Book Review: Dark Angels

Review: #27
Title: Dark Angels
Author: Katherine Langrish
Read Before: no
My Comments: It started off pretty slowly and weirdly, I couldn't get into it that much in the beginning, probably coz I wasn't really anticipating anything good or fantasy. I had some doubts as to whether this was going to be good or not, and parts at the first half of the book were kinda weird and sometimes hard to believe, like that I felt it was written badly or the idea wasn't that good. The second half really picked up and got me hooked, as the pace got faster, my interest grew, as there was a ‘deadline’ in the plot and so I was eager to find out how it would be handled by the main character. I think it’s actually quite unique how the author had handle the fantasy in this book, with her description of elves and how they came to be, it’s very different than other books (in this book they are described as outcasts and ugly, in others they are described as the ‘fair folk’, very beautiful and graceful), so it’s very refreshing. I loved the way how the antagonist (the main one, the outcast angel or the devil) was introduced and how he was eventually found out and realised as the bad guy. The final section of the book was very good, and it made the whole book worth it, it was very intense and revealing, and it threw my guesses. I thought it would be typical stuff (like the devil would give up saying that finally someone cares for the outcast elf, but no… although I guess there was one part where the typical did happen, and that is the annoying bad guy with huge pride gets taken). Unbelievably better than the other book that I have read from this author (Troll Fell). I believe that the slow start would put some people off, but the overall whole story is very nice, although the ending leaves some to be desired.
Rating: 7.5/10
Rereadability Factor: 5/10 (good to reread in around a year or so)

Book Review: Angels and Demons

Review: #26
Title: Angels and Demons
Series: Robert Langdon (not official name) - 1st book
Author: Dan Brown
Read Before: no
My Comments: An excellent, excellent book, one that had me gripping during the whole time I was reading, especially towards the end where I was regretting every time I had to put it down. It sucked me in even more than The Da Vinci Code, I seriously think this is the superior one, but I do find it’s still religiously connected, must be a trend of the authors’. I found this to be more credible actually, and a lot more intense and interesting, but that just might be me liking particle physics more than Holy Grails. I liked the development of the characters, and when the characters started dying off, I was shocked and surprised, I fully expected at least some to survive. One particular death had a major impact on me as well, coz I never expected it, and the author had already made me emotionally attached to him. What I like about this book was that it didn't leave you in the dark too long (I hate suspense) unlike the first book, this one just gives you something to think about and then it reveals it a bit later (except the mastermind of the plot). I liked the ending scenes, where it just threw me off, I suspected a person from the start, it was ‘confirmed’ and I thought “pfffft, I must be getting used to the author” but then something else happened which made me doubt, and the whole thing was overthrown, loved the double trickery. I liked the developing relationships in the book but confused how the The Da Vinci Code never mentioned it (later correction: apparently did get mentioned just that I didn't pick it up at the time while I was reading the first book coz… I didn't know), but very very satisfied ending, a most excellent book.
Rating: 8/10
Rereadability Factor: 7/10

See Also: The Da Vinci Code book review

Book Review: Inkheart

Review: #25
Title: Inkheart
Series: The Inkheart Trilogy - 1st book
Author: Cornelia Funke
Read Before: yes
My Comments: It’s fairly good, although when you finish reading it, you tend to think what had really happened, and the answer is, nothing much, but it is fairly interesting. I think it was more enjoyable reading it after you have read the second and third book in the series, because the characters seem a bit bland in this one, and they don't really develop. The author slipped a bit in this one, the execution wasn't that good, the plot wasn't grabbing and nothing much interesting happens. To be frank, there isn’t anything special or extraordinary happening here, but the author had succeeded in one thing, and that is making me hate the main villains, they are really cold and heartless, with no redeeming qualities to make you like them. It would have been better if the story was based in some fantasy land instead of firmly within the realm of reality where a lot of things don't make sense.
Rating: 6/10
Rereadability Factor: 3/10

See also: Inkdeath Book Review

Book Review: Transformers Animated: The Allspark Almanac II

Review: #24
Title: Transformers Animated: The Allspark Almanac II
Series: Transformers Animated: The Allspark Almanac – 2nd volume
Author: Jim Sorenson and Bill Forster
Read Before: no
My Comments: The character profiles of the robots are really awesome, as there were a lot more robots appearing in Season 3, but for like a couple of seconds in total, so you don't get much chance to see them in detail and notice them (they don't even have backstories). So it is really good to see them, and like some other characters that they had drawn but didn't put in the show (most of them tributes some character in previous Transformers series particularly the G1 era), even from beginning of the book, it is so much more interesting than the first one (and the first one isn’t bad either). I think this one wasn't as clogged up with the whole summary of the Season episodes thing (as it only had to cover one season), which left quite a chunk of the book for something else… something way more interesting… Season 4 concepts!! Dude, the ideas are really awesome, now I do wish they had continued (and it would have brought out a ton of good toys as well). The whole process of explaining how an episode was made was really interesting and much much longer than I had expected. The character profiles at the beginning are good as well, but they had some random characters that really didn't appear (or appeared very very briefly), and like they were just the same body but a slightly different head (and not really tributing any well known characters, coz they had like nine of the same Bumblebee type bodies). Just like the first book it had expanded upon the series, which made the whole book really informative, definitely worth a read, and it’s a lot more addictive than the first one (mainly coz of the “it could have been this if we kept going” stuff).
Rating: 7.5/10
Rereadability Factor: 8/10

See also: Transformers Animated: The Allspark Almanac Book Review

Book Review: Transformers Animated: The Allspark Almanac

Review: #23
Title: Transformers Animated: The Allspark Almanac
Series: Transformers Animated: The Allspark Almanac - 1st volume
Author: Jim Sorenson and Bill Forster
Read Before: no
My Comments: I was looking forward to reading this but thought I’ll never have the chance, so I was happy that someone let me borrowed it. This is a really good guidebook, exactly what a guidebook should be like (not like the stupid percy Jackson one), very worth the money (around $30), and very interesting, giving different perspectives and concept designs and everything, love it! It is a very good guide book, and I did learn some things about the series (well, the author did say they were allowed to make up stuff, but they had collaborated with the writers, so it’s not rubbish that someone just made up). I really enjoyed looking at the pictures and seeing them in detail, coz that’s something you can hardly catch while seeing the show (they move too fast and you can't focus on them too much). It did get a little boring at times coz it’s just Seasons 1 and 2, which is where most of the stuff we already knew (once it hits Season 3 in the second volume, that’s where it gets more interesting coz there is so much more happening). I do think this is one for the fans of Transformers Animated (and preferably G1 as well), and that you have watched the cartoon, otherwise you won’t know what they are talking about (there are many awesome references to terms that are specific to fans).
Rating: 7.5/10
Rereadability Factor: 7/10