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 girl inside who has a mind of her own). Though the vampire family lends the book an odd setting (taking over the country when King Verence invites them into the country for a naming party for his daughter), a couple of them are not what you would expect. Their servant Igor takes issue with the newer count’s directives and throws in his own surprises. The traveling minister (the natural enemy of the witches) turns out to have 2 minds as does Agnes. The castle’s falconer single-mindedly searches for phoenix eggs despite the contrary folklore. The Nac Mac Feegle/Wee Free Men put in an appearance, but it is an early version, and their distinctive traits are not developed.

Pratchett throws in his usual social commentary for fun and/or contemplation. Not my favorite of the books, but there are some great details. I haven’t read anywhere near the whole series; it may be a must read for understanding the books involving the witches.

Buy on Amazon

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 elves to return the water to a town
• Finding Jack’s sister Lucy, and bringing her back from Elf-land
• And a few other things that I won’t mention, so as to avoid spoiling the book for you.

I enjoyed The Land of the Silver Apples, though not as much as its predecessor. I was disappointed about its lack of the Northmen (vikings) and their mythology that were so prominently featured in The Sea of Trolls. Instead, the book takes and odd turn and deals more with Arthurian legend and other folklores.

Interestingly, the Picts (mentioned in The Sea of Trolls) are mentioned yet again, though not in depth. Also the chapter art consists of Pictish symbols. Is the author setting up a sequel featuring them?

Well, it was a good book (despite its lack of Northmen).

Edit: According to the book jacket, the conclusion to this trilogy (The Islands of the Blessed) is slated for a 2009 release.

In a world full of magic it is the Chrestomanci’s job to control the magical community, keep the magical from trampling the nonmagical, and limit travel between their world and others. Because of the risks involved, the Chrestomanci is always a powerful enchanter with nine lives-so he can afford to lose a few. He also must have the ability to learn what everyone is up to and travel easily himself to the other worlds. In the series, there is also a Chrestomanci-in-training for each book.

In Charmed Life, Gwendolen and Cat are picked to live and study in Chrestomanci Castle-they believe because of Gwendolen’s abilities. However, she and the Chrestomanci clash immediately, and she proceeds to show everyone the extent of her powers. Cat, meanwhile, is cowed by her and trying to fit in without incurring his sister’s wrath. When Gwendolen escapes into another world, she leaves a Replacement further complicating matters for Cat.

Charmed Life is the start of an ingenious series. I like it best of the series with The Lives of Christopher Chant a close 2nd. Cat and Chrestomanci are wonderful characters, and there are several entertaining tidbits and plenty of twists with foreshadowing details.
related-magic, multiple lives, law enforcement, family, travel between worlds, doubles in other worlds, high interest
RL=5th-YA

Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins Publishers: NY, 1978.
Originally published by Macmillan London Ltd: Great Britain, 1977.

The 3rd book in the series, The Lives of Christopher Chant regards the Chrestomanci in Charmed Life and is equally enjoyable. There is a fairly new book in the series, The Pinhoe Egg-2006.

See a review of the series at www.bookadvice.net.

I don’t know if any of you have ever read the CHERUB books, but CHERUB is a fictional division of MI5 (British Intelligence), in which all of the agents are children. It is believed that if criminals use children to commit crimes, authorities can use them to get back at the criminals.

CHERUB is written by Robert Muchamore. I have an exclusive interview (it’s going to be used on my fansite) with Rob (see below).

(more…)

Have you ever wondered what the most fair way to rate books is? Problem solved. I’ve come up with LibRate, a rating scheme that I think compares books in a semi-fair manner.

Okay, there are five options when you rate a book:

5. This rating applies only to Harry Potter

4. This rating, also known as “Beyond Really Good,” is for books like The Dark is Rising, Dragonriders of Pern, and Terrier. In other words, books that are exceptional…but of course none of them are exactly as good as Harry Potter.

3. Also known as “Really Good”. This rating is for enjoyable boks.

2. Also known as “Okay”. Use this rating for books that are sort of….”Eh, whatever”.

1. A.k.a. “Bleh!” Need I say more?

Now, you can also use decimals in your ratings as well.For example, 3.5 would be halfway between a “Really Good” book and a “Beyond Really Good” book. You should also note that the spacing between the ratings is not equal (see below chart). Though the space signifies a great difference is quality, it does not affect the way you form your decimals.

Well, that’s LibRate.

Note: Take this seriously at your own peril.

Just because it’s labeled as a “children’s book” doesn’t mean it isn’t good. In my experiences, “children’s books” are better.

Look at Harry Potter. Though it’s tagged as a “children’s book,” it’s without a doubt my favorite series. After the last book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, would you seriously consider it a “children’s book”? When the seventh book comes out, you really won’t consider it a “children’s book”.  Seriously.

Plenty of books bridge the gap between “children’s books” and others. Take a look at Terrier or Trickster’s Queen by Tamora Pierce. If I didn’t tell you what the publishers classified them as, would you honestly guess correctly? The same goes for the Harry Potter series. The first couple of books may have been written at a lower level, but they went uphill pretty quick.

Please. “Children’s books” are the sort of books 1-10 year olds read. I think the term needs some revision. In recent years, new markets have sprung up in the publishing industry.

Just because it’s considered a “children’s book” doesn’t mean it isn’t good. Ignore the classification, read the book anyway.

If you want to learn (x)HTML and CSS, you need a book that teaches you thoroughly. The best book I’ve seen is HTML, XHTML, and CSS, Sixth Edition by Elizabeth Castro. The book was previously published under the title HTML 4 for the World Wide Web, Fifth Edition. It teaches (X)HTML and CSS in an easy to understand way, and it works great as a reference book too. It’s organized well, and explained nicely. There’s no reason not to know (X)HTML and CSS. Don’t rely on a What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) editor. They don’t work anywhere near as well as good old hand-coded (X)HTML. Learn it.