And so the killing ends

Don't you just hate it when a book series with characters whom you've grown attached to finally ends? That's how it is when I turned the final page of the 3rd book of Barry Lyga's fantastic trilogy I Hunt Killers. The final installment, Blood of My Blood, is my 2nd read for 2015. And boy did it deliver.

For some reason, I can't help but think of the trilogy's protagonist as a uber handsome teenager with all the angst and grit that goes with being the son of America's most dangerous serial killer. I grew to love Jasper Dent. He's very grounded. Lyga makes the Jazz's character very realistic that you keep on going back to the time when you were at that age and had the same issues.

The I Hunt Killers trilogy is basically a cat-and-mouse story. Would Jazz finally be able to help the authorities catch his evasive serial killer of a father, Billy Dent, who's murderous spree spans several years? Would Jazz be the one himself to kill his father? What about Jazz's mother? Is she somehow involved in all this gore?

Blood of My Blood tied everything together and gave a truly satisfying ending to the nail-biting story. Yes, there were even a couple of mind-blowing twists to what the reader may have believed from the start. And I'm thankful that Lyga didn't proceed with the idea that Billy Dent may not be the father of Jazz after all. Having that premise would just mess up the notion that it's impossible to escape the things that your family imposes on you, genetic or otherwise.

Read this one during the first day of the year,
literally while the fireworks were still ongoing after 12 mn.
That's my just-got-out-of-bed look.

However, I would have liked to have read more of Jazz's best friend, Howie, in the final installment. That's one quirky character. I loved that teenage hemophiliac. Unfortunately, his character becomes a minor one. Blood of My Blood, after all, is the book that needs to have all the Dent family at center stage.

I highly recommend the series to people who are into thrillers. Looking back though, the series isn't just about that. It's a coming-of-age tale too. In Blood of My Blood, Jazz confronts his family, really see the evil that they have done, and learns that he does have free will. His name will forever be tied with his family, but that is not all that defines him. You really can't choose your family, but you can choose to go a different way.

Read this book if:

1. You've seen The Silence of the Lambs at least 7 times.
2. You've wanted to kill a family member at some point.
3. You love thrillers.

The old lady and the wizard

Howl's Moving Castle is the first (and so far the only) novel that I've read by Diana Wynne Jones. Because this novel has such a huge following, I had high expectations for it. I read it last year and just reread some parts quickly for the book discussion this weekend. Let's just say that my expectations were not met, well, at least not fully.

First, I found the narrative quite flat. It's a very talky book, with the characters engaging in conversations throughout the book. There weren't that many exciting scenes. For a children's book, I think it could've used more adventure and more thrills. (Is it the British way of writing that is in these pages? Well, J. K. Rowling is British and her Harry Potter novels were hugely entertaining.)

Second, I feel that there was a disproportionate number of things happening throughout the book. The first half of the book moved slowly. Now in the second half of Howl's Moving Castle, there were lots of moving parts already. Identities being switched and revealed, curses lifted, love realized, villains killed, persons set free. The plot elements seem to be all over the place.

But I have to hand it to Diana Wynne Jones for coming up with a very unconventional fairy tale. Yes, for all its high fantasy and wizardry, Howl's Moving Castle is a fairy tale in my opinion. There are beauty and the beast elements, but Jones wonderfully twists this aspect, resulting in the reader frequently guessing which among the characters is the beauty or the beast. She also alludes to the stepmother-stepsister formula. In the novel, the stepmother is anything but evil, and Sophie, the lead character, gets along with her sisters.

Since Sophie was a hatter,
the moderators asked the book club members
to come wearing hats to the discussion.
(Photo courtesy of R.)

I really did want to like this novel, even after the "reread." Maybe the story does get better in the succeeding books. I'm currently reading one of the sequels, House of Many Ways, and I'm finding it better and more charming than the first book. Nevertheless, Howl's Moving Castle can still captivate the reader who's looking for fantasy reads.

Read this book if:

1. You're a huge fan of the Hayao Miyazake movie. (The book is quite different and is entertaining in itw own way.)
2. You love your British fantasy writers.
3. You like your wizards vain. (Howl apparently spent at least 2 hours in the bathroom.)

At last, the final book and a meet-up

And so, finally, we finish the read-along of the Fifty Shades trilogy by E L James. After book 2, I had my doubts that I'll be able to get through another book filled with all those scenes involving just two persons. But patience is indeed a virtue. And the rewards for finishing the trilogy manifested in the very interesting discussions that we had in our private online Facebook group.

Yes, there were a few who didn't finish the trilogy despite having signed up for it. And yes, most of the gentlemen in the group were quiet in the discussions. Women, after all, are the target readers of this erotic trilogy. But kudos to us who have actually finished! The books in the trilogy were, well, wanting in several aspects. The writing was terrible in some parts (some would say in all parts). The minor characters were just that—minor, no character development at all.

So what did come out of the read-along? For one, we now have an understanding of what makes these books so popular. Sex, romance, a wealthy and handsome suitor, a woman willing to be dominated, a Hollywood ending. All these apparently make for bestsellers, regardless how awful the writing can get. Another is the tremendous amount of information (physiological, personal, criticisms) that the read-along members shared. The discussion threads were very eye opening indeed.

Our read-along schedule

It's been a fun-filled 7 weeks!

On the last day of the read-along, 31 August, we decided to do a face-to-face discussion to share our thoughts on the trilogy as a whole. All in all, it was a wonderful Friday evening and I would like to believe that every one had a good time. What a delightful way to cap the read-along!

These loot bags were done by one of the members, Ajie, who unfortunately couldn't attend the meet-up.

At first you'll think that these are charming, but wait till you get a peek of what's inside! 

Thank you so much, Ajie! These were awesome!

Not much testosterone in the group, no?

I was really hoping to hear the opinions of some of the gents from the online group.

How did I find the trilogy? Well, I found it not that bad. I had no strong feelings for book 1, Fifty Shades of Grey. Somehow, I did find it surprising that I enjoyed book 2, Fifty Shades Darker. That book delved into some of the issues Christian has. And you feel that there's hope for Christian and Ana after all. But the 3rd book, ayayay! Fifty Shades Freed, was a mess. I felt that E L James was just rushing to complete the series, throwing weak subplots to make the story more cinematic and engaging. These minor story lines just appear to be sloppily written.

And what's up with the long epilogue? I think the ending was fine as it is. Apparently, James feels otherwise. We get a few pages where the scenes are set several years after the last chapter. Then there are a few more pages that show us Christian's point of view when he first encounters Ana in the first book. Sheesh. Enough.

Good-bye, Lisbeth Salander

It's been more than 3 years since I last read and wrote my thoughts on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire. So it's been more than 3 years since I was first floored by Stieg Larsson's talent and thought how unfortunate that we'll never read more of his works.

In the 3rd and last book of Larsson's Millennium trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Next, it seems that the author went all out to give Lisbeth Salander a grand farewell. However, I found myself wanting that it somehow lacked the thrilling action elements present in the 1st and 2nd book. We saw Salander fight it out in the first 2 books. In the 3rd, she's mostly in her hospital bed, with only a PDA to keep her connected to the Internet.

I was surprised with a number of things as I was reading The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. It turned out to be your 'thinking thriller', filled with lengthy expositions about the organization that played a large role in Salander's circumstances. There's also a good number of characters to keep track of, and the Swedish names does get some getting used to. I was surprised that the one person whom I thought would face Salander at the conclusion is murdered early on.

One thing was not very surprising though -- how you know that Salander would be acquitted with all the charges against her. Considering the sheer number of people who seem to be at her side knowingly and unknowingly, her vindication seems a foregone conclusion. Still, it was very satisfying to read her enemies brought to their heels in a fascinating courtroom drama. You can't help but smile.

Of the 3 novels, I especially love The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Perhaps it was the novelty of getting my hands on Scandinavian crime fiction for the first time that made me really like the novel. Or maybe it was the novel's closed murder room mystery that worked for me. I love murder mysteries and the 1st book was a brilliantly conceived one. Nevertheless, it was a treat to finally finish the trilogy, even though it took me a few years to get to it.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is one 'talky' novel. Lots of dialogue is found on the page. Larsson's characters have well-developed voices, making the dialogues easy to follow. And you have to hand it to Larsson for making sure to tie everything together in the end. By the close of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Salander is redeemed in every aspect, perhaps even in her personal relationships. Farewell, Lisbeth Salander. I'll miss you. I'll miss the girl who kicked ass.

Read this book if:

1. Scandinavian crime fiction is your thing.
2. You are a completist. You just have to read all the books that make up a trilogy or a series.
3. You can't get enough of Lisbeth Salander.

Give it up for Saba

There's another dystopian novel that everyone's talking about -- Moira Young's debut novel Blood Red Road. It has recently won the Costa for Best Young Adult Novel, so I think that more and more people will be discovering this satisfying work of contemporary YA fiction.

Young's protagonist, Saba, is predictably strong willed. Saba lives in a dried-up area called Silverlake with her father, her twin brother Lugh, and her youngest sister Emmi. One day, a group of hooded riders abduct Lugh. Saba's father is also killed, and Saba promises to herself that she'll do whatever it takes to get Lugh back.

In the world of Blood Red Road, I kept asking myself where could Silverlake be? I keep thinking that it's somewhere in North America, where the weather has been so f****d up that it hardly rains anymore, resulting in the land's arid climate. Young never does disclose where Silverlake is, much less the reasons for Earth's condition in the novel. I guess it's a technique to compel readers to anticipate the rest of the books of the trilogy.

The language of the novel is something that takes getting used to. It's made up of broken English with hardly any regard for tenses, subject-verb agreements (gasp!), and punctuation marks to set off dialogue. Still, the rhythm of Young's dialogue is very engaging that I never did pay attention to these details while I was reading.

The day's hot. So hot an dry that all I can taste in my mouth is dust. The kinda white heat day when you can hear th'earth crack.
We ain't had a drop of rain fer near six months now. Even the spring that feeds the lake's startin to run dry. You gotta walk some ways out now to fill a bucket. Pretty soon, there won't be no point in callin it by its name. [page 7]

Of course, there's so much more to this novel than just a story about one girl's quest. While the world building isn't as extensive as fantasy readers are used to, the circumstances in Blood Red Road did appeal to my love of the escapist and the speculative. It's a world where people have been addicted to a drug called chaal, which is controlled by a very powerful king called Pinch. And Saba's twin somehow plays a role in keeping the king in power for the next 6 years.

There's something derivative about Blood Red Road though. I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Maybe it's the story of the quest. Or perhaps Saba's nature which can get quite predictable in this genre. Nevertheless, Young's debut is outstanding. It is difficult to write another dystopian novel at a time when The Hunger Games is extremely popular. But Blood Red Road is more grounded in its themes, more plausible in its story. And for a first book of a trilogy, it has successfully done its purpose -- to make the reader hungry for the next book.

Read this book if:

1. You love dystopian fiction.
2. Broken English narrative doesn't bother you.
3. You can be patient in waiting for the rest of the books of a trilogy or series.

Really, really, really loving this series

If there's one fantasy series that's quickly becoming my favorite, it has got to be Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn. I've been telling friends and other fantasy lovers that they'll surely love Sanderson's mystical world.

I've just finished book 2 of the series, The Well of Ascension. I read it in white heat, probably all 800 pages of the paperback in a little over 2 days. The story isn't as standalone as the first one. But I'm telling you, dear reader, the story arc just keeps getting better and more intriguing.

Sanderson has raised more questions in the 2nd book, which I think is very clever, as readers have left no option but to get to the 3rd book, which I am doing right now.

So right now, when you mention fantasy to me, it's just Mistborn, Mistborn, and Mistborn. GRRM, I love you, but Westeros and Tyrion would just have to wait.

Of course, I've been searching the Net for Mistborn toys and action figures, and I am literally drooling over these painted miniatures. These are very detailed, I think.


And I've been thinking a lot about mist cloaks, the tasseled ones that Mistborn wear. It must be awesome to have one. I can imagine landing softly on the ground with the cloak fanning out in slow motion.

Photo from Hyde Designs