Mockingjay (The depressive finale, aka, how everyone else dies)

The Hunger Games series as a whole is nothing short of genius. And don't get me wrong, I loved Mockingjay. I enjoyed all the twists and the crazy events leading to an explosive (literally) finale. BUT. Out of the three books, I found this one to be the weakest. Let's be honest, Katniss has had the world take one giant dump on her since book one. And I think everyone was hoping for a little bit of a let up for the bleakness factor in the third book. A little more triumph, fanfare, etc. Which is why the final book is so divisive for people. But, I gotta hand Suzanne Collins some props. She fervently clings to her bleakness and stark realism. And she makes a damn good story. Despite the overall despondency, the final couple pages of the book include some of the most beautiful writing I've seen in my life. So even though the majority of Mockingjay is a bleakfest, it's worth skipping to the final pages just to read those bits over and over again.


***SPOILER ALERT***


All my friends are dead moment #1: Cinna's death is finalized in this book. It was brutal watching him dragged away in book two and we knew the moment was coming. But nothing said grim like hearing that Cinna, the calm support throughout the other two novels finally bit the bullet. Cinna was just the beginning though and the other two deaths were the hard hitters that had people questioning the ending so much. And then Boggs dies, right as you're really getting to like him. Way to drive the knife deeper.

All my friends are dead moment #2: Finnick. He just haaaaad to marry Annie only chapters before and we just haaaaad to get way too attached to him. His character was one of the best fleshed out through the story. In book two, we aren't sure what to think of him until the ending. But his scenes in book three are so memorable and brave that you can't help but love him. Between his selflessness with Annie and the way he helps Katniss through her difficulty knowing Peeta's being tortured make him the stand out character he is. But what divides the fandom is the way he died. His character deserved more than lizard mutt chow. And he kind of gets glossed over as a toss in. Oh hey, yeah. Finnick's dead. Realistic, yes. Unfair, hell yes.

All my friends are dead moment #3: Everyone knows this one. Because the ENTIRE series was built around saving her. Oh, Prim. We knew you were screwed the moment Suzanne Collins started building your character up a lot in book three. Her death was heartbreaking, not only because she was Katniss's entire reason for living, but because it also splintered Katniss' friendships and remaining family. The mother ditches her (way to go, deadbeat mom) and Gale, being the one who might've been responsible for the killing bombs, goes off to another district never to be heard from again. But. I see what you did there Collins. Symbolically, Prim was Katniss' whole reason for living and part of surviving trauma is finding a new reason to live. So Prim ultimately had to die in Katniss' transformation as a character as part of shedding the past and creating her own life.

Rating: 4

Codex Alera: The Furies of Calderon (No Furies? No Problem)

As an avid reader of the Dresden Files, I was antsy to read Jim Butcher's hand at anything, frankly. He doesn't disappoint in the Codex of Alera either. The story and world are well crafted, and his trademark action sequences are always enjoyable. This being a very different beast, it had little of Dresden Files snark and humor, but still remained a really fun read. The different races such as the Marat added dimension to the world, as did his unique system of magic called furycrafting.


***SPOILER ALERT***


Tavi runs for his life part 1: The story follows many different characters, but there's one theme that consistently crops up of Tavi running for his life. The first part where he's escaping from imminent danger involves the Marat. These people are a different race than most of the main characters, Alerans. When Tavi and his Uncle Bernard stumble upon them, it becomes very clear that the Marat aren't supposed to be around. This quickly ties into the other storyline involving a Cursor named Amara who is trying to protect the throne. An usurper rallies the Marat to invade Calderon and weaken the First Lord Gaius. Unfortunately, Tavi gets caught in the crosshairs and stuck out in the elements with Amara. 

Tavi runs for his life part 2: Tavi's great luck continues as he ends up captive at the hands of the Marat. Which doesn't involve a lot of happy fun time as these blokes want to serve him up like sashimi, nice and raw. He catches the interest of one Marat chieftan though, who uses Tavi as a potential way to overthrow the other corrupt leader. The agreement? Tavi and the Marat chieftan's own whelp will participate in a Trial of Wits. Whomever wins is in the right. Which means Tavi will not get devoured alive. However, during said trial, while Tavi's smarts may get him through with his life, he wakes up a big, bad, unknown beastie. Continuing his winning streak of...running for his life.

Tavi runs for his life part 3: So, meanwhile in the rest of the book, everyone else has been busy getting themselves into dire situations. Which makes it perfect for when Tavi interrupts their failing stand at Calderon to bring in an opposing army of Marat to save the day. But the brief cheer that's brought on his arrival quickly falls to chaos. And when he steals the Marat leader's knife, containing the name of the usurper behind the attacks, suddenly everyone focuses their attention on him again. And he's again, running for his life. This kid lands in the worst freaking scenarios. Regardless, with the aid of his companions, including an ex-swordsman turned dullard, they manage to save Calderon, so Tavi can finally take a break and catch his breath.

Rating: 3

Catching Fire (Requires a secluded room so people don't stare when you gasp out loud)

As if the first Hunger Games wasn't spectacular enough, Suzanne Collins outdid herself on my personal favorite of the trilogy. Catching Fire from start to finish is gripping and near impossible to put down. I was actually glad of a client cancellation for the chance to get through more of this amazing read. Following the racing pace the first book set, this one continues to rise in tempo with all the mounting threats becoming greater and greater until the devastating and simply stated end. This book had me so engaged you'd have to grapple it out of my hands and even then, I might bite you in the arm. My favorite thing about this book though were the constant twists and surprises.


***SPOILER ALERT***


WTF Moment #1 The Victors tour when they visit District 11. Their appearance there started off awkward and fumbly. Katniss desperately wanted to keep attention away from her and Peeta because Snow had threatened her so early on in the book. Peeta's own kindheartedness gets the better of him and he unwittingly one-ups Snow. But when Katniss speaks out to the families and they respond with rebellion? From that point on, you know the rebellion sunk in and she'll never be able to act as Snow wants her to. Especially when they all salute her and the man whistles the four notes. It was an absolutely bone-chilling moment.

WTF Moment #2 Thread's reign as Peacekeeper sent tremors of change through District 12. More notably, what he does when Gale's caught. Gale and Katniss have been tense through the whole beginning half of the book, but moments of their deep friendship poke through even if they're stolen away seconds later. The scene where Gale's being flogged made my jaw drop. Not only was the beating so brutally described, but you felt the extreme emotions of their changed home along with Katniss. Everything Thread did, from tossing  Darius over to become an Avox, trying to trick Katniss into getting caught beyond the fence and Gale's beating drives in a personal sense of how desperate these times have become.

WTF Moment #3 The 75th Annual Hunger Games. Every second of this was a constant surprise from the horrifying announcement that demanded the victors return to the games to the fierce reactions of everyone around them. The scenes that had me shouting, cheering and literally yelling out 'what the fuck' were all regarding this part of the book. First off, Cinna's mockingjay costume. He's a side character, but a constant sense of support for Katniss and seemingly someone who has a calm sort of vibe surrounding him. So when he pulls out this ballsy 'fuck you' to the Capitol via Katniss, I was floored. It made the scene as Katniss was leaving him all the more devastating when he's dragged away and you know there'll be no return for him. From there, Finnick Odair stole the show. He was a constant puzzle that surprised you in the end. All their time figuring out this Hunger Games led to the amazing moment where Katniss discovers where to aim her arrow. And breaks open the arena so they can escape to District 13.

But of course Suzanne Collins couldn't leave her ending on something like that. Katniss wakes up to discover Peeta's been taken to the Capitol and Gale's by her side to tell her that District Twelve is gone. This was the Empire Strikes Back of the Trilogy and by far my favorite book I've read in a very long time. It was dark and brutal, but the fierce flames of rebellion build to such a blaze by the end that all explodes in the final installment.

Rating: 5

Mallorean (Belgariad, the remake)

So, I went into the Mallorean with the thought that it can't be as bad as the Belgariad, since at least they're all grown up. I was right. Because we didn't have the first half of the series through the fumbling eyes of Garion--dolt boy turned Rivan King and Child of Light from prophecies, the Mallorean actually was a much better read. Garion's in it, but he shares perspective with more intelligent and apt characters. Don't get me wrong, his practical Sendarian perspective comes marching through at times and even has some great uses, but this book enjoys characters that are actually two dimensional over the one dimensional blobs from before. (Although, it beguiles me why being practical and from Sendar means sex makes you run into a bathroom like a frightened schoolgirl to cry. CeNedra and Garion have marital issues because Garion is too busy for sex. Man card, denied.)


***SPOILER ALERT***


Improvement #1 Liselle

The intriguing character moves the pace along and works wonderfully with Silk. But she's not the average woman and goes into combat along with the men, even participating in one of the bigger battles. Her manipulations are what I enjoyed reading since they brought some enjoyment and life into the story. While the twists involving her weren't particularly surprising, (aka blatantly shoved in your face) at the very least, watching Silk squirm was well worth her inclusion.

Improvement #2 Mostly adult perspective
Thank god. Not that I have anything against young adult---in fact, I love it---but David Eddings is old school in his YA. In the sense that children must be talked down to and explained things very simply. Rather than writing through a realistic young perspective, he falls prey to the old trend of writing young adult as an older person telling a story to a moron of a child. Seriously. Garion in Belgariad is so stupid I wondered how he didn't drown early on. Granted, he's not much better here, but the characters like Zakath and Liselle drown out his one-dimensionality, whereas before he only had the cardboard cutouts of Mandorallen and Barak to balance off of.

Improvement #3 The same story as before, but better
Now, this seems like a ridiculous thing, considering I just read Belgariad. Why read the same story over again? Don't. Just skip Belgariad and go straight to the Mallorean. The characters are better, the plot's....well pretty much the same, so you won't miss anything. This comes as one of the revelations midway through the series. I'm serious. They stop and realize "everything's replaying the same way as before." It's like David Eddings made his masterpiece of a dish, realized it was crap and is now trying to save the leftovers with spices and microwave magic. I'll give him this. The second series was better than the first. But it brings to question, why couldn't he come up with a different plot then? The only thing I got from it is that maybe he realized how droll the first one was and wanted a do-over.

So, the Mallorean was decent. Better than the Belgariad, even though it follows the Jane Austen school of marriage and babies at the end. Because after a rollicking adventure through the lands, settling down is all there is to life. No message, or philosophical ideal.....just popping out babies. Thanks, David Eddings. You're a real winner.

Rating: 3

Dead Reckoning (Spanky, sexy vampires plus some fairy mojo)

Charlaine Harris might not be the next Tolkien in the writing field, but she's fun and Sookie Stackhouse's practical sass always puts a smile on my face. Say what you will about the writing itself, but there's something to be said about an entertaining read. Defense aside, the latest book wasn't as good as some of the earlier ones like "Club Dead," but it was a great afternoon jaunt through their Southern supernatural setting.


***SPOILER ALERT***


Supernatural Problem #1 The book starts off with a bang, literally. A firebombing in Merlottes and a side trail of annoying problems all due to Sandra Pelt (Just DIE already). To quote the great BBC show "Coupling," the Pelt sisters are like the unflushables of the series. Even after Debbie's death, Sandra continues as an annoying problem in countless of the books. Luckily, she's dealt with fairly easily and causes enough of a distraction to keep up the pace with another problem since the main one in this book isn't as enticing.

Supernatural Problem #2 Fairies. Lots of em. Untrustworthy too because Claude and his band of stripperfae have some weird shenanigans going on under the surface. The book moves the fairy plot in an interesting direction though, leaving lots of unknowns to keep us biting for the next in the series.

Supernatural Problem #3 Vampire issues. The big bang up finale is taking Victor down. But where there are vampires, there are romantic quadrangles. The overarching one of her romantic interest comes down to Eric. He's terse through the whole beginning and then it's revealed that Appius, his creator's making him marry some other vamp. Her whole relationship with him's now in question and to top it off, the option of Bill is still on the surface as they flirt throughout the book. On top of it, Alcide tries to come back into her life, nude and in her bed. She's done with all of the guys for the time being, fed up with everything.

The book ends on a cheery supernatural asskicking and does its job as an awesome page turner. Throw in some Sookie Stackhouse sass, attractive supernatural men, a hefty helping of violence and blend!

Rating: 3

Mistborn (Jesus is a badass named Kelsier)

One thing Brandon Sanderson does well is get inventive with magic. It's not "Expelliarmus" nor poofs of giant light. It's no fairy flights of fancy or using your "imagination." He uses metal. Not the hairbanging rad kind of way (although it'd make an excellent soundtrack for the book) but his characters ingest metals, giving them access to certain abilities. The book is a microcosm into this world through a small band of rogues who are determined to take down an evil ruler/god. Everything they do is flashy and more awesome than a unicorn fart. What really makes the book though is the character of Kelsier (Jesus) who throughout the book rallies the battered citizens and sparks a rebellion so huge that even though it seems ridiculous, you actually believe he might be able to pull it off.


***SPOILER ALERT***



Wine into Water Moment #1 Kelsier takes on a disciple named Vin. She's a little scrapper with an attitude and a people problem. But he's so flippantly ridiculous that she naturally starts wondering what the hell kind of clown show she stumbled into. And they put on quite the show. She's a Mistborn though, like Kelsier and rare at that. So he takes her under his wing and trains her in all her metallurgical magic so she can be a badass and fly through the Mists like he does. (on a very irritating side note, this book is afflicted with the capitalization complex where Sanderson randomly capitalizes words to make them fancier rather than coming up with a new term entirely)

Wine into Water Moment #2  Kelsier performs a miracle and explodes all of the geodes in the Pits of Hathsin that these poor skaa (peasants) have been mining out for centuries. He's known as the Survivor of Hathsin because he's the only one who ever escaped. Everyone else dies down there, either stuck in the Pits or killed for not bringing back atium. The miracle he pulls off while exploding the object of his torment for so long is not only extremely gratifying to him on a personal level, but nothing sheer of amazing to everyone else. It pretty much solidifies his position as this almost untouchable persona.

Wine into Water Moment #3 The sacrifice. In any Jesus parody, it has to happen. Kelsier faces a Steel Inquisitor and takes it down, only to die as well. But in this power play, he reveals these god-like creatures can be killed, giving hope to the skaa. More importantly, he becomes a martyr for his cause, something the people can truly rally behind and immortalize in their own way.

Beyond that, the growth of Vin's character is extremely enjoyable to read and the way she takes up the mantle after Kelsier's death is nothing short of epic. The final faceoff with the Lord Ruler is like a spot on crotch-kick to his failing empire, because in the end, this mighty man is taken down by a pint sized girl.

Rating: 4

The Hunger Games (An orgasm so intense it reverberates around the world)

I'll start with the first book in this phenomenal trilogy. The second the writing kicks off, you're drawn into this desolate world of Panem where the Districts starve and slave away while the Capitol feasts and enjoys their rich and fancy life. While District kids starve to death, the Capitol folks watch these kids kill each other for entertainment and also as the government's reminder to the Citizens that they're still powerless. #Panemproblems for real. More importantly, we watch all of this horror through the eyes of Katniss, a fiery buttkicking purveyor of awesome. This chick is like the ideal of strong independent teens.


***SPOILER ALERT***


Heartbreaking moment #1: When she takes Prim's place at the Games. We all knew it was coming, but who didn't admire the internal strength of a big sister who would protect her sister at all costs? When Prim's name is announced, the reader waits in tense silence for Katniss's daring declaration. "I volunteer as tribute!"

Heartbreaking moment #2: Rue's death. Man. That hits you HARD. She's exactly like Prim and the way Katniss interacts with her is identical, plus she's also twelve years old. And after they triumphantly blow up the food stock, you so want them to find a way to escape the games together. But what gave it even more impact was the note of rebellion where Katniss covered her in flowers and sang her to rest. She gave the gamemakers and audience her own personal fuck you and really told us what inner fire this chick had inside.

Heartbreaking moment #3: In a different sense than the tragedy, when she returns for Peeta and gets him the medicine he needs, she really shows she cares. Despite her concern for his well-being, she doesn't reciprocate the feelings he's so intensely proclaimed. But this disparity in what Katniss feels versus what Peeta obviously feels creates something that's rather painful to watch. If Peeta was a douchebag character, you might not feel bad, but he shows himself throughout the book to be self-sacrificing, humble and generally just a very sweet, honest person. So at the end of the book, when she tells him the truth, it's nothing less than soul crushing. The boy with the bread echoes throughout your mind with the final words, like the residual notes of a gorgeous song that's come to an end.

This book is amazing. It's one that reminded me why I love books so much and has reawakened a want to read around the world. The spark inside carries across in beautiful writing that haunts you long after you've finished the trilogy.

Rating: 5