Earth's Children series - The Valley of the Horses

Title : The Valley of Horses (Earth's Children)
Author: Jean M Auel

Okay, since there has not been any review, I thought I'd write about the book that I'm rereading again... At least, let's get the blog moving again people!

Anyway, the book is the second series in Jean M Auel's Earth's Children series. A continuance from the Clan of the Cave Bear, the Valley of the Horses is an intesting story of the infancy of civilization. It's more of an adult epic, rather than the romantic novels that I love reading. This has a historical sense of the civilization during the Ice Age period.

This unforgettable odyssey into the distant past carries us back to the awesome mysteries of the exotic, primeval world of The Clan of the Cave Bear, and to Ayla (the main character of the story), now grown into a beautiful and courageous young woman.

Cruelly cast out by the new leader of the ancient Clan that adopted her as a child, Ayla leaves those she loves behind and travels alone through a stark, open land filled with dangerous animals but few people, searching for the Others, tall and fair like herself. Im not much of an anthropologists, but the description of Ayla kinda reminds me of viking people... tall and fair. May be waaaayyy off base but just a thought.

Anyway, in the story she travels to find the others and stumbles across a sheltered valley with a herd of hardy steppe horses, where she decides to stay and prepare for the long glacial winter ahead.

Living with the Clan has taught Ayla many skills but not real hunting. It's interesting to read the in-depth description given by the author of the way of living from olden times. How they manage to do somthing we take for granted now with technology and how simple needs were then. It's also interesting to note the importance of women that was given by the people, yet not so acknowledge by the flatheads (not nice, but that's the name mentioned in the book. I think they are referring to the neanderthals).

Ayla finally knows she can survive when she traps a horse, which gives her meat and a warm pelt for the winter, but fate has bestowed a greater gift, an orphaned foal with whom she develops a unique kinship.

One winter extends to more; she discovers a way to make fire more quickly and a wounded cave lion cub joins her unusual family, but her beloved animals don’t fulfill her restless need for human companionship. Then she hears the sound of a man screaming in pain. She saves tall, handsome Jondalar, who brings her a language to speak and an awakening of love and desire, but Ayla is torn between her fear of leaving her valley and her hope of living with her own kind.

The author manages to handle these two seperate story strands with ease and switching between them never is never awkward. Eventually the stories intertwine and become one as Ayla finally comes face to face with one of her own kind.

As rich in detail as the first book in the series this book is an absorbing read and one that is difficult to put down. I highly recommended this to those who wants to read the richness of life and sexuality, appreciation of civilization and companionship of human and its humanity.

ERAGON

Title: Eragon
Author: Christopher Paolini

I saw this book in MPH, Midvalley, while running around after my son. The cover of the book caught my attention - with a huge picture of a BLUE dragon... I love the cover... it proved to be a good conversation material between Ayman and myself! :)

Anyway, almost similar to the LOTR, Eragon is apparently the first series. I saw the sequel of Eragon, Eldest (which featured a RED dragon), but didn't get that copy yet, as it is still expensive. MYR 79.90 maaa!!! isk isk isk...

Eragon, the first novel in the Inheritance Trilogy, is a story about a farm boy who finds a dazzling sapphire-blue stone which, as it is revealed later, is in fact an egg that hatches a blue-scaled dragon. The dragon, Saphira (duh!! wut else??!), establishes an unbreakable bond with the young man who learns that he is the only dragon-rider to have come into existence in many years. Many of the dragon-rider are either dead, hiding from the evil king cum dragon-rider, Galbatorix (whose names does not make me shiver with fright... rather reminds me of a robotic king. Kinda like from Sonic the Hedgehog!)

Eragon will have to choose whether to resist the evil king/dragon-rider Galbatorix or surrender and join him. With his home destroyed and his uncle murdered by the Ra’zac (evil dragon hunters employed by Galbatorix) Eragon sets out on a journey with his mentor, Brom, to learn the dragon riding craft and enact his revenge on the Ra’zac. In essence, Eragon has all the traditional ingredients that make a fantasy novel enjoyable.

While Eragon is a very entertaining story, Paolini’s writing is at times a little immature. I mean come on, he wrote this story when he was at the age of fifteen and published it through Knopf at age nineteen. However, he does have a gift storytelling. You'll notice though that Paolini borrows a bit obviously from the authors that inspire him: For example, his mimicry of Tolkien’s proper names (“Mithrim,” “Farthen-Dur,” “Beor Mountains,” and “Urgals”) is a bit distracting at times.

The novel’s pace is quick and exciting throughout most of the book. Packed with action and magic, Eragon is a fun read. The only lag was the 40 page, desperate last-leg of Eragon’s journey. Not a lot actually happens during this time with the exception of the group worrying about their situation, and this has the unfortunate effect of turning the reader into critic. However my suspension of disbelief was restored once the travelers reached the Varden and new adventures ensued.

Paolini shines at creating interesting characters without a great deal of depth. In particular, Eragon is rather flat, vacillating between being heroic, cocky, reckless, and petulant - typical boyhood material. Saphira, Murtagh, Solembum, and Arya yield the promise of further development, and hopefully their characters will reveal more complexity in the later novels of the trilogy.

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Eragon to me is a good novel. Deep, yeah... but not too deep. Fun and exciting at parts... and go grab a copy!! :P

Carrie

Title : Carrie
Author: Stephen King

Like I said, I'm not a fan of Stephen King, but still, I have a lot of his books at home so I thought of reviewing this book in our seemingly quiet page now.

Carrie is one of King's most popular books. If I'm not mistaken, it has been adapted into a film a few years back, but I've never seen it though. What made me interested in this book is because, most of King's books are compared to Carrie, putting this book on a high pedestal so naturally, the book enthusiast in me set off to find it.

Suprisingly, its not a very thick book, just around 250 pages. You could finish the book in one sitting. I initially thought the book would be full of horror and thrills but seems like I'm mistaken. This is really one of King's more relaxing books which deals more with psychology.. well, with a bit of horror thrown in jugak la!

It revolves around Carrie White, a girl with extraordinary telekinetic powers. You might imagine a haughty high and mighty girl, but Carrie is more like a timid mouse. She was born in a family so obsessed with religion that her father believed sex was a total dirty sin, even among husbands and wives. After he married Carrie's mother, they slept together for the first time and then beat themselves up to repent on their so-called sin. The result was Carrie so her mother believed she was the spawn of the devil since she was born from a dirty sin, thus, her mother hated her from birth.

She was always punished for the smallest mistake with her mother's favourite punishment:locking her in the cupboard without food and water for days. She never knew the love of a mother and father (her father died or something, I think..) and this might have contributed to her low self esteem. She always wore ugly clothes which her mother thought was best for her, making her the butt of jokes at school.

One day, while watching the daughter of her neighbour sun bathing (she was suprised to see someone expose so much skin when her mother said only the devil did that), her mother suddenly carried her inside while hurtling insults to their neighbour. Somehow, that was the turning point. Not being able to be like other people was one thing, but humiliating Carrie when she just wanted friends was another. Her anger somehow triggered the telekinetic powers she had but this just made her mother believe that Carrie was in fact, from the devil's spawn.

One day, when she was sixteen, she got her first period. Since her mother never told her anything, she thought she was dying and she was taunted by the girls. This really made a scene. However, one of the girls, Sue Snell, who really felt guilty about the whole tampon-throwing thing proceeded to apologize and tried to be Carrie's friend. Somehow, she got the idea to have her boyfirend, Tommy Ross, ask Carrie to the senior prom <--apa la punya idea! Still, she did it with good intentions!

However, another girl, Chris kot nama dia, decided to crash the prom (she wasn't allowed to go to the prom coz she didn't admit to taunting Carrie). Carrie, who at first was skeptical, was really enjoying the prom at this moment (after fighting with her mom about the 'sinful prom event' and making her own dress) was the target. However, in a turn ogf events, the prank somehow backfired and killed Tommy while Carried was drenched in pigs blood.

O-oh.. it seems like I'm wrinting my own long version of Carrie here, and it doesn't sound as interesting haha..

So to cut the story short, Carrie was so confused and frustrated that for a while, she believed her mother so she decided in commiting suicide, BUT she wanted to bring along the whole town with her. With her super telekinetic powers, she managed to destroy half the town, killing more than half of the other innocent seniors.

The chalpters in this books are alternated between the past and the present. The past of when this incident happened, and the present where experts are still trying to understand the telekinetic powers, by interviewing the surviving teachers and students.

Hahah.. I dunno why my review is in such a mess. I didn't have high views of this book really but what I've written is worse.

Really, just borrow my copy. Its simply entertaining though no thrilling moments here but, I'd read it again!

The Broker

Title : The Broker
Author : John Grisham

The narrative started in January 1996, with 3 young Pakistani computer scientist -Fazal, Safi and Farooq- hired by the Pakistani military to locate, access and monitor the surveillance system of a new Indian spy satellite hovering 300 miles above the Pakistani ground.

In just a short time, they were able to determine it to be just another one of the ordinary surveillance system not unlike their own, that has been doing nothing more than snapping photographs of unimportant stuff to be broadcasted to the Indian government.

However, during the course of their work, they accidentally stumbled across another suspicious surveillance system unlike any they've seen so far. It was of the best technology the world have yet to see. After secretly tapping into the system, they were able to locate the network of 9 satellites linking to one another, which made up the most sophisticated surveillance system they've ever come across- code-named as Neptune. Being the computer whiz they were, the 3 young Pakistanis were soon able not only to monitor it's activities but also to manipulate the system and jammed the rest of the applications related to it. Of course, these were done by them writing a new home-brewed software that take total control of the network of the surveillance system. The software were code-named JAM.

After silently contemplating what they could do and make with the newly developed software, Fazal and Safi got greedy and wanted to make money by selling it to the highest bidder. Farooq wanted nothing to do with it, suggesting that they should just hand it over to the military and wash their hands off it before trouble starts. But the other two wouldn't hear any of it. A bitter fight erupted. Thus, began their fatal venture into the world of the greedy...

In September 1998, both of them travelled to Washington and from there they met with The Broker (Joel Backman) who was known as the man who could open any doors in Washington.
He was just the right man to help them market JAM to the various interested government.

Eventually, after much aggravation, a deal was struck with the Saudi government. The Saudi paid a transaction fee of a million upfront, and the rest of the $100 million will be wired to their newly opened account in Zurich.

Then all hell break loose.

The feds attacked with warrants, indictments, investigations and the Saudis got spooked. Some people got murdered inthe process. Joel himself fled to teh safety of federal prison, leaving behind some very angry people with serious grudges.

However, after spending only a short 6 months hidden away i federal prison, he suddenly found himself being hauled away outta prison by a controversial presidential last-minute pardon. What very few people know is that the pardon was granted only after the president received enormous pressure from the CIA, due to some unknown reason.

Minutes after the pardon, Backman was quietly smuggled out of the country to Italy, living under new name, new identity and a new life. What he didn't know was that the CIA has plan to leak his whereabout to the people holding grudged against him- the Israelis, the Saudis, the Russians and the Chinese. Then CIA will do what it does best, sit back and watch. The question they needed answered is who will kill him in order to solve the mystery of the Neptune and JAM.

Well, basically that's what the stroy is all about. As Grisham's die-hard fan, i still gotta admit that it's just not as interesting as his earlier writings. Not really a page-turner, this one. I guess i was still hoping for some courtroom brawl to spice up the story (that's what he's good at actually, the courtroom scene ). But still it made a good leisure read in bed over the weekend.

As for the rating, i'd give it 5 out of 10. And that's coming from a Grisham's die-hard fan. So...hmmm, go figure.

Are You Afraid of The Dark

Title : Are you afraid of the Dark
Author: Sidney Sheldon

Okay.. I know some of you might be thinking, "Why on earth has she chosen to review this book?" Haha, I know, somehow, Sidney Sheldon has made a name for himself for his predictable outcomes. All his books (nearly all la..) are based around women, sometimes je men. About their lives and how their lives change after 'something' happens. Don't forget his personal touch of conspirations and government secrets and voila! You get a classic Sidney Sheldon book.

Not that his books aren't interesting. I especially like 'the Rage of Angels' and have a tattered copy at home, but, well, all his other books are just typical, right? However, I seem to have this attachment to him, somehow. Maybe its because his book was the first adult fiction I read (when I was in primary school, mind you!). Haha, still remember how shocked I was to learn that adult scenes are permissible to be written on paper. Mama was so suprised seeing me with that book (The Other Side of Midnight, I think), that she must've panicked when she took the book away from me and told me that this book is not suitable for my age. C'mon la, I found the book on the floor in our library anyway, and she DOES know that I'll read anything I get my hands on! Heheh.. so long ago lah..

Anyway, this book, like his previous books, revolves around two newly widowed woman whose life was so different, they never guessed they had this connection between them. Their husbands died in two separate murders that looked like suicide, leaving them wondering if they had done anything that lead to the suicidal feeling their seemingly normal husbands' had.

Fate bought them together to finally realize that was a bigger story behind all that had happened. Mostly the book was about how they ran away from the clutches of the 'bad guys', with a lot of luck on their side la since the 'enemy' is someone very 'huge' in the industry. I mean, ade je cara dia to find those women, and ade je cara for the women to barely escape.

One thing I like about the book is the scientific facts that are described in such a simple way, you could really understand it. Sebabnya, some books just ramble on nonsense that we ourselves can see as fake, betul tak? But I guess, thats about that la.. the other things in the book are mostly expected (So I DO wonder why they call him the Master of The Unexpected?)

Even in the end, the widows were saved by, lets say, luck! It wasn't really their own effort that saved them in the end, rather that a stroke of luck of something that happened on the 'bad guys' side. Quite frustrating since most of the book was dedicated in showing how smart and quick acting these women were so why don't let them get the spot light jugak in the end?

Anyway, don't buy it, unless you're a Sidney Sheldon fan.. If you want to read it, just borrow my copy.

Rating: Hmm.. how about 2 stars and a half?

Digital Fortress

Title : Digital Fortress
Author: Dan Brown

This is one book I'd like for keeps (Hehe, don't worry Pojie, I'm NOT taking your book away)

The differance in this book and other Dan Brown books I've read is that here, we are faced with modern day puzzles. Ok.. what I meant to say is that, In da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, we are confronted by puzzles from the arts side, and I mean ancient arts here (errr, not REALLY ancient, but not our modern day types here) like centuries-old paintings and sculptures. but in Digital Fortress, we came face to face with the digital era type codes, something we're more familiar with. It was easier to try to break the code when you can imagine it, rather than trying to remember how did 'The Last Supper' or 'Monalisa' look like. Err, I take that back, not 'easier' but more interesting! I mean.. arggghhh, I'm lost for words here! Writer's block, I guess..

Anyway, once again Dan Brown chooses a lady as the main star here. See, the women of the world are not THAT low in the eyes of some men. Susan Fletcher is the head cryptographer in the National Security Agency where nearly all coded messages that are sent here don't stand a chance to stay crypted. They have developed this invincible code-breaker machine that breaks thousands of codes everyday. However, one day, their normal routine changed. Apparantly, they found a crypted message that the machine couldn't decipher.

Things got worse when they realized this coded message was really sent as a threat to the NSA for some wrong doings they might have done early on and it was up to Susan to find out what was really happening. She had loved working with the NSA, being attracted to coded messages eversince she was small, so she fought hard to save this agency. When she realized the life of her fiancee was suddenly also at stake, it just drove her to double her efforts in breaking the code that was destroying the NSA.

Throughout the book, she learnt a lot about betrayal and how trust is a vulnerable thing to look after. Human greed tops it all off, shoving aside loyalty towards the agency and country. When the truth finally emerges, realizing they had trusted the wrong person who staged a murder for his own need, it changed the woman inside her, but also made her stronger.

This book shows that sometimes, the most complicated problems have the most simplest (dah 'most', 'simplest' plak lagi..!) solution. Haha, you gotto read it yourself to find out what I mean.. but really, I enjoyed this book thoroughly!

One thing though, I still can't decipher this coded message at the end of the book.. any help here?

128-10-93-85-10-128-98-112-6-6-25-126-39-1-68-78

Haha.. ok, ok.. my review here is a bit lame. I was supposed to do this review right after I read the book but I couldn't find the time so most juicy parts I wanted to share are now a blur in my head. But seriously, if you like a relaxing book that could still tease your mind, go grab this one! Its an all-in-one type of book that I'd recommand to anyone :)

Cheasapeake Blue - The Quinn Saga

Title: Cheasapeake Blue
Author: Nora Roberts

The amazing Quinn family is back!

Seth, the youngest Quinn, is home for the first time in years. An acclaimed painter, who is blessed with a gift he can't quite explain, Seth is as handsome and dynamic as the other Quinns. He comes home to find things in St. Chris much the same, with the exception of lovely Dru Whitcomb-Banks, a new shopkeeper in town. Dru is not what Seth expected and he soon finds himself drawn to her, despite his unsavory roots. She's carrying quite a bit of baggage herself, but finds that she's falling for him just the same.

Seth as pictured by Nora is a long haired artist, with long, lean, sinewy frame that complements with Dru's elfish-like beauty. With hair that is cropped short, she reminds me of Angelina Jolie in the Hackers. I love that kind of hair style! :P

Nora Roberts had already built a compelling family that intrigued readers through the first of the Chesapeake Bay saga, Sea Swept, Rising Tides and Inner Harbor. This book is in response to overwhelming reader demands (if you see the front page of the book, she dedicates the book to "Every reader who ever asked, "When are you going to write Seth's story?") she writes Seth to be as dreamy and decidedly alpha as the other Quinn men. Dru is a perfect match for Seth, strong willed and determined and also a bit of a lost soul. The combined traits make the couple vibrant and interesting. On top of that, you get to revisit your favorite characters from the first three books and find out what's become of them and their children. Nora's greatest gift is her ability to write a family that keeps the reader's attention.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to both first time, or habitual Noraholics! If this is your first Nora book, I suggest that you read the first three in the saga before reading Chesapeake Blue. You'll find your enjoyment of the story even greater having met the secondary characters before.

Nora's done it again!

p.s I have been reading a few on the shelf for a while romance novels. Didn't have much time to go out and buy a new book except for The Wives of Bath. Will definately go back to Populat soon... muahahahahaha!!!! Do enjoy.... the type of book that does not need to think but enjoy as majalah picisan! :P

The Wives of Bath

Title: The Wives of Bath

Author: Wendy Holden

It was finally a weekend whereby I could breathe easily. I took several days leave from work and spent most of it with my son and family... especially since Syuhada is flying off to Dublin, this month, Ayman finally out from the hospital and yeah.. work not so hectic... I went to Popular, to browse... Book hunting too as well! It's been soooooo long since I've reade a good book (and also did my review) that I thought it was past due for me to do my review...

The title itself, The Wives of Bath, grabbed my attention.... plus also the fact that Ayman was contentedly sleeping in his stroller, I have the chance to really browse through without worry that he might topple books or run through stacks of it in the store...

I guess the charm of the book itself was because it is about first time parents, and duh! I immediately clicked with the topic... hahahaha, yet the story to me would intrigue even you guys! :P

The story revolves around two couples - Hugo and Amanda, and Jake and Alice. In a strange twist (it always happens only in storybook!), Amanda and Alice, works in the same place - Styles magazine in New York. Amanda a tabloid journalist (these are the people who gives bad name to the profession of journalism - haha) and Alice is the legal advisor in Intercorp - the company that owns Style magazine. Alice is the person who saves Amanda's butt in several occasions...

Anyway, an article written by Amanda finally brought her in a pot of boiling lava, that Alice was finally tired of saving her ass. Alice during that time was not yet married and she didn't have a significant other as well... To cut a long story short, she met someone named Jake at her cousins wedding and click off. Jake, being a person who was very very into rubbish and recycling seemed very interesting to a legal advisor who is suddenly tired of life and wants a child and a new life.

Amanda was persuaded to quit her job and on her way back to London (in the economy class section of course!), while pissing mad at the company and telling herself that it's their loss, she was browsing through the glossy magazines and in a way, convinced herself that she is ready to move into the next step - have a child. Of course that is the next course of action to take since EVERYONE who is EVERYONE is pregnant of has children! WHy else would there be Guess Kids, those cute little baby paraphernelias that only designers would produce for top celebrities!

Amanda loves Hugo and Alice loves Jake - or so we are led to believe. All are in the throes of first parenthood, linked by birthing classes and a posh maternity center, the Cavendish, where moms rest in four-poster beds while dads enjoy whiskey at the well-appointed bar. Though planning a birth at home (“on a shower curtain”) Alice has Rosa at the Cavendish after an emergency C-section, and Amanda would have expected no less than the grand sweep of Cavendish services for her little Theo. But Amanda really knows nothing about babies and cares less, and quickly escapes to her career as a high-powered magazine writer, leaving Hugo to blunder through fatherhood, losing his job in the process of trying to do right by his son.

To figure out such basics as how to change a nappie, he consults the lonely Alice, whose husband is gradually drifting into fanaticism as publisher of a recycling rag called Get Trashed!. The brush strokes are broad as we see Hugo boldly rescuing Rosa’s beloved teddy bear and winning Alice’s heart, and Amanda striking out on a mad junket landing her up in the arms of a “fantastic guy called Rick.” Jake, who’s been a pill throughout, forcing Rosa to eat pureed veggies grown in human manure, finds out he’s in love with a fantastic guy, too, and things come full circle, with Hugo and Alice back at the birthing center working on a sibling for Rosa and the winsome Theo.

Along the way there are many reasons to laugh, as Alice defends her beloved Jake despite his domineering ways (the Christmas gifts wrapped in toilet paper, the feast of Brussels sprouts served in what was once the glass door panel of a clothes washing machine, the wormery in the garden). Amanda is wicked as the career non-Mom who almost forgets her son’s name, and then there’s Laura, the sexy siren who tries to seduce Hugo and winds up saving him from Amanda’s wrath. Holden is fast with a bon mot and great at naming things: Theo’s childcare center, Chicklets; Hugo’s real estate firm, Dunn and Dustard; and Jake and Alice’s love nest, The Old Morgue (because it once was one).

If you love Brit humor as I do and like it laid on thick as old paint, you’ll crease up as you follow the hilarious doings of The Wives of Bath.

The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night-Time

Title : The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night-Time
Author: Mark Haddon

I saw this book last year in Popular at Batu Pahat when I was doing my data survey there. What caught my attention was the ORANGE cover and the unbelievable long title of the book. However, it wasn't enough to interest me yet. However, through the next few weeks, I noticed book reviews about this book in the newspapers so for a while there, I DID regret not buying the book.

Then one day I heard kak Zai talking about this book excitedly. Apparently, this book had won the Whitbread Book Award which is one of the highest rewards a book could get, according to Mama lah! By then, I couldn't even find the book in the bookstores, it was already selling like hot cakes.

Well, I won't go into the details of 'My Adventure Finding This Book', but believe me, it was kind'a frustrating when I couldn't buy it as a birthday gift to my brother (and would you believe it, the next week, I found a hidden copy of this book in Popular and I grabbed it! I'm not gonna wait another year for this book!)

This book is a narration of Chris (what was his last name, huh?). He's a fifteen year old boy with who's autistic. He's fascinated with numbers, has memorized all prime numbers up until 3000++ and is obsessive with having all his facts right. He doesn't like human contact, not even his parents' touch!

I've never personally REALLY known someone who has autism but I guess this book could give you quite an insight of their world. Mark Haddon has been working with autistic children so I'm sure he has tried his best to write this book from their point of view.

Chris (the narrator) has his life all planned out for him. He doesn't like to have his plans altered because he would feel as if his life was outta control. He is also a genius in maths and has the mind of an encyclopedia.

One day, his carefully planned life was disturbed by the death of his neighbour's dog. Chris frequently goes out to take a stroll at night because he reasons that at night, there aren't any people around so he won't have to afraid of their touch. That was when he found the dog who was killed with a garden 'fork'.

Chris, who admires Sherlock Holmes, then set out to investigate about the dog's death. At first, he was blamed on the incident since he was the one who found the dog but when the police realized the problems faced by Chris, they let him go (with his father la helping). This might be what set him to find out what really happened.

The book isn't mainly on Chris's investigaion. In fact, the chapters are alternated with facts that Chris wants to share (I love the chapter on our beloved MALAYSIA :)), his relationship with his teacher whom he calls Siobhan and other things that are going through his mind. Mark Haddon has managed to make us realized how different minds work. We could feel Chris's frustration when he realizes his father has been lying to him for the past two years. We understand how betrayed he has felt and how scared he was when he went to London to find his mother. In fact, somehow, we could relate to him!

The story isn't what you'd call amazing, but the writing is superb! I didn't really want to put down the book once I started reading it, thankfully, its not really a thick book! Its just an everyday story but since it comes from a special point of view, that makes the book so.. well, special!

The chapters in this book are quite unique as the don't go by our usual 1,2,3.. but it is arranged in the prime number sequence. I thought I had lost some pages in my book when I first realized the first chapter had a number '2' on it hehe.. It also has some puzzles in it and the example of the 'A' Levels Maths answer that Chris did and inserted in the book since he says it is very interesting!

All in all, I think I'll give a 4 star rating for this book, so you guys, go find the book and enjoy.. coz I sure did!

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Some things DO disturb me though.. is there anything as half autistic or something like that? Coz I found some similairities here.. errr..

1. Chris always used numbers to calm him down eg. counting to a hundred then calculating the square or cube for each number --> I used to do that whenever I was upset! Even when I'm tired of a journey, I'd add up the plate numbers, in my head la, of all cars I can see and try to relate them together.

2. He doesn't like public toilets or public places, fearing germs, I think! --> I always had this very extensive imagination of germs. I'd hate touching toilet doorknobs or taps bla.. bla.. bla.. coz I'd imagine the germ people have left before me, then I'd scrub my hand with soap till I think all the germs have gone away

3. Chris loves facts and hates it when people get them wrong --> For the meager facts I have stored in my head, I'm like this too. And I always get this urge to correct other peoples facts and grammer when I realize its wrong. Luckily, I'm too shy to talk to people I don't know plus the fact that I've taught myself to bite my tongue whenever I feel like doing it. I mean, people don't really like it, do they? Never REALLY tried correcting people, I usually just do it in my head!

4. Hey.. I think I'm gonna turn this into my blog entry lah pulak!

The Silver Kiss

Title - The Silver Kiss
Author - same as Blood and Chocolate's

okay, so I am venturing into the underworld-sorta-genre here -- the last time I reviewed was on a book abt werewolves, and now, it's about vampires.

Hold on, it's not meant to be as terrifying and explicit as Dracula, so dun worry. Anyway, the story starts off with Zoe, the heroin, a 17-year-old whose mom is dying, and she felt lost. She had this feeling of people taking her for granted, and that includes her dad and her best friend, Lorraine. Later on, in the midst of the night, she bumped into a creature lurking in the night -- a youthful and beautiful boy -- Simon, the vampire, whose mother was murdered.

Although she had a hard time trusting him at first, well...you can guess what happens next. But is he a really good vampire ala Angel of some sorts, or is he trying to trick her into his trap? Is his stories of his little brother, the evil Christopher true? Is she falling in love with the most unimaginable creature she could have ever known?

Well...it's up to you, if you wanna know the rest of the story, pick this up.

I have one word. Sad.
Go figure.

Blood and Chocolate

Title: Blood and Chocolate
Author: Annette Curtis Klause

What is going on? Why so silent? I can even hear heartbeats pumping. Uh, I noe how's everyone's bz...so, I decided to make a review, of Blood and Chocolate. By the way, the movie is now filming...so...it better be good, cuz I like the plot and the characters grew onto me.

Okay, so actually, the story is about a 16-year-old lass named Vivian Gandillon. If you think that she's an ordinary gal with high school problems, think again. Vivian is, actually a part of a pack of werewolves , or in this case, the Loup-Garous. Her late father was the leader of the pack, and with her father dead, she was lost and torn between her loyalty to her pack, or her love for a meat boy.

In this case, she fell in love with a normal human being, her schoolmate, a boy named Aiden. The boy didn't have the slightest idea that she was actually hiding a very huge secret from him. And at most times, she had the urges to reveal her true self to Aiden, but felt insecure whether he would accept her as she is or not. Especially, when there are murders of innocent people caused by members of Vivian's pack.

Problems also occur among the wolves in Vivian's pack -- eg; the rivalry between Vivian's mom, Esmé, and another she-wolf, Astrid. The reason? A handsome, young, 24-year-old werewolf named Gabriel. And there's The Five, the notorious group who are known to cause havoc around town, especially when one of them is trying to woo Vivian for himself. But Vivian kept pushing those guys away, because she wanted to choose her own mate. And she's very keen about having Aiden as her mate. Which of course, her family didn't really approve.

There are a few slip-ups in Vivian's world that may lead to several unexpected events. So, will Aiden and Vivian's love prevail? Who's the werewolf that is doing all the killing? Will she reveal herself to Aiden? If she does, would Aiden accept her? What shall happen to Astrid, Esmé, and Gabriel? And who would Vivian choose at last, a human, or one of her own? Would she choose blood, or chocolate?

Read this one. It's not too long, not too short, just perfect. Loved it. Now, I just wanna see the casting. I'm eager to know the cast. Because if it ain't ryte, the movie's gonna suck. Which I highly hope not. *Crosses finger*

Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince

Title : Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince
Author : J.K. Rowling

To begin with....WoOooOWw!Ayu..What a long review you've got there, so full of disappointment! haha..and Farah, alaaa..tak best la canni if u tak review sama..

Anyway...I'd been postponing to write a review for this book for more than 2 weeks now. The main reason is because i dun have much spare time to write about it, and i dun want to rush into it as i feared i might be doing it injustice. But well, since i got some spare time at the moment, i might as well write AT LEAST part of it..and steal times tomorrow and the day after..until i'm satisfied with it.

Well, now...I believe that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was the MOST anticipated fantasy novel of the year. The 5th book which is Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire left a deep impact on the readers with the death of Harry's godfather-Sirius Black-that most of us couldn't wait to get our hands on the 6th book in the series. I mean like, the thickening plot in Book 5 made us want to find out how Harry would face his days ahead without his godfather-at least that's how it was to me.

Thus, the day of the released of HPHBP was one of the most memorable one for me. Never before did i imagined that i'd be waking up at 5++ am just so i could grab a copy of my fave book before anyone else did. Ha ha!

Okie Ayu, I admit. The obsessioon didn't start until just a couple of months before the book was due to release. And even then, i didn't write much about it though i did managed to annoy both of my twin brothers and Amin for constantly reciting to them every single news i heard bout the HPHBP book, be it from the net or the newspapers. Once, I even called up Ayu in my excitement to asked her to tune in to TV3, coz there was a short segment in the news reporting on the HPHBP book as a phenomenon for the whole world. And i was glad for all these news as it was able to lessen my longing for the book during those longest period of my life.

As mentioned earlier, on d day itself I woke up at almost 6 am; and somehow here managed to be the first among friends to get my hands on the book (triumphant smile here ;-))). But sadly i wasn't the first to finish reading it, Ayu beat me to it. And even more frustating, SHE SPOILT IT FOR ME! I can't believe u told me bout Dumbledore's death before i get to the part itself Ayu. U just wait until the 7th book, i'll be the spoiler then! ;-p But anyway, to get my revenge..i spoilt it for Soraya as she was in U.S at the time, and we got the book one day ahead of them. So that was able to cool me down a tiny lil' bit ..he he he... (nasty, crooked grin here).

Okie okie, moving on the book itself. I've heard and read that many voiced out that the book is such a DISAPPOINTMENT to them! They sort of feel like, after all the waiting and anticipations..THIS is what we get???

Well, frankly speaking..I do admit that Jo Rowling had done better in some of the preceding books, but still - after much gloomy and dark episodes in the previous ones, it made a NICE change to read of a more jolly and optimistic side of their life.

Conceivably, there may be a lil too much of the lovey dovey scenes to our liking, but hey! they're in the middle of their teens aiite, and it would seem abnormal if none of them start to discover the mushy-mushy thingy we called LOVE. NORMAL TEENAGERS DO, don't they??And i believed that even wizards and witches are blessed with the blissful feeling o~ love, aren't they? Another thing that we musn't forget is that LOVE had played a central role in the stories, even from the start of the series (in Book 1). It was protrayed as the element of ancient magic that saved Harry from being killed by the darkest wizard there ever was. Hence, the stress on the LOVE aspects...

Now, let's talk about the good plots in the book first. I found that the first chapter- "The Other Minister" was a good start as it tells us on the seriousness of the situation they're facing. And it shows that Voldermort's evil doings did not only affected the wizarding community but the Muggle world as well-though most of them did not realized it. And it made a good transition from the previous book to this one.

As my reading progressed, I found myself more and more enthralled by the plots. Being as sentimental as i am (he he i can see Ayu sticking out her tongue at me ;-p ) i can't help but be touched by the fact that Dumbledore's taking Harry into his confidence and total care. He seemed to put more trust in Harry's judgement and abilities. And knowing how reckless Harry can be at times, it's quite satisfying to see him placing total faith and confidence in Harry.

Admittedly, there are some points declared by the critics which i have to agree on. It does seem that their lessons and Quidditch are being given less focus in this book. Though i could do without the Quidditch thingy-i have not much interest in sport u see-i do miss the lessons very much especially Care of the Magical Creatures! Yes yes! i know they hate the subject, but u gotta admit that lotsa things happened during these lessons. I mean like they were introduced to Buckbeak during one of these lessons weren't they?And among the most interesting thing-Malfoy being attacked by the hippogrif- happened during the lesson too (hehe..am i bad to think of it as an interesting "event"? ;-p). What's more, thanx to Hagrid for introducing them to Thestrals, they were able to ride it to the Ministry of Magic in the 5th book. And i'm more disappointed that their Defence against Dark Art lesson weren't as remarkable as before, but it was interesting to finally found out why no one seened to be able to hold the post for longer than a year- Voldemort's doing of coz! GrrRrr....

Another thing missing in this book is the dark atmosphere itself. It was only pictured in the earlier chapters. After that, becoz of the lack of exposure to these mayhem and destructions done by Voldemort and his followers, we tend to forget that there were facing one of the darkest time ever!

Other than that, the plots are as delicious as the butter-pecan ice cream from Baskin Robbins! YuMmie!!!(hehehe...that's sooo like comparing an orange to an apple eh??isk isk)

One of the unique thing that u can find in this book is the fact that; though Professor Snape played a big role in this book, MOST OF US didn't realize it until we come to the end of the book where he KILLED Dumbledore. On the other hand, looking at the cover of the book (mine is the UK Adult version; showing the Advance Potion textbook) i did had this vague idea that the Advanced Potion book will somehow be connected to Snape in some ways, though i never imagined that he was the Half Blood Prince. And I did have this impression that Snape will be a vital character this time. I mean, just think...when we say the word Potion..the name of Severus Snape will come to mind aiite??So......it was not a complete shock, only that we didn't put 2 and 2 together while being absorbed in the book...But in a way, Rowling somehow succeed in keeping the suspense and thrills until the end of the plots.

About Dumbledore's death, well some might think that it wasn't tragic enough but for me...the idea of Dumbledore being dead was appalling enough that we don't need a tragic way of him dying to make it more....real...and....ummm...catastrophic...*sob sob*

And just like Ayu said in her review, I didn't really have the feeling of "cepat la kluar next book, i can't wait" coz i was a bit disillusioned with the ending. But now that i've finished reading it for the 2nd time (i'm sure most of u've read it more than twice now) ... there's a lil bit of excitement building up here, and lotsa curiosity wanting to be satisfied :

1) Is Snape really "a servant who'll never return" to the Dark Lord??
2) What were they (Snape n Dumbledore) arguing about when Hagrid overheard them near the forest??
3) Dumbledore saying to Snape.."But u promised" and Snape replying something like "Maybe u took it for granted..maybe i just don't wanna do it anymore? Was Dumbledore's death planned by himself so as to get Snape to be Voldemort's most trusted man???
4) Like Ayu said, there must be more to Aunt Petunia than the cold-hearted, horsey-faced woman she was conceived to be...does she has deeper connection with the wizarding world than we know??
5) Surely Dumbledore trusted Snape due to better reason than Snape's repentance for giving out the info that led to the Potter's death, ain't it??????
6) AND MOST PUZZLING OF ALL, WHO'S R.A.B who destroyed the Horcrux???? I've racked my brain for hours but still can't figure it out!!!

To sum it up, there are things that i'd love Rowling to add to this book but i wouldn't even dream of her cutting off any of the sections or chapters as i love it just the way it was written, though I wouldn't mind if she add some more pages...(What??MORE??!!I can see Daphne's mouth hanging open in horror!!!hahaha)

As for the rating, i'd give this book 4 1/4 out of 5.. Sorry guys!Can't help it...even after all the critics, i find myself still loving it! ;-)

O'oh! I've run out of parchment here! Better stop now, till the next book then....Pip Pip!!

The Sight

Title: The Sight
Author: David Clement-Davies

Hullo ppl! You guys must be wondering wtf is this girl writing a completely absurd review of a 2002-published book when HPHBP is currently the most talked about book of 2005. Outdated, some might say, but I think there's no need for a bunch of HP reviews...cuz if I start to write abt it, I'll whine. And seriously, you'll not like it when I whine.

So what's "The Sight"all about? It's supposed to be a children's book (Just like HP was supposed to be), but it must appeal to werewolf fans (my friend recommended me this particular book), and since I'm quite one myself, I wondered how come I've never read this book b4. Frankly speaking, I didn't quite notice the cover for a while until I examined it, and I realized, that I've read magnificent reviews of this book sumwhere, a long, long time ago. (Yellow eyes of a wolf staring ryte atcha!)

Anyway, it's about a pack of wolves (or Vargs, rather) which has their own beliefs in Gods like Tor and Fenris, and how this particular belief pushed away all their superstitions of prophecies and such. The most popular, and feared superstition of all (which is told to the cubs usually to scare them) is The Sight, the ability to see the future, past, make a pact with birds, see through birds' eyes, etc.) One of the members of the pack, named Morgra was condemned for having The Sight, which is also related to an Evil Spirit called Wolfbane. She was wrongly accused and left out of injustice, and her anger led to manipulating her powers for evil.

Note that females are called Drappa, and males are called Dragga. Animals are called Lera, while Putnars are commonly hunters. Anyway, Morgra's brother is Huttser, whose mate is Palla. Now, this Palla, gave birth to two cubs, a Dragga and a Drappa. The Dragga cub's name is Fell, while the Drappa's name is Larka. Their elderly nurse, Brassa, could sense that one of these cubs has The Sight. It is said that a prophecy long forgotten will come true, and it is going to be a battle of which one between the wolves who possess The Sight could fulfill it.

Due to this, and the confrontation/hatred towards Morgra, the pack had to travel together in order to save themselves from Man traps, Morgra, and anything else that comes in their way. Man and Wolf are related quite closely in this tale, of fantasy and unexpected events that happen in their excursion of separating the truth from lies, and good from evil. Will Larka, Fell, and their friend Kar survive? What actually happened to Morgra, and who the heck is Wolfbane? You gotta read this one, guys. It's kinda complicated to tell the whole story, so, just pick this one up.

And soz, no HP review from me. My heart is shattered to pieces.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Title : Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Author: As if she needs introduction anyway! Hehe..

Ok.. I've been putting off making my review for this book for the longest time.. Yes Farah, I guess you must wonder why are we lagging behind here, especially for THE book of the year. Well, I have my reasons which I must say, seems SO obvious from my say in the chatter box.

I (and I'm not alone here) have been anticipating the coming of THE book for so long. C'mon la all of you, look deep down inside yourself and tell me that you didn't already start waiting for this book right after you turned the last page of The Order of The Phoenix? Heheh.. jangan tipu la.. I have the all-seeing eye here ;-p

I mean, Baizurah talked non-stop about Harry Potter and she kept giving me these pop-quiz questions, asking me to give her the exact moment a dialogue was said in the previous 5 books and though I was sooooooo busy at that time, she helped put me in the mood.

On THE day itself, I was all jittering, couldn't stop myself from wanting the time to fly quickly so I could finally have THE book in my hands. Baizurah was no help as she called me at 10.00am just to gloat over her 'victory' of picking up her copy first ;-p heheh.. Sangat jeles tau, Sentot! My feelings didn't get any better when she told me about the door gifts she received when getting her copy. Then I had to endure another 5 hours of tuition before FINALLY getting the chance to read my book.

Ok.. ok.. enough about the 'adventure' in getting the book. Let's go to my review, which in one word says : DISAPPOINTING!!!

Whhoooaww.. I can feel the glares of most of you here! Cam daggers going through me, but well, this IS my review kan? Haha.. Baizurah mesti tak puas hati ni hehe..

I mean, when I first started reading it, I found myself amazed at how matured Harry is, no longer feeling sorry for himself anymore.. ok, maybe a bit la but he DID change kan. And when he went back to the Burrow with Dumbledore, I was feeling,"Waaa.. baiknye Dumbledore! Macam Tok (father tak leh la kan since Dumbledore taught Harry's father before him) Harry plak" Though here, most of us noticed the differance in Dumbledore.. especially the obvious one where there was s'thing wrong with his hand kan.

As the story progressed, I found myself sinking deeper into the book but still, I had this nagging feeling at the pit of my stomach. When I came to the 3rd quarter of the book (I can hear Baizurah saying, "Asyik ulang ayat yg same je.. 3 quarter.. 3 quarter" Hehe..), I suddenly realized, "What??!!?? No nothing here??"

Lets face it, the only thing that seemed related to the previous books are their normal classes which sadly are mentioned very 'seldom'ly (ade ke perkataan seldomly?). Their classes have always been the source of the magical feelings we get when we read the books. Ok la, maybe one of the sources la but still, everyone agrees how they liked to read about the classes in Hogwarts kan? Especially now diorang dah complete their O.W.L.s so their lessons this year should be waaaaaaaay more interesting.. err, even if they HAD to drop Hagrid's subject! Haha, couldn't fit it in their schedule konon heheh..

Even Quidditch has lost its place in THIS book and this is quite disappointing considering that Harry HAS become the Captain of the Gryffindor team. I mean, Quidditch IS Harry's passion, right? And most of us have grown so used to knowing Harry would once again be the star in Quidditch tapi just look at that, just a few paragraphs of Quidditch here! But thank God there's the attraction of Dumbledore's 'private lessons' with Harry (Yup, we agree on THIS, Sentot!)

Another thing, (Baizurah says: Harry dah besaq la, Ayu.. biaq la dia bercinta!) is about the love affairs in this book. There seems to be endless stories about kissing in this book. I mean, since when did this book revolve around kissing? Memang la in the second book, Ginny DID mention she saw Percy and Penelope kissing, but THIS is outrageous! With Ginny and Ron quarelling about 'snogging', I mean, whats happening here? I know, maybe Rowling wants to appeal to the teenagers but still, it seemed out of place here.. a little bit could be okay, but not half of the book la!

Ok, maybe I'm a bit protective of Harry here haha.. perasan la cam kakak dia plak! I mean, kalau betul Ginny REALLY liked Harry, why talk about her and Dean yang 'like glue stuck to each other'? Then there's this somehow sickening description of Ron and Lavender sounding like a suction cup.. call me old fashioned then!

Though I still enjoy Ron and Hermione's bickering and their 'who-says-I-liked-you' attitude around each other, it didn't feel THAT appealing when too much outside affairs were thrown in.

Dumbledore's death DID move me a bit.. ok, a lot coz I was starting to feel more affectionate towards him and maybe most of you feel the same way too but still I couldn't help agreeing on some views that say, it should be more dramatic. Sirius's and Cedric's death seemed more interesting to some of us. I didn't quite realize this until it was pointed out to me but yes, maybe I DO agree.. a bit la sebab still sedih gak Dumbledore mati.

And about Snape.. I have always trusted him since Dumbledore trusted him too.. turns out, he's a true Slytherin! Sangat marah!!! Heheh.. over plak.. But then, do all of you sympathize with Malfoy here? I dunno, tiba² kesian pulak kat dia in this book though I've hated him before.. tgk la time Myrtle told Harry that Malfoy's been crying in the toilet for a while, saying that he's being bullied (by Voldemort la, sape lagi kan?)

Then there's this seemingly rushing-into-the-ending thing that I can't quite understand. All the while, I always liked reading the book from the start right through the end but this time it feels like I'm driving this car idly and only at the last minute, when going downhill, do I realize I don't have brakes.. soooooo.. Gosh, I don't have the word to describe it!

Maybe its just me BUT I've gotten the same comments from fellow fans here..

And to make matters worse, I don't have the feeling of, "Cepat² la next book dia kluar! Tak sabar ni!" like I felt when reading the previous book. I feel as if I waited 2 years for nothing here sob.. sob..

I mean, there MIGHT be no Hogwarts! There's definitely no more Dumbledore though I'm secretly hoping that he'd come back, as a ghost pun tak pe lah! And it DOES seem like there'd be no more FUN in it since Harry is adamant to go search for Voldemort! Waaaaaaaaa, why aah? Why??

Well, I hope I'm wrong.. really² hope I'm wrong! *Crossing my fingers here* I guess even the greatest writers have their ups and down and for Rowling's sake, I hope it'll be more UP than ever in the next and supposedly final book in this series.

There are lots more I want to know, unanswered questions, I mean

1. Why did Petunia recognize Dumbledore's voice in the Howler he sent to her a few books ago?
2. Does she have relations to the magical world too?
3. To what extent are the powers of Voldemort towards Harry, since he supposedly tranfered some of his powers to Hary when he wanted to kill him, remember?
4. How come Dumbledore could trust Snape so much? What did he do to REALLY deserve his second chance? I mean, takkan la you guys believe the story yang Dumbledore trusted him sebab dia dah insaf?
5. Why did Voldemort say that Snape is 'my servant who would never return to me' in the forth book, but it still turned out that dia tu belot?

Banyak lagi questions, but I've got this writers block here now..

Well, I guess thats it from me now.. till then, keep your fingers crossed for the final installment of Harry Potter.. cheerio!

Aristotle Politics

Since I am in the National Academy and wants to torture those friends of mine not here, I'm gonna do a review on a classical text or literature on constitution and political theory. This is probably the most important text ever, as it discusses the ideas or the foundations of a good constitution.

Aristotle's Politics is one of the most influential and enduring texts of political philosophy in all of history. The Aristotelian tradition, following from the philosophy of Plato and continuing in the writings of Cicero, Augustine, Aquinas (pening ke belom lagi fromall these wierd names?) and other medieval theorists, has formed the backdrop against which all subsequent political and moral philosophy has found its orientation.

Early modern political philosophers such as Machiavelli and Hobbes (which I am sure is quite familiar to all of us), as well as modern Enlightenment theorists and even postmodern authors have either explicitly or implicitly defined themselves against the Aristotelian model (which is the whole idea of Aristotle on the criteria and characteristics of a good constitution). While writers in the Aristotelian tradition believed that politics has to be based on a fundamental conception of the good as an objective ultimate end for human beings, political theorists from the pre-moderns to today have tried to base politics on anything but a shared idea of the good.

The initial reason for this change is perhaps the fear that claiming the existence of one objective end for human life is too likely to lead to serious conflicts like the Wars of Religion. Coupled with this fear is a profound philosophical skepticism originating with Descartes that questions the existence of any intrinsic human nature, objective end for human life, and even objective truth in general.

These motivations are relatively clear at least in the case of Hobbes, who lived through both the Wars of Religion and the English Civil War, both of which were highly ideological conflicts, although concerns for power and material gain were also at the forefront. Hobbes attacks Aristotle vehemently in his writings, precisely because he is afraid that having such a clear-cut and universal conception of the good will inevitably lead to further ideological warfare. It is because the core assumptions of Hobbes' and Aristotle's thought are directly opposed to one another that Hobbes believes Aristotelian ideas sufficiently dangerous to merit such strong condemnation.

While Hobbes constantly emphasizes the absolute necessity of acting rationally for self-preservation, Aristotle looks beyond the mere goal of living to the higher aim of living well, in accordance with the natural function of man. This emphasis on living well is a danger in Hobbes' view, for he believes that any lofty ideals for which one may be willing to sacrifice one's life can lead to rebellion and the dissolution of the commonwealth. From Aristotle's perspective, what Hobbes fails to understand is that the goal of self-preservation will not suffice to motivate people to moderate their desires and restrain their actions. Hobbes, however, a skeptic who had been highly influenced by the writings of Descartes, simply did not believe in the existence of an ultimate good, or even for that matter in the existence of objective reality outside the human mind.

The Enlightenment was likewise largely a reaction against the Aristotelian tradition. All liberal political theories, no matter how far-ranging in specific tenets and prescriptions, hold in common one fundamental premise: the freedom and equality of human beings. To safeguard this hallowed bedrock of liberalism, liberal philosophers shrink from the metaphysical view of virtue proposed by Aristotle.

For with a fixed standard of human excellence, how can one say that all are equal when some are clearly more virtuous than others?

Hahahahahaha.... I don't want to be stressing your minds unnecessarily anymore... Anyway, basically what I understod from yesterday and today's session - as I have several more weeks to go - is that Constitution is the most important part and duty of a citizen. A citizen's duty is to interpret the meaning and function of a constitution. Without this knowledge, we would not know the importance of the power that is in our hands - that we place in the representatives we elected to voice out our needs.

Another thing that I want to say is that this workshop has given me a greater understanding and appreciation of not only the American Legacy - the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence, but also OUR own Malaysian government and independence... and I'll explain that later in part 2...

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation tie-ins

Title: CSI series
Author: Max Allan Collins

It's been a long time since my last review.... so I decided to make a sextant (sp?) review of the whole CSI novel series.
If you're a true CSI fan, you've gotta get the books cuz there's so much in detail written here including, some *ehem* hints of romance between the CSIs. Like the TV series, the book also usually has two cases in one book, solved at the same time.

The first in the series' title is Double Dealer. It's mainly abt a killer who has a double tap signature, whose identity must be revealed. The problem is, FBI agents are also interested in the case and of course, Grissom wouldn't let it go so easily. Another case is the murder of a 15-year-old girl.

Second is Sin City (not the Jessica Alba movie, mind you!), where a born-again Christian woman named Lynn Pierce was reported missing after her husband threatened to cut her into pieces, while Jenna Patrick, a stripper (thus the relevant title), was found strangled in her working booth.

Third is Cold Burn, Grissom and Sara were sent to a conference for forensic geeks high up on a picturesque, chilly mountain hotel (Grissom+Sara couple lovers will love this one), found a burnt body in the midst of the snowy mountains. This is one of the best novel in the series, and my personal favorite together with Sin City.

Fourth is Body of Evidence, where an employee discovered a grotesque child porn photos in her boss' printer. Another case is the disappearance of the mayor's secretary. You'll never get to guess who's the culprit until the very end.

Fifth is Grave Matters, where a woman wants to excavate her mother's grave because she believed that her mom was murdered. However, more problems pop out when the body was not her mom's, but a complete stranger's. Meanwhile, at a nearby hospital, a patient's death was very unnatural which led to an investigation by Catherine and Warrick. This is another favorite of mine because of the twists.

The last one, but not least, is Binding Ties. This is the first book that features Dr. Al Robbins and Greg Sanders on the back cover (The other five only have Grissom, Catherine, Nick, Warrick, Sara and Brass) since both cast members (David Hall and Eric Szmanda were finally credited as main cast in Season 5). It's abt a serial killer who had been terrorizing Las Vegas 10 years back, used the same modus operandi to kill his latest victim. However, through a reporter, he claimed that he didn't do it. There's a copycat, or so he said. This is the most tense of the series, and by far most real.

I must say that I loved the series because the author didn't mind to delve into the character's emotions and past background. While the TV show took a while before telling the audience what the characters' lives were, or the troubles they had beyond LVPD office hours, the book had it all. Besides, I loved the fact that there's much I could learn (all the scientific terms and chemical stuff) which made the series a must-have just like the show a must-watch.

Coming UP: THe CSI Miami series.

'Double double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble' - Macbeth...

I studied Macbeth when I was in high school. Instead of taking other subjects like Arts or Geography, I had to be different. I took English Literature - and my highschool at that time did not offer English Literature, but Malay Literature (Gila nak suruh aku buat Malay Literature, BM biasa pun nak pass susah!! hahahaha). There were only four of us who took English Lit. from SGGS, and we had to take extra classes on our own in order to pass the course. And yes, I think it's the best subject by far!

If Hamlet is the grandest of Shakespeare's plays, Macbeth is from a tragic standpoint the most sublime and the most impressive as an acting play.

Nothing so terrible has been written since the Eumenides of Aeschylus, and nothing in dramatic literature--not even the slaying of Agamemnon--is depicted with such awesome intensity as the murder of Duncan. The witches are not, it is true, the divine Eumenides; they are not intended to be so; they are ignoble and vulgar instruments of hell, and the German poet who transformed them into a mixture of fates, furies and enchantresses, clothing them with tragic dignity, very ill understood their meaning.

Whether the age of Shakespeare still believed in ghosts and witches is a matter of perfect indifference for the justification of the use which, in Hamlet and Macbeth, he has made of pre-existing traditions. No superstition can be widely diffused without having a foundation in human nature; on this the poet builds; he calls up from their hidden abysses that dread of the unknown, that presage of a dark side of nature and a world of spirits, which philosophy now imagines it has altogether exploded. Shakespeare is a true literary genius - and the play of words, emotions and scenarios for a writer during his time was absolutely marvellous. Due to his literary genius, words were coined and created by him, due to his writings!

Back to Macbeth, these repulsive hags (the witches of course!), from which the imagination shrinks, are here emblems of the hostile powers which operate in nature; and the repugnance of our senses is outweighed by the mental horror. With one another they discourse like women of the very lowest class; for this was the class to which they were ordinarily supposed to belong; when, however, they address Macbeth, they assume a loftier tone; their predictions, which they either themselves pronounce or allow their apparitions to deliver, have all the obscure brevity, the majestic solemnity of oracles. They are governed by an invisible spirit, or the operation of such great and dreadful events would be above their sphere.

With what intent did Shakespeare assign the same place to them in his play which they occupy in the history of Macbeth as related in the old chronicles?

A monstrous crime is committed; Duncan, a venerable old man, and the best of kings, is, in defenseless sleep, under the hospital's roof, murdered by his subject, whom he has loaded with honors and rewards. Natural motives alone seem inadequate, or the perpetrator must have been portrayed as a hardened villain. Shakespeare wished to exhibit a more sublime picture--an ambitious but noble hero, yielding to a deep-laid hellish temptation, and in whom all the crimes to which, in order to secure the fruits of his first crime, he is impelled by necessity, cannot altogether eradicate the stamp of native heroism. He has, therefore, given a threefold division to the guilt of that crime.

The first idea comes from beings whose whole activity is guided by the lust of wickedness. The weird sisters surprise Macbeth in the moment of intoxication of victory, when his love of glory has been gratified; they cheat his eyes by exhibiting to him as the work of fate what in reality can only be accomplished by his own deed, and gain credence for all their words by the immediate filfilment of the first prediction.

The opportunity of murdering the king immediately offers; the wife of Macbeth conjures him not to let it slip; she urges him on with a fiery eloquence, which has at command all those sophisms that serve to throw a false splendor over crime. Little more than the mere execution falls to the share of Macbeth; he is driven into it, as it were, in a tumult of fascination. Repentance immediately follows, nay, even precedes the deed, and the stings of conscience leave him rest neither night nor day. But he is now fairly entangled in the snares of hell. That same Macbeth, who once as a warrior could spurn at death, now that he dreads the prospect of the life to come, clings with growing anxiety to his earthly existence the more miserable it becomes, and pitilessly removes out of the way whatever to his dark and suspicious mind seems to threaten danger.

However much we may abhor his actions, we cannot altogether refuse to compassionate the state of his mind; we lament the ruin of so many noble qualities, and even in his last defense we are compelled to admire the struggle of a brave will with a cowardly conscience.

Lady Macbeth, who of all the human participators in the king's murder is the most guilty, is thrown by the terrors of her conscience into a state of incurable bodily and mental disease; she dies, unlamented even by her husband. Macbeth is still found worthy to die the death of a hero on the field of battle. The noble Macduff is allowed the satisfaction of saving his country by punishing with his own hand the tyrant who had murdered his wife and children.

Banquo, by an early death, atones for his ambitious curiosity to know his glorious descendants, as he thereby has roused Macbeth's jealousy; but he preserves his mind pure from the evil suggestions of the witches; his name is blessed in his race, destined to enjoy for a long succession of ages that royal dignity which Macbeth could only hold for his own life.

In the progress of the action, this play is the reverse of Hamlet; it strides forward with amazing rapidity from the first catastrophe to the last. The precise duration of the action cannot be ascertained--years, perhaps, according to the story--but to the imagination the most crowded time appears always the shortest. Here we can hardly conceive how so much could have been compressed into so narrow a space, and not merely external events, for the very inmost recesses in the minds of the dramatic personages are laid open to us.

It is as if the drags were taken from the wheels of time, and they rolled along without interruption in their descent....

Anne of Green Gables series pt.1

Title : No specific title.. I'm talking about the series here :-p
Author: Lucy Maud Montgomery a.k.a L.M. Montgomery

I was introduced to this carrot-haired lass a few years back during the Dunhill Double on TV2.. remember? Yup, I got to know her from the TV FIRST, before getting to know her in literature. And, hey, don't tell me I'm the only one here hehe..

Fast forward a few years later, I was in the school library when I stumbled upon the series and after that, I kept going back to borrow the books until I finished all 8. Sadly, I didn't get to read them in order as it was more to availability. Being the blabbering girl who loves to talk about books, I told my classmates about my find and well, everyone just wanted a piece of it that I had to 'chup' the books from my friends in order to read them.

Well, back to the present time, around last year when I was doing my usual book hunting (one thing about Popular, you never KNOW when you'd find a GEM.. I found Quidditch Through The Ages on one of these trips and I doubt that most of you even have SEEN it haha.. Baizurah, tolong la jeles kat saya!!!) when I came across Anne of Green Gables. Remebering the childhood fun of reading it, I quickly paid for it and savoured every minute reading it.

A few days later, at KBJ, must be jodoh haha, I found other the books in this series but since I bought just a handful of money then, I just managed to buy 2 but that just started my hunt to complete the whole series from the well known Anne of Green Gables right up to Rilla of Ingleside which by the way narrates the accounts of Annes youngest daughter, Rilla, named after Marilla Cuthbert, the woman who took care and loved Anne as her own child.

So now, people, I'm the proud owner of the whole set!!

The series kick-starts with Anne of Green Gables which all of us know is about the 9 year old orphan who was sent to the Cuthberts by mistake, but managed to steal the hearts of everyone in Avonlea, including the Gilbert Blythe, who somehow seems to remind me Raja Nazrin.. in the movie la but don't ask me why! Baizurah, we can relate to her, you know.. she too, is a day dreamer like us haha.. She and her 'bosom friend' Diana get into a lot of scrapes, with Anne as the mastermind of it, of course. The both of them (kindred spirits, as Anne describes them) create all these stories for every place in Avonlea and even venture to change the name of nearly all these places.

Anne (spelt with an 'e' haha..) is described as a smart but hot-headed girl, proven by her infamous action of slamming her slate on top of poor Gilbert's head, then refusing to speak to him ever, even when he saved her from the river one day. Her pride just won't let her befriend him, though, at the end of the book, she finally asks him for forgiveness for her stubborness.

The second book is Anne of Avonlea which tells of Anne abandoning her dreams to further her studies just so she could look after Marilla after Matthew's death. She becomes a teacher at her dear old school in Avonlea, courtesy of Gilbert who handed her the post given to him earlier. Full with expectations, she starts her job but soon realizes that what she dreamt of and what student REALLY are made of, are not the same. But cheery Anne still maintains her trust in her students and she wins their adoration. She further becomes close to one student of hers named Paul (I think..) who lost his mother since he was small. Somehow, Anne's intrusion in his life helped him find a new mother who's just perfect for him.

Back at home, Marilla adopts twins who are somehow her kin. I don't remember what happened to the twin's family, though. Dora and Dave are as different as day and night. Dora, the sensible, prim and proper but boring twin contrasts with her mischievous and cheeky twin, Davy. Davy soon grows attached to Anne and is jelous of the bond between Anne and Paul. Gilbert also starts his advances to Anne, which, as readers, we understand Anne's feeling's more than she herself does. *sigh*

Here we learn that, once upon a time ago, Marilla and gilbert's father were once a couple but because of Marilla's stubborness, they broke up. Mariila never forgot that and she was afraid that Anne might make the same mistake.

Another thing, Ms Rachel moved in with them after the death of her husband and together, the old ladies took care of the twins and the farm, enabling Anne to go to college the next fall.

Then there's Anne of the Island. In this book, she finally pursues her dream of going to college, Redmond College to be exact. And guess who's also there.. Gilbert Blythe! Together they compete with each other in college, with Gilbert always a small step ahead of Anne.

Anne befriends this cheeky but very sweet childish flirt with the name of Phillipa and together with her old friend Prissy, they rent this cute cottage together and learn not only lessons in class, but also lessons in life. It is here that Anne starts feeling confused with her feelings for Gilbert. Gilbert on the other hand, hurt by Anne's rejection, befriend another girl, Christine but only at the end do we know that he was just taking care of Christine.

Anne gets her first proposal, in such a ridiculous way that she can't help laughing about it! She also befriends this other guy, whom I can't remember his name (nmpk sangat pro-Gilbert!) but doesn't end up with him in the end for obvious reasons haha..

She misses Green Gables, Marilla, Mrs Rachel whom she once despised, Dora and Davy but somehow manages. Even her dreamy Paul has grown up, living with his father and new mother. He no longer has day dreams like he once had but he still corresponds with Anne and still writes his poetry.

Towards the end, Gilbert fall sick and is feared to be dying. This somehow is the turning twist of Anne and Gilbert's life when they finally admit what they've been feeling for so long *double sigh*.

The fourth book is Anne of Windy Poplars about her life after college. She has finally graduated and about to begin a new life as a teacher in Summerside. Howver, her cheery composition is darkened by the Pringles, a clan considered 'royalty' of Summerside.

Here, she rents a room at Windy Poplars with two widows, Aunt Kate and Aunt Chatty, together with their housekeeper, Rebecca Dew (Anne could never call Rebecca with her first name, it was always accompanied by her surname). These are her friends who help her uncover the secret of the Pringles and at the same time, win their trust and heart too.

Apart from the Pringles (I'm imagining the potato chips right now..), Anne's meddlesome nature urges her to help little Elizabeth, a dreamy girl version of Paul. She was abandoned by her hurt father after her mother died while giving birth to her and looked after by her grandmother who controls her too much. Anne however managed to persuade Elizabeth's father to come and just take a look at his daughter, but the father took a step farther by taking Elizabeth with him instead, making the little girl happy.

Anne also helps change this hard hearted teacher, Catherine. Anne's warmth and cheerfulness was so infectious that she finally thawed this Ice Queen who finally became her friend after so much differances they displayed against each other. Don't forget, Anne is stubborn too!

Here, Anne also manages to learn about her real parents and suddenly feels so complete after having the chance to keep sweet momentos of her parents.

This book is punctuated with letters from Anne to Gilbert and vice versa.. sweet² letters too! BTW, Gilbert was still finishing his studies in medicine here, that's why they aren't married yet.

Wow!! Look at the time, I still haven't finished the preview for the other 4 books of this series, but I guess I'd continue next time.. later, guys!

The Green Mile

Title : The Green Mile
Author: Stephen King

Now, though I have an entire book shelf of Stephen King books, which sadly only 4-5 books are good enough for my repeated reading, I'm not exactly his ardent fan. Sometimes I DO wonder why sometimes I keep buying his books but then, once in a while when I manage to get a good book out of him, I'm reminded again of why I buy his books.

One of my favourites is The Green Mile. This novel was first published as a serial novel but I was lucky to find the complete compilation of the series and I really enjoyed it. To be honest, I watched the movie first, before reading the book and though the movie has omitted a lot of the actual story, its still good. I'd recommend watching the movie first before proceeding to the book or you might be disappointed eventhough the movie gets a 4-star rating from me.

The Green Mile refers to this green strip of colour lined at the floor of the prison that leads to the execution area, better known as Old Sparky, the electric chair. The story, narrated by prison guard Paul Edgecombe revolves around a few main characters such as John Coffey (the so-called criminal who's so simple minded, you'd wonder how they even thought of him as the criminal, though his size could contribute to it), Warden Moores (the prison warden), the prison guards namely Dean Stanton, Harry Terwilliger and Brutus Howell aka 'Brutal' (though he's as gentle as a lamb, but has this garang face) and the infamous Percy Wetmore (reminds me of Percy Plod in the 'Happy Family' game card most of us played when younger) who's one of the most irritating guy you'd ever meet, always strutting his stuff (which is not much anyway, he got the job because he had connections and applied for it so he could beat up the prisoners) and pretending to be such a big shot!

Anyway, the story starts with a newcomer in this prison block. The block these guys were stationed at is the final place for the prisoner before he is executed so any newcomer had his fate already sealed. Paul had been used to all sorts of criminals but this new one kept him puzzled. His name was John Coffey ("like the drink, only not spelled the same way" <--this was Coffey's sure-line after introducing himself). Coffey was a giant of a man, and black, and this was a time when discrimination was still on the heat. He seemed to be able to crush everyone with his bare hand but, suprisingly, he was soft spoken and well-mannered in the 'simple Simon' way. The guards were suprised when he told them not to switch of the lights since he was afraid of the dark coz that was a stark contrast to his crime -->raping two sisters and killing them, cold heartedly after poisoning the dog! Somehow, Paul had already started to doubt Coffey was guilty.

Oppss, the story is quite long and I don't want to dwell on the details anyway but as we go on, we are introduced to other inmates of the priosn cell like Dell, a kind'a retarded person who had raped a girl and killed her then burnt her body in hopes to destroy the evidence but somehow, a building was also caught with the fire causing two more deaths. But apart from his ONLY crime, he was just this simple minded guy. Then there's William Wharton aka Wild Bill, I think, who was arrested for I-don't-remember-what BUT, towards the end, you'd know he had a connection with Coffey, and suprisingly, you'd get so mad it was as if you were involved in the story too.. talk about the power of literature! Wild Bill arrived looking like a drug-junkie but you'd laugh out loud at what he did to Percy.. serves him right, anyway!

Then, one unforgetable character will be Mr Jingles who is Dell's pet in prison. He might look like an ordinary mouse but he sure is smart. The story would be punctuated by stories revolving around Mr Jingles, and don't be suprised to see how important the role he plays here. Towards the end.. and here I mean towards the end coz this story is narrated by Paul when he was already in a nursing home.

The story is mainly about what happened during the time Coffey was imprisoned before his execution. You can't help but feel a bit of affection for the gentle giant who always saw the good in people. He was also always trying to be nice to everyone-not in that sickly sweet way, mind you- even volunteered to look after Mr Jingles when it was finally time for Dell to go to Old Sparky which with Percy's 'help' turned into an ugly event. Somehow, King manages to explain the procedur for electric chair execution but Percy, being Percy, wanted to see more of the action and what happened turned out to be so ugly, that Mr Jingles finally ran off after feeling what was happening to Dell, through Coffey's body!

And WOW!! Dell's execution was certainly well described. But you also can't help feeling sorry for him after you've got to know him throughout the book. In the movie, Dell is potrayed by this actor who made such a wonderful job outta it, that when I read about Dell, I keep seeing this guy's face. The same goes to Coffey who was palyed by this guy.. I'm not sure of his name but if i'm not mistaken, he starred in DareDevil the movie as the King Pin or something like that. Sorry, I didn't watch DareDevil but I saw the picture in the papers so I'm sure its the same guy! But Paul was played by no other than Tom Hanks.

Throughout John Coffey's time in prison, Paul had been infected with a urinary infection but somehow, towards the end, he learnt what was special about John Coffey, when Coffey helped him with this problem. This gave them (Paul, Brutus, Harry and Dean) the idea to bring Coffey to Warden Moores home, to help his wife Melinda who was supposed to be dying of cancer. You would laugh at all the measures they took in order to smuggle Coffey out where they had to take care of Wild Bill and Percy, so these two won't notice anything amiss.

Gosh, I wanted to keep this as a secret at first but I guess I have to tell you guys about it. Coffey had this special healing ability where he could 'suck' illness from anyone, and dispose it in form of these dusts he would exhale through his mouth. He did it to Paul so Paul had known what was to happen. However, in doing it to Melinda, Coffey didn't even exhale the dust he was supposed to. This worried Paul but they had to haul Coffey back to prison at that time before anyone realized he was missing, so Paul didn't have time to persuade Coffey to do so.

Arriving at the prison, Percy woke up (he was given sleeping pills by Paul and Brutus) just in time for Coffey to be safely in his cell. Being up to his usually bullying habit, he went up to Coffey for his round of 'torturing' when suddenly Coffey exhaled all those dusts right into Percy's mouth. What followed was something none of the guards would ever forget as Percy slowly recovered but with this distant look on his face. He then went to Wild Bill's cell, and shot the guy clean!

Percy was then institutionalized (am I using the right word here?). He was never the same.

It was after all these that Paul finally had the courage to go up to Coffey and ask him about the crimes, and about what he did to Percy. You'd really pity Coffey at this part when finally the truth comes out. As much as Paul wanted to help Coffey, the sole evidence to Coffey's innocence was already dead but then again even Coffey didn't want to live anymore. He was so sensitive to the pain of others that his execution was a welcome break for him.

I really love this book, one of the King's greatest compositions. Quite heavy though, not intended for light reading but I'm sure you guy's would've enjoyed it too!

The 5ive People you Meet in Heaven

Title : The Five People you Meet in Heaven
Author: Mitch Albom

Now don't ask me why I bought a hard cover version of this book. With the big fonts and double/triple (Exaggerating to the max!!) spacing, I now think it was a waste of my money. It just came out here in Malaysia at that time so the were no paperbacks yet.

I read the review from NST. Since they had high regards of Tuesdays with Morrie, also written by the same author, it convinced me to try this book out. Even at MPH, I was dazzled by the praises this book received (reading it at the back of the book!) so it blinded all my dispelasure at the fonts and spacing thingey I'm always fussy about.

Though a tad disappointed, I still think this book is ok. Relaxing even.. ok², I like books too much to say they are not good, though once in a while I DO stumble upon a book not worth reading, not EVEN worth selling in bookstores so this books settles down in the OK category. 97% books are ok for me, in that matter!

This story happens on Eddie's birthday which ironically is also the day of his death. The author describes it as, "This story begin in the end!". Haha.. cute description, though!

Eddie is the maintenance guy who works at the amusement park in his hometown. All his life, he's been living near this amusement park, except the time he went for military services, and since his father also worked there, it seemed like the only logical choice for him.

Everyone loves Eddie (cam nama cerita tv plak..). The kids, the adults, his co-workers and so on and so forth. He periodically check on the rides, ensuring every nut and bolt is in its place so the park would be accident-free. However, God had other plans for him and that day, an accident happend at the Ferris Wheel that lead to his death while he was trying to help a child.

Upon waking up, Eddie, though he knew he had died, was suprised to see the afterlife so much like earth. This is where he met the first person he should meet before entering his OWN heaven. (Ok, the author has the idea that all of us have our own heavens, depending on which place on earth we were happiest)

The book talks about Eddie's journey through 5 other peoples heaven. All these 5 people have been connected to him in one way or another, though some of them he barely recognizes. Once he realizes the lesson in one heaven, he will be transported to another's heaven and learn another lesson.

The journey is punctuated with birthday tales of Eddie throughout his life. From the time he was born, to being a child, then a teenager right through adulthood. Somehow, these birthday tales are essential to understanding the story, I guess.

Simply written, still, sometimes you feel a stab of pain or pride while reading this book, especially when it narrates about his relationship with the father he hates but secretly worships and about his wife whom he really loved. Quite a good writer, though APASAL CITER DIA PENDEK SGT??

Reading this book makes you wonder how much you have affected other peoples lives, and I don't mean this positively! For example, one of the people Eddie met in heaven was this guy who died just because Eddie and his friends were playing ball. It happened that the ball they were playing has been kicked right into the street in front of this guy who had just learnt to drive. Though the guy managed to swerved at the right moment, thus saving the life of little Eddie at that time, the shock at a near-accident weakened his already delicate heart, thus made him die peacefully in his car right after avoiding hitting Eddie. Eddie on the other hand, obvlious to what happened, continued to play with his peers.

It's true, you know. You then realize that sometimes, unintentionally, you affect these changes in other people though you don't really realize it. The change might be for good, might be for bad, but still, it happens!

Hehe, I'd really categorize this book in the self-inspiration category. Even my housemate pondered on this question for days so if you guys want to read this, better borrow my copy or at the library. Not really worth its weight in gold, though in this case, its paper but it could keep you occupied for a few days..

Hmmm. makes me start wondering again..

Deception Point

Title : Deception Point
Author: Dan Brown

This is yet another book by this author and in a way, this book is more relaxing than the two previous books I've reviewed but nonetheless, still entertaining.

Yes, this book starts with the assasination of someone but no, it doesn't involve Robert Langdon being awaken from his sleep by a phone call. In fact, the story revolves more around a woman, not a man this time. Intelligence analyst, Rachel Sexton is the daughter of a prominant senator who's in the running for the president of the United States election. However, her relationship with her father is anything but close.. hostile in fact. She partly blames her ambitious father on her mother's heartbreak that lead to her death though they still maintain a courtious relationship.

While having breakfast with her father, she is summoned by the President to verify a new finding by NASA. Due to the cirucumstances, where the President is on the brink of losing because of his constant support for NASA which have more than failed the American people during recent times, Rachel's boss suspects that the President is using her as a pawn against her father, not that she minds anyway. Her father has been using the NASA issue as his point to topple the current President with his slogan "Less spending bla.. blaa" Gosh! I forgot the slogan!!! I can't believe I forgot it.. well, I'll update the slogan once I remember, k.

The discovery apparently involves the extraterrestrial issue debated long ago by experts but if you want to know about it, go grab the book la hehe.. Anyway, as an analyst, Rachel was supposed to verify the authenticy of the finding and help to broadcast it throughtout the nation.. theirs la, bukan sini! However, amidst the excitement, a small flaw surfaced that lead to a bigger complication that threatened to put NASA and the President in jeapordy.

Then, as stories go, the people responsible for whatever happened wrong realized that these group of experts have detected the deceit behind the discovery, thus prompting them to destroy the whole group and here it all begins.

Compared to Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code, some people might find this book quite tame but it was a great relief from those two books as you don't have your mind trying to solve anything before the characters do. You just go with the flow with this book though there ARE part which you want to scream or something hehe..

One thing about this book is, though it still with the theme of 'being deceived by someone you trust', this time Dan Brown made a great job of hiding who the person is. In Angels and Demons, towards the end of the book, I somehow realized who was deceiving who, as like in The Da Vinci Code where you could already guess earlier. However, this time, I was proved wrong. Glad about that though as I don't like books to be so predictable.

The end was expected, I mean, good guys always win though they might lose something on the way! Hey, ask Harry Potter, it always happens that way to him.. nearly always la! But still, I quite enjoyed the whole reading experience.

So, people out there, if you want a book to help you rewind, but you're not in favour of the mushy² type, this could be one of your choice.

Till next time.. cheerio!

A Knight in Shining Armor

Title: A Knight in Shining Armor
Author: Jude Deveraux

Continuing the Romance fever that has been controlling the blog recently, I kept my promise of writing another time-travel themed novel...and it's a very touching one, too. And no, it's not downright corny to feel that way (even after a dose of mystery-solving genre).

Anyway, Jude Deveraux is another romance writer whose works I truly cherish besides Judith McNaught (in fact they're both friends), and one thing about Ms. Deveraux is that she loved to tell stories of the heroine being whisked back to the past...(another title is Remembrance).

Okay. The prologue tells us of a young man named Nicholas in 1564 England, trying to write a very crucial letter to his mother, in order to save his life. The next thing that happened was, he started to hear a woman weeping but he tried to shove the thoughts away since he was alone in his room, it might be the works of a witch. Time passed on and he still couldn't get the woman's weepings out of his head. At last, he gave in, following a ray of light...leading him somewhere.

The next chapter we're back to the future (1988 England). The beginning of the story we're introduced to the heroine, an American school teacher named Douglass Montgomery. She described herself as the *black sheep of the Montgomery family* because all her other siblings have better jobs, better lovelifes, etc., and she was always the laughing stock during family reunions. Thankfully, she thought she would end her miserable lovelife after getting hooked with a man named Robert, who promised her to a romantic getaway in England. Unfortunately, Robert confessed that he was going to bring his beloved 13-year old daughter Gloria, together, thus destroying any hopes of a romantic affair to bloom. If taking Gloria is not enough, Douglass could not get along with the young girl because of her spoiled character, dissing Douglass with hurting comments, and accusing her of doing things. Worse, Robert always stood up for her daughter and blamed Douglass for his daughter's misery. At one point, Douglass could not stand it anymore and decided to leave Robert, hoping that he would ask her to follow him back. But he never did. Instead, he drove off angrily with Gloria, leaving Douglass alone at the cemetery of an ancient English monastery. At this point, readers must have felt sympathy for Douglass.

She wept and wept at this particular tomb which had a marble statue on top, of a man wearing a knight's suit. She read the name on the tomb and it stated, "Nicholas Stafford, Earl of Thornwyck". It hit her that she wanted someone judt like that - A Knight in Shining Armor. The next thing she knew, a real, living knight in shining armor was standing right in front of her, accusing her of being a witch and demanded her to return him back. The man was no other than Nicholas Stafford himself. She was mesmerized and confused all at the same time. The man was handsome (of course), but he acted (and spoke) differently that she thought Nicholas was a madman who suffered from schizophrenia or something. AT first, they couldn't stand each other because she didn't believe that he was indeed the Earl from the past and he kept accusing her as a witch.

Time passed on and she started to believe him bit by bit (especially after the ancient-coin exchange part). Since it was the future, Nicholas began to ask her what had happened between 1564 to 1988, how the history books portrayed him, what happened to his family...since one second he was writing a letter and the next he's in 1988. Nicholas realized that he was executed in 1564, his whole family was accused of treachery against Queen Elizabeth I. Even the history books had nothing good to say about him...he was portrayed as a playboy, a spoiled brat who wasn't interested in anything except girls. Douglass felt sorry for him because he didn't seem to be that way. And she tried to help him by taking him to his residence (which was refurnished a a tourist attraction, a.k.a, a museum). There, she learnt more about him, especially an important bit where they were told by a guide that NIcholas impregnated Lady Arabella Sydney, the wife of his friend, Robert Sydney. Two servants spied on him and their accounts were written into a book.

Nicholas frowned, but he still had to know what brought to his execution. He also told Dougless that he had an older brother, Lord Christopher, who drowned in a lake and died, and a son, who died too. He also confessed that he had a wife, Lady Lettice, whom he loved very much. Dougless' heart sank. However, the chemistry was too strong that they couldn't stand being far from each other, that one night, they finally made love.

The next day, Nicholas was gone, just before she could tell him the truth on who framed him which led to his death. Worse, no one remembered Nicholas existed. She searched frantically for shirts and colognes that she had bought for him in their room, but all were gone, as if Nicholas had never entered her life. She cried again, weeping at his tomb, and all of a sudden, she was whisked back to the past, 1560. 4 years before Nicholas' execution. She realized that there was time for her to change history and save her lover. But, she had a few problems. Nicholas didn't know who she was, he didn't listen to her words, accused her of being a witch (again), and she thought she would never be able to save him. It also hit her that everything written in the history books were true -- Nicholas was a notorious philanderer. Just as she lost hope (since Nicholas appeared to hate her), she never thought that his family members adored her.

She cured Nicholas' mom's flu by giving her flu tablets, taught the Thornwyck household Broadway songs (like My Fair Lady - could you imagine?), caught the eye of Nicholas' older and much more sensible brother Christopher, and made Nicholas achingly jealous. All the things she did were important to ensure that a few things didn't happen -- the Arabella incident, Nicholas' brother and son's death, his marriage to Lettice, and more importantly, his own death.

She was even thrilled to find out that some people who gave her a large impact in her future life existed in the past. Could she ever prevent the horrible things from happening to Nicholas, thus saving his life? Who was the one who framed him? Could she change history, and more importantly, is it really true that they belong together? Will the power of love prevail?

The answer lies in the chapters of this wonderfully written novel. I cried as I read through the pages because I felt what Dougless felt, both in the modern and medieval times. Forgive me if the review sucked (I've never been good at writing facts), but please do pick up the book if you see it lying on the bookshelf of any bookstore. It will make you feel as if you want a knight in shining armor of your own.