Monday, September 27, 2010

The Passage - Justin Cronin


Another one that I have been watching for awhile - I'm glad that I waited until almost the holidays before I started reading this, as I could not put it down! Engaging from the first page - and a mental challenge as I kept up with the array of characters; the change of settings and timezones.
The post-apocalyptic world has been overrun by vampire / human hybrid creatures. These are not the broody, good looking Twilight types, but bloody, violent creatures that tear bodies apart. Only Amy NLN (no last name) may have the answer.
A pity we'll have to wait till 2012 to find it out!!

Read more here

Sunday, September 19, 2010

The prince of mist - Carlos Ruiz Zafon


I've read and thoroughly enjoyed both The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game by Zafon. This is his first book, written over 15 years ago for a teen audience. The subject matter is similar to his hugely successful adult titles - mystery, magic and the unexplained.

The prince of mist is set in run down mansion in an isolated coastal town. The lighthouse keeper and his grandson have a secret past and the garden of statues bear an unusual resemblance to a circus troupe that drowned on the beach 25 years ago.

When Max and his family move into the old homestead strange things begin to happen...

Quite a dark tale of broken promises and the inability to escape one's fate. Mature teen readers.

hush, hush - Bekka Fitzgerald


I have looked at this book on library shelves so many times - the cover really intrigued me - and finally got round to getting it out this week.
Unfortunately it was a little disappointing - a variation of the Twilight theme - instead of a vampire and a human the forbidden love is between a 'fallen angel (who wanted to be human) and a half human (who has no idea of her ancestry).
Nora meets Patch (definitely didn't like the names), feels an instant (but scary attraction). Other angels and dark forces stalk Nora and Patch must protect her (sound familiar?).
I'm sure this will be popular with teenage girls, as will the sequel due out soon (and the sequel and the sequel......)
Read more about the series here ....

Friday, September 17, 2010

The Cellist of Sarajevo - Stephen Galloway


Set against the backdrop of the siege of Sarajevo (early 1990s), this is the fictional account of 4 people struggle to maintain a sense of humanity and morality as the city is decimated around them.

Recommended by a colleague, I couldn't put this down once started. Modern warfare at it's worst - the attempted destruction of a city and a people.

Based on real events - check out this link for an interesting point of view - the real cellist's!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

The sixth lamentation - William Brodrick


Came across this author's first novel via an accidental conversation with a colleague. A fascinating read into the minds of a range if diverse characters - a Fransiscan monk (an ex lawyer) a Nazi collaborator, a death camp survivor, a woman who risked her life smuggling Jewish children out of Paris and a vast array of their families whose paths cross over the course of the novel.

While no actual historical link for the characters, they are based on people that Brodrick has come across or have links to his family.

The story moves across time periods from the Fall of Paris (1940) to the present day - and the final action is not fully revealed until the last page.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Circle Of Gold (Book of Time, book 3) by Guillaume Prévost & Send Simon Savage by Stephen Measday



















Time travel books seem to be very popular at the moment (maybe they have never been out of fashion!

Circle of Gold completes the Book of Time trilogy.
Sam travels time in an attempt to rescue his father who is lost
somewhere in time AND prevent the death of his mother. Until he can control the time he arrives in, he can land anywhere, anytime and in any circumstance - in the middle of a battle, or the middle of a revolution. Action packed and fast-paced.

Send Simon Savage is obviously the first in a series to come. Simon Savage has also lost his father, a scientist who discovered the ability to travel through time. Simon is recruited to by a special government agency, to travel time trouble-shooting a range of problems.

If you like a snap-shot of historical events and eras these will interest you.
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