Title: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
Published: 1886
Rating: 7.5/10
Written during the Victorian Era, "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde" has only 69 pages, making it a very very short classic. It seems that I have been doing the extremes, I was doing a review for the famously long 422 page Dracula and now the painfully short 69 page "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde".
The plot goes like this: Dr.Jekyll is a well-mannered scientist who consumes a potion of his own making that transforms himself into a morally lacking monster Mr.Hyde. Mr.Hyde has little or maybe no regard for life and among his crimes, tramples on a young girl and murders a MP( Member of Parliament). Soon, Dr.Jekyll transform into Mr.Hyde even without the potion. Larger and larger doses of the potion are required to change Mr.Hyde back into Dr.Jekyll. Towards the end of the story, Dr.Jekyll expresses profound regret for consuming the potion and fears that he may forever be stuck in the form of the cold-blooded Mr.Hyde. The story is told from Mr.Utterson's ( a lawyer and good friend of Dr.Jekyll) point of view.
Sean
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Book Review: Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman
Title: Smoke and Mirrors
Author: Neil Gaiman
Published: 1999
Rating: 9/10
Smoke and Mirrors is not actually a novel. It is a collection of some of Neil Gaiman's short stories.
Because of the fact that the book is more of a collection than actually one continuous novel, I will be highlighting three short stories that bring out the best of this marvelous book.
1.Nicholas was...
Basically, "Nicholas was..." is a rather humorous take on Santa Claus. The yearly Christmas gift giving is described as some sort of horrible torture inflicted upon him by God. Also, the elves seem to be slobbering, mindless grunts that are trying to kill dear old Nicholas every day.
2.Don't Ask Jack
Neil Gaiman can be side-splitting funny when he wants to and when he wants to write a good old-fashioned horror story, you will no doubt be chilled to the very bone. "Don't Ask Jack" is about a demonic Jack in the Box, very possibly forged from the very furnace that powers Hell. It is shut in a huge box locked away in an orphanage. The children who once played there now are all grown up but are drawn back there to once again face the evil that is the Jack in the Box...
Truth to be told, the story isn't that original, but the way it is told, you can't just help but turn on all the lights in the house and start praying for your very soul...
3.Snow, Glass, Apples
A very interesting take on the age-old fable "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" . In Neil Gaiman's retelling of this tale, the Queen is actually the protector of the kingdom, and she is trying to protect the good people of the land from Snow White, who is actually a vampire! Snow White's heart is given to the Queen, but the undead horror that is Snow White continues to stalk the land, in search of fresh blood. The Queen has no choice but to try to poison Snow White, but fails when the Prince of a Land Far Away comes to awaken the Eldritch Monstrosity Snow White.
The Queen is burned at the stake as Snow White watches on with glee.
The other short stories do not fail in bringing surprise and twists around every corner. Every single one really delivers as promised, each a tale of suspense and reading pleasure. This was a book that I could not put down.
Sweet and concise, this book really packs a punch.
Sean
Author: Neil Gaiman
Published: 1999
Rating: 9/10
Smoke and Mirrors is not actually a novel. It is a collection of some of Neil Gaiman's short stories.
Because of the fact that the book is more of a collection than actually one continuous novel, I will be highlighting three short stories that bring out the best of this marvelous book.
1.Nicholas was...
Basically, "Nicholas was..." is a rather humorous take on Santa Claus. The yearly Christmas gift giving is described as some sort of horrible torture inflicted upon him by God. Also, the elves seem to be slobbering, mindless grunts that are trying to kill dear old Nicholas every day.
2.Don't Ask Jack
Neil Gaiman can be side-splitting funny when he wants to and when he wants to write a good old-fashioned horror story, you will no doubt be chilled to the very bone. "Don't Ask Jack" is about a demonic Jack in the Box, very possibly forged from the very furnace that powers Hell. It is shut in a huge box locked away in an orphanage. The children who once played there now are all grown up but are drawn back there to once again face the evil that is the Jack in the Box...
Truth to be told, the story isn't that original, but the way it is told, you can't just help but turn on all the lights in the house and start praying for your very soul...
3.Snow, Glass, Apples
A very interesting take on the age-old fable "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" . In Neil Gaiman's retelling of this tale, the Queen is actually the protector of the kingdom, and she is trying to protect the good people of the land from Snow White, who is actually a vampire! Snow White's heart is given to the Queen, but the undead horror that is Snow White continues to stalk the land, in search of fresh blood. The Queen has no choice but to try to poison Snow White, but fails when the Prince of a Land Far Away comes to awaken the Eldritch Monstrosity Snow White.
The Queen is burned at the stake as Snow White watches on with glee.
The other short stories do not fail in bringing surprise and twists around every corner. Every single one really delivers as promised, each a tale of suspense and reading pleasure. This was a book that I could not put down.
Sweet and concise, this book really packs a punch.
Sean
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Book Review: Crocodile Tears by Anthony Horowitz
Title: Crocodile Tears
Author: Anthony Horowitz
Published: 2009
Rating: 3/10
This is the eighth novel to be published in the Alex Rider series. Alex Rider is a young British schoolboy that is a spy for MI6!
A summary of the plot:
The story begins with Alex Rider spending the New Year with Sabina Pleasure and her family in Scotland. The car they were in was shot by a sniper, sending them to their doom as they crash into the icy cold waters of a loch. Alex manages to save Sabrina’s father from drowning. They are later rescued as Sabina leaves for America when the holidays end.
A few months later, Alex is asked to steal information from Greenfield,a bio-engineering company which is suspected to dabble in illegal activities.. During a school trip, Alex infiltrates the facility, steals the info and leaves. At the same time he discovers that Leonard Straik, the director of Greenfields, is working for Desmond McCain.
Soon, Alex is kidnapped and smuggled to Kenya by Desmond McCain. He is then placed under the guard of African tribesmen employed to McCain. Desmond McCain reveals that he created a charity, First Aid, to steal money from the public, donating to disasters that he engineers himself. Thus, First Aid will arrive on the scene first and gain a large sums of money. In addition, McCain exposes his master plan; Greenfields have created a poison for crops that will kill half the population of Africa.
McCain informs Alex that the poison cannot be stopped and he will make hundreds of millions of pounds in the first few months of the plague despite the fact that thousands will die.
McCain leaves Alex to die but is saved by an Indian Secret Service agent.
Alex forms a plan to the blow up the dam near the infected crop field, killing all the infected wheat in the process.
With stolen explosives from Indian agent Alex reaches the dam plants the explosives, and destroys the dam, flooding the fields of infected crops. Alex is again rescued by the Indian agent, but is shot by McCain as he lands the get away plane. Alex hides behind a set of oil barrels in the hangar, and tries to blow the barrels up. As McCain is about to kill Alex, he himself is killed by exploding oil barrels. Alex is knocked out cold, and is sent to the hospital to recuperate. His caretaker reminds him that he's birthday is coming, and Alex is glad to be just a school boy again.
This book, I felt, was a disgrace to the entire series of Alex Rider books. This book just lacked the excitement and mystery of the other books. I saw the plot twist from a mile away. The other books were non-stop page turners. You just had to read on to find out what sort of devilish plan was being concocted and how Alex was going to save the world. Another thing that I have to complain about is the gadgets. In the previous books, Alex was given many interesting gadgets that he used when you least expected it. Now, all he has is some very generic gadgets that aren’t even worth a mention. The characters are also very bland and un-original. The main villain seemed to be very fake and unbelievable, and his plan , to me, seemed to be not very well thought out by Anthony ( the author).
I really suggest you read the other books in this series because this book , “ Crocodile Tears” was not at all witty, funny and mixed with a right blend of excitement, non-stop edge of your seat action and fever. Well, unlike the other books in the series.
I know this book review seems very biased, but believe me, if you have read what Alex was capable of, you would feel that this book was just a huge understatement of his abilities.
Author: Anthony Horowitz
Published: 2009
Rating: 3/10
This is the eighth novel to be published in the Alex Rider series. Alex Rider is a young British schoolboy that is a spy for MI6!
A summary of the plot:
The story begins with Alex Rider spending the New Year with Sabina Pleasure and her family in Scotland. The car they were in was shot by a sniper, sending them to their doom as they crash into the icy cold waters of a loch. Alex manages to save Sabrina’s father from drowning. They are later rescued as Sabina leaves for America when the holidays end.
A few months later, Alex is asked to steal information from Greenfield,a bio-engineering company which is suspected to dabble in illegal activities.. During a school trip, Alex infiltrates the facility, steals the info and leaves. At the same time he discovers that Leonard Straik, the director of Greenfields, is working for Desmond McCain.
Soon, Alex is kidnapped and smuggled to Kenya by Desmond McCain. He is then placed under the guard of African tribesmen employed to McCain. Desmond McCain reveals that he created a charity, First Aid, to steal money from the public, donating to disasters that he engineers himself. Thus, First Aid will arrive on the scene first and gain a large sums of money. In addition, McCain exposes his master plan; Greenfields have created a poison for crops that will kill half the population of Africa.
McCain informs Alex that the poison cannot be stopped and he will make hundreds of millions of pounds in the first few months of the plague despite the fact that thousands will die.
McCain leaves Alex to die but is saved by an Indian Secret Service agent.
Alex forms a plan to the blow up the dam near the infected crop field, killing all the infected wheat in the process.
With stolen explosives from Indian agent Alex reaches the dam plants the explosives, and destroys the dam, flooding the fields of infected crops. Alex is again rescued by the Indian agent, but is shot by McCain as he lands the get away plane. Alex hides behind a set of oil barrels in the hangar, and tries to blow the barrels up. As McCain is about to kill Alex, he himself is killed by exploding oil barrels. Alex is knocked out cold, and is sent to the hospital to recuperate. His caretaker reminds him that he's birthday is coming, and Alex is glad to be just a school boy again.
This book, I felt, was a disgrace to the entire series of Alex Rider books. This book just lacked the excitement and mystery of the other books. I saw the plot twist from a mile away. The other books were non-stop page turners. You just had to read on to find out what sort of devilish plan was being concocted and how Alex was going to save the world. Another thing that I have to complain about is the gadgets. In the previous books, Alex was given many interesting gadgets that he used when you least expected it. Now, all he has is some very generic gadgets that aren’t even worth a mention. The characters are also very bland and un-original. The main villain seemed to be very fake and unbelievable, and his plan , to me, seemed to be not very well thought out by Anthony ( the author).
I really suggest you read the other books in this series because this book , “ Crocodile Tears” was not at all witty, funny and mixed with a right blend of excitement, non-stop edge of your seat action and fever. Well, unlike the other books in the series.
I know this book review seems very biased, but believe me, if you have read what Alex was capable of, you would feel that this book was just a huge understatement of his abilities.
Book Review: Dracula by Bram Stoker
Title: Dracula
Author:Bram Stoker
Published:1897
Rating: 8.5/10
Frankly, I have not done a book review in my life. I assume it goes along the lines of saying why you like the book, why the person reading it SHOULD buy the book followed by needlessly adding a lot of words so that the review looks impressive. I think that's about it so I'll begin.
I know I'm supposed to but in order to preserve the element of surprise and fear that is the main selling point for Dracula, I will not be providing a summary. I know that you are very disappointed, but look at it this way, if you choose to buy the book, you can enjoy it to the fullest! So, with that settled, lets talk about the unique points of this book.
First off, the entire book is written in a form of the journals, diaries, letters and newspaper clippings of the many characters that inhabit the story. For example, most of the story is written in this format:
Dr. Jones. E Williams Diary
6 September- Today I realize that I may have been eating shoes instead of food by accident.
Later- I have managed to ascertain from my medical records and Nurse Janice that my orange juice is NOT as I have long suspected purple.
Nurse Janice's Journal
6th September- It is highly possible that Dr.Jones is an alien in disguise. Tomorrow I must remember to slay him with my machete.
Letter from Nurse Janice to Mrs. Holmes
Dear Mrs.Williams,
It is with a heavy heart that I tell you this news. Dr.Jones is dead. It is of not fault of mine. I also wish to inform you of my travel to Africa for the next say 30 years, definitely not to avoid the authorities that may be searching for the murderer.
Yours Truly,
Janice
Newspaper Clipping from the New Inquirer:
8th September- Dr. Jones of the medical institution New Moon Medical has been slain just yesterday by an unknown assailant. Police are looking in ton this case and are baffled by a piece of paper stating :" Nurse Janice did it! Arrest her quickly". They suspect it may be some sort of code.
So, this is a very unique aspect of the book, because you can see the views and inner feelings of all the characters save Dracula in the book. Thus, you don't just get a one-sided view of the situation.
Another very interesting point is that because this was written in 1897, the English used is very different from our current one. It is somewhat like staying in a skyscraper all your life, and then suddenly spending a week in a cottage. The first few days will be difficult, but soon you will be able to feel comfortable with the language.
Dracula manages to keep a very dark and gloomy feel throughout, so it is not advisable to read this at night but it is not actually very scary compared to the other novels during that time.
It is because of the above facts that Dracula manages to stay as one of the classics of English Literature. However, the points below will show what went wrong for me.
Dracula is 422 pages long. It is approximately 161,774 words. It is to me, a very, very, very long read. It is really not good for your eyes. I am a fast reader; I can polish off a book within a day. Dracula took me a day and a half of reading. I had to break every few pages because the text was tiny and it was destroying my eyes. Basically, Dracula seems more like an endurance test and by the last few chapters I was delirious. Truthfully, Dracula could have been more concise and less you know, long.
The ending was abrupt. It went along the lines of this: Characters get powerful anti-vampire weapons, travel to Castle Dracula, find the coffin, kill off a bunch of gypsies with guns and then stabs Dracula in the heart. I waited 422 pages for that? There was no face off, it was just " I see you Dracula! Now you're dead." There was no witty banter, no epic battle of all battles. Arrgh.
Overall, Dracula is a really great book. It's not a light read, so a lot of determination is needed to finish the book. At one point, I even contemplated to go read the Cliff Notes. So, please. Be sure you can do it before buying this book.You have been warned.
I think that is all I can say about Dracula. I have 3 more book reviews coming in for you, so if you're on a budget, read all the other reviews before rushing out to buy Dracula.
Cya Soon,
Sean
Author:Bram Stoker
Published:1897
Rating: 8.5/10
Frankly, I have not done a book review in my life. I assume it goes along the lines of saying why you like the book, why the person reading it SHOULD buy the book followed by needlessly adding a lot of words so that the review looks impressive. I think that's about it so I'll begin.
I know I'm supposed to but in order to preserve the element of surprise and fear that is the main selling point for Dracula, I will not be providing a summary. I know that you are very disappointed, but look at it this way, if you choose to buy the book, you can enjoy it to the fullest! So, with that settled, lets talk about the unique points of this book.
First off, the entire book is written in a form of the journals, diaries, letters and newspaper clippings of the many characters that inhabit the story. For example, most of the story is written in this format:
Dr. Jones. E Williams Diary
6 September- Today I realize that I may have been eating shoes instead of food by accident.
Later- I have managed to ascertain from my medical records and Nurse Janice that my orange juice is NOT as I have long suspected purple.
Nurse Janice's Journal
6th September- It is highly possible that Dr.Jones is an alien in disguise. Tomorrow I must remember to slay him with my machete.
Letter from Nurse Janice to Mrs. Holmes
Dear Mrs.Williams,
It is with a heavy heart that I tell you this news. Dr.Jones is dead. It is of not fault of mine. I also wish to inform you of my travel to Africa for the next say 30 years, definitely not to avoid the authorities that may be searching for the murderer.
Yours Truly,
Janice
Newspaper Clipping from the New Inquirer:
8th September- Dr. Jones of the medical institution New Moon Medical has been slain just yesterday by an unknown assailant. Police are looking in ton this case and are baffled by a piece of paper stating :" Nurse Janice did it! Arrest her quickly". They suspect it may be some sort of code.
So, this is a very unique aspect of the book, because you can see the views and inner feelings of all the characters save Dracula in the book. Thus, you don't just get a one-sided view of the situation.
Another very interesting point is that because this was written in 1897, the English used is very different from our current one. It is somewhat like staying in a skyscraper all your life, and then suddenly spending a week in a cottage. The first few days will be difficult, but soon you will be able to feel comfortable with the language.
Dracula manages to keep a very dark and gloomy feel throughout, so it is not advisable to read this at night but it is not actually very scary compared to the other novels during that time.
It is because of the above facts that Dracula manages to stay as one of the classics of English Literature. However, the points below will show what went wrong for me.
Dracula is 422 pages long. It is approximately 161,774 words. It is to me, a very, very, very long read. It is really not good for your eyes. I am a fast reader; I can polish off a book within a day. Dracula took me a day and a half of reading. I had to break every few pages because the text was tiny and it was destroying my eyes. Basically, Dracula seems more like an endurance test and by the last few chapters I was delirious. Truthfully, Dracula could have been more concise and less you know, long.
The ending was abrupt. It went along the lines of this: Characters get powerful anti-vampire weapons, travel to Castle Dracula, find the coffin, kill off a bunch of gypsies with guns and then stabs Dracula in the heart. I waited 422 pages for that? There was no face off, it was just " I see you Dracula! Now you're dead." There was no witty banter, no epic battle of all battles. Arrgh.
Overall, Dracula is a really great book. It's not a light read, so a lot of determination is needed to finish the book. At one point, I even contemplated to go read the Cliff Notes. So, please. Be sure you can do it before buying this book.You have been warned.
I think that is all I can say about Dracula. I have 3 more book reviews coming in for you, so if you're on a budget, read all the other reviews before rushing out to buy Dracula.
Cya Soon,
Sean
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