Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

Hey there! I don’t know if everybody’s winter break is as busy at mine, but I hope that you all had an awesome Christmas. I sure did. I’m on the ferry right now heading over to Vancouver Island, and people gave me a lot of pretty awesome things; a camera, a Glee Karaoke game, this awesome pair of pyjama's that came with shorts and long pants. We’re almost into a new year, and I wish everybody the best in 2011. :)

After the First Night, everybody and everything was different. The lucky had survived, and most of them lived within small fenced towns like Mountainside – terrified of the millions of zoms that waited outside the iron gates. Living only with his older brother Tom, Benny joins the family business as a last resort for a job. Little did he know that it would change him forever. When his childhood friend Nix is kidnapped by one of the worst bounty hunters around, Benny finds himself on a long journey to find her, as well as a mysterious Lost Girl that will take him far beyond the fence, and far into the great Rot and Ruin.

For a zombie novel, this book was pretty damn good. I really enjoyed reading it, and I thought that the writing was unique and appealing to me. A lot of the writing touches on the way people think, and how they thought and acted after the First Night of the zombie apocalypse. How the characters talked about the behaviour of other people in the book, I thought all of that was very well written and interesting to read – party because it was all logical and made perfect sense.

The one thing that I didn’t like was Benny at the beginning of the book. I know that Maberry was trying to portray him as an immature, naive boy… but when I read it, it seemed to me like he was younger than 15. When I read it, even after I learned his age… I still pictured him as a 12 year old. Even the most immature people at age 15 aren’t as bad as he was. I understand the special exception rule, but it still kind of bothered me if you know what I mean,

I don’t think there is much else to say, and I still thought the story was really great for zombies. Maberry added a lot of other elements that made the plot interesting, which is what other books sometimes fail to do. I give it a 4 out of 5.

It seems to me like this needs a sequel, there is so much more that can be done! They need to go east and find out where the Jumbo Jet they saw came from. Anyway, check out his blog http://jonathanmaberry.com/ 

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

Linger by Maggie Steifvater

I’m saying screw it to any of my old rules. I’ll review whatever book I want to review, whether I’ve read the first one or not, and I’ll go at my own pace. I probably read about one book per week, but half of them I don’t feel like writing a review for so the nice system gets messed up anyway. So, here we go for LINGER.

They thought that they were fixed. In a small town called Mercy Falls, Sam and Grace slip back in to the routine of a normal life. But something is wrong. Grace is developing migraines that she’s never had before, and there is a growing feeling that something inside her is trying to break through to the surface. Meanwhile Sam is left to watch over the pack of wolves, waiting for them to shift back into their human forms. Then – Cole, a new wolf enters their lives. As all of their worlds start to fall apart, only one certain thing remains…. but will it linger?

 

Compared to the first one, which I read about two years ago… or something close to that, Linger is a little uneventful. I mean, the first one had a lot more going on, where this one was more dragged out, with less events that made you want to turn the page. It still kept me reading though, these series are interesting and I thought that adding Cole (a new character) really helped out with the plotline.

Other than the fact that there wasn’t much going on, I think that this was a great transition story from Shiver, to the next book. If there is a next one anyways… there should be! I love the writing style used in this book, and the highlight of the book was the relationship that Cole and Isabel had. I think that those were the strongest points in Stiefvater’s writing. She really captured the real of those two characters, especially when they were together. I loved it.

So, all in all, I give this one a 3.5 out of 5.

Here is her website, http://maggiestiefvater.com/novels.php#wolves I see a cover for the third one, so there you have it!

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

Whew. It sure is getting close to Christmas huh? I went skiing today with my family and the snow was pretty awesome. Winter is one of the most beautiful seasons, and one of the best ones to curl up on your couch with a blanket and read a book. :)

 In a land of BioCromatic Breath and Returned Gods, two countries are on the verge of war. Suri – an Idrian princess –  is sent by her father to marry the God King, while her elder sister Vivenna sneaks into the city and finds ways to disrupt order and cause confusion among the citizens of T’Telir. Meanwhile, in the Court of God’s, Lightsong – the laziest God around – becomes interested in the new Queen, and the politics surrounding the upcoming war. Even with the help of Vivenna and her mercenaries, and the secrets Suri finds out about the God King… will they be able to stop the war against their homeland?

First things first… I LOVED THIS BOOK. It was amazing! Everything was perfect, the beautiful and creative setting, the different religions and controversy between the cultures. It was so well thought out, and it kept me hooked the whole way. As you slowly learn about the world of Hallendren, you become more and more attached to it.

The characters are the most developed ones that I’ve read about in a long time. Especially Lightsong and Vivenna, the way they change through the story and how much they learn is amazing. The whole plot is rich, and full of twists that I didn’t expect at all. I was so surprised at a certain part, and I had to take a break from reading and take a few breaths.

I think the most astounding part of this novel is the logic and creativity that were combined to make the story perfectly balanced. You can’t know what I’m talking about until you read it. GO GO GO. It’s amazing.

5 OUT OF 5

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

Quad by C.G. Watson

I finished this book on Sunday night, but decided to wait on the review for a bit because the next book I’m reading will probably take a little bit longer. Thin pages and tiny writing often do that to a book. Anyways, I think that the deadline thing is helping me out. I do better when put under pressure. :) Well, no more dilly dally.

People of all sorts are gathered together in one place – school. The Choir Boys, Drama Queens, Preps, Freaks, Jocks and Techies have to deal with the many things that come with high school. Each with their own problems and the potential to crack. But when a wild party goes haywire, and the wrong people get pushed around – everybody has to deal with the consequences. Now, the school is in lockdown and being terrorized by somebody whose identity is unknown. Who could it be, who was the one who finally snapped? And why do people have to be so mean?

This is sort of a messed up novel. I don’t really know what to say or think about it… I mean, it wasn’t bad but if you think about what happened in it it’s like ‘Uhm… what the hell was the point of that whole story?’ It’s not what you expect from reading the summery on my book, or even what you might get from my summery. It basically goes in between each of those cliques and events happen that lead at least one person to seem like they might ‘snap’. It’s sort of like Watson was attempting to make a mystery… but then it sort of doesn’t feel like that either.

I don’t know. It’s sort of hard to explain. If you’re looking for more of what the hell it’s about, it’s about bullying in high school, the pressures that students have to go through, and how mean people can really be. I think that it was a good idea and interestingly put together. It was an enjoyable read, so I’m neutral about it – but it was also sort of confusing and made me not know what to think of it. I don’t know…. just… read it if you want to feel what I’m feeling here.

I’ll give this one a 2.5, I think that this is Watson’s first book. http://www.cgwatson.com/

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR