Tag: science fiction

“Hollow City” by Ransom Riggs

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I finished reading this book this morning. This book is the second novel in the Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series and it picks up exactly where the first novel ends. The children are in a race against time to help Miss Peregrine while being chased by monsters of different sorts. I love this book because it keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole entire time. The store moves along at a good pace and keeps you entertained all the way to the end. You won’t be able to put this book down because you’ll be so caught up in the adventures of Jacob and the other peculiar children.

Synopsis: Like its predecessor, this second novel in the Peculiar Children series blends thrilling fantasy with vintage photography to create a one-of-a-kind reading experience.

September 3, 1940. Ten peculiar children flee an army of deadly monsters. And only one person can help them–but she’s trapped in the body of a bird. The extraordinary journey that began in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children continues as Jacob Portman and his newfound friends journey to London, the peculiar capital of the world. There, they hope to find a cure for their beloved headmistress, Miss Peregrine. But in this war-torn city, hideous surprises lurk around every corner. And before Jacob can deliver the peculiar children to safety, he must make an important decision about his love for Emma Bloom.

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“The Mansion” by Ezekiel Boone

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Finished another novel and I wanted to share it with you as well. This books was a creepy read but it was good. It’s hard to explain without giving too much away and spoiling the book for someone else who wishes to read it. It’s kind of a cross between reading a haunted house story and reading a “robots take over” story….that about the best way I can put it. If you like either of those things then this might be a book for you.

Synopsis: After two years of living on cheap beer and little else in a bitterly cold tiny cabin outside an abandoned, crumbling mansion, young programmers Shawn Eagle and Billy Stafford have created something that could make them rich: a revolutionary computer they name Eagle Logic.

But the hard work and escalating tension have not been kind to their once solid friendship—Shawn’s girlfriend Emily has left him for Billy, and a third partner has disappeared under mysterious circumstances. While Billy walks away with Emily, Shawn takes Eagle Logic, which he uses to build a multi-billion-dollar company that eventually outshines Apple, Google, and Microsoft combined.

Years later, Billy is a failure, beset by poverty and addiction, and Shawn is the most famous man in the world. Unable to let the past be forgotten, Shawn decides to resurrect his and Billy’s biggest failure: a next-generation computer program named Nellie that can control a house’s every function. He decides to set it up in the abandoned mansion they worked near all those years ago. But something about Nellie isn’t right—and the reconstruction of the mansion is plagued by accidental deaths. Shawn is forced to bring Billy back, despite their longstanding mutual hatred, to discover and destroy the evil that lurks in the source code.

Recommendations!

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I’m always looking for that next book to read so I’m willing to take recommendations from others, especially if I know that person likes to read similar books. Anyway, if you like to read, I wouldn’t mind hearing your recommendations for some new literature for me to read.

Genre: Horror, science fiction, fantasy, mystery & thriller. I can take in the occasional romance if it’s good.

Have read: The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, the Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis, the Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney, the Locke & Key series by Joe Hill, the Stoneheart trilogy by Charlie Fletcher, the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer, the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie, Murder Has a Motive by Frances Duncan, Murder for Christmas by Frances Duncan, The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly, The Cellar by Natasha Preston, The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle by Janet Fox, Carrie by Stephen King, The Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill, The Host by Stephenie Meyer, etc.

Books I refuse to read: The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian. I read this book once upon a time and I really got into it at first but the ending disappointed me. This book really turned me away from that particular author and I won’t read anything remotely similar again.

Age Range: I normally read young adult and up. I will read children’s literature if it’s good enough to hold my interest (Harry Potter series is a good example).

The Hunger Games (movies)

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My hubby purchased the entire collection of Hunger Games movies on blu-ray a few weeks ago. My collection doesn’t include a digital copy….just the movies themselves along with bonus features spread out over 6 discs. I’ve watched “The Hunger Games”, “Catching Fire”, “Mockingjay part 1” and “Mockingjay part 2” today. They seemed to have kept the movies pretty close to the books from what I can tell. I know they can’t put everything from the books into the movies….if they did, each movie would be about 12 hours long and no one would be able to sit through that. I did enjoy watching the movies today.

Anyway, I never did get to see these movies as they were being released in the theaters. I wanted to read the books and have them finished before I saw the movies. I didn’t want the movies to have any effect on what I was reading as I was making my way through the books and I’ve always preferred it that way. My hubby purchased the movies for me when I finished the last book in the trilogy not long ago.

Have you watched any of the movies? What are your thoughts on them? Did you watch them when they were released in theaters or did you wait to watch them at home once they were out on dvd/blu-ray?

“Mockingjay” by Suzanne Collins

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Please note that there may be spoilers in this article if you’ve not read any of the books yet.

Well, I’ve finally done it. I’ve finished the Hunger Games trilogy. It feels like forever ago since I read “Hunger Games” and “Catching Fire”. After finishing the last book that I read, I decided to go ahead and read “Mockingjay”. I really enjoyed this book, there were a lot of up’s and down’s. Some were happy and seemed almost normal while others were sad and took your breath away. There were a couple of deaths in this book that really made me sad. When Prim dies, that is really heart-breaking. It just worked out where Katniss was right there when her death occurs and you get to see how it really affected Katniss. Especially when Katniss comes across Buttercup later and even the cat misses Prim. The other death that affected me was Finnick. I get why he died but I feel sad because he was reunited with the love of his life and got to marry her before his death occurs. Overall though, I think I’m okay with the way the series ended though. I know that war comes at a price so there are going to be some deaths that will happen.

Also, the books I read had the foil covers instead of the original covers. If that makes a difference to anybody.