50 Books in a year 1st month
Feb. 1st, 2008 08:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
duowolfSo this year I decided to fo the read 50 books in a year thing this year. Here are the first 8 books that I've read so far.
Book 1: Child Of Flame by Kate Elliot
Plot:The fourth volume in Kate Elliott's Crown of Stars series, Child of Flame takes us far beyond the borders of Wendar and Varre...as Alain is drawn into the heart of an ancient conflict between humankind and their dread enemy, the Cursed Ones; Liath faces her most difficult trial in a land of exile; and Sanglant struggles to warn Henry about a dark conspiracy of sorcerers.
What I thought of it: I really enjoyed this book even though it was a little confushing in places as there were a lot of characters doing lots of things all over the place.
Score: 3 1/2 out of 4
Book 2: The Gathering Storm by Kate Elliot
Plot:The time of cataclysm is almost here when the land of the Aoi-cast forth from the world long centuries ago by an unimaginably powerful spell-weaving-will at last return to its starting point with disastrous consequences...
What I thought of it:This one was still a little confushing but not as bad as book four. It was a fun read.
Score: 3 1/2 out of 4
Book 3: In The Ruins by Kate Elliot
Plot:The long-awaited cataclysm has reshaped the very land and seas, and disrupted the war for the empire. Now all who have survived the return of the spell-exiled Aoi lands must find a way to mend their shattered territories and take a stand against their enemies in a power struggle that may forge new alliances-or doom them all.
What I thought of it: This one was a lot more stright foreward as both of the seprate groups had gathered together so it wasn't jumping around half as much as before.
Score 3 1/2 out of 4
Book 4: Crown Of Stars by Kate Elliot
Plot:In the wake of the cataclysm many new alliances are forming even as old ones dissolve. As Sanglant struggles to legitimize his own leadership, the Aoi are carrying out random attacks-while implicating him as their leader. Stronghand has begun a march of conquest into the heart of Sanglant's realm. Adelheid and Antonia have made an unholy alliance. And Sabella and Duke Conrad are moving to seize Sanglant's crown. Cultures, religions, and races are clashing in what will be the ultimate struggle for control of this strange new world.
What I thought of it: This was a really an enjoyable end to the series. All of the loose ends were tied up and showed what happened to all of characters which I liked as I had grown close to them with each novel.
Score: 3 1/2 out of 4
Book 5: Ju-On: A Novel by Kei Ohishi
Plot: In Japan, ju-on is a deadly curse that takes on a life of its own. Always seeking new victims, it's a grudge that doesn't stop-it can't be stopped. Anyone unfortunate enough to meet up with a ghost killed by the grudge is then killed-and so it spreads. When a senior citizen outreach volunteer goes to work in a house in a quiet residential area, she soon starts to hear odd noises. As the strange events get more and more ominous, she discovers that some acts of violence can attach themselves to a house and that some evils can reach out and touch you-even after death.
What I thought of it: Based on the first two stright to video Japanese movies and the first Japanese cinema movie this book was quite an interesting read. It gave insights into the characters that weren't shown in the movies. Espically in the case of the woman who was murdered and her son which was interesting as it gave a better view of why she became the thing that she did.
Score: 2 1/2 out of 4
Book 6: The Beast Of Kane by Cliff Twemlow
Plot: When the Gorden family open their door to a stray elk-hound, they unwittingly welcome in the forces of evil.For according to the local priest, the hugh dog is Satan himself, fulfilling an ancient prophecy.
But no one will belive this warning...Even when sheep - and wolves - are mysteriously slaughtered. Even when frenzied pets turn on their owners. Even when Emily Forrest is savagly eaten alive - the first of many human victims.
As winter tightens its icy grip on the remote town of Kanw, its unprotected people must face an unearthly terror.
What I thought of it: This wasn't a really bad book but it wasn't brilliant either. It was a solid read even if the plot was a little shifty in places. It wasn't a very scary book for a horror novel but it did have a few moments where you were you were wondering if the dog was really Satan or not.
Score: 2 1/2 out of 4
Book 7: Birthday by Koji Suzuki
Plot: Birthday is Ring-master Koji Suzuki’s return to the Ring universe, a collection of short stories focusing on the female characters with a theme of birth. An exploration of extraordinary circumstances from the perspective of memorable women, this expansion of the Ring, Spiral, and Loop world was adapted into a hit movie less than a year after the book’s publication.
Thirty years before the tragic events of Ring, Sadako Yamamura was an aspiring stage actress on the verge of her theatrical debut. The beautiful and ravishing Sadako was the object of every male’s desire involved with the company including n the director. There was one thespian she was interested in, but…
Fast forward past the events of Ring, Ryuji Takayama’s distraught lover, Mai Takano is struggling in the wake of the professor’s mysterious demise. Mai visits Ryuji’s parents’ house to find the missing pages of his soon-to-be published article. There she is drawn to a curious videotape and a fate more terrifying than Ryuji or Kazuyuki Asakawa’s.
Reiko Sugiura questioned the purpose of bringing a child into a world where there was only death. She already lost one son, and the father of her unborn child, Kaoru Futami, had disappeared in search of a cure to the deadly disease that threatened all life. Despite Kaoru’s to meet again in two months, he has not returned. Despondent but driven for answers Reiko is led to the Loop project, where she will discover the final truths of the Ring virus.
What I thought of it: This was a nice rap up of the last few plot lines from the end of the first novel Loop. It was a interesting look into the lives of three of the women of the Ring series and what happened to them. It was also nice to see something of Sadako before she became the monster that almost destroys two whole worlds.
Score: 3 1/2 out of 4
Book 8: Naoko by Keigo Higashino
Plot:Expertly interweaving the real and the unreal, Naoko involves a working man, Heisuke, whose wife dies in a bus accident. His young daughter survives, but seems to be inhabited by her mother's personality.
What I thought of it: This was an interesting story that is about personality and memories and where they really come from. It was a pretty good read and I really enjoyed it.
Score: 2 1/2 ot of 4
Also finished watching all of the X-Files and really enjoyed all of it. I have a couple of guest stars to add which were Burt Reynolds and Adam Baldwin(from Firefly). Finished watching Da Capo II which was an ok anime although it was as good as the orignial Da Capo series.
Also watched Return To The House On Haunted Hill which was a pretty amushin movie though I'm not sure it was really meant to be.
Book 1: Child Of Flame by Kate Elliot
Plot:The fourth volume in Kate Elliott's Crown of Stars series, Child of Flame takes us far beyond the borders of Wendar and Varre...as Alain is drawn into the heart of an ancient conflict between humankind and their dread enemy, the Cursed Ones; Liath faces her most difficult trial in a land of exile; and Sanglant struggles to warn Henry about a dark conspiracy of sorcerers.
What I thought of it: I really enjoyed this book even though it was a little confushing in places as there were a lot of characters doing lots of things all over the place.
Score: 3 1/2 out of 4
Book 2: The Gathering Storm by Kate Elliot
Plot:The time of cataclysm is almost here when the land of the Aoi-cast forth from the world long centuries ago by an unimaginably powerful spell-weaving-will at last return to its starting point with disastrous consequences...
What I thought of it:This one was still a little confushing but not as bad as book four. It was a fun read.
Score: 3 1/2 out of 4
Book 3: In The Ruins by Kate Elliot
Plot:The long-awaited cataclysm has reshaped the very land and seas, and disrupted the war for the empire. Now all who have survived the return of the spell-exiled Aoi lands must find a way to mend their shattered territories and take a stand against their enemies in a power struggle that may forge new alliances-or doom them all.
What I thought of it: This one was a lot more stright foreward as both of the seprate groups had gathered together so it wasn't jumping around half as much as before.
Score 3 1/2 out of 4
Book 4: Crown Of Stars by Kate Elliot
Plot:In the wake of the cataclysm many new alliances are forming even as old ones dissolve. As Sanglant struggles to legitimize his own leadership, the Aoi are carrying out random attacks-while implicating him as their leader. Stronghand has begun a march of conquest into the heart of Sanglant's realm. Adelheid and Antonia have made an unholy alliance. And Sabella and Duke Conrad are moving to seize Sanglant's crown. Cultures, religions, and races are clashing in what will be the ultimate struggle for control of this strange new world.
What I thought of it: This was a really an enjoyable end to the series. All of the loose ends were tied up and showed what happened to all of characters which I liked as I had grown close to them with each novel.
Score: 3 1/2 out of 4
Book 5: Ju-On: A Novel by Kei Ohishi
Plot: In Japan, ju-on is a deadly curse that takes on a life of its own. Always seeking new victims, it's a grudge that doesn't stop-it can't be stopped. Anyone unfortunate enough to meet up with a ghost killed by the grudge is then killed-and so it spreads. When a senior citizen outreach volunteer goes to work in a house in a quiet residential area, she soon starts to hear odd noises. As the strange events get more and more ominous, she discovers that some acts of violence can attach themselves to a house and that some evils can reach out and touch you-even after death.
What I thought of it: Based on the first two stright to video Japanese movies and the first Japanese cinema movie this book was quite an interesting read. It gave insights into the characters that weren't shown in the movies. Espically in the case of the woman who was murdered and her son which was interesting as it gave a better view of why she became the thing that she did.
Score: 2 1/2 out of 4
Book 6: The Beast Of Kane by Cliff Twemlow
Plot: When the Gorden family open their door to a stray elk-hound, they unwittingly welcome in the forces of evil.For according to the local priest, the hugh dog is Satan himself, fulfilling an ancient prophecy.
But no one will belive this warning...Even when sheep - and wolves - are mysteriously slaughtered. Even when frenzied pets turn on their owners. Even when Emily Forrest is savagly eaten alive - the first of many human victims.
As winter tightens its icy grip on the remote town of Kanw, its unprotected people must face an unearthly terror.
What I thought of it: This wasn't a really bad book but it wasn't brilliant either. It was a solid read even if the plot was a little shifty in places. It wasn't a very scary book for a horror novel but it did have a few moments where you were you were wondering if the dog was really Satan or not.
Score: 2 1/2 out of 4
Book 7: Birthday by Koji Suzuki
Plot: Birthday is Ring-master Koji Suzuki’s return to the Ring universe, a collection of short stories focusing on the female characters with a theme of birth. An exploration of extraordinary circumstances from the perspective of memorable women, this expansion of the Ring, Spiral, and Loop world was adapted into a hit movie less than a year after the book’s publication.
Thirty years before the tragic events of Ring, Sadako Yamamura was an aspiring stage actress on the verge of her theatrical debut. The beautiful and ravishing Sadako was the object of every male’s desire involved with the company including n the director. There was one thespian she was interested in, but…
Fast forward past the events of Ring, Ryuji Takayama’s distraught lover, Mai Takano is struggling in the wake of the professor’s mysterious demise. Mai visits Ryuji’s parents’ house to find the missing pages of his soon-to-be published article. There she is drawn to a curious videotape and a fate more terrifying than Ryuji or Kazuyuki Asakawa’s.
Reiko Sugiura questioned the purpose of bringing a child into a world where there was only death. She already lost one son, and the father of her unborn child, Kaoru Futami, had disappeared in search of a cure to the deadly disease that threatened all life. Despite Kaoru’s to meet again in two months, he has not returned. Despondent but driven for answers Reiko is led to the Loop project, where she will discover the final truths of the Ring virus.
What I thought of it: This was a nice rap up of the last few plot lines from the end of the first novel Loop. It was a interesting look into the lives of three of the women of the Ring series and what happened to them. It was also nice to see something of Sadako before she became the monster that almost destroys two whole worlds.
Score: 3 1/2 out of 4
Book 8: Naoko by Keigo Higashino
Plot:Expertly interweaving the real and the unreal, Naoko involves a working man, Heisuke, whose wife dies in a bus accident. His young daughter survives, but seems to be inhabited by her mother's personality.
What I thought of it: This was an interesting story that is about personality and memories and where they really come from. It was a pretty good read and I really enjoyed it.
Score: 2 1/2 ot of 4
Also finished watching all of the X-Files and really enjoyed all of it. I have a couple of guest stars to add which were Burt Reynolds and Adam Baldwin(from Firefly). Finished watching Da Capo II which was an ok anime although it was as good as the orignial Da Capo series.
Also watched Return To The House On Haunted Hill which was a pretty amushin movie though I'm not sure it was really meant to be.
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Date: 2008-02-02 07:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-02 10:14 pm (UTC)