There is no doubt in my mind that Neil Gaiman is a true blue romantic at heart. Just read his fantasy work Stardust, which was adapted into a movie starring Claire Danes, Robert de Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer, and which I simply had to watch, and you’ll surely agree with me.
Let’s talk about the book first, since I like it slightly more than the movie, which I watched just before reading the book. The story revolves round a young man Tristan Thorn, who set off on a quest to fetch a fallen star to win the hand of the town beauty. His quest took him into the unexplored lands on the other side of the ancient wall from which his tiny village took its name where he encountered strange things, magical creatures, witches and other wondrous things that belong in Faerie. Along the way, Tristan uncovered the truth of his parentage, found his heart’s desire and learnt the meaning of true love.
I took to Mr Gaiman’s imaginative story-telling right away. This is the Brother Grimms for grown-ups, and living up to the tradition of the fantasy genre, the realistic yet poetically tragic ending was more palatable to me than the pat happily-ever-after curtain closure the movie attempted to conjure. I mean, the heroine is immortal, but the hero isn’t. Some of Gaiman’s wry humour wasn’t moved to the big screen.
Read more…
Posted on September 6th, 2008 by ag
Filed under: Books, Fantasy, Authors A to M, Screen | No Comments »
If you haven’t heard yet, the news just broke 2 days ago, but it came as no surprise to me. Shelfari has been acquired by Amazon.
There are definitely areas where the two sites could have synergies in terms of their objective of community building amongst book lovers. From an online marketing perspective, I think Shelfari complements what Amazon already offers. As a fan and user of both Amazon and Shelfari, it means I can have the best of both worlds.
Josh sent an email to Shelfari members assuring “that Shelfari will live on and only get better. We’ve got some big plans ahead. In the meantime, you’ll continue to enjoy the great community features you’ve always known and used on the site.” And that “Shelfari and Amazon will work hand in hand to create innovative new ways to enjoy the books you love.”
So, what do you think of this latest partnership? I don’t know about you but I’m already looking forward to what they will unveil in the months to come.
Sit tight …
Posted on August 30th, 2008 by ag
Filed under: webwatching | 1 Comment »
Right after reading these two books, I’ve this weird sense of déjà vu. The story arc itself has strong biblical undertones to it, what with the Armageddon-like final battle, the rebirth, the blood sacrifice … it was as if I was reading something meant for heavier reading.
But there’s one theme that’s kind of common with other fantasy epics I’ve read, and that’s the topic of incest. I don’t know about you, but I noticed that this seems to be a recurring subplot in quite a number of authors’ works … Melanie Rawn, MZB comes to mind. I’m digressing, however, so let me get back on the review track and introduce these two Sara Douglass gems properly.
Pilgrim and Crusader bring Sara Douglass’ epic fantasy series centred on three diverse races to a climactic ending. Pilgrim traces the journey of the TimeKeepers across the land of Tencendor and bears witness to the carnage they spread as they raced to resurrect Qeteb; while Crusader deals with Drago’s quest to reclaim his true heritage as Starson and the crusader destined to battle the evil Qeteb in a bid to save Tencendor.
Read more…
Posted on August 24th, 2008 by ag
Filed under: Books, Fantasy, Authors A to M | 4 Comments »
Am taking a break between Olympic watch and reading Blue Dragon – that’s right, I finally tracked down a much awaited copy of this book — to bring you this lil’ catch-up post.
Let’s see now … on the way up, I popped into Harris books, it was the only shop open at 5am in the morning, so of course, my hands got itchy. I ended up adding three more books to my carry-on, namely Tangled Up in You by Rachel Gibson, An Offer You Can’t Refuse by Jill Mansell, both editions published by Little Black Dress and a rather forgettable Temptation of the Warrior by Margo Maguire.
I was rather intrigued by the synopsis of the third book, but the Temptation of the Warrior turned out to be a dud with me. I won’t be reviewing that book as it warrants at most a 2.5 rating. I didn’t like it enough. Let’s just say the fantasy and magic angle of the story was a little contrived, and really could have been better developed.
Disappointing book aside, the upside of visiting Sydney was the opportunity to hunt down the elusive next instalment of Aussie author Kylie Chan’s Dark Heavens trilogy. I mean, where else would I have a much greater chance of finding the sensational fantasy writer’s book than on her own turf, so to speak, right?
And I wasn’t disappointed … found it waiting for me on the bookshelf of Timeslink at the Kingsford Smith Airport. And not a moment too soon … as I was rushing for my return flight home, and having had no chance to go sightseeing at night, I was banking on finding a copy there. And now, I simply have to get back to the story of Emma and John … Kylie Chan simply gets better.
Posted on August 16th, 2008 by ag
Filed under: Books | No Comments »
Am off to Sydney, New South Wales early tomorrow morning for work. Be back to fill you in on the loads of books read since last post (yeah, there’s a whole backlog of reviews) … and maybe, just maybe, Kylie Chan’s last instalment of Dark Heavens trilogy, which I despair of ever finding in local stores and on Amazon.
p.s. Fingers crossed.
p.p.s Let’s see if I could get some bookcrossing done while I’m there.
Posted on August 3rd, 2008 by ag
Filed under: Journeys | No Comments »
Reading Anne Stuart’s Ice storm was a natural progression for me since I’ve been following this particular spy suspense series when it first debut with Black Ice.
This time round, it’s Ice Queen Isobel Lambert, the head of the committee who is being hunted down by an archenemy who wants her eliminated at all cost. Sent by the backers of the committee to retrieve the unscrupulous Serafin ‘The Raptor’, in exchange for the intelligence he’s trading to the committee for amnesty and freedom, Isobel suffered more than the usual amount of accidents. The fact that Serafin himself is a much wanted, ruthless spy with no ethics whatsoever, selling his secrets out to the highest bidder pumps up the drama factor with assassins, car chases and bombings dogging their every step to sanctuary. Unbeknownst to her team mates, Isobel has a history with Serafin, a.k.a Killian, and as the story unfolds, the reader finds out why Isobel turned out the way she did.
Read more…
Posted on July 19th, 2008 by ag
Filed under: Authors A to M, Authors N to Z, Suspense, Paranormal | 1 Comment »
This is another book read during my trip to Paris. Again, the author isn’t new to me. I’ve read one of Julia London’s contemporary romance, and her regency series, The Desperate Debutantes, and liked them all.
There wasn’t any synopsis on the backcover, but as I’ve been checking out the author’s website every now and then (Ms London has revamped her website, by the way, so go check it out!), I knew this book is the first in her Rogues of Regent Street series. It’s an old series which has recently been re-issued, and when I happened across this copy, I didn’t even realise that it’s the original cover.
Adrian Spence, a.k.a The Dangerous Gentleman, and one of the infamous Rogues, beguiled idealistic Lilliana Dashall into a marriage in an attempt to thwart his younger brother’s desire, after his father had disinherited him after he’d accidentally killed his cousin in a duel. At first, Lillie thought she was most fortunate to have married an enlightened husband who gave her the freedom to be herself.
Read more…
Posted on July 13th, 2008 by ag
Filed under: Books, Authors A to M, Romance, Historical | No Comments »
Stumble upon this fun quiz at Kristie’s and Katie’s, and since Austen is one of my favourite authors, I thought it’d be fun. So, here’s the outcome when I took a turn at the quiz:
Take the Quiz here!
Posted on July 13th, 2008 by ag
Filed under: Just for Fun | 1 Comment »
