Kasei
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Posts posted by Kasei
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Aw, sad to hear it--just finished the second and am almost through the third and I must say I want to see more Tenar and Ged interactions at this point, the Jasper story arch is moot for me now. xDI love the Earthsea novels! I've got the Earthsea Quartet which is four novels in one. I don't recall much happening with the rival character in the other three novels I've read, I read it a while ago though but I don't think it plays a big part or I would've remembered it
. Great review, btw 
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So, my friend and I were going over places we would like to go on this trip and here is what we came up with for the UK--we basically just wrote down cities we have heard of but have no idea what to do in them. If anyone has anything to add PLEASE let me know so we can look into it as we are going to start making lodging plans in the next few weeks...we decided against stonehenge because, well, rocks. For a lot of money. And out in the middle of nowhere. But we are looking for any tips on other must-see places/things.
Ireland
-Dublin
-Temple Bar
- Hurling (Gaelic Football) Croke Park Stadium
- Howth (near Dublin) cave exploring and ocean adventures!
Belfast
-Giant’s Causeway
Scotland
-Edinburg
- Loch Ness (because why not. Camping anyone?)
England
harry potter stuff!
-Alnwick castle
-The Elephant House
-Manchester
-London (help! Cool pubs? Non-expensive places to visit?)
-Yorkshire moors
Netherlands
-Amsterdam (The Hague, possibly)
Wales: No ideas yet. Help!
Any summer festivals going on in the UK in June? Or must-see concerts? We have no idea what is going on over there this summer, so any tips-offs would be helpful. :3
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So! To help you think of ideas, my friend was thinking of maybe seeing some summer festivals (we would be there mid-July) or doing some hiking, I hear it's gorgeous up there.frankie, on 24 Jan 2013 - 03:26, said:
3 days in Finland during summer? Awesome!
I definitely need to think about this and come up with something. Do you wish to stay in Helsinki or would you like to try other cities/towns as well? Not really set on staying in Helsinki unless you just know a ton of awesome must-check out things. This will be the end of our month-and-a-half-long-trip so we will be hurting for cash probably so nothing too expensive...unless, again, it's simply a cannot-miss.Note: I am a closet power metal fan.
If you know of any cool rock concerts or local music scenes (even non-metal ones, we are music lovers) we should check out, please let me know, haha. -
A Wizard of Earthsea
Rating: 4/5
A great little read! This is one of the parents of modern fantasy, written in the 60s when all there was to read was bad fantasy for adults, silly fantasy for kids, and Tolkein. It is aimed at teenagers so it was a refreshingly fast read, simple but fun to follow along with.
The main magic of the book is using the true names of things to control them, so I feel like that is where Name of the Wind drew a lot of its inspiration. And while I know that this book came first it *did* make it harder to read and enjoy the book coming down from my Name of the Wind high. If you do read this, perhaps try reading NotW after or at least put more distance than reading them back to back. The writing style is very different from NotW though, which helped. Wizard of Earthsea has a more classic style of story telling feel, much like the way Narnia or The Hobbit was written.
I did like the world it was set up in and the island of Roke as a place of learning--the whole idea of most places in the world only being accessible via boat was interesting. There were some characters I really wanted to see more of. For instance, I certainly wished to see more of the rival character story arch played out...am hoping he will make an appearance in the later books, which I will definitely be reading.
It doesn't get five out of five only because I reserve that rating for books I feel everyone should read, books that I want to shout their merits from the rooftops--but please don't misunderstand and infer that this book is sub-par in any way; for what it is, it's a great book and I will be sweeping through the series as soon as they come in from the library.
Wise Man's Fear will have to wait.
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hi Kasei good deep reviews! I quite fancy The Walmart Effect.
Thanks! I'm glad someone reads them. xD Sometimes I think I get a little too into writing reviews, they are so long and I don't ever mean for them to be.
And yesss the Walmart Effect is so good, you've read it then? If not you absolutely should, so interesting!
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Everything You Want - Vertical Horizon
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Name of the Wind
Rating: 4/5
Okay, so before I start let me just preface by saying that I have been trying to read this book since 2009. I had a friend who was always talking about its merits and so it's been on my list for a while...but it is a hard book to get your hands on, it would seem! Between libraries being in constant demand and my tendency to read multiple books at once, it seemed I was always having to turn it back in before I'd even picked it up. So to say that I had built up a lot of anticipation for this book is an understatement....and we all know what happens when you build something up so much.
Now, do not misunderstand me--it was a really fun book to read and very easy to get into. I enjoyed meeting the characters and getting to know the world in which they operate. It absorbed me for a weekend and left me daydreaming for a week, which is always a welcome after-effect that follows any good read. I guess after how much my friend raved about it I was just expecting more to happen. Not that a lot doesn't happen, it just happens subtly. This book sets the stage for what I feel is going to be a very grand series of adventures. This is the character background-and-introduction book.
The story is told in first person, unusual for a Fantasy novel, from the mouth of the main character many years and trials into the future. The reader is not given a clear account of his age at the present, we only know that he is in hiding and giving his account of his life's events to a traveling chronicler who has sought him out for this reason. We are given to understand within the first chapter that our hero is (or at least at one point in his life was) a powerful and well-known figure of his time, if sometimes infamously. The true grab that the author uses to keep us hooked is this promise of more ahead as the main character references instances later in his life and the big questions of how on Earth he came to be where he is now.
The majority of the book is spent detailing the hero's school days as the youngest student ever at a University and his rapid advancement in that setting. While this is interesting, it smacks a bit Potter-ish at times, making me feel like I was anxious for the author to traverse less well-trodden areas with his character. The growing-up-impoverished-because-his-family-was-killed-by-the-bad-guys thing didn't help the analogy I had subconsciously made between the two series. It is for these two reasons that the book does not get a five star rating from me. Though please don't be fooled, I immediately put in a request for the second book as soon as I finished this one. It is quite entertaining.
This book basically tells the story of our protagonist's childhood and coming-of-age as he lives through many varied seasons of life and experiences. He is a flawed person and readily admits it--however I am very hopeful that his pride and occasional pettiness is addressed later in the series as it sometimes irked me a little when he would behave thus and go un-rebuked. Not to say that he was always behaving wrongly, I was usually on his side, but I found myself feeling he was being quite hypocritical at times when he would despise another character for doing certain things and then got away with doing those same things himself when put to question. But I digress, he is after all human and we are all guilty of such things...
...so long story short, a good read that will leave you wanting more.
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Hello Kasei, good to have you back! I remember you being on here
I hope you have a great reading year in 2013![in reference to She Who Remembers]
As far as I remember, you are the first person I've come across with who's mentioned this book on here in any way! I know Jean M. Untinen-Auel has her fans on here, and I've always thought it was a shame nobody seems to have heard of or read anything by Linda Lay Shuler because as far as I know they write about similar things. I love that book, I've read it a few times and it has a very special place in my heart
I hope you get your hands on a copy soon enough! You know, I think it may've been because of you that I added this book to my list years ago, haha! xD Just goes to show how slow I am at checking things off of my reading list. I once read a quote that I feel belongs in all of our signatures: "I was born with a reading list I will never finish."
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I absolutely agree--this place is so calm and fun and it's awesome to really be able to get into discussing a book and not feel like an outsider or that no one will care about what you have to say. These are the things that have kept me coming back here since 2007, even if I do lurk more than I post... ^^; If it wasn't a good place I wouldn't find myself returning in between the craziness that is my life. Thank you guys for all of the work and love you put into this place! <3
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3 days in Finland during summer? Awesome!
I definitely need to think about this and come up with something. Do you wish to stay in Helsinki or would you like to try other cities/towns as well?We're up for anything, one of our group has a friend who lives in Finland so I think we will be crashing with him most of the time, but honestly I don't think we have to stay in Helsinki the whole time--Finland is a big, beautiful place and we want to see it!
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Just got our itinerary more narrowed down--here are the countries we will be visiting and (roughly) the number of full days we will spend in each, not including traveling:
3 days Ireland
4 days UK
2 days France
1 day Switzerland
2 days Austria
2 days Czech Republic
5 days Germany
2 days Belgium
2 days Netherlands
2 days Denmark
2 days Sweden
3 days Finland
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Ahh Berlin is going higher up on the list, everyone I talk to has been mentioning Berlin--certainly a must-see!
Thank you vodkafan for the suggestion on Stonehenge as well as for the generous offer on lodging; not sure where we will be exactly in relation to Rugby, but it would be lovely to have a place to sleep and not pay and arm and a leg. We are meeting up later tonight to discuss the trip, I will certainly bring both of your points up.
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Thank you all for the help so far! I am getting so excited just thinking of all the cool places we'll get to see.
To Talisman, yes, we are doing the rail pass and have looked at hostels. We may be couch surfing with a few people over there but lodging is a big expense issue--neither of us have a huge budget, so the more we can hack off of our total expenditure the better. So the big fancy tour groups thing is likely not happening, in other words.
Athena, I will be in the Netherlands at some point.
Pretty sure we are doing all of the UK. The range of days is not absolutely decided yet, so we may stay longer in some places and less in others depending on what we find to do. Right now I'm just taking suggestions.There will be two girls and a guy in this group and we are all in our mid 20s, fairly adventurous and okay with roughing it (we camped all last summer in the wilderness and climbed lots of mountains) so we are okay with off-the-beaten-path adventuring. I'm fairly outdoorsy myself so I would love any suggestions of places of natural beauty to go as well as the more usual city sights. All three of us are pretty interested in museums and things as well; that Viking ship suggestion sounded really interesting.
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Okay, so, guess who might be back packing across Europe this summer? Yep, this Texas girl right here.
I'm not 100% yet on whether or not I'll be going, but definitely leaning toward yes. I really want to, I was just kind of wanting to save up money to move to Colorado this year. If I go to Europe this basically uses up all of what I've saved so far and then some.
However, the friend who is inviting me to go is about to start medical school and this could be my last chance to have an awesome adventure with her for the next six years. I am also told by nearly everyone to travel and see the world while I"m young and unattached....basically because kids and balancing someone else's schedule in your life ruins everything I suppose. xD I have neither of these problems right now, so maybe I should go see what's out there. I dunno.
On average we are slotted to spend about 2 days in each country. This will be a month and half long trip going everywhere from the UK to Finland...and basically most of the western half of Europe. Not sure if we plan on hitting Greece or not, need to get the itinerary from her.
Oh, and Denmark! We are going to Denmark! I have always wanted to go there, not sure why other than to see Jutland drafts in person. ^^
SO!
I was hoping you guys could help convince me that I really need to do this by filling me in on some of the must-sees in Europe. I know most of you live there and maybe you could tell me some of the stuff I absolutely must do or see. Sell me on this trip before my practical side takes over and talks me out of it!
P.S. For the record, I am not wanting to be super touristy about this. I don't feel like I will simply die if I don't see the Eiffel tower or the leaning Tower of Pisa or anything (though we do plan to see Stonehenge...) so unless there are some big tourist attractions that are must-sees, don't feel you have to mention them. I'd rather know what I should do/where I should go from a local's opinion of a place than follow a tourist brochure.
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Thanks you guys for the welcome.
It feels nice to be greeted here after so long, I really appreciate you taking the time to stop by. Hi Kasei, I see that you are also reading a Stephen King novel (I'm reading 'The Stand' at the moment), are you enjoying it? I started reading 'Don Quixote' last year but gave up. I hope you better progress with this book than I did!
I have only read about the first chapter of Don Quixote and I don't recall minding it very much, but to be honest I've been distracted by other books lately an haven't picked up my Kindle in a while (Which is where Don Quixote resides). The only Steven King novel I've ever read was The Green Mile, and it is SO different from Cujo! I only picked up Cujo because a friend was getting rid of it and it was one of those books I'd always heard of but never read, so I figured I'd give it a shot.
I'm about halfway through it and so far it's been about what I expected. Hoping for some surprises to come.Welcome back, Kasei! I never manage to do any lists, all I managed was to copy and paste the lists of what I read over the last 2 years. My reviews are always very short, and last year I didn't even manage to keep up with those!
Oh man, my reviews can get so long winded! xD I always somehow seem to find time that I don't have to write them. I guess I like to pretend that people actually read all that stuff, haha. Though honestly I treat reviews as more of a book-journal than anything. I like to look back on them and recapture my immediate thoughts and reactions to books, it helps me remember the events of the story with more clarity, which is fun for me. I guess because I'm a book nerd like the rest of you.
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The Battle of Evernight
Rating: 3.5/5
Spoilers: I make some references to earlier books in the series
This is the third installment in Cecilia Dart-Thornton's Bitterbynde Trilogy...I feel kind of odd reviewing only the last book but since this blog begins in 2013 and technically I finished the other two last year, it will have to be so.
In light of this though, here is a brief run-down of the series so you don't feel so detached: The Bitterbynde books are FULL of lore, legend, and myth. If you have ever had a passing interest in the world of fairies (or the fae)then you would love this series. It's set in a world called Erith and everything functions much the same as dark ages-era Earth. There aren't a lot of human magic-weilders, those other than healers who claim to use magic seem very much of the parlor-trick variety and are of little note. The world is instead full of other-wordly creatures known as wights of which there are the seelie and the unseelie--basically harmless and harmful, respectively. Everything from Kelpies to the Pied Piper to Lords and Ladies of the Faerie realm make an appearance in this world.
The authoress has basically taken loads of Scottish/Irish folklore and woven them all into a tale that follows a young adult lead who is basically learning everything along with the reader due to not knowing who or what they are. I won't go into detail about why so as not to spoil it for any potential readers, but basically this works really well for the first novel and it is for this reason that I feel the first book is the strongest of the three.
Okay, now the review of this book:
My overall response to this third book was pretty mellow. I mean, I was interested in what was going on in this book because of the events of the previous two...but not griping-the-edge-of-my-seat interested. It was basically just more-of-the-same type adventuring and there were no big mysteries left to figure out. Because of this, I basically spent most of the this novel just waiting around to see how everything would wrap up at the end. This made for a very slow read--I actually started this book back in Novemeber, which says a lot of how often I put it down since a YA book like this usually takes a weekend tops for me to get through.
I'll give it this, things picked up very suddenly as the book drew to a close and I absolutely did NOT see the ending coming. So much so that I was left feeling slightly dissatisfied at the vagueness as to whether or not what happened actually happened...but now that I think of it, in a way it kind of fit with the whole book-full-of-legends theme. The ending made you feel like you had just heard a story about the Fairy realm and, just like all other fireside legends, it was left up to you to decide if it were real or not. So I kind of liked that in hindsight.
I think the series as a whole is worth a read if you are a Young Adult Fantasy fan or interested in folklore of the Celtic variety, especially that which involves the fae. I had never been very knowledgeable about such things but after reading the first book I could definitely understand the fascination with them and actually felt like I could relate with people who believe in such things. This coming from someone who has always felt the idea of faeries was incredibly dim-witted and pansy-ish, I understand the alien/otherworldly quality of the lore now, so the authoress definitely did a good job with her research.
I suppose the main problem I have with the trilogy is that what I initially found so compelling about the main character was taken away about halfway through the first book and it suddenly became a much more stereotypical fantasy tale for me. I think the series would've been so much more interesting had it carried over more themes from the original first half--there was some really great potential for analysis of the psychological effects of society and gender on a person...but it soon fell to the more common romantic adventure themes often associated with these types of books and left everything else by the wayside.
In short, I'd like to be able to give this book a 4, but it lost so much of what was compelling about the lead character by the time it got to the third book that I honestly felt everything that happened in this third book probably could've been fit into the second one. Not that the plot wasn't interesting, just not enough to turn that half star into a full.
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Why hello there fellow Book Clubbers! I doubt if anyone remembers me, but I used to post here off and on and had a book (b)log (you can peruse it by clicking here if you like) and have been a lurker since 2007.
I have returned from an almost two year hiatus due to being busy with life and getting my career figured out (teaching/illustration...the latter still being a work-in-progress, but I'm determined) and I have decided it is time I picked up a few of my old internet haunts again.
Can't wait to get back into the swing of things around here, I have many fond memories of this place.
I mostly will be talking about books I am reading and posting reviews here, and in the interest of time I'm just going to use the same format I did in my old thread....I'm not nearly so hardcore as the rest of you with your pages of titles and blank posts reserved for later.
That being said....here we go!
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Currently Reading:She Who Remembers by Linda Lay Shuler
Cujo by Stephen King
Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes
Sitting on the shelf in Que to be Read:
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
Beowulf
Aesop's Fables by Aesop
Would Like to Read but do not currently have in possession:
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
London by Edward Rutherfurd
Cretaceous sea: A novel of time travel by Will Hubbel
Ice Hunt by James Rollins
Raptor by Paul Zindel
Tyrannosaur Canyon by Douglas J. Preston
West of Eden by Harry Harrison
The Land that Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman
Africa by Kim Donaldson
The Red Wyvern by Katherine Kerr
The Rover by Mel Odom
In Search of America by Peter Jennings
Long Night Dance by Betsy James
Eden by Olympia Vernon
The Iron Ring by Lloyd Alexander
Kushiel’s Dart by Jaquine Carny
The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks
Silverhair, Longtusk, Icebones by Steven Baxter
King’s Shadow by Elizabeth Alder
Between by Jean Thompson
The White Bone by Barbara Gowdy
Dragon’s Bait by Vivien Vande Velde
Firegold by Dia Calhoun
Pure Dead Magic by Debi Gliordi
Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden
The Merlin Conspiracy by Dianne Wynne Jones
The Book of the Lion by Michael Cadmum
Deep Dream of the Forrest by Malcom Bosse
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Have Read since January 2013:
*A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin [revoew]
Battle of Evernight by Cecelia Dart-Thornton [review]
*Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss[review]
The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. LeGuin
Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. LeGuin
Tehanu by Ursula K. LeGuin
Tales from Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin
The Other Wind by Ursula K. LeGuin
A Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
Recommended reads from years past:
*Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake [review]
*The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson [review]
*The Wal-Mart Effect by Charles Fishman[review]
*Gorillas in the Mist by Dian Fossey
**An Ordinary Man by Paul Rusesabagina[/url]
Key:
* = recommend
X = I didn't care for the book
All unmarked books mean that I enjoyed the read
My reviews can be interpreted as such:
0: Paperweight
1: Could've done without reading this one, hardly any redeeming qualities
2: A "meh" book--unmemorable/had a lot of problems I couldn't read around
3: Pretty okay. You won't die if you miss it, but not awful.
4: Quite enjoyable, would read again.
5: You absolutely should read this. It reeks of awesome.(you may assume that any title with ** by it gets this rating from me)[/url]
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One of the books that really shaped my passion for human rights issues was Angel of Mercy by Lurlene McDaniel. I read it for the first time when I was about 13 and it was the first time I still realized the situation in Africa with war (particularly in the Sudan/Rwanda/Uganda area) and slavery. Since then I've always dreamed of going on a mission trip there through Mercy Ships like the character in the book did. Since that never seemed like a good option for my life I sponsered a child in Africa for a while and would like to start doing it again.
I actually went to Rwanda in January and, I've gotta say, it was an eye-opening experience. Seeing people living life in such a different way at the same time as I'm sitting here in my air-conditioned, well-furnished home in the states typing on my laptop without a thought to the electricity usage is a very humbling and horizon-widening experience. I mean, I knew and "was aware" beforehand on a superficial level, but it is entirely another thing to go there and live it firsthand. And the history of that country and what the people are trying to come back from culturally and socio-economically...simply staggering. Not to mention the physical beauty of the nation...yeah, you should definitely go if the opportunity every presents itself.
/end ramble
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I definitely do. Though I take into account the genre and the age/bias of the people writing on Amazon. For instance, according to Amazon, Eragon is a must-read: However, it was deifnitely not written to my liking. The fact that mostly people who are quite young or praise the author just because he was young when he wrote it should've been a good indicator to me to skip it.
A lot of times if I see a really well written review it can interest me enough to add the book to my reading list. That certainly happens all the time here.
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I was just thinking: with all the marvelous books out there it would be impossible to read even a small portion of them in a lifetime, even if one devoted their entire life to reading. I sometimes feel that by spending my time on books that are not so great that I lose a chance to read another fantastic book that could've really impacted me.
So my question is this; is there a book out there that has really stayed with you? One that has changed the way you see the world, even if in a small way? A great book that you think it a crime to go through life without ever having read? Or maybe one that you think made you into a different person than you would've been if you hadn't read it. Whatever the case, I'd love to hear what those books are.
I'm not necessarily looking for self-help books or anything, but definitely don't leave out a non-fiction book that opened your eyes to something if that's the case. I know there are so many brilliantly written classics out there, but if you had to chose a few that were crucial to read, what would they be?
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The Wal-Mart Effect
Rating: 5/5
Spoilers: I don't think it would be possible for me to spoil this completely factual book
"Wal-Mart isn't subject to the market forces because its creating them."
A really interesting read that actually sheds a lot of light onto what Wal-Mart is and does: everything from its humble beginnings to its surprising impact on the global economy (yes I did say global). The best part about this book though is that it really breaks down all of the complicated economic jargon into understandable pieces that are accessible to ignorant schmucks like me.
And you know, it actually presents Wal-Mart's case from both sides. I still don't shop there, but now I know why they are the way they are and that they definitely only care about always bringing their customers the lowest price. Always.
Very interesting read. It was nice to see that someone has taken the time to compile and interpret what little is actually publicly known about Wal-Mart (they are an amazingly secretive company: even their suppliers won't talk) and then gone and done their own interviews and research to seek out information. And the ways Wal-Mart effects people, companies, and even countries that don't do business with them is shocking. I definitely recommend this book to anyone living in a country where Wal-Marts exist.
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Has anyone actually completely read War and Peace by Tolstoy? I was considering adding it to my summer reading list (no way I'd have time for it right now) but I wanted to see if it was really worth my time.
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Still Life With Rice
Rating: 4/5
Spoilers: No
Speaking as someone who knows very little about world politics and goings-on (a characteristic I always feel guilty about because I am a teacher and feel I should be both knowledgeable and up-to-date on such things) this was a very interesting read. It covers the story of the writer's Korean grandmother who grew up under the Japanese colonial period and lived through the war that divided her country. Reading about historic events as told through the eyes of someone who lived them is always more digestible and memorable for me than reading straight facts. I'm sure a few of you are the same.
The story is very interesting and I love the perspective and insight into Hongyong Baek's mind. My only gripe is that sometimes you can never be for certain how much is authentic fact and how much the author is making up--at least insofar as her grandmother's thoughts and actions are concerned. The actual historic timeframes seem to match up, but the authoress gets so descriptive at times about what is going through her grandmother's mind that I tend to think of her more as a character in a story and less of an actual person. Still, this does not detract considerably from the telling of the story. While Helie Lee is no poet with words, what her grandmother is going through in the story is more than gripping enough to keep you reading, especially once she transcends childhood.
If you've ever wanted to know more about how Korea got into its current predicament and don't mind a bit of historic non/fiction, then this is a book for you. I hear the authoress recently penned a sequel that describes events that occurred after the publishing of Still Life With Rice that involves a harrowing rescue of family members from North Korea a few years ago, so if you like this book checking out the second might be a good idea since Still Life With Rice leaves you with a bit of a cliffhanger.
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Gonna go do a call-back to the 90s and recommend Fresh Prince of Bel Air--love that show and it always makes me laugh. A more recent show I enjoyed immensely was Firefly. Very clever dialogue and interesting scenario, though it is definitely not a sit com and more of a sci-fi drama. If you're feeling adventurous you might check it out, who knows? Perhaps you'd like it.
Kasei's 2013 Read-a-Blog!
in Past Book Logs
Posted
The Tombs of Atuan
Rating: 4/5
Fun. Just fun! I loved how this book was told from an entirely different place and perspective than the first book. Sparrowhawk wasn't even in the thing until the last portion of the novel. It reminds me a bit of The Horse and His Boy from the Narnia series--very removed and from and not starting the same way as the previous book.
The book did drag a bit after the first few chapters because it just seemed to be more of the same--more explainations of a dreary life with mysteries that we were given little reason to care about until Sparrowhawk showed up....however, once that happened everything just fell into place suddenly and took off, which was exciting.
I really liked the main character and loved how we got to watch her character grow and mature over time. She learned lessons and changed her thinking because of what she learned, and you could see/read it in her speech and actions, it was cool! And I really liked how quickly and believably she and Sparrowhawk bonded--they both needed each other and had to put a lot of trust in one another to get out of their situation alive, it was truly exciting and I was really sad to see the story end just when it did. Would love to know more about what followed in the months after all of that.
So, in short, 4 out of 5 for the bit of a drag that was the first portion, but definitely another good installment in this series! I am starting to wish I had read these a long time ago, they belong in my nostalgic recollections alongside Narnia and the Hobbit.