Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Teaser Tuesday - Explosive Eighteen

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!

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New book this week!  So far I'm liking Explosive Eighteen much more than the previous two books in the series.  So far.  We'll see how it goes!

The Tease:
 "How are we gonna get him in the car?" Lula stared at him. "He must weigh three hundred pounds, and he got wet pants.  We need a forklift to move him. Maybe one of them skyhooks."
"Maybe now that he's cuffed, he'll be reasonable," I said.
Buggy's eyes snapped into focus. "Grrrrr," he said."
 -Explosive Eighteen, by Janet Evanovich

What's your Tease?

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Teaser Tuesday - A Dance with Dragons

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!

----------
All right folks, we're entering the home stretch - Only 200 pages left to go, and still loving it!

The Tease:
 "Eleven servants of the Many-Faced God gathered that night beneath the temple, more than she had ever seen together at one time.  Only the lordling and the fat fellow arrived by the front door: the rest came by secret ways, through tunnels and hidden passages.  They wore their robes of black and white, but as they took their seats each man pulled his cowl down to show the face he had chosen to wear that day."
 -A Dance with Dragons, by George R. R. Martin

What's your Tease?

Friday, January 20, 2012

Book Review - A Discovery of Witches

All Soul's Trilogy, by Deborah Harkness
1. A Discovery of Witches, 12/01/2011 * * * * *

From Goodreads:
"A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together.

Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the Twilight series-with an extra serving of historical realism."

My Thoughts:
A very good friend of mine had been telling me that I should read this book for months before I finally gave in and downloaded it to my NookColor.  I didn't want to read A Discovery of Witches, not because of all the wonderful things my friend had to say about it, but because after she recommended it to me the first time I went to Goodreads and read their description of the novel, and that last little line that compares it to the Twilight series completely and totally turned me off.

I realize that it is entirely possible that I am the only person in the world who doesn't care for the Twilight series, and that for MOST people that comparison would be a rousing endorsement.  What it did for me was to cause me to determine to stay as far away from the novel as I possibly could.

Of course, my friend continued to tell me how good the book was and that I would like it, yada yada, and I finally surrendered.  And I am SO GLAD that I did, and so glad that she kept bringing it up, because in truth, A Discovery of Witches is an amazing novel that is incredibly well written, deeply involving, very well researched, and on top of all that, it was impossible to put down.  I loved it!

Diana Bishop is a descendant of very powerful witches, and has purposely ignored her magic nearly all her life.  She has dedicated her life to history, research, and science, and does her very best to avoid the supernatural whenever possible.  But her request of a strange obscure manuscript at the university library initiates a chain of events that force her to deal with her heritage, as members of the three branches of supernatural creatures (witches, vampires, and demons) begin stalking her, waiting for her to break an ancient spell.  Matthew Clairmont, a very old vampire doing genetic research at the same university becomes her protector and of course falls in love with her.  The story moves quickly as the unlikely pair try to escape and evade the many threats against Diana, as Matthew takes her to his home in France and eventually to Diana's old home in upper New York State to try to keep her safe. With the help of Diana's aunts, and several unexpected visitors, Matthew and Diana try to learn more about the mysterious manuscript everyone wants to get their hands on, why the three races are dead set against their relationship, and the mystery of Diana's extremely powerful but nearly uncontrollable magic.

Blending science and the supernatural, A Discovery of Witches is a mesmerizing story with many twists and turns, unexpected plot points, excellent pacing, wonderful characters that come alive in your mind, a tiny dash of romance, and multiple intriguing mysteries.  While I originally did not expect to enjoy the story nearly as much as I did, it now gets 5 stars, and I'm very excited to read book 2, Shadow of Night, which is expected to be released in mid-July, 2012.  I strongly recommend this book to anyone who likes mysteries, vampires, or Anne Rice - just don't let the comparison to Twilight throw you off!

As always, please feel free to leave a comment below  - I'd love to hear your thoughts, whether you've read A Discovery of Witches or not.  But if you haven't read it, you totally should, you know.  I'll keep bugging you until you do.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

TV News - The Walking Dead


Just in case you forgot...

You can read more about the mid-season premiere here.

Also in other Walking Dead news, Season 3 has been ordered with 16 episodes!!

Friday, January 13, 2012

Book News - The Republic of Thieves, by Scott Lynch

Earlier this morning on the Gollancz blog, Simon Spanton, the Deputy Publishing Director of Gollancz, posted an update regarding the publication of The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch.

He says: "Well, the months have rolled around faster than anyone could quite credit and we find ourselves in 2012 and still without that final confirmed delivery of the completed draft of Scott Lynch’s The Republic of Thieves. Sadly those who expressed their doubts have been proved right and we’re now forced to move the likely date for Scott’s publication into the Autumn of this year.
 
Scott is still facing up to his issues and we’re still having to face up to the wait for his book. I know which I’d rather be dealing with.

So, we send our apologies to you and our very best wishes to Scott. Thank you, on his behalf, for bearing with us. And in the meantime, of course, (and to take some of the pressure of Scott) there are plenty of other wonderful books to be reading until The Republic of Thieves does make its appearance."

Sad news to be sure, as many Addicted Readers have been waiting for this next volume in the story of Locke & Jean, but I wish Mr. Lynch all the best.  We'll find something else to read until Autumn, I'm sure.

Review - Movie Catch-up - December/January

So over the holidays there were a lot of new movies released, (as there are every year), but Bob & I didn't get out to any of them until after Christmas, and we're still playing catch-up.  But the last few weekends we did make it to a few:

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011) * * * * *
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Jared Harris, Noomi Rapace, and (briefly) Rachel McAdams.
Directed by Guy Ritchie.

From IMDB: "Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey, Jr.) and his longtime trusted associate, Doctor Watson (Jude Law), take on their arch-nemesis, Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris), with the help of Holmes's older brother Mycroft Holmes (Stephen Fry) and a gypsy named Sim (Noomi Rapace)."

I absolutely loved the first Sherlock Holmes movie and I think that the pairing and chemistry of Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law is absolutely magical.  So I was quite looking forward to this sequel,  and while it does have a few problems, overall it did not disappoint!

Dr. Watson visits Sherlock hours before his wedding and discovers that Sherlock is embroiled in another mystery.  Someone has been busily blowing up buildings and assassinating people all over the continent, and war is looming on the horizon as governments blame each other for the growing terror.  So of course Sherlock drags his best (and only?) friend directly into the middle of the fray, chasing across Europe in search of clues to prove his theory that Moriarty is behind it all, leading to an ultimate showdown between the rivals, and completely ruining Watson's honeymoon.

At first the reasons for the search and all the travel are a bit fuzzy and some might find the movie difficult to follow, but what the film might lack in clear motives it definitely makes up for with many fun explosions and witty banter between the crazed Sherlock and the oh-so-pretty Watson.  I've noticed some people have complained about the gratuitous use of slow-motion in the film, but I have to say that the chase scene in the forest, which you have, no doubt, seen a small portion of in the trailer, is absolutely stunning in its' gorgeous beauty.

Yes, I just called a gunfight and people running through the forest gorgeous and beautiful.  That's how I roll.

Overall, and in spite of the few problems with the story, I think I liked this movie even better than the first one, which I did not expect.  RDJ shines as Sherlock, and Jude Law makes an excellent sidekick as Watson.  Five stars from me, and Bob said it was pretty good.  That's high praise from him!

Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011) * * * *
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, and Simon Pegg

From IMDB: "In the 4th installment of the Mission Impossible series, Ethan Hunt and his team are racing against time to track down a dangerous terrorist named Hendricks, who has gained access to Russian nuclear launch codes and is planning a strike on the United States. An attempt by the team to stop him at the Kremlin ends in a disaster, with an explosion causing severe destruction to the Kremlin and the IMF being implicated in the bombing, forcing the President to invoke Ghost Protocol, under which the IMF is disavowed, and will be offered no help or backup in any form. Undaunted, Ethan and his team chase Hendricks to Dubai, and from there to Mumbai, but several spectacular action sequences later, they might still be too late to stop a disaster."

Another action thriller, with lots of explosions and edge-of-your-seat moments, MI4 delivers almost non-stop excitement, some clever dialogue, and loads of fun.  I have a special love for the Mission: Impossible franchise in general, so for me this was a sure thing.  There were some fun cameos and some brief emotional moments.  Jeremy Renner was cute as ever and did a great job as the agent-turned-analyst-turned-agent, although his angst-y moments didn't quite have as much emotional impact as they should have, and I'm not sure if that was the writing or his acting.  Nonetheless this movie gets four stars from me for pure fun!  (Bob intensely dislikes Tom Cruise, so we won't ask him what he thought this time).

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) * * * * *
Starring: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara and Christopher Plummer
Directed by David Fincher

From IMDB: "This English-language adaptation of the Swedish novel by Stieg Larsson follows a disgraced journalist, Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), as he investigates the disappearance of a wealthy patriarch's niece from 40 years ago. He is aided by the pierced, tattooed, punk computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara). As they work together in the investigation, Blomkvist and Salander uncover immense corruption beyond anything they have ever imagined."

This movie was amazing.  There's been a lot of controversy about the film, from casting choices to the decision to "Americanize" the Swedish movie (which I have not seen, but will someday) in the first place.  I think David Fincher did a really great job with the material - there's a general creepy and menacing feeling throughout the movie, even in the parts that aren't the least bit creepy or menacing, but you feel that potential there, simmering just below the surface, exactly as I felt it while reading the novel.  I think Daniel Craig was a great choice for the role of Mikel, and while I've never seen Rooney Mara in anything that I know of I think she did an amazing job of portraying Lisbeth.  Overall it's a great movie, a great mystery, and while I didn't like the way they fiddled with the ending, it didn't harm the overall story.  My one nitpick with the film was that it was difficult to keep track of the various Vanger family members, but that really doesn't matter much in the overall scheme of things.

One thing I'd like to say about the controversy surrounding the issue of the violence in the film: There is some.  More than what would be in your average RomCom, but far less than you would see in a Chuck Norris/Bruce Willis/Jason Statham action movie  The difference is that it's directed towards women, instead of  towards men. It's awful and uncomfortable to view, as it should be.  However, is was handled with incredible delicacy and sensitivity, I my opinion.  It isn't gratuitous, they don't show more than they need to, and it is definitely not glorified in any way.

That aside, I think it's a fantastic movie, and it definitely gets five stars from me.  Bob even enjoyed it, though he did have trouble following the first half of the movie, as he hasn't read the book.

So there we go!  have you seen any of these movies yet?  What did you think?  As always you are encouraged to leave your comments below!

Also, I totally can't wait to see One for the Money!!  Coming soon!!

Monday, January 9, 2012

Teaser Tuesday - A Dance with Dragons

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!

----------
Well I'm past the halfway point finally, and now that the holidays are over hopefully I'll have more time to devote to this novel as I'm really enjoying it!

The Tease:
 "Asha Greyjoy rode in the baggage train, in a covered wayn with two huge iron-rimmed wheels, fettered at wrist and ankle and watched over day and night by a She-Bear who snored worse than any man.  His Grace King Stannis was taking no chances on his prize escaping captivity.  He meant to carry her to Winterfell, to display her there in chains for the lords of the north to see, the kraken's daughter bound and broken, proof of his power."
 -A Dance with Dragons, by George R. R. Martin

What's your Tease?

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Book Review - Coyote

Coyote, by Allen Steele 08/01/2011 * * *

Goodreads:
The national bestselling story of Earth's first interstellar colonists - and the mysterious planet that becomes their home.

My Thoughts:
Ok, the Goodreads blurb is all but useless, but technically, that is what this book is about.  Originally written as a collection of short stories for a science fiction magazine, Coyote tells the story of a group of colonists who steal a ship and escape from an oppressive Earth government, and their journey to a far off planet (or moon) named Coyote, and the adventures of the group once they reach their new home and begin building a settlement.

The short stories are written in several different formats, and from multiple points of view, which was a little jarring, as every time I started "getting into" a character, the short story would end and a new one begin with a new POV character.  This is not necessarily a bad thing, except that the character I just got all invested in might not ever be mentioned again.

Nonetheless, Coyote was an enjoyable read, and I do plan to pick up the next book in the series, Coyote Rising, at some point and continue the story, as it ends on somewhat of a cliffhanger.  Overall I liked it, and Coyote gets 3 stars.