I've been re-reading the Sevenwaters series by Juliet Marillier, and this book is one of the more recent books that I hadn't read. I read the first book in the series when I was in high school, and in re-reading it all again, I find that I still love the story and I haven't outgrown it at all.
The first book is about Sorcha, the second book is about her daughter Liadan, the third book is about her granddaughter Fainne (her mother is Niamh, Liadan's sister), and this book is about Clodagh (Sorcha's son's daughter).
Clodagh is the most normal daughter in the family, according to her, and wants nothing more than to be just like her mother. Unfortunately, the son of the Fairy prince falls in love with her and gives her an adventure she never expected. But like all daughters of Sevenwaters, she has more skills than you would expect and more stubbornness than is wise. She is able to fulfill the quest and have her man too.
This is not my favorite book, but I admire Juliet Marillier for finding ways to maintain interest in the characters and keep the same quality of writing. I can't wait for the next book to come out in paperback... because the next book is about Sibeal, Clodagh's sister, the seer.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Ape House by Sara Gruen
I lied, I read other books in the last couple months.
Ape House by Sara Gruen was pretty good. It was the book that lead me on to Water for Elephants.
This book is set in contemporary time. It's about these apes who can communicate effectively with sign language who are kidnapped by a Reality-TV producer and put on TV. The guy thought the animals would be television gold because the apes are very open about their sexuality and often have bisexual intercourse with each other.
The story goes between the apes, the scientists that want to save the animals, the animal activists, the people exploiting the animals, and a journalist publishing the story. The summary on the book jacket hints at this romance between the scientist and the journalist, but it totally doesn't pan out as hinted. They barely have a romantic relationship... that part was a little disappointing because I kept expecting something crazy complicated but didn't see anything remotely like it.
The story is mostly about how far people will go to exploit something, and what needs to be done to protect the vulnerable.
Like Water for Elephants, this book is interesting and thought provoking but not so deep that you're turned off by the philosophical discussion. Despite that, I can't decide if I like Sara Gruen... she's trying to be thought provoking but she always steps back just before she hits the edge of depth and it annoys me. I suppose I just prefer either one or the other, action or thought. Gruen's books have action but not too much... and there's thinking but not enough to alienate the casual reader... But the endings are almost too neat, and that seems to alienate me more. I'm not sure what I'm saying, when I like happy endings... but it just feels a little off to me. Nothing ends that perfectly.
Ape House by Sara Gruen was pretty good. It was the book that lead me on to Water for Elephants.
This book is set in contemporary time. It's about these apes who can communicate effectively with sign language who are kidnapped by a Reality-TV producer and put on TV. The guy thought the animals would be television gold because the apes are very open about their sexuality and often have bisexual intercourse with each other.
The story goes between the apes, the scientists that want to save the animals, the animal activists, the people exploiting the animals, and a journalist publishing the story. The summary on the book jacket hints at this romance between the scientist and the journalist, but it totally doesn't pan out as hinted. They barely have a romantic relationship... that part was a little disappointing because I kept expecting something crazy complicated but didn't see anything remotely like it.
The story is mostly about how far people will go to exploit something, and what needs to be done to protect the vulnerable.
Like Water for Elephants, this book is interesting and thought provoking but not so deep that you're turned off by the philosophical discussion. Despite that, I can't decide if I like Sara Gruen... she's trying to be thought provoking but she always steps back just before she hits the edge of depth and it annoys me. I suppose I just prefer either one or the other, action or thought. Gruen's books have action but not too much... and there's thinking but not enough to alienate the casual reader... But the endings are almost too neat, and that seems to alienate me more. I'm not sure what I'm saying, when I like happy endings... but it just feels a little off to me. Nothing ends that perfectly.
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
Well, since I read book two, I couldn't leave without reading book 3. Book 3, is more my style. It's alot slower than the first two but I liked this one. I think it helped that I read it a long time after I read the first ones, so there was some distance for me.
I thought the third book was really funny actually. It's about the Swedish secret service going out of their way to stop Salander's case from winning in court. And they were completely overcome by the smarter and more dashing Blomkvist and his crew. Lots of little twists, and smart ideas... and it was just hilarious how the Swedish secret service was completely duped. And it was nice to see Salander figure out her relationship with Blomkvist. A nice neat ending. It's too bad there won't be anymore.
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On another note, I read this last book two months ago but forgot to type this up. Since then I've been re-reading some of my favorite books and failed at starting a couple new stories. I'll try to remember to type up something whenever I finish something new.
I thought the third book was really funny actually. It's about the Swedish secret service going out of their way to stop Salander's case from winning in court. And they were completely overcome by the smarter and more dashing Blomkvist and his crew. Lots of little twists, and smart ideas... and it was just hilarious how the Swedish secret service was completely duped. And it was nice to see Salander figure out her relationship with Blomkvist. A nice neat ending. It's too bad there won't be anymore.
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On another note, I read this last book two months ago but forgot to type this up. Since then I've been re-reading some of my favorite books and failed at starting a couple new stories. I'll try to remember to type up something whenever I finish something new.
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