Bookpile: July 2010

Short list this month due to one huge book and what’s going on with my mom.

King’s Dragon – Huge, honking classic fantasy story, the first of seven in this series that is mercifully all out so no waiting for the next one. I’m beginning to wonder if my tastes are changing, if my patience level is changing (well, it’s always been low) or what the deal is. Because, while this is a classic-style fantasy book, I enjoyed but am not raving about it. The coat of paint on the Catholic church as part of the story just wasn’t pretty enough. And everything just seemed to move so slowly. I found myself speculating about where the story was going with plotlines that are probably in book six. Not sure just how to rank it against others in terms of story, world, characters or writing. Has it just been a long time since I’ve tackled a fantasy? Hmmm. Planning to read book two to see if I can get into it more. Given the size, it took me forever to get through and then it was what I was trying to read while also dealing with mom’s brain surgery. Might not be the book’s fault.

Eighth Grade Bites – The first in the series called The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod. Vlad is the offspring of a vampire father and a human mother, both of whom were killed in an accident three years before. Only, it’s not so much of an accident as Vlad finds out. He’s a vampire trying to live in a human world, unknowing that there are others like him nor anything of their world. But, they know he exists somewhere and are out to get him to punish him for the “sins” of his father. Pretty intriguing concept as a story, definitely recommendable for the right kid. (This is the kind of idea that I can see coming up over drinks with the right group – what would it be like if a vampire and a human had a kid. And not in the Breaking Dawn sort of way.) Looking forward to checking the rest of them out (and for the likely movie given the current craze for vampires).

The Inside Story – Book eight (but not last!) in this series. I’m beginning to feel like he’s trying to get it to an even 10. Not that there wasn’t a lot of action in this one, but I keep thinking we’ve reached the end of this drama and it keeps going. I shouldn’t complain, should I? Great stories should go a long time. This one had us romping through the Book of Everafter, visiting all kinds of fairy tales along the way. But the crux of this story really is the continued evolution of Sabrina, Daphne and Puck – growing, changing, maturing – and how that impacts their relationship with each other.

| Privacy Policy