Tag: fantasy

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Review: Year Zero

Year Zero by Rob Reid

I give this book a 4.

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This is a very entertaining read full of laughs and, oddly enough, a great deal of factual information I never knew. This story is so absurd that I’m not quite sure how to describe it.

Apparently advanced aliens, far across the galaxy, have been craving and downloading earth music because it’s the one thing the insufficient human race is actually good at (and the rest of the known universe is not). Then one day the superior aliens, through their mastery of legal principles, realize that they owe the people of earth an innumerous amount of royalties or something like that. While some aliens have decided to settle the matter in court, others have decided to just eliminate the problem all together. That’s where the intergalactic misadventures of lawyer Nick Carter (not to be confused with Backstreet Boy, Nick Carter) begin.

To say that the characters of this story are kooky would be an understatement. My favorite thing about the story isn’t technically apart of the story. I love the footnotes. The footnotes of this book are like a running commentary in a movie. They are informative, hilarious, and pleasantly distracting. Eventually I had to stop reading them to finish the story and then went back to read them in perspective. I guess if you’re not really a reader, this may not sound appealing.

All aliens aside, anyone who likes music will love this book. It’s also good for a laugh.

This review has been posted to GoodReads.

If you’d like to obtain a copy of this book, try this link.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

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Review: City of Bones

City of Bones (Mortal Instruments, book1) by Cassandra Clare

I give this book a 4.

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A book about the existence and intermingling of angles with human beings, why wouldn’t I like this?

This is the Nephilim genre at its YA best, as its heroine Clary encounters the world of Shadowhunters for the first time. Clary isn’t a social outcast just waiting for some adventure to enter her life. She’s a normal teen with normal issues, but soon learns that she’s so much more. A chance encounter at a nightclub opens her up to a whole other world that exists in the shadows.

After Clary’s chance encounter, all she wants to do is go home and forget what she saw and hopes that “they” forget seeing her. But that would be too easy. Chance encounters or not, the world of the Shadowhunters was destined to come knocking at her door, and her mother knew this all alone. The problem now is that her mother is missing and she has to depend on strangers to help her find answers.

I really liked this book. I must admit that I allowed myself to be too hyped before reading it and was thus left a little disappointed. I wanted more, but I guess that’s why it’s a series. It’s no secret that I struggle with the YA genre. I have enough problems of my own that make it difficult for me to relate to the struggles of the ever changing, growing, and maturing mind of teenagers, but this book was good.

I adored the lore of this story and the way it plays into the actions of the characters. I liked the mixture of mysticism and magic. There were times, however, when I felt there was too much going on. There were too many creatures and beings to keep up with, but I guess it all worked for the story in the end.  This a definitely a good read for teens, but even adults with a passion for fantasy will enjoy this one.

*I was hoping for a little more spirituality to be infused with a story of this nature, but it is what it is.

This review has been posted to GoodReads.

If you’d like to obtain a copy of this book, try this link.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

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EC: Giovanni's Angel Tea & Conversation

Tea and Conversation 05: Flashbacks

teaNtalk

Today I’m sharing a picture of iced lemon tea from Pinterest.

Please do not copy this image. Click image to share on Pinterest.

Today in my meditation on the Eternal Curse, I’m writing about: Why flashbacks?

Much of the background of the characters and the story is told through flashback, many where one character verbally recounts the events. This story covers a large span of time and only focuses on three main characters. If the story had been told chronologically, most of the book would have only included one character, Giovanni.

One reason why I like using flashbacks in this story is because it gives a more personal account of the events taking place. The flashbacks are experienced from an individual point of view.  Since the whole story is narrated by an unseen party, it’s clear that the story is not being told from experience, but rather from history. The narrator is telling a story that he or she has learned about over the years, has read about, and or was told.

Another reason why I like the use of flashbacks in this story is because it offers a break from the monotony of the current struggle. Of course the struggle eventually changes in some way either for good or bad, but until the climax is reached, it’s a lot of same melancholy expression repeated.

I honestly tried not to overuse the flashback technique, but it’s there quite a bit. By using this technique, the reader is able to jump back and forth through time, gathering up all the high points in the story or a character’s life, without having to sit through pages of everything in between.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords