Code 61

 

Code 61
Donald Harstead

"My name is Carl Houseman and I'm a deputy sheriff in Nation County, Iowa. I've been doing this for over twenty years now; long enough to graduate from the night shift to become the department's investigator,a and senior officer as well. Long enough to feel senior in every sense of the term. Somehow, when you finally pass fifty and realise a fellow officer was born about the same time you took the oath, you start to wonder if you might not begin to feel old pretty soon. I mean, maybe in another ten years or so.

 

It's been my experience that cases fall into categories that are a bit different from the examples that they cite at the academy. Most of the time, you have more than enough evidence to show how the offence was committed, but really have to work to identify who did it. The rest of the time, you pretty much knew who did the dirty deed, but showing how is the problem. In rare cases, a case will develop both ways at the same time. That was what this one did."

-Prologue, Code 61

 

To begin with, the prologue, it isn't all that interesting; the cover is rather mysterious and doesn't say much; and the blurb is not all that helpful. The most interesting bit about the cover is actually the little caption at the top which reads as follows:

An isolated house, a bloodthirsty murderer and a wall of silence

Which says a lot.

 

However, this book, among others of it's kind, is deceptively simple to make the real action come as a surprise. And boy oh boy does it come as a surprise in this book.

However boring the epilogue is, and however weird and creepy the first chapter is, persevere. The second chapter gets even weirder. However the writing pulls you along at a gripping yet comfortable pace, not making you take in too much information  at once, and adding some much needed humour as it goes along.

 

Donald Harstead is up there with the likes of Michael Connelly. His writing style is unique and quirky, yet simple enough to read. Everything is spelt out in plain, black and white, even with a handy glossary of abbreviations and police 'ten' codes used in radio transmissions is contained at the back of the book.

 

This story takes some rather unusual turns and is recommended to all who enjoy a quirky and good thriller, however does have a downfall for those not familiar with common crime/thriller abbreviations and the police 'ten' codes, as these are used quite frequently. If you are not sure, it's best to have a look at the back 4 pages first, but most get explained in the duration of the story, and being an adult novel there is also swearing in the book. Not prolifically, but also it is not used sparingly.

 

The characters are well introduced and developed, relationships formed, and secrets well hidden and exposed throughout the course of the story. With the major quirks aside, this book feels like it could be real, and could be just another part of the world somewhere that it's happening, it is just that well written.

 

Overall, a twisty plot of a quirky book, the likes of which don't come around too often.

 

Until next time,

Atra du evarinya ono varda,
(May the stars watch over you)

Samantha.

Alex Rider #1: Stormbreaker

 

Stormbreaker

Alex Rider Series

Anthony Horowitz

 

    

"When the doorbell rings at three in the morning, it's never good news.

Alex Rider was woken by the first chime."

 

Alex Rider lives in Chelsea, England with his uncle and housekeeper, Jack. When his uncle, Ian Rider dies in suspicious circumstances, Alex is determined to investigate. His investigations lead him to the Royal & General Bank in central London, which turns out to be a cover for MI6. Alex is forcibly recruited into spy work, and sent on an intensive SAS training to prepare for the mission his uncle died doing.

 

Stormbreaker is the first in a completed series of 9 Alex Rider books, written by the English mastermind of teenage fiction, Anthony Horowitz.

 

Stormbreaker is a well written, superbly paced book, with amazing action sequences and excellent characters. This book is very much a slightly fantastical book, to suspend your disbelief a little makes this book a whole lot better. The plot is nicely rounded off at the end of the story, but also leaving it open for the continuation books to follow.

 

It introduces the main characters nicely, explaining some background, and character features, as well as making them people you can easily relate to in someway. The storyline is excellent with a nice balance of good and bad characters. However the story seems to still have no major cliffhanger type moments, do-or-die moments like other books have.

 

Compared to another teenage spy novel series like that of CHREUB(also by a British author set in England) it does not have the same appeal as for most of the time, it is just one good guy surrounded by lots of bad guys. However compared to many other teenage novels, this well written piece of fiction sets up some questions that get answered only when you get to the 8th and 9th books. Overall, it's a brilliant piece of fiction and I recommend it, but not as much as the best teenage spy novel series CHERUB.

 

Bottom line, I like it. I enjoy it. I recommend it. But I believe there are better books out there. The plot and characters are amazing, the way it is set out...not so much.

Until next time,

Atra du evarinya ono varda,
(May the stars watch over you)

Samantha.

Ella Enchanted

 
Ella Enchanted
Gail Carson Levine

 Think you know Cinderella? Think again.

"That fool of a fairy Lucinda did not intend to lay a curse on me. She meant to bestow a gift. 'My gift is obedience. Ella will always be obedient. Now stop crying child.' "

When Ella was born, she cried through the first hour of her life. Lucinda was a fairy and she put the 'gift' on Ella. Any command Ella is given, she must obey. A wish cannot effect her like 'I wish you'd put on a jumper' but 'Put on a jumper' would cause her to put on a jumper. As she grows up, she learns to delay obeying for minutes, but this causes dizziness, nausea and other effects.

When her mother dies and her father endeavours to find her a wealthy husband, Ella is sent off to finishing school with two sisters whom she despises, by their mother who she also doesn't like. Ella goes on a quest to find Lucinda and to break the curse.

Faced with ogres, giants, an errant fairy and her father, she much go against the rules of magic to find her freedom and save the one she loves.

Until next time,

Atra du evarinya ono varda,
(May the stars watch over you)

Samantha.

Juno Of Taris

 

Juno Of Taris
Fleur Beale

"On Taris we shave our heads. No, that's wrong. On Taris, we have our heads shaved for us."

Juno is a girl who has grown up on Taris. Taris was the brainchild of a 21st century scientist. Take a small, windswept island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, put a fully enclosed dome over it, stock its waters with fish, give it a balmy climate and put some people on it to survive. When Taris was formed, it was a social experiment, as well as survival and perhaps even the future of what mankind was to be like.

But somewhere along the line, the communication stopped, and the people were left to survive on their own. Juno is one of the children of Taris. When the book starts, Juno is 11 and the most inquisitive and disobedient girl on Taris. All Juno wants is to be free, grow her hair and wear something other than the linen tunics all people of Taris wear. She wants to be able to express herself, but this causes people to withdraw and turn their backs from her, leaving her alone.

However on Taris, using your energy for anything other than learning and surviving by helping in the community is banned. There are exactly 500 people on Taris, when one dies, a couple is allowed to have a child, usually from outside genetic stock. Taris is ruled over by the Governance Companions, Lenna and her husband Hilto, Majool, Cammoon, and the leader, Fisa. Nothing goes by without their consent, not even what the new children are to be named.

Juno feels trapped, and rightly so. Taris on the surface seems to be a happy, perfectly functioning island, able to support itself, but the history is deep, and dark. Secrets have been kept and pacts made to keep the truth hidden. The more Juno questions her freedom and lifestyle, the closer she becomes to discovering the truth. This makes her a target and a threat. Will Juno find out the truth about Taris, or will she be targeted before she even gets too deep?

Juno of Taris is a brilliant, well written page turner of a book set over 2 years on the island of Taris. I would recommend it to anybody, anywhere in the world, wherever you may be, as it applies to all generations and cultures. Try and get this NZ book if you can, search for it online, it will be well worth the shipping and handling fees. The story is a page turner and tells the story of a tightly knit community who doen't even know the truth about their own existance. Read it. Tell me what you think.

 

Until next time,

Atra du evarinya ono varda,
(May the stars watch over you)

Samantha.

The Sisterhood Of The Travelling Pants #1

The Sisterhood Of The Travelling Pants
Ann Brashares

This is a book I attempted some months ago. This is the first in a series focusing on a group of 4 girls who end up with a pair of jeans that fit them all perfectly, even though one of the girls is very skinny, and one of the girls is a bit larger. The first book follows the stories of Bridget, Carmen, Lena and Tibby and their summer with the perfectly fitting jeans which they have dubbed 'The Traveling Pants'.

I found the books to be a little strange in the way they were set up. There are 4 main characters and as they do not spend the summer together, this leads to 4 seperate storylines, mostly only coming together at the very beginning and the very end.

As they storylines are developed, the travelling pants come into effect. There a set of rules, put in place by the girls, to do with the pants, and the pants are sent from girl to girl throughout the summer. This causes complications in the storyline and ultimately causes the biggest problem I had with the book.

The story itself is rather stereotypical, dealing with self-esteem and body issues, as well as summer romances and love, and also as the title would suggest, friendship. But the switching storylines can make it hard to follow sometimes, and the writing is rather generic, and it seems very 2 dimensional. The characters, while facing the issues, also seem very generic.

I would only recommend this book to a younger audience from probably 10-14 years of age. Any older and the reader would see the generic-ness of it all.

Until next time,

Atra du evarinya ono varda,
(May the stars watch over you)

Samantha.

Harry Potter And The Philosophers Stone

Labels:

 (Only Minor Spoilers)

 

I thought, for my first review it was only fitting that I do one of the biggest influences on my generation, the Harry Potter Series.
Starting with Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone and going right through to the Deathly Hallows. Alrighty. Here goes nothing.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
(Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the US)

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, at first glance is not that remarkable.

(Sorry for the slight glare, it was from the camera flash)

A cartoon train and a nerdy looking boy with a scar and glasses on the front. But this simple cover, with an old man in robes with a long white beard on the back hides a much greater story than first imagined. A world of wizards and witches, where magic is in everyday life yet normal people are clueless. This is the world of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

 

Set in Britain, the book is the first in a series of 7, which follows what appears like a relatively normal boy, Harry Potter, who wears glasses and has a lightning bolt scar on his forehead. Harry has been brought up a muggle but on his 11th birthday, he receives a visit from the man who delivered him to his aunts, a half giant called Hagrid.

 

From here, the read adventure begins. Harry, thrown into a world in the back alleyways of London, a secret train platform and a large castle in Scotland which holds the school. The world of magic and wizards is so well written into a world we already know, and using the real places like Charing Cross and Kings Cross Station.

 

This book is very well written, and the characters are well introduced and well developed throughout the book. The plot has a few interesting twists and the introduction of some very interesting and important items that are re-occurring, such as a library book called Hogwarts: A History and the 'Invisibilty Cloak' that Harry gets given.

 

There are downfalls to the book however, as well as it is written, there are some parts that are not quite as page-turning as the rest of the book. These parts however are few and far between.

 

Until next time,

Atra du evarinya ono varda,
(May the stars watch over you)

 

Samantha.