A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull

A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It had been quite sometime since I encountered the "wow" factor when reading a book. This is one of them .

This book is about a 13 years old boy, Jason, being swallowed (yup, literally swallowed) into a world that he did not being. Something like Dungeons and Dragons. Guess some of the younger readers will ask "Dungeons and Dragons? what's that?". I guess am revealing my age by that statement.

In this world there is a villain, Maldor , who is the Emperor/wizard/dictator whatever you call it. Yup, that's one of the must have element in fantasy book. Those who bow to him will live and those who don't....you can imagine what will entails.

Anyway, Jason's main aim is to get back to his world in one piece but curiosity kills the cat. He inadvertently stumbled on a secret hence is left with not many option. It's either do or die. His way out is to go on a quest to collect a Word the kill the evil Maldor and free the world; and hopefully along the way he will be able find a way back to his own world.

A good book must have a hero and a heroine . This is where the brainy Rachel comes in. The perfect partner in crime with Jason. Love the way the author write up her character. Brave and brainy.

What I love most about this book is that it have "heads and tails" . What I hate the most are books that started in the middle of a battle or something and leave the readers to figure out what had transpired earlier on.I really hate that.

It's pretty fast pace. Easy to read with no super long sentence which makes you forget what was it at the beginning. It's clean. No four letter words and no gory stuff....at least not overtly so. Sound boring? nah...not for me. A good adventure story  doesn't need all those four letter words to make it great. Nor does it need the author to describe how someone got disboweled with allthe intestine spilling out, blood spurting on all directions. I think you get what I mean , right?

The only thing that I didn't quite like was the part where Jason meet Maldor. Actually it's a love and hate part for me. Hate coz it was so unexpected that such twist was woven into the story. Love it...coz of the unexpected twist too. It made me wanna read more. I want to know what happen to that world next.

Yes , I would recommend this books for those mommies who want a good and clean book for their kids to read.

Nah...this is not a paid review nor did I receive ARC from the author. It's my honest opinion.

Gotta run now. I wanna start reading book2 now. Just need to write this review before I set off on my next adventure.





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First Frost by Liz DeJesus

Synopsis and book cover from www.goodreads.com

For generations, the Frost family has run the Museum of Magical and Rare Artifacts, handing down guardianship from mother to daughter, always keeping their secrets to “family only.”

Gathered within museum’s walls is a collection dedicated to the Grimm fairy tales and to the rare items the family has acquired: Cinderella’s glass slipper, Snow White’s poisoned apple, the evil queen’s magic mirror, Sleeping Beauty’s enchanted spinning wheel…

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Frost wants none of it, dreaming instead of a career in art or photography or…well, anything except working in the family’s museum. She knows the items in the glass display cases are fakes because, of course, magic doesn’t really exist.

She’s about to find out how wrong she is.

My Comments :-

Since I was a child, I was fascinated with story about Snow White, Cinderella, Rapunzel and stories from the Grimm Brothers. At that time, I don't see the violence in between those lines. But as I grow up, the stories were "changed" by the new generation to be less violent. 

Anyway, where was I . Yes, I was looking for a book by another author which bears the same title. Happen to see this and the synopsis captured my interest. 

I find that it is easy to fall in love with this book as it has the characters which i love during my childhood. Bianca who is a normal teenager suddenly found out that she is a witch and not only that; also the descendant of Snow White. When her mom was kidnapped, she had to journey to the Ever After to rescue her. What I like about this book is that the pace is quite fast. There is also this "silly" Prince who reminds me a bit of Don Quixotic. Love Bianca strong character. She was rash and yet brave.    I really like The Big Bad Wolf here What I dislike about this book was the plot can be predictable at times. What Ming did here did not really endear me to her much. Anyway, I look forward to subsequent book and thank the author very much for not leaving this book with a cliffhanger ending.

James Potter and the Hall of Elders' Crossing (James Potter #1) by G. Norman Lippert

Synopsis from www.goodreads.com

What’s it like to be the son of the most famous wizard of all time?

James Potter thinks he knows, but as he begins his own adventure at Hogwarts, he discovers just how much of a challenge it really is to live up to the legend of the great Harry Potter. As if it wasn’t enough dealing with the delegates from the American wizarding school and figuring out the mysteriously polite Slytherins, James and his new friends, Ralph and Zane, begin to uncover a secret plot that could pit the Muggle and the Magical worlds against each other in all-out war.

Now, with the help of Ted Lupin and his band of merry mischief makers (The Gremlins), James must race to stop a war that could change the world forever. His only hope is to learn the difference between being a hero and being the son of a hero.

My Comments

I stumbled upon this book while looking for additional stories from Harry Potter series. Heard J K Rowling going/had release new Harry Potter stories. Instead, I found works from G. Normal Lippert. Decided to give it a try since I can't get enough of harry potter series. What I like about this book? Well I get to revisit Hogwarts  and see it through the eyes of the next generation. For me, this series needs some getting use to. First of all, the names of the children are confusing to me. They are named after Harry Potter's parents and friends who had pass away. I kept imagining "James" as Harry's father instead of his son. At the mention of Ted Lupin, I kept imagining a werewolf. Secondly is the series seems to have been Americanised. Setting still same but the tone of it had changed some how. . For example the cars, GPS and game console. And the kids have to learn way of the Muggles such as playing football. One thing I hate in this book is the politics. Come on! this series is aim for kids, right? Adding politics into it seems very heavy. What was it again? Society that support the Dark Lord? Harry Potter and his gang not really the good guys and rewrites history to make themselves as heros? It sounded to me like those political novels about Mao's era in china. I can't believe that the total helplessness of the situation where the Headmistress and teachers can;t do anything about it. But why am I giving it 3 stars? Well, coz apart from that, the story was pretty well written. i love the last part. it had the old Harry Potter feel to it.

Coming Soon! The Big Bad Wolf Books Sale 2014

This year the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale will start from 7a.m. 5th December 2014 (24 hours non-stop) till 9pm 16th December 2014.

Venue will be the same as previous years , which is at MIECC at The Mines, Seri Kembangan.

Am certainly looking forward to this year's BBWB sale. I wonder what surprises awaits me for this sale. There are sure to be something nice

Adultery by by Paulo Coelho

Synopsis from www.goodreads.com

The thought-provoking new novel from the international bestselling author whose words change lives.

Linda knows she's lucky.

Yet every morning when she opens her eyes to a so-called new day, she feels like closing them again.

Her friends recommend medication.

But Linda wants to feel more, not less.

And so she embarks on an adventure as unexpected as it is daring, and which reawakens a side of her that she - respectable wife, loving mother, ambitious journalist - thought had disappeared.

Even she can't predict what will happen next...

My comments : 

As per the synopsis, the book is about a woman who have everything and yet felt something is lacking in her life . Thus, this pushes her to embark on the road of adultery.

From the very beginning, our heroine did not endear herself to the readers. Come on! you have everything and yet you feel the need to flirt with a married man? 

But I feel that it was an honest portray of human nature. Many authors would not dare nor want to make the heroine to be such slut /ungrateful person as it give risk of readers hating the book. Bravo to Paulo Coelho for daring to do this with no usual excuses of husband treating her badly or anything. Well, maybe the excuse of depression. Depression can do strange things to people.

Brave book , I may say. As for enjoyment in reading it...well...I can't say that I enjoyed reading it. I find that the heroine's depression is contagious. It made me feel stress and depressed.

Then why am I giving it 3 stars out of 5 stars, meaning I like the book? It is because of the author's in depth view on human nature for I do believe what he wrote here do happen in real life. There are men and women who have everything in life and yet not thankful for what they have got.  I love the way he play with the sentences. 

The Deer and the Cauldron, Vol. 1 by Jin Yong, John Minford (Translator)

Synopsis by goodreads.com

Also known as Duke of Mount Deer, this is the first of a three-volume picaresque historical romance by China's best-loved author. It tells the story of Trinket, an irreverent and comic anti-hero, and his adventures through China over more than twenty years at the beginning of the Qing dynasty. 

The story spans vast territories, from desert islands to northern ice fields, from Peking and the Imperial Court to the sacred mountain of Wu-tai-shan to the legendary Shaolin Temple to the boudoir of Princess Sophia. Rich in plot and historical detail, the book is peopled by a multitude of characters, including members of the Brotherhood of River and Lake, song girls, gamblers, beggars, itinerant (and often fighting) monks, Taoists, Cossacks, Jesuits, herbalists, dissident literati, corrupt magistrates, Manchu princes, Ming loyalists, and the one-armed Princess with the deadly 'flicking' style of kung fu. 

Anyone with a taste for popular culture or modern China will find The Deer and the Cauldron a fascinating read

My Comments : 

I have watch the drama series that was based on this book when I was just a child. I remember I love it very much. Oh the lovable "Whiskers" and also the Xiao Bao(Trinkets). 

It has been an unbelievable experience to read this book. Thank you very much to the person who took the time to translate it into English.

What I like about this book ....well... everything. Love the Kungfu and the politics.  There are certain parts that is better expressed in the drama . However, certain parts also better in the book form. Leave it to readers' imagination.

What I dislike? Not to say dislike but rather there is something lost when it's translated in English.  At times, I find it hard to grasp what is it about. For someone like me who have a bit of knowledge on how the story goes, it was okay. But I suspect for those who have nil knowledge on Kungfu flicks and stuff like that will have a hard time understanding.

Overall, am giving it 4 stars out of 5. Am now looking forward to reading Vol 2 of the said story. 

The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith

Synopsis from www.goodreads.com


When novelist Owen Quine goes missing, his wife calls in private detective Cormoran Strike. At first, Mrs. Quine just thinks her husband has gone off by himself for a few days--as he has done before--and she wants Strike to find him and bring him home.

But as Strike investigates, it becomes clear that there is more to Quine's disappearance than his wife realizes. The novelist has just completed a manuscript featuring poisonous pen-portraits of almost everyone he knows. If the novel were to be published, it would ruin lives--meaning that there are a lot of people who might want him silenced.

When Quine is found brutally murdered under bizarre circumstances, it becomes a race against time to understand the motivation of a ruthless killer, a killer unlike any Strike has encountered before...

A compulsively readable crime novel with twists at every turn, THE SILKWORM is the second in the highly acclaimed series featuring Cormoran Strike and his determined young assistant, Robin Ellacott.

My Comments :

Cormoran Strike was hired to look for a missing author,Owen Quine, by the author's wife. Soon things turned sinister and heated up as Strike go on with the investigation. There was even an attempt on his life. What I like about this book is that Robin, his assistant, is taking a more active part in the story. I love her character and starting to dislike her fiance, Matthew. Love the chemistry between Strike and Robin. What I dislike about this book is that though everyone seems to have reason(s)  to want the author, Owen, to disappear but their reasons seems to be shaky and muddled. I did not feel the thrill of the investigation. Not much digging done. More like both Strike and Robin go from one person to another a listened . From there Strike made a judgement and found the culprit. Feel it's lack of "umph" factor. Nevertheless it's a good second suspense book from the author.