I'm floored by how this story touched me deeply. It even managed to transport me back - way far back in time to the 20's, 40's and 70's. I never couldI'm floored by how this story touched me deeply. It even managed to transport me back - way far back in time to the 20's, 40's and 70's. I never could find such seemingly timeless stories lying anywhere. Of course it has to only come from Stephen King.
What I loved in this story is how well King portrayed how gritty and grim the situation is for the protagonist who has to endure even decades of hardships and injustice. Nothing is scarier than be thrown isolated into a prison full of convicts serving time. Yet, the story manage to humanize these individuals. Even the most vile of convicts, the hard faced and hard hearted wardens, guards and correctional officers. As grim and as gritty (even sometimes bloody) the situation gets, hope does springs eternal for one man in the story. I felt moved and inspired how Andy persevered under extreme conditions in the prison and how it was hope that drove his sharp wits and determination to overcome and break out of the corrupt prison while managing to also serve justice on a nice platter on his way out. Maybe that's a spoiler, but I doubt anyone is reading what I write nowadays.
This story is truly a gem - a diamond in the rough. It's so human, so hopeful, though it does get brutal and dark at time. But it serves as a catalytic reminder for me personally too. Sometimes we just have to dive into our goals instead of being crippled by the What ifs? . Either get busy living or get busy dying. It's the one thing I want to hold on to as a remembrance in my heart for ever. ...more
That awkward moment when you don't know who to compliment most. The writer or the narrator. Or both?
In all fairness, without Stephen King's exceptionaThat awkward moment when you don't know who to compliment most. The writer or the narrator. Or both?
In all fairness, without Stephen King's exceptional atmospheric writing, John Glover himself couldn't have captured every words into intense emotions. I legit saw every scenes play out across my mind as he narrates. Kudos to these two. They work so well with each other - hand in hand.
The Boogeyman is such a creepy tale and a great treat to read/listen to in the dark before dozing off for the night. It was intense and there are moments when it escalates. I could vividly feel the darkness closing in, feel Lester Billings' children's terror just moments before their murder by a dark entity lurking in the shadows of closets.
Claws . . .
Since it was written in the early 1970s I'm not surprised to see themes like 'Women must follow her husband.' or even the biting racist remarks about gypsies, people of color, etc. It was a different period, afterall and in fact, it made Lester Billings more three dimensional amidst his hysterics. He is not a very likeable man in that regards.
Anyway, this is such a treat. I loved every moment of it....more
This damn book made me lie down on the floor just so I can calm down, and contemplate the existence of human beings and of the possibility of alternatThis damn book made me lie down on the floor just so I can calm down, and contemplate the existence of human beings and of the possibility of alternate universes and other dimensions.
THIS BOOK IS AWESOME.
For lack of a better word to describe it.
I can't even comprehend coherent sentences right now because I.am.so.hungover....more
There is nothing romantic about Romeo & Juliet. If anything, this felt like an intentional mockery to me. So if anyone thinks this is categorized as RThere is nothing romantic about Romeo & Juliet. If anything, this felt like an intentional mockery to me. So if anyone thinks this is categorized as Romance, I will stare at them like they've lost their heads.
There have been debates about whether or not Romeo & Juliet is a satire. I'm 101% sure that this is a satirical play in which Shakespeare, the genius bastard, mocked and made fun of hot-headed, foolish teenagers. The man laughed in the face of insta-love (lust), and I laughed along with him. If he was here, I'd offer him a high five because hey, some of his mockery is true. Many teens (I'm not saying all) tend to confuse lust and admiration for love. We also shoot our mouths like bullets at the adults who are supposed to 'know better'. I may or may not be one of those teens.
I've read Hamlet, Macbeth, and Julius Caesar where characters there are smart in their actions. So... why would he create a fool like Romeo? I've read The Tempest where the relationship between Miranda and Ferdinand took a slow, budding pace so why the sudden proclaimations of love and wedding vows here? It does not adds up. Unless of course, you see this in a satirical point of view.
Besides, Shakespeare always struck me as someone who explores in the deep meaning of love. Love is not a subject he took lightly. This I assumed also by judging from what many people say about his sonnets.
I didn't feel the air of tragic when Shakespeare killed off the characters here; poison down Romeo's throat, sword in Juliet's gut. It felt like Shakespeare himself was laughing his ass off.
Lookit these stupid teenagers. Lookit how blindly they throw themselves into relationships! Ha...ha...ha!
So bugger with the insta-lust. It's laughable, unrealistic even, but I've had the time of my life reading this play. If Shakespeare indeed meant this to be a satire, he did a great job. ...more
If there is anything that we can take from Harry Potter - it's that hope, faith and courage can get us as far as it gets, but Love lasts f April 2020
If there is anything that we can take from Harry Potter - it's that hope, faith and courage can get us as far as it gets, but Love lasts for an eternity.
January 2016
The perfect book to kickstart 2016 has ended and now, I don't know what to do with my life.
Yes, I still get sad over several deaths. YES, I had ‘em coming but it still manage to give me a pang.
I couldn't thank J.K.R enough for creating one of the most magical series ever. Harry Potter is not just a story, for one thing it's showed readers a few lessons that I won't ever forget.
I've already said my goodbyes to Harry, Ron and Hermione before, this makes it the 5th time but it certainly won't be the last.
(view spoiler)[Raising my wand to the brave souls who perished in the Battle of Hogwarts: - Professor Severus Snape - Remus Lupin & Nymphadora Tonks - Colin Creevey - Fred Weasley - Lavender Brown - All the other unnamed Hogwart students who fought just as bravely. (hide spoiler)]...more
Oh man, do I have such fond memories linked to this famous classics. It was my childhood.
This book also happens to contain one of my mother’s favouritOh man, do I have such fond memories linked to this famous classics. It was my childhood.
This book also happens to contain one of my mother’s favourite messages: Be kind.
I don't celebrate Christmas (bah) but whenever that day loomed near, A Christmas Carol would show up in television. This year, I decided not to watch the movie(s) but to read the real classics, and it sure does put all those abridged (humbug) versions to shame.
I am still tickled by Scrooge’s bah, humbug! Yes, yes, the old man was selfish, greedy, mean, and cranky
Are there no prisons? Workhouses?
but darn it, I still can't find it in me to dislike him. The little kid in me loved it when he turned a new leaf, but after so many years - I've turned slightly jaded and now I am a bit sceptical. Do people really change that fast?
But no matter, I still love the story - it's got a special place in my shelf. And I've always loved how Dickens captured Christmas cheer so nicely in his words. It never fails to make me feel wistful for Christmas. ...more
King is one of the best storyteller. I've enjoyed this immensely and even decided to overlook the fact that there weren't any connections to The Dark King is one of the best storyteller. I've enjoyed this immensely and even decided to overlook the fact that there weren't any connections to The Dark Tower series. This is a story within a story and it's a terrific one at that....more
“Because it all means something when you’re alive.”
This middle grade b
"Why must ghosts be so forgetful?"
"Why must the living worry about the past so?”
“Because it all means something when you’re alive.”
This middle grade book tugged at heartstrings I didn't know existed. I don't have much to say about this because it's such a short, quick read for me to give the book a longer review but if I have anything more to say at all, the words will only be sung in high praises.
First of all - whoa, Lauren DeStefano really knows how to write a ghost story fit for young audiences. This story is in no way horrifying but yet it is still haunting and dark. I loved the gloomy atmospheric writing. It has a detached tone to it but still managed to touch the readers with its wistfulness.
The premise is definitely something new to me. Our little heroine Pram short for - 'Pragmatic' came to the world hovering between life and death. She was cut out of her dead mother's belly and if that's not a gruesome way to be born I don't know what else could be.
Pram grew up unique. She is brave, intellectual, inquisitive and she could see dead people and animals. I like how she doesn't come off as 'too special'. Her otherworldly ability only felt anything but natural, and I adore her charisma for others.
“The living think the worst of death. But it isn’t a punishment. It’s just what comes next."
I must say that I respect DeStefano for not romanticising Death, depression or suicide in any form of way. I'm especially intrigued that the ghosts here have their own backstories they don't remember, like how they met their Deaths and who they were in the life before. It definitely added more layers, piqued my curiosity and sympathy, and made the book all the more interesting.
A Curious Tale of The In-Between is a fitting story for younger readers but anyone of any age can read this and easily enjoy it. It certainly touches on touchy subjects like mental illness but it never went too far beyond the non comfort zone.
"Inside every sane person, there's a madman struggling to get out. That's what I've always thought. No one goes mad quicker than a totally sane person"Inside every sane person, there's a madman struggling to get out. That's what I've always thought. No one goes mad quicker than a totally sane person."
The second installment in the Discworld series is a bigger, funnier delight. One heck of a Laugh Out Loud read.
Something I consider very special in Sir Terry Pratchett's works is that many authors can pull off a joke every once in a while in their stories but Mr Pratchett managed to keep the whole thing comical, while at the time satirical. Not once did I not grin or snort out loud.
In The Colour of Magic, Rincewind was last seen (read?) falling off the rim of the world. Well, he landed safely on his arse. Thank goodness or he couldn't be much use if he's dead.
Things are turning quite grim now. Great A'Tuin the turtle is wading its giant flippers toward a 'red star'. The closer it is (I feel very sorry for calling the World Turtle an 'it' but in my defense, 'it's' sex is still undetermined afterall!) to the star, the weaker and more unbalanced the magic is back in Discworld!
The only way to prevent the apocalypse is to recite all 8 spells from a magic book called Octavo. However one last spell is missing. Where could it be?! It also didn't help Rincewind's situation and mood when he found out that there's a certain prophecy about him.
I'm not a big reader when it comes to books with apocalypse in it looming just around the corner. Too bleak, I say. But this was a purely fun ride that follows with Rincewind's unfortunate adventures.
The worldbuilding is still just as bizarre as the last book. Except now it has a fairytale feel to it. There's even a scene where Rincewind and Twoflower took refuge in a gingerbread house! Sounds familiar? *cough* Hansel and Gretel! *cough*
Characterizations [humans, fantastical creatures and things alike]:
I have a very special place in my heart for nearly all the people and creatures in the book. Of course I have certain favourites myself but I couldn't resist liking nearly everything and everyone. It sounds so corny of me, I know. But damn it, I can't help myself not when they're all so fleshed out well. Definitely not when they each have their own unique quirky personality.
Rincewind shows even more of his cynicism and it didn't exactly help his ill bedside manners being partnered with the impossibly, insufferably optimistic Twoflower.
"I expect everything will turn out quite all right in the end," said Twoflower.
Rincewind looked at him. Remarks like that always threw him off.
"Do you really believe that? I mean," he said. "Really?"
"Well, things generally do work out satisfactorily, when you come to think about it."
"If you think the total disruption of my life in the last year is satisfactory then you might be right. I've lost count of the times I've nearly been killed--"
"Twenty-seven," said Twoflower.
"What?"
He held a great disdain within him toward people and situations in life. He's not just cynical, I like to think of him as pessimistic too. He also has a knack of running in the opposite directions from things he's terrified of instead of plunging straight into the fire and save the day. Some people would say that he's quite the coward. I would say that he's quite the survivalist.
'He always held that panic was the best means of survival; back in the olden days, his theory went, people faced with hungry saber-toothed tigers could be divided very simply into those who panicked and those who stood there saying. "What a magnificent brute!" and "Here, pussy."
Rincewind's snappy moods, impatience and crankiness have really grown on me. Irregardless of how distasteful his actions may be at times!
I have to tip my hat on behalf of Twoflower, the first tourist of Ankh-Morpork may be the only one who can understand and tolerate Rincewind. While he is pessimistic, Twoflower is optimistic. Rincewind's cowardly but Twoflowers's noble and is willing to sacrifice himself to save others. Rincewind is quick to rage but Twoflower's best merits are his patience and his forgiving nature.
"Against the whole of human experience Twoflower believed that if only people would talk to each other, have a few drinks, exchange pictures of their grandchildren, maybe take in a show or something, then everything could be sorted out. He also believed that people were basically good but sometimes had their bad days."
How can I not resist someone like him? I can't! He's so good-hearted, it either made you despise how he's so insufferably annoying at that or... you find him irresistible. It is the latter for me.
Then there's The Luggage, it's name suggest what it is. A luggage that carries laundries for its master! Except it's no ordinary luggage. For one thing, it has hundreds of tiny little legs to take it anywhere. It's lid serves as a mouth and when it wants to look menancing, it snaps the lid up and down. Don't get too close - it's a luggage that bites and snaps and eats people up!
With the Luggage in your possession, you can be in no harm as long as:
a) you're not trying to harm it's master and his friends. b) you don't kick its wooden sides and be a big bully. c) you don't try to force open its lid apart to see what treasure is inside (there are usually none).
So aside from looking menancing, what else does it do? You'd be awed that not only The Luggage is useful in carrying loads, it is also very loyal, quick in thinking and even quicker so in taking actions (with those hundreds of little legs? No doubt) to save those in distress. Don't ask me how a luggage can think. I have no idea! Point is, the Luggage can be real scary to the point that even barbarians soil their trousers. You should be scared.
Then there are the minor people, creatures and things alike such as a group of incompetent swordsmen led by a woman, talking trees, a goblin, an imp who paints, a barbarian, DEATH and his comrades, stone trolls, a cursed shopkeeper, a mob of crazy superstitious people with pitchforks.... and so on and so forth. I expected to get clogged up with all these many minor characters coming and going. But not-so-surprisingly, I didn't feel confused or got side tracked by them. Each one of them has personalities and they're not forgettable. Not when they do or say something incredibly incredible, funny or stupid. Pratchett can write about the smallest pebble on a ground of dirt and still make it interesting and full of persona.
As a final conclusion, I can't say much except that... well, this book was just fucking fantastic and it won my heart and soul completely. That about sums up my thoughts.
Besides, it's almost impossible to pick apart or find anything wrong in something that can switch on your 'HAHA' button each seconds. The jokes are distracting!
Doctor's Prescription and Warning:
This is the medicine for when you feel blue or angry.
No, it's not supposed to be some pills.
It's this book.
However, read with care for each sentences and every passages are induced with high dosages of humour. Limit your level of intake in case you overdosed on the words and choke on your spit bellowing with laughter....more
Never try to kill a vampire during the day. They wake up super-pissed.
You can tell from the blurb itself that we'll haWords of advice from the hunter:
Never try to kill a vampire during the day. They wake up super-pissed.
You can tell from the blurb itself that we'll have plenty of blood-suckers here. Now I'm not a fan of vamps but for many forgivable reasons, this one somehow nailed itself in my small, narrow heart and got stuck there. For good, I believe which isn't something that occur often.
Vampire hunting have run in the Keep's family for a long, long time. As a hunter in secrecy, it pretty much made Gidion Keep a very secretive person and his social life borders on non-existent. After he saved his teacher from getting sucked dry one night, he soon found leads that point straight to a coven - and where there's a coven there is most definitely a powerful vampire behind it. Somebody is targeting unassuming people, somebody wants these people's throats ripped out and Gidion is on the hunt to stop them.
I did not care that the plot was unremarkable, and oh-blaaaah-so-overused. I did not care that I was right in guessing who may be behind the killings. I also did not care for that nagging feeling that this comes close to a Blade movie. I'm a very fussy person, a dramatic reader and an even more nitpicky one, but this book might as well had slapped me across the face and told me to shut the hell up with the complaints because guess what? THOSE CAN GO TO HELL because this came so close to damn perfection.
BEHIND THE SCENE, Gidion is painted as the mumbler-fumbler, and the socially awkward dude who likes to read comics. ON THE SET, he is fearless: he'd brave a full-on assault from the suckers, and he'd risk his life on the line to save civilians and the people who matter to him.
I don't remember having such a huuuge ass crush on a fictional guy close to my age but my god, Gidion was just fucking adorable. He is the big bad hunter - push him into a room full of bloodsuckers, and he'd slash their throats from ear to ear. No problemo. Now, throw in a cute girl his way and see how he acts like an idiot.
"I have a senior girl in her underwear in my bathroom," he whispered to himself. "Wow." Then he heard the shower start running and he knew his stupid grin must be as wide as his face. He now had a naked senior girl taking a shower in his bathroom. "Wow."
Doesn't he sounds just like a real guy?
Goddamn, I just feel like doing the nasty to him. Pardon the crudeness, that's just the hormones talking.
I especially love, LOVE the narration and how Gidion isn't angst-ridden.
I like some angst/bitterness in my teenage characters because it does actually exist which makes it realistic but when it gets excessive, it gets tiring. Ya feel me? But on Gidion's part, he goes through his day with barely any whines. He lost his mother at a very young age, presumably to a vampire attack, which to my surprise he did not make it seem like a sad, sad, sob story like any other typical male heroes would. Gidion has a very healthy relationships with his family who only consists of his Dad and Grandpa. The Dad and Grandpa both also have good relationships with each other! So you can imagine, its very refreshing that for once, in the Young Adult genre, the family depicted isn't dysfunctional but affectionate and tight-knitted.
The whole book is written in the third person point of view and normally, this type of writing can read remote if not done right. But Gidion never lets me disconnect. I feel close to all the characters and the events that happened. Props to Mr Bill Blume for his writing skillsn while it's not in any way intricate or wordy, it has a readable, gripping tone.
Many love a book with a happy ending. Myself included. But the ending for this one partly shattered my heart to bits and pieces. Apparently not everyone can have their happy endings. It's not all fluffy. At some point, this book can be very realistic - it hurts!. In some part, it can go detailed on the violence: gory parts are mentioned though not as excessive as I like it to be. Overall, I can only say that Gidion's Hunt is worth all the time spent reading, and if any book deserve more readers and reviews, this one does.
If you want a quick, vampy read just for kicks... Then why the hell are you still reading this review?
*I received an Advanced Reading Copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.*
The sequel to The Monstrumologist is like a punch to the gut, and an arrow through the heart.
I must say... it was quite a torture reading this but iThe sequel to The Monstrumologist is like a punch to the gut, and an arrow through the heart.
I must say... it was quite a torture reading this but it's a blissful one. No kidding.
This was great. If not better than the first book itself. Granted. By the time, I finished the book I was left with a tinge of sorrow and my poor head was full of conflicted thoughts that I couldn't even write a proper review for this.
Let us go then, you and I, like Alice down the rabbit hole, to a time when there still were dark places in the world, and there were men who dared to delve into them.
I am Alice and this book is the rabbit hole to Wonderland. There's absolutely nothing more wondrous than diving straight into a world where there are people who work a queer occupation called monstrumologists and where monsters are as real as you and I.
Are you familiar with the old tales of The Wendigo? [image]
Legend has it that a Wendigo is a half-man & half-beast who is ever hungry and ever hunting for human flesh. The more he eats, the more he starves. Therefore no amount of meat can sate his hunger.
'He’s a shape-changer. Sometimes he’s just like a wolf or bear, and he’s always hungry and he don’t eat anything but people, and the more he eats, the hungrier he gets and the thinner he gets, so he has to keep hunting; he can’t stop. He travels through the forest jumping from treetop to treetop, or some say he spreads out his long arms and glides on the wind. He always comes after you at night, and once he finds you, you’re a goner; there’s nothing you can do.'
This humanoid creature is what Pellinore Warthrop and Will Henry must face this time: a supernatural force that seems nigh possible to defeat unless you have a gun loaded with silver bullets and a clear, steady aim at its ice-cold heart.
Everyone in the story (myself included as a reader) is convinced that these creatures exist and that one of them had snatched Warthrop's old friend, John Chanler, and morphed him into one of them.
However, Warthrop refused to believe that his friend may be turning into a monster. The stubborn mule of the man thinks that the Wendigo do not exist - for if they do then it goes against what he stands for most. Science! Even when John Chanler turned cannibalistic and mutilated dozens of townfolks, Warthrop still stands his ground and held on to his belief firmly. To him, Chanler is still just a man acting on his own whims.
No beast plays pranks or acts out motives of jealousy. If so, then we all are beasts.
It is hard to think that a person who could swallow a raw human heart whole is still... a man. Surely a Wendigo has claimed John Chanler? Either he is a whack in the head or a supernatural force has taken over his mind and body. That is where the book left its ambiguity for its readers to decide.
So many times I was taken by surprise when the story revealed more than one hush-hush past lives of Doctor Pellinore Warthrop's. I did expect a potential love interest to come strutting by but I wasn't expecting a former fiancée knocking on his door! I have always pictured the doctor as
.... a solitary man, a dweller in silences, a genius enslaved to his own despotic thought, meticulous in his work, careless in his appearance, given to bouts of debilitating melancholia and driven by demons as formidable as the physical monstrosities he pursued.
So it was quite a nice surprise to find out that he used to be in love with someone else other than his works as a scientist. What romance there is is not the main focus here but in this case, my insides screamed for more intense scenes between Warthrop and Muriel Chanler. Whether I was rewarded with it or not is for you to find out.
Then there is Will Henry who was orphaned at a young unfortuante age. Left in Warthrop's care, he was still quite the innocent in the first adventures but that innocence is shredded bit by bit as he go deeper into the world of monsters. His transition to maturity and understanding toward life showsand honestly, I mourn for that lost innocence.
I have zero coherent comment on Rick Yancey's writing. All I can manage to say is that it was beautiful, archaic, eerie, melancholic and wistful in all senses of the word. It rattled something deep inside me, triggered my tear ducts and send shivers up my spine.
The cold stars spun to the ancient rhythm, the august march of an everlasting symphony. They are old, the stars, and their memory is long.
It isn't possible to do justice on my admiration for The Curse of The Wendigo. It is laced with ambiguity that makes you see both sides of the story which was cleverly written to throw its readers off. The book was much darker and it was devastating to read. But at the same time, I couldn't enjoy it more.
If you're not into Young Adult because of its lack of grit, I truly recommend this series. There are absolutely no fade-to-black violence and no censorships. By the time you're done reading, you'll be covered from head to toe in warm flowing blood and smelling of decay.
Once again, Neil Gaiman enraptured me in his dark, little world of princesses. You may as well forget the Disney versions because Gaiman's princessesOnce again, Neil Gaiman enraptured me in his dark, little world of princesses. You may as well forget the Disney versions because Gaiman's princesses are never the damsel-in-distresses and his tales are not quite for the light-hearted either. His princesses are their own sole heroes but sometimes, they can also be the villains.
[image]
In this case, Snow, Glass, Apples is a very gritty, very twisted retelling of Snow White. What also makes it quite different is that this little tale is told in the perspective of the Queen's.
My soul and my story are my own, and will die with me.
There is the old saying that says there are three sides to every stories: Theirs, yours and the truth of what really happened. What if the Queen is not truly evil afterall? What if the girl with the black hair, fair skin and red lips is more than what she seemed?
I felt very creeped out with this version of Snow White. By morphing her into this girl with a mean streak and a sinister background, Neil Gaiman has took away my image of a sweet, innocent princess. Perhaps even for good...
This dark hole of a tale is accompanied with a dash of Gaiman's enthralling writing style which made reading it even more atmospheric. Snow, Glass, Apples may be too short for my liking but it's a real winner all the same.
Actual rating: a very high 3.5 stars.
*The Snow White image is drawn entirely by Bahar. * ...more
THIS BOOK IS SO FUCKING WEIRD AND AWESOME AND GODDAMN, I JUST WANT MORE.
The thing with The Drawing of The Three is that it is a helluva weird story bTHIS BOOK IS SO FUCKING WEIRD AND AWESOME AND GODDAMN, I JUST WANT MORE.
The thing with The Drawing of The Three is that it is a helluva weird story but somehow King managed to make sense of THAT weirdness and turn it into something completely EPIC.
Also, the characterization game is very strong in here.
I'm already half in love with Eddie Dean and Odetta and even more so with ROLAND OF GILEAD. Seriously. How did King managed to get me so hooked to them like this?
I'm babbling away so obviously I can't form coherent words right now.
No full review required! NEED THE NEXT BOOK RIGHT NOW. ...more
“These things we have, they aren’t mental issues; they’re powers. Like superheroes have.”
“You think?”
“Sure. We just suck at them right now.”
It is no
“These things we have, they aren’t mental issues; they’re powers. Like superheroes have.”
“You think?”
“Sure. We just suck at them right now.”
It is not everyday that you come across a great book without its usual YA tropes plaguing every pages.
Follow by the textbook, Zeroes did not. Instead what these three authors do is turn the tables around, thrash all the methodical/formulaic shit there is out there and laugh in the face of clichés and tropes. The end product? It’s this. A story so original, fresh and entertaining as hell.Zeroes is everything that I can ever ask for in a Young Adult book.
Shove aside the usual superhero powers like invisibility, telepathy or hell, even superhuman strength! What this book has to offer is something else entirely.
There are 6 teenagers – each with their own uniqueness who know all too well that…
Every Power Comes With A Price.
These teens know they’re not normal and what they do can be risky and dangerous to normal civillans. One reckless move and they could jeopardize an entire society. But the thing is… They don’t have big plans to conquer the world or make people bow down to their whims just because they are oh-so-special. They are all about gathering together to learn and to discover what they’re capable of.
“Zeroes, not Heroes.”
They don’t have a big agenda set in stones – all they want to do is watch out for each other’s backs and avoid getting in troubles.
The problem is . . . What they are capable of doing is a magnet for troubles.
I had so much fun being inside 6 characters’s heads, exploring what they are capable of doing and prying apart their inner thoughts and feelings. You’d be shattered, surprised and awed to learn that their powers almost unmade them in the past. Being different and special is not as glorious as you may think. This may be a story about the impossible, fictional elements but it has a ring of something realistic added to it. I also have so, so much respect for a certain someone who do not misuse/abuse his power just because he can.
When I learned that the book will be told in six different point of views, I was way beyond ecstatic. It was great fun hopping from one different head to the other! Imagine how happy I was when I found out that there is a wide diverse cast here. I was internally squealing FOREVER.
I cannot even gush enough over the writing that is so readable, so easy to process and still so detailed even on the minor things. God, the descriptions are well beyond amazing. The authors even made sure to mention what’s happening in a character’s backgrounds. It made the story read a lot like a movie playing in your head. Though I was expecting the writing to be disjointed since there are 3 authors working on different POVs but to my delight, that balance never shattered nor did the writing ever dragged.
This is just the first book in a trilogy and already I have felt that spark of connection to the many characters here. I feel for them, I root for them, I relate to their teenage thoughts & conflicts, and oh, what the hell? I even swooned for a particular, promising ‘ship’!
To end this review, I can only say a big profound THANK YOU to Westerfeld, Biancotti and Canagan who helped bring Ethan, Nathan, Thibault, Kelsie, Riley and Chizara to life.
Seriously, people. Stop reading this review, stop doing whatever it is you are doing – get this book and READ IT.
As a side note, if you enjoyed Victoria Schwab's adult psychological superhero book, Vicious. Zeroes is definitely meant for you!
Once upon a time, in the kingdom of Delain far away....
Seriously, why didn't this book started that way? I can hear someone in the background barfin Once upon a time, in the kingdom of Delain far away....
Seriously, why didn't this book started that way? I can hear someone in the background barfing at the cheesiness of it but this chick right here lives for that kind of beginning in fairytales. ESPECIALLY in a Stephen King's book.
The Eyes of The Dragon is all things fantasy. Something I have never read from The King of Horror. It's always a big fun to read an author stepping out of his usual comfort zone. And King nailed it!
This book may be purely set in a fantastical world but it does has King's usual grit, and lo and behold! The villain in the story is Flagg himself.
Part time Royal Advisor, Part time Dark Magician. He whispers into King Roland The Good's ears, making him do as he[Flagg] bids. In a way, Flagg has the upper hand in controlling the whole kingdom. He is practically the ruler. When Peter was born, First son to Queen Sasha and Roland, Flagg felt that his lifelong plans will be thwarted. He sought to destroy the perfect prissy boy and leave the throne ready for his weak-willed little brother, Thomas. The better to control Delain and lead the kingdom into years of bloodshed.
I fucking love this book. For so long, I've been searching up and down for a decent fairytale. I loaded myself with Young Adult fairytale retellings hoping it will sate my thirst but even those still left me empty. Meanwhile, this isn't decent. It's fucking great, more like.
I love how it's written. (Duh, It's King!) The writing didn't peeved me off the way it did to some people. In fact, I'm really comfortable with Stephen King writing in the narration of a Storyteller. It's like he's directly talking to the readers and it made me feel more connected.
I can find no flaws in this book.
Good writing? Check.
Solid characterization? Check.
Amazing, spot on world building? Check.
High dosage of tensions? Check.
Legit villain? Check.
Originality? Check.
CHECK. CHECK. CHECK .CHECK.
My nitpicky brain shut down and for once, I was actually reading words without a pause. I was reading in enjoyment. And that was so fucking great.
I didn't miss out on the fact that one of the characters here is named after King's own daughter, Naomi. It's so sweet that he wrote this book for his little girl. That explains a lot of things to me because in some cases, I felt that things were toned down slightly here!
I need more grit though and definitely more of Flagg. MORE.
Evelyn (devours and digests words)
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