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Haven't done a book review since the last one in June, supposedly a monthly thing but it's already been a quarter. Sometimes I am impressed by my own slack. =)
Read nine books since June, I have of course, forgotten most of what I have read. =P It's a good thing really having goldfish memory, rereading novel is almost like reading a new one. Almost.
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The Simeon Chamber by Steve Martini, from what I can remember, is about a lawyer accepting a job from an attractive lady that span out a wild adventure.
It annoys me being unable to find the image that matches the book I have, but I am too lazy to bother taking a photo of my book cover, so here's the image of the novel I manage to find online:
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By accepting a job to locate Jennifer's missing father with only some old parchments as clue, Sam doomed his law-partner and invoked the wrath of a killer bent on stopping him from finding the truth.
Sam was determined to achieve his goal and hence embarked on an adventure, a bit (just a tiny bit) like Indiana Jones cross with Rambo since somehow the lawyer managed to overcome everything that stood in his path pretty much single-handedly even though he is, you know, practising law and not like, you know, a special agent.
Anyway, typical "American-is-super-duper-and-can-do-anything-heroism" aside, this is an interesting read that kept me turning the pages wanting to know what happen next.
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Reread the Dragons of a New Age trilogy by Jean Rabe because I recently bought a new Dragonlance novel. The new novel is the last volume of another trilogy - The Dark Disciple, and by my own reckoning, The Dark Disciple is the fourth trilogy in Dragonlance's New Age, meaning the new novel is the twelveth book down the storyline.
Since I have mostly forgotten (goldfish memory, remember?) the previous eleven books, I am rereading them in order to read this new novel. =)
Dragons of a New Age is by my own reckoning, the first trilogy for the New Age, the volumes in the trilogy are, in order, The Dawning of a New Age, The Day of the Tempest, and The Eve of the Maelstrom.
This trilogy introduced the coming of the dragon overlords after the departure of the Gods from Krynn. Huge dragons that killed and absorbed the magical essenses of lesser dragons until they were immensely powerful and became the rulers of Krynn in this new age, the Age of Mortals.
New heroes arose to challenge these dragon overlords, the leading character was a dark knight named Dhamon Grimwulf, together with his band of kender thieves, human and half-ogre pirates, an enigmatic wolf, dwarf cleric, elf druid and a solamnic knight, they fought the overlords in an attempt to prevent the Age of Mortlas from becoming an age of slavery and death.
Along the way. there were many twists and turns, ups and downs, love and hate, and of course, magic and dragons. What more can one ask for? =)
I am naturally bias when it comes to Dragonlance novels (my favorite!) but this trilogy is really nice reading.
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Took a break from the world of Dragonlance and read two novels from Jeffrey Archer: Kane & Abel and The Prodigal Daughter.
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Kane & Abel is about the lives of William Kane and Abel Rosnovski, two persons born on the same day but of opposite spectrum. Kane came to the world holding the golden spoon, being the son of a millionaire, while the newborn Abel was found and saved by his penniless foster mother in the forest, besides the body of his dead mother.
Both men were determined and strong willed, both built their own empire, one in banking, the other in hotel business. Their paths crossed and the story of the clash of the titans was gripping and masterfully written.
Even though I already recognised the big twist when the plot was initially mentioned (sometimes being too smart is also not good =P), it didn't reduce one bit the enjoyment I had reading this novel. Great read.
The Prodigal Daughter, while is a continuation of the Kane & Abel saga, can be read on its own without reading Kane & Abel beforehand since a good portion of the The Prodigal Daughter relates the story of Kane & Abel, providing the background needed to understand the storyline.
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The next generation of Kane and Abel, the son and daughter respectively, continued the saga. It's an interesting read but too much into politics and since I don't touch politics even with a ten foot pole, political-centric storyline lessened my enjoyment a tad.
The writing is good nevertheless, the bad and ugly of politics were touched upon, and I couldn't help but be enthralled by the story. Those with less prejudice towards politics will find this a fantastic read.
Quotes from The Prodigal Daughter:
"The hour of triumph is not a time to belittle your rivals, rather it is a time to be magnanimous."
Mark Twain's words came back to her: "Sorrow can take care of itself, but to get the true benefit of joy, you must share it."
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Went back to Dragonlance after reading Jeffrey's great books, the second trilogy for the New Age, The Dhamon Saga, continued the story of Dhamon Grimwulf from the Dragons of a New Age.
Downfall, Betrayal, and Redemption by Jane Rabe focused on Dhamon after the previous trilogy, the changes that Dhamon went through and how he fought for his soul and what he believed in.
Old companions as well as new ones were introduced, some to help Dhamon while other had their own agenda. The story centred on Dhamon's fall from the righteous and his attempt to redeem himself.
Thanks to this trilogy and the previous one, medieval MMORPGs are swarmed with variance of Dhamon Grimwulf wannabes. Much like Raistlin, Caramon, Kitiara, Sturm Brightblade, Neo, Luke Skywalker, et cetera, some kids are just so unimaginative. Sad.
Anyway, nice read, and I am five novels away from my new book! =)
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Happy 52nd birthday Malaysia!
Here's wishing those who govern the coutry will think more for the rakyat and less for themselves.
Yea, one can dream.
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