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 Great Zoo of China by Matthew Reilly

Rating 4 out of 5
Publisher: Macmillan Australia (10 November 2014)
Sold by: Macmillan (AU)
Language: English
ASIN: B00LBQWH76

Summary

'Now, I know what you are thinking,' Hu Tang paused. 'You are thinking that there are hundreds of zoos, why does the world need another one? Indeed, what can China do with a zoo that has not already been done before? Ladies and gentleman...this is what we can do.' At that moment, the speeding bullet train burst out into brilliant sunshine and CJ found herself staring at an awesome sight. It is a secret the Chinese government has been keeping for forty years. They have found a species of animal no one believed even existed. It will amaze the world. Now the Chinese are ready to unveil their astonishing discovery within the greatest zoo ever constructed. A small group of VIPs and journalists has been brought to the zoo deep within China to see its fabulous creatures for the first time. Among them is Dr Cassandra Jane 'CJ' Cameron, a writer for National Geographic and an expert on reptiles. The visitors are assured by their Chinese hosts that they will be struck with wonder at these beasts, that they are perfectly safe, and that nothing can go wrong... GET READY FOR ACTION ON A GIGANTIC SCALE.

After reading "Sophia's Secret" I needed a break. A light fluffy but mostly fun mental break. I had heard Reilly had released a new book and thought it would be the prefect change of pace. It did not disappoint. I had lots of fun reading this book.

Really is really good at writing fast paced big action adventures. This book does have a slowish start compared to some of his other books, but it doesn't take long for action, mayhem and big explosions to start.

I don't think I can write a review with out touching on the obvious comparisons to the book and movies "Jurassic Park". I can see where the comparisons come from. A top secret park full of giant reptile type creatures and it all goes belly up. Same same right?. But this book is only on the surface similar to Jurassic Park. It would be a mistake to dismiss this book as a Jurassic Park rip off. I also appreciated that the author makes two Jurassic park jokes which to me showed he was more then aware of the potential comparison. I really think the author managed to separate his book in the end from Jurassic Park's shadow. By the end I wasn't even thinking about the comparison at all.

I must give the author credit for writing a strong, smart and capable female lead character. CJ gets stuff done and doesn't stand screaming waiting for her knight in shining armour to save her. Yes she does seem to have the best luck in the world but all action heroes do.

One last point the book has some pretty graphic violence. I mean it's dragons attacking and eating people. Just be prepared if you are perhaps more sensitive to these things. It really is violent when it happens (which is pretty regular).

If you are a fan of Matthew Reilly then you will like this book. If you are not then pass. This book is a fun read and all about the action, certainly goes by the mantra of "go big or go home".

Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson

Recently we had the opportunity to watch the live play adaptation of this book. I have also been meaning to write a review of the book (which we own) for awhile now. So I thought I would do a joint review of the book, the movie and the play. Hope you enjoy.

The Book

Rating 3.5 out of 5
Age Range: 4 - 8 years
Author: Julia Donaldosn
Illustrator: Axel Sheffler
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Puffin; Reprint edition (August 25, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0142501123
ISBN-13: 978-0142501122

The witch and her cat are happily flying through the sky on a broomstick when the wind picks up and blows away the witch's hat, then her bow, and then her wand! Luckily, three helpful animals find the missing items, and all they want in return is a ride on the broom. But is there room on the broom for so many friends? And when disaster strikes, will they be able to save the witch from a hungry dragon?

I have a confession ,when we first got and read this book it bored both myself and my son. To be fair he was about two at the time, I suspect a little young for the age group (even though by two he loved books), but it just didn't grab us. I find my enjoyment of reading a book directly correlates to his enjoyment, if he isn't digging it then I probably wont. However after seeing the play I decided to revisit the book and I did enjoy it a lot more than previously.

There is lots of rhyming and lyrical passages which Donaldson does very well in the majority of her books; and the flow and rhythm of the book makes it easy to read aloud. I liked that unlike Tiddler: the story telling fish that there was a definite start, middle and end. The story flowed and made sense.

It seems the combination of Julia Donaldson and Axel Sheffler is one that is here to stay. As far as I can tell Mr Sheffler has illustrated all of Julia Donaldsons books (don't quote me on that but they have done a lot of books together). His slightly quirky style fits in with story and brings it alive. The images are a little darker in the colours that are used, the dark stormy skies, and the crows looming in most of the scenes.

It is nice to see a female lead in a Donaldson book. So far I have encountered mostly male characters in the lead roles in her books. It was  interesting to note (apparently on the authors request) that the witch was young and not a haggard old crone. As the illustrations are quite dark I think the decision to have the witch younger helps make it easier for kids to relate to.

I am glad we decided to revisit this book after seeing the play. When I brought the book over my son said "I saw this!" and he knew what was happening and pointed out when things happened such as saying "oh no the bow fell off"before I even read the passage. I can now see why this book has been as popular as The Gruffalo. I didn't find this book nearly as charming as The Gruffalo (review coming soon).

All in all a nice book to read that's most kids should enjoy.

The Play

Rating 5 out of 5
I was not sure what to expect from the play. I am not a big "arts" person and at the time I still didn't really like the book. But book adaptations are generally different and I assumed there would be differences to fill the hour the play ran for (otherwise it would have been a very short play). Mostly we decided to go because plays for children coming to my home town is quite rare.

The play had taken London by storm and was brought out this year to Australia. Currently (as of July 2013) touring Australia. It had a mixture of puppetry and live actors playing the main characters and telling the story. The play “storyline” did differ from the book in that from the outset the witch was looking for the dragon, not accidentally running into the witch eating dragon. Also they had written songs which were sung at pivotal points. The original story was woven into the extra songs and story dialogue.

The play has been adapted for Australian audiences which was an eye to detail I enjoyed. Right at the start when a swishing kind of noise could be heard an actor said "could it be a platypus?". The "aussie-fied" version was most noticeable during the Parrot's segment. They talked about the birds flying north to Bali and used phrases such as "strewth". I liked this touch.

This was not solely a “children’s play” with plenty of subtle adult humour to keep parents laughing just as hard as the little ones. Little ones may find the appearance of the dragon a little scary but to be honest I was disappointed the dragon character was a guy in a suit (where you could see the face) and not a puppet. I think it would have been an awesome puppet.

The set was simple with the focus being on the actors and the puppets. The puppets were detailed and colourful. The costumes of the Witch and cat actors was again simple but effective.

Australian cast: Stephen Anderson, Josie Cerise, Crystal Hegedis and Damien Warren-Smith

If you have the opportunity I would highly recommend seeing the play.

The Movie

Rating 3 out of 5
For Christmas 2012 BBC One released a Room on the Broom stop animation movie. With some big named actors voicing this movie such as Simon Pegg (Narrator), Gillian Anderson (the witch), and Timothy Spall (the dragon), Martin Clunes (as the dog) to name a few; it is a very well produced little movie.

The movie follows the book very closely. However unlike in the book the dragon "stalks" the witch and her friends throughout the movie. That is about the only noticeable difference to the book I could see.

One thing I realised while watching the movie is it is a darkish story. Especially when compared to the play. I wonder if this is why I didn't enjoy the book version? But otherwise a good little film that kids will enjoy. My son enjoyed watching it from beginning to end.

Seraphina (Seraphina #1) By Rachel Hartman

Rating: 5 out of 5
Title: Seraphina
Author: Rachel Hartman
Series: Book 1
Reading level: Ages 12 and up
Hardcover: 480 pages
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers; First Edition edition (July 10, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0375866566
ISBN-13: 978-0375866562
ASIN: B007OWBZQK

I decided to do a slightly different review writing a report from the character Eskar who had previously worked with the Censors (dragon police of sorts) on Orma. In the book the Censors had been investigating Orma so I extrapolated on that and had some fun. The report is set at the start of the book. Hope you enjoy it.

On a personal note this has got to be one of my top reads for 2012. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

Please note while every effort was taken to not reveal any major plot developments there maybe some very minor ones. 

Censor Observational Report  
Orma and his attachment to Seraphina Dombegh
By Eskar

Background
The dragon citizen known as Orma has been under observation for the last 16 years due to his initial refusal to denounce his sister, his father's exile and his mothers instability. It has long been suspected by the Censors that Orma would be susceptible to human emotions while in his sarataas. Recommendations have been put forward previous he have an  excision. However to date not enough evidence has been collated to enforce this recommendation.

Human Interaction
Orma has spent a significant amount of time acting as teach to the human known as Seraphina Dombegh. This relationship has required close interaction with each other and it is clear the human girl has developed feelings for Orma, but believes they are not reciprocated.

Previously we have created situations to test Orma's emotional attachment to Seraphina. To date all tests have failed to show any emotional attachment to the human subject.

For his part Orma has managed to not drawn the focus of the The Sons of St. Ogdo or the general public. With the 40th Anniversary of the signing of the treaty tension and fear amongst the humans is growing daily. It is becoming dangerous for dragons in the city. Orma being able to avoid such scrutiny in these times either displays a cleverness not yet recognised in this dragon or an empathy for the humans that helps him understand their drives.

Seraphina Dombegh
The human known as Seraphina Dombegh has a cloudy family history. Her father is Claude Dombegh the human lawyer who worked on the treaty and her mother died during birth. As a human she is quite interesting. She shows a dragon like intelligence. She has a natural ability for mathematics, history, politics and analytical skills. She has a sharp tongue which is an interesting quirk. Her ability to hide her emotions is a great asset for her future. I am told her proficiency with music moves the human masses in emotional ways we can not comprehend.

Seraphina also appears to have a growing close relationship with the Princess Glisselda and the Captain of the Guard Lucian Kiggs. She seems to have a great influence over these two young but powerful members of the Goreddian court. This could be advantageous to us in terms of influencing the court and getting information about what the future Queen and King are planning.

Orma appears to have taught her ways in which to speak with and handle our kind. I have personally witnessed her ability on many occasions. This ability could be useful if relations between dragons and humans inflame further then it already has.

Conclusion
If Orma shows any human emotion he hides it very well and we must be more inventive in trying to ascertain if he has any emotions. Orma is a clever and cunning subject and will be difficult to get him to reveal emotions if they exist. There is still insufficient evidence to warrant an excision. It might be worth him maintaining a relationship with humans if relations between our kind disintegrates.

This will be my last report on the matter as my position as ambassador makes it difficult to keep a close eye on Orma. Also the recent murder of Prince Rufus has inflamed tensions and ensuring the safety of the Comonot during his visit.

Eskar

Extras
Check out other bloggers reviews of Seraphina.
Polishing Mud Balls
The Book Smugglers