Review: The Dream Walker by Michelle Murray

Title: The Dream Walker
Author: Michelle Murray
Series: Land of Mystica Series #1
Publication: August 16th 2014
Genre: Childrens ~ Fantasy
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository
Rating: 2/5

Review copy provided in exchange for an honest review.

 

Once upon Mystica there were six wizards, three light and three dark. One of the dark wizards, Midnight says a spell to trap the fellow wizards. The spell goes astray, trapping all the wizards including Midnight. One curious boy finds on of these stones and releases Midnight. Midnight is loose on Mystica, gathering an army and preparing for war. Miranda is an average college student until she starts having dreams of Mystica, she travels to Mystica following her dreams. Her dreams are leading her to find Lightning, a white wizard, and the only one that can stop Midnight. Follow Miranda through Mystica's Plains, Ice Caves, Forest of the Lost, and the Dragons Lair. Can Miranda find and release Lightning and save Mystica?

Although I've enjoyed fantasy books like these in the past, I think that The Dream Walker wasn't my cup of tea. The story was generally okay but there were too many spelling errors for my liking.

The overal story wasn't bad, I actually liked it and though it focuses mostly on Miranda, it had several points of view. But even so I lost interest pretty quickly mainly because of the way it was written and the spelling errors. I don't know if it will make any sense to anyone but I felt like it was rather told instead of written. I just didn't like the writing style, I guess. It was also a short book so it felt all a little rushed. It is good, though that it's a quick read.

And like I said before, there were quite a few mistakes with the spelling. I just expect more from a finished copy, you know. It was rather distracting to me. I also think that this is a children's or middle grade book (?) and though I've liked some books in those genres, I think this was a bit too young for me. There were not only young characters in it but I still felt that way.

So after taking everything in consideration I felt like I couldn't give it more than two stars. I like the story and magic aspects of the book but that were the only possitive things for me. That and it being a very quick read. 

       About the Author:

Michelle is a married working mother of two fine young men (her children). She lives in Wisconsin. When not writing, she enjoys reading especially science fiction/fantasy and classics.
Her favorite authors include Shakespeare, Mark Twain, Margaret Weiss, and Colleen Houck.
She also enjoys doing painting and crafts, and spending time with her family. She enjoys going for walks, and swimming. She has been known to jump in Lake Michigan with no life jacket!

She has been writing since high school. Michelle took a break from writing to concentrate on raising her children.

She has an app on her IPad that gives her a word of the day and poem of the day.

Review: Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer

Title: Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident
Author: Eoin Colfer
Series: Artemis Fowl #2
Publication: December 1st 2007 (first published January 1st 2001)
Genre: Fantasy
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository
Rating: 5/5

From: Colfer, Eoin (pronounced as 'Owen', by the way)
Sent: Yesterday
To: The World (above and below ground)
Subject: A message from Artemis Fowl's Official Biographer

The facts contained in this book are just that — facts.

It's all true, every word. Irish criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl has discovered a fairy race living below ground. He has extorted gold from them and the fairy police have been on his tail for supplying power cells to the goblin gangs.

But that's not the half of it. The Russian Mafiya are holding his father to ransom in the Arctic Circle and only Artemis's bodyguard, Butler, stands in between him and an evil pixie. As an explosive situation threatens the entire fairy civilization, Artemis realizes that even a wicked genius needs help sometimes. And it can come from the most unlikely quarters...

Fowl will deny all of this, of course, as will his army of lawyers. But they haven't sued me, have they?

Read on if you must. But wrap up warm.
Things are about to get frosty...

Eoin Colfer

Re-reading Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident was once again fantastic! This shouldn't come as a surprise but Eoin Colfer manages to enthrall me again and again with his books, no matter how many times I have read them.

With re-reading this book, I have noticed a few things, actually. I noticed that Artemis definitely has a slightly more softer side. I'm not sure if this is just me, but it's what I think. He's more humane in this book for sure, with wanting to rescue his father and building friendships with Holly and Mulch. Or at least the start of a friendship that will turn into a strong bond.

Another thing I realized was that Trouble Kelp was a little more in the book. I never gave this much thought before but I suddenly noticed it. But god, his little brother is annoying. I love Trouble, though. He's pretty awesome. 

I have to admit that the second Artemis Fowl book was never a favorite of mine. It always used to be the least favorite of all the books, but still a good one. Now I'm not so sure because the book was actually really great. Guess I'll have to re-read the others too, then!

Oh and Opal Koboi made her first (but not last) appearance in this book. She's evil but I kind of love her, in a villainy sort of way. It was definitely a nice introduction to her character. More to come with her, people!

Not surprisingly, Eoin Colfer engrossed me with his fast and witty writing, as he always does. The Arctis Incident was quick, yet full of detail and intrigue. I love Colfer's way of storytelling and how he can always almost pull me into his books and make me turn page after page non-stop!

Quotes:

“No, I don't think you understand just how stupid goblins are. Let me give you an example. One of the B'wa Kell generals, and this is their top fairy, was caught caught trying to pass off forged credit slips by signing his own name.”

The craft's occupants clutched their armrests, and more than one of them closed their eyes. But not Artemis. He couldn't. There was something morbidly fascinating about flying into an uncharted tunnel at a reckless speed with only a kleptomaniac dwarf's word for what lay at the other end.

“Well, young man, have you found anyone worthy of your respect?"
Artemis smiled back. "Yes," he said. "I believe I have.”

About the Author:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Eoin Colfer (pronounced Owen) was born in Wexford on the South-East coast of Ireland in 1965, where he and his four brothers were brought up by his father (an elementary school teacher, historian and artist of note) and mother (a drama teacher). He first developed an interest in writing in primary (elementary) school with gripping Viking stories inspired by history he was learning in school at the time!

After leaving school he got his degree from Dublin university and qualified as a primary school teacher, returning to work in Wexford. He married in 1991 and he and his wife spent about 4 years between 1992 and 1996 working in Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Italy. His first book, Benny and Omar, was published in 1998, based on his experiences in Tunisia; it has since been translated into many languages. A sequel followed in 1999, followed by some other books (see below). Then in 2001 the first Artemis Fowl book was published and he was able to resign from teaching and concentrate fully on writing.

He says, “I will keep writing until people stop reading or I run out of ideas. Hopefully neither of these will happen anytime soon. He lives in Ireland with his wife and two children.

Review: Book of Names by John Peel

Title: Book of Names
Authors: John Peel
Series: Diadem Worlds of Magic #1
Publication: September 8th 2004 by Llewellyn Publications
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 2/5

 

Three teenagers from very different worlds--Score, a streetwise New Yorker; Renald, who prepares for a medieval battle; and Pixel, who is confined to the one-room world of Virtual Reality--are kidnapped and plunged into a perilous odyssey as they seek to unlock the secrets of the Diadem.

Book of Names wasn't a totally bad book to me. There were some parts that I did like but overall it was just okay and nothing more.

Most of the time I was weirdest out by the story. Some really strange things happen in it, like a killer whale jumping out of a river and changing into a man. That was just a little too weird for me. I  didn't think the writing was all that good, either. This book is obviously more for younger readers but usually I can find books like this entertaining. So it's too bad that it wasn't the case with this one.

As I said before, some part I did like. One of those parts were the three main characters: Score, Renald and Pixel. They were a great set of characters, with each their own story and world they lived in. Personally, I liked Pixel's story the most because he came from a virtual reality world. Pretty cool. I also liked the fact that Renald kept her identity as a girl hidden for everyone for a little while. She was definitely a feisty character!

If it wasn't for the writing style that was only so-so and the mediocre dialogue, I think I would've liked this book a lot more. Also, the villain wasn't as hateful as I like my bad guys to be. He, also was so-so. 

There is talk about a more mysterious villain, but although there was some talk about him, he didn't make a real appearance. I'm guessing that will be for the next book, with how the story ended.

All in all, Book of Names was tolerable. I didn't completely hate it but I obviously didn't love it either. It definitely had some promise but to me it wasn't enough.

About the Author:

Website | Goodreads

John Peel is the author of Doctor Who books and comic strips. Notably, he wrote the first original Doctor Who novel, Timewyrm: Genesys, to launch the Virgin New Adventures line. In the early 1990s he was commissioned by Target Books to write novelisations of several key Terry Nation Dalek stories of the 1960s after the rights were finally worked out. He later wrote several more original Daleks novels.

He has the distinction of being one of only three authors credited on a Target novelisation who had not either written a story for the TV series or been a part of the production team (the others were Nigel Robinson and Alison Bingeman).

Outside of Doctor Who, Peel has also written novels for the Star Trek franchise. Under the pseudonym "John Vincent", he wrote novelisations based upon episodes of the 1990s TV series James Bond Jr.

Review: Anubis Speaks! by Vicky Alvear Shecter

Title: Anubis Speaks! A Guide to the Afterlife by the Egyptian God of the Dead
Author: Vicky Alvear Shecter
Publication: October 1st 2013 by Boyds Mills Press
Genre: Non-Fiction, Children's
Format: e-arc from NetGalley
Cover Rating: 5/5
Overall Rating: 5/5

e-arc provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review.

  

Anubis, the ancient Egyptian god of death and mummification, takes the reader on a personal tour of the "Dark Lands"--the Egyptian afterworld. While touring, Anubis explains ancient Egyptian death practices and escorts the reader onto Ra's "Night Boat," where they must battle the evil demon of destruction, Apophis, so that Ra can be reborn in the morning as the sun disk.

Based on Egyptology research--particularly the Book of the Dead, The Book of Apophis, the Book of Caverns and others--ANUBIS SPEAKS gives middle-grade readers a fun yet factual look at ancient Egyptian beliefs, rituals and practices.

~My Thoughts:

I think this is the first non-fiction book that I'm reviewing. It's not that I don't like non-fiction books. No, I do enjoy them. Especially if they're about Egyptian mythology. And this one was fantastic. I almost finished it in one time. I do know quite a lot about ancient Egypt, if I do say so myself. Ever since I was a kid I loved to read books about it, whether or not they were fiction or non-fiction and I also watched a lot of docus and movies about it. So yes, very much interested in it. But I've come to learn even more now about ancient egypt and the gods because of this book. So great!

This book is told to us by Anubis, the god with the jackal head. I've always liked that god and read a lot about him before but I definitely like how the author wrote him. He's so funny with his little comments every now and then. That's why I loved this book so much. It's not just a non-fiction read where facts are being told. Anubis makes it freaking hilarious and I'm sure kids as well as adult would love it. I did anyway. There were even the steps to mummification. That was one of my favorite parts. 
The drawings in this book were so nicely done. They were also a big part as to why I enjoyed Anubis Speaks so much. I love drawings about ancient Egypt and these were really great. I wish I could have some of them to hang up. <3

So overall, Anubis Speaks is a fun, non-fiction story that's based on the Book of Dead and others, that takes us on a journey through the Egyptian afterlife told to us by none other than the god Anubis. There are a lot of facts we learn from this book but it's told in an amazingly fun way. I've learned a lot but also laughed a lot and that, people, is how you write a great non-fiction book. Also I'm definitely going to check out this author's other books. I think they'll be really great as well. 

This book is definitely a 2013-favorite of mine because I was really impressed by how much fun I was having and didn't want to put it down one second although I had to eventually to get some sleep. I would definitely recommend it to everyone. Young and old, whether or not you like non-fiction or not. Just try it and you might be really surprised and love it as much as I did.

Favorite Quotes:

"And why, you may ask, did Ra refuse to continue walking among his creations on earth? Because you humans had to go and ruin it for the rest of us. You plotted against him. You rebelled, thinking to steal Ra's power (as if) for yourself.
Ra withdrew into the sky in response to your sacrilege. So it's all your fault, you petty backstabbing, power-hungry, smelly little mortals. But I'm not resentful. Really, I'm not.

Don't be shy! It may seem crowded with all us gods on board---including Horus, Set, Isis, Nephthys ("Hin Mom"), Sekhmet, Thoth, Hathor, Serket, and others---but we'll all fit. It's a magic boat.

The three-headed snake with fourteen human heads on its body is not so unusual. I'm sure you've noticed that most of us gods sport animal heads. And I'm sure you've been particularly admiring my noble jackal's head on my exquisitely muscled human body. Why do I have a jackal head? The better to eat you with me, dear.

About the author:

Vicky Alvear Shecter wishes she had a time machine to go back to the glory days of ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. Until she can find one, she writes about the famous and fabulous lives of the ancients and their gods instead. She is also a docent at the Michael C. Carlos Museum of Antiquities at Emory University.

Find Vicky also on:

Blog | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter | Website

Purchase Anubis Speaks on:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Fishpond

Mini Review: Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

Title: Peter Pan: Peter and Wendy and Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens
Author: J.M. Barrie
Publication: 1st 2005 by Penguin Classics (first published January 1st 1991)
Genre: Childrens
Format: Paperback, 234 pages
Cover Rating: 4/5
Overall Rating: 5/5
Purchase: The Book Depository ~ Amazon ~ Fishpond ~ 
Barnes & Noble ~ Kobo (free)

Peter Pan, the "boy who would not grow up," originally appeared as a baby living a magical life among birds and fairies in J.M. Barrie's sequence of stories, Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. His later role as flying boy hero was brought to the stage by Barrie in the beloved play Peter Pan, which opened in 1904 and became the novel Peter and Wendy in 1911. In a narrative filled with vivid characters, epic battles, pirates, fairies, and fantastic imagination, Peter Pan's adventures capture the spirit of childhood-and of rebellion against the role of adulthood in conventional society. This edition includes the novel and the stories, as well as an introduction by eminent scholar Jack Zipes. Looking at the man behind Peter Pan and sifting through the psychological interpretations that have engaged many a critic, Zipes explores the larger cultural and literary contexts in which we should appreciate Barrie's enduring creation and shows why Peter Pan is a work not for children but for adults seeking to reconnect with their own imagination.

My thoughts: 

Back in August, I read Tiger Lily by Jody Lynn Anderson, a retelling of Peter Pan told by Tinker Bell's point of view. (Sounds awesome, right? :D) I was so impressed by this wonderful book that I just had to read the original story by J.M. Barrie. When I finally found it at a local bookstore I immediately bought it and not much later I started reading it. I finished in about four days so yes, I absolutely loved it. My obsession with everything involving Peter Pan has been fueled even more now than ever. 
Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens was a little odd for me to read. I couldn't always follow half of what was happening but I did enjoy it. It's nice to know Peter's full story.

I would recommend this book to everone. Young and old, doesn't matter. You have to at least have read it once in your lifetime. You may love it or not but you can't deny the nostalgic feeling you'll be getting for sure. 
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie is a brilliant, imaginative, outstanding children's book that left me turning page after page without stop. I found Barrie such an amazing storyteller. The way he takes you through Neverland with the pirates, indians, mermaids and of course let's not forget Peter Pan, is so enjoyable to read.

~Quotes~

"All children, except one, grow up."

"To die will be an awfully big adventure."

~About the author:

Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM (9 May 1860 
– 19 June 1937) was a Scottish author and dramatist, best remembered today as the creator of Peter Pan. The child of a family of small-town weavers, he was educated in Scotland. He moved to London, where he developed a career as a novelist and playwright. There he met the Llewelyn Davies boys who inspired him in writing about a baby boy who has magical adventures in Kensington Gardens (included in The Little White Bird), then to write Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, a "fairy play" about this ageless boy and an ordinary girl named Wendy who have adventures in the fantasy setting of Neverland. This play quickly overshadowed his previous work and although he continued to write successfully, it became his best-known work, credited with popularising the name Wendy, which was very uncommon previously.[1] Barrie unofficially adopted the Davies boys following the deaths of their parents. Before his death, he gave the rights to the Peter Pan works to Great Ormond Street Hospital, which continues to benefit from them.