The Year of Audiobooks - Part Two

I have been atrocious with reviewing things this year but I thought I would at least mention my audio books for 2013. I posted the first part a couple weeks ago here. These are the others I have listened to this year.

I have to admit that Neil Gaiman and I have a love/hate relationship so I don't get quite as excited about him as others. That being said I really enjoyed The Graveyard Book and had high hopes for this one. And, they were rewarded! I really liked this one, too. The book takes place when a man returns home for a funeral and visits his childhood neighbours. This leads to him reliving the events from 40-years before and takes the rider along for the ride. Gaiman definitely puts an original spin on fantasy. And he narrates his own book which worked really well because it was a more personal experience to hear his story.

Sussex, England: A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. He is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock. He hasn't thought of Lettie in decades, and yet sitting by the pond (a pond that she'd claimed was an ocean), the unremembered past comes flooding back. Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie - magical, comforting, wise beyond her years - promised to protect him, no matter what.

A groundbreaking work from a master, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is told with a rare understanding of all that makes us human, and shows the power of stories to reveal and shelter us from the darkness inside and out. A stirring, terrifying, and elegiac fable as delicate as a butterfly's wing and as menacing as a knife in the dark.

I now want to listen to more Neil Gaiman audiobooks. It might give me a new appreciation for an author that so many people love and I try to see the appeal.

I have wanted to read this series for ages and thought what better way than by audio. I have been told this book isn't quite as good as the rest of the series and I figured I would have a better chance of finishing it on audio if that was the case. I actually quite liked it. I wasn't bored. I am not sure if that would have been different if I had tried to read it? I used a credit on book two, but wanted to wait a bit before getting to it so I wouldn't burn out on the series. I liked the interesting approach to music and the various paranormal creatures that Andrews writes about. You would think with how overdone paranormal is getting to be it would be hard to keep being original about it. Plus, Kate is strong and sarcastic. I like that in a female character. And I finally got to see who Curran was. I had heard of him despite never reading this series before.

When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear, while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start. But then technology returns, and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it arose, leaving all kinds of paranormal problems in its wake.

Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck mercenary who makes her living cleaning up these magical problems. But when Kate's guardian is murdered, her quest for justice draws her into a power struggle between two strong factions within Atlanta's magic circles.

The Masters of the Dead, necromancers who can control vampires, and the Pack, a paramilitary clan of shapechangers, blame each other for a series of bizarre killings—and the death of Kate's guardian may be part of the same mystery. Pressured by both sides to find the killer, Kate realizes she's way out of her league—but she wouldn't have it any other way…

The book is narrated by Renee Raudman. She did a really good job. I could easily picture her as Kate. I imagine that might be why I liked this book more than I expected to. I am pretty sure she narrates the whole series so I am looking forward to more from both her and Andrews.

Finally! Do you know that I lucked into a whole bunch of this series in hardcovers but decided I didn't want to undertake a huge series at the time and turned them in at the bookstore for credit? I figured I would regret it, but I am always so far behind in series that it seemed like a smart idea at the time. Frankly, the reason I decided to star the series this year is because I heard Elizabeth Peters had passed away and the series should be drawing to a close. It seemed a bit more manageable that way. As I expected I quite enjoyed Amelia Peabody. The story was a bit predictable, but it was still fun. I think I am going to enjoy reading on in this series.

Amelia Peabody, indomitable Victorian, embarks for Egypt armed with confidence, journal, and umbrella. Enroute to Cairo, she rescues dainty Evelyn, abandoned by her lover. They sail up the Nile to the archeological dig of the Emerson brothers - irascible but dashing Radcliffe and amiable Walter. A lively mummy, visitations, accidents, kidnap attempt - evil is afoot.

Some of the audiobooks have two narrators. I went with Barbara Rosenblat because I had heard good things about her. I was not disappointed. I can't wait to work my way through this series next year!

I actually reviewed this one! You can read my review here.

Stiff is an oddly compelling, often hilarious exploration of the strange lives of our bodies postmortem. For two thousand years, cadavers—some willingly, some unwittingly—have been involved in science's boldest strides and weirdest undertakings. They've tested France's first guillotines, ridden the NASA Space Shuttle, been crucified in a Parisian laboratory to test the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, and helped solve the mystery of TWA Flight 800. For every new surgical procedure, from heart transplants to gender reassignment surgery, cadavers have been there alongside surgeons, making history in their quiet way.

In this fascinating, ennobling account, Mary Roach visits the good deeds of cadavers over the centuries—from the anatomy labs and human-sourced pharmacies of medieval and nineteenth-century Europe to a human decay research facility in Tennessee, to a plastic surgery practice lab, to a Scandinavian funeral directors' conference on human composting. In her droll, inimitable voice, Roach tells the engrossing story of our bodies when we are no longer with them.

So, I love Terry Pratchett and then never read him... I am also not very good at following along in his series. I have read all over the place so far. I have wanted to read this one forever and since it had a Christmas connection, I thought I would make it my 'Christmas' read. I could have just read it, but I decided to use an Audible credit on it. I really enjoyed the story. It was fun just like Pratchett always tends to be. I mean, really, Death as the Hogfather? Pratchett really plays with 'conventional' Christmas ideas. Plus, Deaths Grand-daughter, Susan, was a wonderfully written female character.

Susan had never hung up a stocking . She'd never put a tooth under her pillow in the serious expectation that a dentally inclined fairy would turn up. It wasn't that her parents didn't believe in such things. They didn't need to believe in them. They know they existed. They just wished they didn't.

There are those who believe and those who don't. Through the ages, superstition has had its uses. Nowhere more so than in the Discworld where it's helped to maintain the status quo. Anything that undermines superstition has to be viewed with some caution. There may be consequences, particularly on the last night of the year when the time is turning. When those consequences turn out to be the end of the world, you need to be prepared. You might even want more standing between you and oblivion than a mere slip of a girl - even if she has looked Death in the face on numerous occasions...

My only quibble was I am really not sure I liked the narrator, Nigel Planer. He does well overall and is great on male voices, but he cannot do female voices at all. He narrates a vast majority of the series, but there are others interspersed. I am not sure if I want to listen to more of them or just go back to reading them.

And that concludes my audiobooks so far for the year. Considering before this year I never really listened to them before, I am impressed with how many I made my way through. I am hoping 2014 will lead to many great listens and hopefully I can finish 1 or 2 more before the end of the year.

Any recommendations? I always appreciate them!

The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter

The Long Earth by Terry Pratchet and Stephen Baxter

Completion Date: May 13, 2012
Reason for Reading: Received review copy/New Terry Pratchett/Buddy read with Ana.

1916: the Western Front, France. Private Percy Blakeney wakes up. He is lying on fresh spring grass. He can hear birdsong, and the wind in the leaves in the trees. Where has the mud, blood and blasted landscape of No man's Land gone?

2015: Madison, Wisconsin. Cop Monica Jansson has returned to the burned-out home of one Willis Linsay, a reclusive and some said mad, others dangerous, scientist. It was arson but, as is often the way, the firemen seem to have caused more damage than the fire itself. Stepping through the wreck of a house, there's no sign of any human remains but on the mantelpiece Monica finds a curious gadget - a box, containing some wiring, a three-way switch and a...potato. It is the prototype of an invention that Linsay called a 'stepper'. An invention he put up on the web for all the world to see, and use, an invention that would to change the way mankind viewed his world Earth for ever. And that's an understatement if ever there was one...

...because the stepper allowed the person using it to step sideways into another America, another Earth, and if you kept on stepping, you kept on entering even more Earths...this is the Long Earth. It's not our Earth but one of chain of parallel worlds, lying side by side each differing from its neighbour by really very little (or actually quite a lot). It's an infinite chain, offering 'steppers' an infinite landscape of infinite possibilities. And the further away you travel, the stranger - and sometimes more dangerous - the Earths get. The sun and moon always shine, the basic laws of physics are the same. However, the chance events which have shaped our particular Earth, such as the dinosaur-killer asteroid impact, might not have happened and things may well have turned out rather differently.

But, until Willis Linsay invented his stepper, only our Earth hosted mankind...or so we thought. Because it turns out there are some people who are natural 'steppers', who don't need his invention and now the great migration has begun..

Ana, from things mean a lot, and I were both lucky to get ARC of The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter. This lead to us deciding to read the book together and then answer questions. This book is being marketed as Terry Pratchett's first science-fiction novel in 30 years. I was intrigued by the concept and think that overall this is a promising start to a new series. Ana and I each came up with 4 questions and then answered all 8 of them. My answers are below and you can read hers at her blog.

Ana: I'll start with a slightly unimaginative question - how do you think this book compares to the rest of Terry Pratchett's work? (I won't ask about Stephen Baxter, because I think that like me you hadn't read him before. Do you want to now, though?)
Compared to you, I have hardly read Pratchett. I am so far behind in Discworld that it seems like an overwhelming task to catch-up. This is actually why I jumped at the chance to read this book. I really enjoy Pratchett and this is the start of something new. It seemed a better way to read something by him without worrying about reading order. And, from what I have read of him, you could see Pratchett in this book. The humour was there like always. It was different, but at the same time it was the same. You could tell that he had his hand in it. As for Stephen Baxter, no, I have not read him before but he has always been on my list to get to one day. I guess now I sort of have, but I still want to read something else by him.

Did you think this book worked as a standalone, or did you finish wanting more?
I actually thought this book was a standalone until I got to the ending. Then I wondered if it was just a bad ending, but people are saying it is a series... I would have been happy if the ending was not so abrupt to have this be a standalone. I think standalones once in a while are a good thing. I get tired of keeping track of trilogies and series and stressing about how many I have on the go. Sometimes I just want to read a book and then move on. Sadly, that doesn't happen very often. I will interested to see how this series progresses, though. Don't get me wrong! If I had to start another series, I am glad it is a Pratchett one.

Ana: What was your favourite thing about the concept of The Long Earth? Was there anything about all those possible worlds that you found particularly exciting?
From the very beginning I liked how this book was a 'what if' book. Each time a new place was discovered, it would be a different level of evolution. There would be different plant life or animal life. Something minor would have happened and set this place off on an entirely different path than the one the people were coming from. I thought this was a great idea because it gave them a chance to invent new creatures, climates, and experiences without being implausible. And, I find that exciting. I like the idea of being able to explore the earth in an entirely different way than thought possible and find something entirely new.

If you had never read Pratchett before, would you consider this a good starting point?
Good question. My very first Pratchett was Good Omens. He wrote it with Neil Gaiman and it was a standalone. Discworld just seemed so big because it had been going for years and I was late getting around to wanting to read them. If anyone pays attention, though, I went about Discworld in manageable small doses. I read the Tiffany Aching books. Technically part of the overall series, but can be read just as a small quartet. Then, I read The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents. Again, part of the overall series, but can be read alone. Now I have started to dip into the bigger series, but it still seems huge. This is all to say that while this is not the best book by Pratchett, it is a good introduction to what to expect and might be more manageable for people not sure if they want to tackle a big series.

Ana: Did the consequences of the discovery of the "stepper" ring true to you? Do you think that's how human beings would react if they were given the opportunity to explore other worlds?
Yes, I believe that everything was handled in a way that wasn't far-fetched. For example, the ability to 'step' is discovered and the population of the earth is almost too high, so people start leaving for better chances and opportunities. As our population predictions from the future hint at too many people for our resources, it was a believable idea. It is also believable that too many people leave for new opportunities and then the 'real' earth starts suffering. I can imagine all that actually happening. And, yes, I do think people would leave if given the chance. At this point there are many people looking out at the stars and hoping for a chance to inhabit another planet. This is just something that is closer to home.

What did you think of the characters? Did any stand out for you? Did any bother you?
I think the characters have potential. There are just too many of them to be able to say with any certainty which ones. I guess I should have known this was a series in the very beginning because there are way too many people to explore to just have one book. I think this book was basically about introducing the characters and setting up the world. I am hopeful the later books will deal with the specifics.

Ana: What did you think about the ties Pratchett and Baxter established between scientific concepts and world mythologies? I'm not alone in finding that kind of thing incredibly cool, right?No, you are not alone! It was a very cool idea. I love mythology and folklore and science fiction. Making all three of those work together was an excellent idea! I think it was my favourite part of the book, actually. And, they make things their own. I like when authors take what could be an old idea and add something to make it even slightly different.

Do you think the ‘real’ world and the ‘stepper’ world combined well? What did you think of the mention of things like WWI? Did it make it seem more or less legitimate?
I really liked the addition of 'read' world history like WWI. I was not sure what to think when the book starts with WWI, but once the story gets going and you get more context I thought it was a great idea. They also remember to include the rest of his story later. I don't like loose ends and would have been left wondering.

Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett (Discworld Series, Book 3)

Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett

Completion Date: May 7, 2011

Reason for Reading: Buddy Read with Heather.

On Discworld, a dying wizard tries to pass on his powers to an eighth son of an eighth son, who is just at that moment being born. The fact that the son is actually a daughter is discovered just a little too late. The town witch insists on turning the baby into a perfectly normal witch, thus mending the magical damage of the wizard's mistake. But now the young girl will be forced to penetrate the inner sanctum of the Unseen University--and attempt to save the world with one well-placed kick in some enchanted shins!

This is the second part of our review of Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett. You can read the first part of it on Heather's blog, Tales of a Capricious Reader. Enjoy!

Heather: My favorite so far is Nation. It was the first one I read and the one that made me fall in love with Pratchett’s writing. Being the first, it introduced me to the... uniqueness of the Pratchett world and I just loved, loved, loved the two main characters. Equal Rites probably falls in behind the Tiffany Aching books, which are all pretty much equal in my eyes. Nation is like Pratchett dialed up to 11, with Tiffany Aching being around an 8. I can totally see where the similarities between Tiffany Aching and Equal Rites could affect your enjoyment of the book. I think I’m still so new to Pratchett, and new to my completely adoration of him, that it didn’t bother me quite as much. It just felt like more fun in Discworld to me. I have Wyrd Sisters on hold with the library for my Nook; I hope I can start it soon!

Incidentally, The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents is probably a 9.5.
How about you? What is your favorite Pratchett?

Kelly: Good Omens is my favourite. It was my first read by him and I loved it. It was so weird, it was brilliant. It is actually one of my favourite books of all time. It was my introduction to both Pratchett and Gaiman, so I think that is part of its appeal. I just don’t think that I have presently read a book by Pratchett that compares. I always really enjoy his stories and the world he has created, but I always am left wanting more.

I have read a few random books in the Discworld series, but that was a while ago. More recently I have read the same books as you. Nation was what lead me back to reading more Pratchett and it was really good. The Amazing Maurice was a lot of fun and the Tifanny Aching series a really good young adult series. He has written a very empowering female lead and the books should be read by a wider audience! I loved the random Discworld books that I read and they were later books in the series, so I know that I have lots of good things to look forward to in the future.

Heather: I need to read Good Omens. I should adore it, since I love both Pratchett and Gaiman! So far, all the female characters I’ve encountered in Discworld have been strong, empowering women - another reason I adore Pratchett. I wish I knew how to convince more people to give him a read. I think they hear “fantasy” and it scares them off, which is such a shame. They really should give him, and a lot of fantasy, a try. I think they would be pleasantly surprised.

Kelly: I know. Fantasy seems to one of those scary genres that people group together and just refuse to read any of it. It’s rather sad! I confess to not loving some genres, but I still have been known to try a few here and there if the book sounds interesting. I don’t like to limit myself because then you might miss out on something great. An example, the Gardella Vampire Chronicles by Colleen Gleason. They are placed in the romance section, so I was a bit wary at first, but they turned out to be a great series. Pratchett wrote books that should appeal to all ages if people can look beyond the fantasy label.

Heather: I agree about the Gardellas. And of course, about Pratchett. He is definitely one I want to convince everyone and their mother’s sisters cousin to read. He’s just so bloody brilliant and funny and and and oh, just amazing.

Which Pratchett are you going to read next? Are you going to continue on to Wyrd Sisters or try something new? I was thinking of reading Good Omens, the one he wrote with Neil Gaiman. That book has AWESOME written all over it!

Kelly: Good Omens remains my favourite by both authors. I haven’t read anything yet by either that I enjoyed more! It was my first by both of them, so I am picky. You are in for a treat! It was such a great book. One of these days I must reread it... Currently I am planning to go with Wyrd Sisters, but that can change with my mood. I have a few other options and then there are always rereads.

Is there anything else you want to say about the book?

Heather: Can’t think of anything! We have to do this again soon!

Kelly: I know! It was a lot of fun!

This book counts for the Once Upon a Time Challenge.

Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett (Tiffany Aching Trilogy, Book 1)

Yay for another buddy review! This time with Stephanie from Stephanie's Confessions of a Book-a-holic. While I have read a couple Pratchett's in the past (this is my third this year, actually) we are still really Pratchett newbies. It is fun to begin to discover his backlog and to do it with someone else!

A wonderful new novel from the Carnegie Medal winner. A riotous, wise, and gripping junior Discworld novel.

Up on the chalk downs known as The Wold, witches are banned — ever since the Baron’s son vanished in the woods. Anyway, as all witches know, chalk is no good for magic.

Nine-year-old Tiffany Aching thinks her Granny Aching — a wise shepherd — might have been a witch, but now Granny Aching is dead and it’s up to Tiffany to work it all out when strange things begin happening. There’s a fairy-tale monster in the stream, a headless horseman and, strangest of all, the tiny blue men in kilts, the Wee Free Men, who have come looking for the new “hag”. These are the Nac Mac Feegles, the pictsies, who like nothing better than thievin’, fightin’ and drinkin’. When Tiffany’s young brother goes missing, Tiffany and the Wee Free Men must join forces to save him from the Queen of the Fairies.

What was your impression of Granny Aching? She wasn't quite the warm, cuddly grandma we are used to. Did you like her character?
No, warm and cuddly are not words that I would use to describe Granny Aching, but she was a fantastic character! Tiffany thought that her grandmother was a witch, but who can really say for sure. All we do know is that she was not like the other women in the novel. She was very independant and a woman who the entire village feared and respected. She knew her sheep, though. That was her occupation. With her chewing tobacco and big clunky shoes, she was a force to be reckoned with. Even now that she is deceased she lives on, which is great. I really enjoyed her, actually. She is probably a character that will stick with me for a long time because she was so vibrant and alive, which is funny because she is supposed to be dead in the book. Who said grandmothers had to be warm and cuddly. Her personality seemed to work for her because her grand-daughter has never forgot her.

Who was your favorite of the minor characters? Why? (The secondary characters here seemed to add so much to the story)
There is a probably with library books. You don't have them nearby to check characters names. After some searching around the internet, though, I found who I was thinking of. His name is No'-As-Big-As-Medium-Sized-Jock-But-Bigger-than-Wee-Jock Jock. Everytime this guy would talk, Pratchett would include his entire name. It made me smile every single time! It is no wonder that I couldn't remember the correct wording of it, though. Even if I had read it several times, it is not exactly something that will stick in your memory. He is one of the Nac Mac Feegle's, who I think really made the book. They were funny and you never knew what they were going to be up to next. It made for very entertaining reading!

What is your favorite scene? Why? Will you continue on with this trilogy and series? There were so many great scenes in this book, I must say. From the very beginning when Tiffany meets a monster in the pond to the very end; the book sticks with you overall. I actually think one of my favourite scenes is when Tiffany hits the monster she meets in the pond over the head with a frying pan. She was very practical about it. Another scene that was great is when we meet Miss Tick for the first time. She is not exactly your stereotypical witch, and for the first little bit you think she is talking to herself. She is a bit scatter-brained and she is late to the big adventure, but I look forward to seeing more of her in the rest of the trilogy. Then, there are the scenes with the Nac Mac Feegles. There is so much good stuff when they enter the scene that it is hard to pick one favourite. They are funny when they try to steal a sheep, when they get into fights, when they drink, and I really enjoyed any mention of the one that flies around on a bird from place to place. He made some interesting landings! It was especially great what he does when Tiffany suggests a safer method for a landing. Overall, you could almost say the book is just one great scene. It never really drags and it is genuinely entertaining all the way through.

The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett

Is Discworld ready for educated rats?

Set in the Discworld, a brand new and marvellously eccentric fantasy tale for young readers.

Maurice, an amazing cat, who has survived four years on the toughest streets in the whole of the Discworld, reckons that rats are dumb. Clever, OK, but dumb. Maurice, however, is smart -- smart enough to recognize that there’s a new kind of rat around; rats that have been eating wizards’ rubbish and can now talk. And Maurice is also smart enough to get a pretty amazing idea when he spots a kid playing the flute. Now he has his very own Pied Piper to go with his “plague of rats”. And Maurice’s money-bags are getting fuller and fuller. That is, until the group reaches the far flung village of Bad Blintz.

Dear Debi,

I blame this book and me reading it all on you! Don't worry, though, it was a good thing. For someone that likes fantasy as much as I do, Terry Pratchett is a big hole in my reading. I read a couple books by him a few years ago, and then I entered a dry spell until this year. This the second book I have read by him in 2009; the first being Nation, which I happily blame on Ana (Nymeth). Unfortunately, this was a second time is the charm read. The first time I started it I read a couple chapters and then got drawn in by other books. It took it having to go back to the library and being nonrenewable for me to sit down and read it the other night.

The first thing that I really enjoyed about this book was that while it was a Discworld novel, it was still a standalone. That big gaping hole means that I have only read a couple Discworld novels, so I am still a newbie on what that all means. This book was a good reintroduction without having to have read all the books that came before it. In a world where everything is trilogies and series, it is nice to read a book that you can consider on its own. You can read more books set in Discworld, but you don't have to right away. It's a whole lot less pressure, don't you think?

The best thing about this book was Maurice. It was like revisiting with my childhood. As an adult, I am more of a dog person than a cat person, but in my single digit years I was obsessed with books about cats. I had piles of them. The second-hand bookstore in my hometown would put aside books that she thought I would like. This love affair would exist for about a year, and then I moved on to horses. Maurice was a great trip down memory lane. He is such a fun character! He is totally a cat, no matter how 'amazing' he thinks he is, but he is trying to break away from it. The book is a bit about how you shouldn't be ashamed of who you are just because some aspects of your life have changed. That's a big lesson for a cat. I wish my mother's cat would have some life-changing moments. Sadly, I think she will always rule my mother's house and annoy me when I have to kitty-sit.

Anyway, I digress. The story also had some rodents, a young boy, and a town girl. The girl was fantastic. I could relate to her so much! Remember that trip down memory lane, well it extended to her, too. She was almost like me when I was her age. My parents were not getting along and would wind up divorcing, like most of the world, so it was better to live in my books sometimes than in the 'real world'. She is a bit exasperating in how everything is a story to her. I am not sure I was quite so noticable, but who doesn't want to leave their own world behind once in a while. I think that is probably why I started reading fantasy, if anyone was ever wondering! So, even though she could be a bit annoying at times, which was pointed out by both cat and humans, she was a fun character. I also liked the rats. There was a lot of great personality present in this microcosm of society. Ever wonder what talking rats would be like? I guess you will have to read this book to find out!

I should also add that this book is essentially a retelling of the Pied Piper fairy tale. A young boy plays his music and starts a town on a path that will make them their fortune. It isn't exactly playing them off a cliff or anything, but it is used to change a way of thinking. There is also historical fiction mixed in with the story because rats really were the cause of plagues back in history. Pratchett includes some truth in his fantasy world.

So, Debi, thanks for making me check this book out from the library! Not only was it a fun read, but writing you a letter was funner than a regular post.

Nation by Terry Pratchett

Reason for Reading: Herding Cats Challenge, Dewey's Reading Challenge

The sea has taken everything.

Mau is the only one left after a giant wave sweeps his island village away. But when much is taken, something is returned, and somewhere in the jungle Daphne—a girl from the other side of the globe—is the sole survivor of a ship destroyed by the same wave.

Together the two confront the aftermath of catastrophe. Drawn by the smoke of Mau and Daphne's sheltering fire, other refugees slowly arrive: children without parents, mothers without babies, husbands without wives—all of them hungry and all of them frightened. As Mau and Daphne struggle to keep the small band safe and fed, they defy ancestral spirits, challenge death himself, and uncover a long-hidden secret that literally turns the world upside down. . . .

Internationally revered storyteller Terry Pratchett presents a breathtaking adventure of survival and discovery, and of the courage required to forge new beliefs.

Dear Dewey,

I really don't know if I should be writing this letter to you or to Ana. I FINALLY READ Nation, Nymeth! So, yeah, aren't you both proud of me! I was starting to worry that it was going to wind up going back to the library unread, but I knew that you both loved it, so I had to read it. It's interesting. Ana is a huge Pratchett fan, while you had only read one Discworld book. I don't know what I am. All I know is that I think Good Omens is one of the greatest things I have ever read and Terry Pratchett co-wrote it with Neil Gaiman. (See, Carl, sometimes I say nice things about Gaiman... You don't have to cover your ears!). I have read a couple other books by Pratchett, but he was always just on the list for the most part. I know that Ana loves him, though, like I said, and that has always made me want to read more from him! I am glad that I finally did!

You did a nice summary:

The story takes place in the mid to late nineteenth century on a tiny island which has been nearly destroyed by a tsunami. One survivor remains from the entire nation: Mau. But survivors from other islands and from a shipwreck wash up on the island and help Mau rebuild his home. One character, Ermintrude (who says her name is Daphne) has the biggest adjustment to make. She’s an English girl who was on board a ship that runs aground on the island. Unlike the other survivors, she has no shared language, history, culture, or even similar appearance to the others. But they all learn to communicate.

I do know one thing, I would hate to be called Ermintrude! What a horrible name! (Uh, no offense on the chance someone reads this blog and happens to have that name...)

I also really liked this paragraph of yours:

I was particularly pleased by the end. The endings of books often irritate me; they’re either wrapped up too tidily, beating the reader over the head with closure, or things are left dangling, or the end is cliched, trite, predictable. This ending surprised me, in a good way. I thought I had it all figured out, knew how things would turn out. But I was wrong, and I was delighted with what Pratchett did with his final chapters.

I have the same problem! Often I finish books that I loved, but the ending leaves me trying to figure out what I truly thought of the book. Pratchett appears to write good endings, though. The book I read after it, I still haven't decided what I think of the ending! Good thing it isn't a book I plan to review this week...

Anyway, just between you and me, and well, everyone that is going to be reading this... (Brace yourself, Ana). I didn't think I was going to like this book. I was not very drawn in with the beginning, and it was more a sort of book that grew on me gradually. I was about halfway through and I discovered that I was really enjoying it, but it was not something that happened right away. I am glad that while I have seen some reviews of this book, it has not been reviewed to death. That often changes my opinion. (I am worried that is going to happen when I finally read The Hunger Games, for example). If I was sick of seeing thoughts on it, I might not have read it at all. So, I am glad that I did!

I can see why both you and Ana enjoyed this book. This further proves to me that I really have to read more Pratchett! Actually, now I want to reread Good Omens. I wonder if that will be as good with a reread? I am sure that no one really cares, but I have reviewed like 7 books today! I am allowed to go off on a tangent! (Even though I am scheduling them, so it doesn't really look like I reviewed that many...)

I am going to stop rambling now.

Until next time...

To read Dewey's review of this book, click here.

Good Omens - Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman [February/06]

What is there to say about this book other than: Terry Pratchett. He is such a brilliant author, I really need to read more of him! This was the fist time I had ever read Neil Gaiman, though, so I picked up a novel by him on his own to get a taste of him. I just have not read it yet. Anyways, this book, in true Pratchett fashion, takes the modern opinions held about the Apocolypse and flips them all around. It is hard to say exactly what he meant to do with this, but to my eyes it seems like they were trying to make fun of the Bible. Not because they are against religion, exactly, but because no one knows for sure exactly what will happen if the world were to end. The Bible was written many many years ago, so there has been a lot of changes since then. For example, there are supposed to be the Four Horseman of the Apocolypse. In Pratchett and Gaiman's novel, the horseman ride motorcycles. That is not exactly going against the Bible, it is just pointing out that horses are not as common anymore.

It is really is an eye-opening book, as it is actually both a novel and a true story, although not true at the same time. You see in the novel, there is a woman who writes a Bible of sorts that predicts the outcome of the world for many generations. She was considered a witch, and actually burned for this belief, but not before she created this book. In the novel, what she predicted comes to play. It is through a very distant granddaughter that we learn that what she thought actually was happening. She may not have had exact dates for when the events were going to take place, but this did not change the fact that she knew they were going to come into play. In some cases, she has it down to the details. Her family has spent generations translating her beliefs and more often than not the events are happening before they find the pertaining event in her book.

I just adore Pratchett because his novels are quite humourous, but at the same time they satirize society and aspects of the society in a way that Pratchett can get his beliefs about them across. This novel has so many in it that it would likely take several read throughs for one reader to get all of them. It may seem about the Apocolypse, but there are many other things at play in the novel. I will not list them here, I will leave you to find them out for yourself because this is a book I STRONGLY RECOMMEND!!!!!

4.5/5

First Book Look

Just a place to record the books that I have read and enjoyed, starting sometime. I am not sure if I will go back and record ones that I have read a long time ago. I am currently reading Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett. A forum that I belong to talks about him all the time, I am glad I got the him sorted out because I originally thought it was a girl because Terry Brooks is a girl, and I thought that I would check him out. It is interesting so far, I have met a zombie, a vampire, and Igor. There was a troll entering the bar just as I paused in my reading.

Last night I finished Saints of Big Harbour by Lynn Coady. Coady is a Canadian author that was born near where I live. Her novel takes place in Nova Scotia, my province, so it was interesting to hear a fictional tale about some Nova Scotians. It interesting, though, because some of the places actually exist, she has the accents pretty believable because people from Cape Breton originated from Scotland and Ireland so they still hold the traces of the tongue. Many Cape Breton people also speak Gaelic, which is pretty cool. My grandfather, my mother's father, lives in Cape Breton. Anyways, in this novel we start with one main character, a boy named Guy. For any not French people that read this, think of the hockey player Guy LeFleur, that is how you pronounce this ones name as well. As the novel goes along, though, there are many more characters that appear in the fore-front of the novel. Like his alcoholic uncle, his mother, this young girl that goes crazy and comes up with a tale that involves a made up guy and Guy doing something that he never actually did, as well as a whole string of other characters. I for the most part liked the novel, I just find the word "saints" funny because all the people from Black Harbour mentioned in the novel are crazy! The girl gets Guy investigated by the police, her brother goes on an assualt spree, and those are just some of the characters that live in the town.

Out of a rating of 5, I would give this novel a 4/5.