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Books

Review: Childhood’s End

Childhood’s End by Author C. Clarke

I give this book a 5.

LoveIt

This is a wonderful book I wish I’d read sooner. Everything I’ve always known and loved about alien invasion plots seems to have been influenced by this book in one way or another.

The book starts out by describing the harmless but startling invasion of the Overlords. Within very little time, the soft-spoken, and at that point, never seen Overlords have rid the world of war and violence and made it subtly clear that they plan to stick around for a very long while. Of course, people being people constantly wonder and question the motives of the Overlords, but since no lives are being taken, peace abounds around the land.

Generations go by before the Overlords present themselves to the public, for good reasons that are clearly explained in the book. After that, the earth begins to reach its almost utopian pinnacle.  The one and only thing that really seems to be lacking in this new perfect world is the desire and or opportunity to explore new things. So of course, there is one man who decides to tackle this deficiency, with unexpected results.

More and more generations come and go until such a time that man has begun to evolve. Finally, the Overlords are ready to reveal their true purpose, but by that time, it doesn’t really matter anymore. There’s something more in store for the fate of the earth.

Wow, is the first thing that comes to mind each and every time I think of this book. The most riveting notion throughout this book is the sense of the unknown. Every time one thing is explained and all is well, there’s something else to keep you guessing. The story comes to a very clear and compelling end, but even then you are left wondering, and not because the author didn’t feel like filling the reader in. There are some things in this world that we just cannot understand. We can either accept them and move on with our lives, or we can let our desire to know destroy us.

While children and even some teens may not understand all the themes and scope of this story, I would recommend it to anyone. Sci-fi fans are sure to love this story, but anyone who’s ever been plagued by wanting to know more will appreciate this book.

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

Categories
Books

Review: Brave New World

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

I give this book a strong 3.

Okay

This is a compelling story that seems to have not only to be written as a warning for the future, but also to just make you a little angry at human intellect. Set in a future of “perfection”, Bernard doesn’t feel as happy he’s told he should. He decides to visit a “savage” reservation to gain perspective only to find that he isn’t the “rebellious lone wolf” he thinks he is. In the end, Bernard is the product of the world he lives in, but he still manages to cause a ruckus in the lives of others before realizing this.

This book shows what a wonderfully peaceful existence life could be through control, conformity, segregation, a lax moral code, and drug-induced feelings of happiness. I found this book to be very sad, but shockingly real. This is the story of what could happen to the world, but I hope it doesn’t.  Not that teens would be interested in this book, but I’d recommend it to them (with their parent’s permission). This is a book that plucks a lot of nerves and may not be for everyone, but is definitely worth reading. I see this book going over well with male readers.

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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Full Moon WIP Updates

Meet Rebecca

Her name means knotted cord, captivating, or servant of God, but truth be told, I just looked this up. Rebecca is the main character of the romance I’m currently working on and I picked her name just so I could shorten it to Becca from time to time. I don’t know why, but I’ve always liked the nickname Becca.

Before you get too excited, this isn’t a “tell all” about this new character. This is just a brief introduction to who Rebecca is and a little bit of her story. Rebecca comes from a, somewhat, wealthy family, that is on her father’s side, but that doesn’t mean she’s had an easy life. Compared to most, her life has been a cakewalk, but everyone has their issues and struggles, and Rebecca is no different.

I’m about eight chapters into my first rough draft, which my chapters are barely there, at five to six pages. I’m focused right now on just completing the story, trying to see how it will end. I have two ideas in mind, but I still haven’t made a decision yet. There is much more development that will need to be done, before I can start the editing and review process.

While writing this little story and discussing it with a, very small select group of people, I’ve found that my story has some similarities to others, but this isn’t a shock to me. My Eternal Curse book has been compared to Beauty and the Beast by several different people. I can’t ignore the fact that this story has always been one of my favorites and that my mother is a little obsessed with it. I guess that’s why she likes my book so much.

So far, this new story, currently named, It’s Like the Full Moon, has been compared to books and movies along the lines of A Room With a View, Moonstruck, and other romantic comedies, though I don’t know that my story is very funny. The mention of Moonstruck is what prompted the current title, but I haven’t decided if I’ll keep it; only time will tell.