Monday, July 30, 2007

July '07

STARWARS: THE APPROACHING STORM
-A.D. Foster-scifi
-344- taking place before Attack of the Clones, it is the story of 2 Jedi and 2 Padawans forging an alliance on a world so that it doesn't secede from the Republic and draw many others with it. Obi-wan, Anakain, and Luminara Unduli and Barris Offee. This story was plodding, to put it nicely. It bordered on the "I'm not gonna finish this" line. Would never buy it, for sure.

STARWARS: MEDSTAR I: BATTLE SURGEONS
-M. Reaves & S. Perry-scifi
-309-Barris Offee is the only "Jedi" in this book. Much more medically oriented. Also ties the droid from Darth Maul: Shadowhunter in. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Not action oriented, or super Jedi oriented. Very character driven and I could see why many people wouldn't like it. I have to say, I was surprised to like it, given that I have NOT liked Reaves & Perry's previous stuff. Always nice to be surprised.

BLEACH #18
-T. Kubo-manga
-203. Ichigo rescue Rukia, but now its all about escaping.

NARUTO #1
-M. Kishimoto-manga
-187- a boy, who is training to become a ninja, finds out that his body is the holding vessel of a demon known as the 7 Tailed Fox.

DRAGON AND SOLDIER
-T. Zahn- teen scifi
-293-Jack and Draycos continue their search for the ships that destroyed Draycos' scouts. Introduces a female character who is setup so that she will obviously be in later books, investigating Jack and Draycos. I enjoyed this very much.

STARWARS: MEDSTAR II: JEDI HEALER
-M. Reaves & S. Perry-scifi
-302-the Bota is mutating itself out of usefulness. The spy is revealed and everybody leaves. I really enjoyed this series. I'd buy it if I could find it through SFBC [they no longer carry it]. Very character driven and very few instances of flashy force stuff. It ended well too.

ALVIN MAKER: SEVENTH SON
-O.S. Card-fantasy
-241-an alternate history of the USA. Frontiers time, about a boy who is the 7th son of a 7th son. He can do things, and it becomes apparent that he is to walk a greater path than most. This book ends when he is 10. There are several more in this series, I look forward to reading them.

FRUITS BASKET #14
-N. Takaya-manga
-196

NARUTO #2
-M. Kishimoto-manga
-206-I have up to volume 5 reserved at the library. I shall not be reading any more. Naruto is a spoiled brat and I feel no sympathy for him at all.

OMBRIA IN SHADOW
-P. McKillip-fantasy
-298-I still don't understand the ending at all. I understood the beginning, the middle and very close to the end. But the end? Everything got switched and I couldn't follow.

THE WHITE WITCH
-E. Goudge-historical fiction
-439- This book, the last Goudge book I plan on reading, typifies what I dislike about her. A banal, feel good, all good things are God mix. Her obvious dislike of an ordered Christian life comes through very strongly in this book. There is no such thing as "white" magic and Goudge refuses to acknowledge that. In her world there is God, "good spirits" and "bad spirits", 3 sources, not just 2. Her sentimental blather about children, nature, love, and life itself really got on my nerves. I couldn't recommend this to anyone.

THE LIGHT FANTASTIC
-T. Pratchett-fantasy
-217- Rincewind, a young wizard, has 1 of the Great 8 spells in his head. His comical adventures about why he has it and how he saves Discworld. I laughed out loud at least 5 times reading this. Pratchett is just funny...

NARUTO #3
-M. Kishimoto-manga
-205-

THE FORGOTTEN BEASTS OF ELD
-P. Mckillip-fantasy
-217- a young sorceress is given a child to raise. He goes back to his father when a teen and the sorceress is caught up between her love for the boy, her love for a prince and her fear of the boy's father. Not so poetic as some of her others, but it made for an easier to understand story.

ALVIN MAKER: RED PROPHET
-O.S. Card-fantasy
-311-This takes the viewpoint of the Indian who becomes The Prophet mentioned in 7th Son. A bit too much of "redman is just SO in touch with the land and practically perfect and the whiteman is nothing but evil". Other than that, it was a good story.

ALVIN MAKER: PRENTICE ALVIN
-O.S. Card-fantasy
-342-Alvin's apprenticeship as a blacksmith, but it is also his apprenticeship as a Maker. Very good story, but a little to graphic right at the beginning.

CLAYMORE #1-2
-N. Yagi-manga

DRAGON AND SLAVE
-T. Zahn- teen scifi
-320-Jack and Drayco infiltrate a slave camp to gain access to computers with the info they need. They get the info, but not from the computers. This is a good series and it gets better with each book.

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS
-J.K. Rowling-fantasy
-759-My general thoughts. I enjoyed the book overall. However, the ending in no way diminishes Harry's pisspoor attitude ever since book 5. I have no problems with Harry Potter on a theological level, but I sure wouldn't let my kids read this series until they are well into their teens. His attitude was horrible and I wouldn't want that passed on.

In no way can Harry Potter be considered a Hero. The Protagonist, yes, Hero, no. Any and all sacrifices were because Harry was selfish and refused to believe in his friends, to trust them, to trust that what he learned about them was true. Instead of trusting what he knew about them from personal experience, he chose instead to believe half truths and lies from sources that he KNEW would twist things to their own ends.

Harry Potter is the worst kind of friend to have. He will believe the guttersnipe that tells him his friend would stab him in the back. All the while the friend has shown himself true OVER and OVER again. But does this mean anything to Harry? No. His inherent selfishness forces others to prove themselves, to Harry's satisfaction, to him over and over again.
Friend: "But Harry, I've saved your life 38.89 million times!"
Harry: "Doesn't matter. You never told me you liked red socks. You must hate me and want to really kill me cause a REAL friend would have told me that fact when we first met!"

Ridiculous, yes. But that is how things have been since The Order of the Phoenix.

The only redeeming part of this book is the end. I enjoyed it and I thought it ended the storyline satisfactorily. AND, more importantly, there is no real room for sequels, thank goodness!

THE CANDIDATE FOR GODDESS #1-5
-Y. Sugisaki-manga

THE NIGHT GIFT
-P. McKillip-teen fiction
-156- 3 highschool freshman girls spend the summer making a "happy" place in an abandoned house for the older brother of one of them who has depression issues. During this time they learn about love, heartbreak and their families.

THE HOUSE ON PARCHMENT STREET
-P. McKillip-teen fiction
-190- a young girl moves to England for a month to visit relatives. During that time, she and her cousin Bruce uncover and solve a 300 yearold mystery of a young girl's ghost. This novel, like the one above, was very much about self-discovery and finding out about other people. Enjoyable simply because they are completely different from her fantasy writings.