Tin Men by Christopher Golden

Rating 3 out of 5
Publisher: Ballantine Books (June 23, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 034554885X
ISBN-13: 978-0345548856

After political upheaval, economic collapse, and environmental disaster, the world has become a hotspot, boiling over into chaos of near apocalyptic proportions. In this perpetual state of emergency, all that separates order from anarchy is the military might of a United States determined to keep peace among nations waging a free-for-all battle for survival and supremacy. But a conflict unlike any before demands an equally unprecedented fighting force on its front lines. Enter the Remote Infantry Corps: robot soldiers deployed in war zones around the world, controlled by human operators thousands of miles from the action. PFC Danny Kelso is one of these “Tin Men,” stationed with his fellow platoon members at a subterranean base in Germany, steering their cybernetic avatars through combat in the civil-war-ravaged streets of Syria. Immune to injury and death, this brave new breed of American warrior has a battlefield edge that’s all but unstoppable—until a flesh-and-blood enemy targets the Tin Men’s high-tech advantage in a dangerously game-changing counter strike. When anarchists unleash a massive electromagnetic pulse, short-circuiting the world’s technology, Kelso and his comrades-in-arms find themselves trapped—their minds tethered within their robot bodies and, for the first time, their lives at risk. Now, with rocket-wielding “Bot Killers” gunning for them, and desperate members of the unit threatening to go rogue, it’s the worst possible time for the Tin Men to face their most crucial mission. But an economic summit is under terrorist attack, the U.S. president is running for his life, and the men and women of the 1st Remote Infantry Division must take the fight to the next level—if they want to be the last combatants standing, not the first of their kind to fall forever.

A sci fi action drama set in the distant future when things are not so rosey and a mecha force are enforcing peace.

I could't really connect with the two main characters. I just didn't particularly like them. They felt a little shallow. I don't know how a military trained person would react in a situation where the world effectively ends, but they just seemed a little too calm and accepting of their situation. Strangely I thought the supporting characters had a lot more dimension too them. Particularly the 16 year old girl (whose name escapes me now) who probably experienced the most in the short time frame of the book.

The best part about this book was the story. I think the robot enforcing law aspect aside, the concept of the electronic world we live in being taken offline at once, was a fascinating idea to explore. The characters themselves raise some interesting points that even if they could get the power back on it would be days, weeks even years to recover fully. The author clearly thought out the knock on effects and issues that surround this sort of event happening.It was an intriguing concept of having the worlds technology completely wiped out and our civilisation being sent back to the dark ages.

Following on from the above point the general world building the author did was really good and was felt this future could easily be ours. A lot of research clearly went into this book and it showed through. I didn't feel like I was being bombarded with information yet I got enough information to know about the events prior to the world being taken off line. However some of the information delivery points were a little awkward, but not overly distracting.

The action scenes are really good and are almost non stop as the Tin Men battle there way across the Middle East and Europe to get home. I did think to myself a couple of times how it was they only really ran out of bullets once or twice considering how much shooting was going on.

An interesting book with a lot of possibilities. While I didn't love this book I would be interested to try this author again.

Drachengott: Wind by KJ Taylor

Rating: 3 out of 5
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 1088 KB Print
Length: 140 pages
Publisher: AUS Impulse (1 May 2015)
Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers (AU)
Language: English
ISBN: 9781460705339
ISBN 10: 1460705335
ASIN: B00RKU7QP0

Summary

Rutger has always been a bit different. Wanting more than his current provincial life holds, he practices swordfighting, ensuring he's ready for ... he's not quite sure what. Until he meets Swanhild, an enigmatic young woman who knows exactly what she's training for - war. The two meet every day in the forest to practice magic and Rutger feels like he finally belongs somewhere. But Swanhild is hiding something. Will Rugter find out her secret before it's too late? Or will the battle they've been waiting for render secrets irrelevant?

 A good start to a promising fantasy series.

Proper fantasy is not really my thing especially epic. How ever I have been reading more books in that area lately, especially books about dragons. Not sure what is happening there, maybe it is a phase I am going through?

This story was not a complex story Rugter and Swanhild set out to over throw one of the most powerful baddies in the area. The reader follows the pairs adventures as they work towards this goal. The time line for this does seem to skip along pretty quick but it doesn't feel to rushed. However despite the simple story and motivations the world building was not lacking

There are dragons but they are the bad guys and pretty simple creatures. But there is an interesting part to the dragon story in this world with a head dragon who controls them all. Reminded me of a beehive. I would be interested to see how the dragon's story evolves through the book and we learn more about their story.

Drachengott does have a book one feel about it. The story is just starting and I supect there are going to be at least four books. The pacing of the book fits a story based in a series. It is slow paced for roughly half of the book but it does build up to a fight scene.

I liked Swanhild the most as I felt we got to learn more about her and her motivations the most.  She is the main character the reader will follow through the series. As we learned about her then her character and motivations were pretty clear. Rutger felt a little too simple in his motivations and personality. However I suspect next time we meet him, he will be a far more complex character.

While I wasn't the  blown away by the book, as previously mentioned it was the start of a longer series that was obviously the first stepping stone in a bigger series. The overall series I think has potential to be a good fantasy series over all. I could see this being a series that has the potential to be very addictive. However with the book currently being listed at $2.99 there is no real reason to not give this book a try.

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancy

Rating: 5 out of 5
Title: The 5th Wave
Author: Rick Yancy
Series: The 5th Wave (Book 1)
Hardcover: 480 pages
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile (May 7, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0399162410
ISBN-13: 978-0399162411

Summary 

"After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one. Now, it's the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth's last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie's only hope for rescuing her brother--or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death."

Perhaps I had started one to many fizzer books before I read this one, or it was the right book at the right time. Either way this book ticked all the boxes for me and I just blitzed through the book. heck I even tweeted about it. I was sucked in and held there till the end when I finally came up for air.

The alien invasion was realistic and well thought out. I could imagine an alien race doing the "waves" of death on mankind. In fact as far as invasions go it was smart, and involved little effort on the alien's behalf. The pole being dropped from outer space was perhaps a little much but everything else was very believable.

I felt the story had the feel of a "written for movie" story. It was a bit cliched, predictable and had a few unrealistic scenes (towards the end). But hey they are action scenes, action scenes in a sci-fi book no less, they should be spectacular and totally stupid all the time exciting and fun.

I did notice some faults with the book, and I didn't care. Nope not a bit. It was exciting, interesting and an interesting take on the alien invasion young adult story. That for me is a good book, when you notice flaws and you still don't want to put the book down or for it to finish.

I enjoyed Cassie, she was quite realistic. She was strong, tough and smart; but didn't have weird skills that she couldn't possibly have. She was a teen struggling with the situation she found herself in.

I have not looked forward to a sequel for a long time in the sci-fi arena but this one had me wanting the second book straight away.

If you like young adult books, and sci-fi, I would recommend this book. Don't expect a lot from it, and you should enjoy it.

The Second Empress: A Novel of Napoleon's Court by Michelle Moran

Rating: 4 out of 5
Title: The Second Empress: A Novel of Napoleon's Court
Author: Michelle Moran
Series: No
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Crown (August 14, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0307953033
ISBN-13: 978-0307953032
ASIN: B0074VPJFE

 Synopsis
After the bloody French Revolution, Emperor Napoleon’s power is absolute. When Marie-Louise, the eighteen year old daughter of the King of Austria, is told that the Emperor has demanded her hand in marriage, her father presents her with a terrible choice: marry the cruel, capricious Napoleon, leaving the man she loves and her home forever, or say no, and plunge her country into war. Marie-Louise knows what she must do, and she travels to France, determined to be a good wife despite Napoleon’s reputation. But lavish parties greet her in Paris, and at the extravagant French court, she finds many rivals for her husband’s affection, including Napoleon’s first wife, Joséphine, and his sister Pauline, the only woman as ambitious as the emperor himself. Beloved by some and infamous to many, Pauline is fiercely loyal to her brother. She is also convinced that Napoleon is destined to become the modern Pharaoh of Egypt. Indeed, her greatest hope is to rule alongside him as his queen—a brother-sister marriage just as the ancient Egyptian royals practiced. Determined to see this dream come to pass, Pauline embarks on a campaign to undermine the new empress and convince Napoleon to divorce Marie-Louise. As Pauline's insightful Haitian servant, Paul, watches these two women clash, he is torn between his love for Pauline and his sympathy for Marie-Louise. But there are greater concerns than Pauline's jealousy plaguing the court of France. While Napoleon becomes increasingly desperate for an heir, the empire's peace looks increasingly unstable. When war once again sweeps the continent and bloodshed threatens Marie-Louise’s family in Austria, the second Empress is forced to make choices that will determine her place in history—and change the course of her life.

Initial Thoughts
I must confess to not knowing anything about Napoleon other then he had a wife called Josephine, he conquered most of Europe, the battle of Waterloo, the British hated his guts (and vice versa), and he was exiled - twice. So I was most surprised to learn he had a second wife and this was who Michelle Moran's latest book was based on. This book covers the four years Marie-Louise is with Napoleon.

Liked

Michelle Moran always does really good research on her books and it shows through her writing. I almost felt like you are part of Napoleons court. The detail written into the book is astounding, from the clothes, to the people, to the places it is vivid and feels realistic. It probably helps most people have a vague idea of what places like Versailles, The Louvre etc all look like. 

As with most historical fiction Michelle Moran did change some aspects of historical fact to fit in with her story. Also Moran obviously made some conclusions for herself based on her research. She states on her website the biggest conclusion she made was Marie's attitude towards Napoleon. Some argue that there is evidence in Marie's letters that she loved Napoleon I agree with Michelle's assertion that of course Marie was going to say those things in letters knowing full well her husband's spies were reading them. Also I have seen arguments that state she was reluctant to leave her husband and France. However I suspect that she would not have liked her son being striped of his right to the throne being a Royal herself (I could imagine for a person born of Royal blood in those days having your title stripped would have been about as bad as being killed, maybe worse). But those are just my theories not based on any real evidence.

The Characters

I'll be honest I wasn't to fussed about Marie-Louise. I think the other characters over shadowed her a lot. Even the man servant Paul was more interesting.

I actually really enjoyed reading Pauline's perspective the most. Even though she is supposed to be the baddy. She is such a vain, selfish, ambitious and conniving creature. Yet, for me, she was the most interesting to read. I felt sympathy for her as her life had not been easy and her relationship with Napoleon was just weird and disastrous. They clearly had a love/hate (and possibly lover?) relationship that was so destructive to them both. If I had known her in real life I would dislike her intensely. But as a character to read she was delightful in her selfishness, depravity and excess. 

Disliked

I think telling the story from three different perspectives all in Napoleons court detracted from the story a little and it was hard for me to really connect to Marie-Louise. The story is told from Marie-Louise's perspective, Princess Pauline Borghese (Bonpoarte), and Pauline's Chamberlin Paul. 

Conclusion

This didn't click for me the way that her book Madame Tussaude: A Novel of the French Revolution  did (interesting note Josephine makes an appearance in this book), but I still greatly enjoyed this book and Michelle Moran has a wonderfully easy way of writing where you don't feel like you are being force fed her views on a person from history(indeed I felt she made the villains seem sympathetic at times).; or information dump on you as the reader. Which means you as the reader can just enjoy this story.

I would whole heartedly recommend this book to read if you love historical fiction as it gives you a fascinating peek into the life of someone history has largely forgotten about even though her contribution to French history was quite interesting.

Extras

This was the first book I searched for images and created a pinterest board for. This has images of the main characters and the places mentioned in the book. For me this really brought the story to life. If you would like to see the images please click on this link for my pinterest board of Images Relating To Fiction Books. 

A Rose For The ANZAC Boys by Jackie French

Rating: 4 out of 5
Reading level: Ages 8 and up
Edition: Kindle
Publisher: HarperCollins (April 1, 2010)
Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers
Language: English
ASIN: B003FLPW1I
ISBN-10: 0732285402
ISBN-13: 978-0732285401

Please Note – The following review is "told" from the main characters point of view. The book is not based on anyone’s life. The main characters are all fictional. 

Dear Anne

I have some exciting news to tell you, my life story has been turned into a book by the Australian author Jackie French. Well not my whole life story just our time spent on the battle fields in France during World War I. It was very flattering to be told my life was being turned into a book, she even used some of my old letters.

I just finished reading my copy of the book and I have to say Ms French did a very good job of capturing my life out there manning the canteen at the train station, then driving the battlefield ambulance, and finally working in the field hospital. In fact she does a brilliant job of capturing all the women who worked on the front line, risking their lives daily to make sure our brave boys were cared for. It was funny reading the story as I never realised how many of us there were there all trying to do our bit and working in terrible conditions all for nothing no pay, no recognition, nothing. Just makes me wonder how many more amazing women were at the frontline and what they did.

It was bittersweet reading about all our old dear friends and family members, those who survived and those who didn’t make it from the battlefield. French was able to convey the sadness and loss, not just my own personal loss, but the overall sadness of war. It was very difficult to read about my brother and his time at Galopilli.

As the book is aimed at younger readers there is no unnecessary violence or blood and gore. It is probably best though to read it with your children or give them plenty of opportunity to discuss the themes with them. Even though it isnt graphic in terms of blood and guts, some scenes were still very vivid and deal with death. Perhaps I am being a little sensitive about it all? But I will be making sure my grand children read this that is for sure, and maybe it will help them understand what we went through.

I was quite amazed at the research Ms French put into the book and in particular the role women played during the Great War. Even though she had my story (she had my diary, found it in the Australian Archives no less. I had wondered where that diary had gone) she had clearly done her homework on women on the front in general. As I said before she really did capture what our lives were like. From life as an ambulance driver, to manning the canteen, and working in the field hospital. Looking back I don't remember being that tired all the time but reading the story we clearly must of been. How did we function?

There are no historical figures mentioned or has a character based on them  (other than the prime ministers and so forth, no one involved directly with the book) or specific events mentioned. If you knew your WWI history you could guess what the "pushes" that the author mentions were. The author told me this is because the book is about the women who worked on the front not the men, who would have thought someone would want to tell our story?

Well I am afraid that is it for me right now dear friend hope you are doing well.

Your ever loving friend
Midge

Extras

Extract http://browseinside.harpercollins.com.au/index.aspx?isbn13=9780732285401

Mockingjay (Hunger Games Book 3) by Suzanne Collins

Rating 4 out of 5Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: Scholastic; 1 edition (25 Aug 2010)
ISBN-10: 1407109375
ISBN-13: 978-1407109374

First Sentence: "I stare down at my shoes, watching as a fine layer of ash settles on the worn leather"

Book three picks up where book two left off. The rebellion is in full swing and war is now declared.

The action is ramped up even more in this book. Lots of violence as well. Again Collins seems to balance progressing the story, with action and drama. The whole story never feels bogged down at any point. I managed to finish this off in three days and that's only because I had to go to work grrr.

I think Collins captures peoples thinking during war really well. It was interesting to see the different characters reactions to it. For instance some thought they should fight the way President Snow fought, and others thought they should preserve life. You could say the war really brings out the best and worst of people, and this story illustrates it.

There were some twists in the story line which will surprise you. Also by the end of it I was wondering if poor Katniss would survive both physically and mentally. She just cant catch a break. I actually really enjoyed Joanna as a character. Even though she is a little broken and a touch horrible, something about her was just enjoyable.

The ending - a lot of book bloggers have commented they were disappointed with the ending. They felt it was made to happy, and neat. I felt the ending was good until I got to the epilogue. The epilogue its self was fine, but not necessary. I suspect this is where the ending criticisms have come in as I felt the epilogue did not add anything to the story.

On a superficial note I much prefer the American cover to the cover released in Australia.

Other Reviews:The Eclctic Reader

Books and Musings from Downunder

Musings of a Bookish Kitty

From my Bookshelf

An Adventure in Reading

Catching Fire (Hunger Games Book 2) by Suzanne Collins

Rating: 5 out of 5
Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 480 pages
Publisher: Scholastic; 1 edition (7 Sep 2009)
ISBN-10: 1407109367
ISBN-13: 978-1407109367

Opening Sentence: "I clasp the flask between my hands even though the warmth from the tea has long since leached into the frozen air"

In Catching Fire we return to the world of Panem and continue the story of Katniss. The Hunger Games they won is long over and they are safely ensconced in the Victors Village. The only problem is the Capitol is not happy with what Katniss did, they want revenge. Katniss has a decision to make, does she fold to the Capitol's demands or does she fight?

Wow what a great second book! I couldn't put it down. I find second books in trilogies tend to be long winded and spends to much time explaining and setting up book three. Not the case with Catching Fire. It manages to finely balance expanding the story with action and excitement. I will not discuss the book in too much detail as I do not want to give the book away.

I must confess though Katniss annoyed me for about half of this book. I got a bit tired of her "oh woe is me" mantra. She just grated on my nerves even though I concede she probably had every right to it after what happened in Hunger Games. But by the second half of the book came around, Katniss was back to her old kick ass self. We do get to learn more about our favorite characters as well as get introduced to some new ones. Collins is able to make all the characters just come alive. I cant really discuss the characters with out giving anything away.

Some powerful themes are explored here. Oppression, violence, rebellion, survival, friendship, starvation, and revenge to name a few. Collins manages to address these issues with out being preachy or condemning.

There is quite a bit of violence in this book. Most of it demonstrates the worst of society and oppression. But it is there, and it is reasonably graphic. If your child is under 15 and wants to read this, perhaps read it yourself first and see if it is suitable.

To be honest don't bother reading this unless you have book three Mockingjay on standby. The book is left on a cliff hanger so you will want book three straight away to continue on with the story!

Other Reviews:Books and Musings from Down under
Ticket To Anywhere
A Buckeye Girl Reads
Musings of a Bookish Kitty

First Lords Fury (Codex Alera Book 6) by Jim Butcher

Rating: 5 out of 5

Tavi returns for the final installment of the Codex Alera series. As the title suggests Tavi is now the First Lord and is returning to Alera, with the aide of the Canim, to help fight the Vord who are ravaging the country. Alera is in ruins and the remaining population are cornered and fighting desperately to survive.

The Alera series has been a good fantasy series by Jim Butcher who is best known for his urban fantasy series Harry Dresden. This is not a heavy fantasy like JR Tolkien.

All the characters from the series have returned for this installment and their individual story threads are wrapped up nicely by the end of the book.

The story its self is more focused on the war then previous books. Also Tavi's role as a leader and idea's man is pushed to the limits. There were some amazing battle scenes especially when the furies are used.

A good fun book that is not to heavy going. If you enjoyed the previous five books then this will tie the series off for you nicely.

Princeps' Fury (Codex Alera Series Book 5) by Jim Butcher

Rating 5 out of 5

This is another book hard to review without giving the whole series away. I do not have reviews for the previous four books as I read them pre-blog. Needless to say I loved the series from the minute I started with Furies of Calderon. I was really excited when this book came out but had to wait for the Aust. Dollar to go back up so I could order it from Amazon, then once ordered it took the slow boat via China to get here. The day it got here was a happy day for me (literally I giggled like a tickle me elmo, except I wasn't cute and furry).

Princeps' Fury is the fifth book in the Aleara series and continues the story of Tavi. In Princeps' Fury we follow Tavi across the ocean back to the Canim homeland to help them fight the Vord. Meanwhile Gaius Sextus is rallying the lords of Aleara to fight a growing menace from the lands they call the Waste.

" The icemen fought with savage ferocity, each of them possessed of far more strength than a man - but not more then enraged High Lord, drawing power from the stones of the land itself."

I am probably a smidgen biased when it comes to this book, well anything really by Jim Butcher. I love Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden and Alera series it would take a lot for me to dislike anything Butcher writes. This book is just as action packed and humorous as the other books Butcher writes. I didn’t for a minute feel like Butcher dropped the ball with this book and I just kept turning the pages and managed to devour this book in a night. This series is not a serious epic fantasy novel.

Tavi, Kitai and Max were as always my favorite. I do not think there was much character development as in previous books for these three. But Tavi got to really flex his muscles as a leader and his innate ability for strategic thinking and forward planning. We also got to learn more about the Icemen and Vord which was really interesting. I hope in the next book the Icemen get explored a little further as their story sounds fascinating.

Isana and Amara did not annoy me as much as in previous books. Isana in particular stopped doing the “oh woe is me, Gaius Sextus is an evil bastard and the cause of all my problems” routine, well almost nearly, it did slip in a smidgen.

I would definitely recommend this book but only after reading the first four books. This is not a series you can pick up and read in any order. Each book flows into the other and you would not be able to keep up if you don’t read it in order (plus it would spoil it for you).

In short this book is freaking awesome!!!!

Extra Stuff
Irisih at Ticket to Anywhere also has a review here

If you would like to read a preview click here

From Baghdad With Love by Jay Kopelman

Rating 4 out of 5

From Baghdad with Love is the tale of Lava, a stray puppy found in Camp Fallujah and a Marine. While sweeping a building for insurgents the US Marine group the Lava Dogs find a bundle of energetic fur that melts their hearts on the spot. And so begins Lava’s story of being raised in secret in Fallujah and his eventual bid for freedom as Jay Kopelman fights desperately to keep Lava a secret and get him out of the country.

Kopelman's story about Lava. Snippets of the story are told from other people’s point of view more to illistrate the events and people working in other countries to help Lava. The story flows easily and is not difficult to grasp the terms being used. One thing I appreciated was that Jay Kopelman did not make the book about the rights or wrongs of war. You did not feel lectured or harassed. While he does express some of his personal views on some situations they are fleeting.

I felt Kopelman glossed over some of the nastier aspects of his stories which is understandable. The tales he did tell were not bedtime fairy tale type stories. However the war stories were not the main point of the book but merely highlighted events that were occurring during Kopelmans and Lava’s time in Iraq. It was interesting reading about what was happening during this period and about the people affected by them.

All these things though high light Lava’s story, which of course is the main theme of the book. I loved reading the effect he has on the Marines and the people around him in Iraq. One in story in particular was that of “Sam” and Iraqi who worked at a compound for news reporters in the red zone of Baghdad. When he first met Lava he wanted nothing to do with the dog, apparently Iraqi people do not like dogs and see them as being disgusting. But by the time Lava left the compound Sam was his biggest supporter and risked his on life for Lava.

While I will not say this was a light hearted book there were some light hearted moments and even funny ones. Some of the funniest moments for me were during Lava’s puppy days with the Marines in Camp Fallujah. I can only just imagine the scene of these big tough Marines and this cute bundle of fur bringing joy into each others lives at a time where there was little joy to be found.

"In reality, when he isn't asleep, he's anything but innocent. I personally saw the little monster destroy several maps, two pairs of boots, one cell phone, photographs of someone's kids, five pillows, and some grunts only pair of socks."

The content of this book is a little older then that of Dewey the Library Cat. I would not recommend this for anyone under fifteen years of age simply because some of the war stories told are quite disturbing even if they are glossed over. A must for animal lovers.

The Zookeeper's War by Steven Contes

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

"In Berlin‚ who can you trust?

A story of passion and sacrifice in a city battered by war ...

It is 1943 and each night in a bomb shelter beneath the Berlin Zoo an Australian woman‚ Vera‚ shelters with her German husband‚ Axel‚ the zoo′s director.

Together‚ they struggle to look after the animals through the air raids and food shortages. When the zoo′s staff is drafted into the army‚ forced labourers are sent in as replacements. At first‚ Vera finds the idea abhorrent‚ but gradually she realises that the new workers are the zoo′s only hope‚ and forms an unlikely bond with one of them.

This is a city where a foreign accent is a constant source of suspicion‚ where busybodies report the names of neighbours′ dinner guests to the Gestapo. As tensions mount in the closing days of the war‚ nothing‚ and no one‚ it seems‚ can be trusted.

The Zookeeper′s War is a powerful novel of a marriage‚ and of a city collapsing. It confronts not only the brutality of war but the possibility of heroism − and delivers an ending that is both shocking and deeply moving."

The zookeepers war is predominantly told from the point of view of Vera an Australian, living with her German husband in Berlin during WWII, who are Zookeepers of the Berlin Zoo.

This book was nominated for and won the Prime Ministers Award for 2008. This is a newly created Australian literary award and was not the reason I got the book but it was an unexpected bonus. However the book did not blow me away. I did not even get bleary eyed considering some of the subject matter. He did not really deal with any of the serious issues of WWII or the Zoo. This was more a story about Vera and Axel living their lives almost as if the war was not happening, if it was not for the WWII setting it could be a couple in any other period/war.

The writing style is very stylish and simple. I could easily imagine walking the streets of Berlin in 1945 or hiding in the bomb shelters as the British and Americans rained bombs over the city. The author had clearly done his homework in regards to the history aspect, which for me made the book interesting. However the issues did not really touch Axel or Vera, they happened to their friends. The Author for me failed to adequately the sense of fear, hate, distrust, terror, and sadness that other books on the subject have portrayed vividly. I picked this book up as I thought it would have a unique perspective of being told from the Zoo and an 'alien' living in Berlin during the War. I felt the author did not utilise these unique perspectives enough.

I never really got the sense of "knowing" the characters. The book was told from at least three perspectives Vera, and Axel as well as another character called Martin. I was not sure what Martin's perspective brought to the book and would have preferred Flavia's perspective to be shown. Reactions seemed skin deep and not normal for the period, Axel in particular did not react the way one would assume a man in his position would. He was a wounded veteran of WWI and had lost most of his life, and his father’s life, when the Zoo was bombed. For me he was just too calm no one in that situation would be as calm as he was. He only seemed to show real emotion right at the end of the book, without giving away any spoilers it is a little confronting what happens to Axel.

This was not a bad book it just failed to hit the mark for me on some levels. The book would be a good start for anyone who has not read WWII books previously, as it is not the emotional roller coaster that other books in the same field are. It gives the reader a good introduction to the war and how lives were affected. The ending may shock some more than others.