World Without End by Ken Follett

Completed on May 21, 2018

This is a very interesting historical fiction book that intrigued the historian within me. The book describes how life was like in England during the medieval, feudal times of the 1300’s, and it follows the lives of those living in it during this time.

It is a pretty long read, but I think it gave me an insight into how the people of old thought: before technology, before democracy, and before equality. It was a book on a group of individuals living in the town of Kingsbridge, England, and how their lives were interconnected in some way or another from their time as kids to their time as adults. I would say it was a well-crafted book in its own right as historical fiction.

Rating: 7.6 out of 10

Brief Summary: Following the point-of-views of the hardworking Gwenda, the persistent Caris, the diligent Merithin, and the presumptuous Ralph, a story develops, intertwining the lives of each character, following their ups and downs, their passions and hatreds, and joys and sadnesses, during the feudal times of the 1300’s and through the epidemic we now know as the Black Death.

Poem: One Thing

I just wanted to put into a few words what I have been feeling lately as the school year ends, and I begin to have more and more free time on my hands.

 

I know I can do great things.
I have the power, the will, the motivation
to do many things, only idealized by many.
To make an impact, a lasting impact
Upon human history.

It is not only me who
has the potential to do these things.
Everyone has potential, with no regard
to their backgrounds, their races,
Their identities.

Book Review: A Clash of Kings

A Clash of Kings is the second book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series. I must say that after the first book, I had high hopes and had set the bar very high for this book. And all I can say after I read the book is that although this one wasn’t quite as good as the first book (they usually aren’t), George R.R. Martin did a great job in continuing the series by creating another great literary masterpiece.

Rating: 9.2 out of 10

Brief Summary: As the main king of the kingdom of Westoros dies, many other “kings” arise from different regions and duke it out in order to claim the one Iron Throne. Meanwhile, in the North, disturbances of savages arise, and in the far East, a new generation of dragons begin…

My Thoughts: This book was a great continuation of the previous book, A Game of Thrones. Martin is just amazing at leading on the reader and coming up with the unexpected. The plot twists of each of the characters make for a constantly engaging storyline, while Martin’s prose and description is so realistic one can just imagine so clearly each main character.

Book Review: A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

As I continue my exploration into the fantasy literature, I could not leave out one of the greats by George R. R. Martin, the series A Song of Ice and Fire. But when I finished the book, it was in the middle of Hurricane Irma, so I didn’t have electricity to write this review immediately. But here I am, a couple of days later, on the electricity of our church as our house is still deprived of electricity, writing this review. And I have to say, this book was a good one.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Brief Summary: There is a clash between a bunch of high-class people for the throne of a kingdom.

My Thoughts: I’ll have to admit, I was partially drawn to this book because of all the hype around the TV series going around nowadays based on the book. I haven’t seen it before, but now that I’ve read the book, I can understand why people came to love the story.

Book Review: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

I read about how amazing this book was and received so much positive feedback that I had to pick up this book and try it out for myself. I can’t say that this book lived up to my expectations, but I suppose that’s just because I had set the bar too high. It was a pretty good book, but not a great book (at least to my standards).

My Rating: 7.7 out of 10

Brief Summary: There are six teenagers who are given the task to retrieve a drug maker from a high-security prison.

My Thoughts: As I previously mentioned, this book was not a great book as I was told. It was an ordinary fantasy genre book with a relatively ordinary plot.

Book Review: The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams

This book is the sequel to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and I have to say that I’m a little disappointed with this book. This book had the same great satirical language, but the plot development on this book was much messier and not defined.

Rating: 6.7 out of 10

Brief Summary: Arthur Dent and his friends? go adventuring around the galaxy, time traveling and going to meet the man who rules the Universe.

Book Review: Blood Song by Anthony Ryan

I picked up this book because of a random recommendation from a comment on some random blog post, and although I had no idea whether the book was a good one, I am seriously glad that I read this book. A beautifully written book indeed.

Rating: 9.3 out of 10

Brief Summary: A boy named Vaelin is left off by his father in a house/training place to serve the Faith with the sword. He learns how to fight and goes off to fight a bunch of people.

A Poem: Obligation & Procrastination

I really don’t want to make this a habit, but I’m going to upload a poem that I thought of.

I’ve seen many other poems on blogs, and I can’t say that I’m really attracted to any of them. Most of the poems don’t really evoke any emotion in me, so I don’t really enjoy them all that much.

But hey, I wanted to try out something new. But this is probably going to be a very occasional thing because I want this blog to revolve around book reviews instead of other stuff.

So here’s the poem.

Book Review: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

This is my first science fiction book review on this blog, and I’m happy that it is The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. 

Rating: 9.3 out of 10

Brief Summary: Arthur Dent is the only person to survive the destruction of Earth by aliens due to the fact that a hyperspace bypass was going to be built there. He goes to a mysterious planet with his not-so-human friend Ford and some other people/aliens.

My Thoughts: Once again, I am very horrible at writing summaries myself, so if you want a better summary, go to any book reviewing site other than this one to do so.

My Favorite Authors

This is my ever growing list of favorite authors. It’s pretty short for now, but as I get older and as I’m exposed to more and more genres and authors, I will add onto this list. This isn’t really in any particular order. I also will put authors with books that are generally all very good. Thanks for reading, and here’s the list.