This month, July 2008, the sixth and fina book in the Artemis Fowl series will be released. Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox is now available for pre-order on Amazon. The Amazon page for the book lists the release as July 15.
Well that sure snuck up on me. I had no idea until I decided, randomly, to visit author Eoin Colfer’s website today.
The Overlord Protocol, by Mark Walden, is the sequel to another book in the same series, though I haven’t had the fortune of reading the first book yet.
H.I.V.E., or the Higher Institute of Villainous Enterprises, is a school set-up by an international league of villains, known as G.L.O.V.E. (Global League of Villainous Enterprises), to train future villains. When villain Cypher launches a plot to storm H.I.V.E. and overthrow G.L.O.V.E., Otto Malpense and company land right in the middle of things, and end up having a key roll in stopping Cypher.
I think it’s safe to say you’ve heard of Jurassic Park.
I just finished reading the book last week, and it’s a lot better than the movie, that’s for sure. There is plenty of character background, back story, spread throughout the novel, along with some scientific factoids blended in. It is a well-crafted cross between a sci-fi book and a horror novel.
The storyline is significantly different, and much darker than its cinematographic counterpart. The characters are different as well. While Spielberg played-up the “Cool, Dinosaurs! Oh no, they’ve escaped” part in the film (though many character deaths were written out), the book has plenty of other things to balance it out.
In 2007, I read a lot of fantasy books (as usual). The best ones I read that year, in my opinion, are as follows.
Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
In Deathly Hallows, Harry leaves the Dursleys for the last time, going to The Burrow for Bill Weasley’s wedding. As soon as he sets [...]
Moist von Lipwig became the model citizen (mostly) in Going Postal. His fiancée, Miss Dearheart is out searching for golems, and he has to amuse himself, until Lord Vetinari assigns him his next task. The controlling owner of the Royal Bank is dying , and a stand-in is necessary to keep the bank out of the control of the hands of the Bank’s corrupt family. Lipwig is , of course, volunteered for the job with Vetinari’s usual style.
In an effort to rejuvenate the Bank, Moist introduces the idea of paper money and personally takes to the street to experiment with his theory. A nephew of the owner has a liquid model of the banking system which pinpoints problems or successes (and can be manipulated). An Igor assists him in his work. Mr. Bent keeps the books and supervises all bank employees. Lipwig’s interfering in his bank may be enough to topple his carefully balanced mind. Add in the expected attempts of the Bank’s family to grab control and Miss Dearheart’s golem find, and the book is as quirky as all Pratchett books.
The Magic of Ink has a huge list of books that are being made into movies.
Here are a few that I’ll want to see:
Airborn by Ken Oppel
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein
The Lost Years of Merlin by T.A. Barron
The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman
The Wee [...]
Quite entertaining!
Pratchett’s characters are the highlight of the story-various and wonderful. The focus is on 3 of the witches in the Discworld series: Granny Weatherwax (the one who controls the whole show), Nanny Ogg (the no-nonsense matriarch to so much of the community, think mafia queen), Agnes (the large and insecure maiden with a skinnier [...]
In Arthurian legend, much of Merlin’s history is unaccounted for. What was he doing before? It seems he was busy in the fantastic realm of Fincayra. T.A. Barron’s epic, The Lost Years of Merlin, is a five-book series detailing Barron’s idea of the history of Merlin.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the first book, though it contains important storyline. The remaining books are great though, and who knows…maybe I’d like the first book better if I re-read it.
Terry Pratchett’s Going Postal is yet another tale from the mythical land of Discworld.
After faking con man Alfred Spangler’s execution, the lord of Ankh-Morpork gives him a job instead. As the new postmaster of Ankh-Morpork, Spangler (a pseudonym, actually) must re-start the post office after twenty years of inactivity. Along the way he employs his [...]
In this sequel to The Sea of Trolls, Jack returns from his adventures in the North, only to be met by more adventure and peril.
For several reasons, Jack and some others must go to The Land of the Silver Apples, a place where time doesn’t pass, to confront the elves. Their to-do list includes
Convincing the [...]
