2010 September

The Swarm – A Novel Of The Deep

The Swarm may not be a title that will attract many to this book.
I must admit that I picked it up a few times in the book shop before I decided to head back
one day and give it a go. I think that the main thing that put me off is that it is based in the
sea and is over 880 pages long!

Well I’m rather pleased that I picked it up one day and started reading.
The Swarm in a nutshell: Something is happening in the oceans. Ships are sinking, people
are going missing and the sea creatures and mammals are starting to attack!

After a major catastrophe hits the leading scientists and military meet to start sorting out
what is happening and what can be done about it before the existence of human kind is extinguished.

The book reads like a Hollywood movie and has kept me gripped. You can feel a bit of the television series 24 in there as a lot of the book seems to take place in real time and shifts
at an excellent pace. If it was on the big screen I’d be sat on the edge of my seat and not minding that this would be a good 5 hour film with some of the best and most spectacular ~effects you have seen. Unfortunately it is not a blockbuster – yet – but it plays very well in
my head.

Well worth reading. Don’t be afraid that it is over 880 pages long and scientific at times – the
author understands this and there is always a character to ask the questions that you are thinking of!

The book is now doing the rounds to the family members and there is a waiting list in the office. I’d recommend this and it’s well worth dropping onto the shopping sites as this is a cheap one for the summer holidays.

I look forward to reading more of Frank Shatzing’s work and most are now translated into English.

Cynthia’s Attic – Youth Books 1 & 2

The Missing Locket (book 1)

The Missing Locket reaches out to young readers and pulls them into a story overflowing with excitement, adventures and laugh out loud dialogue. Set in 1964, best friends, Cynthia and Augusta, are suffering from a bad case of summer-time boredom. Cynthia’s family lives in a mansion of a house, three floors filled with so many rooms just waiting to be explored. After overhearing her parents plans to clean out the attic, the twelve year old is determined to nose through those boxes before all the “good stuff” gets thrown out. Amid all the cobwebs, antiques and creepy-crawlies was an old, rusted trunk, which belonged to Cynthia’s grandmother, Clara. Once opened, the girls discovered a dingy, time worn ballet costume, which Cynthia immediately put on.

Instantly, she began to dance around the attic as if possessed by the spirit of a true ballerina! Shocked and a bit frightened, the two girls decide to leave the attic. But they are drawn back to the old trunk…suddenly, the hot, dusty attic turns cold and everything around them looks shiny and new. Unable to resist the temptation, the girls dig into the trunk again. Intrigued by her friend Cynthia’s dancing episode, apparently brought on by the costume she was wearing, Gus puts on a sailor outfit and much more than a salute takes place! She is transported, back in time, to the year 1914. Not long after she is joined by Cynthia and the two are swept into the adventure of a lifetime. Crossing the Atlantic on a steamship, making friends with a ghost and ultimately solving the mystery of Aunt Isabella’s missing locket.

An entertaining, fanciful adventure that will keep young readers turning pages until the very end. A fast paced, well written, time travel story that will be treasured by all.

The Magic Medallion (book 2)

Mary Cunningham’s second book in the Cynthia’s Attic series, reunites best friends, Cynthia and Gus for another trail-blazing adventure. The amateur sleuths have a nose for trouble, despite their previous experience or maybe because of it, they just can’t resit the urge to visit the mysterious old trunk in the attic. With non-stop action from cover to cover, there’s more than enough twists, turns and danger to keep readers up past well past bedtime.

Climbing the dusty stairs, the girls knew that although there were no ghosts, goblins or giant spiders in the attic, the real excitement was in great-grandmother’s old trunk. Expecting things to be just the way they had left them, the girls were shocked to find Cynthia’s great-grandfather’s circus train in-front of the trunk. Magically the girls are thrust back in time, to the year 1914, where they eventually find themselves forced to perform by a nasty hobo clown. Rescued from the sinister Blackie, by the beautiful, fortune teller, Gabriella, Cynthia and Gus have unwittingly become entangled in the theft of her family’s most cherished treasure. The adventure is wrought with danger as the girls must travel through time and locate the magic medallion. Should they refuse, they may never be able to return to their present-day lives.

In this installment the girls meet a host of new and interesting characters and explore a wide range of settings, brought to life with stunning detail. An irresistible adventure series that takes the reader on a non-stop thrilling ride through time, where the bonds of friendship and the importance of family are conveyed beautifully.

Happy Reading!

House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds – Book Review

House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds is the fourth installment in the One Million A.D. anthology. It, however, departs from the storyline of One Million A. D. a little. So those who failed to read One Million A. D., not to fear; picking up House of Suns will not require that you read every book before it.

Reynolds presents yet another different take on sci-fi as introduces us to Abigail Gentian. More than a thousand years prior to our time, Abigail created one thousand clones (or shatterlings) of herself-both male and female-and have assigned them to different parts of the universe. Their task is to gather information and to help out the young civilizations. Every 200, 000 years, they meet up for a thousand-day celebration to exchange information and to relax. The story focuses on two of the shatterlings-Campion and Purslane-who are involved in a relationship frowned upon by the Gentian Line.

The story takes off with Abigail and then eventually focuses on Campion and Purslane. It is amazing how Reynolds twists the plot and turns your brain to jell-o with every turn. “The plot thickens,” is not enough an expression to cover how intricate the story is. Sci-fi fans and those who were just curious would find themselves glued to their seats and unable to put the book down. For bookworms who have always wanted a sci-fi novel that contained more than just science fiction, you’re in for a treat with this one. Reynolds is a master storyteller and he will surely keep you on your toes with every decision his characters make. House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds will surely be one of your best buys this year.

Lambrusco – Written By Ellen Cooney

Lambrusco takes place in 1943 during World War II in German occupied Italy. Italian leader Mussolini is still alive and has many fascist followers throughout Italy. Those fighting the “Blackshirts” have to watch their actions and words to avoid punishment from the Germans and their followers. Lucia Fantini is a soprano who loves to sing opera in their restaurant, music that had been written by the most famous opera composers, but mostly those that were Italian. Lucia and her husband Aldo had owned a Restaurant before the war started and, like many others, lost their businesses to the fascist’s that took over many buildings to assist the Germans. Aldo had died before the war but Lucia can’t get him out of her mind as well as all their children and family that were so close before wartime came to Italy. Many of the Italians worked for the underground movement fighting their enemies and performing many brave acts to assist others fighting those enemies in their own homeland. For many it was “hit, run, and hide” to avoid capture. For their families these patriots were rarely in touch with them but were always hitting the enemy where they could do the most hurt to them.

When villages were hit by bombs destroying or damaging buildings to the point that they were unlivable, the people had to roam the countryside to avoid capture and/or conflict with their enemies. This story took place during a time of history that I have always been eager to learn about from all sides. This is the first book that I have read that tells the war from the Italian side during a time before the allies had liberated Italy from the German occupation. While I feel that Ellen Cooney had a great story to tell, I feel that the intertwining of family and friends made parts of the book quite hard to follow. The last portions of the book did pull many things together where the reader could finally ‘feel’ the action from the authors point of view and absorb her wrap-up of the extensive family actions and reactions to the hurt they endured and had seen through their own eyes.

Lucia and Aldo’s small restaurant had been well known due to the beautiful singing of opera by Lucia. The book opens with Lucia traveling by train attempting to take weapons in disguised bags to the partisans that desperately needed them. She was also in search of her son, Beppi, who had been given credit for blowing up some German trucks. A nun approached her on that train, or so she appeared to be, only to find out that this woman was disguised as a nun and was actually an American Intelligence agent that was there to aid Lucia and actually did save her from capture. The American, Annamarie, had been a golfer in Arizona. She had married an American military officer. During the story, Annamarie was severely injured during some of the fighting.

The story takes you on the travels and tells you the trials and tribulations that partisans went through while they moved from village to small cities and throughout the countryside attempting to evade Germans, fascists, and even the bombs that the American airplanes dropped. These bombs dropped on many of their villages and cities and destroyed and killed many people, friend and foe alike. While I said the book is confusing at times, the story is one that needed to be told. Anyone that knows anything about Italian families knows that many of them are large and in the authors telling of this story, she is bound to cause some confusion. Don’t let that stop you from reading Lambrusco.

Book Review – The Salt Garden (By Cindy Martinusen)

Would you desire to peer inside the mind and thoughts of a godly woman? Interested in reading a fictional story of how godly women react to the various events of their lives?

The Salt Garden by Cindy Martinusen is adventure into the minds of three women from the small town of Harper’s Bay and the providential events centering around the discovery of the journal of a shipwreck survivor.

Presented in 1st person narrative, reading this book is like sitting along with these women and watching their lives unfold before you. Memories of the past, thoughts of the present, and the ever changing plans for the future are all found in this novel.

There is Sophia…
The reclusive novelist and prayer warrior with the adventurous thoughts that fill notebook after notebook of fictional stories that may never be published. Reading of her thoughts and recounting the memories of her life reminding me of the character Wendy in the novel Peter Pan. Sophia is defined in this novel with this comment “Contemplation has been my companion.”

There is Jospehine…
The romantic, enduring, steadfast wife of the shipbuilder. A shipwreck survivor, it is Josephine’s journal Sophia discovers during a ocean side walk. Her papers, donated after her death to the local historical society, spark media interest to seek more answers to what really happened the night the ‘Josephine’ sank. Reading from her journal thoughts sparks devotion, strength and empathy. Josephine is defined in this novel with this comment “I would have followed him anywhere”.

There is Claire…
The young news reporter that suffers a comical string of providential events that prevent her from leaving the small town and pursuing her politically correct ambitions and goals. Accepting of these events and starting over after coming home, Claire finds that she is not as reluctant to stay as she once was. Her faith develops in this story as she begins again at home, finding a reunited family, a genuine friend and a love interest through it all. Claire is defined in this novel with the comment “I didn’t want to be here”.

I truly enjoyed Cindy Martinusen’s writing style. Beautiful landscape descriptions, authentic dialogue, and true struggles make this a novel well worth the time spent.

Book Review – The Last Family in England by Matt Haig

The last family in England live in a world where the dogs, cats and squirrels all talk to one another. What is more they understand everything we humans say. But we don抰 understand them, except when we are completely plastered, in which case we have forgotten all about it the following day.

Prince is the young Labrador, eager to learn everything from his earnest mentor the older dog, Henry. He preaches the Labrador code. Look after the family for the family is everything. Yet as you might expect all is not as it might seem, and soon Prince is making decisions that he might not have made for himself, decisions that will come back to haunt him.

This book made me laugh out loud several times and any book that can do that, is all right in my book. But there is also sadness there as you might expect. Along the way there is a little nod in the direction of Animal Farm as the pace rattles along relentlessly. In some ways it is a children抯 book but definitely not for children, its colourful language dictates that, as does the story line.

I found it a very easy book to read, though it is 340 pages, and finished it in a matter of days. Tackling the Last Family in England was well worth the effort, I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a good and quick read, and hoping to find moments of humour.

The Last Family in England.

By Matt Haig

ISBN: 009946845X

"The Wolf’s Torment" by S G Cardin – Book Review

“The Wolf’s Torment” takes you into Moldavia in the 1800s. Crown Prince Mihai Sigmaringen is engaged to wed Theresa, a woman of royal blood, whom he has never met. He has also just discovered that his lover is pregnant. When he learns that she has been deceiving him about her feelings for him, he tries to shut his emotions off. Returning home to Moldavia, and trying to do the right thing, he takes her with him to live near the castle. He also brings his trusted friend Viktor with him.

When he meets his future bride, he realizes that she is a true treasure. Neither he nor his bride is aware that she comes from a lineage of witches. Still she seems to have some magical talents. This disturbs Mihai, because his mother was killed by a witch. When Viktor is bitten by a werewolf, he turns to Mihai for help. Viktor complicates matters by having feelings for Theresa. At times he finds himself unable to control the animal in him. He also begins losing his humanity. He is no longer someone to be trusted.

S.G. Cardin has created a wonderful werewolf story. She also involves witches and vampires. In this book, werewolves have special and complicated ties to vampires and witches. Moldavia is rich in supernatural lore. Placing this story here, adds to the mysteriousness of the country. The plot involves intriguing elements that include deception, greed, lust, and betrayal. The key characters Mihai and Theresa are honorable and have good hearts. What makes the story really interesting is how the people around them commit heinous acts to try to deceive them. They catch themselves falling into traps set for them. Sometimes it is too late.

I really enjoyed “The Wolf’s Torment.” It is refreshing to read a novel that is different from the standard supernatural tales. Taking away the supernatural elements, the underlying story is still really interesting. Cardin puts you inside the heads of her characters and makes you feel their torment. I look forward to the sequel. Do not miss this one.

iUniverse (2007)

ISBN 9780595417339

Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (9/07)

Review of Rich Dad’s Guide to Investing Book

This is the third book in the Rich Dad’s series Robert Kiyosaki wrote after the hugely popular Rich Dad Poor Dad. Robert casual style of narration makes it both enjoyable and easy to digest the close to?00 pages book. I took about six weeks to complete the book.

This book focuses燼 great deal爋n the B-I side of the quadrant as well as the B-I Triangle. To become rich, we have to be both an investor and a business owner. To be a really great investor is to become an ultimate investor. A person who invests from the inside of the company, who takes the company public and sell the shares to outside investor.燫obert also explained all the components of his B-I triangle, which Rich Dad taught him, to build a strong business dedicating one chapter for each component. If any of the component of the business is weak, the business will be in trouble and fail.

Although Robert gives very clear explanation to every concept, you still find his explanation open-ended, requiring you to figure out what is best for your own financial future. I have learnt many lessons from this book and summarized here below:

The various investor controls needed
Different level of investor e.g. accredited, sophisticated.
Increase finanancial intelligence.
The need爐o have? financial plans. One to be secure, one to be comfortable, one to be rich.
Understand financial statements.
The 90/10 rule of money.
The tax benefits enjoyed by a business owner compared to an employee and self-employed.
The difference between saving and investing.
See the flip side of the coin for any investment.
Living in爐he information age versus industrail age.
What it takes and how fast to be a billionaire in the information age.
and much more…

I like to recommend this book to those of you who wants to be a better business owner and investor. It would be better if you had read the first two books “Rich Dad Poor Dad” and “Rich Dad’s cash flow quadrant” as it builds on the fundamentals of the two earlier books.

Finding a New Favorite Author

All of us have endless reading to do on a daily basis. We read newspapers, magazines, contracts product specifications, websites etc. The list goes on and on. All this is reading for work, or reading for news, or reading because we have to. Then…there’s reading for pleasure. Reading for pleasure is something I take very seriously.

Both my parents actively encouraged reading for us kids. I was in a book club by the time I was seven and reading novels when my peers were reading comic books. Through high school and college I learned to identify with, and appreciate various authors styles. Back in those days there were prolific authors who wrote every word themselves, toiling away to make each new book as exciting and fresh as the last.

Today, I’m saddened to say that writing appears to have become more of a business than a passion. Nothing demonstrates this better than the dozens of popular fiction authors who pump out books with exacting consistency. At some point, many of my go-to authors have stumbled across some invisible formula and cling to it with desperate regularity. They effortlessly and robotically slide in new antagonists, new secret shadow government agencies, and new precisely broken and engineered main characters. Each new book has the potential nervous excitement and promise of a first date, yet many turn out to have a dull lifeless feeling. Like watching a rerun in the summer when you know you should be doing something more productive. Lots of these books end up on the bestseller lists for no other reason than the name of the author on the cover.

I’m here to say that the emperor has no clothes. I’m here to say that many of the bestselling authors of yesteryear are pumping out embarrassing works that do not live up to their reputation. I’m here to say that the publishing industry, like many others, has taken the easy way out. They have failed to do the hard work of weeding out marginal pieces, and delivering to us fresh new voices. Instead they find a handful of strong horses, and whip them till they’re spent and empty.

There is however a glimmer of hope. The inevitable combination of computers, the internet, powerful word processing software and print-on-demand services is sowing the seeds of the future of publishing. Small passionate publishing houses and even self-published authors have more access to the mainstream market today than ever before. New, determined writers who believe in their works and are willing to put up their time and money are the new voice.

This isn’t to say that all small books and self published pieces are good. In fact, many of them aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on. Ahhh, but there’s the rub isn’t it? To find that needle in the Haystack. Discover the author who writes just like your favorites used to.

It happens. I’ve found several in the last month or so. First time authors who weave an enticing, fresh story together with crisp dialog and a page turning plot. Forget the bestseller lists and give some of these new voices a chance. Here’s a couple to start with:

“Knife Music” by David Carnoy. It’s an original format with flashbacks and flashforwards that manage to keep the reader fully engaged. Once you get the hang of Carnoy’s style, it’s very gripping. Reading this book is like reading a good book and working a satisfying puzzle at the same time.

“End of Grace” by K. Thomas Murphy. This book smacked of the best work from some of my favorite authors. If you liked the plot driven early works of Grisham, Sanford, Childs and Deaver, add Murphy to your list. If you wanted more from the Da Vinci Code, give this book a shot. I checked the author’s website, and he has more in the works.

This summer, when you’re looking for something fresh and different, take a chance. Try to discover a new favorite author.

It is Easier to Make Good Men Wise Than to Make a Bad Man Good

Fielding抯 Tom Jones is the story of a foundling whom Nature has endowed with physical beauty and happy vitality. But the young Tom did not always act rightly, so that he seems to be something like an unheroic hero. He acts on impulse, sometimes well, sometimes ill, and he lacks a settled kind of duty. It was a case of his seeing and approving the higher, and following the lower, impulses. His sexual escapades are morally outrageous.

But although Tom sins a number of times in the heat of his blood, his heart is in the right place. In his sexual adventures with Molly Saegrim, Jenny Waters and the lady of Bellaston, these women were the seducers and Tom the seduced. Besides, though Tom is a rake, Fielding finds Tom抯 happy animality preferable to other graver sins like malice, cruelty, meanness and hypocrisy. Fielding genially comments that Tom the bachelor, in choosing to be a rake, probably thought one woman better than none, and that Moll probably imagined two men to be better than one! But though Tom confesses to being guilty with women, he claims that he has not injured or caused misery to any as a consequence.

Tom, thus, is not an anti-hero. If only Tom had prudence, he would not have involved himself in all his scrapes. Squire Allworthy is convinced that Tom has much generosity, goodness and honour, and if only he would add prudence and religion to these, he would be happy. The novel is in part, an account of 揾ow Tom learns to add prudence?which to Allworthy perhaps means practical religion.

Fielding directs us to Tom抯 generosity and compassion towards the dissolute Anderson family and to Tom抯 active and warm-spirited services on behalf of Nightingale and Nancy, and to Tom抯 rejection of Mrs. Hunts?offer of a comfortable marriage. He tells Mrs. Hunt that it would be dishonourable to accept her offer as he loves someone else, while admitting at the same time that he has little hope of ever winning Sophia.

Fielding states in his Dedication that it is easier to make good men wise that to make a bad man good. He presents Tom who is innately good in pursuit of wisdom which Tom finally attains in his union with Sophia. His exuberant nature has now matured to a wise discernment of virtue.

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