Saturday, May 29, 2010

The Lightning Thief

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

This is one of the latest great young readers series' a la Harry Potter.

This is the first in the Olympians series in which there are 5 books. The premise is that the Greek Gods are alive and well and living on Mt Olympus which has been relocated high above the Empire State Building in New York. Demi-Gods continue to exist and our hero, Percy Jackson, is just such a boy.

In this first book, he learns about the reality of the Gods and the truth about his father whom he believed to be "lost at sea" since he was a baby. He is also sent on a quest and must dive right into the world of magic and monsters as a parallel world with the "real world" in which he has been living.

It is interesting and a good refresher on the myths and legends of the ancient Greek Gods and company. It is fast paced and easy to read. The characters are engaging and as believable as Demi-Gods, satyrs and centaurs can be.

I am looking forward to reading more of The Olympians series as well as seeing the new movie.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read something fast, light and fun.

Broken Prey

Broken Prey by John Sanford

This is a fast paced police murder mystery involving gruesome and detailed serial murders.

It is a pretty smart thriller that kept me guessing pretty far into the book. It was a good "in between books" book.

I would recommend it to anyone who likes this genre. I will definitely consider reading another John Sanford book in the future.

The Crossing

The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy

This is the second book of the Border Trilogy. The first book was All The Pretty Horses.

The book takes place along the Mexico US border before and during World War II. This book, like the first, left me feeling bleak and desolate - much the way the landscape is described within the book. Even the rugged mountainous areas are described in a cold, harsh, desolate way.

It is a book of the wild west, not set during the wild west. A book of harsh laws and harder lives.

It is the tale of the son of a rancher and his journeys crossing the border into Mexico and back three times. He is 16 when the book begins and time passes slowly and strangely in the story. The time he spends isolated and wandering in his first crossing is never explained in an exact time frame.

His brother is with him during his second crossing but it seems they are on separate journeys although they are traveling together. Between them little is said and, it seems, even less is understood.

The final crossing it seems he is becoming even more lost than he was at the beginning of the book. He is on a specific journey with a goal in mind but he seems to be losing himself in the process. He completes his journey but like many things in McCarthy novels, it does not end the way he hopes for.

The book left me feeling empty and hopeless but wanting to reach for the third book of the trilogy, Cities of the Plain. Alas, I had gone on vacation and forgotten it (I know). I'll be starting it soon now that I am home.