just a beautiful lie

a game of thrones by george r.r. martin

Summary (from back cover): In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cole is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the North of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural focus are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.

My thoughts: Although I enjoyed Lord of the Rings, I must say, this held my interest much much better. Sure, the pages are dense with text, all the same. But the story moves and moves, and constantly throws you for a loop. Where Lord of the Rings can often bog you down in descriptions of places, A Game of Thrones makes it point and then moves on with the story. (The reason why I keep comparing the two is because I’ve often heard A Game of Thrones described as “the new Lord of the Rings”.)

The style of writing, however, does hold true to the time period and storyline; it is formal and very descriptive. Sometimes I have a hard time getting through this type of read, but not this time. Like I said, the storyline is constantly on the move! Not only was I able to thoroughly enjoy the style, but the characters were amazingly created as well. Some I fell in love with, while others I was quickly made to hate. I love it when enough details are given to create that conclusion. Therefore, I award A Game of Thrones a 10/10.

50 minutes ago

deadlocked by charlaine harris

Summary (from inside flap): Growing up with telepathic abilities, Sookie Stackhouse realized early on that there are things she’d rather not know. And now that she’s an adult, she also realizes that some things she knows about, she’d rather not see — like Eric Northman feeding off another woman. A younger one.

There’s a thing or two she’d like to say about that, but she has to keep quiet — Felipe de Castro, the vampire King of Louisiana (and Arkansas and Nevada), is in town. It’s the worst possible time for a human body to show up in Eric’s front yard — especially the body of the woman whose blood he just drank.

Now it’s up to Sookie and Bill, the official Area Five investigator, to solve the murder. Sookie thinks that, at least this time, the dead girl’s fate has nothing to do with her. But she is wrong. She has an enemy, one far more devious than she would ever suspect, who’s set out to make Sookie’s world come crashing down.

My thoughts: I know, I know — more vampire fiction. But believe me when I say, Charlaine Harris is quality. Enough so to spurn the HBO hit series True Blood.

But as much as I enjoy the series on the whole — I’ve even given it the affectionate nickname ‘vampire porn’ — this installment, Deadlocked, left me a little disappointed. Where the romance has been a crucial part of the series, everything leading up to a very important pairing between two main characters, this book seemed to have left that a little bit forgotten. Maybe it’s because the two lovebirds tend to fight a little more over the matter at hand, I don’t know. But it disappointed me nonetheless.

However, Charlaine Harris’ voice is just as strong as ever; that’s something I’ve always loved about her work. Everything is told through Sookie’s perspective and therefore her particular manner of speaking is very prominent. And one of the most unique I’ve ever found from a book written in first person.

Although it was lacking a little in the romance department, I still enjoyed it very much. I give Deadlocked a 7/10.

1 hour ago