Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox

On the car ride back from my vacation I had a chance to finish the sixth, recently released (July 15th) Artemis Fowl novel, The Time Paradox.

Just like the previous six books, this one is full of wit, action, and cool gadgets. Plus this one, like the fifth, has the added integument of time travel. Although unlike the fifth, were there's only a small part of the novel centered around time travel, its the main theme for the Time Paradox.

This book was good, but, and I hate to have to admit this, not quite as good as the others. It happens to all things eventually. When you reach a point in a series were the sequels start loosing the grip the previous installments had on you whether by bad plots, overusing the idea, etc.

My only (very) small problems with the book was the lack of Foaly and Butler in the story, and (BIG SPOILER) the once again re-return of Opal Koboi. Although, if its in the past, can it count as a return?

All in all, the Time Paradox was still really enjoyable and a great read. If there's another book after this one I will definitely read it. I really liked seeing how Artemis, a sort of anti-hero, has changed over the course of the series for the better. And you still get a dose of the evil Artemis when he must deal with his ten year old self when Artemis goes back in the past. Also, if there are any people who like to pair Artemis and Holly (I'm neutral on the pairing) then you are in for a surprise (of the good variety). This makes me wonder if Eoin Colfer is listening to all those crazy fangirls of fanfiction.net though.

SUMMARY: (From the book)
After disappearing for three years, Artemis Fowl has returned to a life different from the one he left. Now he's a big brother, and spends his days teaching his twin siblings the important things in life, such as how to properly summon a waiter at a French restaurant.

But when Artemis mother contracts a life threatening illness, his world is turned upside down. The only hope lies in the brain fluid of a silky sifaka lemur. Unfortunately, the animal is extinct, due to a heartless bargain Artemis made as a younger boy.

Though the odds are stacked against him, Artemis is not willing to give up. With the help of his fairy friends, the young genius travels back in time to save the lemur and bring it back to the present. But to do so, Artemis will have to defeat a maniacal poacher who has set his eyes on a new prey: Holly Short.

The rules of time travel are far from simple, but to save his mother, Artemis will have to break them all and outsmart his most cunning adversary: Artemis Fowl, age ten.

Little Brother

I've been really busy lately (packing stuff to move-eugh), and nothing blog worthy is currently going on in my life (again packing stuff=boring and sad), so I thought I'd post some info about the book I'm currently reading. It's called Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, and its a pretty cool science fiction novel set in the close future. The main thing that got me to read this book were the reviews. Neil Gaiman and Scott Westerfeld!! Neil Gaiman's review is especially awesome (its on the bottom of the page). By the way, if any of you don't know who either of these authors are, follow these steps:
1. Smack yourself on the head. (not to hard though-I don't want my blog responsible for any concussions)
2. Go to your nearest library, bookstore, or go to amazon.com and find books by these authors. There are many of them.
3. Read the books. I recommend Anansi Boys, American Gods, or Good Omens by Neil Gaiman. Anything by Scott is excellent.

Anyway, one of the cool things about Little Brother is that it teaches you some awesome anti-surveilance tricks.


SUMMARY:
Marcus, a.k.a “w1n5t0n,” is only seventeen years old, but he figures he already knows how the system works–and how to work the system. Smart, fast, and wise to the ways of the networked world, he has no trouble outwitting his high school’s intrusive but clumsy surveillance systems.But his whole world changes when he and his friends find themselves caught in the aftermath of a major terrorist attack on San Francisco. In the wrong place at the wrong time, Marcus and his crew are apprehended by the Department of Homeland Security and whisked away to a secret prison where they’re mercilessly interrogated for days.When the DHS finally releases them, Marcus discovers that his city has become a police state where every citizen is treated like a potential terrorist. He knows that no one will believe his story, which leaves him only one option: to take down the DHS himself.




“A wonderful, important book…I’d recommend Little Brother over pretty much any book I’ve read this year, and I’d want to get it into the hands of as many smart thirteen-year-olds, male and female, as I can. Because I think it’ll change lives. Because some kids, maybe just a few, won’t be the same after they’ve read it. Maybe they’ll change politically, maybe technologically. Maybe it’ll just be the first book they loved or that spoke to their inner geek. Maybe they’ll want to argue about it and disagree with it. Maybe they’ll want to open their computer and see what’s in there. I don’t know. It made me want to be thirteen again right now, and reading it for the first time.” —Neil Gaiman, author of Sandman and American Gods on Little Brother



“A rousing tale of techno-geek rebellion.” --Scott Westerfeld, author of Uglies, Pretties, and Specials, on Little Brother

Persepolis

Autobiographical novels are usually not my preferred genre of books, but the graphic novel Persepolis is the one exception to that.

My world cultures class is now reading Persepolis, but I had actually heard of and been interested in the book before that after hearing glowing reviews, finding out that a movie was adapted from the books, and seeing Marjane Satrapi, the author and illustrator, interviewed on the Colbert Report.

So when I finally started reading the graphic novel I had somewhat high expectations. And Persepolis totally reached those expectations.

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi is a graphic novel telling the story of what it was like for her growing up as a young girl in the '80's in Iran during the Islamic revolution and the war with Iraq.

Its a quick read (since its after all only a 150 or so page comic book), but it stays with you. In fact, the illustrations make the book even more powerful by showing the joys, violence, tragedy, and love for her family in Marjane's life.

This is an amazing and interesting book, and you should check it out even if comics or history aren't your favorite things.

Here is one scene from the book (click to enlarge):

21

I saw the movie 21 a couple of nights ago...

Summary:
"Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) is a shy, brilliant M.I.T. student who needing to pay school tuition finds the answers in the cards. He is recruited to join a group of the schools most gifted students that heads to Vegas every weekend armed with fake identities and the know-how to turn the odds at blackjack in their favor. With unorthodox math professor and stats genius Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey) leading the way, theyve cracked the code. By counting cards and employing an intricate system of signals, the team can beat the casinos big time. Seduced by the money, the Vegas lifestyle, and by his smart and sexy teammate, Jill Taylor (Kate Bosworth), Ben begins to push the limits. Though counting cards isnt illegal, the stakes are high, and the challenge becomes not only keeping the numbers straight, but staying one step ahead of the casinos menacing enforcer: Cole Williams (Laurence Fishburne). 21 is inspired by the true story of the very brightest young minds in the country and how they took Vegas for millions."

Jefferey Ma, one of the MIT students that this movie (and the book Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich) is based off of actually has a cameo in the movie. He plays one of the Planet Hollywood dealers.
While this movie was pretty good with some nice visual effects and a good ending, what I really liked about it was Jim Sturgess, who was cast as the movie's main protagonist, Ben Cambelle. I've loved Sturgess since I saw him in Across the Universe, and his acting in Across the Universe and 21 is awesome. Even though he's British he does an American accent flawlessly. I can't wait to see what other movies he's going to be in.

















In other, Twilight related news:


Go vote for Stephenie on TIME Magazine's 100 Newsmakers!! http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1725112_1723512_1723880,00.html Go, Go, Go! She's at the Number 2 slot! And we can't let some stupid Korean pop star beat her! ...Wow...I'm so obsessed.

City of Bones!

I haven't done a book review in ages, and some people were asking what it was about; so I decided to do a summary/review of the fabulous City of Bones by Cassandra Clair and its just released sequel, City of Ashes.

Both City of Bones and City of Ashes are gripping, fast-paced, and hilarious, and I honestly couldn't put the books down until I finished them. The characters are realistic and extremely likeable, and the plot has lots of surprises. This urban fantasy is both dark and perky at the same time, which not many books can do. These books would make excellent tv mini series or movies.



"In City of Bones, the first book, Clary Fray’s world is turned upside-down. She has never thought of herself as being anything other than ordinary, until she sees a group of teenagers kill a demon—and finds that no one else can see them. Soon after that, Clary’s mother mysteriously disappears, and she is plunged into a world in which vampires and werewolves are real. She discovers that she is a Shadowhunter—a race of demon-slayers. To top it all off, she finds herself caught in a nasty love triangle with Simon, her best friend, and Jace, an arrogant, handsome Shadowhunter. " *


Awesome things found in this book:

• motorcycles that run on demonic energies
  
• the shadowhunter runes


• Jace


• Simon


• New York City


• witty dialogue


• exciting fight scenes

The cover is the first thing that drew me in to this book. Yay for cute shirtless guys!!

Ok...so this was more of me telling you how great City of Bones is that an actual review, but its a start. Anyway, if you're looking for a great fantasy YA read to pass the time until Breaking Dawn comes out, check out City of Bones.


City of Glass, the third and final book in the Mortal Instruments Trilogy will be coming out around March of next year.


*That summary from 3evilcousins.blogspot.com

Jumper!

I saw the movie Jumper this Sunday! It was awesome! The special affects were dazzling, and teleporting=way cool. I'm not going to tell you how it ends, just that I don't really like the ending. Its far to open, and they make it obvious that there's going to be a sequel.









I really should stop posting so much about the Twilight movie, and more about my own problems or whatever. But I can't seem to. Oh well.

Picture of all the Cullens in the Twilight movie!!




I'm impressed.