BOOK Review!! The Great Hunt (Wheels of Time #2) , by Robert Jordan

To say that my reading of first book of Wheels of time series was underwhelming would be an understatement . I went to read The Eye of the world , hoping to get an unique and expansive Fantasy book , what I got was a LOTR remake . So , when I started this book , I was expecting another dull affair , I was expecting this series to annoy me as much as the “Eragon” book series, by Christopher Paolini did , but Boy was I surprised

WHAT I LIKED:

As I said before , right off the bat , this book felt different , it felt like its own book , and not a LOTR inspired book . The world was expanded well with a lot of intricate details and clean distinction were formed from this world and it’s character to LOTR . There were massive events that took place in the book , especially the final third act of the book , which felt as if it were a action flick . But even the first third of the book was interesting for me , as it involved a lot of politics between the various factions of Aes Sedai and I genuinely enjoyed that . Leaving those two parts aside rest of the book involved your usual Fantasy journeying and the inside look at Aes Sedai and more details emerged about the roles of Dragon Reborn

What I didn’t like:

This book mostly rectified the things I disliked in the first book , mostly . One of my biggest gripes from the previous book was the characters were unlikable , even annoying . Jordan actually put himself on the backfoot by making most chracters such . But there were improvements , I actually started to like Rand and Nynaeve , but Egwene became more annoying and I didn’t think that was even possible . Fain also didn’t get away from his Golum mimicry . There also remained a lot of Deus Ex machination and I hate that a lot

Conclusion:

It was a pleasant surprise . I was pretty sure I would find this book to be the end of my WOT journey, but seemingly this journey will move on . As a stand alone book itself , the book works well and as a series it gives a proper shape to the journey that lies ahead , a journey I’m now more enthusiastic to take on than I was before

BOOK REVIEW!! Murder in Mesopotamia (Hercule Poirot #14) , by Agatha Christie

There’s a familiar pattern in all Christie books that I have read so far , bar a couple , it almost feels like I know what I am going to read , and yet , none of the book feels dull or predictable (never predictable) . That’s what made Christie famous I guess

What I Liked:

Poirot books always relies on clues and psychology of the criminal to solve the plot . This book however relied on the psychology of the victim . The book once again was very fast paced , making it a easy read . Poirot’s narcissistic personality always makes him an unlikable protagonist , but this book kept that trait on the low and Poirot was ergo easy to handle . The crime itself was a bit similar to some of the previous books but it still was a head scratcher and was hard to decipher

What I Didn’t like :

Most books have a character who is intentionally put in the book for the main character to explain all the details and intricacies . Arthur Conan Doyle had Watson for Holmes and for most people Watson was a likable personality , Christie however has not had such luck , the side characters she has always put in always come across as annoying , this book had a new Watson-esque character and she was more annoying . The similarities of plot between books in the series is also an issue , even if the culprit remains unpredictable .

Conclusions

Yes there are certain issues in Poirot series as a whole , and the plots are very similar , yet one admires the wit of Agatha Christie to write such detailed mystery that keep readers hooked. Once again , it’s a recommended read .

BOOK Review!! Battle Ground (Dresden Files #17) , by Jim Butcher

Dresden Files is my favourite book series of all time . It’s my go to book when I am feeling down or I am stagnant while reading , or if i want change . Naturally I get a little biased when a Dresden book comes out , but all bias aside , I was massively dissatisfied with the previous book . But having read this i have actually changed my view on the prior book and in fact increased its rating

What I liked:

There’s a lot that I liked in this book, in simple terms , this can very much be described as a single long battle scene … but thats like saying Infinity wars was just action and no pay off. Yes, Battle Ground is indeed a long battle sequence ,however that’s not necessarily a bad thing . The action is brilliantly portrayed and involves nearly all the previously mentioned side characters in the whole series. In between There’s a lot of surprises from characters dying , to Characters turning into unlikable or likeable .

Theres a lot that happens in this book , but the book mainly relies on your investment on the established characters and the clever and fast paced action that really entertains but never becomes repetitive or dull

What I didn’t Like:

This would be mostly nit-picking but some of the surprises were too telegraphed and you could see them coming from a mile (it still managed to get the reaction the author intended but it was predictable) . There were also some very clichéd plot points such as the whole “star born” thing .

Conclusion:

This is definitely my favorite book in Dresden files , but thats what I always Say about the most recent installment of Dresden files books. This is however the best book I have read this year , of course this can’t be read as a standalone and even as a single Dresden book it feels incomplete without reading Peace Talks , which was a poor read at first but having read this book , peace talks elevates a notch . Overall , its an awesome book, recommended for all Dresden files readers and those who haven’t read it , please read the whole series to get to this point of the series

BOOK REVIEW!! The Eye Of The World ( The Wheel of Time #1) , By Robert Jordan

Wheel of Time is considered a must read for epic fantasy fans , the book series is widely known and famed and is set to have its own Amazon prime series very soon , the book is also known for its introduction of Brandon Sanderson who completed the series posthumously . But those things are about the whole series , how does this first book in the series stands on its own ?

What I Liked :

The first book in the series has an introductory book feel to it as a lot of lore , language , Traditions , myths , creatures and tribes are introduced . The best part of the book has to be the writing of Jordan who details his world and action sequences intricately . The world building is really detailed and every bit of the world is explained to paint a perfect picture for the world of WOT . The writing also sets stage for a lot of possibilities in the future books , the foreshadowing is evident and the mystery makes the read enjoyable and the next book anticipatory

What I Didn’t like:

There’s a lot of this book that is clearly ripped off of Toilken’s Lord of The Rings , from characters like Gandalf , Frodo , Aragorn to even the unnamed villain and many sequences including a cave chase and a very familiar golum like corrupted creature , then there’s the character , apart from Lan and Moiraine everyone just came across as Stupid and I repeatedly wanted to slap the shit out of them . The female characters especially were really annoying (see: wanting to slap the shit out of em) . Then the thing I praised Jordan about the intricate details , those really hampered the pacing , which led to the middle part of the book becoming really dull to read through , to make it worse the events became repetitive . Finally the climax was all so underwhelming man . I hate it when there’s an ex-machina incident and that’s exactly what happened and it made my eyeballs roll out

Conclusions

As a standalone this book feels underwhelming for the reputation it holds , the book has its moments and it holds a lot of promise for its future installments , but purely as a standalone I am massively disappointed with it. At present I am reserving my verdict in regards to whether or not I should recommend it or not , I will come back to this post and give my verdict based on how the series turns out .

BOOK REVIEW!! THE A.B.C MURDERS (Hercule Poirot book 13) , by Agatha Christie

Serial Killers , Yep , 12 books and Agatha Christie hadn’t done Serial killers ,until now

What I Liked:

The premise was very fascinating , a serial killer who challenges Poirot to stop him/her before he/she kills people based on alphabets of their name and place of residence . It’s absolutely brilliant . Christie then goes ahead and makes Hastings bearable and even lays out a clear cut suspect for the readers to witness a cat and mouse chase and attempts by Poirot to stop each murder before it happens . Add to that the final reveal which came out of nowhere and Poirot not being too it was a fun read …but not exactly one of the best

What I Didn’t Like:

There’s a huge portion of the book that relies of luck as a means for Poirot to win , I am not a believer of things like fate and luck , ergo it irks me big time . Add to that there’s a bulk portion of the book that feels unnecessary and despite being a meagre 300 pages long book , it feels as if the book were actually 600 pages long with a lot of dull moments . There’s also an unanswered question as to who called Cust in the end

Conclusion:

This book had its moments , equal parts good and equal parts bad , the finale elevates this book to a higher liking for me than how it felt while reading it .

BOOK REVIEW !! Death in the clouds (Hercule Poirot #12) , By Agatha Christie

Oh boy , do I feel lucky that there were no Elon Musks and idea of spaceship travel during the days of Agatha Christie , coz we have had Death in Trains (twice) and now Death in a plane . 🙄

WHAT I LIKED :

Agatha Christie knows how to write , I mean if you have any doubts regards to that, then please get your head checked . Coz here we are with a somewhat cliched story (as far as Christie is concerned ) and She makes it exciting and thrilling and kept me guessing right about the culprit right upto near the end . There’s also added bonus of no Hastings and no Poirot “narcissism” to deal with in this one .

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE:

There’s a lot that I disliked in this book , starting with how similar the plot was , from closed spaces of a moving train , to closed space of a flying aircraft . Then there was the fact that this despite being a Hercule Poirot book involved Poirot very little , much of the book digressed elsewhere into the personal lives of characters, that were again way too similar to characters in previous books . And while there was a lot of things kept for readers to guess the book still telegraphed a lot of clues as who the culprit was . And most importantly the book at some point became more of a romance novel than a mystery novel and it was a definite buzzkill

Conclusion

This one was a definite miss , apart from Christie’s writing and the mystery element of the book , the book was very dull . It killed any joy one could have from a Poirot book and made it seem like a romance novel with elements of a murder somewhere . There are a lot of good Poirot books . This wasn’t one of them

BOOK REVIEW : Peace Talks (The Dresden Files, book 16) by Jim Butcher

Long time readers of my reviews/blog know my love for this series, The Urban Fantasy series started out as a guilty pleasure of sorts and suddenly before I knew it became one of my go-to book series to elevate my mood. It’s arguably one of my favourite book series and one of the best things about the series is it’s timely release . Unlike some authors in fantasy( *cough* George R R Martin *cough* Patrick Rothfus * cough * ) Jim Butcher publishes one Dresden book every year , except when he doesn’t . Peace Talk arrives after a 4 year delay and it was a brutal delay considering the events of the previous book (Review of Skin Game). But now we are on course of getting 2 books this year and the anticipation is killing me.

WHAT I LIKED :

Jim Butcher brings in his usual witty writing style to weave an intrinsic plot filled with surprises and many “holy crap ! ” Moments . To this Jim Butcher adds some happy Family moments for Harry to enjoy with both Maggie and his new girlfriend (which is also a scary prospect because Jim Butcher can not tolerate a happy Harry Dresden for too long ) . Butcher also weaves in another heist , this one more like Mission Impossible than Ocean eleven , and finally topped it all off with some superb Action scenes , and one action scene with a severely Overpowered character that you absolutely wouldn’t see coming and boy it would pay off big time . There’s also many changed status quo , especially the relationship dynamics between Harry and his previous allies , this likely sets up for some fantastic opportunities for future books , talking of which , in terms of opportunities , I didn’t think anything could get bigger than Hades , but apparently a new villain in this book proved me wrong and then there’s a rising question of which side Harry is on , the side which fights the things that go Bump in the night or the side which fights against them. I can’t wait for the next book

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE:

There’s a severe lack of witisicm in this book compared to prior Dresden books , even the worst books in the series had me chuckling a few times , in this book however much of the references for my non-american brain and many jokes/sarcasm fell flat . The scenarios created were also way too plot convenient at times . The books ending also felt incomplete and it was obviously intended to be so , but I don’t really place unsatisfactory endings to Dresden files books . The repetition of Heist in successive books also didn’t feel right . And again we have a lot of unnecessary gratuitous sleazy scenes (which ofcourse is a given when Lara is on site) .

CONCLUSION:

There are more things I don’t like in this book than the last 10 or so Dresden books combined , but at the end of the day it’s still a Dresden book and it was enjoyable and fun to read with a brilliant plot and some super duper ass kicking moments . I enjoyed it but it’s not as good as last 10 books

BOOK REVIEW ! Three Act Tragedy (Hercule Poirot #11) , by AGATHA CHRISTIE

11 books in and i can see a lot of similarities in the many books that came prior to this , but along with that I can also witness the attraction of Christie’s writing and especially the Poirot series

BOOK REVIEW! Murder on the Orient Express (Hercule Poirot #10) , by Agatha Christie .

10th book in the series , so far some have been a hit and some miss, but coming into this book , I was excited ,because this book has had 2 movies , countless play and some serious reader hype going for it

BOOK Review! A Man Called Ove [by Fredrik Backman]

Sometimes you come across books that makes you feel touched , that feels relatable and gives you a breath of new motivation, these are rare books but when you find them they barrage into your “favorite books” list and you can’t stop recommending it to people . A man called ove is just that kind of book . One of the most well recognized books and most read book of the 2000s , this is one book that’s touched me so , that I’d not even think twice before pushing the book into your hand and threaten u with cub toreador it now .


Seriously! Go read it !NOW!