World War Z

I listened to this on my ipod and am grateful I did. If I had read it in book form I would not have finished it.
Much like the title says it is a oral history of the zombie war.
I had a few problems with it.
1. It is a documentary style of report that talks about a war after it was won. All suspense is removed. Story after story started to sound alike.
2. The interview style of the book seemed very flat and made it uninteresting. On the ipod it reminded me of listening to something on NPR.
A world wide Zombie infestation is a cute idea. How some in the book survived also was good but it grew old.
It seemed to referred to events that were unknown to the reader and were never covered later in the book. This drew me out of the story...well what story there is.
As I said if I had started it in print I would have set it down, but the actors on the CD were great.
I know it is now being made into a movie starring Brad Pitt as the interviewer and it will be interesting to see if they stick with the interview idea or have the film do flashbacks as the survivors recall their journeys.
If you love zombies and often think of how you will survive when they rise this is for you.

El Borak

I have read alot of this authors fantasy novels and some of his other novels. His heroes always pop  off the page and the term "a mans man" comes to mind. (Whatever that means)
His heroes are straight forward warriors, full steam ahead and damn the  consequences.
While El Borak is not fantasy it is great reading. Set in the middle east in the early 1930-40's I would guess, it follows several Americans that have gone there and found themselves. Indiana Jones before the movie type of hero
I still enjoy Krull the best then Conan but El Borak is moving steadily up the ladder.
The writing is almost poetic. Howard paints pictures with words so effortlessly that i am in awe.
I keep finding myself wishing that today's authors would do the same, but in this Video soaked environment it may not work.
Great read...

First King of Shannara

I have wanted to read this book for years. Listed as #0 in the Shannara universe it covers the time before Sword.
I found it very enjoyable to see where things and people came from. Mr. Brooks has a good grasp of all his story lines.
I have now read everything he has written, many several times and I found this one to be in the top 10%.
The action is detailed and while it follows the authors usual formula I still enjoy it.
I would say if you want to start this series to start with sword and come back to this after a few.

Mockingjay

I have enjoyed this set of books. At first I avoid them since everyone loved them so...but I have to admit they were as good as people said.

I enjoyed this end installment. It stayed true to the characters and did not go how I thought it would. While I had been able to guess some of the plot twists I did find my self saying "Oh no she did not just do that!"
That makes this read well worth while

Remember the Promise

This is a $1 find I got from DI. It is a portion of the talks given that EFY conference for 2001.

While it is not all the speakers it has a nice variety.

Not a real thought provoker but still an OK read.

I really enjoyed some of my favorite speakers portions.

The Measure of Magic

Every August I get to read the latest Terry Brooks novel.

This is the 2nd book in a two part set.

It picks up seconds after the first one ended and moves quickly forward.

The characters are likable and the magic that is Shannara is added too.
My only complaint is that it seemed to end quickly and easily. May be too easily.

If you are new to the Shannara world this comes before Sword but should be read after you read the main 3. (IMHO)

Brooks has been accused of writing formula books but hey...when it works it works.

Assassin's Apprentice

I again really wanted to like this book. The plot sounded like a new look at fantasy. A bastard son of a Prince is turned over to be trained as a Royal assassin.

I found this hard to get into. Overall it sounded like a Prequel to more books that are coming. I guess there are more books and I may go to them some time in the future but have found myself not wanting to rush out and start the 2nd book.

I think what I found most bothersome with this book was that it was told from the 1st persons point of view remembering his life.

The problem with this style of writing is that you already know that they get out of any trouble they are in.

I also found the day to day recap of his life growing up very slow.

I wanted death and how he learns to deal it out, not taking care of horses or being hungry and tired from his chores.

I do see how some people can fall in love with this book and the world it has created.

In fact the world of the book is wonderful and the best part of the book I think.