Book Review: Jack West Jr series by Matthew Reilly

Matthew Reilly is an Australian author, and he has written several novels which became international best sellers. One of his most well known creations, is captain Jack West Jr. Many people became fans to the Indiana Jones styled, treasure hunting adventures in these books. Currently, there are 3 books in this series; Seven Ancient Wonders, The Six Sacred Stones, and The Five Greatest Warriors.

Until last week, I have never read Reilly's books. The reason I picked up these series is because I heard, these books are comparable to James Rollins' Sigma Force series, and I love Sigma Force series. I devoured all 3 books in 6 days, and now I am going to share my review on these books.

Synopsis:

The great pyramid of Giza, stands as one of the most wondrous constructions in the human history. But not everyone knows, that 4500 years ago, a marvellous golden cap stone once sat at the peak of this megalithic structure. Legend says the golden cap stone possesses great power, and can bestow onto its owner absolute power to rule over nations. The golden cap stone has since disappeared, rumours has it, that the cap stone was divided into 7 parts by Alexander the Great, and each part was hidden away at the seven wonders of the ancient world.

In 2006, the cap stone's hidden power is once again required, to counter the disastrous effects of an upcoming solar event. However, a powerful artifact of this calibre is guaranteed to attract big nations to fighter for the ownership of the cap stone, everyone wants it for its power.

It is time for captain Jack West Jr, a former top ranking solider in the Australian army, to lead a team of specialists representing a coalition of smaller nations, to rebuild the stone and save the world from the pending disaster. Along the way, Jack West and his team will encounter power hungry foes, while their quest will take them to search for the seven wonders of the ancient world, from the great pyramid to the fabled hanging garden of Babylon, Jack and his team will risk their lives to save the world, in a series of breath taking adventures that will determine the future of mankind..

What I think about these books:

These books are good, they can be categorised as “treasure hunt, action thriller” novels, akin to Indiana Jones movies. These stories have heroes racing around the globe, fighting villains, braving against dangers to search for legendary artifacts and uncovering long lost historical sites.

The pace of storytelling is very fast, at neck breaking pace. When I was reading them, it felt as if I was buckled up for a thrilling roller coaster ride. This is the strength of these books, Matthew Reilly successfully created the feeling of ever present danger, a story that will truly give you a thrill.

I truly had fun reading these books, and I like them. However, I do see some minor problems with these books. First of all, the action sequences are at times, unbelievable, they require you to suspend too much disbelief. Secondly, I felt the story progressed in ways that was kind of like a video game, a compilation of action driven missions, unfolding one after another. Frankly, there were moments in these books when I felt exhausted from reading the non-stop actions. I wish there were less actions but more character development.

Having said this, Jack West Jr. series is still a fun read, blending fast storytelling, explosive actions, exotic locations, and interesting history. So if you like Indiana Jones or James Rollins' Sigma Force books, you will probably like this one too.



Movie Review: The Hobbit - The Desolation of Smaug

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug opened in Australia on the boxing day. This is part 2 of Peter Jackson's film adaptation of the novel, The Hobbit. Personally, I love the book, I prefer The Hobbit to The Lord of the Rings, so I have high expectation for Peter Jackson's film adaptations.

I liked the first movie, The Hobbit: An unexpected Journey". I didn't see it in the cinema, I saw it at home when it was released on home video. And I have been looking forward to see part 2, since the trailer first appeared on youtube.

Peter Jackson's film adaptations, is set to be a trilogy. Each movie runs approximately 3 hours. Some may ask, how can a 300 page book be adapted into a 9 hours long trilogy? The answer is, The film version of The Hobbit, is a "re-interpretation" of Tolkien's novel. This means Peter Jackson had to add extra contents into the movie which weren't in the book. But the question remains, will this ruin the movie? Let's find out.



Synopsis:

Following the events in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, Thorin, and the 13 dwarves continued their journey to the Lonely Mountain, to reclaim the lost dwarven kingdom. However, before they can reach their destination, the fellowship has to pass the perilous Mirkwood, which is infested by horrors newly awakened by the dark power that originated from the ruins of Dol Guldur, where rumors says it is occupied by a mysterious necromancer.

The fellowship parted with Gandalf, who undertook a quest to investigate the source of this dark power residing at Dol Guldur. While Bilbo, Thorin, and his band of dwarves attempted to cross Mirkwood and continue on to Lonely Mountain. It is a most perilous journey, where they will encounter both friends and foes. In the meantime, Smaug awaits beneath the Lonely Mountain, ready lay ruins on those who dares to trespass into his realm...

What I think about this film:

For several reasons, I like the second movie more than the first movie.

In The Desolation of Smaug, Peter Jackson added an extra character into  the story. Her name is Tauriel, a beautiful eleven warrior with deadly martial skills. She is the captain of guards for the Mirkwood elves, and she is also Legolas' love interest. Later on, she was involved in a love triangle with Legolas and the young dwarf Kili.

Tauriel is not in the original book. When I first heard of Peter Jackson's decision to add a character into the story, I was skeptical about it. However, now that I have seen the film, I am glad they added Tauriel into the story. Why? Because now the story feels more.. balanced. Let me explain, because unlike Eowyn in The Lord of the Rings, in the original story of The Hobbit, there were no female characters that did anything significant in the story, this makes a very male dominated story.

While some might say the addition of Tauriel is a ploy to attract female audiences, but I think the addition of Tauriel not only made the story more gender balanced, but it also added a touching sub-plot of a love triangle, providing great characterisations for Tauriel, Legolas, and Kili.

The Desolation of Smaug also improved from its predecessor in terms of characterisation. Gone are the 13 interchangeable dwarves that you don't care about in the first movie. In the sequel, audiences are finally given the opportunities to get to know these dwarves, where some of Thorin's band of dwarves are finally have their moments to shine.

I saw this movie in 3D, the special effects are breath-taking, the action scenes are very intense and exciting. Unlike the first movie, where the adventure only started after 43 minutes into the film, in the sequel, the adventure starts from the beginning and continues right to the end, finishing with a cliff hanger ending.

My only complain about The Desolation of Smaug, is I don't like how this film looks. Let me explain, Peter Jackson decided to shoot The Hobbit trilogy at a very high frame rate at 48p, instead of the traditional frame rate at 24p. This means, while the pictures do look crystal clear, but personally, I feel like I was watching a real life sports event on HD TV rather than watching a movie. At 48p frame rate, the details appear overly realistic that the pictures feels unrealistic, not to mention it creates a lot of strains on the eyes and can cause headaches. I think I will watch it again when it comes out on home video.

Overall, The Desolation of Smaug is great entertainment, it has magic, a spell casting wizard, a courageous hobbit,  mystical elves, battle hardened dwarves, perilous adventures, and a colossal fire breathing dragon, flying and torching its way through the magical silver screen this holiday season.

P.S. The Desolation of Smug contains heavy violence, certain scenes could frighten younger audiences.

 

Book Review: The Adversary by Erin M. Evans

The Adversary, is the third book in The Sundering series, which takes place in the D&D world of Forgotten Realms. Six stand alone novels are planned for this series, each book will follow different iconic characters in this franchise, to describe the events taking place in the time of sundering. 

I have read the first 2 books in this series, The Companion by R.A Salvatore, and The Godborn by Paul Kemp. I like both books, I especially like The Godborn, and I decided to read the third book. 

Synopsis:

Farideh, a tiefling, made a pact with a devil in exchange for her sister's safety. Little did she know, that this pact will entangle her into a series of magical intrigues and devilish policies. After making the pact, she was captured by Netherese agents and held at a prison camp. While being imprisoned, she discovered her fellow prisoners are not just enemies to their captors, but people with special, hidden powers known as the "chosen". Their captors wanted to exploit this power, and destroy those who oppose them. As Frideh's sister and friends plan to rescue her, Frideh gets drawn further into the mystery and conflicts of the gods, as events gradually unfold.

What I think about this book:

I really wanted to like this book, but for some reason, I just couldn't get into the story. Perhaps it is because I have never read Evans Brimstone Angels series, and therefore found it difficult to delve into the story. But also because I found it difficult to adjust to Evans' style of storytelling. There seems to be a lot of romance and relationships between characters, and personally, I found there are too much of these in this book that at times, it distracts the flow of the story. As a result, while I was reading this book, there are many places where I just skimmed through the pages, and sometimes I was bored. Overall, I did not enjoy The Adversary as much as The Godborn, but since I am already 3 books into this series, I look forward to reading the next installment in The Sundering series. 

 

Book review: Harry Potter book 1-7 - Scholastic 15th anniversary box set

"Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open"

   - J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 

  Almost everyone has heard of the name "Harry Potter". Indeed, Harry Potter had taken the world by storm. It was adapted into movies by Hollywood, every Harry Potter movie was a commercial success. Children love Harry Potter, adults also enjoy them. Harry Potter got people reading, which is a truly marvellous feat in today's world, where people are more interested in staring at electronic displays as opposed to having an open book in hands.

Just exactly what is behind the Harry Potter phenomenon? Is it the style of writing? The story? The imaginative world? The characterisation? The success of Harry Potter is not only phenomenal, but it also made the author, J. K. Rowling, a billionaire. Admittedly, I have never read a single Harry Potter book until 3 week ago. I have seen all movies and thought they were average, but with people ravings about how the books are better than movies, I thought I should find out what the fuzz is all about and read them.

This year, Scholastic re-published all Harry Potter books with new cover arts in a box set. As a new comer to this series, I decided to purchase this box set for its reasonable price. The binding of all 7 books are in paperback format, the bindings are robust, with exquisite cover arts, encased in a beautifully illustrated box. Each chapter has illustrations from the original Harry Potter books. When all 7 books are in the box, the spines line up to form a picture of Hogwart. The overall appearance and quality of this box set is superb, it will stand out on your bookshelf. So this Christmas, if you are looking for a Christmas present, this box set will likely delight anyone who is a book lover or a fan of children's literature.

Now onto the story. Now that I have read all 7 books, I can see why this series appealed to so many people. I enjoyed the books more than movies, mostly because the books has more characterisation, and where some sub-plots were missing in the movies, the books explained them properly. The strength of the Harry Potter story is the characterisation, and its underlying message of love, hope and perseverance. These are the universal themes that we can all appreciate and relate to. For the children, Harry Potter books provide a world full of wonder and impossible adventures, teaching them the value of friendship and love. For the adults, this magical, imaginative story reminds us of the values of love, friendship, and perseverance that we sometimes forget as we wrestle with the worries in our daily lives.

I also discovered the major theme of acceptance and inclucivism in Harry Potter books. The people in Harry Potter are divided into magic users, and non-magic users who are called “muggles”. In the books, the bad guys look down at muggles, and treat them as inferiors. While Professor Dumbledore, Harry Potter and his gang oppose the idea of exclusivism. Now, I do call myself a Christian, and as I was reading these books, I couldn't help but reflect at how the Christian community I know, also has the tendency to divide the world into Christians and “non-Christians”. Now to be fair, Christians don't discriminate against non-Christians (I hope not), but I do find that Christians tend to draw a certain line between them and “non-Christian”. Sadly, I even know of a church that taught Christians should put their Christian brothers and sisters in front of their non-Christian family and friends. But you know, what? When Jesus said, “love your neighbours as you would love yourself”, somehow I don't think he was instructing us to love “only your Christian” brothers and sisters”, but everyone you encounter in your live, including the so called “non-Christians”.

Perhaps I am reading and thinking too much into Harry Potter books, but nevertheless, no matter what your background or religious belief is, our world can always be a better place with less exclusivism, while we treat each other with more inclusivism like Albus Dumbledore.

Personally, I really enjoyed all Harry Potter books, and I am glad that I read them. In the meantime, if you have only seen the movies but have not read the books, I would highly recommend you read them, you will not be disappointed.