Brilliant Books Blog

[Miki]

They say that good writers are often good readers to begin with. To me, this is entirely true. By reading, we're studying the art of writing. We see different writing styles, techniques and so much more. And even if we don't feel like reading enhances our writing skills, it's still a fun activity. For those of you still thinking 'Uhh...' I have some good news. I'm starting a blog of good book reviews. So if you've read a good book, recently or otherwise - BRING IT! Write your own review, paste other reviews you've found online, etc! Just remember to include the obvious: the title, the author, and a plot summary. Hopefully with this thread we can recommend books to each other and have some good reads!

"Once you learn to read, you will be forever free."
~Frederick Douglass

[Miki]

The Book Thief

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Markus Zusak

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Summary from the Inside Cover:
"It's just a small story really, about, among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . ."

Narrated by Death, Markus Zusak's groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a young foster girl living outside of Munich in Nazi Germany. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she discovers something she can't resist - books. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever they are to be found.

With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, Liesel learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids, as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.

Markus Zusak, award-winning author of I Am the Messenger, has crafted an unforgettable novel about the ability of books to feed the soul.

A Collage of Reviews From GoodReads.com:
• "I give this 5 stars, BUT there is a disclaimer: If you want a fast read, this book is not for you. If you only like happy endings this book is not for you. If you don't like experimental fiction, this book is not for you.

If you love to read and if you love to care about the characters you read about and if you love to eat words like they're ice cream and if you love to have your heart broken and mended on the same page, this book is for you."

• "Whenever I read a book, I cannot help but read it in two ways: the story itself, and how it's written. They're not quite inseparable, but they definitely support each other. With The Book Thief, Markus Zusak has shown he's a writer of genius, an artist of words, a poet, a literary marvel. His writing is lyrical, haunting, poetic, profound. Death is rendered vividly, a lonely, haunted being who is drawn to children, who has had a lot of time to contemplate human nature and wonder at it. Liesel is very real, a child living a child's life of... (*removed because of spoilers*)

Many things save this book from being all-out depressing. It's never morbid, for a start. A lively humour dances through the pages, and the richness of the descriptions as well as the richness of the characters' hearts cannot fail to lift you up. Also, it's great to read such a balanced story, where ordinary Germans - even those who are blond and blue-eyed - are as much at risk of losing their lives, of being persecuted, as the Jews themselves."

• "And that’s a big part of what The Book Thief does for me: it captures and again reminds me of these viabilities as they play out near Dachau in the heart of World War II’s Nazi Germany in the lives of Liesel and her contemporaries, alive and dead. Death tells Liesel’s tragic yet wonderful, story in order to keep memory alive. In the words of Elie Wiesel^, “Because if we forget, we are guilty, we are accomplices.” And surely this is Liesel’s story, not Death’s just as Gatsby's isn’t Nick’s. To remind us to stand up wherever tyranny and power put people down."

^A famous Holocaust survivor

Favorite Quotes (Without Spoiling Plot):
• "Imagine smiling after a slap in the face. Then think of doing it twenty-four hours a day. That was the business of hiding a Jew."

• "...there would be punishment and pain, and there would be happiness, too. That was writing."

• "Somewhere, far down, there was an itch in his heart, but he made it a point not to scratch it. He was afraid of what might come leaking out."

• "Like most misery, it started with apparent happiness."

• ""I have hated words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right."

My Thoughts:
I loved this book, whether because of my fascination of the Holocaust or for my love of words. Either way, when I heard of the story I wasn't so sure. I mean, I love to read, but the book was big and I wasn't sure whether I'd have time to read it. Plus, my interest in genre is usually romance, adventure or some animal story. But because this book was recommended to me I picked it up. I was at the book store, and just read the prologue. I was hooked. I walked out of the store with the book in my hands. It was mine.

I usually read a book within a week or two, and this one was no different. Despite the 550 pages of small print and a lot going on in my life, I couldn't put it down. If you are a reader, a writer, a lover of books and words, you will LOVE this book. It's beautifully written and the characters are unforgettable. Like the summary says: "The Book Thief is an unforgettable novel about the ability of books to feed the soul."[/blockquote]

[Bhu]

Jurassic Park

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Michael Crichton

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Summary from the Back Cover:
An astonishing technique for recovering and cloning dinosaur DNA has been discovered. Now, one of mankind's most thrilling fantasies has come true. Creatures extinct for eons now roam Jurassic Park with their awesome presence and profound mystery , and all the world can visit them--for a price.

Until something goes wrong....

In JURASSIC PARK Michael Crichton taps all his mesmerizing talent and scientific brilliance to create his most electrifying technothriller yet.

Book Review from Squidoo.com:
When I first saw Jurassic Park the movie, I instantly fell in love with it and set out to read the book. Even though the movie is excellent, the book is absolutely amazing. It is one of the best books I have ever read, seriously. Crichton does not disappoint with this novel, and he does an awesome job with every aspect of it--the characters, plot, scientific stuff, everything.

Jurassic Park is about a technique that has been created to clone dinosaur DNA, and produce ancient creatures that went extinct long ago. The man who owns the genetic company responsible for discovering this astonishing technique, John Hammond, has plans to open a theme park where people from all around the world can visit and see these once-extinct creatures. However, things do not go as planned, and infact go terribly wrong.

This book is a thriller--full of frightening and suspenseful themes--but it's also intellectually stimulating. This novel is what spawned the idea that dinosaurs actually could be 'resurrected.' Everything in this book is extremely well-researched, and Crichton does his homework fantastically. There's a reason it became a #1 New York Times bestseller.

Favorite Quotes (Without Spoiling Plot):
• “Life breaks free. Life expands to new territories. Painfully, perhaps even dangerously. But life finds a way” (p. 160).

• “You know, at times like this one feels, well, perhaps extinct animals should be left extinct” (p. 189).

• “Hammond whined. ‘But what are you going to do to my animals?
‘That’s not really the question, Mr. Hammond,’ Muldoon said. ‘The question is, what are they going to do to us?’” (p. 303).

My Thoughts:
Ever since I was young, I have had a fascination with dinosaurs. My first word ever spoken was not 'mommy' or 'daddy', it was 'vewociwaptor' (velociraptor), and all because I had popped in the Jurassic Park movie when at a family members house when I was merely five years old. My first real movie, and I had fallen in love. When I discovered the movie was also a book, I was seven years old, and a huge literary fanatic. My favorite movie was a book? I HAD to read it.

Of course, due to the large vocabulary and occasional cuss word, ma was not willing to let me read the Jurassic Park book. But, I was determined, so at age seven, I swiped her library card and ran off to the downtown library, checking out the book with such happiness, the librarian let me do it, though she did call my ma to come pick me up.

However difficult, I fought through the rich array of words, simply so I could succeed in journeying through the dinosaur littered world. I read it in two days, my dictionary by my side the whole time. I learned more words in those two days, than I had in the whole seven years I'd walked the earth.

I've never regretted locking myself up for those two days, for this has easily remained my favorite book of all time. I've read in hundreds more times since that first experience, and my love for it has not yet faded in the least. Like the summary says: "There's a reason it became a #1 New York Times bestseller."[/blockquote]

[Bhu]

Lost World

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Michael Crichton

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Summary from the Back Cover:
It's now six years ince the secret disaster at Jurassic Park, six years since the extraordinary dream of science and imagination came to a crashing end--the dinosaurs destroyed, the park dismantled, the island closed to the public.

There are rumors that something has survived.

Book Review from Goodreads.com:
The Lost World is the exciting sequel to Jurassic Park. As a huge fan of the movies, I just had to read the books and I’m glad I did. The books hold so much more information and are different enough from the movies to keep you interested and in suspense.

In this story there seem to be strange animals washing up on the shores of Costa Rica and it has the authorities worried about their tourist industry. These animals are not like anything they have seen before and now there is some strange, new form of encephalitis plaguing the local farmers. Authorities are scarred and don’t want any of this getting out to the public.

It has been six years since the disastrous events at Jurassic Park and now Ian Malcolm, Sarah Harding, Doc. Thorne, and Eddie Carr and their two stow a way’s Arby and Kelly, are heading to a private Island among the five Deaths just off the coast of Costa Rica to rescue their colleague Richard Levine who has disappeared trying to get to the bottom of the strange animal appearances on the beaches.

Dr. Levine is not the only one trying to get to the bottom of the strange animal appearances. Lewis Dodgson from Biosyn Corporation is still trying to get his hands on Dinosaur DNA and he is positive that these creatures must be washing up from InGen’s Site B, if only he could figure out where it’s located.

This was a very fast paced book and I could not put it down. Definitely worth the read!

My Thoughts:
It has been a short while since my last time reading The Lost World, but I vividly remember enjoying it thoroughly. Though it does not compare with the original, it is well worth the time for those who enjoy dinosaurs. The one thing I like more about this book is the fact that Veociraptors, my favorite dino, are one of the main dinosaurs in this book. Highly recommended read.[/blockquote]

[Bhu]

Congo

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Michael Crichton

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Summary from the Back Cover:
Deep in the heart of the darkest region of the Congo, near the legendary ruins of the Lost City of Zinj, an eight-person field expedition dies mysteriously and brutally in a matter of minutes.

Ten thousand miles away, at the Houston-based Earth Resources Technology Services, Inc., supervisor Karen Ross watches a gruesome video transmission of that ill-fated team: a camp destroyed, tents crushed and torn, equipment scattered in the mud alongside bodies--and the grainy, moving image of a dark, blurred shape....

IN San Francisco, primatologist Peter Elliot works with Amy, an extraorginary gorilla with a 620 "sign" vocabulary and a fondness for finger painting. Her recent drawing matches, with st8unning accuracy, dating back to 1642--a drawing of the ancient lost city, descending into a secret world where the only way out may be through the grisliest death....

Book Review from Goodreads.com:
Attention grabbing story right from the beginning...it was quite a bit of fact with fiction mixed in - or was it the other way around?? Wow...the author was so convincing that I don't know for sure!!

Michael Crichton did a lot of research on his subject...and I got a bit buried in the technical descriptions. However, I did LOVE his portrayal of the Congo along with the plants and animals which have existed there unchanged for centuries...and the "evolutional" changes that have taken place over time. I was actually feeling pretty itchy and could practically feel misquitoes buzzing around my head (I HATE misquitoes)!!What I learned (whether it be fact or fiction?) about primates, their intelligence and similarities to humans for me was fascinating! Loved it!!

Interesting story - suspenseful and sometimes creepy:)

My Thoughts:
This was a hugely addicting read that I completed in a matter of hours. I can not say whether it compares to Jurassic Park or not, seeing as I would be bias considering my adoration for dinosaurs, but I honestly believe it's one of my all time tops. It has amazing twists, terrifying turns, and suspensful scenerios![/blockquote]

[Ilyich]

The Sight

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David Clemet-Davies

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Summary from the Inside Cover:
In the shadow of an abandoned castle, a wolf pack seeks shelter. The She-Wolf is about to give birth, and her pups will not be able to survive the harsh Transylvanian winter. But something more threatening than snow and wind stalks the pack - a lone wolf, Morgra, possessed of a mysterious and terrifying power known as the Sight. And with her travels a raven, a bird that feeds on the dead.

Morgra’s arts shows her that one of the pups born beneath the castle holds a key to power even stronger than her own- the power that that could give her control of this world and of the next. But the pack she hunts is brave and loving. They will do anything to protect their own, even if it involves setting in motion a battle that will involve all nature, including the creatures the wolves fear most, Man.

A Collage of Reviews From GoodReads.com:
• Wow. 'Wow' is probably the only word that really describes this book. From its begining to amazing ending, David Clemet-Davies' 'The Sight' is definately one of the best books I've ever read

• Anyone who is a fan of 'Warriors', 'Watership Down', 'Promise of the Wolves'

I found the initial chapters almost like an informative book, as if I was learning about wolf lingo, legends, and history. I continually found myself getting lost or bored with the bland beginning. Though it wasn’t long before the story-line grabbed me, and held tight. I was glad of the first chapter or so, for all the information made the characters much rounder and lovable. Clements made the book seem realistic, and although I shed some tears, I loved this book. Action packed, with plot...more I found the initial chapters almost like an informative book, as if I was learning about wolf lingo, legends, and history. I continually found myself getting lost or bored with the bland beginning. Though it wasn’t long before the story-line grabbed me, and held tight. I was glad of the first chapter or so, for all the information made the characters much rounder and lovable. Clements made the book seem realistic, and although I shed some tears, I loved this book. Action packed, with plot twists blunt enough to entertain anyone.
The sequel is on my to-read list, I look forward to it

• I started this book in the early morning one day, and was unable to put it down until I finished it. This is one of those books that absolutely breaks your heart, and tears your soul apart. I fell in love with the characters, and it hurt me so much to see the hurt that they went through. I cried buckets, which is kinda of hard for a book to do. That was three years ago, and even now I yearn to own and reread this book. It's amazing, a masterpiece.

•In an epic tale of good and evil, legend and history, and the blessing and curse of an extraordinary gift of the Sight (an ability to see through others' minds and into the future), David Clement-Davies obliges the many fans of Fire Bringer with a new fantasy novel. The Sight features a Transylvanian wolf clan faced with the terrifying changes brought about by Morgra, a bitter she-wolf determined to fulfill an ancient legend in order to have supreme power over all Vargs (wolves). Young Larka, a white wolf pup born with the Sight, embarks with her brother Fell and the rest of her family on an extraordinary quest for truth and salvation, with shocking consequences that even the most astute reader may not foresee. Clement-Davies's multilayered and elaborate plot will keep young readers riveted for hours on end, drawing on Christianity, fairy tales, and mythology in a colossal allegory and cautionary tale for its human audience


Favorite Quotes (Without Spoiling Plot):
•"Stones are raw, they blunt my paw,
but words will never hurt me."


• "You will need a courage. A Courage as deep as despair"

• "You are wrong Morgra! The sight does not teach hate! It teaches love, and the power of love to heal, for the greatest power of the sight is to heal!"

• "Tell Larka for me Palla... this secret, tell her-" "-Tell her it wasn't so bad bieng a Sikla"

My Thoughts:
This is the best book I have ever read, pure and simple. Death and pain slams into you from all sides all threw you're life, and when it seems all is darkest the sun comes shining forth.This book is a tale of mystery adn sorrow, adn of finding th meaning of life. A wolf pack caught between things he can't understand and a religion that makes them question their darkening world. Little can be said for this dear little family then 'I hope they maek it through'. This story will grab you and never let go. Powerful it grows stronger and stronger until you are caught so deeply you find yourself sobbing right along with the characters.

It is rare for a book to hold such raw emotion. And the struggle for life is very raw indeed. The sight teaches the tale of love, and what the power of it can truly over come. A daunting legend shines in their eyes, and they must stp to their accorded paths. Courage and Hope burn in these characters and the pages began flipping by themself's. The Sight has held me for years, having read it in 9th grade. Larka and Fell's adventures will always stay with me, becuse I don't think I will ever be able to forgett the tale of sorrow that this book holds.

Tisinga was correct when she spoke of the legeand. Of a truth far deeper then meaning. They would need a courage. A courage as deep as dispaire.[/blockquote]

[Ilyich]

The Plague Dogs

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Richard Adams

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Summary from the Inside Cover:
A lyrical, engrossing tale, by the author of WATERSHIP DOWN, Richard Adams creates a lyrical and engrossing tale, a remarkable journey into the hearts and minds of two canine heroes, Snitter and Rowf, fugitives from the horrors of an animal research center who escape into the isolation--and terror--of the wilderness.

A Collage of Reviews From GoodReads.com:
• This book is not an easy book to read, not by any way you look at it. It tells the story of two dogs, Snitter (who once had a master) and Rowf (who never did and is therefore known only by the sound he makes, a great big "Rowf"), who escape from an animal experiment research place (called, amusingly enough Animal Research, Surgical and Experimental -- yes, that spells out A.R.S.E.). The stories of their tortures at the hands of the scientists and of the torture of other animals are all too realistic as they're based off real experiments, many of which are simply not necessary and are done "just to see how the animal reacts." That is part of what makes it difficult to read. The other part is some of the dialect. I admit, the dialect of the tod (a fox) was so hard to get through at first that I came close, more than once, to putting down the book.

I'm glad I didn't.

After a time you get used to it and it helps to really solidify his voice in your head.

These two dogs in their travels are first chased off and later pursued by farmers for killing sheep and hens and raiding dust bins. The press gets involved, bringing the public's attention to these two dogs and after finding out that there were experiments going on regarding the plague at A.R.S.E., concocts a story in which the dogs might or might not carry the plague. Either way, the public outcry for the deaths of the two "plague dogs" is overwhelming.

What ensues from here on out is a media circus and manhunt of the worst kind.

I won't spoil the ending, because I was surprised and amazed. Despite the sometimes emotional difficulty of reading about the experiments done not just on dogs, but on many other animals as well, and despite the difficulties of reading the tod's dialect, I will say this book was VERY worth reading. By the end I couldn't put it down and I was in tears.

Besides the plot and the twists therein, I found the book a rather telling commentary on the media and just what they can do to the public's perception. The way the media twists the facts, creating a story just to sell some more copies, is astonishingly accurate

• The celebrated author of Watership Down turns his attention to dogs, or rather, two unusual dogs who have suffered miserable trials in a sprawling research laboratory. They manage to escape their predetermined fate and flee into the countryside, simply wishing to survive. The human population has different plans after sensational media reports claim the dogs are carrying a deadly virus.

The Plague Dogs is not only a significant contribution to humane literature, but a gripping adventure story in its own right. The story is populated by a great many nuanced characters, both canine and human. The author’s strong point is teasing apart all of the little human desires and selfishness which so often spell doom for the rest of life on Earth.


• The story in this book is a pretty epic journey of escape and discovery, weaving together many characters and plots into a unpredictable and suspenseful story. What makes this achievement even more profound is that the characters are so entirely different from one another. In other fictions, characters may be separated by viewpoints or situation, but this book goes further, interacting together even characters of different species.

The two main characters are dogs, so their world is seen differently than the humans around them, and that viewpoint is at once fascinating and entertaining. Then, even the human characters are themselves different in motie and caste. There's a dirty-rag, gritty London Reporter, sseveral scientists, members of Parliament, and, my favorite, the Geordie farmers of Northern England.

Each character has a different way of seeing their world and a different way of talking about it. The author relays all of these dialects and ways of speaking as well as he can through the written word: the upper dialog and verbal fencing of Parlimentary members, the intensely motivated deviousness of the London Reporter, and even the phonetically written Geordie accent. (The American Edition is sadly less heavily accented, however.) The most wildly different perspective is also the most confusing to understand: Snitter is one of the two heroes and is afflicted by a Surgical Experiment done to his head and so is partly insane, seeing the world completely subjectively. It's a difficult, but rewarding read to try and understand much of what Snitter says.

Some have found fault in that Richard Adams, the author, spends so much ink in the book in what seems a first person debate on the ethics of Scientific Animal Experimentation, but I find his cause worthwhile and his medium acceptable. Stories are not meant to be bound by what we expect of them and so the occasional breaking of the 'third wall' was more than welcome, even if it occasionally broke the flow of the story. It made it more of a story-teller's experience than just another fictional novel.It was sort of a mix of fictional story and non-fiction essay.

I do take small exception to the huge number of obscure references used in this book. I was frequently bewildered by phrases or descriptions Mr. Adams would use referencing Roman, Greek and Celtic canon in even the smallest of passing phrases. It did make reading some sections difficult. Maybe its all common knowledge where he comes from, but I recommend having Wikipedia handy.

All in all this is an excellent book but I recomend it to those who have the time and determination to read it's rich text fully and deeply. There are so many, so varied full-colored characters, messages of domestication and wildness, human and animal personal ethics, and a susepensful and twisting plot that reaches from farm field to Parliament office. Along it all, there is also an intensely expressed opinion on the concepts of Scientific Animal Experimentation.


Favorite Quotes (Without Spoiling Plot):
•"Dangerous thing, a name. Someone might catch hold of you by it, mightn't they?"

• "When we aren't here any longer, when we're not hungry or cold, we'll miss it. We'll wish we were."

• "can't do it...I fight...I tell them, white coats. Damn white coats."

• "I can't stand the water anymore. I shut my eyes, the water comes again" Snitter twisted his head, blinking at the larger animal. "How do you get out? Do you drink it, or does the sun dry it up, or what?" Rowl lifted his head slowly, growling. "I hate it snitter, the water's terrible."

•"Why do they do it snitter? Im not a bad dog am I?"

My Thoughts:
So good, so very very good. Mr. Adams is by far the best authro that has ever lived. The man has a gift for piecing together the lives of the damaged so we may understand. Our two leads, Snitter and Rowlf suffer so much in the first chapter alone. Its a book that tugs at your heart strings. I couldn't read it in class because I kept bursting out in tears. If you're looking for a happy book this is not teh book for you. If you think the world is just happiness and sunshine Richard adams is about to punch a giant hole in your logic. The plauge dogs is a tale of true survival, and the lonleness of freedom. The question is 'what happens when you get out?'
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[Miki]

Oh, I love 'The Sight!' I actually own it, too. I may have to pick it up and read it again.... have you read the sequel, Ilyich?

And I think I'm gonna have to stop at the library and find 'Plague Dogs'...

[Ilyich]

Yes, I have Fell wasn't as good as the sight but it wasn't as depressing xD

and whooo Richard adams love <3 -reading watership down yet again-