Fire Will Fall by Carol Plum-Ucci

Fire Will Fall by Carol Plum-Ucci is going to be the subject of the review this day. This is going to be my first review in a while, thanks to homework, writing, running, and everything else that gets in my way. And now before I start, I want to warn you of something. This is the second book in the series. I didn’t know that when I read it, but after some research I found out that nugget of gold. So ya… I read the second book of the series without reading the first. This means that maybe if I had read the first I would have a completely different review, and it would be much nicer than this one’s going to be.

Now, let me summarize FWL(Fire Will Fall)’s first one hundred pages. Four characters are in a car ride thinking about their lives. Instead of dribbling the backstory in, she gave it all at once in one huge heap. That means no action, no explosions, no nuthin but thoughts for those pages. It’s worse than boring, its pain worthy. This was almost the sixth book I closed and stopped reading. If you’re going to read this book, I suggest skipping over those pages. I promise, you won’t be missing anything. You know something’s wrong when you would rather do homework than read.

Just make sure you don’t skip to many pages, else you may miss the highlight of this book. The teenager hackers: Tyler Ping+ Shazad Hamdani. While everyone else is boring, these guys are kicking butts and taking names. Because they’re v-spies they actually have action that the reader can enjoy. And both of their personalities feel two sided and real, while the other four main characters fall flat.

Now, onto the subject of humor. She incorporates a variety of humor techniques, such as the one-two-three, but it isn’t funny. Except when Tyler and Shazad are talking. The reason for this is Shazad and Tyler are trying to be clever while the other four are trying to be funny.  Clever and funny are the same thing right? Sometimes, but trust me, if you read this book you will understand what I am saying. Also she overdid the sex puns a bit. I am a teenage boy who’s a complete and utter pervert, but her jokes didn’t sit well.

The bad guys Shazad and Tyler are trying hunt down are a bit bland. I really wished that she would make them shades of gray, instead of pure black. She made them have no compassion, no morals, no redeeming qualities whatsoever.  I know they’re terrorists, but because she seemed so intent on making this book “like reality” she should have tried to build some sympathy for them. Else they come off as fake.

Now, the worst part of the book. She “kills” Shazad and Tyler in the book. For 150 pages (250-400) there is none of their awesomeness. She removed the only reason I didn’t burn this book in the fire. Of course it was obvious she didn’t kill them, that isn’t her style, but it pissed me off.   It’s one of those WTF moments.

When they came back, that’s when I truly loved this book. Having those two back in the action, cleared my schedule. For some reason, she didn’t give them much action, but that’s not my problem. What mattered that they were back, and I could keep reading without wanting to gouge my eyeballs out.

What you end up waiting for throughout the whole book is the climax. I have to say, it’s relatively decent. She brings in almost all the characters and somehow fits them all into one scene. Hell, what makes it better is when one of the main characters dies. That caused me to burst out into cheer. If only she had killed the other three losers…

The falling action is boring. It’s just about Scott and Cora((two main characters)) growing together while growing apart. She somehow thought it was important to have fifty pages of lots of emotional talk, and no action. Blah.

Every time I finish a book I have to ask myself this question: Did I enjoy this book? My answer: a bit. But I wasted my time, there’s so many better books than this. Sure this was a mystery and not fantasy, but that doesn’t matter. I know how to appreciate a good book, but to me that book wasn’t exactly as great as her reviews told me it was. The only people I would suggest you to give this too is your ex -girlfriends and your snotty cousins.

Read an excerpt if your still not sure if you want this book!

((Note: review needs editing!!))Infinity By: Sherrilyn Kenyon

Infinity: Chronicles of Nick is a funny, quirky, and just downright hilarious book. Its charchters use such a lovely blend of sarcasim it kept me reading throughout the book. The author made the charchters really act like teenagers. The plot has been used, but nowadays its hard to make a new plot for a fantasy novel. The charchters are a bit flat, save for 2 ( Nick and Caleb) but the conflict in this book is good because it allows the author to insert its humor in. Overall, if you want a fanstay book that has amazing humor (Rarely fantasy books do) read this book.
Read an Excerpt.

Wizard heir By: Cinda Williams Chima

This is the second book in the Heir trilogy.((Cinda lied about this, there are actually going to be five books. I couldn’t organize a mob to burn down her house for being a liar because I was too busy squealing about it.((Just in case you were wondering, I squeal like a man.)))) Because it is the second book, it is the sequel of: The Warrior Heir. Or is The Warrior Heir the prequel of this book? 0_o  Whichever one it is, it also is the second book I am reviewing. Why? Because after I finished reviewing The Warrior Heir I couldn’t stop being a fangirl super excited about it!

Was I let down? Yes. Is this still an amazing book though? Yes. The first time I read this book a few years ago I didn’t know why I didn’t enjoy it as much as her previous one. It wasn’t because she changed her protagonist to Seph, because I knew that kept things fresh. So, going off a gut feeling I just labeled it as lacking. I remembered this feeling and when I reread it recently I actually kept notes on the pros and cons. ((My history teacher would be proud.)) So now I know what I like and didn’t like about it. The only problem is…um…I lost the notes right when I was ready to write the review. This left me with two options: Either reread the book for more notes, a very enjoyable experience, or wing it. I am a creature of habit, so I winged it.

This book started badly, and it wasn’t because of Chima’s writing. It was because she had the main character in Europe. Yes, Europe. You know, the place that isn’t as awesome as America. She later moved him to America, but she should have just started him in America. It would have saved me so much agony. I still can’t get the image of him having scones and tea with the queen.

Also, something terrible happened. Chima looked into the future and saw my comment about the Heir Stone. She then wrote her second book to smite me. Now the Heir Stone is actually a crystalline crystal ((Emphasize win on Chima’s part?)) embedded in the heart. This doesn’t solve any logic problems, it just brings up more! At least it solved the biggest question. Now we know why there weren’t more Weir. They all died of internal bleeding because of the slashed arteries of the heart! Being an Anaweir, non Weir people, seems a lot more appealing than it ust to be.

One strong point of this book is Chima’s incorporation of all of her previous characters. They come late in the book, but it’s still nice to see familiar faces. Also having completely new characters serves another point, an entrance point for new readers. I strongly suggest you read The Warrior Heir before this book, but you will still be able to understand this book if you don’t.

P.S: Everyone on Amazon who said there was too much repetition of explanations in this book is an idiot. Some people don’t have access to the other books in the series so they have to start in the middle of the series. So the author has to reiterate information so the reader isn’t lost. I have read books without reading their other installments and I have put down those books in rage because nothing made sense at all. ((I feel like an old grandma talking like this. :/))

The only thing I truly despised in this book was Madison. I think it’s because of her I didn’t like this book as much. Her power just doesn’t make sense. She’s an Elictor. No reason why, she just is. That mean’s that she can somehow sap magic and defeat wizards! I just find it hard to believe the wizards wouldn’t have wiped them out with their warriors because of their ability. This ability isn’t as unfair as Jack being both a warrior and wizard, but at least Jack's ability is incorporated into the story expertly. I am fine about characters being unnatural, that makes them interesting, but only if there is a reason so. Unnatural is only good if it makes sense, otherwise it’s just weird.

The book’s reveal wasn’t as spectacular as the first book. The first one I was clueless, this one was much more obvious. Maybe I had gotten better at taking cues, but I was a bit saddened that she didn’t surprise me. Not that her reveal was bad, it was spectacular. It just didn’t have the “shazzum” of the other one.

Overall, this book was very good. It had some points that made me go “ahhh” but it also had many, many peaks. I loved Seph overall, but I didn’t like him as much as Jack. Maybe I am biased, but Jack is freakin amazing. But don’t let that fool you, Seph’s cool and detached attitude it still pretty awesome. So, next time you visit a bookstore or library, make sure to pick up a copy of this! ((And Warrior Heir if you haven’t read it))

Read an excerpt if your still not sure if you want this book!

Date Edited: 12 December 2011

Warrior Heir by: Cinda Williams Chima

Yes, i am reviewing: The Warrior Heir. I know it's 5 years old but maybe, just maybe there is a chance someone out there hasn’t read this book. I know, it’s a long stretch because every fantasy fan has read her book, but maybe someone with outstanding circumstances((Like being stranded on a desert island for five years)) hasn't. Now to the important part, the review.

Cinda Williams Chima is well….Cinda Williams Chima. Saying anything else would not be doing justice to her brilliance in writing young adult fiction. This is the first book in the heir series, and supposedly her first time writing fiction. I am going to be outspoken here and say something outright: she’s lying. A beginner can’t craft a masterpiece like this when they are starting out.

Her main character, Jack, has a really boring name but that’s the only thing boring about him. In fact, he has something in him that makes up part of the title. Can you guess? While blood, bones, and little enzymes that are slowly digesting food particles would all be correct answers,((because warriors have those things!)) I was really talking about the heir part. No, he isn’t a king of some royal lost line, or a forsaken god. He literally has the heir part in him, in the form of a rock.

This aptly named Heir stone gives him extraordinary abilities.  One of them is the ability to not have a heart! People who have Heir stones don’t have hearts, literally. Instead of hearts they have this huge giant chunk of stone that is magic. Does it pump blood? Nope. Does it help regulate blood pressure? Nadda. It has the exact same purpose of a regular stone, but with the bonus of making the person born with the stone inhuman.

So how do the people who have rocks inside of them live? To tell you the truth, I have no idea. I have many theories but for some reason none of them make sense. Every time I put it to some scientific term one of her gorgeous descriptions disproves my theory. This is the only problem with the book, there is no possible way whatsoever to describe how they live. Ohh well, I better get back to the review. There’s no use nitpicking a fantasy book for realistic elements. Though, I do bet removing that stone wouldn’t be as easy as say…passing a 3 inch in diameter kidney stone.

So, about the Heir stones. There are Warrior stones, Wizard stones and…um… some others. The two stones I listed are pretty self explanatory. The Warriors have huge swords and are servants to the wizards. The wizards can cause hurricanes, throw fire out of their hands, and freeze someone with their mind. Did I also mention that they hunt warriors for fun?

The wizard stone is obviously the best, and the book agrees with me. They wizards rule all the other stones because of a really ancient contract. This means that they have four different breeds of lackeys to choose from. I have already told you about the warrior one, but Wikipedia rudely told me it wasn’t the only one. There are actually three others; Enchanters, Soothsayers, and Sorcerers. Soothsayers are prophets, Sorcerers are your healers, and the Enchanters are mind prostitutes. Luckily, all these inferior breeds are usually slaves to the superior wizard.

Now, I could reveal all of this books secrets but that isn’t my style. It’s much more fun to read the book and figure them out yourself. But if you really want to extract juicy tidbits from this book without reading, just check out Wikipedia. They are perfectly fine with dissecting a book head from toe.

We are almost at the end of the review and I hope you liked it. Why? Because I almost stabbed out my eyes when I wrote it.  Trying to find one thing wrong with this book was insane. Her characters are all three dimensional, her plot is amazing, and it’s well written. So go buy this book and read it. If you have already read it ((You should have)), read it again. There are few books that are better than this one.

Read an excerpt if your still not sure if you want this book!

Last Edited: Two days after Thanksgiving in 2011.