The Book Of Lies review

The Book of Lies by James Moloney

HarperCollins, 2004, 392 pages

I’ve decided that this week I’ll review something a bit outside what I normally review (i.e. famous books that everyone has already read). I’m reviewing a book from another Australian author, who wrote has written a very family-friendly fantasy adventure (wait, is this review really putting me outside my comfort zone?)

The concept for this one came from O. J. Simpson’s trial (when you know what the book’s about, this will shock you). They were using lie detectors to gain evidence, which wasn’t particularly effective, which gave Moloney the idea of a lie detector that couldn’t fail. That’s how it started, before Moloney realised that there’d have to be something to corrupt it, otherwise there’d be no drama. However, he later came up with something to corrupt it, and it was back to work on this fairly unknown masterpiece. This book was originally going to be a stand alone novel, but as Moloney finished this book he felt compelled to write a sequel, and then another sequel (don’t worry, he stopped after that).

The story is about a boy who finds himself at Mrs. Timmins’ Home for Foundlings and Orphans. He has no memory of who he is, except for a vague memory of the name Robert. During the course of his first day, a girl by the name of Beatrice (another orphan at the house) tells him that last night, she spied on him being brought to the house, then Lord Alwyn (the wizard who lives in the tower above the house) tried to hypnotise him, and would have succeeded too if Beatrice hadn’t of interfered. All she could tell him about himself was his name: Marcel.

Marcel knowing his name has suddenly put Lord Alwyn in a panic. He makes Marcel tell him everything he knows about this name in front of The Book of Lies, a magical book that records every lie it hears within its pages. Once satisfied with the responses, Lord Alwyn forces Marcel to wear a magical ring. The ring tells Lord Alwyn if Marcel escapes, and he will send Termagant (the fierce looking cat-like creature) after him. However, after a stranger tells him that he’s a friend of their father’s, Marcel decides to do whatever it takes to escape the orphanage, with Beatrice there to help him.

A magical adventure for kids who just finished Narnia (actually, that would be a great idea for my tenth review), Marcel’s journey through the land of Elster will keep the young ones wanting more, more, MORE . . . until they finish the series of course. Oh, and adults might like it too.

My rating: 8/10

Any suggestions, post them below

The Lightning Thief review

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Hyperion Books, 2005, 384 pages

How often have you been accused of something you didn’t do? Eating the last cookie, that smell in the elevator, stealing Zeus’s lightning bolt, that sort of thing? Well, twelve year old Percy Jackson has been accused of that last one, and in case you hadn’t already guessed, it’s a VERY bad thing to have a god mad at you.

The concept for this book comes from Riordan’s son Haley. He asked his dad to tell him the stories about the gods and heroes in Greek mythology. Riordan, who actually taught Greek myths, agreed to. After a while, he ran out of stories, much to his son’s disappointment. Then, the idea came to make up a new story with the same characters. Riordan soon came up with a story about a boy named Percy Jackson, who was on a quest across America to recover Zeus’s lightning bolt. It took three nights to tell, and at the end Haley told his dad he should write it up as a book. A year later the first Percy Jackson was written.

The story opens on a school field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Percy gets attacked by his maths teacher Mrs. Dodds, who turned out to be one of the three furies. After turning her to dust, he asks about her with other students and Mr. Brunner (the Greek teacher who accompanied Mrs. Dodds on the field trip), but none of them knew who he was talking about. Everyone thought that he was referring to Mrs. Kerr, a teacher who suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Only Percy’s friend Grover seemed to have any indication of remembering her, though he tried to deny it.

After getting home for the year, his mother takes him on a vacation, away from Percy’s abusive step-dad Gabe. However, that night during a huge storm, Grover showed up and told them that something was after them. Percy, his mum and Grover then flee through the night, only to be caught by the Minotaur near their destination. Percy manages to defeat the beast, but not before it takes away his mother. Their destination was Camp Half-Blood, a summer camp for kids who were half-human and half-god. It’s there that Percy learns a lot about himself and the world around him: he is the son of a god (read the book to find out which one), Zeus’s lightning bolt is missing, and Zeus thinks he has it. When a hellhound attacks the camp, Percy is sent on a quest with Grover (who is actually a satyr) and Annabeth (a fellow camper and daughter of a goddess) to retrieve the lightning bolt and return it to Olympus within ten days.

A good, fast-paced, humorous read for young adults, though I do have some criticism. Despite being set entirely in America (and in a couple of places from Greek mythology), frequently there are uses of the metric system (why I picked up on that, I don’t know). Once your kids are done with Harry Potter, get them reading this.

My rating: 7/10

Any suggestions, post them below

The Fellowship Of The Ring review

The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien

George and Allen Unwin, 1954, 531 pages

I could have sworn I posted this last week. Oh well, I'll do two this week.

The oldest book I’ve reviewed so far (beating the old record by 25 years); this week I take you behind a classic piece of literature twelve years in the making. Ladies and gentlemen, this is my review of the one ring to rule them all, the one ring to find them, the one ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.

As all of you should know (though sadly only known by many), “The Hobbit” was written by J. R. R. Tolkien back in 1937. Due to its overwhelming success, the publishers requested a sequel. Tolkien declined at first, since he didn’t have any ideas. When he finally thought of a sequel though, he warned that he writes very slowly (I guess twelve years qualifies as slow). Originally, “The Silmarillion” was going to be published alongside “Lord of the Rings”. However, the publishers had no confidence in the former (idiots) and publication was stopped until summer 1952, when Tolkien gave in and published “The Fellowship of the Ring”.

The story begins with Bilbo Baggins’ eleventy first birthday party. At the party, he makes a speech where, at the end, he announces that he is leaving. As he steps down, he vanishes in a blinding light, confusing all but two people: Gandalf the Grey, a wizard and dear friend of Bilbo; and Frodo Baggins, Bilbo’s heir and nephew. What actually happened was that Bilbo had slipped on a ring, a ring with the power to make people disappear. During the confusion, Bilbo and Gandalf snuck away from the party so they could talk in private about the ring. After a heated discussion, Bilbo agrees to leave the ring to Frodo, as well as everything else he left in Bag End (his home).

It was many years before Frodo learnt from Gandalf that the ring was actually The One Ring; a ring with powers of extreme evil, and needs to be destroyed. Gandalf tells Frodo that he must leave The Shire soon, since if he doesn’t, servants of Sauron will come and take it from him and a new reign of darkness shall rule. Frodo, with friends Sam, Pippin and Merry, must now travel across the wide world of Middle-Earth, hunted by Ringwraithes (the dark riders that seek Frodo and The Ring) and finding their way to Rivendell, where (hopefully) Gandalf is waiting for them.

I already know that giving this a negative review will see me thrown into a volcano in New Zealand (let’s see if anyone gets that reference), but seriously, why would I give a bad review to an epic masterpiece that Tolkien reviewed over and over and over again? There’s a reason people love these books.

My rating: 8.5/10

Any suggestions, post them below

Sabriel review

Sabriel by Garth Nix

HarperCollins, 1995, 491 pages

Last week was an Australian war novel of the 90’s book partially inspired by World War II, this week it’s an Australian fantasy novel of the 90’s book partially inspired by World War I. The story of a girl who is essentially an anti-necromancer, or Abhorsen as they’re called, in the first book of an epic fantasy trilogy.

Nix first thought of the idea of this book when he saw a picture of Hadrian’s Wall. The ground on one side of the wall was covered in snow; the land on the other looked more like it was springtime. At the time, Nix was considering writing a historical novel about World War I, but he also wanted to write a fantasy novel. In the end, fantasy prevailed, though his research of World War I didn’t go to waste. Some of the technology used in the book is reminiscent of the war, as well as some of the environment around The Wall.

Now, along with giving you the setting of the book, I’m going to explain a few key terms (without spoiling the book). The story takes place in the country of Ancelstierre, where technology is very prominent. The book’s protagonist, Sabriel, goes to boarding school here. Her father is a very important man in the Old Kingdom (the country to the north across The Wall, where magic is prominent and technology fails). He is the Abhorsen (the person responsible for keeping Dead creatures in Death). His equipment consists of a magical sword and seven magical bells, each one of different size and with a different power.

However, one night while Sabriel was expecting her father to visit, the school is attacked by a Dead creature. Sabriel soon slays it, but not before she receives her father’s sword and bells. Immediately, Sabriel realises something has happened to her father, and has to leave the school and head into the Old Kingdom to find him . . . if he’s still alive. She learns from Mogget (a creature bound by an Abhorsen many years ago and now serves as a servant to the Abhorsen, taking the form of a cat) that he had been called to the capital and had not returned. Sabriel, Mogget, and later Touchstone (a strange man revived from the figurehead of a boat who can’t remember much of his life) must travel through the wide, dangerous land of the Old Kingdom, and even travel into Death itself, to save a man who may not even be alive.

Who said fantasy was just for little kids? Garth Nix has created a masterpiece more suited for a teenage and young adult audience (since there are some mature themes in this book). This book will keep you wanting more right until the last word (I even had to look up another copy to make sure no-one had ripped out the last page).

My rating: 8/10

Any suggestions, post them below