Finished Eragon [12/18/2008]

I think I've already mentioned my propensity for books with intelligent dragons but, I'll reiterate it again. I found Eragon to be a quick, easy, and enjoyable read. I was expecting to be bored throughout most of the story, because I saw the movie prior to reading it. However, it wasn't as predictable as I thought it would be. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

Finished Plague War [12/03/2008]

This sequel to Plague Year was not a disappointment. The action was even better than the first book. I was a little annoyed by the Cam/Ruth relationship. I liked hearing Hernandez's perspective. It would have been nice to have his narration and more about his role in the action towards the end of the book.

Finished The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle [11/17/2008]

I am now thoroughly impressed with Murakami. This book had all of the suspense and mystery of Kafka on the Shore but without the foreshadowing. This world where the bizarre is commonplace is scary but also compelling.

The contrast between Toru's unwaivering determination to bring Kumiko back to him, and his complete fatalism with regard to everything else that happens to him is strange.

Ultimately, I think this is a tale of a shamanic journey by a novice without the help of a guide. It's a frightening concept and I'm still surprised Toru made it out alive. I think maybe I'll write a longer paper about this at some point because it's pretty interesting to me.

I am excited to read the rest of Murakami's works but, I think I need a break until the next one because they are so consuming and difficult to read in the same way as Castaneda.

Finished Jhegaala [11/05/2008]

I've finally finished all of the Vlad series. This last one was a bit disappointing, it just wasn't as fun as some of the other books. It seems like Vlad usually heals pretty quick, I don't understand why it would take him 2 whole years to recover from this ordeal (even without the help of sorcery). I think he must have been doing some other things during that time in Fenario. I wonder what?

70's Fantasy Illustration by Boris [11/05/2008]

I found a copy of "The Boy Who Saved the Stars". It has some awesome illustrations by Boris Vallejo. Here's a sampling:

pumpkins [11/02/2008]

Finished Dragon [11/01/2008]

Wow, I had no idea how much Aliera owes Vlad. He's done so much for her, it's really pretty crazy. The descriptions of the war made me feel like Vlad was there for weeks or maybe even months. Finding out it was only a couple of days was sort of surreal. It was nice to finally know how Aliera ended up with Pathfinder. But, I have to admit the whole thing was a little disappointing. There were no twists or mysteries revealed, it was so straight forward.

Finished Issola [10/24/2008]

Almost the whole book took place in the realm of the Jenoine and yet I learned very little about them. It was kind of disappointing. Also I'm not sure I buy the whole lab-rat theory. I did however enjoy the dialogue between Vlad and Lady Teldra. I was also happy to finally hear how Vlad ended up with his great weapon. I'm not sure why Morrolan should have any reason to blame Vlad. After reading this book I really want to learn more about the Serioli.

Finished Orca [10/22/2008]

I really enjoyed reading from Kiera's perspective. She is definitely one of my favorite Brust characters. Why do like the assassin and thief so much more than anyone with a reasonable job? I think this finally explains why I dislike Sethra - she's like the antithesis of Kiera. I wonder though how she can deal with being separated from Iceflame? I am also still wondering what the background is between Sethra and Vlad in his past-life? I'm surprised how much I've enjoyed these books about Vlad that are written from other points of view.

Finished Athyra [10/19/2008]

I really enjoyed reading a Vlad novel narrated by someone else. Throughout the climax, I kept wondering when Savn would remember to try to make psionic contact. It's strange to me that this book was not called Teckla, as it seemed to show more about their life then that of the Athyra. I liked the balance between emotion and logic in Savn's character. It was also very interesting to see things from Rocza's perspective. Although I would have expected her to have a closer relationship to Vlad. I also enjoyed the rural outdoors setting as a nice change from Adrilankha.