EREBOS by Ursula Poznanski

Plot: "The lines between reality and fantasy blur in this stunning thriller ... a prescient page-turner and a provocative, believable portrayal of the seductive world of virtual gaming. ... the scary climax, a romantic subplot and plenty of thoroughly credible gaming add proper spark to a pageturner with amps aplenty. From its opening notes of eerie virtual landscapes, to its mesmerizing conclusions, EREBOS is a nuanced thriller that weaves effortlessly between reality and virtual space, bringing its protagonists closer to the brink of destruction-or salvation-with every turn of the page." - summary from Amazon

Comments: I didn't even read one chapter into this book. From the very first few pages, I discovered an immediate disinterest in EREBOS. I didn't like the main character and the story already seemed very forced and unrealistic. The dialogue didn't sound normal and the other characters felt forced into specific roles in order to further the pre-planned plot. I felt no interest in the story and struggled to accept what the author wrote as normal.

Rating: I really shouldn't rate this book since I didn't read it, but based on my disinterest, I'll rate EREBOS a five out of ten since it wasn't interesting at all.

The Extinction Event by David Black

Plot: When attorney Jack Slidell is suspected in the drug/sex murder of his law partner, he finds himself on the run with a beautiful woman. He quickly becomes caught up in a conspiracy that may mean the end of the planet.

Comments: I slogged my way through less than one hundred pages of this book before giving up. Definitely not a good story. The characters are just absolutely horrible - you feel no empathy for any of them, and so the story means nothing to you either.

According to a few other people who read the whole book, The Extinction Event has a few nice twists to the plot but the actual extinction event - the threat to human existence - appears as an afterthought in the final few pages. Overall, many agree that this was not a good book and that the characters are not well created.

As a side note, Jack's romance with the woman just grossed me out because he's sixty and she's not even thirty. That may be personal preference, but it made me dislike the characters even more.

To summarize, I thought this book was terrible.

Rating: I rate this book a five out of ten.

Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus

Plot: Manjiro is a young boy living during the mid 1800's in isolationist Japan. After his small fishing boat runs aground a deserted island after a powerful storm, Manjiro is rescued by fearsome American demons. Now he must choose between the culture and traditions he has been taught and the new world of America.

Comments: Though an interesting idea with the potential for a very good story, I didn't think Heart of a Samurai was a very exciting read. Manjiro didn't make a very three-dimensional character: I rarely felt any real emotion from him and so he was empty and uninteresting. I believe he's meant to be lovable, but I really didn't care about him at all.

The story itself was rather boring. None of the characters were terribly exciting or easy to relate to, which in turn made each adventure unimportant. There was nothing keeping my attention caught. I did like the small integration of Japanese words with the English, as well as Japanese traditions.

All in all, I really didn't enjoy this book. There was nothing memorable about it.

Rating: I rate Heart of a Samurai a five out of ten.

Huntress by Malinda Lo

Plot: Two girls, Taisan with unnatural powers and Kaede without, are sent by the king on a dangerous journey to meet the Fairy Queen. As they begin to rely on each other, they also begin to fall in love.

Comments: I didn't particularly like this book and only finished it because I was extremely bored. Because the summary on the inside book jacket explained that the girls fall in love, that crucial part of the story was ruined. From the beginning I knew they would fall in love, so their tentative feelings and confused internal monologues were a waste. There was absolutely no mystery and so there was nothing to keep my attention or interest. In addition, Malinda Lo did not do a very good job with the age-old "show, don't tell" guideline: the narrator blatantly stated that they were falling in love rather than showing how it was happening.

I found it interesting that the main characters falling in love were both girls because I have never read a romance novel that wasn't a man and a woman. However, I was disappointed in this love story. Hopefully I can find better romance stories with girl-girl or boy-boy. Taisin and Kaede were also rather disappointing characters. They had no depth and no purpose beyond falling in love. Everything they did was predictable.

The plot itself was also highly predictable, as well as anti-climatic. The whole book seemed to lead up to one event, which failed to perform for more than a couple of pages. A final adventure was crammed into the last few pages as if written last minute. The writing of this book was a big disappointment.

Rating: I rate this book a five out of ten. Not worth reading.

The Zahir by Paulo Coelho

Plot: After his wife leaves him unexpectedly, an unnamed man goes in search of her and in the process finds himself.

Comments: I didn't really like this book.

First, it was a sexist book. Women were not treated as equals to men in this story and neither did they expect or strive for equality. The messages I received from this book were about the inferiority of women to men. This is somewhat of a sore spot for me, but I don't think sexism in any book is a good thing.

Another problem was that the main character narrations could go off on long, philosophical tangents at any moment. Vaguely throwing out words and ideas and hoping it sounded deep and thoughtful was my impression of what Coelho was doing - or rather, what he had the main character doing. I skipped many a page that was filled with ramblings about love and life.

The next issue I had with this book is the unannounced, anachronistic flashbacks completely made up of dialogue by unknown persons. I never knew who was talking to whom or when this conversation was occuring. This discussions were also very vague and philosophical.

I did not enjoy reading The Zahir for several reasons, the best of which is that the book just didn't interest me at all.

Rating: I rate The Zahir a five out of ten.

Shards by Ismet Prcic

Plot: Young Bosnian Ismet escapes his war torn country, leaving behind his old life and beginning anew - but this is easier said than done. Ismet struggles to make sense out of his existence, tormented by his memories confusingly intermingled with those of others.

Comments: Shards is an abstract story of a Bosnian boy coming of age under the pressures and dangers of constant war in the background and familial insecurity in the foreground. Learning about the conflict in Bosnia from the perspective of a child, then a teenager and a young man, is a new experience and rather shocking. Ismet wrestles with his sense of himself and his place in the world. I can relate to his confusion and frustration in that respect, as I think many people can.

However, due to excessively anachronistic, haphazard shifting of perspective, Shards is discouragingly challenging to read. By the time I finally finished the book, most of my questions were unanswered and I was left with an overall feeling of dissatisfaction. In an attempt to express Ismet's emotions and inner turmoil, Prcic seems to have thrown out as many random, wild concepts and stories as he could, creating a mess of words not worth reading.

Rating: I rate Shards a five out of ten.