (Christopher Golden)
    An attorney becoming a hero involving alternate reality and Jack Frost? Cool. I've been eyeing on this for a long time already. Finally got it!
  7. Dirty Magic (Carol Hughes)
    I love stories with brothers rescuing their sisters. Hopefully this is better than Darkhenge, which has a similar pair of siblings.
  8. The Swan Thieves (Elizabeth Kostova)
    A psychiatrist studies a madman who was a painter that brutally attacked a canvas? Interesting~
  9. The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl (Barry Lyga)
    The title amused me a lot. And it has a lot of comic references I've heard, then this may be a fun read!
  10. The Nautical Chart (Arturo Perez-Reverte)
    The author seems famous (so most likely he's good) and the story on this one seems very very interesting. I've been tempted to buy his other novels too, but for now I took the one on sale. Hehe.
  11. Rampant (Diana Peterfreund)
    This is the type that I would have ignored if it weren't for its idea of evil unicorns. Haha!
  12. Inverted World (Christopher Priest)
    I adored Priest's The Separation. I've been hunting his other books ever since. I didn't need to read the plot to make me bring it to the cashier. His books are so hard to get and as expected, the plot is interesting anyway.
  13. Septimus Heap Book 1: Magyk (Angie Sage)
    I remember a LiveJournal friend recommending this but I can't remember who. Ah well, my LJ friends and I have the same taste, so I'm hoping for this to be worth it.
  14. The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel: The Alchemyst (Michael Scott)
    I'm a sucker for alchemy stuff.... and I've loved series with twins as main characters since childhood.
  15. The Interpretation of Murder (Jed Rubenfeld)
    Famous psychologists as main characters and investigating murder cases? Enough to make me interested~
  16. The Dark Flight Down (Marcus Sedgwick)
    Even though its prequel wasn't as good as I expected, Sedgwick had impressed me with his other works. I feel obliged to read this sequel. This was actually the first book by Sedgwick that I've laid my eyes on after all (Just didn't buy it that time because the prequel wasn't available)
  17. The Kiss of Death (Marcus Sedgwick)
    I didn't really know the plot when I bought it.... but I've been collecting all of Sedgwick's YA novels.... I can't not make my collection incomplete? Haha!
  18. Sacrifice (Sarah Singleton)
    Crusaders, knights, holy war.... I'm a sucker for these stuff. Haha! And the main characters are from different lands, eh? I like nationality variation~
  19. I am the Messenger (Markus Zusak)
    The Book Thief was brilliant! This one seems even more interesting! I know it won't let me down!
My favorite Bookstore had a sale (until now, will last until August 22) so getting all the interesting ones in a lower price had been so iresistable xD

=== BOOKS BORROWED:
  1. The Secret Series 1: The Name of This Book Is Secret (Pseudonymous Bosch)
    This series has been in my wishlist for a long time but only recently have I found the first book! I'm happy that xtine06 asked me to buy it for her =D
  2. The Secret Series 2: If You're Reading This, It's Too Late! (Pseudonymous Bosch)
    The same as the first book.
  3. My Sister's Keeper (Jodi Piccoult)
    xtine06 enjoyed it so I think I would as well so I borrowed it from her. Hehe.

[Novel Spotted] Wolfsangel


Wolfsangel
by M.D. Lachlan

The Viking King Athun leads his men on a raid against an Anglo-Saxon village. Men and women are killed indiscriminately but Athun demands that no child be touched. He is acting on prophecy. A prophecy that tells him that the Saxons have stolen a child from the Gods. If Athun, in turn, takes the child and raises him as an heir, the child will lead his people to glory. But Athun discovers not one child, but twin baby boys. Ensuring that his faithful warriors, witness to what has happened, die during the raid Athun takes the children and their mother home, back to the witches who live on the troll wall. And he places his destiny in their hands.

And so begins a stunning multi-volume fantasy epic that will take a werewolf from his beginnings as the heir to a brutal viking king, down through the ages. It is a journey that will see him hunt for his lost love through centuries and lives, and see the endless battle between the wolf, Odin and Loki - the eternal trickster - spill over into countless bloody conflicts from our history, and over into our lives.

This is the myth of the werewolf as it has never been told before and marks the beginning of an extraordinary new fantasy series from Gollancz. (GoodReads)

werewolf... angel... viking.... king... prophecy.... Norse gods... twin boys... warriors.... lost love.... wolf....

That's more than enough to make me interested in this. I hadn't encountered a story regarding werewolves being connected to Norse mythology. And I'm totally a sucker for fantasy novels with princes.

I wonder when this will reach my country in paperback.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

[Reading Status] I think I'm gonna regret prioritizing this crap...

READING:
The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel: The Alchemyst by Michael Scott (226 of 375)

ON-HOLD:
Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (166 of 486)
Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan (148 of 322)

FOR RE-READING:
Leviathan by Scott Westerfield
Blood Red Snow White by Marcus Sedgwick
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell by Sussana Clark


I saw the hardbound version of the third installment of the Nicholas Flamel series on sale, so I placed books 2 and 3 on reservation (which will expire tomorrow) and bought the first book. I had been interested in the book for a long time already, but I thought of prioritizing the other books I like before it. The sale of the third book might've been the sign that I shold start the series already, so I thought of finishing the first book before I decide whether to buy its sequels or not.

And most probably I won't be buying those two books. It's not really that bad, but so far it's very disappointing. I don't get what my friend saw in this (she said it was good and is very impatient to read the second book..... but I think we'll be having different opinions on it. Ironically I think I was the one who introduced the series to her) but since we usually have similar tastes, I'll be giving this a chance.

[Blog Update] Blog Revamp

Formerly called Fiction Hunter, now please welcome Imagination Complex!

I have been neglecting this blog for too long, now I want to revive it. I thought of giving it a new name, so that it'll be like a rebirth. A rebirth needs a new name, and I like this one better than the old one. I guess title's that I think of out of the blue are better than those I've thought of for days. Hehe.

I've been reading and watching more often recently. I'll try to update this as regularly as I can from now on.