NO the one suspect that I really didn't want to be the culprit turned out to be the culprit! I loved them and literally didn't care who it was just asNO the one suspect that I really didn't want to be the culprit turned out to be the culprit! I loved them and literally didn't care who it was just as long as it wasn't them- JK Rowling, how could you do this to me? (Yes, I know I technically should call her Robert Galbraith, but I don't care, it's not her real name.) Apart from that, though, I loved this book! I liked it a lot more than Career of Evil, which I wasn't the biggest fan of....more
The library were getting rid of this entire series and I managed to get all of them (except the third book, for some reason). I'd been thinking of reaThe library were getting rid of this entire series and I managed to get all of them (except the third book, for some reason). I'd been thinking of reading this so when I saw them, I snatched them up. I was determined to love them and thought I would definitely want to read the entire series.
I think part of what drew me in was the familiar name on the cover, being a long time Potterhead. Also, I was longing to lose myself in a good fantasy world- something it's been too long since I've done. This series promised to be that for me, and I desperately wanted to love it. Unfortunately, it ended being intensely disappointing.
For one thing, I found both the main characters, Sophie and Josh, to be really annoying and unlikable. They were just typical whiny teenagers who complained the whole time. Okay, I get that some of the things that happened to them were challenging, but do we really have to listen to some teenagers sitting in this supercool magical house in a tree, complaining about not being able to use their devices? Seriously, I would have gladly traded places with these guys and been in the awesome tree house. They don't deserve a magical adventure and they certainly don't deserve to be the chosen ones. Because that's what they turn out to be. How irritatingly cliché.
What about Nicholas Flamel himself, though? First I should mention that I was really intrigued to read the author's note (which I read before I started the actual book) and discovered that he was actually a real person! Judging by him being the series' titular character, I'd already gathered that he wasn't just a Harry Potter character, but I assumed he was probably just a mythical character. Flamel the character, however, is not the real Flamel. I feel a little weird about fictionalised versions of historical figures, to be honest. Historical figures were real people with personalities, and I don't feel right about authors just going and giving them new personalities. They are not your character for you to decide how they think, act or behave.
So in summary, I have no idea what I think of the real Flamel's personality- I've never met him. In regards to Flamel the character in the Michael Scott novel, however... I really wanted to like him, but I couldn't help finding him a bit weak and pathetic. He's supposed to be really powerful, but he doesn't come across that way. His wife, Perenelle, is way more powerful than he is. What's actually stated is that she's "at least as powerful," but that's not what comes across. What comes across is that she's powerful and he's weak. He also seems not very responsible and a bit suspicious. I think the reader is supposed to trust him (I'm not even entirely certain on that), but I can definitely see why the twins find it hard to trust them. Scott actually makes it seem like he's responsible for all the danger the twins are in, even though I'm 99% sure that wasn't his intention.
In regards to the world building, it was decent enough, but nothing special. Some aspects, like that tree house, were cool- but even that was blatantly ripped from some old legend. Most of this was. Apart from the twins, none of the characters were Scott's own invention- they were all either gods and goddesses from different cultures, or actual historical figures. It just struck me as unoriginal. He brought all the different elements together pretty well (and his use of auras was actually interesting- though obviously not an original concept, you don't see it in fantasy that often), and there is a bit of a wow factor to using old mythology. It's an easy way to impress people because you don't even have to come up with your own characters, but people seem to find it cool and impressive. Also, at least it's educational, because you learn a little bit about mythology and historical figures. But overall, I just found it all to be blatantly derivative.
There was one character I actually enjoyed though, which was Scatty. She was fun, likable and a bit of a breath of fresh air. She was based on a mythical figure too, but other authors probably haven't given her the same personality, and I enjoyed the personality Scott gave her. I still wish he'd just invented his own character instead, though....more
I loved the first book in this series, Forest of a Thousand Lanterns. I loved this one too, but for completely different reasons.
Forest of a Thousand I loved the first book in this series, Forest of a Thousand Lanterns. I loved this one too, but for completely different reasons.
Forest of a Thousand Lanterns was more edgy and convention bending. It was less like the kind of books I'm used to reading, and it really made me think. This one was more your conventional fantasy hero's journey. I've read a lot of books like this, but actually hadn't in a while, and it was just so comforting.
All the old familiar tropes, such as the quest (view spoiler)[ and resurrection! Which has always been one of my favourite done-to-death fantasy tropes (hide spoiler)], just felt like a warm fuzzy blanket. It felt like I was returning home after being away for a long time, and it was exactly what I needed. The traditional hero's journey narrative is just so wholesome and inspiring. It shows us that we can overcome!
Not to say that I didn't enjoy the more distinctive aspects of the book. I love Julie Dao's aesthetic, surrealist style, which is as present here as it is in Forest of a Thousand Lanterns, though in a different way. She wrote a quest not quite like any I've ever read, and it was beautiful.
(view spoiler)[I wasn't as upset about Xifeng's end as I would have thought. Though I loved her in Forest of a Thousand Lanterns, I was invested enough in the storyline of this one to wholeheartedly accept the need for her defeat. It was inevitable, and I loved the way it tied up the storyline with Wei and added even more depth to his association with sacrifice in the series. He still loves Xifeng, but he sacrifices what he loves for the greater good.
Though I accept this ending, I do wish Xifeng had given up her empire and ran off with Wei instead. That would have been the perfect ending for me. (hide spoiler)]...more
This was not my favourite Cormoran Strike book. I found it to be quite heavy and some of the subject matter to be quite disturbing, and wanted a breakThis was not my favourite Cormoran Strike book. I found it to be quite heavy and some of the subject matter to be quite disturbing, and wanted a break from the series for quite a while after reading it. I also got really angry with Strike a lot in this one, especially in the last quarter of the book. Somehow I didn't get angry with Robin, though, even when she was making stupid reckless decisions.
There were some things I did appreciate about it, though- in particular, the revelation about the killer. Since we were limited to three suspects in this one and it was very obviously going to be one of them, I didn't think there was any way that J.K. Rowling could surprise me, but somehow she managed to blow my mind with the revelation yet again. Also, we get to learn about Robin and some of the traumas in her past, as well as quite a bit about Strike's tumultuous childhood, and I did enjoy finding out more about these characters....more
This book was honestly so cathartic for me in a way I can't possibly put into words and am not sure if I even completely understand.
Xifeng, I love youThis book was honestly so cathartic for me in a way I can't possibly put into words and am not sure if I even completely understand.
Xifeng, I love you. You're evil but also somehow have this quality of innocence to you, even after you change... this sense of wonder, and delight at aesthetic pleasure that is so infectious and just makes the whole book a deeply aesthetic experience.
I've also got to say... if Taylor Swift's album Midnights was a person, it would be Xifeng. I just feel like that album suits her character to a T- the lyrics, the sounds, the aesthetics and colours, everything about it. I don't know if I just think so because it was released around the time I read this book, and I was listening to it a lot while reading it, but to me, it's just perfect. Especially the song Midnight Rain- the words literally sound like they're about Xifeng and Wei's relationship!...more
This second instalment of the Cormoran Strike series was, in most ways, better than book 1, The Cuckoo's Calling. I'd alrI couldn't put this one down!
This second instalment of the Cormoran Strike series was, in most ways, better than book 1, The Cuckoo's Calling. I'd already fallen in love with Strike and Robin in the first book, and it was exciting to return to these characters for the next instalment. However, the first book was a little slow for me, and this one I got into a lot more. I think my favourite thing about this one is how it delves into the literary world. I really appreciated it because I love books, therefore the literary world is interesting to me. Also, as this book was obviously written by a writer (and an experienced one at that- who believes the nonsense about this being their debut series?), she (yes, she- this was written by J.K. Rowling) knows the world she's writing about, so is able to make it all the more believable.
My only complaint was that I found the actual nature of the killing in this one to be quite gruesome and disturbing. The revelation of the killer didn't blow my mind in the same way it did in the first book either....more
I admit to being an obsessive Potterhead who only picked this up because it's actually written by J.K. Rowling. Although I'm open to reading most genrI admit to being an obsessive Potterhead who only picked this up because it's actually written by J.K. Rowling. Although I'm open to reading most genres, I don't usually read crime. But I'm convinced everything Rowling touches is gold- even though I'm not usually into the genre, I loved this!
I think what drew me in was the characters, in particular Strike and Robin. Rowling's characterisation is one of her gifts- she's written some of the strongest, most real-seeming characters I've ever read, and really knows how to take you into the heads of her protagonists. For instance, there were points during Harry Potter where I fully felt like I wasn't just reading about Harry- I was Harry. I don't think I'm the only Potterhead who felt that way, but people tend to attribute it to Harry being a "blank slate character" rather than Rowling's skill as a writer.
I don't think a "blank slate character" is something anyone is going to call Strike- he has too many distinctive characteristics that will make him unrelatable to most readers. I certainly don't have much in common with him- in fact, you could probably even say I'm the opposite of him in just about every way! I'm young, female, tiny, had a stable childhood, don't have much life experience, eat healthy food, probably would make a terrible detective... the list of our differences could go on and on. But somehow, when I read Strike's POV, none of that matters. Suddenly, I'm not Nurni anymore- I'm Cormoran Strike, private detective. He feels so intensely real to me that I fully inhabit him when I read his chapters, and this wasn't even something that happened gradually- it hit me full force the first time we got his POV. Although I've got to mention that it's weird he's always referred to by his surname, even from his POV. Who thinks of themselves as their surname rather than their first name?
You can probably tell how much I love Strike from that paragraph, which is why it's amazing that this series actually contains another character I love just as much: the other protagonist, Robin. Technically, she's more relatable to me than Strike- she's female, significantly younger with a lot less life experience (not to say that she hasn't been through stuff, though). Despite being able to inhabit Strike so intensely, I also really appreciate that there's also a protagonist who's more like me. She doesn't get much POV in the first book (I'm writing this after having read the next four books instead, because I'm trying to catch up on reviewing a bunch of books I read last year, as I hardly wrote any reviews last year), but in later books she gets it a lot more, and you really get to feel for her. She is such a breath of fresh air and a strong female character- and when I say that I don't mean in the annoying overcompensating kind of way. She's still very feminine and vulnerable, but also very brave and has a lot of strength of character. She feels a lot more real than most other female characters I've read, and is really inspirational to me.
In regards to this first instalment, it was a little slow and boring, especially compared to the later books. However, there was still stuff I enjoyed. Lula Landry, despite being dead for the entire book, was a great, colourful character and a huge presence in the story, and there were a couple of other characters I enjoyed too. Also, the revelation of who the killer was completely blew my mind. As I said above, I'm not that much of a crime reader, so it could just be my inexperience with the genre that lead me to not figure it out, but that doesn't stop it from being the most impactful plot twist of the last several years for me! I seem to remember that Harry Potter also had a lot of these startling revelations at the end of the books. I'm a lot better at figuring out plot twists before they happen than I was when I first read Harry Potter, and I don't get surprised as much anymore, but J.K. Rowling is still great at revelations I didn't see coming....more
I think I might have read this book too late. I probably would have liked it a lot more if I read it when I was the target age. I'm 21 and I only pickI think I might have read this book too late. I probably would have liked it a lot more if I read it when I was the target age. I'm 21 and I only picked it up because I thought I should read some YA classics that I didn't get around to when I was a teenager. It was decent and had an interesting concept, and I cared about the characters, but it took way too long to read. I'm probably not invested enough to continue the series.
Oh, and by the way, this book was written by Jobie Hughes and James Frey. They chose the name of a character, Pittacus Lore, in a fashion similar to Lemony Snicket, which is kind of cool- just getting that out of the way.
The first thing I've got to say is I thought it was a bit weird that the main character, Number Four alias John, actually thinks of himself as an alien. The term alien relies on perspective- it means a life form from a planet that isn't your own, and that isn't necessarily always in relation to Earth. To someone from Lorien, the planet where John is originally from, everyone not from Lorien is an alien. So it makes sense for him to refer to his enemies, the Mogadorians as aliens, because they're not from the same planet as him- but why does he never think of the humans as aliens? It doesn't make sense.
Another thing- towards the beginning of the book, it mentions there only being nine life sustaining planets in the whole universe (at least I think it was nine, I can't be bothered looking at the book so correct me if I'm wrong). I don't believe that for a second. This is the whole entire universe we're talking about here- which is assumed to be infinite but if not, is at least immeasurably vast. I'll just mention that I do believe in the existence of life other than on Earth, precisely because the universe is so vast that it's inevitable. If the universe is infinite, then surely there's infinite life sustaining planets out there- if not, I'd at least think the number would be more proportional to the actual size of the universe.
I don't know how I feel about John, to be honest- he is the ultimate teenage male wish fulfilment character and I don't know if he's that sympathetic. He's really overpowered- he's fire resistant, for one, and an impossibly fast runner. He also picks up telekinesis as a "side" power or something if I interpreted the book right, and that alone already makes him too powerful. He gets into all these fights with humans and always wins really easily, and describes the whole thing as if it's no big deal, but you get the feeling he's got a sense of superiority through the whole thing.
And we're expected to believe that he is completely weak and defenceless when faced with the Mogadorians? He's already so powerful and he still needs to wait for more of his "Legacies" (the ridiculous name for his powers that makes no sense) to come through to even stand a chance against them? In fact, it's really unrealistic that the Mogadorians completely annihilated Lorien in the first place when they were up against several Loric "Garde" (ones with powers) who were all more powerful than John? (view spoiler)[ There is a sequence in the overly long battle at the end, where John is one on one with a Mogadorian soldier who somehow transports him to another dimension or something, where his powers are so weak they're completely useless or something? It just makes no sense, and is just a really weird plot device to somehow make him helpless all of a sudden. (hide spoiler)]
In addition to this, I actually found John really selfish, and most of his decisions terrible and idiotic. I get the feeling he's supposed to be a hero, or thinks he's one, but constantly making stupid reckless choices does not make you a hero. I think Hughes and Frey wanted us to think of him as a hero- but they don't exactly succeed. The impression is that he has an annoying sense of moral superiority in addition to thinking he's better than everyone else because he has powers, and that he's obsessed with playing the hero.
He knows he's supposed to be on the run, and not making himself obvious, but on his first day at a new school, he picks a fight with the school jock. Said jock, Mark James, is really horrible to him afterwards, and is a bit of a bully in general- but it wouldn't have gotten out of hand in the way that it did if John had just kept his head down and realised that this wasn't his fight. But no, he had to "stand up" to him and because he's so morally superior and such a hero.
(view spoiler)[ Then Mark and his gang decide to ambush him on the haunted hayride. He fights back with his new powers and, yeah, it's partially "self defence"- but something about it still feels off. And yet again, he's making himself stand out. (hide spoiler)]
He lets himself get close to certain people for what's apparently the first time. He makes a friend and a girlfriend. His girlfriend, Sarah, could be the topic of a whole review on her own. She's the blandest, weakest female character I've read in a long time- literally her whole personality is "the hot love interest." And she's such a damsel in distress- but we'll get to that later. The point is, he's not supposed to be letting himself get close to people (view spoiler)[ and both of them end up finding out his true identity. Something that's supposed to be completely secret! (hide spoiler)]
Anyway, he keeps making stupid reckless choices that endanger him and everyone around him. (view spoiler)[ At one point he walks into a burning house to save Sarah, who's all pathetically helpless and screaming, and a couple of dogs. Okay, that actually is saving people's lives, so we'll give him that- but it ended up resulting in everyone's lives been in danger when it ended up online and informed the Mogadorians of his whereabouts. (hide spoiler)]
And even after all that, he refuses to leave! He even lies to Henri, his "Cepan" (mentor/ stand-in father figure), about what he's done! This is the most infuriating thing about him. He says he cares about these people, but he's willing to put all of their lives in danger by staying around them. I guess you could argue that kind of selfish, possessive way of "caring" is relatable to teenage boys his age, but I still got really angry at him for it.
(view spoiler)[ And then when the Mogadorians actually turn up, instead of getting in the truck with Henri and trying to get as far away as he can, John runs away from home to the school, and ends up getting all his human friends caught up in the battle. He tells them not to fight while the battle's already going, but by then it's kind of too late- he's already endangered his friends. And he ends up needing to be saved by them multiple times.
Mark James actually gets an interesting redemption arc though, which I wasn't expecting at all. He's the one whose house burns down, and actually helps fight in the battle. By the end of the book, he's actually bearable. (hide spoiler)]
My favourite character was Henri. He was a lot more sympathetic than John- he actually felt like a genuine, compassionate person. You could really see his struggle, and his dedication to their fight. (view spoiler)[ I wish he didn't have to die in the battle! That broke my heart. My favourite characters seem to die really often and I'm sick of it. (hide spoiler)]
I also liked Sam, John's school friend, a lot. He was really interesting with a distinctive personality and a good backstory. He was also really loyal and brave. I think he would have made a much better protagonist....more
This was definitely a thrilling conclusion to a series that was intense, original and lots of fun! By this point, you really grow to love and root forThis was definitely a thrilling conclusion to a series that was intense, original and lots of fun! By this point, you really grow to love and root for all the central characters- but that doesn't mean they don't drive you c r a z y with their self-righteous attitudes and stupid, reckless choices. Actually, that's mostly Corey. He's SO annoying, but you find yourself saying it affectionately, because it's also impossible NOT to love him.
I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the ending though. (view spoiler)[ Of course I enjoyed seeing everything work out and Corey return to his human form, but the whole gene editing aspect of the plot just didn't sit right with me. I don't believe people should be altering DNA at all, and didn't like the way this book presented it as a legitimate solution to all their problems. (hide spoiler)]...more
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