Book #15: The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest

The Millennium series is over. This is so depressing.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is the much-anticipated sequel to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire. I have previously raved about TGWPWF, so I think everyone knows how I feel about these books. Stieg Larsson has yet again crafted a beautiful book, and the entire series was tied up very well.

When we last saw the main characters, Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist, they were both in pretty bad shape. TGWKTHN picks up immediately at the end of the previous book and jumps right back into the story. I won't go into much detail because I know a few folks who are still reading either this book or the last book.

The first two books were pretty much non-stop action/shocking discoveries/something cool, but this book is admittedly much, much slower. The first couple hundred pages are actually very calm and more of a "catching up" type thing, but the last 1/3 of the book more than makes up for it. It took me a while to get through the first half of the book, but I read the last half in a couple of days. Part of the reason for the slow pace is the fact that there are about 84,095,890,850 characters to either introduce or re-introduce. Investigators, lawyers, journalists, general thugs. There are so. Many. People. I found myself trying to remember where they had been mentioned in the other books, and I searched high and low online for a character list. (Didn't find one. Who wants to make one for me?) What's worse, they're all freaking Swedish. They all sound the same to an uncultured American like myself. Ekstrom, Erikson, Erlander, Bublanski, Blomkvist, Malin, Malm. SERIOUSLY? It was really hard for me to keep straight who was good and who was bad, especially because some characters had 50 pages or so in between mentions. I essentially just gave up trying to remember who was who and tried to figure it out with context clues. That's my one complaint about this book, although I'm not sure how that could've been avoided when you've created such a awesome and intricate world as the one that Larsson has created with this series.

Salander is just as amazing in this book as she is in the other two. I can't say enough about how much I totally love her. She's easily of my favorite characters in any book I've read, ever. This book shows us a lot more about her, but it also introduces another awesome female character who I love -- Annika Gianinni. She was introduced in the earlier books, but only as Mikael's sister. In this book, her skills as a lawyer are used, and she is incredible. Love her to death.I don't think I'm spoiling anything by saying that there is, at one point, a trial, and it was easily my favorite part of the book, mostly thanks to Gianinni. So great.

When it comes down to it, I liked TGWTDT and TGWPWF better than this book, but it's really hard to compare them all to each other. Even though they're all part of the same series, they all have such different hearts. This book ties everything together beautifully, and although it does have some fantastic action sequences, it's not as thrilling as the other two. Still, after you've read the other two, you're so invested in the characters that you don't need the non-stop action to keep your interest. The characters do that themselves.

Read from June 6, 2010 to June 19, 2010

4/5 stars

-- C

The Devil's Toenail by Sally Prue (9)

I'm really glad this book only cost me 50 cents and precious little time.

There are a few good things about The Devil's Toenail.  First, the chapters are short.  I don't think there's a chapter that's over four pages long.  That, and the short length of the book make it a pretty quick read.  Second, the narrator uses the word "prat" a lot.  I don't know why, but I like that word.  Third, there's a Johnny Tremain moment about halfway through the book.

That's about all of the positive comments I can make, though.  The plot is annoyingly simple and irritatingly trite.  The story is about a boy who finds a "Devil's Toenail" (actually, a fossil of a Gryphaea).  The fossil supposedly give him special powers that allow him to fight back against the tyrannical Daniel, the leader of their middle school "gang" of friends.  Of course, as the story goes on, he finds that the real power in inside himself.

The book has gotten rave reviews from middle school students, so who knows?  Maybe it's good if you're into Disney and Nickelodeon, but it's definitely not for me.

1/5 Stars

--D

Interworld by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves (8)

Do you remember that book that you read over and over again when you were in elementary school?  Mine was A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, a book that takes the reader on a fantastic, sci-fi style journey of a young Meg Murry as she discovers herself and her family.  Interworld is much the same.

The story follows the exploits of a teenage Joey Harker, a young man who's biggest worries are talking to girls and navigating the city with his horrible sense of direction.  Soon, though, Joey is swept away into another world, or is it?  I don't want to go too far into the plot, because it's full of clever concepts and twists.  I'll just say that Joey's journey, much like Meg's, takes him to places most people could never imagine and positions him to make decisions that will affect the rest of his life and the lives of many others just like him.

Neil Gaiman is one of the premiere young adult novelists.  He's adept at wielding a story that is captivating for young adults and not-so-young adults alike.  As the latter, I would usually prefer my books to go into the "why" of things, explaining how the sci-fi and fantasy elements actually work, but if I try to put myself into the shoes of a teen, I can see why Gaiman and Reaves chose to leave those elements unsaid.  Even without those elements, though, the story is easy to follow and quite fun.

For adults, Interworld is a good choice for a quick, easy, and fun read.  Just take into consideration that the book isn't really intended for adults.  For teens, though, I would highly recommend this book.

4/5 Stars

--D

FreedomTM by Daniel Suarez (7)

FreedomTM is Daniel Suarez's follow-up to his immensely popular book, Daemon, which if you don't remember I slathered with praise in my last review.  The book picks up right where Daemon left off, in the middle of humanity's struggle to survive in a world that has been hijacked by a computer daemon created by the recently deceased video game designer Matthew Sobol.

The familiar cast of characters returns, with The Major, Agent Phillips, Jon Ross, and Peter Sebeck locking in a battle for the future of society.  The Major and Phillips are still on their mission to stop the daemon, Ross has gone rogue (literally), and Sebeck is still on his quest to prove that humanity deserves salvation.  As the daemon grows, the characters grow with it, and the technology becomes more and more advanced.

Where Suarez excels in this book isn't in the futuristic technology (it's still there, but not as surprising and mind-blowing as it was in Daemon), but instead in the geopolitical and societal implications of the daemon and how government and private businesses are poised to fight it.  The novel builds a slow crescendo to an inevitable battle between the daemon operatives and their "real" world contemporaries, all the while making you question your allegiances.

My only complaint is that the ending of the book left me wanting more.  Sure, I can fill in the future with my imagination, but I'd love to see a third book come out of this series.  (It still may.  Suarez gave himself options with the way he closed out the book).  Still, if you liked Daemon, you'll like FreedomTM.  I know I did.

4.5/5 Stars
--D

Book #14: Catching Fire

You all remember how much I completely loved The Hunger Games, so it should come as no surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed the second book in the series, Catching Fire. It was everything I hoped it would be.

There's not a lot I can say about the plot without ruining it, especially because I know of some folks who frequent this blog who are planning to read it soon (Derrick), but let me assure you that it is brilliant. The narrator, Katniss, picks up where the last book left off, and she now finds herself in a serious situation. Some of her behavior in the Games was interpreted as acts of "rebellion" towards the Capitol -- the totalitarian government of Panem. The Capitol is unhappy with Katniss for her behavior, and they immediately begin monitoring her to watch for more signs of rebellion. Soon, Katniss learns that the people of Panem, after watching her in the Games, have begun to see her as a role model for fighting against the Captiol. Katniss realizes that she is the catalyst for revolutions taking place in many of the Panem's 12 districts. The Capitol develops some interesting ways to punish her for her role in the rebellion.

Just like The Hunger Games, this book is smart, captivating, and beautifully written. There are things in this series that make my stomach turn, and Katniss acting as the crusader against all of the unjust things in Panem absolutely makes you love her. I loved Katniss in the last book, but I love her even more in this one. Suzanne Collins adds some toughness, some sarcasm to Katniss in this book, which makes sense after all that she went through in The Hunger Games. She's a bit hardened, but that just makes her even more awesome. The whole world that Collins created with this series is so impressive, and the plot twists are brilliant. These books are just so smart. I have a really hard time remembering that I'm reading a young adult series when I'm reading these books. She's also really good at making you not want to put the book down. It seems like the last sentence in each chapter is one of those, "Whhhhaaaaaat?!" moments. I don't know how many times I told myself I was going to read "one more chapter" and wound up sitting there for another hour... or two.

So, if you're looking for a great series to read, right now I would recommend this one. They're pretty quick reads, but there's so much packed into these pages. More bang for your buck, I guess. The third book, Mockingjay, comes out toward the end of August, so get to reading.

Read from June 2, 2010 to June 5, 2010

5/5 Stars

--C

Special Post: EXCITEMENT!!!!

Just had to post to share that the gift Derrick ordered me for graduation came via UPS a few minutes ago. How excited am I?! VERY. (See?)

The third book in Steig Larsson's Millennium Trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (which, oddly enough, I mentioned in the review I posted earlier). It came out a couple weeks ago, and my cheap self was going to wait on the paperback. I literally just started a new book an hour ago, but as soon as I'm done, I have a date with Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist! Thanks, D!

Book #13: The Killing Circle

I don't usually read thriller-ish books, but I found this for $3 at Books-A-Million. It sounded interesting, so why not? I liked it, although the more I think about it, the more I think it wasn't really very good. I feel like it's one of those books that, had I written this review 3/4 of the way through the book, I would've had a lot more good things to say about it than I do now that I've finished it. Does that make sense? No. Well, fine.

The Killing Circle is about widower Patrick Rush, a TV critic for a Toronto newspaper. Patrick actually wants to be an author, so he begins attending a small, quirky writing workshop. The members are asked to bring pieces to read aloud at each weekly meeting. A young woman named Angela brings a story about a little girl who is haunted by a killer called "The Sandman." The entire group gets sucked into Angela's story, which she builds on at each meeting. Then, Toronto begins to be terrorized by a serial killer... whose method of operation sounds an awful lot like the killings in Angela's "Sandman" story. Eventually, members of the writing circle begin to notice a strange figure stalking them. Then the members begin to disappear, and so does Patrick's son, Sam. Patrick is desperate to figure out who (or what) is responsible for the murders and how it all relates to Angela's story.

I have to say, the author of this book, Andrew Pyper is a wee bit pretentious sometimes. There's no way I can explain why I think that, but for some reason, writers who write about writing can be extremely pompous, especially if they're writing about the writing process. That whole,"this is what I do, so I know what I'm talking about" sort of attitude. I don't know... This is clearly the most nonsensical review I've ever written, but I think if you read it, you'd see what I meant. That being said, Pyper is definitely a talented writer, and the book moved along very well. It held my interest, and there were definitely some twists and turns that I did not see coming. I feel like the ending was seriously lacking, though. There wasn't really much of an ending, actually, in terms of the central plot of the book... Not in a, "he left this wide open for a sequel!" sort of way, but in an, "oh... so that's all?" sort of way. There was a certain plot twist close to the end that I think was intended to totally shock and amaze the reader, but even though I didn't expect it, it still wasn't really that impressive.

I guess I've kind of dogged this book, but I would actually recommend it. I mean, it's not mind-blowing like Steig Larsson's Millennium triology or anything, but it's worth a few days' time. Up until the last couple of chapters, it's great. After that, it's decent. So there you go.

3/5 stars

Read from May 27, 2010 to June 1, 2010

--C