Summer Reading

So I've indulged my summer by reading a lot.  Without classes this semester, I've been able to catch up on quite a few paperbacks.  I've finised the Immortal series (City of Ashes et al).  I hear there is a fourth book, so I'm a little excited. I've finished Paolini's trilogy, which will now become a series since he couldn't squish everything into the third book (his own admission).  Looking forward to that fourth book.

I'm still waiting on PC & Kristin Cast to allow their last couple of books to go into paperback for their teen vamp series.  I could check them out from the library, but all those teens are ahead of me on the waiting list!   I'll also have to make sure the Last Apprentice doesn't have another paperback/book in case 6 wasn't enough for me of super scary bogeymen & women!  I have to admit that Joseph Delaney knows how to write a seriously scary story.  The illustrations tend to add to the fright level.

I'm contemplating re-reading the Twilight series.  Not because I liked it.  Truly, Meyer doesn't really know how to write well, still by the 4th book she had improved somewhat.  No, I'd like to re-read it for the literary value (whatever might be found) and see how it fits into the teen scene with other books like Harry Potter, the Last Apprentice and others.   Teens seem to be into supernatural and scary, more so than the sci-fi/fantasy of my teenage years.  It's an interesting trend.  Definitely something to investigate.

At some point I'll also be delving into my past and reading some classics.  Dickens, Hardy, Alcott, Cooper.

Historical Fiction

One of my friends is ALWAYS recommending books. She turned me onto Diana Gabaldon, whose Outlander series takes place between 1940 and 1740 initially. As the main character, Claire travels across time, she meets and falls in love with Jamie (James) who is a Scottish citizen and fiercely loyal to his clan. They eventually get caught up in the Stewart rebellion and Claire returns to her own time. She carries with her Jamie's child.

When she returns, she comes as a doctor and a mother of a full grown child. She has made the decision to return to Jamie on the death of her first and modern day husband. Her child, Brianna, eventually follows her. Across time and across continents, they travel back and forth. Jamie is never able to cross time, but he takes the time travel in stride.

The reader learns of the Scottish history, some English history and early American immigration settlements in the late 18th and early 19th Centuries. It is a time of treason, a time of loyalty, a time of exploration, and a time of war. You might even catch on to brewing scotch whiskey.

Her next book is An Echo in the Bone, due out 9/22/09.

The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

A new series...at least for me. This is a definitive young adult series. It covers the current life and times of Nicholas Flamel, the famed alchemyst and sorcerer. Flamel appeared first in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, or Philosopher's Stone depending on the nation of publication. The stone was secreted away in Hogwart's School of Wizardry and Witchcraft for safe keeping. Flamel is also known as the creator of the Elixir of Life, providing immortality to those that drink it.

Turns out that potion needs to be brewed every month or a person will start to age a year a day. Nicholas and his wife Perenelle have set death aside for over 700 years. Now they live and work in San Francisco, owning a used book store. Josh Newman happens to be an average, modern day 15 year old working for the Flamels, or as he knows them, the Flemings. His twin sister, Sophie, is working in the coffee shop just across the road. That all changes when Dr. John Dee shows up with his Golems in tow.

Thus begins a fight for life and for freedoms. Josh and Sophie, of course, fulfill a destiny that twins will save or destroy the world. Scott weaves a story fully built on the ancient mythology, explaining the ancients along the way. This is a great little story and three more books are currently available to carry along the threads. This book is a good beginner book for those who want to keep to the familiar (Harry Potter) and yet start expanding their reading tastes into more fantasy genre. It's easy to follow, much easier than HP. It's also a great way to introduce the mythology of Greek and Roman legends.

The Last Apprentice by Joseph Delaney

My niece was reading a cool looking book a few weeks ago. I asked what it was and in true "I can't be troubled while I'm reading" bookworm fashion, she gently flipped over the soft cover to reveal the whole title and half the author's name for me. It turned out to be a new series of supernatural portions.

Delaney spins a tale from somewhere in Europe and sometime in the mid to late 19th Century. It could even be earlier or take place in North America. They tend to speak English and that's not all that specific either. This is the kind of book that intriques the reader on so many levels. The main character/protagonist is young Thomas Ward, apprentice to The Spook. Spook rids the county of evil doers and mischief makers of a supernatural kind--boggarts, witches, banes, and such. Written in such a manner to evoke the Salem witch hunts and the evil eye, we find that young Tom is well on his way to being the next Spook.

Tom is the seventh son of a seventh son and a son of a witch to boot. His new master is also a seventh son and has a boggart keeping his house and grounds. Spook likes to deal with the evil in a logical, well grounded manner. Witches are buried beneath 13 iron bars. Boggarts are bound in a square hole painted in iron, salt and special mud then covered with a custom slab of stone. Most beings can be temporarily held with a silver chain or driven off with salt and iron.

Well written, the story does move a long. However, Tom tends to be a little stupid and rather than following his instinct he chooses to follow his heart. Thus, trouble abounds and is often created by him. Like any 10 year old, he tries to rectify his mistakes, and while succeeding, he often is found out and gets extra duties to atone.