Into the Wild

Into the Wild

I don't read a lot of non-fiction, however I've been trying to change that trend. This is one of those books where the movie made me want to read it. It doesn't happen often but every once in a while I see an amazing movie and need to read the book.

Into the Wild tells the story of a young man named Chris McCandless. Upon graduating from college he gives all his money to charity, abandons his car, burns whatever money he has left and leaves for wherever the road takes him. He changes his name to Alexander Supertramp and makes a new life for himself tramping across America.

Throughout his whole journey his supreme desire is to go to Alaska and live in the wild. After two years of tramping he makes his way to Alaska and hikes our into the wilderness and lives in a bus that he finds in the middle of no where.

Written by a reporter the book tells the story from a factual point of view, while still implanting in its chapters a sense of humanity and a plea for understanding for this fascinating character. This story is both inspiring and enlightening, drawing into subjects of philosophy a the internal yearning of the human spirit to explore and find that uncharted part of the map, a feeling that has been suppressed by how well charted our current maps are. Chris McCandless's experiences speak to that part of humanity and fills the reader with a sense of awe and respect.

The Road

The Road:

This was one of those books that I decided I had to read the moment I heard about it. It turned out to be one of the greatest books I've ever read, and Cormac McCarthy has since become my favorite writer.

I received the book for Christmas last year, and finished the book in two days. It was one of those books that does not allow you to put it down. There is something in the way that McCarthy writes that draws you into a story in a way that I've never seen another writer do. It is a story that doesn't rely on fast-paced action to grip you. Instead it pulls you into the characters and the dramatic situation they've been throw in.

The books tells the story of a post-apocalyptic world that has been reduced to ashes by some catastrophe. It is about a man and his son and their survival and search for happiness in a place of death and misery.

This is also one of those rare books, that has a great movie to go along with it. The movie was made with the perfect feel to accompany the book and Viggo Mortensen was the ideal actor for the part of the father.

The Road is an excellent narrative that builds stark contrasts of light in a world of absolute darkness. It gives momentous power to even the simplest events, like a father giving his son a Coke. If you have not read this book, go get it now and start. It stands as one of the greatest works of modern times.

Elantris and Warbreaker

Elantris and Warbreaker:

I bought this book based on whim. My friend told me I would enjoy it, but then again, another friend told me I would enjoy Twilight. So I make it habit to be very selective when listening to friends. However, the cover if this book stated "Elantris is the finest novel of fantasy to be written in many years..." Normally that would mean nothing to me, I mean, how many movies are advertised as "The Movie of the Year." What made this different is that the quote was attributed to Orson Scott Card.

It's no secret that Orson Scott Card is one of my favorite writers, so I bought it.

I was not disappointed, and soon afterward, I was not disappointed again when I read Warbreaker. Brandon Sanderson has quickly become one of my favorite fantasy writers. In a world of typically lame formulaic fantasy stories about elves and dwarfs he transcends stereotypes with truly unique stories and settings. Sanderson is an innovator in the genre. As much as Frank Herbert did for science fiction, Brandon Sanderson has the potential to do for fantasy.

Elantris tells an intensely dark story about a damning curse that has come over a once glorious city and its people. It's scope is grand but its characters are personal. It draws on deep religious questions while telling an engaging story full of intrigue and mystery.

The only criticism I had was that the structure of the story was somewhat mechanical. The writer bound the chapters to groups of three, where each of the three chapters was about one of the three main characters. This repeated throughout the whole book, which in no way ruined the book, but it did make some of the chapters feel forced.

Warbreaker improved on and practically eliminated the negative aspects of Elantris. While Elantris was one of the more enjoyable books I've read, Warbreaker was even better. This book contains some of the most enjoyable characters I've ever read. From the God who doesn't believe his own religion to a sentient sword who's only purpose is to destroy evil, even though it doesn't seem to know exactly what evil is. The story is fast paced and gripping, mixing the genres of political conspiracy and mystic fantasy.

Warbreaker has climbed to my top 5 list of totally awesome books. Everyone should read it, even if you don't like fantasy, this would be a good place to start.

Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead

Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead:

I write about both of these books together for a specific reason: one would not exist without the other. Those who do not know a lot about them are probably thinking, well of course the sequel wouldn't exist without the original book. True enough, however in this situation Ender's Game would not exist without Speaker for the Dead.

Ender's Game was originally a short story. I've read it and while it is good, it is obviously lacking in a lot of the story and character development that has made Ender's Game such a popular book. When Orson Scott Card was trying to write Speaker for the Dead he found a lot of dead ends. It was coming out like he wanted. Then he had the thought, what if the main character were Ender. Thus the novel, Ender's Game, was born.

These books are both incredible. Orson Scott Card has a way with characters that I've seen in very few characters. He makes you want to read more about a character that you hate. Ender's game is no exception to this idea. He draws out these characters in a tough and fascinating setting and makes you believe them. At the same time he's pulls out brilliant descriptions of military strategies and alien politics. The end is surprising and dark, bringing into full light the source of Ender as the complicated character that he becomes in Speaker for the Dead.

Speaker for the Dead does not take up where Ender's Game left off. Rather, it skips a couple thousand years. The most brilliant thing about this book is that Orson Scott Card creates a compelling story, full of mystery and lacking an antagonist. The simple fact that there is no "bad guy" emphasizes the point of the book as whole.

On a distant planet called Lusitania a new sentient species is discovered. A base of study is set up and the human's begin to interact with the "Pequeninos." After years of studying one of the Xenologers is found dead, cut open and eviscerated by the Pequeninos. When Ender comes to the planet he is faced with the resulting hostilities as well as the effects they have had on one dysfunctional family.

Speaker for the Dead tells a compelling story about understanding the things alien to us. Orson Scott Card expounds on his most complicated character who is no longer the boy from Ender's Game.

I would recommend both these books to anyone, but I would not recommend reading one without the other. Speaker for the Dead is on my top 5 favorite books list and Ender's Game isn't far behind.

The Hunger Games Trilogy

The Hunger Games:

At first I approached this series with a lot of excitement. Then I was disappointed. Then I was excited again. Then I was indifferent. Then I was satisfied. The graph of how I enjoyed these books is a lot like the graph of the action in the actual books.

The premise was what first gripped me. I tend to be attracted to gritty books that approach the darkness of reality while still emphasizing the light idealism. So, the idea of a bunch of kids being forced into an arena to kill each other seemed a good opportunity for both. To show heroism and atrocity on the same page. I suppose the first mistake I made, was that I started planning out exactly how I would write the book, before I even started reading it. The bigger problem, however, was that I thought I knew exactly how it would go... and then it went that way. While I found the first book engaging in its action, I also found it very predictable, and in the end it seemed as if I had read the whole book from the short paragraph on the back.

I found the second book, Catching Fire, to be a lot more engaging in its unpredictability. One thing that Suzanne Collins does very well, is ending chapters. She times it perfectly so that, as opposed to most books, the end of the chapter is a bad place to put down the book. Each chapter ends with something that sets your mind to questioning. It is no wonder that so many say they can't put the books down.

The third book followed suit with the second in its unpredictability and drew it all together with a darkness that appeals to realist in all of us. The book gets you to believe that the ideal will occur, and then slams you with the harsh truth of reality. It brings up the points that people rarely ever act as they do in the movies, and that some experiences change in ways that scar us for life and leave us infinitely changed, sometimes for the worse.

All in all, these books were very satisfying. The story is gripping and it is easy to get pulled into the characters. You do actually care if they live or die. The writing style is unique (having written everything in first-person, present tense) and puts you into the action in a way that I've never seen another writer do.

My only problem with these books is that they have been slightly over-hyped. They are good entertaining books, but people seem to find obsession with shallow stories in our age. I have no problem with books for the shear point of entertainment, however I hate to hear it said that these are the best books ever written. If this style of book is considered the "classics" of tomorrow, we may be in trouble.

So read them, enjoy them, and don't let the over-hype ruin them for you.

Also, a forewarning to other men who are considering reading these books. They are written by a woman, and the reader can tell. A lot of focus on fashion...

Shameless Rip Offs

It has been said that every story has already been written. While I disagree with this statement in general, it seems that some people are out of ideas... but they're still getting published. It is becoming a trend. A book comes out that becomes a hit, the story idea becomes a trend and people milk for everything its worth by shamelessly ripping off the story and changing a single major detail such as the setting.
Here are a couple examples. (Keep in mind I haven't read all of these books, but the premise speaks for itself.)

Eragon

This is a little less shameless than most and mostly a product of a 16 year old writing it. I myself look back at the stories I wanted to write when I was a teenager and they were not all that original either. However this is worth noting.

Assuming that everyone reading this knows the plot of Star Wars see if this sounds familiar. A teenage boy was raised by his uncle on a farm. His uncle is killed in an attack from the empire around the same time that an old wise man finds the boy and teaches him about magical powers and tells him that he needs to defeat the evil empire. Also the old wise man dies in the first installment of the story.

If you can't tell which plot that synopsis is, the answer is both. Everything in that synopsis applies to both of these stories. Once again Paolini can't be blamed as he was a child when he wrote it, but still a note worthy example.

Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief

While the plot on this one has its original aspects, the basic story seems to strangely reminiscent of everyone's favorite wizard.

"The protagonist is Percy Jackson, who discovers that he is the son of Poseidon, god of the sea. He learns that the legendary beings of Greek mythology still exist and have always existed, including monsters, cyclopes, empousae, Titans, and the Greek Gods" -Wikipedia

"Taking place in New York, the novel features a host of half-human, half-god people, referred to as half-bloods..."

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2915776/a_review_and_summary_of_the_lightning.html

For those who have read Harry Potter this may sound somewhat familiar. Though the actual plot line follows its own course the basic premise is incredibly similar and such exploitations of a trend should not be ignored. However this is nothing compared to the next example.

Fallen

While I am not one to stand up for Twilight under any circumstances, this kind of blatant rip off is just ridiculous. Here is a plot synopsis that I found:

"Luce must spend her senior year at reform school... When she meets supernaturally gorgeous Daniel, she feels a familiar longing, making her believe they have met before. Although Cam is clearly interested in her, Luce only wants Daniel, who runs both hot and cold. He tries to keep Luce at a distance, telling her that the truth would kill her as it has many times before... Instead of vampires, though, these are fallen angels." -School Library Journal

In comparison to twilight:

"Bella's life changes when she moves to perpetually rain-soaked Forks, Washington. She is instantly drawn to a fellow student, Edward Cullen, beautiful beyond belief and angrily aloof. Bella senses there is more behind Edward's hostility, and in a plot that slowly and frighteningly unfolds, she learns that Edward and his family are vampires--though they do not hunt humans. Yet Edward cannot promise that his powerful attraction to Bella won't put in her in danger, or worse. Recklessly in love, Bella wants only to be with Edward..."

This is the most blatant rip-off I ever heard of. Stephanie Meyer wrote a book, it was a hit and became a best seller really fast, so naturally another author thought they could just jump on the train with the exact same story and make a quick buck. It is shameless and ridiculous.

So don't buy into the shameless rip offs. Find something original, there's enough of it out there. A story only needs to be told once. I don't want this to across though as a bash on anything that draws inspiration from anything else. If a writer can provide a new and interesting take on an old story that is excellent. The best example of this is the Lion King. It tells the story of Hamlet in a new and interesting way that makes it more accessible to everyone and not just those who understand Shakespeare, no easy feat.

The Dark Elf Trilogy

The Dark Elf Trilogy

I was first introduced to these books by my brother, who interestingly enough, had never read them. When I decided to by the first book I was very skeptical for two reasons. The first was that little insignia at the top, Forgotten Realms. It was hard for me to imagine that a book based in a Dungeons and Dragons Campaign setting could be any good. The second reason was that there are nineteen books in the whole series. It seemed like they might be... mass produced.

My skepticism was soon set aside as I delved into the books.

The Dark Elf Trilogy, as the name implies, tells the story of a dark elf, or drow, of the underdark, a world of twisting tunnels beneath the land of Ferun. The drow's name is Drizzt Do'urden and he is surrounded by the darkness and evil of his people. He, however, has an innate goodness in him that speaks against the dark ways of his people and also their worship of the Spider Queen, Lolth.

Finding no reconciliation between the ways of his people and his internal beliefs, Drizzt leaves the underdark to join the surface world, where he is met with nothing but malice from all save a few who meet him.

Despite my skepticism when I first started reading, this series has turned into one of my favorites. It is filled with intriguing characters, fascinating settings, engaging plot lines and deep themes that provoke thought on new subjects. It delves into the philosophies of morality while maintaining that there are such things as good and evil, even if we're not sure which is which.

Drizzt stands as one of the most fascinating characters in the history of the fantasy genre and these books are definitely worth reading for anyone, even those who don't particularly like fantasy.

Understanding that there are nineteen books in the series I plan to post about them in chunks, talking about each subset of books rather than each book.

To read about the next trilogy: The Icewind Dale Trilogy

No Country For Old Men

No Country For Old Men

In a world like ours today its hard to imagine that a book like this would get its due credit. In a world where Twilight passes for quality literature and half the other best sellers are the same basic story line with another "twist" to it. I know, why don't I write a book about a teenage girl who falls in love with a mysterious man then finds out he has super natural powers of a generally dark nature. Anything with that as a premise is guarantee to be followed by, New York Times Best Seller.

Once in a blue moon though an author will emerge from the shadows with something that would be numbered among the classics of tomorrow. This is one them.

Telling the simple story of man meets two million dollars in cash, the tale quickly accelerates as the protagonist is pursued by a heartless and creepy madman with an oxygen tank and a stun gun.

Through all this though, Cormac McCarthy brings up deep subject inlaid throughout the plot. Subjects of good and evil, old age and youth, life and death. He remains a realist throughout it all telling things as they are and not how most think they should be.

This book stands as the most outstanding piece of literature I have read and it provokes thoughts long after the last page has been read and the book closed.

So next time you find yourself wading through the dribble that is modern literature, look for this and take a break from the mundane repetition of the over-told love story. If a book doesn't make you think and question, its probably not worth reading.