“…that in certain cases community of symbol is greater than community of speech.”
Sigmund Freud, Dream Psychology
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“the dream is a sort of substitution for those emotional and intellectual trains of thought”
― Sigmund Freud, Dream Psychology: Psychoanalysis for Beginners
Reading Goal Achieved… with a little cheat
I updated my Goodreads after finishing L. Frank Baum’s The Sea Fairies and lo and behold, I managed to read 80 books, my target for 2017.
But I will let you in on a little secret: seventy four of those were Japanese comic books.
I used to think that counting comic books as part of one’s reading challenge is cheating. Then again, I asked myself, at least I got to read volumes of comic books and finishing ONE PIECE from Volume 20 to 85 was already a difficult feat in itself that manga enthusiasts hardly take as a challenge.
As this is just the fifth month, most likely, I will still be able to read more impressive stuff and finish my TBR list. Who knows how many I will be able to finish at the end of the year? That’s part of the excitement, isn’t it?
I’m currently poring over :
Goodreads Giveaway Winners!
Congratulations
Lora Owens
Beverly Herrington
Amber Piersol
for winning copies of
[To Be Continued]
Until next giveaway.
To be Continued is available in Kindle, Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
[To Be Continued] Giveaway July 31, 2016
3 First Edition Copies of a book that will make you choke on your cup of coffee
Last day to get a chance to win a copy of
[TO BE CONTINUED]
Click here:
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/185995-to-be-continued
To Be Continued~ Goodreads Book Giveaway
Goodreads Book Giveaway
To Be Continued
by Prex J.D.V. Ybasco
Giveaway ends July 31, 2016.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
3 First Edition Copies of a book that will make you choke on your cup of coffee.
The Peculiars
The Peculiars
A Book Review of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
by Jahzeel Dionne V. Ybasco
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“There are peculiars all over the world,” Miss P, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
Having a different world where diversity is tolerated and encouraged is a famous theme in the fantasy genre that it does not come as a surprise Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children reminds me of Harry Potter, Pendragon, and X-Men . Special beings mingling with normal humans, wise old people taking care of the young ones and passing on the legacy, protagonists having to live up to their peculiarity, their gifts, the nature of their powers–this formula contributes to MPHPC being a page-turner.
Review: Eragon
THE VOICE OF ERAGON
An Analysis of Christopher Paolini’s novel, Eragon
by Jahzeel Dionne V. Ybasco
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That some books are inspired by other classic and more renowned books is nothing new to me. It is to be expected. As million books are published every day, it is not surprising that some have the same content, almost the same story, and even with the same characters garbed in a different attire and name. When I read professional and non-professional reviews on Eragon saying it is but a fanfiction of Lord of the Rings, it did not affect my desire to read the novel. After all, fanfictions are there for fans to enjoy. There are some readers who don’t get satisfied with how stories end and they resolve it by making up stories. A story about dragons and a fanfiction of a trilogy I really love made a perfect formula. I was excited to see what Paolini had cooked up. Or so I thought.
Eragon‘s likeness to Lord of the Rings is quite evident. Brom looks like Gandalf, a very inconsistent Gandalf. Sometimes he speaks like an old man, another, a rude old man. Eragon is a combination of a less sophisticated Legolas, an indecisive Aragon and a braver Frodo Baggins. Urgals have a resemblance to Uruk-hai. However, story-wise, the novel has a great potential. Every page of the novel has made me wonder if there is something more to being a Rider. Alas! I have to read the sequels to learn more.
What only bothers me is the consistency of the voices of the narrator and even the characters—it is irritating. In the first few pages, Eragon has made himself appear as a hero, in the next, a reluctant hero, and in the last pages, a love-sick hero. There are times when he and his dragon, Saphira, act like mother and son as presented in Saphira’s endearment “little one.” They act like lovers, too, as exemplified in the following lines:
“I love you too.”
“Then, I’ll bind you all the tighter.”
If it isn’t a combination of bestiality and S&M, I don’t know what to call it.
I have expected the blue dragon to speak in a language of the old, a dragon that has experienced a lot of things. There are some pages that give me the satisfaction to see this side of Saphira. It is disappointing to see her switching back to a bickering dragon. Perhaps comparing Saphira to other dragon-stereotypes is unfair but she does sound like a weakling to me. I have to consistently remind myself the novel has been entitled Eragon and not Saphira.
I also am waiting for the time when I can distinguish the language of the elves from the dwarves and from the human beings. Establishing their nuances is challenging particularly when there have been so many books that have already done-or attempted doing-that. However, LOTR‘s elf language is still different compared to the others. As a writer, Paolini can still improve that aspect of the novel.
It has been quite remarkable for a person that young to have published novels. I commend Paolini for that. However, with age comes maturity and experience. This brings another question to my mind. When should a writer stop editing his /her work? I have felt Paolini’s genius and inexperience in Eragon. Still, with the number of people he has been able to reach through his novel, and the growing number of those who want to read his novel, having people judge his work compared to other classic fantasy novels out there is inevitable. He cannot alter the story anymore. It is out there waiting to be devoured. What he can do is improve its language.
Will he?
Review: The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
Not once have I been astounded by fantasy classic authors for their ability to create different worlds and make them seem real. I was blown away by Pullman’s story, I can’t help but feel for Lyra, Pantalaimon, and the characters they have met on their journey. I enjoyed the excitement of looking for the lost kids, traveling with the gyptians and fighting with Iorek.
I’m having a little problem taking in what the novel says about religion, daemons, other worlds, and sin though. There are so many sectarian or anti-sectarian concepts crammed into the last three chapters of the novel that upon reaching those parts I couldn’t help but wonder why Lyra had to go through a perilous journey only to listen to a sermon. It doesn’t also help that my readings on the Northern Lights hinder my understanding of how plausible it is to have a different world beyond the aurora. That and the fact that I am 27 years old…
All in all, I was captivated by how the novel was pieced together, how I could easily relate to the young Lyra and her knack of expressing how she sees the world. Then again, I would have loved the book had it subtly presented religious concepts.
A Story of Archetypes
A Review of S.K Michels’ debut novel, The Shadow and The Light
By Jahzeel Dionne V. Ybasco
An archetypal story with seven leading characters, among them a muse, an old man, and three hero archetypes, this novel has a certain appeal, not different from George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire. What makes this novel interesting is the author’s ability to tell a grim story in a fairytale-like manner that although the reader is immersed in The Shadow, he/she can’t help but be optimistic that in one of the four hundred pages of the book, a hero—or two—will come and save him/her.
It was like seeing an animation in my head. The setting has been described so well, it feels like you enter a completely different world. For a fantasy novel, that is saying something as only few authors, new authors in particular, can achieve that—create a world and make people feel it is real.
S.K. Michels is a genius in storytelling. However, I think the dialogues between and among characters can use an improvement since reading the novel has made me so concerned about those individuals. There are moments when I can’t distinguish Murdoch’s language from that of Arienne’s but maybe because they come from nobility. I have to say though that the dialogue does not get in the way of the intense scenes and actions provided in the story.
However, as the story progresses, I can’t help but think that it is another take on Frodo Baggins as he embarks on his journey toward Mt. Doom. It was the same darkness trying to take over and the protagonist trying to keep it at bay. Even Sapineald reminds me of Lothlorien, and eorin the Elves. Even the sceolians helping to retrieve Caliphurn from the Ghenna reminds me of the Eagles from Lord of the Rings. I don’t really mind though because for a Lord of the Rings fan, this is a treat.
Still, with her knack of using words to create an imaginary world full of intricate details and amazing and lovable characters, S.K. Michels is undeniably a talented author to watch out for.
————
Dear S.K.,
Thank you for the opportunity of reading your awesome book. Please do write another story. I CAN’T sit not knowing what may happen to Greenwyth after the war. Also, you owe Baldarich his existence since I really want to know the importance of his inclusion in the story. Lastly, please do give me another opportunity to read your sequels.
From one of your first fans,
Prex
