Book List!

          I'm very sorry I've taken so long with this post. I would tell you that I've been busy, but that's a pathetic excuse, and besides, "I've been lazy" would be more accurate. To make up for my laziness, I'm going to write a whole lot of mini-reviews on the books I've been reading lately.

Sphere, by Michael Crichton:

 I have to admit, I love science fiction. Michael Crichton, who wrote the original Jurassic Park novel, is terrific. Sphere is engrossing, creepy, and thought provoking: exactly what a good sci-fi novel should be. I love the premise, too - the military ships a group of scientists down to a research station in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, where an unmanned spaceship encrusted with centuries of coral was discovered. It's not the spaceship itself they have to worry about, though, it's the mysterious and otherworldly sphere they find inside. 

   

Grendel by John Gardner and Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney:

Frankly, I expected Beowulf to be dry and incomprehensible (I had to read it for school), but Seamus Heaney's brilliant translation proved me wrong. It definitely wasn't an altogether easy read, but the poetry was so deliciously rich that I couldn't help but enjoy it. John Gardner's modern novel, Grendel, takes the monster antagonist of Beowulf  and digs into his thoughts. It's completely different from the original epic - it focuses on the psychology and emotion of the monster, whereas Beowulf only highlights heroism. 

The Diviners, by Libba Bray

I have a weak spot for all things 20's. Louise Brooks, art deco,  and those beautiful dresses... can anyone lend me a time machine?

The Diviners takes place in 1926, so when I saw it at the library, I had to get it. It's a dark and spooky book filled with serial killers, cults, magic, and flappers. I especially liked the characters - the author gives you plenty of details about each one, and allows you into their heads. The second book in the series should come out sometime next year.

Be forewarned, though, it's pretty hefty! 

The House of the Scorpion, by Nancy Farmer

I read this book last year, on a trip to Italy, and found it to be so good and absorbing that I even read it on a train when I could have been ogling gorgeous Italian countryside. I'd read another book by Nancy Farmer a few years before that, The Eye, the Ear and the Arm, and I'd loved it. I don't know why I put off reading this one for so long, but I'm glad I did, because it made my vacation that much better.
The book is set in Opium, a country of land between the United States and what was once called Mexico. Matteo Alacrán is the most powerful of the drug lords who rule Opium, and the book's protagonist, Matt, is his clone. As Matt grows up, he becomes more and more aware of the corruption surrounding him - and as the story builds, it spirals off into a series of intricate and unexpected plot turns. The book boasts a large cast of memorable characters, from Matteo Alacrán himself to Celia, Matt's caregiver, from Tam Lin, Matt's bodyguard, to María and the wide pantheon of Matteo Alacrán's friends and relations. The House of the Scorpion is a rich, dark and engaging novel. It'll keep you awake at night, but I can guarantee you won't want to stop reading. From the first chapter - Matt's birth in a cow - to the brutal and shocking end, it's a terrific read 100% worth your time. It'll leave you thinking too, and it won't be easy to put down even after the last page.

But you won't have to! The sequel is coming out sometime this year.
Yet another reason to be glad the Mayan apocalypse never happened.