Saturday, August 6, 2011

The Unquiet, by John Connolly

This is a private investigator series book that steps outside of the traditional. I jumped in mid-series (always a confusing place to start) and am not absolutely certain of what Charlie Parker's actual status is. (I could easily enjoy the book without certain knowledge of the previous content.) It appears that Parker has some extra-normal abilities that sometimes interfere with is detective work. I enjoyed the writing so much that I am going to return to the beginning and work through the series.

The setting is new to me--Maine. I'm working for a publisher in that state right now, so it interests me. I've been to New York and Long Island, but never further north. I'll be eager to explore when I have some travel time.

Unfortunately reading the series is going to be a slow process. Work is piling up!

Dragon Soldier, by Timothy Zahn

This is the second in the Dragonback adventure series. It looks as if there are six books in the series. I was captivated by the first, less so with this. But, I'm certain that it's the context of this one that threw me off. In this second book Jack Morgan attempts to help his symbiont dragon, Draycos, prevent the destruction of his species. To do so he enlists and a mercenary soldier (child soldier) to gather intelligence about the possible strategic knowledge on identity of the "bad guys." There is some "shoot-em-up" which will probably appeal to boys more than it does to me. There is a strong female character.

The series gets good reviews and appears to be relatively popular. I enjoyed the first book a lot, but am not inspired to pick up the next one unless someone tells me that there is a switch in the plot line. The reviewers on the Barnes & noble site seem to agree with me.

It's recommended for ages 12 and older, but I think I might stay with younger adolescents.

The Climb & The Summit, by Gordon Korman

These are the last two books in a three book series Everest. They completely captured my attention. I stayed up late to finish and delayed doing other work. These are going to be sure-fire hits with young adolescent readers. They also provide some launching off points to look at Tibet, Nepal, mountaineering, commercial sports corporations, and ethics. I recommend the series strongly.