Lords and Ladies - Terry Pratchett

I have stopped counting which book of the Discworld I am reading. There are over 30 books, if I am not mistaken, and I do have most of them. And those I do not have I will buy. Reading Discworld novels is a totally new experience. You never read it in trains, planes and automobiles of any kind, because people will think you are crazy since you will end up laughing and doing all sorts of weird gestures.

Lords and Ladies is no exception to the rule. This novel features our little coven, Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Margrat. The three witches have come back to Lancre, and Margrat Garlick is going to marry King Verence II and become Queen. Of course, things are not so simple, as the Elves are coming back. And no, these are not the elves of fantasy novels, these are the elves of Discworld! They want everything for themselves, and do not care who they hurt. But they have not counted on our three witches...As the back of the book says, there is also an assortment of wizards, monkeys apes, dwarfs and other creatures.

This is Pratchett's take on A Midsummer Night's Dream. But there is more in this book; it is not just a humorous take on a classic. They are beautiful and graceful, or so they appear; but they are also egotistical, cruel and sadistic. They are the two sides of the same coin. On one side what we want and on the other side what we should avoid being. For what is beauty and grace without a soul? They also show that people will fall for money, power or for their inner desires; especially when those desires are not being released in some way, if there are things that are stopping us from pursuing our true dreams.

We make choices, and sometimes hard choices. Even if we regret those choices, even if we look back and see that we made mistakes, we should not linger in the past. We should move forward and continue living. This is what Granny Weatherwax has done; whatever her choice was in the past, she has stuck with it, and has continued to live. And Nanny Ogg? Nanny Ogg is the one who is living her life as best as she can. Never misses an opportunity, and neither should we. Margrat shows us that there is strength in everyone, and that everyone can find the strength to stand up and fight for what we believe.

Pratchett's books look innocent enough, but there is much more to discover reading them. The Discworld is not just a humorous take on our world, it is also a way for Pratchett to show us his own view of our world, and most of the times, it is a view that I agree with.

Storm Front - Jim Butcher

A few people had recommended to me to start reading the Dresden Files. I had seen the one-season TV series, and I was intrigued by it. Now, I can see that the books are probably a lot better than the series ever was.

The story is not an original one. A bad wizard is killing people, and Harry Dresden, our protagonist, lands in the middle of this case. A lot of people think that Harry may be the killer, because of his past. So, Harry must risk his life in order to find and stop the killer. And he must do it, before the killer manages to murder him in the same gory way as his other victims.

As I said, it is not so much the story or the world Jim Butcher builds in his novel, that are original. We have seen a lot of similar worlds and similar stories. What is original though is Harry himself. Because we go through the whole book from the perspective of Harry. It is written in the first person, by Harry. And Harry is not some larger than life character, nor is he someone who would go in a situation without knowing the consequences. He does know, and he is afraid. And a lot of other emotions go through him, and through the pages of the book through us.

The writing style of Jim Butcher is what makes this novel work. It is as if Butcher has been writing for a long time, he is confident with his characters, with Harry himself. He knows Harry Dresden, but he is also discovering him through the pages of the book. And with Jim Butcher we discover Harry and the world he lives in.

Well, I would like to see how the story of Harry continues, in due time. There are other books to sink my eyes in, before the next Dresden one.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

Some movies are so bad, that they end up being hilariously good. Some movies, though, are just bad. And this is the case for The Sorcerer's Apprentice. It is a bad movie, it really sucks.

What can anyone say about this movie? Yes, there were a few hilarious moments, and more than a few references to other movies, from Toy Story to Star Wars. Yes, there is Nicholas Cage, and Monica Bellucci at the end. But even those moments could not save this movie. Nicholas Cage is a good actor, and despite the stupid dialogue at times, and the cheezy moments or something, he manages to show his talent.

As for the script, well, I think that it was so cliche, so predictable, that you could guess the whole movie after the first few minutes. The dialogue was really stupid at times, and only a few hilarious moments saved it from being a complete and utter disaster. It was just total disaster.

The only person who knew how to act in that movie, and who made his character believable at times, was Nicholas Cage. But even a good actor cannot save a really bad movie from terrible dialogue and a done-to-death story. And at times he was just delivering his lines, just like reading with no feeling or interest in the role at all. Bellucci appears in the last very predictable minutes of the movie, but nothing at all from her either. Even the kiss at the end, between Cage and Bellucci, was cold, emotionless, just get it on and be done with it.

As for the boy that played David, he's not even handsome at all. What is a girl going to do at a bad movie if there are no abs to look at, at least? Not even that. At least New Moon had some good abs... despite being a bad movie (oh, and yes, need to see Eclipse. They say it's a bit better than New Moon). 

It was not even in the category, at least I had some fun and forgot myself for a couple of hours. Not even that. While I was watching the movie, there were times I wanted to dash out of the theatre, and I have had the same urge with very few movies. I wanted to just leave the movie theatre and maybe go for a meal or something. Something else than this movie. Okay, to be fair, it is not the worst movie I've ever seen, but definitely would not have gone if I had to pay for a full ticket. Fortunately, me and my friend paid half-price and we'll get a discount for a meal on TGI Friday's next Monday. At least this movie was worth something...

Small Gods - Terry Pratchett

If there is just one Discworld book that anyone should read, I would recommend this one: Small Gods. This is definitely one of the best Discworld books, and its subject is religion.

Brutha is a wanna-be priest and devout believer in Om. He is about the only true believer Om has. And that's what makes Brutha special, to a lot of people and supernatural entities. Om wants him because of the flame of belief, Vorbis and the Quisition because he will not question them, but what does Brutha want?

This is a book about religion, and its practices. Pratchett criticizes harshly both religion and the quest for power using religion, and rightly so. Even the story of Jesus Christ does not escape Terry's expert pen, and made me laugh! But this is something that readers should find out for themselves.

This is not a book to be read by fundies or anyone that cannot stand criticism to religion. Because Pratchett here, does show, through satire and comedy, the true nature of religion and gods. It is not we, the people, who need god(s); but god(s) and religion that need us. Because religions survive because of their followers, and devout believers. And this is the truth that Brutha will find in his journey and adventures. From devout believer to a kind of atheist Prophet, Brutha will be shown the truth about the nature not only of his god, but of all gods.

As for the rest, read the book. I highly recommend it. This is the best book I have read this year so far. There is not much more that I can say about the book, other than that I agree with Pratchett about his criticism of religion, about his attack on dogmatism, through the pages of Small Gods. Because gods are the product of people's imagination...

Dead Until Dark - Charlaine Harris

I admit I love vampire stories. Ever since I saw Christopher Lee as Dracula in a number of those unforgettable Hammer Horror movies, I have loved vampire and horror stories. So, I bought the first book of the Sookie Stackhouse series, Dead Until Dark in order to get my vampire fix. In fact, I have not read a vampire story in quite some time, and this one happened to be on the top of my very very big unread pile of books.

Vampires are out in the open. Their thirst for blood can be quenched by a synthetic blood product, named True Blood. Of course not everyone plays by the rules, but that's a tale for another day. Sookie Stackhouse is a waitress in Bon Temps, a small city in the Southern States of the US. Sookie has what she calls a "disability": she can read minds. Enter Bill Compton, whose mind Sookie cannot read. Why? Because Bill has a "disability" of his own: he is a vampire. Add murder into the picture, and you have an urban fantasy mystery novel.

Dead Until Dark is not a horror book; vampire books nowadays can rarely be put among the horror novels. As a book, it did not disappoint me; I was pleasantly surprised by some of the writer's ideas. I liked the idea about the vampire blood being used as a drug or what we learn about Sam. I am certain that Sookie's world has more to offer, and that this was just an introduction to the wonderful world of the night.

I loved the fact that the writer, Charlaine Harris, does not delve into unnecessary detail; Harris always gets to the point, giving the amount of detail that is needed for the story. I did feel that some characters were either underused or not well developed, like Sam for example. I am certain that Sam has a great backstory to his character. I certainly hope he has!. Also, I think that the trio of vampires were also underused, and might have given a bit of more spark to the story, if their relationship to Bill was disclosed or something similar. Another character I thought may need additional characterization, and might also be a more central character is the detective Andy Bellefleur. But it might be that those stories are going to be left for another one of the books.

All in all, I regard this to be an introduction to Sookie's world. And I expect more from the next books in the series. I have not watched the HBO TV series that the books have spawned; I probably will after I have read more of the books, and can compare it to the series.

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan

This article is about the book and not the movie. I have yet to see the movie, so I cannot compare the two.

Percy (Perseus) Jackson is a 12year old with learning difficulties, and has been expelled from a number of schools up to now. Percy however, is not just another child; he is the son of one of the most powerful gods of the Greek pantheon: Poseidon, lord of the seas.

Someone has stolen the master bolt from Zeus and the helmet of Hades. The gods are blaming each other and they are on the brink of war. Zeus thinks that Poseidon is responsible, Poseidon thinks that Hades is responsible, and Hades again, blames Poseidon. Percy is in the middle of it all, because both Hades and Zeus think that he was the means by which Poseidon stole the items. Percy, along with Annabeth, daughter of Athena, and Grover, a satyr, will travel to the depths of the the Underworld to find out the truth.

The book is aimed at children aged 11-15, but also to older children, those of us who have refused to grow old, who have kept a part of our childish wonder and awe, and love a good story. The story is similar to many other stories: a 12year old with problems, finds out that he is not just a child, but has some powers, and that he is destined for bigger things. The backplot that will tie all books together is apparent from the first book, as is the usual case.

Written in first person, but sometimes I got the feeling that it was not the 12year old Percy that was writing, but an older Percy, that is remembering his adventures and writing them down for whatever reason. I thought that some parts needed a bit of revision, but all in all it was good writing.

The plot was good, and as a book, it kept my interest. It has action, good and accurate descriptions, the characters are likeable and believable, especially since they are based on Greek Mythology. It is obvious that Riordan knows Greek Mythology, and respects it throughout the book. By respect, I mean that he does not alter myths and legends, and when he talks about events from mythology, his information is accurate. And this is one of the things I liked about the book.

I must say that I was a bit biased about the book, when I bought it. Because a lot of shows and books, have mistreated Ancient Greek Mythology, which is a small passion of mine. But I also like to read anything, whether fact or fiction, about mythology. I was wrong about my bias in this case, and I enjoyed reading it.

I love stories of ancient gods and legendary heroes; they are often very beautiful. And this was a good book for children, and as a big child I enjoyed it. So, next time I find myself in a bookstore, I will probably look for the second installment.