For my second book of this quarter, I read IQ: Independence Hall by Roland Smith. The book is a modern day thriller/mystery involving current events. It mixes recent, yet historical events, like 9/11, and fictional characters. I liked how the author integrated the made-up characters into the real-life world and made it believable. Basically, the story is about what happens behind the scenes of the war on terrorism. Lots of different agents, who work for competing agencies, are constantly trying to take down the terrorists that plague the world. With so many agents, it is hard to keep track of who is on who's side. They could be just posing as a terrorist to get inside information. Or, they might actually be a terrorist. Nobody knows. I really liked this suspenseful aspect of the story. However, I think it got confusing when everybody's identity/loyalties were revealed. For some characters, it was not clear what side they were actually on when the author attempted to explain. My favorite thing about the book was how the author made no one invincible. Every character had their personal fault. Whether it was overconfidence or fear, each character made a mistake somewhere in the story. This made the characters much more realistic. Overall, I liked the book because it kept me on the edge of my seat for the whole story.
How do characters change or evolve throughout the course of the story? What events trigger such changes?
Two of the main characters, Q and Angela, make dynamic changes throughout the story. Q has been an only child for his whole life. His mom is the only family he knows. Then, his mom gets remarried to Angela's dad. Now that he has a stepsister, his independence turns into working as a team with his new sibling. It takes him a while to adjust to collaborate with someone besides himself. There are even some clashes on decisions between the two siblings. However, Q and Angela finally learn how to work together, using teamwork to outsmart even professional secret agents. Angela also evolves personally throughout the story. She begins the book as very emotional about her mom's alleged death. She just cannot to get over it. As the story goes on, Angela begins to gain strength by putting her past behind her and doing what is necessary in the present.
What was unique about the setting of the book and how did it enhance or take away from the story?
The setting of the book is in the modern day world with the war on terrorism still going on. It takes place in a number of locations including San Francisco and Philadelphia. These big city settings provide a good area for the "cat-and-mouse" game that plays out in the story. Hiding in buildings and dodging your pursuers is not really possible in a country setting. The suspense was put up a notch just because of the city setting. Seeing the enemy without them seeing you and vice versa added great suspense to the story.
Word Count: 470
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
I read The Golden Compass (or Northern Lights) by Philip Pullman. I enjoyed the book since fantasy/adventure is one of the genres I like when it comes to novels. I think the story started off slow, so it took me a while to get into the book to where I couldn't stop reading. Once I got to that point, however, I really could not stop reading. I liked the character development of the main character, Lyra. At the start of the book, Lyra was just an innocent girl. As the story goes on, she begins to be more independent and able to make decisions on her own rather than her mentors do it for her. I also like her relationship with Iorek, the armored bear. In this world, bears are isolated for the most part and only bond with other bears. Iorek has been banished from the bear kingdom and has lost his armor, which is basically his soul. Lyra gets his armor back and develops a rare connection between a human and a bear. Everything leading up to the end was great. It was a lot to take in, but it seemed to make sense. Then, the author tried to tie it all together and I just felt confused. It seemed like he started too many plot lines to be able to make it make sense for the average reader. That is about the only aspect I disliked about the book. Overall, the plot was exciting and kept me coming for more. If the ending was a little more clear, I would definitely give The Golden Compass a perfect score.
In what ways do the events in the books reveal evidence of the author's world view?
Basically, the main storyline of this novel is the characters want to find a portal to a parallel universe. In this parallel universe, there is a way to erase the original sin of man. The original sin of man, as explained in the book, is the Adam and Eve story where they eat of the forbidden fruit, disobeying the divine presence. This original sin is what gives man the ability to commit evil actions. If this original sin was erased, it would, in theory, make mankind "good" again. This plot line reveals Pullman's humanistic views of the world. In Christian religion, it is believed that man is inherently bad because of the original sin. The humanistic world view is that man is inherently good. By using this plot line, Pullman is saying there is a way that man is good from birth, a humanistic viewpoint.
What was unique about the setting of the book and how did it enhance or take away from the story?
I thought the setting was perfect for this book. What made it unique was that it combined fantasy and real-world aspects to make its setting. Colleges and big cities are real-world things that appear in this book. Some of the fantasy aspects are bear kingdoms and witch societies. One of the prominent fantasy aspects is the daemon concept. Every human has a daemon, a shape-shifting manifestation of their soul. The daemon can be basically any animal it wants to be. If they are seperated from it or cut off from it, the human will have serious trouble living as will the daemon. The bear kingdom was the best fantasy part about this setting. Imagining all these enormous polar bears with gold armor in a palace made of pure marble is quite a picture. Overall, the setting did a good job giving the book a realistic sense and yet, keeping it in the fantasy genre.
Word Count: 570
In what ways do the events in the books reveal evidence of the author's world view?
Basically, the main storyline of this novel is the characters want to find a portal to a parallel universe. In this parallel universe, there is a way to erase the original sin of man. The original sin of man, as explained in the book, is the Adam and Eve story where they eat of the forbidden fruit, disobeying the divine presence. This original sin is what gives man the ability to commit evil actions. If this original sin was erased, it would, in theory, make mankind "good" again. This plot line reveals Pullman's humanistic views of the world. In Christian religion, it is believed that man is inherently bad because of the original sin. The humanistic world view is that man is inherently good. By using this plot line, Pullman is saying there is a way that man is good from birth, a humanistic viewpoint.
What was unique about the setting of the book and how did it enhance or take away from the story?
I thought the setting was perfect for this book. What made it unique was that it combined fantasy and real-world aspects to make its setting. Colleges and big cities are real-world things that appear in this book. Some of the fantasy aspects are bear kingdoms and witch societies. One of the prominent fantasy aspects is the daemon concept. Every human has a daemon, a shape-shifting manifestation of their soul. The daemon can be basically any animal it wants to be. If they are seperated from it or cut off from it, the human will have serious trouble living as will the daemon. The bear kingdom was the best fantasy part about this setting. Imagining all these enormous polar bears with gold armor in a palace made of pure marble is quite a picture. Overall, the setting did a good job giving the book a realistic sense and yet, keeping it in the fantasy genre.
Word Count: 570
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