Book Reviews

"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak

Death is going about his own business when he comes across the book thief. He doesn't know why but he is intrigued by her. When he comes across her story years later he decides that he should tell it to everyone. Liesel is a little girl who has been separated from her family and is now living with her foster parents in Germany during WW2. Her only comfort is the book she stole at her brothers funeral. That book becomes the first of many and each one stolen highlight significant parts of her life. Soon she learns the comfort of friends and a family she grew to love.

This author has been described as the next Philip Pullman thanks to this book. I don't know about that since both have very different styles of writing. What I can tell you is that I loved this book. At first I was a little unsure of the fact that the story is written by Death. In the first few paragraphs I was reminded of Terry Pratchett's Death but that soon went away . This is such a sweet story and so very sad. I warn you that you won't be able to keep a dry eye reading this and it is very much worth it.

"The Ruby In the Smoke" by Philip Pullman

Sally Lockheart has just suffered the loss of her father at the age of 16. Having to face life with out him she also has to solve a mystery regarding his death. She is being sent strange messages and when she tries to investigate a man dies literally of fright. Unlikely friends help her as much as they can but her very life is in danger and she has no idea why.

This is one of the many books that I have been meaning to read but never quite got round to it until now. I missed the TV adaption with Billie Piper which is what spurred me to read it in the first place. Now that I have read it I can't imagine Billie in that role. Mind you, I couldn't imagine her in the role of Dr Who companion before the series aired. The book itself was a great teen read but not a touch on His Dark material trilogy. If you aren't much of a fan of young adult fiction then you probably won't enjoy this. If it wasn't for some of the content I would probably have classed it in a younger age group. I still enjoyed it though and will probably read the rest in the series as great group of characters have been brought together for that. Too many other books I want to read so it will be a while before I go back to Pullman again.

"Stardust" Neil Gaiman

Young Tristan Thorn has promised his love that he will bring her back a shooting star and she will give him her hand in marriage. Tristan takes this seriously and with the help of his father crosses the wall into the fairy woods. When he finally finds the star he sets out to bring her home despite her reluctance. On the way they come across many a strange character and many a danger. Tristan perseveres however and doesn't doubt his ability to bring her home to the one he loves.

If you are looking for something a little bit different in the fantasy genre then this is it. It is dark, funny and full of magic and fairy tales. There isn't a single part of this book I didn't enjoy. I liked the idea of a village which rarely changes or sees the outside world. A village that has contact with the fairy world only during market time. I loved all of the characters within this village and equally I loved the characters in the fairy world. A quick read but fun. I highly recommend it.

"Carrie" Stephen King

I'm sure most people know the story line to this one. Young girl is an outcast in her school. An incident in the showers causes her to discover her talent for telekinesis. To make up for the abuse she has received one of the most popular guys in school asks her to go to the prom. Someone else is looking for revenge however with disastrous consequences.

A while back I said that I was re reading King which is why I picked up "Carrie". The first time that I read this book I was very disappointed with it. This was in my early teens and I had not long read "It" or "The Stand". It didn't have the detail that I had come to expect with King and I was impatient to get to the good stuff at the end. This time though I saw more to it. I enjoyed the build up. It is really true, you grow to appreciate things more as you grow older.

Timewarden, the Big Finish audio I listened to was out a while back. It is from series 1 and Philip Gilbert was still alive. They are still being produced though and are about to release the second title in season 6. I haven't really talked about it here but yes I am looking forward to the new series of Dr Who. It wounds like they have some good story lines put together. I am most looking forward to seeing Captain Jack back together with the Doctor. I loved his character and it will be interesting to see how he and David Tennant's Doctor get along. I am also looking forward to seeing new companion Martha and the differences between her and Rose. I am hoping that she will be very different from Rose. I liked Rose but she did start to grate on me near the end. I am hoping that Martha will be more independent and less needy.