Sharon Reads: Dean Koontz’s Oddkins: A Fable for All Ages

August 4, 2013August 1, 2013 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Oddkins: A Fable for All Ages

Oddkins: A Fable for All Ages by Dean Koontz is a book that readers from elementary school ages through adults can understand and enjoy, with beautiful illustrations and a story that feels very real. Isaac Bodkins was a magical toy-maker who creates toys that can come to life in order to help children trough difficult times. He calls his creations Oddkins. However, Isaac has passed away sooner than expected, and before he could train the next toy-maker. The race is now on to see whether a good or evil magic toy-maker will wield the power. A team of Isaac’s Oddkins are on the move to find the toy shop of Isaac’s chosen heir, while evil toys from the hidden sub-basement try to stop them from reaching their goal before the evil toy-maker can purchased Isaac’s toy shop.

Oddkins: A Fable for All Ages might be Koontz’s first book intended for more than just adult readers, but you would never know it from the read. Living toys are a new idea, but Koontz instilled a new life to the idea, with strong personalities for each of the living toys. I loved the idea that the toys are intended to help children facing special difficulties, although I wished all children could have one rather than just the ones with the ‘potential for greatness’, since I think everyone has that potential. However, that would make for one busy magic toy-maker! The Oddkins that face the action, both good and bad, have quirks and personalities that often made me smile or shudder, depending. The good Oddkin’s quest for Colleen Shannon’s shop, Isaac’s nephew’s search for the truth, and an ex-con in search for more ways to inflict pain intersect with the evil Oddkins intent on securing their future and the success of the dark toy-maker. There are epic battles, internal debates, and characters that will take hold of your heart. What else do you need?

I recommend Oddkins: A Fable for All Ages for adults that are fans of Koontz works as well as adults, teens, and the middle grade set. On a scale of one to five, I would give Oddkins a full five stars. There is a combination of fast passed action with enough introspection and personal discovery to keep readers of all ages and all genre preferences entertained and turning the pages.

(This review was originally published on Sharon the Librarian.)

10 Tasty Zombie Novels

July 28, 2013July 15, 2013 / Louise / Leave a comment

Developing a taste for zombies after World War Z? Here are 10 more zombie novels to whet your appetite.

1. Feed by Mira Grant. The infection spread, virus blocks taking over bodies and minds with one, unstoppable command: FEED. Now, twenty years after the Rising, Georgia and Shaun Mason are on the trail of the biggest story of their lives–the dark conspiracy behind the infected.

2. The End Games by T. Michael Martin. In the rural mountains of West Virginia, seventeen-year-old Michael Faris tries to protect his fragile younger brother from the horrors of the zombie apocalypse.

3. Z by Thomas Michael Ford. In the year 2032, after a virus that turned people into zombies has been eradicated, Josh is invited to join an underground gaming society, where the gamers hunt zombies and the action is more dangerous than it seems.

4. The Walking Dead : The Road to Woodbury by Robert Kirkman & Jay Bonansinga. The zombie plague unleashes its horrors on the suburbs of Atlanta without warning, pitting the living against the dead. At first, Woodbury seems like a perfect sanctuary. A mysterious self-proclaimed leader named Philip Blake keeps the citizens safe. But all is not as it seems. . . . Blake, who has recently begun to call himself The Governor, has disturbing ideas about law and order.

5. Zone One by Colson Whitehead. A plague has sorted humanity into two types: the uninfected and the infected, the living and the living dead. The novel unfolds over three surreal days, as it depicts the impossible job of coming to grips with the fallen world. And then things start to go wrong.

6. Zom-B by Darren Shan. When news reports start appearing of a zombie outbreak in Ireland, B’s racist father thinks it’s a joke– but even if it isn’t, he figures, it’s ok to lose a few Irish. That is, until zombies attack the school. B is forced on a mad dash through the serpentine corridors of high school, making allegiances with anyone with enough gall to fight off their pursuers.

7. Paul is Undead: the British Zombie Invasion by Alan Goldsher. Can the Beatles sublimate their hunger for gray matter, remain on top of the charts, and stay together for all eternity? After all, three of the Fab Four “are” zombies, and zombies live forever …

8. Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry. In a post-apocalyptic world where fences and border patrols guard the few people left from the zombies that have overtaken civilization, fifteen-year-old Benny Imura is finally convinced that he must follow in his older brother’s footsteps and become a bounty hunter.

9. The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan. Through twists and turns of fate, orphaned Mary seeks knowledge of life, love, and especially what lies beyond her walled village and the surrounding forest, where dwell the unconsecrated, aggressive flesh-eating people who were once dead.

10. The New Dead : a Zombie Anthology. 19 provocative, haunting, and genuinely unsettling original stories in this zombie anthology move the genre beyond its usual apocalyptic wastelands. Includes stories by Kelley Armstrong, Max Brooks, Joe Hill, and David Liss.

Sharon Reads: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

July 14, 2013July 11, 2013 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Grave Mercy

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers is the first book in a new young adult series, His Fair Assassin. The main character is seventeen-year-old Ismea, who has been feared and shamed her entire life because of scars she bears from her mothers attempt to abort her. She escapes an arranged marriage and dedicates her life to the god, or saint, Mortain who rules death. The convent that takes her in and trains her requires complete obedience, but her skills and safety of the convent help Ismae grow and thrive. During her third assignment, she discovers that the outside world is much more complicated than she had ever imagined. She finds herself under prepared as she tries to protect the duchess, and the country, amid traitors and plots that seem to become even more tangled as she loses her heart to her partner, and potential target for death.

Let’s start with the obviously fantastic reason everyone is interested by this book, assassin nuns. It could not be anything other than awesome. Ismea is saved from being further beaten, and most likely killed, by the man her father sold her to as a wife by a local priests and hedge witch that follow the old ways. She is taught to kill, to serve a dark god or saint and to protect her country. She learns to obey, and in turn to question the orders and plots that are driving her hands in death. Ismea becomes a strong, smart woman. Her partnership with Duval is far from insta-love, and develops slowly and will the appropriate amount of doubt and mistrust. However, I will say that I was occasionally annoyed with her jumping and being startled every time he touched her or looked at her a certain way. The court intrigue was well done, and held some surprises for me. I fully expected some of the players to be exactly who they turned out to be, but I was glad to find a couple unexpected twists and turns.

I recommend Grave Mercy to fans of historical fiction, court intrigue, and heroines that take charge of their destiny. There are some mystical elements and significant romance, but neither overwhelms the historical mystery that carries throughout the story. Some might be worried about the mystic elements or take on religion. I think most interested in the book, especially by the thought of assassin nuns, will be just fine. Those that are offended by the very idea of old gods and the way pagan religions were transformed to be part of Christianity through force, and the idea that the pagan community could have had (or still have) some things right, might want to skip it. It is a four star book in my opinion.

Dark Triumph

The sequel, Dark Triumph follows fellow assassin nun Sybella on her own heart wrenching journey.

This review was originally published on Sharon the Librarian.

20 Book Club Picks (Part 2)

June 25, 2013June 5, 2014 / Linda / Leave a comment

Here’s another batch of favorite books for book clubs.

(If you missed the first batch, here’s the link.)

Wild – Cheryl Strayed
The Thirteenth Tale – Diane Setterfield
The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins
Room – Emma Donoghue
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks – Rebecca Skloot
Eat, Pray, Love – Elizabeth Gilbert
Three Cups of Tea – Greg Mortenson
The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Time Traveler’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
Moloka’i – Alan Brennert
The Secret Life of Bees – Sue Monk Kidd
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close – Jonathan Safran Foer
The Shack – Wm. Paul Young
My Sister’s Keeper – Jodi Picoult
Never Let Me Go – Kazuo Ishiguro
The Light Between Oceans – M.L. Stedman
The Forgotten Garden – Kate Morton
The Kitchen House – Kathleen Grissom
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie – Alan Bradley
Middlesex – Jeffrey Eugenides

Book Buzz : Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews

June 5, 2013August 27, 2014 / Linda / Leave a comment

Jason Matthews is a 33 year veteran of the CIA, who has turned his considerable knowledge of espionage into a fantastic debut novel. Reviewers have said it is the best thriller you will read this year.

Jason and his wife (who also worked for the CIA) appeared on CBS This Morning on June 4^th. They gave a fascinating interview recounting their lives as CIA agents. You can view it here.

Mr. Matthews is the first American spy to take a turn at writing fiction. Authors John le Carre, John Buchan, Graham Greene, Somerset Maugham, Ian Fleming and Stella Rimington all worked for the British intelligence community.

Red Sparrow is about a hotheaded rookie spy, Nathaniel Nash, who is pitted against a gorgeous Russian intelligence officer, Dominika Egorova. The story takes place in Moscow, Helsinki, Athens and Washington. Mr. Matthews is very skilled with his writing – smart, fluent, great dialogue and extremely knowledgeable. The book is filled with seemingly classified information – both American and Russian. It’s a wonder the manuscript got past the redacting committee at Langley!