Saturday, July 23, 2005

So You Want to be a Wizard by Diane Duane

Not bad. This is a kids book that has been recommended as something that kids who like Harry Potter would like. Though it isn't as engaging as the HP books, this wasn't a bad story. It's about a couple kids who are misfits who decide to become wizards after, having the wizard-type personalities that let them see that there are such things as wizards, saying the oath that gives them the info on how to do wizarding things.

Then they save the world.

Okay, there's a lot that goes on. There's a white hole that gets pulled into our world, and he's just really cute. I want one. And there are these interesting parallel universes.

Anyway, not a bad book. I'm not screaming out to read the rest of the books in the series, but I might.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

SPOILER SAFE -- Loved it. However, this was probably my least favorite book, and that's because the ship was out of control. I get that they are teenagers, but does it really have to play that big a role in the story? (IMO, the answer is no.) It was like mediocre fanfic. I kept expecting JK Rowling to throw in some slash, like many a fanfic-er. Ugh. She also went with the most blindingly obvious matches. I have to say, though, the HP fandom wank has been amusing.

But aside from that, the rest of the story was great. However, with what has been set up, book 7 has to be excellent, or this book will drop down into the category of blech. Just looking at this book, without taking into account what it seems to be building up to, it was a good story. There was a lot more explication than in the other books. Aside from the out-of-control ship, not much happens until the last 200 pages; that's it's greatest weakness (the ship, I mean - the explication was actually interesting). There wasn't much character growth in this novel, though.

Egypt Books

I'm too lazy to list them all, and none were so outstanding as to stand out, so this is just a general entry. They were vaguely enlightening, but I'm now sick of the basic books. They covered hieroglyphics, mythology, and history. I've got a few more that should offer some more indepth info, and that's what I'm after now. I am, however, grateful to Angela to have loaned these to me.