The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins

Most of you must be familiar with the name of this book by now, this being one of the most awaited movies of the year. I’ll be watching the movie soon but before that, here is my view on the book.

” The Hunger Games” is the first part of a young adult series written by Suzanne Collins. The story is set in the future in a place called Panem, what was once North America. After an unexplained war/rebellion the country is now in ruins and divided into districts, all under the control of The Capitol. As punishment for the rebellion, The Hunger Games are hosted every year where a boy and a girl from each district are chosen as ‘tributes’ to compete and to fight the other tributes. The last one alive is the winner.

The story is told from the perspective of 16 year old Katniss Everdeen. Katniss belongs to District 12, one of the poorer districts where the main occupation is coal mining. After her father, a coal miner, passes away she has to take on the responsibility of looking after her family. She makes sure that her family has food to eat by hunting outside the limits of the district with her best friend Gale. When her sister is selected as a tribute for the Hunger Games she volunteers to go in place of her sister. The other tribute from her district is a boy named Peeta Mellark. The rest of the story follows their days as part of the Hunger Games. The image that the novel creates of the future is very realistic. Instead of using high-tech gadgets,super cars or spaceships, the author has presented a more ‘normal’ view of our future but a dark one as a result of wars. I liked reading the part of the novel about the games. The author has presented it in a manner that is sure to make you keep reading to find out what happens next.

I would love to write more about the story but I don’t want to spoil it for those of you who haven’t read/watched it yet. Even though it’s a Young Adult novel, I’m sure fans of other book- categories will enjoy it. I really enjoyed reading this book and will be starting the next part of the series in the coming month.

 
If you have read the book or watched the movie, please leave your view as a comment. I’d love to hear what you think of it.

The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho

The Alchemist written by Paulo Coelho is a story about dreams, omens, adventure and following your destiny. This novel is considered to be one of the best selling novels of all time. I was a bit unsure about reading this at first because I expected this book to have complicated ideas and thoughts which the author alone can understand. I’m happy to say  I was wrong. The book is so much better than I expected it to be. The story is more like a fable. The ideas are simple and you don’t have to search for what the author intends to say. Its something you can read with a relaxed mind and finish with a good feeling.

The novel follows the life of a Shepard boy named Santiago from Andalusia, who sets out in pursuit of his destiny. After having a recurring dream the boy decides to visit a gypsy woman who tells him that the meaning of the dream is that he will find a treasure in the Pyramids of Egypt. On the suggestion of an old king he decides to sell his sheep and use the money to go to Egypt. He faces obstacles  but finds the strength to follow his chosen path. He learns to find meaning in everyday happenings which other people treat as coincidences. On the way Santiago meets another man on his way to learn the science of Alchemy and learns from him about the everything in this world is connected. The rest of the story follows his journey where he meets new people, falls in love and learns to understand the world through new eyes.

The novel speaks about having the courage to take the risk to achieve what you want and not to give up even when  the the way looks hard. The motto of the novel can be explained in the words used by the Alchemist “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” The authour talks about how to achieve success in life through this work of  fiction, so it’s not in any way a boring self-help book that never helps.

Its evident from the number of copies sold that it’s a wonderful book. I believe that a “classic novel “is one that can reach out to its readers with a beautiful message and continue to do so year after year. That is exactly the reason for which I choose this book as my “20^th Century Classic” for the ‘Back to Classics Challenge’.

I highly recommend that you give this book a try. I’m sure you will like it.

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest – Stieg Larsson

This is the third and final book of the Millennium Trilogy. If you have read the first two, you’ll want to read this one. The author has made sure of that because he left the second part of the book with an ending that can be described as a cliffhanger.

It’s hard to talk about this book without giving away the details of the second one. So I’m only going to write an outline of what goes on in this book. Lisbeth Salander is no longer a suspect in the murder investigation but she is still under arrest for various crimes. For most part of the novel Lisbeth lies in a hospital while there are people planning to get rid of her and her secrets by painting a picture that she is mentally ill and needs to be institutionalized. Even though she is locked up in a hospital room, she continues to prepare for her fight with those who institutionalized her  when she was a child and are planning to do so again.

Lisbeth, who does doesn’t trust anyone or work with anyone has something similar to her own army in this book. I won’t be exaggerating when I say there a LOT of characters in this book. There are so many people ready to help her and they are doing all they can to bring justice to her. The easier way to outline the story would be to list the various groups that are carrying out their own investigations to help Lisbeth.

• Mikael Blomkvist and the staff at Millennium – Mikael can be called the ‘mastermind’ behind all the operations because he is the one who convinced most of the others to help Lisbeth.  His weapon, obviously, is his magazine in which he plans to uncover all the secrets and details about everyone responsible for the injustice towards Lisbeth.
• Dragan Armansky and  Milton Security
• Director Torsten Edklinth (Säpo Constitutional Protection) – He forms a group specially for investigating the Salander affair and appoints Monica Figuerola as the head.
• Jan Bublanski, Sonja Modig and some other police officers who were in charge of Salander’s case.
• Annika Giannini, Mikael’s sister and Lisbeth’s lawyer.

I think that’s all. Lisbeth herself, armed with her Palm Tungsten T3( smuggled into the hospital along with a phone by Mikael), and her friends from ”Hacker Republic”  also help in collecting information. There is a list of people on the otherside too, but I’m not going to name them.The trial part in the book is really nice. Giannini destroys the opposition point by point and clears Lisbeth’s name.

This book was just as awesome as the other two. If I have to find fault then I’ll say that there a lot of detailed descriptions in this book and the pace is a bit slow at the starting. But this does not affect the book and doesn’t in anyway make it boring. I find that all the books of the Trilogy are written with a similar pattern where the pace picks up halfway through the book. I loved reading this book. It is sad that this is the last book and fans won’t be able to see any more books from Stieg Larsson. There is the movie release to look forward to so I’m not going to say good-bye to Lisbeth just yet. Hope you all get to read this awesome series and enjoy it as much as I did.

Hungry For You – A.M.Harte

I love horror stories, as some of you already know, and almost everything to do with the supernatural. So I didn’t waste a chance to read a novel made for the horror fans. This is the first novel I have read of A.M Harte and I loved her writing style and imagination. The book is a collection of short stories and poetry related to the world of zombies.

This book is not the usual zombie story, where they are shown as the rotting undead with the sole intent of eating flesh; here there is a twist -a theme of romance is added to the stories. Here the zombies are more human (though they are not alive). All the zombie stories I have seen/heard till now have just a single theme, survivors running and killing the undead. This book shows different endings for a zombie apocalypse,other than the usual theme, being told mostly from the point of view of the undead. The book makes references to addiction, abuse and most of all “undying love”. We have seen Daybreakers and I Am Legend and saw what happens when vampires become the dominant species, here is a picture of what happens when zombies take over.

My favorites from the book are –Hungry for You, Dead Man’s Rose and The Perfect Song. I really loved reading this book. After reading long novels with pages and pages of plot it’s a relief to read the stories in this book. They may be short but they are as brilliant as the long ones. I would like to thank the author for offering me a copy from smashwords. You can see more reviews and get your own copy of this novel and other works by the author from Smashwords. If you are a fan of horror stories, zombies in particular, you’ll like reading this book.

 Here is a description of the book from the author’s site :

Love is horrible. It’s ruthless, messy, mind-altering, and raw. It takes no prisoners. It chews you up and spits you out and leaves you for dead. Love is, you could say, very much like a zombie.

In this haunting short story collection, anything is possible—a dying musician turns to tea for inspiration; a police sergeant struggles with a very unusual victim; a young wife is trapped in a house hiding unimaginable evil…

The Silence Of The Lambs – Thomas Harris

The second thriller in the series featuring Hannibal Lecter and in my opinion the best of the four. The movie was an absolute blockbuster so there is no wonder that the book it is based upon is so brilliant. Harris brings us another of his wonderful characters – Clarice Starling. She is a trainee with the FBI and one of the main characters of this novel and the next. The story in this book takes place a couple of years after the first one. Dr.Hannibal Lecter plays a more significant and bigger role in the book.

Jack Crawford, Section Chief of Behavioral Science Section of the FBI, assigns Starling to take a questionnaire prepared to be answered by serial killers to Lecter. Lecter refuses to answer her questions at first but when another inmate Miggs behaves inappropriately with her, he changes his mind and decides to talk with her. He tells her that she should “Look in Raspail’s car for her Valentines”. Lecter will only talk to Starling and says he knows more about the case Crawford is working on.

The case is that of a serial killer named “Buffalo Bill” who abducts women, kills them and then skins his victims before dumping the bodies. Starling follows the clue and finds information which has connection to the present case. When the sixth body turns up Crawford takes Starling along for the investigation. Meanwhile the killer has kidnapped his next victim Christina Martin, daughter of a junior US senator.  Crawford offers a deal to Lecter in exchange for information. Dr. Chilton later reveals that the offer was lie but he makes another deal with Lecter that he would transfer Lecter to another asylum if he is provided with information. Lecter says he would talk only to the Senator. Starling discovers the killers motive and also discovers how he chooses his victims.

I guess I’ll stop here. There is more mind-games from Lecter and a case to be solved, which you’ll have a great time reading. Those who have seen the movie know what is coming but for the sake of those who haven’t, I’m not saying anything more about the plot. Even if you have seen the movie, you’ll enjoy reading this book. 

Red Dragon – Thomas Harris

Thomas Harris, the author that created Dr. Hannibal Lecter; or, to use the more menacing name, ‘Hannibal The Cannibal’. Red Dragon is the first in the series of four books featuring Lecter. This author has a gift of creating strong characters in his books. Most of you must know Lecter, but he isn’t the only character that leaves a mark on the reader. The main character of this novel, Will Graham, is another of Harris’s creations that fit the above description.

Red Dragon is a crime-thriller novel following the investigation of a serial killer nicknamed “The Tooth Fairy” who has murdered two families, each during a full moon. Special Agent Jack Crawford decides to bring in retired agent (and his protégé’) Will Graham to help solve the case. Graham is the one who captured Lecter but almost got killed in the process and retired soon after. Graham is shown to have a skill in figuring out obscure details and connections in crime scenes. He later realizes that he will require Lecter’s help to build a profile of the killer. Lecter enjoys taunting more than helping and even provieds the killer with Will’s home address with a suggestion to “kill them all”.While the FBI carries out further investigation, the killer (who prefers to be called the “Red Dragon”) is preparing for the murder of another family and has also killed a reporter who helped the police by publishing an unpleasant report about him. The killer is a man named Dolarhyde who sees the Red Dragon as another part of him and it is shown that the Dragon is gaining more control over him. The details about the killer and his life are given in the early part of the book so it’s not a spoiler. I’m not going into any more details except for this one: there is really unexpected twist at the end. It’s a great book and you’ll enjoy reading it.

Unlike the rest of the books in the series Lecter only makes a very small appearance in this one. This is a sort of introduction to Lecter before we get to know more about the “brilliant psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer”. I’ve decided to watch the 2002 remake of the original movie “Manhunter”, based on the book. Anthony Hopkins plays the role of the Lecter in the 2002 version and I don’t think that it is possible to picture anyone else in that role.That’s it about this book and will post the review of next part in a few days.

Water For Elephants – Sara Gruen

This is a historical- romance novel set in the time of The Great Depression. I heard about the movie and I decided to read the book first. It’s a habit I have to read the book and only then watch the movie adaptation. The other way around would mean I already know the story, which takes all the fun out reading the book. The author has painted a very real picture of what circus life used to be in the 1930’s, when circuses where regarded as a grand spectacle.

The story is told through the eyes of Jacob Jankowski. Jacob, 93 years old and living in a nursing home, talks about his life and memories of when he was in his twenties. The 23 year old Jacob was studying for a degree in veterinary science in Cornell. Days before he gets his degree his parents are killed in a car accident and he learns that the bank has taken over his house and his father’s practice. He runs away and jumps abroad a train to start a new life in a new place. He learns that the train is, in fact, a circus train and with the help of Camel (one of the first people Jacob meets when he jumps the train) he gets a job with the circus called “Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth”.

August, the animal trainer, gives Jacob the job of looking after the animals. August has a split personality, he can be charming at times and at other times he would take his anger out by being cruel to his animals and also Marlena, his wife.  Marlena is a star performer in the show and Jacob falls in love with her. Jacob duties increase after the circus acquires an elephant named Rosie who is very intelligent but only understands Polish. The story is about Jacob and Marlena’s love and their attempt to start a new life, and how life goes on within a circus.

The author’s research work has paid off which is evident from the details used to describe the circus life. I also loved the humor in the way Jacob talks about getting old. I finished the book in summer but haven’t watched the movie yet, so can’t comment on whether Robert Pattinson and Resse Witherspoon did a good job of bringing the characters to life.I enjoyed reading this novel and if you like a bit of history and/or romance, you too will like reading it.

The Girl Who Played With Fire – Stieg Larsson

If you liked the first book you’ll love this one. It has a fast pace, great characters and a plot that is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat. This too is a crime novel, like the first book, following a murder investigation where Lisbeth Salander is the prime suspect.I have to use the same words I used for the first part to describe this book, ‘it’s superb!’.

This is the second part of the Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson. The events take place two years after that of the first book. The main characters Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander are joined by some of the characters from the first book and some new characters. The novel starts with Millennium agreeing to publish a book as well as an article by Dag Svensson, a journalist who is writing an exposé on the Swedish sex trade. In his book Svensson plans to name journalists, policemen, judges among others in high office who abuse underage girls. He also comes across a name “Zala” while doing research for his book. Zala remains as an invisible character for most part of the book; every criminal seems to know his name and are terrified of him yet no one can find.

Svensson and his girlfriend are murdered along with Nils Bjurman(attorney and Salander’s current guardian). Lisbeth is accused to be the murderer. Blomkvist believes that she is innocent and tries to prove it, although he can’t find her anywhere. The story follows the three separate investigations being carried out – by the police, by Blomkvist and by Lisbeth. There are surprises waiting which you won’t expect and there are enough twists to keep you guessing about what might happen.

The first few chapters are a little slow compared to the rest but just keep on reading because the rest of the novel more than makes up for it. The book has more about Lisbeth compared to the first one and there are secrets that will blow your mind! Lisbeth is the best fictional character ever. I found a quote in the book about her that gives a good picture of her character – “Her attitude to the rest of the world is that if someone threatens her with a gun, she’ll get a bigger gun”. I’m also thinking of giving the Swedish movies a try; I don’t have the patience to wait till December for the English version. Now that I know the plot maybe the subtitles won’t be that irritating.

I loved this book. Can’t wait to read the next one! 🙂

The Magical World Of Harry Potter

This post is dedicated to my best friend, a die-hard fan of Harry Potter and also to all the other fans of the series. This post is not a review of the books or the movies but just my opinion. I don’t think this book or the author needs any sort of introduction but for those who are new to it I will quote from Wikipedia, “Harry Potter, written by the British author J. K Rowling, is a series of seven fantasy novels which chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and their quest to overcome the evil dark wizard Lord Voldemort”.  Those who have read the books and/or seen the movies know that the above lines don’t even start to describe the magic that the book has unleashed on the world.

The series have enough power to captivate its audience no matter what their age or which country they are from or what language they speak. The book widened the meaning of the term “magic” in our minds from simple tricks to something powerful. I first read the book when I was 13 and fell completely in love with it. Over time other authors have replaced the top spot but this series is sure to remain etched forever in my mind. The story, the setting, the characters works its own magic by leaving an impact on its readers making sure that they only want more of it.

I loved the books more than the movies since there is more detail in the plot setting and characters but the biggest reason is that it lasts longer than the three hours of movie. It doesn’t mean the movies are not good. I loved the cast and they really do bring the story to life. My favorite book was Deathly Hallows; I like battle, adventure and such themes and this book had it. In movies the first place is a tie between Deathly Hallows Part 1 and Goblet of Fire. I keep changing my mind on which character is my favorite but if I had to choose one it would be Ron Weasley. There is lot more stuff on the net than in the books; most of them are not even mentioned in the books. Did u know that you can find the whole Black family tree on net? I was surprised to find it while going through character reviews. Guess the net has a lot to offer to the fans that are not yet ready to say good-bye to the wizarding world.Whether you are a fan of the books or the movies, they are sure to take you on a ride through a world of mystery, adventure and, of course, magic.

Hope you like this post and I would love to know your views on the series.

 

 

 

 

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo – Stieg Larsson

I came to know about this book through movie trailers. After a failed attempt to watch the movie completely on T.V I decided its better to try the book. The reason I couldn’t sit through the movie is not because its boring but that it was in Swedish so I found it irritating to have to read the subtitles to know what they were saying. I have been thinking about buying the book from some time and after receiving a suggestion from a fellow blogger decided its time to read. Thanks to her for the suggestion otherwise I might not have read this book for a long time.

The book is superb! There is really no other word to describe it. This book is first of The Millennium trilogy written by the author. The book is a crime novel and ‘locked room mystery’. The story starts with Mikael Blomkvist, journalist and publisher of Millennium magazine, loosing a libel case against Hans-Erik Wennerström, a Swedish industrialist and billionaire. He is sentenced to three months in jail. Before he start’s his period of punishment he is asked by Henrik Vanger(retired industrialist and former CEO of Vanger Corporation) to take freelance assignment in Hedeby Island. The assignment is to look into the disappearance of his niece Harriet Vanger, which occurred in 1966 but Blomkvist was to keep this a secret and use a story that he was there to publish Vanger’s biography to explain his presence in the island and to carry on his investigation. Henrik believes that his niece was murdered by someone in the family.

The other main character is Lisbeth Salander who is hacker and researcher, specializing in investigating people. She is asked by Vanger’s lawyer to look into  Blomkvist before he is given the assignment.Blomkvist later brings in Salander to be his research assistant for his investigation. Together they find out what really happened in 1966, unearthing a shocking secret about a family member. I’m not giving away the full story for the sake of those who have yet to read the book.

The book has a fast pace and interesting characters. The novel is written in such a way that you won’t be able to put it down, at least I didn’t feel like doing so and I bet you will feel the same way. I find Lisbeth Salander to be intriguing and she has become one of my favorite fictional characters. I loved reading it and can’t wait to read the rest of the trilogy.