Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick Review

What would life be like if an EMP hit us and billions  died, leaving only the really young and the old survived. Add to that the fact that anyone between the ages of 12-65 might not totally die, but become a zombie-like cannibal . Seems a bit unbelievable, but unique, no?  Well, this is the premise for the book Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick.

Ashes follows Alex, a seventeen year old who has terminal cancer and is hiking out in the woods. Ashes  is a book that gets off to a fast paced start, and by page 30, the "Zap" has happened, leaving Alex with super-smell, and 8-year Ellie's grandfather dead.  Even though Alex doesn't like Ellie, she can't leave her out in the woods by herself, so the unlikely duo sets off towards the ranger station.

Along the way, the pair comes across two teenagers who are feasting on a woman, and the duo runs away.(Who would blame them?)  This leaves both Alex and the reader wondering what caused the teenagers to act this way.  If this isn't enough, the get attacked by wild dogs and an twenty-year old war veteran who's name is Tom has to save them.

Although I liked the pacing and characters in the first half of the book, I didn't understand how a seventeen year old, who had been in the hospital a lot,  knew everything there was to know about surviving the wilderness. Also, she was able to name everything about the types of guns, and give a description about them, which I don't think many seventeen year olds would know about.

This is a very minor gripe compared to the one I had to the second half of this book. The action slows down, almost to the point of non-exstience,  when Alex gets to the town of Rule. Its seems like a pretty crazy town, ruled by a Council of Five and filled by a bunch of people who tried to linch her when she stepped into town. At first, she thinks about escape, but she never attempts it. Instead, she works as a doctor's assistant and falls right in, even though she needs an escort wherever she goes.  The ending was a cliffhanger, making it kind of love or hate. Giving no clue on what will happen to Alex, the ending wanted me wanting more and waiting for the next book in the series.


So,  lets recap.  The first half of this book had was great, but the second half was kinda...Huh. Overall, I think this book is worth your time and I look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy.

My Rating:

There Is No Dog by Meg Rosoff Review

There is No Dog by Meg Rosoff is a book with a weird genre mix of humour, romance, and post apocalyptic. It is based on the idea that God is actually an immortal teenager named Bob. Just a note, this book may offend some reads because of this. 

Ever wondered why its raining? Well, Bob is probably just sad. You see, when he created the world Bob tied the weather to his emotions. So, when he's happy it's sunny and when he's in love, well watch out. The weather's unpredictable,  hail falling one minute and warm the  next.  Bob doesn't care that the world's flooding, no he is self-centered and only cares about the one he loves. In this way he kind of reminds me of Romeo, who loves a woman so much he doesn't see what its doing to the world around him.  Despite being self-centered and a general pain, I found myself cheering for Bob; he was in a job he didn't want and had a mother who didn't care about him.(She even gambled away his pet Eck, who happened to be the last Eck in the universe).  

Also, I felt sorry for Mr. B, Bob's assistant. He took care of Bob and the Earth, but never got the respect he deserved. Also, ever time Bob falls in love he has to deal with the consequences.   Even though I liked the cast of characters and the unique, but weird idea, I didn't like the worldbuliding, which  was almost  non-exstient. I would have liked to hear what Bob's house or the zoo looked like, but the book was void of these descriptions.   

My major gripe with this book was its ending.  The book wrapped up within twenty pages leaving way to many lose strings. Overall, this book was a fast read that felt cramped into 242 pages.  I would have rated this book higher if it had been longer and had more description.  

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The Wizard Heir by Cinda Williams Chima Review

The Wizard Heir by Cinda Williams Chima, book two of the Heir Chronicles, takes us into the life of Seph, a young wizard.  It follows directly after the events of The Warrior Heir, where tensions between the Wizards and other guilds is high. If you have no idea what I'm talking about right now, go and read The Warrior Heir, as you will have no idea what is going on in this book if you don't read it first.   

Seph doesn't know anything about the tension though. His guardian died a few years ago and all he knows is that he is a wizard. When he sets fire a bar in Toronto, his new guardian ships him to a reform school in Maine. When he gets to the reform school he figures out that the alumni and the headmaster are wizards.  When the headmaster offers to train him, he says yes, but when he has to do a blood ritual he backs out.  

Will he be able to resist the headmaster and the alumni? Or will he end up a slave to the headmaster? Read the book to find out.  Just in case your wondering, Jack and Ellen do come back in this book in the second half. 

The author has managed to write a long book that has great characterization but doesn't drag on.  They was always action around the corner,  wether it be in the form of a magic duel or political showdown.  The characters were what really made the book shine. They each have their own strengths and weaknesses, and each has a unique  relationship with the other characters. For example, Hasting and Linda don't trust one another, but they also love each-other. 

The ending in a book in my opinion is the most important part, and is were this book really shines. The book comes to an action-packed close, but also manages to wrap up a lot of loose strings while also setting the plot for the next book.  There were also a few small plot twists in the end that really surprised me.  

If you're looking for a great fantasy read look no further as The Wizard Heir delivers. My only minor compliant  about this book is that I didn't really like Seph because of some of his actions during the book,. but maybe thats just a testament to how great the characterization is in this book. Overall, this book is great and fully deserves my first five star review. 

My Rating:

Michael Vey: The Prisoner Of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans Review

The Prisoner of Cell 25 Cover Page

Michael Vey: The Prisoner Of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans is a book about children with superpowers, and to be honest it sucked me right in.   The best thing for me about this book is that the characters feel real. They all have problems and flaws that they try to overcome, and have one or two things that they excel at.  For example, Ostin, Michael's best friend, is socially awkward but very smart. Another thing that great about this book is that the superpowers are fresh and original.  Never before have a read a book where most of the characters are electric.   Plus, this book actual gives a plausible reason as to how these kids got there powers and why an organization wants them.

Richard Paul Evans also perfectly balances the mix of action and character development. We get to learn about the characters before the fighting started, and got frequent breaks in the action to learn the characters feelings and reactions.

I really liked the characters and the powers, but  while I was reading this I felt as if I seen the story before. It seemed to lean heavily on movies like the X-Men or shows like Heroes were suddenly ordinary  people learn they have powers and then have to save the world or bring down an organization.

If your looking for a book that has realistic characters and a plot that will suck your day away look no further, but if you like your story totally original than look elsewhere.

My Rating:

  

People's Republic by Robert Muchamore Review

People's Republic Cover Page 

Robert Muchamore is one of my favourite authors mostly because his books are action-packed and realistic. People's Republic is the newest spin-off book from his cherub series.  If you haven't read any cherub books, the book's all revolve around a British Goverment Agency called Cherub. Cherub trains kids to become spies because, well, nobody suspects the kid next door is spying on them.

Ryan, 12, is a Cherub agent that is fresh out of basic training and is really hoping that he gets a big mission. Well at the start of the book he gets his wish. Amy Collins, a returning character, needs someone to help her infiltrate Aramov Clan, an elite criminal agency, and Ryan is the man for the job. To do this, he goes to California to try to befriend Ethan, who's grandmother is the leader of this criminal organization.

Across the world in China, Ning is a rebellious student who is participating in her school's parents day. When her alcoholic mother shows up, she nows something is wrong. When they get back to their house, her stepmother murders a cop, so they have no choice but to run. Her journey takes her many places, but will she ever reach her goal of getting into Britain.


As always, Robert Muchamore charter's feel real. People's relationship's are complicated, and everyone may have different motives for doing the same thing.  Also, the character's that are kids act like kids. They fool around, get into trouble, and sometimes act without thinking.  Robert Muchamore balances the character development with an action-packed plot.  With these kids, you never know when a fight is going to break out, or when something will go absolutely wrong.

One thing I don't like about this book is the split narrative. It always seemed that when something exciting happened in one plot,  the story would suddenly switch to the other plot.  Some readers might like this set-up, but I've never really liked when a story switches from one character to another. Also, although these kids act like kids, they seem cold and not affected by violence. Is it just me, or should seeing someone tortured mess up your mind a little.


Other than these minor gripes, it is a great book, and reminds me of the earliest Cherub books. I look forward to the other two books in the trilogy.

My Rating:

Rip Tide Review

Rip Tide by Kat Falls Title Page

Rip Tide by Kat Falls is a sequel to Dark Life. If you haven't read Dark life I'll fill you in really quick. The ice caps have melted and alot of land has been flooded, causing people to live in "stack-cities".  So, some people have the bright idea to move out sea, living on big floating rigs called townships. The people who live on townships are "surfs", while "settlers"  are people who live on the ocean floor and farm crops.  Ty, the protagonist and narrator, is a settler by birth and has lived on the ocean floor his whole life, and so, like all other children who live under the sea for long enough, has a "Dark Gift", which is basically a superpower.  Ty's is biosonic, which means he can talk to sea creatures, and see in the pitch dark, kinda like aquaman.

Basically in the last book, Ty meets a person who lives in a stack-city named Gemma. She's trying to find her brother so she can go live with him, as she no longer wants  to live in an orphanage. Long story short, she crashes, Ty finds her, and they go back to Ty's home were they meet the Seablite gang. The Seablite gang ends up deflating, yes deflating, a house. Ty and Gemma decide to do a little work and find out were the gang is. They go to fight the gang, but find out the that Gemma's brother, Shade, is actually the leader of the gang.  They let the outlaws go, and everyone should be happy.

Well in Rip Tide we find out that it okay  until  Ty and Gemma find an anchored township with a bunch of dead surfs. They call the Seaguard, which is like the police, to investigate and find out that 3 townships have gone missing in the last 3 months. The next day, when Ty's parents go to trade with the surfs they kidnapped. Ty and Gemma try to stop them but fail as the surf's sub is state of the art, which to Ty is strange because the surfs are dirt poor. Maybe it isn't the surf's who kidnapped his parents?  They tell the Seaguard, but to Ty it seems as if they aren't doing enough. What do they do? Well, Gemma's brother Shade is boxing on Rip Tide, an old oil rig turned town, were it turns into an action packed race for survival.

Kat Falls writes an action-packed book. From chapter one, Ty is risking his life as he goes out of the sub and comes face to face with a giant squid. The action doesn't stop from they, as they are chased, attacked, and in one case put in a cage with a crocodile.  One thing I love to see more of in this book is world building. It seems like a very interesting world, but Ty never stops and really explains something looks, or how it works. Also, The romance of this book seemed a little forced. One second they were friends and the they were explaining how they loved each other and kissing.

In the end, Rip Tide was a short, action-packed book that will have you. I mean in what other book can you find people who live under the sea,  kids with superpowers, and a fight with a crocodile?



My Rating: