The Time Machine by H.G. Wells - Ashley's Pre-Reading

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Title: The Time Machine
Author: H.G. Wells
Year Published: 1895

Synopsis: When the Time Traveler courageously stepped out of his machine for the first time, he found himself in the year 802,700 -- and everything had changed. H.G. Wells's famous novel of one man's astonishing journey beyond the conventional limits of the imagination is regarded as one of the great masterpieces in the literature of science fiction.

Why?: I enjoyed some of H.G. Wells' other works (like The Island of Dr. Moreau), and decided that I should give this classic a try. I mean, how can I say that I enjoy sci fi novels if I haven't even read this one?! Plus, it's free for Kindle. Hooray!

Expectations: I expect a heavy science fiction novel. Time travel, and skeptics, and all sorts of new creatures and places. Probably quite a bit of technical writing to explain time travel, but who knows. Oh, and a lot of words I don't know because I don't speak 1895. 

Judging a book by its cover: This is another book with so many different covers. Some of them, I absolutely love. Other ones are pretty boring. It would completely depend on which one was in the store or library, but I would probably pick this up if it was one of most of the covers. 


--Ashley

The Warlord of Mars (Barsoom #3) by Edgar Rice Burroughs - Ashley's Review

My Pre-Reading

Title: The Warlord of Mars 
Author: Edgar Rice Burroughs 
Year Published: 1913-1914 as serials, 1919 as novel

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Synopsis: Far to the north, in the frozen wastes of Polar Mars, lay the home of the Holy Therns, sacred and inviolate. Only John Carter dared to go there to find his lost Dejah Thoris. But between him and his goal lay the bones of all who had gone before.

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Review: I really don't have a lot to say about this book. That isn't to say though, that I didn't enjoy it. I did! There's action, adventure, romance, heartbreak, mystery, and all of the things that make books like this one have so much re-read value. I loved the first two books in the Barsoom series, and this one did not let me down. In fact, it might be my favorite one so far.

This book picks up pretty much immediately after the cliffhanger of The Gods of Mars. Some time has passed, but John Carter catches you up pretty quickly before starting into his quest to save Dejah Thoris and Thuvia. Everything happens fairly quickly, and I never felt like the story was dragging on or anything. Burroughs really only includes important details, which makes it a little easier to get through the unfamiliar wording. 

I was pretty excited that we got to meet all sorts of new characters and go to never before seen parts of Mars, and seeing John Carter get so close to Dejah only to lose her every single time was definitely enough to make me want to finish this book as quickly as possible. 

I would recommend this book to anyone who has read any of the other Barsoom novels, and also to anyone looking for a good sci-fi series to start. The books are very short, and wonderfully imaginative and engaging. I'm pretty excited that there are 11 books in the series (although not all about John Carter), because I love reading about adventures on Mars. a 4/5 on this one from me!

--Ashley

If You Like the Hunger Games, You Might Like...

I finally made another youtube video! This one is a recommendation video for fans of The Hunger Games  trilogy and movie. I made it to submit it to the Geek and Sundry Vlog channel. If you aren't familiar with Geek and Sundry, it is a channel created by Felicia Day that has many weekly shows that cover all topics of geek culture. They recently set up a companion channel comprised of vloggers. My favorite is Geeking Out hosted by Neil McNeil and Becca Canote. You can check out the Geek and Sundry Vlog Channel here!

Here is my video. Please like, share, and subscribe. I'm going to be making videos a lot more frequently, I hope. 

My Recommendations:

DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth

MATCHED by Ally Condie

UGLIES by Scott Westerfield

THE FORSAKEN by Lisa M. Stasse

LIBYRINTH by Pearl North

If you have other suggestions, leave a comment! Or, if you like a popular book series and want recommendations, ask me!

-PAUL

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo - Paul's PRE-READING

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Title: Siege and Storm (The Grisha #2)
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Year Published: 2013

Paul's Review of Shadow and Bone
Ashley's Review of Shadow and Bone

Synopsis: Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But she can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her–or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.

Why?:  Shadow and Bone was an excellent YA Fantasy novel! I have waited for this novel to come out for almost a year. Bardugo did an excellent job with her Russian-inspired fantasy world. If you haven't read the first book, go read it NOW!

Expectations: I'm expecting a lot of the same from Shadow and Bone. I'm excited to see them travel on the True Sea. I'm ready to learn more about the interesting world of the Grisha.    

Judging a book by its cover: I love this cover! It is very similar to that of Shadow and Bone. I am interested in the waves in the lower corners and the dragonlike ribbon above the title.  

-PAUL

The Island by Jen Minkman - Ashley's Review

*I received this novella as an eARC from Patchwork Press on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Title: The Island

Author: Jen Minkman

Year Published: 2013

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Synopsis: "I walk toward the sea. The endless surface of the water extends to the horizon, whichever way I look.

Our world is small. We are on our own, and we only have ourselves to depend on. We rely on the Force deep within us, as taught to us by our forefathers. 

If I were to walk westward from here, I would come across a barrier – the Wall. Behind it, there are Fools. At least, that’s what everyone says.

I have never seen one."

Leia lives on the Island, a world in which children leave their parents to take care of themselves when they are ten years old. Across this Island runs a wall that no one has ever crossed. The Fools living behind it are not amenable to reason – they believe in illusions. That’s what The Book says, the only thing left to the Eastern Islanders by their ancestors. 

But when a strange man washes ashore and Leia meets a Fool face to face, her life will never be the same. Is what she and her friends believe about the Island really true?

Or is everyone in their world, in fact, a Fool?

(Please note: this novella contains a few references to the famous sci-fi movie Star Wars which are pivotal to the plot. None of the characters in The Island are in any way related to the characters in the movie.)

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Review: This novella took me by surprise. When I saw that there were references to Star Wars, I figured it would be something having to do with space and all of that jazz. Maybe aliens? Maybe this island was on a planet from the Star Wars universe? Yeah, that was all totally wrong. The references are very important to the plot, but Minkman does an excellent job making this her own story. Characters might share names, and there are Star Wars characters mentioned and talked about, but that's about it. The plot is totally original, and I actually thoroughly enjoyed it.

The pacing for me was a little weird at times, and it made parts kind of difficult to get through. Some times we get too much detail (although it does end up being necessary), and other times I felt like there just wasn't enough. Something happens, and then all of a sudden the kids just accept that their way of life is wrong? That just didn't seem realistic to me. Especially when you consider how old the children are (19 is considered to be very old to still be living in the mansion with the children). I think that some of the issues I had with pacing though were because this novella could totally have been expanded into a full novel. Don't get me wrong, it works as a novella too. 

Another place that this story might have benefited from being a full novel would be in the characters. We learn quite a bit about Leia, and how she sees the world and what she thinks about the situation, but we hardly see any of the others. We know who her friends are, and kind of what their personalities are, but they're very one-dimensional and very stagnant. They don't do anything really unexpected, and that's such a shame. Maybe if this had alternated viewpoints between Luc and Leia? I don't know. It was just lacking something there. 

Overall, this was an excellent short story. The plot is gripping, if a little strangely paced, and it's interesting to see how children/early teens adapt to their lives being turned completely upside down. I would love to read this if it were ever expanded into a novel! And would totally recommend this to anyone who enjoys dystopian stories, and especially people who are fans of Star Wars but want something completely different. 4/5 for this one.

--Ashley

Far Far Away by Tom McNeal - Ashley's Pre-Reading

*I received this book as an eARC from Knopf Books for Young Readers on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

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Title: Far Far Away
Author: Tom McNeal
Year Published: 2013

Synopsis: It says quite a lot about Jeremy Johnson Johnson that the strangest thing about him isn't even the fact his mother and father both had the same last name. Jeremy once admitted he's able to hear voices, and the townspeople of Never Better have treated him like an outsider since. After his mother left, his father became a recluse, and it's been up to Jeremy to support the family. But it hasn't been up to Jeremy alone. The truth is, Jeremy can hear voices. Or, specifically, one voice: the voice of the ghost of Jacob Grimm, one half of the infamous writing duo, The Brothers Grimm. 

Jacob watches over Jeremy, protecting him from an unknown dark evil whispered about in the space between this world and the next. But when the provocative local girl Ginger Boultinghouse takes an interest in Jeremy (and his unique abilities), a grim chain of events is put into motion. And as anyone familiar with the Grimm Brothers know, not all fairy tales have happy endings...

Young adult veteran Tom McNeal (one half of the writing duo known as Laura & Tom McNeal) has crafted a novel at once warmhearted, compulsively readable, and altogether thrilling--and McNeal fans of their tautly told stories will not be disappointed.

Why?: I love anything about fairy tales, and I was especially excited to hear that this one had not only fairy tales, but the ghost of one of the most well known collector of fairy tales. I mean seriously, how could I turn down a book where Ghost Jacob Grimm is a main character? 

Expectations: I expect a nice story, with a lot of fairy tale references. I also expect things to not go well all the time though, because the Grimm Brothers didn't collect only happy fairy tales, so something has to go wrong eventually. I'm looking forward to mystery and maybe a little adventure too, along with some weird circumstances. Oh, and I bet Never Better will be far far away, or the kids will want to run somewhere far far away.

Judging a book by its cover: I'm not really sure how I feel about this cover. The colors are gorgeous, but it seems very cartoony to me. I would probably pick this up off of a shelf because it looks like the cover of something fairy tale related, but I'm not sure.


--Ashley

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher - Paul's REVIEW

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My Pre Reading

Title: Incarceron 
Author: Catherine Fisher
Year Published: 2010

Synopsis: Incarceron is a prison so vast that it contains not only cells, but also metal forests, dilapidated cities, and vast wilderness. Finn, a seventeen-year-old prisoner, has no memory of his childhood and is sure that he came from Outside Incarceron. Very few prisoners believe that there is an Outside, however, which makes escape seems impossible.

And then Finn finds a crystal key that allows him to communicate with a girl named Claudia. She claims to live Outside- she is the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, and doomed to an arranged marriage. Finn is determined to escape the prison, and Claudia believes she can help him. But they don't realize that there is more to Incarceron than meets the eye. Escape will take their greatest courage and cost more than they know. 

Review: This was my second attempt at reading this book. The first time I only got halfway before I put it back on my book shelf. I'm glad this time I was able to finish it. 

It was hard to get into this book at first. My eyelids were heavy by the end of each chapter. But, once I got into it I really did like it. The world is so interesting. I was questioning what it was the whole time. Where is the Prison? What is the Prison?

Most of the sci-fi in this book is just stated and not explained. It works for this novel, but I like when there's an explanation for how something could actually happen in reality. One of the questions I had was how the Prison recycles the organic matter. 

By the second half of the novel, the characters become more fledged out as their secrets are revealed. There are a lot of big revelations by the end of the novel, but I wasn't on the edge of my seat throughout the novel like most current YA novels. 

There are small passages before each chapter that are interesting, but don't mean much at the beginning of the novel before you have context. 

I am interested in the sequel. The end of this novel made me think so much about the story and the world. 

Small SPOILER that won't make sense unless you've read it: At the end, I was hoping he still had the watch(my mind would have exploded).  

I like when books blend genres. This book did it pretty well. Sci-fi and fantasy. A world living in the past. Magic and science. I give this novel a 4/5. I recommend it to fans of blended sci-fi and fantasy series like Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire and The Maze Runner series. 

-PAUL