Tuesday book review on Wednesday

Four-star review of Win (The Atlantis Grail book 3) by Vera Nazarian

I always seem to start the reviews of the books in this series with a kind of disclaimer, and this one is no exception. Despite the fact that Gwen seems to be even less mature in this book and that immaturity is rubbing off on Aeson, despite the fact that the most exciting of the four parts to the Atlantis Grail contest is the first rather than the last so the tension isn’t even or ever-increasing, and despite the increased amount of romance between parts, I still raced through this book. I wasn’t disappointed with the ending full of surprises including some that make it imperative to read on. I liked the way the members of team Lark were distinct characters and I hope those who survived are added to the group of Gwen’s friends.

Tuesday book review on Wednesday

 

Five-star review of Compete (The Atlantis Grail Book 2) by Vera Nazarian

Even though I’m not particularly fond of romances nor present tense writing, I’ve become obsessed with this YA science fiction series that’s becoming even more focused on a love story. Nazarian’s imagination continues to amaze me as she fleshes out the story of the Atlantean’s rescue of Earth teens and training and transport of the qualified twelve-to-nineteen-year-olds to the planet of Atlantis in the Pegasus system. Gwen Lark, her siblings and friends have a lot to learn during their year-long journey that uses a quantum stream to transport them so many light-years. The most prominent are their lessons in piloting shuttles that allow transport among the ships of the fleet. In addition to many of the great characters from Qualify, a few new and interesting ones are introduced. Although Gwen always struck me as immature and naïve, she is forced to mature a bit in this book. I’ll continue the series to the end and also read the other novels the author has written in this universe.

Tuesday book review

 

Four-star review of Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishuguro

This novel written as a memoir about the protagonist Kathy with remembrances begins with her childhood at Hailsham boarding school in England, but it wasn’t like those places in so many British boarding school series. The book was well constructed with the author gradually revealing what was really happening with these children. Kathy and her two best friends, Ruth and Tommy, are individuals, well-developed and interesting. Even when they are moved to the cottages, we don’t know what’s so special about them, although we can guess from the terms that are used for what’s in store for them.  

Tuesday Book Review

Four-star review of State of Terror by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny

This is a complex thriller about a terrorist plot with the US Secretary of State as the main protagonist, trying to get to the bottom of it, although her relationship with the president who appointed her is strained. Throughout, there are questions of who is loyal to the US, who is behind the plot, and what’s the ultimate plan. Perhaps a few too many twists for my taste and somewhat unbelievable, but there was plenty of action and excitement. A few of the characters are interesting, but a few are caricatures. Louise Penny’s Gamache and the town of Three Pines show up and play a part. 

Tuesday Book Review on Wednesday

Five-star review of Qualify (Atlantis Grail) by Vera Nazarian

I shouldn’t have enjoyed reading this YA novel as much as I did. The imagination and ingenuity of the author and her first-person present tense narrator were amazing. How did this escape my notice before this? I’m now eager to read the next entry in the four-book series. A huge, extinction event asteroid is approaching Earth, but aliens claiming to be descendants of the ancient human race who fled when Atlantis disappeared under the sea have come to save a portion of the population. Teens, first selected through regional contests throughout the world, must compete for the coveted positions. Among them are the four Gs, the story’s narrator Gwen and her two brothers and sister George, Gordy and Gracie Lark. All of their friends and fellow competitors as well as the Atlanteans have rounded personalities.  I wish I’d written it. 

Tuesday Book Review

Five-star review of The Summer Guests: A Thriller (The Martini Club Book 2

Folks retire to Amity, Maine, where people keep to themselves, including the five ex-CIA agents who make up the Martini Club. Others come for the summer months. Once again, Maggie, Declan, Ingrid, Lloyd and Ben assist acting police chief, Jo Thibideau, much to her grudging acceptance, in the search for a missing summer visitor, teenage Zoe Conover, who was a guest at her stepfather’s family summer home. The case soon involves a murder investigation. All of the characters are well-rounded; most are likable while the rest are not. I particularly liked the discussions among these retired spooks in their sixties and seventies about whether they were losing their cognitive abilities, and I’m looking forward to more from the Martini Club. 

Tuesday Book Review

Four-star review of Orbital by Samantha Harvey

I listened to the audio version of this book. Rather than a story, it was a day in the life of six astronauts, actually four astronauts and two cosmonauts, aboard the orbiting space station. Each orbit was a chapter filled with observations, thoughts and emotions, and philosophizing, sixteen orbits in all as the station took ninety minutes to circumnavigate the big blue marble of Earth. It was interesting rather than engrossing and I learned a few things I didn’t know before. It was difficult to empathize with the six people other than to sympathize with the Japanese member of the crew whose mother died during the time she was away. We learned little about these people even though we were witness to a few of their memories and dreams. The writing is poetically lovely, especially when describing the views of Earth and a typhoon that develops throughout the day.