The Blood of Olympus Book Review

Yesterday, Rick Riordan's Blood of Olympus was released. It's the final book in the Heroes of Olympus series. The book picks up from the 4th book of House of Hades. In the 5th book, our heroes go through many more trials on their way to 2 climactic battles. Riordan shows his usual crazy humor such as the minor sea goddess whom Jason Grace promises to create an action figure for while at the same time keeping the story moving along. I won't spoil the ending but, I don't think there will be any devastated Riordan fans at the end of the story i.e. it has a happy ending.

Overall, I found the story ok. I thought it weak in some parts like the blood certain demigods shed to waken Gaea. I mean we're led to believe there is going to be some terrible sacrifice and, the sacrifice ends up being lame.

Still, the book will be a must read for Riordan fans. Price wise, the Costco near which I live is selling it for $10.99 in hardbound. Also, Barnes & Noble is selling the electronic version for the same price.

Lastly, Riordan fans will be very delighted at the far end of the book where Riordan announces the new series he'll be coming out with next October called Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard. And yes, it's not a coincidence that the Chase in the title has the same last name as Annabeth Chase. We'll find out next October what the connection is. Happy reading all.

Lucky and Led Mystery Series Review

During my May cruise on Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas, I got to attend mass repeatedly. This isn't normal as Royal Caribbean doesn't always offers the services of a priest on its cruises as I've seen from personal experience. I didn't know they did it at all until I did my April Panama Canal cruise on their Legend of the Seas ship. During the May cruise, the Roman Catholic priest was a retired U.S. Navy chaplain named David P. Remy. As he is a vet like myself (although I served in the Air Force), this made him points with me right off the bat. He was a great priest and, I really enjoyed his masses. They gave a nice start to each of my days on board the ship.

Shortly, before I left the ship, Father Remy remarked that he was an author. He has written and published 6 e-novels. 5 of those are the Lucky and Led cruise ship mystery series (Cruise to Mayhem, Cruise to Hell, Cruise to Pandora, Cruise to Yuletide and Cruise to Critique). As I really liked the priest, I decided to buy 1 of his novels (I later bought the other 4) and see what I thought of the series.

The series has to be kind of unique in that one of the primary characters - Father Lucky, is a retired Navy chaplain who works as a priest on various cruises. This character gives an interesting insight into how things work on cruise ships as far as chaplains and for the ships in general. Father Remy has extensive experience in that way as he's done over 45 cruises over the years and will do 7 cruises this year alone (he told me that during the May cruise). People who have cruised on cruise ships will definitely be able to connect with some of the things he tells about in his novels. The stories are very nice and move along well. Nor are they overly long so, I found them easy reads. The novels are cheap cost wise. The first 2 cost me $1.99 each and the last 3 cost me $2.99 each from Kobobooks.com.

Concerning e-readers, the e-novels are meant for Kindle e-readers which created a problem for me with my Nook e-reader. Barnes & Noble doesn't sell them because of that. Luckily, Kobobooks with their app can work with Nook e-readers. I haven't any problems reading the novels through their app.

Overall, I've very much enjoyed the 2 e-novels I've read so far and, I look forward to reading the other three. Plus, it was very cool getting to meet their author during my May cruise. If you like cruising or mystery novels, you might enjoy these easy and neat reads. Happy reading all!

The Staff of Serapis Book Review

Like Rick Riordan did previously with Son of Sobek and the paperback release of The Serpent's Shadow, Riordan and Disney have released The Staff of Serapis with the paperback release of The Mark of Athena. Like with Son of Sobek where it also included the first chapter of  the then upcoming The House of Hades book, The Staff of Serapis has the first chapter of Blood of Olympus, the final and climactic book in the Heroes of Olympus series. The paperback version of Mark of Athena came out April 8th. As I didn't care to buy that book a second time, I waited for the e-book version to come out which was released May 20th. The e-book version comes in 2 versions. One is the short story with the 1st chapter of Blood of Olympus and sells for $1.99. In the 2nd version, Rick Riordan tells the story via audio and, it too has the 1st chapter of Blood of Olympus. The 2nd version costs $2.99. I bought the 2nd version as I thought it would be cool to listen to Riordan tell the story. Plus, it's only cost an extra $1. The Riordan audio version comes in 3 parts. The first 2 parts last 34:45 roughly each and the 3rd part lasts 32:15 roughly. Riordan does a great job of leaving you hanging at the end of the first 2 parts to where you can't wait to hear the next part.

The short story itself is a good one and leaves a fascinating opening for Riordan to continue the Olympus stories with a new tangent (I leave it to you the reader to find out what that is). However, if Riordan decides to go that way, he won't be able to do it for a while as he is supposed to start work on a new series that features the Norse mythology. It'll be interesting to see what he does with that. The story also has a possible spoiler in it which I won't reveal. Again, you'll have to find out what it is yourself. I don't think it'll sadden any of Riordan's readers. Whereas the Son of Sobek featured Carter Kane and Percy Jackson, The Staff of Serapis features Annabeth Chase and Sadie Kane.

Concerning the first chapter in the Blood of Olympus novel, it doesn't excite any but, it does make you wish they would come out with the book sooner. It's not supposed to be released until October 7th, 2014 (groan, grumble, grumble, grumble). For those who don't want to buy The Staff of Serapis short story, the 1st chapter will be released later this summer according to Riordan's website.

Overall, I liked The Staff of Serapis. I'd recommend to any fans of Riordan's books. I confess, I'm waiting big time for Blood of Olympus to come out in October. I want to find out how things end. Do the Roman and Greek demigods make peace instead of war? Do the 7 demigods on the quest some how defeat the giants? Will 1 of the 7 demigods die in the final book? There have been a number of references to a big sacrifice being necessary. We'll see. For now, I'll content myself with The Staff of Serapis and the first chapter of Blood of Olympus. Happy reading all!

The Lightning Thief Graphic Novel Review

I'm a big fan of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson books. I read all 5 of the first series and all 4 of the Heroes of Olympus. And, like other fans, I'm impatiently waiting for the final book - Blood of Olympus, to come out next fall. I bought The Lightning Thief graphic novel purely because of the shipping deal Amazon has. If you spend $35 or more, you get free shipping. If you don't, you can get clobbered. The main item I wanted from Amazon was a travel clock which cost a little over $10 and, the shipping would've been half the price of the clock. As I didn't care for that, I looked for $25 worth of other items so, I could get the free shipping. As I like Riordan's books, one of the items I decided to get was The Lightning Thief graphic novel.

The graphic novel was released on October 12, 2010. So, it's a bit late to review the thing. Still, I thought I'd put in my 2 cents worth. The novel has 128 pages and cuts out a lot of bits (the meeting with Medusa and the Tunnel of Love episodes come to mind) to keep it that short. That's something I didn't like about it. In one case, they even changed the story. Close to the end, Percy has gotten Zeus's master lightning bolt back BUT, he's stuck in California and, the big meeting between Zeus and his father Poseidon is going to be taking place above Manhattan. He has to get there pronto. In the novel, he raised the airfare by playing on people's sympathies while in the graphic novel, he apparently get's one of Hades minions to spring the money to fly him back.

The artwork in the graphic novel is good. The story does move along in the graphic novel like it does in the novel. I liked seeing what the characters looked like. I found the bit where Luke tries to figure out who Percy's father might be funny. Price wise, I paid $7.67 for my copy which I thought very reasonable. However, I still wasn't wiped out with the story in the graphic novel. I like the full length book version a LOT more than the graphic novel.

Overall, I found myself disappointed with the graphic novel. I wish it were longer so they didn't cut out as many bits. Personally, I wouldn't recommend it. Stick to the book version, it's a LOT better than the graphic novel. Happy reading all!

Son of Sobek Review

I'd been thinking about getting an e-reader for a while. I've heard they're handy on trips. You can download tons of books, magazines, travel guides and games on them which can keep you occupied while you're waiting in the airport for your flight or on the flight itself. I heard of the Son of Sobek short story but, it had a drawback in that it would be initially only available with the paperback version of The Serpent's Shadow. I'd already bought the hard bound version and, I didn't care to buy the book again. When I found out that there would be an e-book version of Son of Sobek, I decided it was time to get an e-reader - that Rick Riordan actually reads the story was an added bonus. The e-book cost me something like $3.36 from Barnes & Noble I think isn't very expensive though it is a short story (30 some pages). It's the first story where Riordan has 2 of his main heroes i.e. Percy Jackson and Carter Kane from 2 different mythology series i.e. Greek Gods and Egyptian Gods join forces against a monster someone unleashed on the border of their 2 respective turfs. It's told solely from Carter Kane's point of view and shows how the 2 different characters would have problems relating to each other as their respective mythologies are very different. There weren't any demigods in Egyptian mythology and, Greek mythology wouldn't have recognized some of the Egyptian weaponry as gets pointed out when Percy asks what kind of sword that Carter has.

Overall, I thought the short story wasn't great but, it was nice. It was neat having Riordan read it. As an added bonus for those who bought the e-book version, you received what I suspect is the first chapter of House of Hades - Riordan's eagerly (or at least in my case) awaited 4th book in the Lost Heroes of Olympus series. That chapter was nice BUT, I want the whole book which sadly, I have to wait till October for. :-( For those of us who are fans of Riordan's Percy Jackson character, the short story is worth buying in my opinion and more so if you can get the e-version so, you can get the first chapter of House of Hades. Happy Reading all!!!!!!

The Mark of Athena Review

Rick Riordan's "The Mark of Athena" book was released on October 2nd. The The book is the 3rd in a 5 book series called The Heroes of Olympus. The book features 7 demigods: Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel, Leo, Annabeth and Percy. Percy and Annabeth would be familiar to readers of Riordan's books as they were featured in his Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Each of the demigods are the children of different Roman and Greek gods. 3 of them are from the Roman gods and 4 are from the Greek gods. The Roman and Greek gods were actually the same. The only difference was the Romans changed the Greek gods to reflect their thinking which was different from the Greek way of thinking. Example: The Greek god Poseidon became the Roman god Neptune. While the Romans respected Neptune, he was never as prominent in Roman civilization as he was in Greek civilization because the Roman's weren't a great seafaring people like the Greeks were. Rome was predominantly a land power.

Anyway, in The Mark of Athena, the 7 demigods come together for the first time and set off for Rome (and will ultimately head to Greece) in order to defeat the giants and the earth Goddess Gaea. Riordan throws in all kinds of surprises along the way including possessing spirits, treacherous old gods, evil nymphs and a battle with the twin giants Ephialtes and Otis as well as bits of information and dreams our heroes must figure out in order to prevail. Also, they must deal with their own inner doubts as well as their relationships with their other demigods. It makes for an an interesting tale.

Riordan does a great job of moving the story along. It never gets dull or tedious. He finds a good balance between the different demigods so, we can see what each of them are going through and thinking. One concern I've heard is that there is apparently a rumor that one of the demigods dies in the book. This doesn't happen. I do think it'll probably happen later in the series. The reason I say that is because I believe Riordan hints at it in the Son of Neptune book. Also, we learn in The Mark of Athena that the Doors of Death must be closed on both sides i.e. someone is going to have to stay on the side that is in Tartarus to close them on that side and be trapped there with all of Gaea's monster minions. We don't find out who that'll be in The Mark of Athena as our heroes at the end of the book finish their adventures in Rome in a great climactic finish and head to Greece where they'll struggle to close the Doors of Death in the 4th book of the series The House of Hades which is due out the Fall of 2013 (sigh).

Overall, the book is another outstanding read by Riordan. It moves really well. It has lots of unexpected twists and turns certain to keep the interest of his readers while occasionally showing some of Riordan's great sense of humor (I bet Coach Hedge had fun digging the coconuts out of the Argo II's hull.). I would highly recommend this book to any fans of the previous books in the series or of the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series. My only complaint is I'll have to wait a YEAR till they come out with the 4th book. I'll be wondering how will Percy and Annabeth make it to the Doors of Death on the Tartarus side past all of Gaea's monster minions. What new weapons will Leo come up with now that he has the Archimedes sphere. How will our heroes close the Doors of Death and prevent the Roman and Greek camps of demigods from fighting each other while preventing Gaea from awakening. They have just 1 month to accomplish all of this in the next 2 books. It guarantees lots of action with plenty of surprises thrown in by Riordan. Happy reading all!

Demigod Diaries Review

I thought I'd write a book review on Rick Riordan's Demigod Diaries. The book takes its name from the first story in the book about a diary Luke Castellan starts keeping. Luke is the demigod that goes bad in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series before redeeming himself at the end by stopping Kronos, King of the Titans. The story tells of Luke and Thalia on one of their early adventures and how they meet up with Annabeth. The book also has stories involving Percy and Annabeth; Jason, Leo and Piper and a story by Riordan's son Haley. Haley is the reason the Percy Jackson books were written. Riordan created the character to entertain his son and, I think to encourage him with his ADHD which made it hard for him to read. Haley's story is interesting and well written. It tells of what happens to a demigod that fought on the side of the titan's. I confess I was curious what happened to those though I thought most of them would show up at Camp Halfblood after the deal Percy worked out with Zeus and the other major gods and goddesses. Lastly, the book has some small games in it like a word search and a scrambled name game where you have to figure out the names on the 7 demigods that will go on the quest to Rome and on to Greece. Anyone who has read the first 2 books of the series The Heroes of Olympus should know who they are.

Overall, the book is nice. For me, it served as a tide me over till the book I'm really waiting for comes out in October i.e. Mark of Athena. That's when the action will start building in The Heroes of Olympus series. Riordan gave some hints about what'll happen in that book on his blog as well as some in the Son of Neptune book. Fans of Riordan's Percy Jackson books should enjoy Demigod Diaries. It even has some pictures of their heroes such as Thalia, Percy, Annabeth, Piper and Jason (I think they've used the Piper and Jason pics before as I saw them some where else). Happy reading all!

Mark of Athena Chapter 1 Released

I decided to check on Rick Riordan's webpage www.rickriordan.com to see if there was any word on his future book Mark of Athena. It's the latest of the Lost Heroes series and ties in with the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. To my delight, I found out Disney released the first chapter of the book and its new cover. The cover doesn't wow me but, the chapter was a delightful read. We get to see things from the Greek side as the Argos II arrives in the Roman camp. Riordan in his Son of Neptune book showed us things from the Roman side with Percy doing his best to keep the Romans from attacking the ship at the very end of the book. The chapter will give a small fix to hooked readers who will have to wait until October 2nd for the Mark of Athena book to come out. That will be one book I'll be waiting for so I can experience more of Riordan's surprises, interesting takes on the Greek and Roman gods and his funny sense of humor. The cover and chapter can be found at: HeroesofOlympus.com. Happy Reading all!

Provence A to Z

One author I've very much enjoyed is Peter Mayle. I remember reading his first big hit book wise, A Year in Provence and, I've been a fan of his ever since. The latest book of his that I've been enjoying for months is called Provence A to Z. Unlike other books Mayle has put out, this book isn't a novel. It's a collection of a number of short stories Mayle has written on Provence about all sorts of topics ranging from the Chateau D'If and how it came about to olive oil and Provencal language. The stories are at times funny and sometimes informative. I learned from his short story on olive oil how they determine if it's extra virgin grade, fine virgin grade or just virgin olive oil. The stories continue to highlight some of the characters in Provence such as the security expert Jacky who told Mayle of some of the enterprising thieves in Provence. Provence has a number of summer homes which for most of the year are vacant which makes them very easy prey for thieves. Mayle tells how enterprising thieves have stolen entire kitchens, iron gates and even olive trees! On the humorous side, Mayle tells of a man who is caught poaching another man's truffles. The poacher had his wife along and agrees to leave her as hostage until he returns with money to pay the man who's truffles he'd been poaching. In a twist, the poacher never returns to claim his (we suspect) very pissed off wife.

Overall, the book is a delight to read. Mayle clearly loves Provence and, it shows in his wonderful stories. The book also has some nice illustrations that nicely complement the various stories. I would heartily recommend this book to any who like France and in particular Provence. It's a delightful read. Happy reading all!

Latest Riordan Book Out

Rick Riordan's latest book came out May 3rd in hardbound. It's the second book in the Kane Chronicles. It's called Throne of Fire and tells of the adventures of the Kane kids as they try to find the Egyptian sun god Ra. I haven't read the book yet so I can't tell if you if I think it's any good. Still, I can't imagine it being a poor read. I confess that the book is more a tide me over till Son of Neptune comes out in October. That's the one I'm really interested in. I'm very curious to find out what has happened to Percy Jackson from the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series. I'll post another entry on what I think of the latest Kane book once I've read it. Good reading all.

The Red Pyramid

In a departure from Rick Riordan's Olympian books, Riordan created a storyline incorporating the ancient Egyptian gods. The new series is called The Kane Chronicles. Like Riordan's Olympian books, the series is aimed at teenagers though readers of other ages may enjoy the books. The book's hero and heroine are Carter and Sadie Kane. Though they don't know it, they are descendents of the Egyptian pharoahs. This gives this a special connection to the Egyptian gods and when the gods are freed by their father in the British Museum in London, England, they become hosts for the god Horus and goddess Isis respectively. This will lead to a number of dangers and ultimately a battle with the evil god Set who intends to kill their father and which they try to prevent.

During their perils and battles, they will meet various Egyptian gods and goddesses including Anubis, Bast and Thoth. They will learn they are two of the most powerful children descended form the pharoahs in centuries. Later, they will also discover that the chaos serpent Apophos is rising again and the fate of the world will be decided by them in their battle with Set.

Like the Olympian books, Riordan causes our hero and heroine to have a mere 5 days to defeat the evil doer and save the world. Also, like the Olympian books, Riordan throws in a number of surprises and some romance. Because of the limited time they have, the two Kane children have to move quickly and the action comes fast and furious. At then end, all things end well and yet, there can be little doubt there are future trials and battles ahead. As Riordan has a release date of fall 2011 for his Son of Neptune book in the Heroes of Olympus series, any fans of the Kane series will have to wait a while for the next Kane Chronicles book.

Overall, I thought the story was nice though I thought the Egyptian gods were a bit lame at times in the story. At one point in the book, our heroes are being chased by a killer monster and, it's Horus's birthday. The god apparently wants Carter to stop fighting the killer monster and wish him happy birthday. Then, the god asks Carter if he bought him a present. Surely, a god could show more sense.

As far as I know, The Red Pyramid is only available in hardbound and the list price $17.99. Various discount bookstores may sell it for less. Those who like the Percy Jackson series will probably like the Kane Chronicles series. As for me, I look forward to Riordan's Son of Neptune book.

The Lost Hero

To my delight, Rick Riordan recently came out with the first book in a new series called The Heroes of Olympus. The book is called The Lost Hero. It picks up from the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series. As readers of the last series will know, the Jackson series ended with a new great prophecy that foretold of 7 demigods who would fight at death's door. In the new series, we will discover who those 7 demigods are and what part they will play in a battle that could decide the fate of the entire world.

From the Jackson series, I assumed that Riordan would introduce us to some new demigods from the lesser gods that were introduced in the series. I was wrong. Riordan introduces a new twist with a second group of demigods who are the children of the Roman version of the Greek gods i.e. Jupiter instead of Zeus, Neptune instead of Posidon and so on. In the series, we find out that a great battle broke out between the 2 groups of demigods that caused so much loss of life among them that the Gods separated the 2 groups and hid them from each other. Now, with the threat from the earth goddess Gaea and her giant minions, these 2 groups will some how have to reconcile their differences and join together so they can help the gods defeat the giants and save the world. The gods apparently can't do it on their own for unknown reasons.

The story has plenty of twists and turns as well as humor. It does showcase 2 gods that didn't take as big a part in the Jackson series i.e. Haephaestus - the god of smiths and all kinds of devices and Aphrodite - the goddess of love. Two of their demigods along with a previously unknown son of Jupiter i.e. Zeus must race against the clock to save the Queen Goddess Hera, a goddess they don't trust who is scheming behind her husband Zeus's back in a plan she hopes will save the world and the Olympian/Roman gods.

In regards to the previous hero Percy, all we learn in the first book is he went missing at the same time Jupiter's son Jason suddenly appeared. We learn that Hera did a swap and wiped Percy's memories like she did Jason's. At the end of the book, Jason suspects Percy is in huge trouble as he suspects the Roman demigods will be a lot less kind to him than the Greek demigods were to Jason. We are left hanging wondering what has happened to Percy. Frustratingly, we won't be abel to find out till fall of next year when the second book in the series - The Son of Neptune will be released.

As "The Lost Hero" has just been released, I believe it's only available in hardbound. The list price for the hardbound edition is $18.99 in the U.S. and, it states the price will be higher in Canada.

Overall, the book is another fun and fast moving book that is easy to read and enjoy. Teenagers in particular should enjoy the book as all the heroes and heroines are teenagers who show typical teenage problems as well as having to deal with some very un-teenage problems i.e. god/goddess parents, unknown powers and lots of nasty monsters that want to kill them. Older readers should enjoy the new book as well as it has plenty of action and humor. I very much enjoyed this book as I did the Percy Jackson series and, I look forward to Riordan's next book in the series. If you liked his Percy Jackson and the Olympian series, you'll enjoy this book too.

Book Review

The second book of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series is called "The Sea of Monsters." Percy's satyr friend Grover is trapped by the evil cyclops Polyphemus and will become a meal for the cyclops unless Percy and his friend Annabeth rescue him. To complicate things, the magical defenses around Camp Half-Blood are failing and, it's thought finding the Golden Fleece might restore them. That requires a quest which Percy is willing to go on but, he doesn't get chosen to go. Percy has to decide whether to disobey the camp director Dionysis (the god of wine and madness) and try to find the fleece anyway and possibly get barred from ever returning to camp. If that wasn't enough for our stalwart hero, the traitorous half-blood Tim continues to aid the Titan King Kronos is his big to return and overthrow the olympian gods. All these different story lines mean lots of action while Percy continues to discover new powers he didn't know he had. It's a fun romp with some humor thrown in. Percy runs into Blackbeard the pirate who it turns out was a son of Ares. Percy and Blackbeard escape the sorceress Circe and Blackbeard with some of his crew ends up trashing Circe's spa like home.

Overall, the book was another fun read. The story moved along easily and threw in plenty of surprises to keep me from getting bored with it. Like the first book, it wasn't overly long. The second book comes in at 279 pages. The book's author Rick Riordan does a clever job of ending the book with another cliffhanger which made me want to get the 3rd book "The Titan's Curse" to find out what happens next. I'll review that book in another book review. Like the first book, barring the very young who wouldn't know anything about the Greek gods, most ages should enjoy the second book. It does a fine job of continuing the various storylines and helping us learn more about our heroes in the story. I would definitely recommend this book for those who liked the first one or are into Greek mythology. It is a very good read. Cheers all!

Book Review

I'd seen advertisements for the movie Percy Jackson and The Olympians. While looking around at various books at the Laurel, Maryland Books-a-Million bookstore, I found the paperback edition of the movie. I read the brief synopsis books provide on the inside cover and, the book sounded good. I decided to buy it. I was glad I did. I found the book interesting in that it takes a different tack with the Greek gods (Zeus, Posidon, Hades, Ares, etc.). As Western Civilization moved west and the premier Western country became the United States, the story has it where the Greek gods moved west with civilization. Mount Olympus is located directly above New York City and Hades is located directly below Los Angeles (maybe the author doesn't like L.A.). The book's author Rick Riordan has other twists. The Greek gods are shown in very different and amusing forms vice the traditional way we would think of them. Ares is shown as a super muscular biker badass riding a Harley Davidson motorcycle. Zeus is shown in a very well tailored business suit and Posidon as a tan tie die t-shirt and sandals fisherman. The main character of the book Percy (short for Perseus) Jackson is a kid who is dyslexic, never knew his father (Posidon) and has constant bad luck which takes a major turn for the worse when the all sorts of Greek myths start to come life to his total surprise. This ultimately leads to him being chased by the Minotaur before successfully reaching Camp Half-Blood where Percy discovers he is a demi-god. Further along in the story, he finds out his father is Posidon. This brings up all kinds of issues for him as he struggles to deal with the knowledge and the wondering why Posidon never had anything to do with him. Also, Percy finds out this neglect is extremely common among other demi-god children.

I found some of the scenes in the book touching, others amusing (Riordan does thrown in humor at various points of the story) and the story has good action. The book moves along at a good pace so the reader shouldn't become bored with it. The paperback edition came in at 375 pages which isn't overly long. The first book is called "The Lightning Thief." It is part of a 5 book series, all of which have been published though the fifth book (The Last Olympian) is currently only available in hard bound. Standard price for the paperback editions is $7.99.

Overall, I found the first book a very nice read. So much so, I bought the second book "The Sea of Monsters" which I'll review another time. The books are aimed towards teenagers but, I think most ages would enjoy them (the very young wouldn't know enough about Greek mythology to understand all the references and characters in the book). If you want a light-hearted good fantasy read, "The Lightning Thief" may be for you. Cheers all!

Book Review

I confess that I'm an Anglophile. I am very much fascinated with things concerning England. One of the subjects that fascinates me most is the Royal Family. They get to live a life that I can only glimpse at in wonder. One of the neatest things I've done is take a tour of Buckingham Palace. The place absolutely dazzles. That someone would get to live in a place like that all the time boggles. So, when I heard about the book A Year With The Queen, I had to buy it and read it. The book tells you what Queen Elizabeth II does in a year, how she does it and the people who support her as monarch of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It also shows the part her family and cousins (Duke of Kent, Duke of Gloucester) play in helping her do her job. It's impossible for the Queen to attend all the engagements that require her presence so she has to send various members of her family as well as her cousins to represent her. The book explains how much it costs the British taxpayer for the Royal Family and what the money is spent on. It explains the relationship between the Queen and her Prime Minister and her relationship with the Commonwealth (former British colonies). In pictures, it shows the Queen and her consort the Duke of Edinburgh doing their various duties.

The list price for the book is $30 though you should be able to get it for less than that. All the major bookstores in the U.S. should have the book. The book is a companion to a tv series that will air on ABC (I believe) though I don't know when.

Overall, if you're an Anglophile, this is a delightful book about the Royal Family. You'll learn more of how things work at Buckingham Palace and what Queen Elizabeth and Duke of Edinburgh are like. You'll even find out how you can get an invitation to one of the Queen's tea parties. If you're fascinated about England or just curious about the British Royal Family, this is a book you ought to read.

Book Review - The Last Battle

With great sadness, I read the last book of the Chronicles of Narnia. I've enjoyed the series enormously. The Last Battle which is the final book in the series was another outstanding book. It tells of the last King of Narnia Tirian and how he and Narnia are betrayed by an evil scheming talking ape called Shift. Shift gets a donkey friend of his called Puzzle to don a lion skin and impersonate Aslan, the great lion. Shift uses the Puzzle as the fake Aslan to gain the support of numerous talking beasts. He also uses the fake Aslan to gain power in Narnia which he subsequently betrays to the Calormen, a Persian like empire that borders Archenland and Narnia. Tirian discovers Shifts treachery but is unable to save Narnia. He and a few supporters fight the Calormen and animals supporting Shift in one last battle. At the same time, Shift and the Calormen called upon Tash and to their surprise Tash answers! Tash is the God the Calormen worship and is in fact a demon with the head of bird, four arms ending in claws, and a very deadly presence. If that isn't enough, Aslan also appears and saves Tirian as well as Eustace Scrubb and Jill Pole who are sent to Tirian's aid. Ultimately, Tirian loses the last battle but, Aslan causes the world of Narnia to be destroyed. In an allegory to Christian doctrine, every animal and being has to go before Aslan. If the animal or being loved Aslan, he or she goes to the "real" Narnia (the one all the kids have adventures in is a shadow of the "real" Narnia). If they don't love Aslan, they are sent to the land of Tash the Demon where they undoubtedly suffer terribly. Christian doctrine says that at the last judgement, every person, both believer and unbeliever will come before Jesus Christ and be judged. If they accepted Jesus Christ as their saviour, they will join Jesus Christ in heaven forever. If they rejected him, they are cast into the lake of fire with the evil one and his fallen angels. You can see the similarity. Like those who go to heaven, all those who go to Aslan's land know perfect contentment and can never sin again. In the "real" Narnia, life will be many times better than it ever was in the "shadow" Narnia. This is like how it supposedly will be in heaven.

In a touching ending, all the kids who played such key parts in Narnia come back except for Susan Pevensie who it seems can't be bothered with childish Narnia. She has more important things like lipstick, pantyhose, and staying forever 25. The other kids know what is important and do what they can for Narnia. Because of this, they get to return to the "real" Narnia forever where they will be with their Narnian friends. It's a beautiful ending to a wonderful series.

Overall, the book is excellent as is the whole Narnia series. My only complaint is I wish C. S. Lewis had written more of them. I've truly enjoyed the books. I would heartily recommend them to anyone. I would give one bit of advice. I would recommend you buy the books in a set as you could save some serious money. I bought the entire series at Sam's Club for $28. Separately, the books would've cost $7 each or $49 total not including tax. My set came with a box too which makes it easier to keep them all together. While the books are meant for kids, I think adults can enjoy them too. They are wonderful fantasy with great messages about faith, courage, love, redemption, and friendship. I can't wait for Disney to do the movies based on the books. As long as Disney stays true to the books, the movies should be a great success. Just a reminder, it will be in April that the first Narnia movie will be released on DVD. Please check my earlier blog on this for the exact date. Cheers!

Book Review - The Silver Chair

I finished the sixth book of the Chronicles of Narnia called The Silver Chair. I found it outstanding like the rest of the books in the chronicles. The story introduces us to Eustace Scrubb who in his desire to escape his terrible school returns to Narnia for a new adventure. His classmate Jill Pole comes along and is introduced to Narnia and becomes one of the key heroes in the story. The two find out that King Caspian's son Prince Rilian has been missing a number of years. Aslan gives them four signs to watch out for and assigns them the task of finding the missing prince. Along the way, the two will meet a marsh-wiggle named Puddleglum who will join them on their quest. They'll discover bad giants eat humans and narrowly escape the giants whose clutches they unwittingly walked into. The meet a people called Gnomes who are under the spell of a witch. And finally, they meet Prince Rilian though they don't know it initially. At first, they think the knight who is in fact Prince Rilian is a total prick but, it turns out the prince is worthy of his great father King Caspian (the same Caspian we meet in Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader). It is here that they are confronted with the fourth sign that Aslan told them to watch for. The three adventurers messed up on the previous three signs. They are determined no matter what, they won't mess up on the fourth. Unknowingly, they help free the prince of the witch's spell and end up doing battle with her. Ultimately they triumph and foil the witch's plans to takeover Narnia. Sadly, Prince Rilian returns in time to say a few last words to his dying father. Eustace and Jill depart with Aslan to Aslan's mountains where they see the dead King Caspian. It is there that we get to see references to Jesus Christ. Aslan tells Eustace to pick a thorn from a bush nearby. Those who remember Christ, remember he was crowned with a crown of thorns. Aslan has Eustace pierce one of his paws with the thorn and then allows a single drop of his blood to touch the dead King Caspian. Caspian comes back to life and is made young again. This is another reference to Christ as it is through his blood that we can be given eternal life like Caspian if we believe in Christ. Caspian will now remain forever young in Aslan's land. Eustace and Jill expect to stay there too but Aslan says now is not the time. Caspian asks Aslan if he may visit Eustace and Jill's world and Aslan permits him too for 5 earth minutes. Here, there is another reference to Christianity for Aslan tells Caspian he can't think anything evil anymore. Christian doctrine teaches that once we who believe in Christ die, we are freed forever from our sin nature and will sin no more. The entire group summarily returns to Eustace and Jill's school where Aslan and Caspian help them defeat the school bullies. Aslan and Caspian return to Aslan's realm but the adventures of Eustace and Jill in Narnia aren't over. They'll be called back one last time in the last book in the chronicles called The Last Battle.

Overall, the book is excellent with plenty of ups and downs. I think this book will make a great movie too and I hope the Disney folks will turn it into one. My only regret with the book is there is only one more book in the Chronicles series. I wish C. S. Lewis had written more of them. Stay tuned for my book review on The Last Battle.

Book Review - The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

I finished the fifth book of the Chronicles of Narnia series today. The fifth book is called The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The book brings back Edmund and Lucy and a new character Eustace Scrubb. Eustace is a cousin of Edmund's and Lucy's whom they happen to be visiting. At the beginning of the story, Eustace is a total prick but through various adventures and misadventures Eustace will change like Edmund did and become a decent kid. The story also brings back Caspian who is now King and is off on an expedition to find seven lords who were "encouraged" to leave Narnia by Caspian's usurping Uncle Miraz. The voyage has a number of adventures before reaching the edge of the world. Narnia unlike our world is flat and eventually they nearly reach the land where Aslan and his father the Emperor live. Here Lucy, Edmund, Eustace, and the mouse knight Reepicheep will leave the ship and successfully reach the land where Aslan lives. Here, we will again see clear references to Christianity. Aslan appears to the Lucy, Edmund, and Eustace as a lamb. Aslan tells them that on their world (earth) he is known by another name. He also tells Lucy and Edmund that from now on, they will have to get to know him by that name and that they won't be allowed to return to Narnia any more. It seems they have gotten too old. The book also shows another reference to Christianity when Aslan provides lots of fish for the children to eat. One interesting point Aslan brings up is that Aslan and the land he lives in can be reached from all worlds. It is interesting to ponder that there might be other worlds and races that also know Jesus Christ. One final note, Aslan also reveals to the children that the reason he allowed Lucy and Edmund to return to Narnia was so they would get to know him better. This same reason may be why C.S. Lewis wrote the books in the first place. The books have been a wonderful way to teach various Christian themes and doctrines.

Overall, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is another outstanding book in the series. It sends a number of good messages about greed, fear, friendship, and redemption to kids. Adults however can also enjoy the book. After finishing this book, I couldn't wait to read the next one The Silver Chair. Stay tuned for the future review on that book. Cheers!

Book Review - The Big Sea

The latest book I had to read for the college class I'm taking is Langston Hughes' The Big Sea. The book is an autobiography that tells of Hughes life up to 1930 or so. It is interesting autobiography because it is more than a tale of Hughes' life, it is a window into Harlem's heyday and of Paris in the 1920's when it was the city to live in for writers and other artists. Hughes own life is sad as at an early age, his parents divorced. His mother who at one time left him with his grandmother and then a beloved Uncle and Aunt would move around a lot in search of a better job or a better place to live. It was a hard life for a young kid. It was made worse because Hughes was black. The racism prevalent during that time was terrible. Many jobs were closed to Americans of African descent. The attitudes of some of the southerners Hughes talks about are shockingly sad. At one point in Hughes' life, he teaches english in Mexico. His replacement is a lady from Arkansas who can't get to grips with the fact that her predecessor who is a black man was capable of teaching classes in English  Amazingly too with all the terrible racism, Hughes keeps a positive outlook and shows no sign of bitterness in the book even when he is beaten by a gang of white kids because he went into a neighborhood they felt he didn't belong in. It's an incredible story.

Overall, I found the autobiography excellent. Hughes lived an incredible life. He was a man who was determined that African-Americans should receive the same rights as white Americans. The story tells of how he worked for that end. The college that Hughes went to was a school whose goal was to teach future African-American leaders. Yet, when Hughes went to the college, the school didn't have a single African-American professor, trustee, or member of the board. Hughes did a study that showed how the school was failing instill confidence in the students by its whites only policy. Within 10 years of Hughes study, the college would have African-American professors and trustees. Hughes attitude in the face of incredible racism is also inspiring. He never let the racists get him down. And, as he says at the end of the autobiography, he continued to keep plugging away at his writing and for his fellow African-Americans whom he loved. I would heartily recommend this book to anyone.

Book Review - Prince Caspian

I'd heard from a fellow blogger that Disney wants to make the book Prince Caspian the next Chronicles of Narnia movie. One reason supposedly why is because that way they could use the same kids from the first movie. It's a smart move in that way though I think it's a smart move in that book should crossover to the screen really well and follow The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe really well. The reason for this is because the kids return to Narnia a year later Earth time. In Narnia, it is clear that their time is very different from Earth time. The kids while waiting for the trains that will take them to school suddenly disappear and find themselves on unknown beach. They have no idea how they got there or why. They further discover that they're on an island. Then, they discover the remains of Cair Paravel. Cair Paravel was where they were crowned as the Kings and Queens of Narnia and where they lived for a number of years before they returned to Earth. It becomes clear that they've been gone a long time. They discover that years before, Narnia was invaded and conquered. The boy (Prince Caspian) who should be King has his throne usurped by his Uncle Miraz. Prince Caspian discovers the old Narnians i.e. the talking animals, dwarves, and centaurs and wants to help them. It is the prince that blows Susan's magical horn that causes the four Pevensey kids to be brought back to Narnia where they end helping put Prince Caspian on the throne of Narnia.

The story moves well and isn't too long. My only complaint with the book is it is the last of the Narnia books that has all four Pevensey kids in the Chronicles. Three of the kids do come back in the last of the books but still, it saddens me that this is the last book all of them will be in. I wish C.S. Lewis had written more Narnia stories with them in them. I think the book will crossover to the silver screen well and I suspect that is another reason why Disney chose it. It follows the first Narnia movie well, has lots of good action, and some nice plot twists. Overall, the book is excellent and I'd recommend it to readers of all ages. I hope the rumors that Disney will make this the next Narnia movie are true. If so, it should be an excellent movie.