Review: Keeping it Real

The plot took a sudden innovative turn.

Well not innovative really, just more exciting and I’ll admit, in the last half of the book I became almost completely engrossed. I think the problem I was having with Keeping it Real was that I had gone from Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments to Justina Robson and they both have very different writing styles geared towards completely different audiences. Clare’s writing turning towards YA readers and Robson’s towards the adult fiction(fantasy/scifi) readers.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about see this post

Ok so review time.

I had a hard time getting into the flow of this book. Perhaps my problem with this book lies in the fact that there is scarcely any explanation of the technology or the magic or any of the theories really. The most explanation given is given in the first two pages of the book in which the “Quantum Bomb” is explained and all of the 7 realms created by the bomb are also explained. Another thing that irked me about this book was the whole beginning, really, the characters jumped around from place to place doing trivial things that seemed to have no connection to the plot whatsoever with the main character having a self pity fest with herself while trying to protect some character who seems to have no real connection to the plot(he incidentally becomes central to the plot later on).

The whole first half of the book just seems listless, I mean usually I can put up with the usual introduction of characters and the formation of the plot yadda yadda yadda because that is where I find some of the most interesting parts in the book where they describe what makes the world “tick” and what drives the world. Without this explanation of the way that this world works we are left in the dark somewhat, and while this may not present a reader who’s focus is more on the sequence of events rather than the back story, it certainly influenced how I got through the first chunk of Keeping it Real.

Ok away from all this bad stuff about the book, let’s talk about where it really shines: action and intrigue. There are action scenes galore throughout Keeping it Real and there are some pretty interesting characters who have the potential to be exciting additions to the main plot as the series goes on (Did I mention this is a series?).

Due to the obvious lack of detail added to the development of the initial setting, the reader is left to work out the way this world is run through the glances and snippets we get throughout the book, which (for a reader like me) makes it impossible to quit reading because I hunger for more information about the mechanics of the universe the characters inhabit and the mechanics of the characters themselves.

I think I’ll have to read the rest of the series to give my full and honest opinion of this book, because as of now I have no idea where it’s going and I sort of want to know. If anybody has read this book I encourage comments, what did you like? What didn’t you like? And of course: Why?

Check out Keeping it Real on Amazon

Reading Update

I'm on page 102 of Keeping it Real and I am having the hardest time finishing this darned book! There's just something about it that makes it difficult to digest, it jerks around a lot and the descriptions are nothing to bat an eye at. In the first two pages of the book i expected a rich world full of innovative ideas and amazing interactions between characters but I digress.

Review to come, but I don't think that I will be finishing the rest of this series unless the writing in the next books suddenly gets better or the plot takes a sudden innovative turn.

Ads and Affiliate Marketing

A few of you might have noticed that I have recently placed textual ads on my blog, and even more of you might have noticed that when you click on the links in my posts that they take you to Amazon, I want to be perfectly honest with all of my readers that the links that you click are in fact affiliate links and that if you do choose to buy a book from amazon then I will receive a commission.

I hesitate to publish this post because I know there are people that view things like adsense ads and affiliate marketing as simply ways for people to post mediocre content to gain views and the subsiquent clicks that result from that.

I want to assure my current (and future) readers that I strive to create quality content and that I will never post mediocre content simply for the purpose of making money. I enjoy reviewing books and of course I enjoy reading them and that will never change.

I welcome any insight and any comments that my readers feel compelled to make on this subject and I hope that this will not affect how my blog (and I) are viewed by my audience (whom I adore).

Friday Finds 11/20/2009

Oh goodness my first meme, what a momentous occasion indeed.

Ok, so Friday Finds is a meme hosted over at Should be Reading by MizB and I've seen this meme all over on a bunch of blogs and I have been trying to think of some more exciting things to do besides reviews (although this isn't that much more exciting) so here goes!

Friday Finds

1. Marked (House of Night book 1)
   
2. The Summoning (Darkest Powers Book 1)
3. Modern Magic by Anne Cordwainer
4. Lamentation (The Psalms of Isaak book 1) 

SO as you can probably see, these are all the books that I have added to my "To be read" list (over on the right) and you can expect to see all of my new "Friday Finds" over on that list, so if you ever miss out (or you're too lazy to look for the post) then you can just look there!

That's all for now! Keep on reading!

Review: City of Glass (plus a sneak peek at City of Fallen Angels)

Recently I was over at Mindful Musings reading some blog posts and I came across this post and to my surprise I discovered that a series that I had just finished (The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare) was going to have a fourth book called City of Fallen Angels, excitement abounded as I listened to Clare read an excerpt from her new book (the first chapter) and I scrambled to finish the rest of City of Glass (As I had not finished at the time).

Well now I'm finished with City of Glass and I'm excited to review this fantastic book.

City of Glass (Mortal Instruments Book 3)

City of Glass, just like city of ashes, picks up exactly where the story left off, a week after the events on the river that left Clary wondering about her origins, and I must say that this book is exponentially better than the the first two books. This climactic thought-to-be ending to the mortal instruments series rife with plot twists, character development, heartbreak, elation, and action galore.

The story takes a turn for the worse (better for the reader you know?) and everything that clary has learned about shadowhunters, and herself shatters, (again), I will not reveal any plot elements but I can honestly say that this was the best book of the series. I found the book almost uncharacteristically dark for a YA fantasy book, and I loved it for that! As I said before I generally avoid the teen section of the book store like the plague, but I think it was the dark nature of this book that held my interest enough for me to realize that this was a series not to be missed.

Clare's writing as showed significant progress through the 3 books and I feel that although the first book was not badly written, the third book is so well written for a YA book when contrasted with OTHER YA books (cough Twilight cough). Clare adds some significantly surprising elements and plot twists that both add to the darkness of the series, and serve to enhance the readability of the book.

If you STILL haven't picked up the first book in the mortal instruments series then you absolutely need to do that (and read my review) and introduce yourself to this wonderful series by a wonderful author.

Contests

Recently i've discovered several contests being hosted by my fellow book bloggers and i figured that I would enter some of them, one in particular i entered was a contest over at Book Bound to win one of three books. I've also entered a contest over at Mindful Musings to win a free bookcase for all these books I'm reading!
Also, a contest over at bibliofreak to win an Amazon Kindle II  which you can also find a banner for in my sidebar, so make sure to enter the contest!

And make sure to follow me so you can get updates about contests that I am sure to be holding some time in the future!

Reading for Pleasure: Cornucopic Contemplation

If i'm reading a book for pleasure i might read in one day, or maybe two, but i will never read a book in one sitting. Reflection, contemplation, actually thinking about what i read, these things make reading so much more enjoyable.

When i read i lose myself in the story, in the world that the author has created for my enjoyment, simply following a story is not enough for me, i love imagining alternative endings, putting myself in the world that the author has created, sometimes i even dream about a particularly riviting story. Reading a book solely for the purpose of reading a book (like as an assignment or to post about in a blog) is unfathomably less enjoyable than reading a book for the splendor, the wonder, the marriment, the adventure, the romance, and the escape from life that reading a good book can provide.

It is for these reasons that I don't choose books based on readership or based on the views that i will get because i put this keyword in my post. I'm all about the readership don't get me wrong, but i don't go to the bookstore to find books that will tickle the fancy of my readers but not me. I like to think that people will read my blog because they value the insight i can give into good books. I love writing, and i love readong, and hopefully (i think) i am good enough at both to provide valuable information for those people who are looking for what (and what not) to place on their bookshelves to be read.