Tabitha Tomala
Watching Sinon struggle with guns in the anime is nothing compared to reading about her PTSD and flashbacks in the light novel. It's chilling to know what she had to experience as a child to save her mother and what it took away from her.
I also appreciate the fact Sinon is so different than the other female characters in the series so far. Not to say the others aren't strong or confident, but Sinon carries a rough and defensive edge that makes her unique. She's tough as nails in GGO, trying to overcome the struggles she faces outside of the virtual world.
While the GGO world itself doesn't impress me since I'm never one for gun games, Kawahara once again showcases his skill for bringing together characters from different worlds, both virtual and real, and developing relationships between them. The kinship Kirito and Sinon find from their haunted pasts shows through much better in the light novel. I can't wait to read the next.
Want to know why the spring trap suits were made? How about the truth surrounding the rumor of the murdered children? What about the purple man who was shoved into a suit by the kids? It's all here in this novel, where you meet the daughter of our infamous animatronic creator. The first thing to note is that, yes this is as creepy as the games and it does give you more information. However, the writing is all over the place, sometimes it's horrible, other times it sucks you and fear creeps up your spine. This read like a rough draft, something that needed to be ironed out a bit to provide consistency in the writing. I gave it a 4 star rating instead of 2 or 3 simply because when it hit the high notes in creep effect, it did it exceedingly well. I'll definitely be continuing on with the next one, as I can't wait to see what else is explained.
A fitting finale for this trilogy. Sad, but honestly I don't see how it could have ended any other way. Watching Nathan evolve through these three books was impressive. You have a main character who's so flawed and is in constant battle with his own actions, trying to come to terms with who he is and hating himself, yet knowing he has to do bad things. I loved that he wasn't perfect, that he made so many mistakes, and was such a unique character.
Victor and Eli both harbor brilliant minds and dark ambitions. Eli’s college thesis starts as researching EOs, humans with extraordinary abilities. But when he theorizes how to become an EO, Victor manipulates Eli into creating them. Their test subjects? Themselves. Victor and Eli will chance bringing themselves to the brink of death to become Extraordinary. But even before they returned as EOs, something was fundamentally missing. Key emotions they should have felt such as guilt and empathy. Now with powers, Eli and Victor will make choices based on their personal vendettas, changing the lives of all they encounter.
Vicious presents the reader with two characters who are villains. While readers may side with one over the other, neither is inherently good. While some of their choices may inadvertently help others, their true goals are less than admirable. Victor bears a personal grudge against Eli. During Victor’s transformation, he caused the death of a fellow student. Eli made sure he was captured and jailed. Upon release, Victor makes his sole focus to be Eli's destruction. While on the other hand, Eli sees EOs as unnatural. Under the misconception of religious duty, he sets out to eradicate any EO he comes into contact with, despite his own extraordinary abilities.
Switching between various timelines, V.E. Schwab builds the narrative piece by piece. Readers will be hooked as the storylines draw ever closer back together. Seeing through various characters' points of view, also allows the reader to experience their skewed ambitions and sense of duty. Eli and Victor are unlikeable characters, but this fits with the overall darker tone and atmosphere of dread. Each has ways of manipulating people to their sides and twisting their loyalties.
Vicious puts extraordinary powers into the hands of two psychopathic main characters. The violent fallout from their motivations creates a brutally dark story. Readers who enjoy dark fiction with a hint of fantasy, give this one a try.
Originally posted at www.behindthepages.org.
Kailey met the love of her life. Cade brought vitality and brightness to her life, challenging her to overcome her comfort zones in order to become a better person. But things began to spiral out of control for him and Kailey was unable to help the one person who meant the most to her. Then one day he left. No word, no good bye. Gone. Fast forward and she's beyond Cade, happily engaged and quickly approaching her marriage date when she sees a homeless man outside a resturant. She offers him her left over food and sees...it's Cade and he has no idea who she is. This tale of lost love was brilliantly written, meshing together Kailey's past story with Cade and the new where she is engaged to Ryan, living a life that seems happy and fulfilled. However, you can see the way Cade influenced her and how she never forgot how much she loved him, despite her relationship with Ryan. Kailey is a woman who never gives up on someone and her willingness to help Cade will challenge her relationship with Ryan and the life she currently lives. I'm not normally drawn into fiction, but the way Sarah Jio painted the characters, they grab your heart and don't let go. I lost track of time, absorbed in this novel, rooting for Kailey and Cade, hoping despite everything they went through they could rekindle what they lost years ago. I can say this book was heart warming and heart breaking at the same time. It's one of those rare novels I wished could be rated more than the stars.
I suggest this book if you are a fan of an author included in the anthology. If you aren't a fan, the drop in world building can make you stumble, but you might find new authors to read. I read this for Kim Harrison's Two Ghosts for Sister Rachel. It felt like coming home to friends I've missed since The Hollows ended. I don't think I'm ever going to find a series that has effected me as much as The Hollows. I also enjoyed The Harvest by Vicki Petersson, which made me interested in her Zodiac series, but the other two stories were a bit too sexy for me. I don't like random instant love/attraction relationships in my books.
This time around Dante needs to come face to face with her haunted past at Rigger Hall and the atrocities committed against its students, including Dante. We see how the twisted school helped forge the badass yet damaged Necromance, and just how deep the scars run. Dante would prefer to never be reminded of the Hall, but someone is murdering former students and Gabe turns to her for help. Saintcrow quickly became a favorite author of mine due to her characters. They are deeply flawed and strive to redeem themselves on a daily basis, shoving aside the perverse past that is never far from their mind. But Dante isn't just battling her own demons, guilt is bogging her down and the confusion over her new abilities as well. Everywhere she turns people are seeing her half demon self as revolting, not that it was much different as a human Necromance, but she's battling to accept herself and her new limitations. Despite Dante's grief stricken inner monologue, we are still able to see the strong woman inside and recognize that everyone breaks down at some point. And when Dante snaps back, there's hell to pay. Another quick fun read, filled with action, gut wrenching emotions and satisfying redemption and revenge.
Not the most exciting book, but a quick read and I enjoyed the characters. Amelie and Celine are sisters. Having lost both their parents, they must rely on one another to survive. They work together in the family apothecary shop and Celine pretends to be a seer on the side to earn extra money. Until she crosses the warlord prince Damek and the two sisters have to find safety among his brother Anton's court. But safety comes with a price. Celine needs to use her ‘powers' as a seer to solve a string of murders. If the sisters do not solve the murders, they have nowhere to go where Damek can't reach them. The overall plot is straight forward and predictable, but there is potential for so much more in future novels. We only begin to see the world of magic and the mystery of the Mist-Torn witches. I'm willing to read the next book to see where it leads.
Not the most exciting book, but a quick read and I enjoyed the characters. Amelie and Celine are sisters. Having lost both their parents, they must rely on one another to survive. They work together in the family apothecary shop and Celine pretends to be a seer on the side to earn extra money. Until she crosses the warlord prince Damek and the two sisters have to find safety among his brother Anton's court. But safety comes with a price. Celine needs to use her ‘powers' as a seer to solve a string of murders. If the sisters do not solve the murders, they have nowhere to go where Damek can't reach them.
The overall plot is straight forward and predictable, but there is potential for so much more in future novels. We only begin to see the world of magic and the mystery of the Mist-Torn witches. I'm willing to read the next book to see where it leads.
Ready for an adrenaline ride full of guns, blades, demons and magic? Meet the Necromance Dante Valentine. She's been hired by the devil to hunt down and kill Santino, a demon who's escaped hell. However, the last time she went up against Santino, she almost died and lost someone close to her. Teaming up with a demon familiar she doesn't want or trust, a fellow Necromance and a Skinlin, Dante is on the hunt. Written in a futuristic urban fantasy setting, Dante will use her Plasgun just as quickly as her magic. As a warning, Saintcrow won't lay out her world's rules in a straight line for you, instead she will throw out pieces for you to put together. With the fast paced plot it works, as Dante moves through the story hungry for vengeance and retribution, finding a purpose for her life once again. Can't wait to read the next one.
The world is interesting enough but the set up is clunky. Harper's response to the Grey (the in between area where supernatural creatures dwell) is overdone. I can understand freaking out about a supernatural world you didn't know existed, but for 70% of the book when you keep seeing and feeling the evidence. That's just willful and dumb ignorance, ecspecially when someone admits they're a vampire and Harper believes him yet, oh god nope the Grey can't exist. Not to mention she STILL refuses to accept her abilties with the Grey at the end of the book! Plus there's too much theory and information thrown around about the Grey's existence. It's over explained and I ended up skimming most of it. Harper doesn't seem to have a consistent personality either, and her sudden relationship with Will confuses me. The plot skips and Harper just flat out does the dumbest things when she was portrayed as a quick thinker on her feet. I want to know how she isn't dead from investigating human problems let alone the vampires she starts to help. The actual mechanics of the Grey are scattered at best. Sometimes it's just a place, but it seems like parts of it can be thrown around or drawn on to accomplish things. Not a series I will continue.
I picked this book even though it's out of my normal genre because I want to start reading about different types of characters. Amel comes from a rough neighborhood. We watch as he struggles to become a better person for himself and his nephew. He tries to forgive his mother and understand why she turned out as she did, as well as come to terms with the pain he felt growing up without a father. But along the way he gives in to murderous urges to right wrongs he's seen done and must steal to survive. If you want to look into the life of someone who has to fight everyday to survive this is the book for you. It is emotional, raw and at times heartbreaking. I do have to admit the language threw me, and the relationship between Sea Sea and Amel confused me, most likely due to dialogue.
This one was hit or miss for me depending on what chapter I was on. There were some parts filled with action, backstabbing and trickery that kept me on my toes and then you have the two ridiculous cliche love triangles with both narrators. Instant attraction, unrealistic sudden love and the overdone clash of classes where the slave of course falls for the slaver. Bleh, no give me something original. I did enjoy reading through two opposing view points. You have Laia the scholar who is bottom of the class system and part of a conquered people. She must overcome her meek and fearful ways and learn just who you can trust when you're surrounded by enemies. Ecspecially when your goal is rescuing family and to do so you must dive into the hornet's nest itself. On the other side you have Elias, a Mask who is part of the Martials who've conquered the Scholars. His body itself is trained as a weapon and he is supposed to follow orders blindly no matter horrific they are. However, he hates what they have made him become. Some of the scenes he goes through tear into his soul and we see him struggle to hold onto whatever makes him apart from the others. What it is that makes him question the ways of the Martials. I may or may not continue onto the next. if anything it will br towards the bottom of my too read list because I know at least one love triangle will be coming back.
This second book set in the SAO universe is actually four short stories. We have a story each from Silica, Lisbeth, Asuna and Kirito which take place while Aincrad is still being cleared. An odd choice for a second book but we learn things like rules on how to become a beast tamer from Silica, how Lisbeth felt when the game was cleared, what drove Asuna to become one of the best players, how The Army became the guild we saw in the anime, and the change in purpose Kirito had when becoming a member of the Moonlit Black Cats.
I enjoyed how each story was from a different view point since the anime focuses on Kirito's journey through SAO. Hearing from a few of the females was great, even though each felt emotionally attached to Kirito. Then again it's hard not to when the guy saves you or helps you become a better player without asking for anything in return.
I'll be looking forward to the next novel even though we're venturing away from Aincrad. I supposed that's what the progressive novels are for, delving deeper into the effort it took to clear SAO. :)
This is a collection of short stories loosely based around fairy tales such as Cinderella, The Three Little Pigs and Red Riding Hood. Each if them were decent enough fluff pieces, but they didn't really hold my attention all too well. I guess I was looking for stories surrounding the Doctor just like the show, but instead he is a background character at best in each of the short stories.
This is a collection of short stories loosely based around fairy tales such as Cinderella, The Three Little Pigs and Red Riding Hood. Each if them were decent enough fluff pieces, but they didn't really hold my attention all too well. I guess I was looking for stories surrounding the Doctor just like the show, but instead he is a background character at best in each of the short stories.
Enter a new unique world created by Sanderson, where chalk drawings, called chalklings, come to life when a Rithmatist draws them. Seems innocent enough until you realize those same chalk drawings can strip a person of their skin. Add to that lines rithmatists can draw that shoot across the ground to hit opponents and any defenses they may have set up. And, in the background we have a mysterious island where wild chalklings can be found. An island where rithmatists fight daily to keep them contained. This book lays the ground rules of a new series, taking place at an academy where rithmatists and normal students attend. You're shown the politics between those who are rithmatists and those who are not. In this case the rithmatists are of a higher class and secretive with their abilities. Sanderson also provides pictures of each type of defense a rithmatist can draw in order to protect them from chalkings and attacks from other rithmatists. I appreciated the drawings, as descriptions alone would have lost me. And then we have Joel, a non-rithmatist who can draw every defense form almost perfectly, but they bear no power. He wants nothing more than to be an actual rithmatist, but has to settle for sneaking around to lectures about it. When he begs for a summer elective to study under a Rithmatist, he finds himself as a research assistant to Professor Fitch and right in the middle of a series of rithmatist kidnappings. I love how the main character isn't a rithmatist, so we see him have to go the extra length in creative problem solving. I also found Joel entertaining because of his ambition. Even when hope seems irrelevant, he pushes on to find new solutions. This book does leave a lot of questions to be answered, ecspecially in regards to what is going on with the island of wild chalklings, but I'm sure more will be revealed as the next story unfolds. Can't wait!
A lot is left to be explained as you reach the end of this novel. It seems there are more supernatural powers at work but no answers as to what they are or why. This left me a bit flustered. I also am tired of the dialogue being repetitive. I love Odd Thomas as a character, but the dialogue and story need to step up with the next book.
Being a fan of the anime, I started reading the first light novel to grab extra bits of detail I expected were left out when it was converted. Seeing inside Kirito's mind was enlightening. He comes off as a cool, collected character in the anime, but we never really see what crosses his mind unless you read the book. I also found that the light novel was astonishingly accurate to the anime and I hope that continues as I make further progress in the series. The anime did a great job showing Kirito's memories as actual events instead of the summaries he gives us in the novel, so in a way the anime shows us extra insight as well. Between the two we receive the whole picture. And reading the way Kirito sees Asuna made my heart melt. I love the relationship between them and I will never tire hearing about it. Can't wait to continue!
Odd Thomas is a character hard to dislike. He cares for every person he meets and never fails to help people even at the risk of his own life. This book did become a bit over zealous with scientific explanations. They went right over my head despite how many times I reread paragraphs to grasp what was going on. Unfortunately, it's the reason this book is receiving 3 stars despite my enjoyment of the banter back and forth between Odd and Romanovich, which was sarcastic and entertaining, and the creepiness of the big bad. Odd certainly attracts situations and people to him that reflect his namesake.
A slow read. I felt like this was mostly about family drama, which to me was boring. Around the 200s it moves away from the soap opera to become filled with action and plotting, but even then it takes breaks and I found myself skimming instead of reading. I'm beginning to lose interest in the series, as it seems to be drawing further away from the original writing style.
Not as enjoyable as the first, but then again Odd is in a dark place right now dealing with grief. So in a way the storyline was perfect, the way he processed his thoughts and the way he reacted to people and situations. He's lost and trying to find his way back to life, but not quite making it yet. Odd is a character you grieve alongside with and in your mind encourage him to move on. Like the friend you know is silently suffering, yet isn't ready to hear words of encouragement.