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Merle has spent most of her life in and out of an orphanage, where they were never too pleased to have her, so when she sets off for her new apprenticeship at Arcimboldo’s mirror workshop, she has high hopes. The idea that she and Junipa will be the only girls in the shop doesn’t occur to her until they arrive, and while it’s not the most appealing prospect, at least she’s not alone.
From the get-go, all is not quite right at Arcimboldo’s. He’s replaced Junipa’s eyes with pieces of mirror, to give her sight. The effect is more than a little disturbing. Then there are the late-night excursions of the housekeeper, Eft, down into the well in the courtyard. The attack on the workshop by the Weaver’s boys. The having no idea just what it is that Arcimboldo does.
Some questions she gets answers too. Like why the Weaver’s apprentices attacked (ongoing fued), and why Eft climbs down the well. She and Junipa get to spend a day working with mirrors, even. And then comes the festival, which changes it all.
Venice is besieged. So it’s been for quite some time, and so it may be forever. The Egyptians took over the world, but were kept out of Venice by the Flowing Queen. No one is sure just what the Flowing Queen is, but they know she kept them safe. And so every year, they celebrate her protection. And so the Mirror Maker’s apprentices are treated to a night out on the town.
Merle, who was quite taken with Serafin, one of the Weaver boys, from the moment his mask slipped off his face, spends most of her time at the Festival searching for him. It’s Junipa who finally spots him, and insists that Merle go see him.
From the way he pops up in front of her, it seems he was seeking her out too.
Their leisurely stroll around the canals takes a turn towards the dangerous when they run across a winged lion. Winged stone lions being the most rare form of lion in the city’s employ. They protect the city counselors. Which begs the question, what are the City Councilors doing in that area, at that time of night?
Adventure turned spy mission turns to disaster when Merle’s mirror falls from her pocket and lands on the head of one of the men they were spying on. With the help of Serafin, she manages to recollect it, and also the vial the councilors were about to hand off to an Egyptian emissary. Swimming with all her might, she manages to escape, though Serafin is caught by one of the much feared winged lions.
And if Merle thought her night was rough up til that point…the adventure’s just begun!
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After returning from their successful mission to the Underworld, Charlotte and Zee have returned to life as usual. Minus the nightmares/generally strange dreams, and the fact that Charlotte is grounded forever, because it turns out, once you learn that the gods are real, lying to your parents just doesn’t work anymore. Life is just too real for that. Still, it’s not all bad. When a cute new boy moves to town, and seems to have an interest in Charlotte, it’s hard not to feel at least a little uplifted.
Unfortunately, things don’t stay smooth for long.
There’s the strange old man Charlotte, Zee, and even Mr. Mielswetzski have seen around town. And Jason gone missing. And Zee taking an interest in Maddy, Charlotte’s best friend, only to dump her
and pick up with an Ashley. And let’s not forget the total personality make-over he could have done without. And to ice Charlotte’s cake, her father has won an award, and the family is going on a cruise. A History cruise. Every day to disembark and visit local sites. Every teenager’s dream.
Or not.
Still, at least she can get out of the house.
Things go amiss on the cruise almost from the get-go. Her parents arrive late to breakfast on their second day raving about Thalia the lounge singer. It starts pouring just as she’s about to lay out by the pool. Her parents make a date to meet her for breakfast the next morning (after locking her in her room due to a misunderstanding), and miss the appointment. Upon exploration Charlotte discovers the ship to be empty, and in the Mediterranean. Just a wee bit off course from the East Coast.
Eventually, Charlotte finds the passengers and all the crew locked in the Lounge with Thalia, who happens to be a Siren, and her powers don’t work on Children. It’s up to Charlotte. Who, by some
stroke of fate, isn’t alone. Jason, whom she thought she’d seen the day before, is indeed on board. There to help her. Turns out, he knows about her escapades in the Underworld. His dad’s a god, kin to Poseidon. Poseidon doesn’t take well to people messing with his family, and it turns out Philonecron is his grandson. Which puts Charlotte on the hit list. For which an entire ship full of people are about to pay the price. So of course they do the only sensible thing. They head for
Poseidon’s yacht, with the plan of stealing his Trident to control Thalia and free the passengers and crew.
After a near miss with a couple sea monsters, Charlotte and Jason make it to the yacht. They hatch a plan.
Charlotte, never big on patience, sets off on her own. Suffice it to say her plan takes a turn for the disastrous, but fate seems to be on her side, handing her an unlikely ally, and one more shot to save the day.
Again.
December 28th, 2007
10:28 am
by Jaemi
Book Review, Series, Staff Favorites
adventure, alice in wonderland, alyss, fantasy, hatter madigan, imagination, magic, war, ya fiction
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Picking up were Looking Glass Wars left off, Alyss is now Queen of Wonderland, but all is not wonderful. No one knows what will become of Redd and The Cat, after their leap into the Heart Crystal, Alyss is worried that Dodge’s need for revenge will ruin him, she’s unsure if a Queen should love one of her guardsman, King Arch of Borderland seems to be planning something, and no one has heard from Hatter Madigan.
There’s never a dull moment. Especially once Redd imagines herself back into existence through a painter’s canvas. She and The Cat waste no time in collecting a new army on Earth. As luck would have it, one of the first people they run into is a member of Wonderland’s Tutor species, who fled through the Pool of Tears after having a falling out with Bibwit Harte. Vollrath, eager to prove himself, tells Redd all she needs to know about gaining her full powers, which will give her the best chance of defeating Alyss and reclaiming Wonderland as her own.
King Arch also has designs on Wonderland. After using the Diamonds to help start his plot on its way, capturing Homburg Molly and rendering the Crystal Continuum useless, he seems well on his way. The Diamonds are imprisoned (all but Jack, who has escaped), Hatter Madigan has done as expected and come for Molly, but all is not as smooth as Arch suspects. Jack of Diamonds will always side with whoever is most advantageous to him. And Hatter Madigan is not as loyal as he seems.
Back in Wonderland, Alyss’ powers are put to their test, as she helps to defend the city against the seeming endless army sent against her. Cryptic words from a caterpillar come at an unexpected time to help guide her along her way.
You’ll be left on the edge of your seat, eager for the final installment.
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I originally started re-reading this series when I first saw The Golden Compass preview on TV. Since it has come to annoy me, as having recently read the book again, I can tell they’ve altered the story. Unfortunately, I put down The Subtle Knife for a long time while concentrating on school books and other reads. Surprisingly, picking it up again after a long span of time, I was able to jump right back in, and it was every bit as compelling. But it does make reviewing it a little harder.
We pick up Lyra’s story just after she’s gone into the hole in the sky created by her father, intent on finding him and putting a stop to whatever he’s doing. Instead of finding Lord Asriel, however, she finds herself in a beautiful city inhabited by only children. Some invisible menace known as Specters has driven off, or killed, all the adults.
A series of events conspire to unite Lyra with Will, a boy who grew up in an Oxford very much like, and very different from, her own. Will is searching for his father, missing for 12 years. Lyra has vowed to help him. Along the way of course comes the unexpected trouble of having the alethiometer stolen by and old man who turns out to be someone Lyra has already had a run-in with, the police looking for both she and Will, brokering a deal to go after a mysterious knife, only to find out it’s incredibly powerful and has deemed Will its new master.
It’s a very fast read, with never a dull moment. Any Pullman fan or Potter fan yet to read His Dark Materials will find plenty to like. And you’ll certainly be left wanting to know how it will all end.
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In the latest installment of the Dexter series, we start pondering the bigger questions. Always comfortable with the idea that he was what he was, Dexter never had reason to question where his Dark Passenger had come from, and what, it anything, that might mean. But when a new case leaves him feeling cold, off, and worst of all, alone, suddenly questions are all Dexter has.
Nothing about the burnt corpses with their ceramic bull heads is really all that much worse than any other case. In fact it all seems pretty much run-of-the-mill, except for the feeling that something about it is all wrong. And since Dexter doesn’t feel…well, you can see how he’d be a little upset.
Lost without his inner companion, Dexter divides his time between searching in vain for answers, attempting to go along with plans for his wedding, and mentoring Cody and Astor, whose impatience nearly lands them in a world of trouble.
Some fans may find this installment irritating. Dexter, without half of himself, is not himself. I know of one reader who found him annoying and just wanted it to be over with. Myself, while he certainly is a changed Dexter, I found his questioning and insecurity to be perfectly understandable, and his search for answers is fairly compelling. And the Astor and Cody story line certainly keeps things interesting.
Not necessarily my favorite of the three, but definitely a good read. I’m very interested to see where this will go next.
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I find Dexter to be a really likable guy, despite his serial killer nature. I’m interested to see where the TV show has gone in its second chapter, as it didn’t stick with the books. After reading the story, I can see how it might be extremely traumatic if translated to television, though with the amount of violence people watch today, I’m not sure it really would have mattered.
This installment centers around relationships, and a mystery killer who enjoys mutilating and dicing his victims, leaving them alive but witless with terror. For those who are squeamish, this might not be the best read, since there is a fair amount of detail to the distressing murders throughout.
On the flip side is the fun of seeing Deb in a relationship, and not only as a macho cop, and Dexter getting himself unwittingly engaged. Really.
I’m not sure I liked this as much as the first, but I did like it better than the most recent installment to the series.
Anyone who likes a great mystery, or the irony of a good serial killer, or a loveable bad guy, will enjoy Dearly Devoted Dexter for sure.
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I was first introduced to Dexter in a trailer for the series coming to Showtime. Sadly, that is not a channel included in my cable lineup, and I had to wait until I could Netflix it to check it out. But it was well worth the wait. It may be one of my all-time favorites ever. And the idea of a lovable Sociopathic Serial-Murder….well who could not be intrigued by that?
Knowing the Dexter, Season 1 was based on Darkly Dreaming Dexter, I was very curious to check out the book and see how it might vary. I love the show Bones, for example, but have never read Kathy Reichs. My mother has read all the books, and hated the show, because they apparently changed just about everything. So I was pleased to work my way through Darkly Dreaming Dexter and find not so many changes. Or changes that at least held true to the stories and characters, making it easy for the show fans to love the books, and vice versa.
With Dexter already set in my head as Michael C. Hall, there were a few times where I felt as if the book version wasn’t holding up. But only a few moments. And they may just stem from the fact that every first book comes with a few of those moments. Every book period may come with them.
But he was still the same darkly twisted good bad guy. Silently ridding the world of evil men at set intervals. Always carefully. Except for that once.
The character development was not as much as in the TV show, but had I not seen it I wouldn’t know that, so it couldn’t have bothered me. And since I have seen it, and did know, it didn’t bother me.
It’s very hard to do Dexter real justice, as he’s very much something you have to experience. Yeah, there’s some gore, but even the squeamish will likely take to him. Because even Dexter doesn’t really like gore.
Any mystery fan should definitely enjoy this series, and I think any great story fan will as well.
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The wait is over, and another begun. Like its predecessors before it, Eclipse will please, and leave readers wanting more.
Picking up with life in Forks racing towards graduation, Bella is under house arrest, she and Jacob still aren’t speaking, Charlie is barely tolerating Edward, who himself is more polite than Bella thinks Charlie deserves, and her plans to become a vampire are solid as ever. If only that were the end of the list of worries.
There’s still Victoria, forever hunting Bella to avenge her mate’s death. And the Volturi, displeased with a human knowing their secret. And, after winning her freedom, and going to see Jake, Jake and Edwards’ mutual dislike. Edward, of course, is the first to get a grip. And in Bella, the werewolves and the vampires find common ground. After a break-in at her house, Jake and Edward realize Bella, and everyone else involved, would be better protected if the sides worked together. For a long time, that leaves Jacob on his own, largely lacking in sleep, but he won’t hear of not doing his part.
Then there’s the matter of the murders in Seattle. Eventually, the Cullens suspect vampires. Newborns. An area with which Jasper has a great deal of experience.
A plan begins to form, and after some more insightful thought on Bella’s part, changes, as the plot thickens. For her part, she can’t stand any of it. Knowing that her friends are putting themselves in danger for her. Regardless of their claims that it will all work out, she can’t relax. And after hearing in detail what newborns can do, she starts to worry after herself, and what she’ll become when she changes. Whether she’ll still be herself.
A lot of big questions get asked, and answered, in this installment of the series, which is sure to please. For my part, I’m now eagerly, and rather impatiently, awaiting Breaking Dawn.
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After seeing a trailer for this movie recently, and then stumbling across my copies of the series in VT, I decided to re-read them.
This story is central to Lyra Belacqua, a child without family, left in the care of Oxford College. While the college does its best to educate her, Lyra more greatly enjoys running amok with her best friend Roger, who works in the kitchens. But her curiosity and hankering to know are what lead everything into being.
Having snuck into a room she’s not meant to be in, she gets trapped, and while hiding in a closet sees a plot to poison her uncle unfold. She then warns her Uncle without thinking, and after filling him in, is left hidden to spy on the upcoming meeting. The meeting, of course, leaves her all the more curious, especially about Dust.
Then come the Gobblers, child thieves, stealing children from their families all around England, and finally coming to Oxford, where they get their hands both on Roger, and a gyptian boy Lyra knew. Lyra has little time to mourn, as she herself is about to go away, newly made assistant to the beautiful Mrs. Coulter.
Not long into her new life, Lyra grows increasingly disturbed, both by Mrs. Coulter, and her daemon, the evil golden monkey, who can roam too far from his mistress. In the end, she runs away, meeting up again with the gyptians, who hide her and keep her safe, as they know even more about her and the big picture and the gobblers than she herself does.
And so begins Lyra’s Quest to save Roger, and all the captured children, and her father, as she comes to learn Lord Asriel to be.
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I read this book while on vacation in Vermont, which seemed really appropriate, even if the book was set in Wisconsin.
D.J., at 15, doesn’t have the world’s most pleasant life. Her two older brother’s have left the house, after a fight with their dad, and dad’s got a bum leg, so it’s up to D.J. to run the farm. She gets occasional help from her younger brother, but he’s big into sports, which come first. And just when she thinks it can’t get any worse, the rival football team QB shows up in her driveway. He was sent, it turns out, to help. Since he doesn’t want to be there, and D.J. doesn’t want him there, you can imagine how it goes.
When his coach, her dad’s best friend, comes by later, she bluntly explains that she think Brian needs a trainer, not a job. Apparently the coach agrees, and suddenly D.J. finds herself in a situation even more unexpected than she began with. She and Brian both reluctantly agree to give it a shot, and by the end of the week have grown quite comfortable with each other.
In the meantime, D.J. has also thought up another plan. After realizing how much she really does know about football, and how much fun she’s had training with Brian, she wants to play. Since she doesn’t know if it’s even possible, she keeps it to herself.
Her mother, a member of the School Board, finds out first, since the Coach brought it up in a meeting. Awkward, to say the least, but she promises to keep the secret. Brian finds out in an even worse manner, on the first day of practice, and her dad finds out last. All of which spurs D.J. to action, calling her brother Bill for the first time since the big fight.
Underlying all the ball, is a pretty insightful look into families and their dysfunctions and how easy some of them can be to avoid.
If you’re looking for a nice light read with a lot of laughs, this one’s for you.
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