Fiction

Star Wars vs. Star Trek by Matt Forbeck

 in Book Reviews / Books / Fiction / Fun / Humorous / Movies by

“COULD THE EMPIRE KICK THE FEDERATION’S ASS? and other galaxy-shaking enigmas”

Includes Forewords by Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett in Star Wars) and Tim Russ (Tuvok in Star Trek: Voyager)
Summary
WHO RULES? CAPTAIN KIRK or HAN SOLO?
Could a Jedi knight use his light saber to deflect a beam from a phaser? Could a Cardassian beat a Chazrach in a fair fight? Would a Federation ship making the Kessel Run crack the Millennium Falcon’s record of less than twelve parsecs? And most important…in a fight between the Empire and the Federation, who would win?
Ever since the first Trekkie walked out of Star Wars in 1977 and said “Meh!”, fans of the two series have gone head to head over these questions. Now you can line up – side by side – aliens, technology, story points, weaponry, and heroes from the two great SF sagas of all time.
Whether you can pronounce “Heglu’meH QaQ jajvam!” (that’s “Today is a good day to die!” in Klingon) or can recite all the names of the members of the Imperial Senate (which meets on Coruscant), you’ll want the detailed information Matt Forbeck has compiled about both universes, as well as trivia, quizzes, quotes, and information drawn from these two iconic settings. So phasers on stun and light sabers at the ready! It’s on.”
Review
This book is SO much fun to read. My family is a huge Star Trek/ Star Wars family. We are all Trekkie’s (while my mom is more so with my dad), but my dad and I are both Star Wars fans as well (I more so.) So we sometimes get into debates over who is better. (I won’t state my opinion as a backlash will ensue, don’t want to start a galactic war now do I? >:) ). So when Christmas came around and I saw this book in Bookends, I just had to buy it, hoping that it would put to rest some of our arguments (sadly it didn’t really.)
This book really does help with many questions that one may have between the two fandoms. 
The book is split up into sections, different creatures, weapons, ships, culture, heroes, and even an ending section of Star Wars fans versus Star Trek fans (haven’t read that part yet haha.) Then within each section, well known character, weapons, ships and so forth are taken from each universe and compared to each other and a situation is set up. The situation is fake but it is as if the two universes collided and then there is an outcome and who would win. The book could be biased in some way or another but still it is SO MUCH FUN TO READ! 
I never would have thought of doing this and its such a genius idea. There are even some quizzes to test you knowledge. There isn’t  a scoring system or anything like that but there are the answers so that you can know if you are correct or not. AND IT IS SO MUCH FUN! We did these quizzes at dinner and would be laughing (or arguing) over different answers.
There isn’t terribly much to say about the book as it is quite self-explanatory but I just have to say that you must try to find it if you are a fan. It is a great read and a good way to have some fun with the family and your friends. You may even learn a thing or two (for that day when you need to choose between joining the Empire of the Federation (that day is coming….I’m telling you 😀 )). So go and check this book out and let me know what you think because in my opinion it’s so much fun to read. Enjoy!

An exciting new book to read!!!!

 in Books / Fiction / Older Readers / Young Adult by

So my totally awesome librarian, Omar, recently graced me with an awesome book.

The Walking Dark by Robin Wasserman

And in addition to it being a book being based off ‘It’ by Stephen King (which I am currently working on), I got a signed copy….WHICH IS SO TOTALLY AWESOME!

I am only a few pages in but I am currently loving it and I cannot wait to see where it goes!

So let the reading begin 😀

Outlaw by Stephen Davies

 in Adventure / Book Reviews / Books / Fiction / Older Readers / Young Adult by

Summary

“A high-tension, high-tech thriller with an African setting.

Jake and his sister, Kas, whose father is the British ambassador to Burkina Faso, are abducted, bundled into a van, and driven into the unknown. In smartphone contact with his father, Jake learns that the kidnapper with the spider web tattoo is the remorseless outlaw Yakuuba Sor, who is connected to an international terrorist organization. But is he the real Yakuuba Sor? And is Sor really a dangerous criminal? In this fast-paced tale laced with trickery and murder, Jake and Kas discover that with the corrupt local government and British Intelligence arrayed against them, survival in the African desert may be the least of their problems. Includes an afterword.”

-From Amazon, Book Description

Review

This book was exciting and really kept you entertained. It was definitely a page turner and a couldn’t put it down book. This book was by Stephen Davies who also wrote Hacking Timbuktu which was also a really great book.

The cover of this book was very similar to Hacking Timbuktu which was why I thought it may be a series, but unfortunately this was a completely different story. There were some similar story lines in a sense because there were the gadgets and there was some parkour in this book but that was the only similarity.

This book was set in modern-day as there were cell phones and some unmanned flying machine. I thought that this book portrayed life in Africa, where they was going back to visit his parents, was quite accurate and it showed what the life was like there. You also got to see both sides of life. The life of a diplomat and the life of eating gold leaf and then the life of an outlaw, hence the title.

The book is a definite read and I recommend you reading the other one of his books too.

Hope that you enjoy.

Dead Man’s Cove by Lauren St. John

 in Fiction / Older Readers / Young Adult / Younger Readers by

A Laura Marlin Mystery

Summary

“Orphaned Laura is sent to live with her uncle inCornwall, convinced that a life of adventure is hers at last. But everywhere she turns she’s confronted with mysteries. Is Tariq, the shopkeeper’s silent son, a friend or an enemy? Why does her uncle seem intent on erasing his own past? And why is everyone so afraid of Dead Man’s Cove?”

-From Back of the Book

Review

This is an excellent book for all ages. This is YA but I would say that the older end of the Children section of the library (like 11+) could read this book. It had great role modeling and excellent values which a teen/child should not know. A person may not be inspired by the cover because it is kind of childish, but remember never, ever, EVER, judge a book by its cover. I would say that anyone would be interested in this book. The characters were intriguing and easy to relate to and the setting and the story line was interesting as well.

I read another one of her books The White Giraffe (not a great review as I was new to this blog) and completely loved it. She has two series. Legend of the Animal Healer which has The White Giraffe, Dolphin Song (which I also read but never reviewed unfortunately), The Last Leopard, and The Elephant’s Tale. Then she is now starting a new series called Laura Marlin Mysteries. So far she has Dead Man’s Cove and Kidnap in the Caribbean which came out last July.

But this is a great book with great values and issues which some children may encounter. But they are not obvious in the book because Lauren St. John seems to hide the underlying messages in things which happen. You have to understand what is happening to find these message.

This book is not violent in any aspect and is great for all ages.

So go and check this one out. It is a defiant read.

Who is Lauren St. John?

Lauren St. John was born in Gatooma, Rhodesia, now Kadoma, Zimbabwe. She and her family moved when she was 11 to Rainbow’s End farm in Gadzema. She later wrote a memoir Rainbow’s End. She then moved to England and worked there for a few years.

If you want to read more about her click here.

Tiger’s Voyage by Colleen Houck

 in Adventure / At the Library / Book Reviews / Books / Fantasy / Fiction / Hot Off The Press / Interesting / Young Adult by

Summary

The third book in the gripping Tiger’s Curse series!
With the head-to-head battle against the villainous Lokesh behind her, Kelsey confronts a new heartbreak: in the wake of his traumatic experience, her beloved Ren no longer remembers who she is. As the trio continues their quest by challenging five cunning and duplicitous dragons, Ren and Kishan once more vie for her affections–leaving Kelsey more confused than ever.
Fraught with danger, filled with magic, and packed with romance, Tiger’s Voyage brings Kelsey and her two tiger princes one step closer to breaking the curse.
-From Amazon.com
Review
WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!!!!!!!!! This book was AMAZING. The story was so captivating and I just could not put it down. There was so much romance, humor, and action and everything else that a great book should need. IT WAS AMAZING. I cannot wait for the next book Tiger’s Destiny which I believe is coming out in the Summer of 2012. The ending of the book kind of left you wondering and wanting to, no, needing to know what happened next. I am currently dying. I have to know what happens next in the story ASAP. But I know I said the same thing for Tiger’s Curse and Tiger’s Quest but this book tops them all. I liked this one the best out of them all. I just cannot describe it other than saying GET OUT TO YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY. This is a must read series and if you don’t, you are missing out one something great.
Tell me what you think once you read it.
Also if you would like to read an interview I did with Colleen Houck, click here.