Justin Swapp's Blog, page 6

Star Wars The Force Awakens and Battlefront Trailers

The Force Awakens Trailer # 2 and #1

Great news, Star Wars fans. 2015 is shaping up to be a fantastic year for the Star Wars franchise. It didn’t take too long after Disney acquired the Star Wars platform from Lucas Arts for it to start production on several projects. Not the least of which is the new movie due out at the end of 2015 – The Force Awakens.

Trailer 2 just came out, and you can watch it below, along with the first one that was released about four months ago. The Force Awakens, trailer # 2 gives us some interesting answers to questions that trailer #1 caused.

The Force Awakens Trailer 2

 

Apparently this movie is going to follow Anakin and Padme’s children! The force will awaken in them. I’m going to guess that we’ll see both the son and the daughter grow strong in the force.

How about that Darth Vader helmet? It kind of looked like a wilted, black pumpkin The star destroyer crashed on the planet reminded me a lot of the epic scene in The Force Unleashed when Starkiller used the force to crash the ship in similar fashion.

If you haven’t already caught the first trailer for The Force Awakens, you can watch it below.

The Force Awakens Trailer 1

 

 

Besides the movies, 2015 promises us a new Star Wars Battlefront game as well!

Star Wars Battlefront E3 Trailer

 

Another Star Wars Battlefront Trailer (with early leaked footage?)

What do you think? What are your theories on The Forced Awakened? Leave me a comment below!

 

The post Star Wars The Force Awakens and Battlefront Trailers appeared first on Justin Swapp.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Book Review

What a grand cover they put together for the anniversary edition of The Sorcerer’s Stone. The cover really capturesthe majesty and wonder Rowling’s world created for each of us.

 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Book Review

by J.K. ROWLING

I’d give this one 4.5 snitches out of 5.

To some people, this is the book series that should not be named, and that’s sad. It’s been credited for starting a reading revolution, and if you judge a book by its sales, it most certainly has. It also brought the middle grade and the young adult demographic into the light, and caused a flurry of authors to flock there.

And it’s been awesome. There are a lot of great middle grade and young adult books out there now.

I started reading these books to my children when I started my MBA program at the local university almost ten years ago. There was something magical about Rowling’s world of Griffendors, Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs, and Slitherins. My children loved the books, but it also awakened something in me. I had always enjoyed writing and storytelling. I suppose I had forgotten that at the time. These books reminded me that I  wanted to write. I wanted to tell stories.

So it was that, shortly after taking on the commitment to get an MBA, that I decided to write a book, too. Crazy, I know. That’s how powerful the story was, for me, I suppose. Well, on to the review.

The Sorcerer’s Stone follows a little abandoned baby named Harry Potter. The first few chaptered are shrouded with plenty of mystery regarding the characters and the circumstances bringing them all together. An abandoned baby marked with a lightning scar on his head shows up on the porch of, and is taken in by a shabby family at a odd time when strange folk in weird clothing wandering the streets.

There is a whole other world, a wizard world, that is celebrating the defeat of the greatest dark wizard of all time–at little Harry’s hand, so to speak. Everyone seems to know about it, except him.

Fast forward to him being a young boy. He’s still being mistreated by a family that begrudgingly took him in. All seems horrible, and lost until one day Harry receives a cryptic letter. His aunt and uncle try to keep it from him, but someone is determined to get him the letter. Several magical manifestations later, and Harry ends up discovering the letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Later, he learns that he is a wizard, even though he doesn’t know it.

Harry gets off to school on a magical train, the Hogwarts Express, and meets a handful of folks that end up being his close friends, particularly a humble, yet funny boy named Ron Weasley, and a know-it-all girl named Hermione Granger. This trio ends up being the nucleus of friendship for Harry throughout the series of Harry Potter books.

As they arrive at school, Harry realizes that not everything is chocolate frogs, and butter beer.  While Hogwarts is a fascinating place, and he should be safe to learn magic there, multiple houses exist that a magical sorting hat places them in. These houses represent groupings of magic users with similar talents or attributes. Griffendors are courageous, for example, while Siltherins are ambitious. These houses introduce another layer of conflict, and competition amongst the wizards.

(The review continues after the break)

The Magic Shop

$2.99
Author: Justin Swapp
Genres: Fantasy, Middle-Grade, Young Adult
Tags: fantasy, middle-grade, shadow magic series, The Magic Shop, young adult

Marcus Fith doesn't believe in magic. And why should he? Marcus and his twin sister, Ellie, live in the loft above their grandparents magic shop, and he's all too familiar with the hand buzzers, card tricks, and fake vomit kits. So, imagine his shock when he stumbles upon his grandfather hiding something in a secret room in the magic shop -- the one that all the rumors are about. More info →

Harry gets sorted into the Griffendor house, not surprisingly, along with Ron and Hermione. Their friendship evolves, and their personalities come out even more. We also get to see how other people view each of these characters. Ron is berated for being poor, Hermione for being a know-it-all, and Harry for having celebrity that he didn’t earn. Harry is basically the most popular person in a world he’s absolutely ignorant about.

As the year goes on, Harry and team start to learn a little bit about the dark wizard, Voldemort, and how he was responsible for Harry’s parent’s deaths. He learns that Snape, the potions master, doesn’t like him at all. They discover a three headed dog, a troll, and many other things that eventually lead them to inquire about the sorcerer’s stone, and Nicolas Flamel’s pursuit of immortality and why the dark lord would be interested in it.

I won’t spoil the whole book, but The Sorcerer’s Stone is a fantastic adventure full of magic, wonder, interesting characters, and perhaps one of the best developed worlds in any fiction I’ve ever read.

If you love Fantasy, especially Urban Fantasy in the YA genre, and you happen to have avoided the Harry Potter series somehow, it might be time you check it out. The Sorcerer’s Stone a fantastic debut novel from J.K. Rowling, and a wondering start to one of the most famous series of books of all time.

The post Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Book Review appeared first on Justin Swapp.

The Shadow’s Servant Cover Reveal

It’s with great pleasure that I’d like to present to you the cover for book two in the Shadow Magic Series, The Shadow’s Servant.

(Note: My newsletter subscribers got to see the cover early, and to get an in-depth view at the creative process. If that type of occasional news interests you, you can sign up here.)

The front cover of The Shadow’s Servant

Like The Magic Shop‘s cover, I commissioned the great Arthur Wang to create book two’s cover. As an author, its great fun to choose your artist, and to engage in a different kind of creative work – the art side of things.

Arthur and my brainstorming went faster this time than it did with The Magic Shop. I’m sure that partly because it was our first time working together, but I think it was also because there was more unknown about the book at the time.

This time, however, we know where things are going, and, because this is a book in a series, we both thought it would be a good idea to try to keep elements from the first book present in the second cover. This would give the reader a feeling of continuity, and the sense that this cover belonged in the series.

The way we kept a “series feel” was to go back and add a series badge to the first book, and then add it to the second as well. (The circle in the lower right hand corner that reads: The Shadow Magic Series Book II) The cover also uses the same hand-made typography that Arthur created for The Magic Shop.

Perhaps, most obviously, the cover has one principal character, centered on the book cover. Like the first cover, this shadowy, cloaked figure is suspending something in his hands – an obelisk. If you recall from the first book, Marcus, the main character, was magically floating a bird skull between his hands. There’s little question that this obelisk will be an important element to this book.

(continued below)

The full cover art work (for print) of The Shadow’s Servant. This is before we apply text, spine, and badge treatment to the cover.

 

Here is a full view of the cover’s front and back art without the obstruction of the text and other treatments. This cover was fun because my children actually helped give me some ideas to share with Arthur. My youngest son, Alexander, actually came up with the idea for a stone army that will appear in the book. These are the creatures that you see in various forms (or personalities, as the artist said) behind the cloaked figure on the front cover, and on the back cover. You’ll notice the shadows of dead trees creeping up from the bottom of the cover as well. This is because we’ll be visiting the shadow lands in this book, and a key location there, the Shadow Master’s palace, which can be seen in the far distance toward the top of the back page, above the stone giant’s outstretched arm.

And below this text you can see what the cover will look like with full text treatment, logos, badges, and bar codes. The shrewd eye might pick up that the text on the back of the cover is actually the back of the book blurb from The Magic Shop. Why? Because I haven’t written the blurb for The Shadow’s Servant yet.

I’m targeting the launch of The Shadow’s Servant for this summer.

Let me know what you think of the cover in the comments!

 

The post The Shadow’s Servant Cover Reveal appeared first on Justin Swapp.

Nightrise (The Gatekeepers #3) Book Review

Nightrise Book Review (The Gatekeepers Book #3)

by Anthony Horowitz

I’d give this one 3.5 stars out of 5.

Anthony Horowitz is one of my favorite modern writers. His greatest strength, or, what resonates with me most, is when he is writing something slightly creepy, mysterious, and ominous. He is VERY good at that, and I can’t get enough of it. That is what originally drew me into this series. In book one, Raven’s Gate, he really created a haunting ambiance to surround his wonderfully creepy-cult-characters.

Unfortunately, since the first book, we only get bits and pieces of that. But, when we do get them, they are really good pits and pieces.

Don’t get me wrong. This is a very good series. Each book introduces us to another one (or more than one) of “The Five.” “The Five” consists of five teenagers that are destined to protect the world against The Old Ones – a race of creatures that are the stuff of ancient myth, and legends.

Book 3, Nightrise, follows two of “The Five,” in Jamie and Scott Tyler, twin brothers that share a special connection with each other, and the power to strongly influence others.

Book three’s story begins with the brothers performing on stage during a magic act. As the stars of the show, they perform fantastic tricks. For example, one brother seeing something on one side of the room, and the brother other telling him and the crowd what he sees without seeing that something himself. It is this moment when we start to understand how Jamie and Scott are connected, but only on the surface. They can, in fact, do much more. This won’t be revealed until later in the story.

It is, at this same performance, that several men have come to validate the claim they’ve heard – that Jamie and Scott Tyler have special, unexplained powers. We learn, during one of the audience ticks – one brother seeing a business card in the audience, and the other brother saying what he sees from the stage – that these men represent the Nightrise corporation. Later we learn that its a company that is aware of The Old Ones, and collects children with special gifts.

Once convinced of their power, these two men meet up with Jamie and Scott’s guardian, the man who produces the show. We also learn that he called Nightrise, and that he’s willing to sell his boys for around a few hundred thousand dollars.

After the inciting incicent, we follow the boys as they are captured, then get away, and then separated. We learn more about them, and their destiny as they do.

For me, this was the book that started to try to link all the separate storilines together. There not only is some mention of Matt and Pedro (two other boys of “The Five,”) but there is a whole sequence of dreamworld battle that I found to be quite a bit confusing at first. This might be partially because I was listening to the audiobook version of the book, but the story seemed just kind of jump storilines. Once I realized what was going on, it was helpful to put everything in context across multiple books, multiple characters, and multiple universes(?)

While I’ve shared some of the early plot points, I won’t reveal any of the key plot points to this book, or some of the critical information that connects the books across the series. I will say specific to book 3 that there is definately a vein similar to Stephen King’s, The Dead Zone – at least in a reverse, round about sort of way. For more on that, you’ll have to pick up the books

All in all, this is a good book and a very good series. If you like action, suspense, with an occasional bit of creepy ambiance, this book would be worth checking out.

If you’ve read Nightrise, let me know what you think in the comments!

 

The post Nightrise (The Gatekeepers #3) Book Review appeared first on Justin Swapp.

Nightrise (The Gatekeepers #3) Review

Nightrise Book Review (The Gatekeepers Book #3)

by Anthony Horowitz

I’d give this one 3.5 stars out of 5.

Anthony Horowitz is one of my favorite modern writers. His greatest strength, or, what resonates with me most, is when he is writing something slightly creepy, mysterious, and ominous. He is VERY good at that, and I can’t get enough of it. That is what originally drew me into this series. In book one, Raven’s Gate, he really created a haunting ambiance to surround his wonderfully creepy-cult-characters.

Unfortunately, since the first book, we only get bits and pieces of that. But, when we do get them, they are really good pits and pieces.

Don’t get me wrong. This is a very good series. Each book introduces us to another one (or more than one) of “The Five.” “The Five” consists of five teenagers that are destined to protect the world against The Old Ones – a race of creatures that are the stuff of ancient myth, and legends.

Book 3, Nightrise, follows two of “The Five,” in Jamie and Scott Tyler, twin brothers that share a special connection with each other, and the power to strongly influence others.

Book three’s story begins with the brothers performing on stage during a magic act. As the stars of the show, they perform fantastic tricks. For example, one brother seeing something on one side of the room, and the brother other telling him and the crowd what he sees without seeing that something himself. It is this moment when we start to understand how Jamie and Scott are connected, but only on the surface. They can, in fact, do much more. This won’t be revealed until later in the story.

It is, at this same performance, that several men have come to validate the claim they’ve heard – that Jamie and Scott Tyler have special, unexplained powers. We learn, during one of the audience ticks – one brother seeing a business card in the audience, and the other brother saying what he sees from the stage – that these men represent the Nightrise corporation. Later we learn that its a company that is aware of The Old Ones, and collects children with special gifts.

Once convinced of their power, these two men meet up with Jamie and Scott’s guardian, the man who produces the show. We also learn that he called Nightrise, and that he’s willing to sell his boys for around a few hundred thousand dollars.

After the inciting incicent, we follow the boys as they are captured, then get away, and then separated. We learn more about them, and their destiny as they do.

For me, this was the book that started to try to link all the separate storilines together. There not only is some mention of Matt and Pedro (two other boys of “The Five,”) but there is a whole sequence of dreamworld battle that I found to be quite a bit confusing at first. This might be partially because I was listening to the audiobook version of the book, but the story seemed just kind of jump storilines. Once I realized what was going on, it was helpful to put everything in context across multiple books, multiple characters, and multiple universes(?)

While I’ve shared some of the early plot points, I won’t reveal any of the key plot points to this book, or some of the critical information that connects the books across the series. I will say specific to book 3 that there is definately a vein similar to Stephen King’s, The Dead Zone – at least in a reverse, round about sort of way. For more on that, you’ll have to pick up the books

All in all, this is a good book and a very good series. If you like action, suspense, with an occasional bit of creepy ambiance, this book would be worth checking out.

If you’ve read Nightrise, let me know what you think in the comments!

 

The post Nightrise (The Gatekeepers #3) Review appeared first on Justin Swapp.

STAR WARS REBELS: SEASON 1 Review

Set five years before Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, the newest Star Wars animated series begins by following a small cell of rebels have a limited perspective on the rebellion. They’re doing what they can, but they don’t realize that they are part of a much bigger movement. Nevertheless, they press on. Comprised of various raggedy, but likable characters, the crew is introduced to us, one by one, in various detail as the first few episodes go whizzing by.

The show follows Kanan, seemingly your standard smuggler-type. He leads his crew through various black market jobs, nothing too nefarious, mind you, but definitely stealing cargo, and the like.  It’s during the pursuit of one of these smuggling runs that the Kanan and team run into the errant soul, and future protagonist of the series, Ezra.

Ezra, while a capable young boy, has lost his parents and is a bit of a rouge, left to fend for himself. During one of Kanan and team’s jobs, Ezra trips across the company of these strangers, and of course, gets tangled up in their affairs. He finds himself belonging, much to his surprise, for the first time in a long time. Ezra rejects the feeling at first as he doesn’t want to feel the vulnerability that comes from being attached. He soon shakes that feeling off, little by little. Having nothing to hold him back, perhaps similar to Luke Skywalker when he realized his Aunt and Uncle were dead – killed by the empire, Ezra decides to join forces with Kanan and crew to become part of something bigger than himself.

Thus begins a wonderful, albeit, semi-slow-to-start journey. The series actually picks up significantly after a few key details about the characters are revealed. It was fun for me either way. First, I’ve loved Star Wars since I was a child. There were themes I identified with, for sure. Then, there was a sense of nostalgia as I watched this with my youngest son. I kind of felt like I could check the duty box in that I had introduced him to another chapter in the Star Wars saga.

For me, the pivotal moment in Season 1 was when Ezra was considering his future with the crew, and receives a premonition of sorts, almost as if the wind is calling to him. He follows the impression into the ship, to Kannan’s room. He puts his hand on the door, as if feeling for something. Then he breaks into Kanan’s room and starts rummaging around for things. He finds a strange cube (Holocron) in a locker under Kanan’s bed, and then pulls the drawer out further, and discovers a compartment with a lightsaber. He activates it, and after a few ceremonial swings in the air, Ezra gets discovered.

“Look, I know you’re not going to believe me,” Ezra explains, “but it’s like this thing (lightsaber) wanted me to take it.” Kanan demands the lightsaber, and invites Ezra to leave. Ezra goes, but doesn’t divulge that he actually kept the Holocron he discovered in Kanan’s room. Kanan and the pilot, Hera, exchange a few mysterious comments about Ezra, almost as if this was all planned, and they had now but to watch and see how Ezra would respond to the situation. These scene definitely gave the impression that there were bigger things afoot than simple black market deals, secret agents, and smuggling runs.  The show really started to pick up for me, however, once it revealed that Kanan was actually a survivor of Order 66 (The infamous charge by the republic that labeled the members of the Jedi Order as traitors. Subsequently, all troopers were ordered to execute all Jedi’s immediately. ) Kanan instantly became more to me than the shell of a smuggler type archetype, but rather, an escaped fugitive.

As things move forward, Kanan becomes very interesting. We learn that he and is a survivor (are there more, then?) of Order 66. Remember, Order 66 is the infamous charge by Palpatine that labeled the members of the Jedi Order as traitors. When the order was executed, all troopers were ordered to turn on, and kill all Jedi on sight. Additionally, we learn that Kanan’s training was never completed – similar to Luke Skywalker – and now he is called to become Ezra’s trainer and master. This sets up a very interesting situation that should expose a lot of Kanan’s vulnerabilities, making him relatable and interesting to watch as he will struggle to grow into a role he doesn’t exactly know how to perform.

Over the course of Season 1, we meet a lot of characters with which we are familiar. Among others, we see cameo appearances of Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka Tano. However, we get to spend a little more time with a few other characters we know. For example, Lando Calrissian gets a whole episode, and Grand Moff Tarkin becomes a regular by the end of the season. These appearances help connect the Star Wars universe and lore to the new story line.

Outside of the canonical characters, we’re also introduced to several new and interesting characters as part of the Rebels story arc, not the least of which are the soldier leader, Kallus (Rebel Hunter,) and The Inquisitor.

Kallus is a no-nonsense killer that is out to hunt down the rebellion, one traitorous cell at a time. A few early episodes show us that Kallus is, if anything, cold, and merciless. He’s not always effective though, as the good guys (that we care about) tend to get away. Of course, from a plot perspective, this must be. Because Kallus shows his lack of effectiveness, and blames it on the appearance of a Jedi, the empire calls in the big guns.

The Inquisitor.

This super shady character is really the rockstar of the show, at least from The Empire’s perspective. Up till now, there has been a rebel force supported by a secret Jedi which is increasingly comfortable bringing out the force, and using it to achieve their ends. I imagine, from a writer’s perspective, this couldn’t go on too long without having an equally strong power on the opposition. Enter The Inquisitor. First of all, his name itself brings back images in our history that are bloody and ugly (The Inquisition.) That carries its own weight to great effect. Then, when you see him, there are several visuals working together to the same end. He is tall and slender, with leathery white skin and red tattoos. While he doesn’t have horns, the way his tattoos are placed on his face and head, he looks a bit like the Zabrak, Darth Maul. His eyes are iridescent yellow, like Maul’s, and he also has sharp teeth. When I first saw him, I was reminded of a documentary I saw

When I first saw him, I was reminded of a documentary I saw on the creation of General Grievous. It was curious how, at least with Grievous, they tried to tie in elements of other Sith Lords to help bridge between generations. I believe they may have done this as well with The Inquisitor. He’s eccentric, like many of the Sith, but relentless, and cold as you might expect.

As these forces clash over the course of the season, we get to witness the point-counter-point strategic fighting as the Empire tries to thwart the rebellion, and the rebellion tries to dismantle the Empire one job at a time. Rebels has a growing sense of itself as the season progresses. Everything escalates. The rebels realize there are more rebels cells out there than just them, and as they branch out and team up, the empire continues to bring in more iconic figures, and key players on the ground to stem the tide of the rebels progress.

Season 1 was great fun. If you are not a Star Wars fan, you might find Rebels pulling you in, and leaving you wanting to explore the rest of the universe. If you are already a fan, then you will very much enjoy Rebels, and by the time the season is over, you won’t be able to wait for season 2.

8/10 – Great stuff!

 

 

The post STAR WARS REBELS: SEASON 1 Review appeared first on Justin Swapp.

The Raven Boys – Book Review

 

The Raven Boys

by Maggie Stiefvater

I’d give this one 4 ley lines out of 5.

 

There really  is a lot to say about Maggie Stiefvater’s Raven Boys. The first thing is, I suppose, that I listened to the audiobook version narrated by Will Patton. I must say that Patton was absolutely captivating. I felt like I was listening to Stephen King, which only added to the ambiance of this book palpable book. In short, Stiefvater’s writing is something akin to hypnosis. Her diction is beautiful and practical, and I really enjoyed the rhythm to her writing. She lulls you in.

The book cover

The cover to the book is beautiful, and subtle in its simplicity. After having read the book, I realize there is more to the cover than I thought at first glance.

Plot

When I first read about this book, I got the impression that there was a strong romantic theme in the book, and while that is present, and in a way, central to the plot of this series, the book ended up being so much more.  it was central to the plot, it wasn’t overbearing. The plot that came forward

There is a real palpability to the ambiance. The setting is magical, the group of raven boys is mysterious, and the other psychic and witch-like characters just create a mystical world that I really enjoyed.

Blue lives with her mother, and other relatives – all psychics except for Blue. Blue, however, has another gift. She amplifies energy. This comes in handy for the psychics as they doing readings and other magical activity. When Blue is asked to go listen to the names of the dead on St. Mark’s Eve, she meets a boy who hasn’t died yet. She learns that this could only be possible because of one of two reasons. 1) She met her true love, or 2) she be the cause of that boy’s death.

From there the plot continues to build to a boil as she meets various boys in town, and eventually this group of Aglionby boys (the Raven Boys) of which one of them is the boy that she saw in spirit. As they all come to know each other, many dark layers of the plot are revealed cleverly. The books is fairly unpredictable. There are great twists and reveals that are super satisfying. There is even a very nice twist/tease at the end of the book that I had to do some research on to make sure I understood it properly. Nicely done, Maggie.

Setting

The settings were kept to a minimum, which I liked. All were important to the plot, or to the characters. They were described luxuriously, when the flow of the story called for it, or expressly and as needed as well.

Cafes, graveyards, forests, ley lines etc., and keeping the school stuff to a minimum. I liked this approach.

Characters

The characters were great. Each one was developed in a nice flow with the story. There is a lot of internal conflict, and angst, but not in the teenager lovy dovy way. I like how the author kept that to the bare minimum. There are hidden feelings, family and supernatural conflicts, and everything inbetween.

Summary

If you like a good, character-driven story that is light on the romance, and heavy on the darker side of the supernatural, then you’ll surely enjoy the magic woven into every word of The Raven Boys.

*Note: there is some language in this book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The post The Raven Boys – Book Review appeared first on Justin Swapp.

Coraline – Book Review

Coraline

by Neil Gaiman

I’d give this classic 4 black buttons out of 5.

 

Now, let’s see… What’s a good way to describe this book? Several words come to mind.

Creepy. This is probably one of the most common words used to describe this book.

Clever. I think this word describes the protagonist quite well.

Hand. Yes, the hand! See the first word.

 

The novel, Coraline, follows a young girl of the same name – Coraline Jones. Her family recently moved into a new apartment, surrounded by some very eclectic and interesting characters. It was all very viseral.

When Coraline’s parents get absorbed in their work, and personal activities, they fail to pay attention to her, and she decides to go exploring. Along the way she meets talking animals, former theatre actresses that want to tell Coraline’s fortune, and a loony guy on the top floor that swears mice talk to him and play him marching band music. It’s all very mysterious feeling.

The book really starts to take off when Coraline discovers a small door sealed off by a brick wall in one of the parlors. One night she follows a mouse into the door and through a dark corridor, and out the other side in a bizarro world of sorts. There she meets her “other mother,” and “other father.” Those parents eventually reveal that they want her to stay with them, and their black buttons for eyes. As the story moves along, Coraline realizes that her “other mother” is some kind of god-like creature that created the other world she then found herself in, and continues to manipulate it to keep Coraline there.

The story is about Coraline’s exploring nature, and how, even though her parents weren’t paying much attention to her, there was nothing she wanted more than to be with her family again.

This is a really good novel, full of palpable adventure, and creepy characters and environments. And it’s not just the descriptions that create the creepy ambiance, but the dialogue too. The “other mother” is very tricky, and subtle in her lies and deceptions. Coraline rises to the occasion, however, and delivers a creative, satisfying ending, besting the “other mother” at her own game.

If you or your kids don’t mind slightly horrific scenarios and characters, then you’ll likely receive this well. Note: This book was adapted into movie form, and it was well received.

Note: This book was adapted into movie form (clay/stop animation I believe,) and it was well received. You might want to check that out too.

 

The post Coraline – Book Review appeared first on Justin Swapp.

The Iron Trial Book Review

The Iron Trial (Magisterium Book 1)

by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

 

After slogging through this book, I’d give it three clumps of lichen just based on the ending alone (if you read the book, this will make sense.)

 

 (in layman’s terms)

What originally attracted me to this book was its amazing cover. I loved the art style, and the death-eater-looking bad guy that dominates the scene (more on the Harry Potter similarities below.) The trio of kids below was a nice complement and created an air of conflict before I even opened the book. So, the cover rocked.

Once I opened the book and began reading, I found myself really intrigued by the prologue.  The writing’s voice was interesting, and the scenario really got me hooked: A lone stranger, climbing the icy face of a mountain only to discover that a massacre had taken place at the top. He finds an abandoned baby boy. Next to the little tike were the words etched in ice, “kill the child.”

Hook, line, and sinker. I was in.

And then… the story started. At first, I wasn’t exactly sure why, but I had a hard time getting into this book. After giving this some thought, I think my initial issues with this book were rooted in the poor pacing, and the lack of real conflict early in the book. I’ll explain these after the book blurb:

Most kids would do anything to pass the Iron Trial.

Not Callum Hunt. He wants to fail.

All his life, Call has been warned by his father to stay away from magic. If he succeeds at the Iron Trial and is admitted into the Magisterium, he is sure it can only mean bad things for him.

So he tries his best to do his worst – and fails at failing.

Now the Magisterium awaits him. It’s a place that’s both sensational and sinister, with dark ties to his past and a twisty path to his future.

The Iron Trial is just the beginning, for the biggest test is still to come . . .

So, my issues are centered in the pacing, and lack of real conflict early in the book.

Pacing - This book is really a setup for the series, which is nothing new. Not all book 1’s have to spend so much time initially setting up each character and his or her backgrounds, though. My guess is, ultimately, that the authors decided to make such a great prologue with such a compelling hook, because the beginning of the story was so slow. It’s a technique that buys the writers time to do all the info dumping they want. In a way, it worked with me, as I almost gave up on the book a couple of times but didn’t because I wanted to see what that prologue was about. I’m glad I didn’t give up, too, as the last quarter of the novel was quite good.

Lack of conflict early on - While this story had magic, and mysterious secrets, it really didn’t feel like it did. At first, I wondered if the descriptions just left me wanting. Then, the protagonist meets a fire elemental named Warren; a lizard that seemed devious and mischievous, and I was instantly paying more attention to the story than I had before. I realized that this lizard represented a real conflict appearing in the story for the first time.  Sure, Callum Hunt, the main protagonist, had a father that was seriously against him going to the magisterium, but it was expected for him to go, and everything pointed to him going, even though he tried to fail. The Mages wouldn’t allow him to skip school. This conflict didn’t feel real. And, yeah, there were bullies that would pick on Callum, but it seemed obvious that the adults and Mages would protect him somehow. That conflict didn’t feel real either.

But when Callum (spoilers coming) steals Warren, the fire elemental, and some key information about his past, the story takes a different, more risky turn. They get lost, and Callum’s forced to rely on Warren to navigate the dark caverns of the magisterium. Suddenly there was a real conflict. The reader could sense that Warren had dual motives, but wasn’t sure what they were. Things got real from there on.

Later, the true Makar (the chosen one) is revealed as someone other than Callum, and that other person is the only one that can beat the enemy of death. Then, the twists began. While Callum wasn’t the Makar, like the authors surely wanted the readers to believe he was, we learn that he has a much more twisted fate in store for him, and, to be fair, the twist was a really good one. For me, the last quarter of the book made up for all the rest.

Side note: There are a LOT of reviewers that hate on this book for some of its parallels to the Harry Potter series. While I can see where they are coming from, I didn’t feel like these similarities were so blatant that it hurt my personal reading experience. That said, I did notice a couple of things here and there that broke the “spell” momentarily, but I got my groove again fairly easily.

In short, if you can get by on the excitement produced in you from the prologue to last through the first 3/4 of the book, you will likely enjoy the twisted ending, and the real internal conflict it produces in Callum.

The post The Iron Trial Book Review appeared first on Justin Swapp.

My Current Reading List for 2015

I’m probably a little late writing this, but one of my goals in 2015 is to make more time for reading. Now that I have a little bit of a commute to work, I am really leveraging audiobooks to help fill the gap. Below, I’ve listed the majority of the books that I have on the docket for this year as of today. Of course, I reserve the right to add or remove books depending on how the reading goes. After reading through the list, I feel like I am actually behind a couple years. I tend to read several book at once (as you can see below), which makes things a little crazy sometimes, but should help me get caught up. I recently finished The Lost Hero, which was a good middle-grade read. Now I’m struggling mightily to get into The Iron Trial.

What are you going to read this year? Leave a comment below and give me your recommendations.

 My 2015 Reading List, In No Particular Order:

The Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero, Rick Riordan (Finished!)
Wool, by Hugh Howey

The Atrocity Archive, Charles Stross
The Way of Kings, Brandon Sanderson (Currently reading)
The Thirteenth Tale, Daine Setterfield
Red Rising, Pierce Brown (Currently reading)
City of Ashes, Cassandra Clare
Monster Hunter Alpha, Larry Correia
Legion, Brandon Sanderson
Carrion Comfort, Dan Simmons
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Seth Grahame-Smith
The Screaming Staircase, Jonathan Stroud
The Raven Boys, Maggie Stiefvater
The Cuckoo’s Calling, Robert Galbraith
Coraline, Neil Gaiman (Currently reading)
Ready Player One, Ernest Cline
Croak, Gina Damico
The Iron Trial, Holly Black & Cassandra Clare (Currently struggling with)
The School for Good & Evil, Soman Chainani
Nightrise: The Gatekeepers Book 3, Anthony Horowitz
The Rithmatist, Brandon Sanderson (Currently reading)
Steelheart, Brandon Sanderson
The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman (Currently reading)
The Final Empire: Mistborn Book 1, Brandon Sanderson
Hard Magic, Larry Correia (Currently reading)

The post My Current Reading List for 2015 appeared first on Justin Swapp.