More Mark of Athena News

As you should all know, the summer solstice was a little while ago.  To celebrate, Rick Riordan did a Q and A thing.  You can see it all here: http://www.rickriordan.blogspot.com. 

A recap, anyway, is that Mark of Athena will have a cliffhanger, has a part that Rick got "teary eyed" while writing, mentioned Percy & Annabeth's grey hair (from holding the sky), has a Percy/ Annabeth reunion, and probably a couple other things.

You frustrated as well?

Divergent by Veronica Roth (Awesome)

The cover:

Sorry that the cover is blurry, it's the best I can do.  It shows the symble for Dauntless over thge city of Chicago. 

Summary: There are five groups of people, in five different factions: Abnegation, Candor, Amity, Erudite, and Dauntless.  They each have a role on society,and when you turn sixteen, you choose where you will live.  Beatrice wants to leave her faction.  She must go through a terifying initiation process to prove that she can make it into her new faction.  But, there is somethingthat's amiss with the leaders there.  She will have to work hard to even stay alive.

This was a great book, one that I would definity recommend.  There is even a love interest, to top things off. 

One thing I would add, though, was that, like always, my favorite character died.  It doesn't really seem fair to me, right?

Anyway, that's all for now.  See you all later.

Speeding Bullet by Neal Shusterman (Great)

Thank you to the people who have commented on this blog. I really appreciate it. Everyone who hasn't commented, please do; it lets me know that people are actually reading this.  I know this didn't fit in, but I had to say it.  Back to the summary.

I had a weird thought. I hadn't read anything new this week, since I was re-reading the Gone Series.  I have a whole list of books that are on my "to review" list, and now I can actually got to use it.  This is one of those books you read because of the author's awesome-ness.  If you click the Label beneath the post that says "Neal Shusterman" you'll see all of the other books that I've reviewed by him.  Just in case you decide you're a fan.

The cover:

Sorry, I couldn't get it any bigger.  Anyway, on the cover shows the main character in front of a subway car.  The reason that that's the picture is pretty obvious once you read it.

Nick is just an average kid living in New York City.  Until one day, while waiting for the subway car, he notices a little girl, whom would get hit by the subway without his help.  He becomes a hero, and then everyone forgets about him.  The only thing that remains the same is that whenever he flips a coin, it lands on heads.  Just an average kid whose luck can't run out.  Nick starts doing crazy, reckless things like running into burning buildings.  Only his friend, Linda, doesn't want him to get hurt.  After all, eventually everyone's luck runs out...

Overall, it was a great story.  The whole older brother complex made it even better.  I would suggest it and all, but thinking back on it, it's not one of Neal's best books.  Still amazing by most scales, but not one of my favorites.  But, that's not to say it wasn't good. 

Maybe the only problem was that I read it a while ago, and the "power" of the book has lessened over time.  Who knows?

I'll try to post next Friday.  See you then.

P.S.  If you want to be super awesome, click on an add on the side or bottom of this post.  Just the one add.  It would be awesome, and I'd love you for it.

The Enchantress by Michael Scott (Awesome)

This is the last book in a fairly large series, six books.  I don't think I'll ever post on the first five, so here's a brief description: Josh and Sophie are normal kids, until, during a routine day at the bookshop, a man comes in and starts attacking the owner, Nick Flamel.  The reason? A book.  Sophie and Josh must develop their potential powers to protect themselves.  For, the Flamels think they might be the twins of legend.  One to save the world, one to destroy it.

That is the insanely simplified version of the first five books.  I really would suggest reading it.  All you have to do is read the first paragraph, and you will be hooked.

Anyway, here's the cover of The Enchantress:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I really don't think that the cover has anything to do with the book. *Spoilers in this review if you haven't read the first 5 books*

Sophie, Josh, Dee, and Virginia Dare are teleported to Danu Talis where they meet Sophie and Josh's parents.  At the same time, Joan of Arc, Shakespeare, Palamedes, and Schatach are also on Danu Talis, their goal is to make sure the human uprising happens and Danu Talis falls.  Back in the present, the Flamels and others are holding back the attack on San Francisco.  Will everything turn out the way it should?  Read it to find out.

I must say, the ending way AMAZING!!!  You couldn't guess it until they mentioned his hand...  Okay, no spoilers, but it was pretty amazing.  I have to admit that earlier in the series, I was getting a little annoyed with Josh.  It sucks when one of your favorite characters switches sides, but I'm happy to say that it's not a problem in this book.  (That didn't spoil anything, by the way.)  All in all, it was an amazing book.  I would definitely suggest it.

*Spoiler for this book*  However, I have to admit that on the Flamel side of the story, I have no idea if three characters died at the end.  Could someone tell me if Black Hawk and the Flamels made it.  Did they go to Paris to die, or since Josh is Death, did they just go to Paris?  Please comment if you know/ think you know what was up with that.

*Spoiler off*

I hope you give this book/ series a chance.  It was really good. 

Sorry I'm late, by the way. I try to be on time next week.

Bye.

UPDATE :  Someone commented with a cover description.  I'll post part of it below so you can see it easily.

The cover for the book is actually very descriptive into the book itself. lined with a silver book cover it has references to the enchantress "sophie" it has pictures of vimanas and ziggurats. the moon and sun in the center are the centerfold of the story once you know the secrets to the book.

Spiral (Tunnels book 5) by Roderick Gordan and Brian Williams (I honestly don't know what to rate it.)

This whole series is a bit hit or miss.  There are incredibly boring parts that make you wonder why you're reading this at all, and then, there are amazing parts, like the end of this book, that make you wonder why you ever doubted it.  Basically, my idea of this book depends on when you ask me, and since it ended on an amazing part, I would just say this to anyone considering starting this series:  Stay with it until it gets to an interesting part.  It doesn't take all too long. 

Now, I'm going to assume that you've all read the previous books and not worry about spoilers from before this book.  *Spoiler Alert for the first four books* 

I'm just going to go ahead and tell you that this cover really doesn't work, in my opinion.  Sure, there's a Styx woman on the cover; but, what's up with the car and the hairy cave?  Please, please don't judge it on the cover.

I just realized how much stuff builds on itself.  This won't be the best summary, only because of spoilers. 

The Styx have pulled out all the stops.  The Phase is the next step.  It involves laying eggs to produce the warrior Styx.  In a mad dash to stop them, a number of things happen that complicate things.  From being trapped, to digging through places where there are loads of memories, to having a new girl introduced to make love interests more complicated.  A whole bunch of new characters are introduced and a couple of old favorites die. 

All in all, a pretty good book.  If you liked the earlier books, you will like this one.  I really loved the ending (if you don't count the epilogue).  And here's a random bit of info that will let you get a reference:  The Highfield Mole is another name for Tunnels, the first book in the series. 

There is, based on the ending, probably going to be another book in the series.  A bit too open to leave like that.

Anyway, I hope you all have a good summer.

P.S. Anyone who's read it, comment if you know/think why it's called "Spiral" because I'm really curious about that.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver (Awesome)

I needed to change pace a little bit, so I read a love book.  I thought I should point that out, so if you're not interested, you can move on to a different review.  Amazon has been practically begging me to read this, so I read the first chapter or two online, realized it was amazing, and went out and bought it.  Definitely should be on your to do list.

The cover just basically shows the main character, Lena, standing there.  (Personally, I think she looks like Charlotte from the tv show Revenge. )

Love, or amor deliria nervosa, has been declared a disease.  The one that causes everything: strokes, suicide, you name it.  There is even a cure, but they cannot preform it until a person reaches the age of eighteen, for health reasons.  Lena has been looking forward to being cured since she was little.  She wants to forget certain things in her past...  Everything is moving perfectly until she meets someone special, spectacular even.  There is another problem with deliria, though: those who contact it don't want to be cured, no matter what happens to them because of it.

It takes place in what could easily be a week from now.  The whole thing kept you sitting on the edge of your seat. Then the ending... talk about powerful. 

There is a sequel, Pandemonium, which is on my reading list, for sure.  I believe that it's in a trilogy, and the last book isn't currently out, to the best of my knowledge.

It's definitely a book that I would recomend.  This feels like it's going to be the next big love story.  Oh, and if you liked Matched, it's a bit like that except with only one guy. Actually, think of any future society books and combine them with a love book and you have it, sort of.

Anyway, that's all for now.  Bye.





The Mark of Athena cover, first chapter, and my thoughts

Here's the cover.  Mine's not really good quality, but if you zoom in, there's really detailed faces.  You should check it out.  Get prepared for everything I think about it.  Left to right.

1. Jason vs Percy  (one's blond, the other's black haired)
2. venti vs pegasus
3. imperial gold vs celestial bronze
4. storm vs water
5. purple vs orange
6. Romans vs Greeks
7. owl = the sign (mark) of athena (hence the title)
8. owl's left eye is either way less angry than the right eye, or it's just not winking.

If I had to say, I'd think Jason was winning because there's lightning on Percy's side and no water on Jason's side. 

No matter what, I'm officially psyched.  Oh, and here is the link to the official first chapter link.

What's your opinion?

The Invaders by John Flanagan (Awesome)

Sorry I'm so late.  Exams and everything...  Anyway, I wrote half of this awhile ago and am finishing it now

Hi everyone! The last book I read was the second book in the Brotherband Chronicles.  The first book, The Outcasts, left off on a bit of a cliffhanger, and this book picked right up where the last one stopped.  I would suggest reading my previous review first (link above) so that I don't spoil anything that's revealed in book one.  The cover:



It shows Hal fighting some nameless pirate.  (You know it's Hal because he has a sword.)  The Heron is in the background, and flames are surrounding them.  Pretty obvious once you read it.

The book is about the Herons riding around on their ship, trying to find the pirates.  Bad weather comes around, a random village has problems, and a cute girl are all thrown in the mix.  Read to find out what happens to everyone in the next instalment of the Brotherband Chronicles.

I would suggest reading this book.  It's pretty much exactly what you would expect based on the author, John Flanagan. (Whom I'm a big fan of, by the way.)

The next is coming out October 30, 2012 and is called Hunters.  I look forward to it coming out and can't wait to see you about it, then. 

Since I'm epically behind, I thought I would skip the last three books in the Jimmy Fincher series.  They are exactly like the first book, except for the fact that the last book is the best one by far.

See you soon.