Twice Upon a Time is James Riley's next book in the Half Upon a Time trilogy.
In this book, three months have passed since the events of the last book. Our heroes have discovered that allegiances are not where they were thought to be, and that they could not have been more wrong about the identity of May's grandmother. Rather than Snow White, Jack and friends set the Evil Queen free from the Huntsman's capture.
So now our heroes are trying to discover May's true identity as well as defeat the Evil Queen.
We go from Neverland to pirates to merpeople to fairyland. Prince Phillip finds his Sleeping Beauty, much to his dismay and May's. And Jack makes a decision that forever changes everything, much to May's extreme horror.
I wanted to strangle a couple of fairies in this story, one in particular. The one that laughed in the scene before Jack made his choice. You'll know what I mean.
But, wow. Practically nonstop action in this book, just like the last. But also like the last book, Riley makes sure a couple of his heroes get a few seconds' breather every now and then to become better friends.
Even if there is that prophecy hanging over their heads.
In the last book, the Evil Queen claimed that the Mirror had told her the future: One of May's companions would betray her, and the other would die.
By the end of this book, May is certain she knows which is which. And it hurts. A lot.
Friday, May 9, 2014
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Half Upon a Time
Half Upon a Time is James Riley's first book in his series Half Upon a Time.
The main character in this book is Jack, son of Jack the Giantkiller and grandson of Jack whose title I forget, or maybe he never had one. Anyways, our current Jack is of the story of Jack and Jill, although we don't figure that out until the next book.
In this book, Jack meets a girl named May. Well, meet is sort of a polite word, considering she drops out of a portal in the sky and nearly splits Jack's head open when he tries to kiss her awake. According to her strange outfit, May is a princess from Punk, although she fervently denies any connection to royalty.
Everyone knows Jack is not the best man for the job of rescuing May's grandmother, Snow White, who has been captured by the Huntsman. Jack completely failed his class on princess rescuing, after all.
But although everyone, even Jack, seems to believe otherwise, Jack is a lot smarter than he seems. Even when they run across Philip, a much more traditional Prince Charming and hero, May and Jack stick together as if their lives depended on it, despite the number of mishaps that Jack always seems to get blamed for.
This story has so many twists and turns that it can be a bit difficult to follow at times, but stick to it. I really liked this book and the next, but the third book made every single bit of confusion worthwhile. Stick with me over the next few days, and maybe I'll find a way to tell you why without giving away too many spoilers.
The main character in this book is Jack, son of Jack the Giantkiller and grandson of Jack whose title I forget, or maybe he never had one. Anyways, our current Jack is of the story of Jack and Jill, although we don't figure that out until the next book.
In this book, Jack meets a girl named May. Well, meet is sort of a polite word, considering she drops out of a portal in the sky and nearly splits Jack's head open when he tries to kiss her awake. According to her strange outfit, May is a princess from Punk, although she fervently denies any connection to royalty.
Everyone knows Jack is not the best man for the job of rescuing May's grandmother, Snow White, who has been captured by the Huntsman. Jack completely failed his class on princess rescuing, after all.
But although everyone, even Jack, seems to believe otherwise, Jack is a lot smarter than he seems. Even when they run across Philip, a much more traditional Prince Charming and hero, May and Jack stick together as if their lives depended on it, despite the number of mishaps that Jack always seems to get blamed for.
This story has so many twists and turns that it can be a bit difficult to follow at times, but stick to it. I really liked this book and the next, but the third book made every single bit of confusion worthwhile. Stick with me over the next few days, and maybe I'll find a way to tell you why without giving away too many spoilers.
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
C.S. Lewis
So, as I'm pretty sure you already know, C. S. Lewis has written much more than The Chronicles of Narnia.
He actually has over 300 distinct works to his name, according to GoodReads.com.
Admittedly, though, some of his works seem to be repeated in a way. His list of works includes each of the seven books set in Narnia as well as a few collections, such as a single book putting together the first three books, or even all seven in a collection. There is also mention of the graphic novel to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
But despite that bit of deception where numbers are concerned, Lewis has certainly written more than any of the other authors I have talked about thus far.
I'm pretty sure that at least the majority of his work is founded in Christianity, as he is known as one of the few authors of his century to defend the Christian faith so widely, publicly, and steadfastly.
Oo, scrolling through Lewis's list of works, I just discovered his book A Year with Aslan: Daily Reflections from The Chronicles of Narnia! I wonder why my bookstores never have it? It looks interesting!
Maybe you'll stumble across a title you find interesting too. They're way too numerous to list here, but go to this link and you'll find the list GoodReads has collected.
He actually has over 300 distinct works to his name, according to GoodReads.com.
Admittedly, though, some of his works seem to be repeated in a way. His list of works includes each of the seven books set in Narnia as well as a few collections, such as a single book putting together the first three books, or even all seven in a collection. There is also mention of the graphic novel to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
But despite that bit of deception where numbers are concerned, Lewis has certainly written more than any of the other authors I have talked about thus far.
I'm pretty sure that at least the majority of his work is founded in Christianity, as he is known as one of the few authors of his century to defend the Christian faith so widely, publicly, and steadfastly.
Oo, scrolling through Lewis's list of works, I just discovered his book A Year with Aslan: Daily Reflections from The Chronicles of Narnia! I wonder why my bookstores never have it? It looks interesting!
Maybe you'll stumble across a title you find interesting too. They're way too numerous to list here, but go to this link and you'll find the list GoodReads has collected.
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Chronicles of Narnia Pt. 3
C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia is a pretty awesome series.
My favorite books in the series are probably those centered around Caspian, but it's because of Reepicheep that I love those books so much. Reepicheep is a talking mouse who, or so I'm told, represents faith.
Speaking of representing, a lot of people call Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia (especially The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe) an allegory. But I'm pretty sure Lewis himself said that that was not the case. Well, if I'm understanding the term "allegory" correctly, anyways.
Let me explain. Lewis did not write about the events in Narnia with the intention of mirroring what God has done in our world. Lewis wrote the Narnia books to answer his question of, "If God were to create an entirely new world, how might He go about it?"
As is obvious to anyone who has read the books knows that Aslan is Narnia's version of Jesus. But I must admit, I have a bit of a problem viewing it that way because Aslan has done things Jesus Christ never would.
For one example, Aslan goes back on his words at times. He told Lucy multiple times that no one is ever told what would have happened. However, back in the prequel, Aslan told Digory what would have happened if he had stolen an apple.
So, even though I know this is Christian fantasy, I enjoy the series much more when I read it as just fantasy. Aslan becomes more lovable when I don't try to compare him with my wonderful and perfect Savior.
My favorite books in the series are probably those centered around Caspian, but it's because of Reepicheep that I love those books so much. Reepicheep is a talking mouse who, or so I'm told, represents faith.
Speaking of representing, a lot of people call Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia (especially The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe) an allegory. But I'm pretty sure Lewis himself said that that was not the case. Well, if I'm understanding the term "allegory" correctly, anyways.
Let me explain. Lewis did not write about the events in Narnia with the intention of mirroring what God has done in our world. Lewis wrote the Narnia books to answer his question of, "If God were to create an entirely new world, how might He go about it?"
As is obvious to anyone who has read the books knows that Aslan is Narnia's version of Jesus. But I must admit, I have a bit of a problem viewing it that way because Aslan has done things Jesus Christ never would.
For one example, Aslan goes back on his words at times. He told Lucy multiple times that no one is ever told what would have happened. However, back in the prequel, Aslan told Digory what would have happened if he had stolen an apple.
So, even though I know this is Christian fantasy, I enjoy the series much more when I read it as just fantasy. Aslan becomes more lovable when I don't try to compare him with my wonderful and perfect Savior.
Monday, May 5, 2014
Chronicles of Narnia Pt. 2
Back on the vein of C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, I believe we have three books yet to go through.
After Prince Caspian comes The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The movie for this book almost reached the amazingness of the movie for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. At any rate, it was much better than Prince Caspian. Concerning the storyline of the book, King Caspian has set out on a sea voyage, searching for the seven lords his evil uncle banished. Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace show up on the Dawn Treader for no apparent reason. Personally, I'm of the opinion Eustace needed Narnia the same way Edmund did in his first trip, more than Narnia needing anything out of their visitors from another world.
The next in the series is The Silver Chair. Sadly, I'm not a big fan of these last two books. It's like the quality has decreased or something. At any rate, Eustace and Jill show up in Aslan's country, and he sends them to Narnia with a mission: Save the king's long-lost son. Their journey is peppered with odd dangers and grating arguments, as Eustace and Jill spend the entire time fighting and blaming the other for things gone wrong.
The final Narnia book is The Last Battle, and it depicts Narnia in its final days, then the end of the world of Narnia. I'll admit it, I'm not a big fan of this type of book in general, so Lewis's attempt at it was doomed for a less-than-thrilled reaction from me no matter how great a job he did. The series in general is pretty awesome; I just much prefer the first five books over the last two.
Maybe tomorrow I'll talk a little bit about the series in general, now that the individual books have been described.
After Prince Caspian comes The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The movie for this book almost reached the amazingness of the movie for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. At any rate, it was much better than Prince Caspian. Concerning the storyline of the book, King Caspian has set out on a sea voyage, searching for the seven lords his evil uncle banished. Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace show up on the Dawn Treader for no apparent reason. Personally, I'm of the opinion Eustace needed Narnia the same way Edmund did in his first trip, more than Narnia needing anything out of their visitors from another world.
The next in the series is The Silver Chair. Sadly, I'm not a big fan of these last two books. It's like the quality has decreased or something. At any rate, Eustace and Jill show up in Aslan's country, and he sends them to Narnia with a mission: Save the king's long-lost son. Their journey is peppered with odd dangers and grating arguments, as Eustace and Jill spend the entire time fighting and blaming the other for things gone wrong.
The final Narnia book is The Last Battle, and it depicts Narnia in its final days, then the end of the world of Narnia. I'll admit it, I'm not a big fan of this type of book in general, so Lewis's attempt at it was doomed for a less-than-thrilled reaction from me no matter how great a job he did. The series in general is pretty awesome; I just much prefer the first five books over the last two.
Maybe tomorrow I'll talk a little bit about the series in general, now that the individual books have been described.
Friday, May 2, 2014
Chronicles of Narnia
Okay, so this next author, I'm sure you've heard great things about before, so I'll keep this to just one post.
C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia are not by any means his only works, but they are, I believe, what he is most known for.
The prequel, The Magician's Nephew, is pretty good. Very nice how Lewis goes about having Aslan create Narnia and the other countries that have yet to have names and histories. And I'm a big fan of the cab driver.
His most famous Narnia book is The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I don't think you even need me to say how much I loved this.
Up next in chronological order, though not necessarily the order written, is The Horse and His Boy. I think everyone was a bit hard on Shasta throughout the whole book; he couldn't help his upbringing. But other than that, I really enjoyed the adventure that took place in the same world all the way through, and I liked seeing more of the other countries in that world.
Several hundred years later in Narnia, Prince Caspian takes place. For those of you who have seen the movie, I HATE THE MOVIE WITH EVERY FIBER OF MY BEING AND I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THIS BOOK. Good, glad I got that out of my system. Seriously, though, Caspian is awesome, and the book shows him and Peter cooperating in a way that would make Aslan proud, not fighting over trying to get Peter to relive his glory days.
Okay, so scratch what I said about just one post. I've covered a little over half of the series, so I'll wrap it up in my next post. Happy weekend, everyone!
C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia are not by any means his only works, but they are, I believe, what he is most known for.
The prequel, The Magician's Nephew, is pretty good. Very nice how Lewis goes about having Aslan create Narnia and the other countries that have yet to have names and histories. And I'm a big fan of the cab driver.
His most famous Narnia book is The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I don't think you even need me to say how much I loved this.
Up next in chronological order, though not necessarily the order written, is The Horse and His Boy. I think everyone was a bit hard on Shasta throughout the whole book; he couldn't help his upbringing. But other than that, I really enjoyed the adventure that took place in the same world all the way through, and I liked seeing more of the other countries in that world.
Several hundred years later in Narnia, Prince Caspian takes place. For those of you who have seen the movie, I HATE THE MOVIE WITH EVERY FIBER OF MY BEING AND I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THIS BOOK. Good, glad I got that out of my system. Seriously, though, Caspian is awesome, and the book shows him and Peter cooperating in a way that would make Aslan proud, not fighting over trying to get Peter to relive his glory days.
Okay, so scratch what I said about just one post. I've covered a little over half of the series, so I'll wrap it up in my next post. Happy weekend, everyone!
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Jessica Day George
Jessica Day George is an okay author, in my opinion.
She has written a couple books that I really like, several books that I think are okay, and one book that I really could've done without reading.
She has also written, according to Goodreads.com, three other books that I have not yet read.
Wednesdays in the Tower continues George's Castle Glower series. It seems to be about the Castle behaving strangely, expanding much more than usual for no apparent reason. Everyone has their hands full with all of the stuff they find. I would like to get this book when I have the chance.
Thursdays with the Crown is the third book in the Castle Glower series, and it has yet to be released. Apparently, in October, we'll continue to follow Celie as she continues to attempt to solve the problem of the Castle's strange behavior.
Altered Perspectives is a book not only by George, but by several authors. It seems to be a collection of deleted scenes and alternate versions of the author's normal book. In George's case, we get to see a deleted scene from Princess of Glass.
So, there you have it. All of Jessica Day George's books and my thoughts on them. Am I getting better at writing these things? Somehow it doesn't feel like it, but I hope I'm improving at least a tiny bit... =/
She has written a couple books that I really like, several books that I think are okay, and one book that I really could've done without reading.
She has also written, according to Goodreads.com, three other books that I have not yet read.
Wednesdays in the Tower continues George's Castle Glower series. It seems to be about the Castle behaving strangely, expanding much more than usual for no apparent reason. Everyone has their hands full with all of the stuff they find. I would like to get this book when I have the chance.
Thursdays with the Crown is the third book in the Castle Glower series, and it has yet to be released. Apparently, in October, we'll continue to follow Celie as she continues to attempt to solve the problem of the Castle's strange behavior.
Altered Perspectives is a book not only by George, but by several authors. It seems to be a collection of deleted scenes and alternate versions of the author's normal book. In George's case, we get to see a deleted scene from Princess of Glass.
So, there you have it. All of Jessica Day George's books and my thoughts on them. Am I getting better at writing these things? Somehow it doesn't feel like it, but I hope I'm improving at least a tiny bit... =/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)