A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

I just finished the first five chapters of A Game of Thrones, the first book of  George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series.  This fantasy novel starts off with an action scene, that pulls you in quickly.  Already we have been introduced to handful of the main characters, which I am already invested in.  The story starts in a time when winter is fast approaching.  It will last four decades.  There are struggles over land, and thrones that show great promise.   HBO is currently working on a mini-series covering this series.  HBO usually does a stand up job with things like this, and based on the previews they have been showing for the last couple months, it seems as though they will not disappoint.  I just hope I can get all the books finished before the show begins April 17th.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Ender's Game is a science fiction novel by Orson Scott Card.  The book was first published in 1985, and had a newer release in 1991 with small variations to the political climate to more represent what was going on at the time.  The story chronicles the life of Ender Wiggins, a six year old genius, and takes place in 2070 after Earth has been attached twice by an alien race, called Buggers.  Ender has an older brother Peter, a sociopath who terrifies Ender, and a sister, Valentine, the only one who Ender truly cares about. The world has come together to form an International Fleet (IF) to protect the world, by training the most intelligent children from Earth in space on a battle ship.  Ender is selected as one of the youngest children to ever be selected at only six years old.  On the battle ship the children train extensively, and Ender shows himself to be a tactical genius.  Back at home Peter enlist the help of Valentine to make a play for world domination.  Valentine reluctantly agrees because she believes she can minimize Peter's effect, and keep in in line.  Things begin to spiral out of control, as Ender continues to struggle with the challenges of the battle room.

This book has an interesting point of view as the very young child geniuses in the book, act and speak more like you would expect from adults.  None of the children seem like children other than knowing their age and sizes.  The adults in the book, although exposing them to very grown up tasks, like training for war.  Seem to underestimate the intelligence of the children.  

         The close of this book was shocking, with a big twist ending.  I was so caught off guard that I had to go back and reread the last couple chapters.  I give this book a 4 out of 5, it was very interesting and I couldn't put it down.  I am excited to continue the story in Orson Scott Card's next book, Speaker for the Dead.  I was excited to read an article today that said there is a new screenplay that has just been finished by the director of the blockbuster Wolverine.  I think this would be an incredible movie, so I hope after all these years a studio picks up this script.

Just Finished: I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

I Am Number Four is a novel based on John Smith, an alien from the planet Lorien.  John is part of a Garde sent to Earth in a desperate attempt to save his planet, and Earth.  The Garde is made up of nine teens, being hunted down by Magadorians.  The Garde's have powers, called Legacies, that form as they get older, and these special powers are the only defense they have to try to save their planet and Earth.  The Garde can only be killed in order one through nine.  The frist three are already dead, John is number four.

Throughout the book I definitely had a very difficult time putting this one down.  The book is said to be the first in a series of six written by Pittacus Lore, the pen name of  authors James Frey (infamous from the Million Little Pieces drama circa 2006) and Jobie Hughes. Dreamworks picked up the rights, and the movie just came out Feb 18th of this year.  I didn't realize this was about to be a movie, until after I began reading, I'll be interested to see if the movie can capture this book. Although today I read some reviews, which held a lot of caparisons to the CW shows like Smallville. So it's seems like the movie might be better left unseen.


This book was very interesting, and led to a satisfying ending, promising much more adventure and background information in the next installment, whenever that is coming out.  Overall I would recommend this book.  In typical young adult style it can be at time predictable, and a few of the stock characters are superficial. However story is somewhat unique and does entertain.

Just Finished: Trylle Trilogy by Amanda Hockings

Switched is about Wendy Everly, a girl who lives with her aunt and brother in an attempt to control the chaos of her life. Her mother, Kim, tried to kill her on her 6th birthday, and since then her life has been a downward spiral of changing homes and failed friendships. Within this backdrop we discover that Wendy has some peculiar abilities, and is given an opportunity by a mysterious boy, Finn, to move once again to a new place where she can finally fit in. However, if she decides to make the move she will have to leave behind her brother and aunt, the only two people who have ever cared about her. As the trilogy continues Wendy is forced to make life altering decisions, and decipher between good and evil.  Although Switched started out a bit slow, the action picked up in the second book Torn.  Amanda Hockings is a self published author, the books as far as I can tell can only be purchased electronically through Nook or Kindle.  Although Hockings' writing is a little juvenile at times, the series is a good quick read and is entertaining.  The third and final book, Ascend, was the best of the three.  All is revealed as Wendy finally chooses her own fate, and grows into a woman from the girl we meet in Switched.  I recommend this book for those that like Young Adult fantasy novels, nothing too deep, fun light reading.

Happy Reading!