Category Archives: 0 Treasure Box, 0 Trash Can

The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge

This entry is part [part not set] of 1 in the series Daniel X Series

Book Review: 0 Treasure Box/0 Trash Cans

First Book in the Daniel X Series

Publisher: Hachette Audio, Listening Length: 4 hours and 30 minutes (272 pages), ASIN: B001D066JU

Daniel X, a young man, is on his own and he has super powers. A praying mantis-type alien (The Prayer) murdered Daniel’s parents when he was just a child. Now Daniel is slowly and methodically seeking out and eliminating aliens, while he searches for The Prayer.

There are currently four books in this series with book five expected to be released sometime in 2012. Each book was co-written with Mr. Patterson with a different co-author. These books are science fiction and they are told in a first person narrative by the main protagonist, the young man Daniel. His last name is unknown, hence the “X”. Mr. Patterson has written numerous books in the young adult, fantasy and science fiction realms. Most of these have been co-authorized by various individuals, which explains the profusion of books that he is able to crank out. Note some of the books are better than others.

The story was initially interesting, but as the plot unfolded, there were numerous plot holes. I liked the overall premise of this book, but I found that the execution was really weak.

I did not think the story was well told, but it did have some redeeming qualities. I was curious to see where it was going, and this kept me engaged, but I was disappointed with the ending. I would not recommend this book or series.

To Purchase: “The Dangerous Days of Daniel X” from Amazon, click here or on picture above.

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Blood’s Voice by Áine P Massie

This entry is part [part not set] of 1 in the series House Millar

Book Review: 0 treasure box/trash can
First book in House Millar
Publisher: Geas Publishing; 1 edition (June 1, 2011), Format: Kindle Edition, File Size: 491 KB (400 pages), ASIN: B005405MYK

Anya Millar has been a vampire for several hundreds of years, but she has amnesia and cannot remember her past, all she knows for certain is that she will not feed off humans. One of her special gifts is her voice, and not because she can carry a beautiful tune, but because it is a weapon that can be used to control or even kill people, including other vampires.

Blood’s voice is the first book written by a new author and it is the first book in a proposed series. It is a contemporary fantasy told in the first person narrative by the main protagonist, Anya Millar.

I think it is admirable that Ms. Massie is trying to portray the vampires of House Millar as nice, considerate creatures, albeit still showing how dangerous they can be. I find it hard to believe that vampires who have been around for hundreds of years would talk and act like teenagers. The book was really slow to get anywhere. Everyone calls everyone silly; it was used at least 49 times. The editing and grammar were unpolished which I found distracting. At times, I thought the story was derivative of Twilight, but it did have a few original and interesting ideas.

I thought there were some redeeming qualities about this book, but I also found a few problems which is why I gave it a zero rating. If you are a big Twilight fan, then you might enjoy this book, since it is similar in numerous ways. Both are kind of slow moving and aimed at young adolescents, in both the vampires can walk around in the daytime and the vampire protagonists do not feed on humans. I will not be reading the next book in the series.

To purchase: “Blood’s Voice” from Amazon, click here or on picture above

 

 

 

 

To purchase: “Blood’s Voice” from Amazon, click here or on picture above

Night Life by Caitlin Kittredge

Book Review: 0 Treasure Chest/0 Trash Can

First Book in Nocturne City Series by Caitlin Kittredge.

The beginning of the book wasn’t too bad, but as the book went on, I found it a bit difficult to read, although it did have some interesting parts. I started to read this book, since I had read book two first and found it to be entertaining, I was also interested to see what had happened previously since book two referred back to things that had happened previously.

The book starts out introducing the protagonist Luna Wilder, a Insoli werewolf (that is a werewolf who is a lone wolf, without the protection of a pack) who also happens to be a police officer. We work with her solving a case revolving around several ritualistic murders. She is living with her witch cousin whose name is Sunny and who is a very unpleasant and annoying character.  

Most of the parts were she is interacting with Dimitri, a hunk of werewolf, who also happens to be a suspect, are usually interesting. However, I found some of the writing to be irritating when it described the various different characters communication with other as shrilling, shrieking, or hissing at each other. 

The ending was interesting, with a few surprises thrown in, but I was glad it was over.

Dayhunter by Jocelynn Drake

Book Review: 0 Treasure Box, 0 Trash Can

The Second Dark Days Novel

This is a new twist on the modern fantasy novel.  This time the vampires are the good guys fighting against the Naturi, a people who are similar to Elves but they think they are superior to humans and vampires and in fact want to enslave humanity even though most of humanity is ignorant that either exist.

 The Naturi have been mostly banished from earth to a different world but the few that remain on earth want to break the seal and return the  Naturi earth. Mira and Danaus are now hunting the Naturi and trying to stop them from opening up the seal.

The key to stopping the Naturi is a vampire triad, a group of three, with Mira as a key member. The triad becomes a formidable weapon against the Naturi, this is proven and used in the first book, however, it is completely forgotten about and not used at all in the second book. Which I found very odd in that it did not make much sense.

There were more  problems with the story like at the end when it comes down to the final battle, first Mira says she can not use her fire starting ability because there is too much power in the air and she will be unable to control it, then she uses it anyways.  Previously in the series it mentions that certain Naturi can interfere with her ability to use her power, but here at the end there is no mention of that and she can in fact use her ability.  Also, she refuses to use the powerful weapon that she has against the Naturi. One that she used with Danaus’ help in the first book, and she does not want to use it “because it is just too awful”. What a lame excuse and plot hole. 

Finally there is also no mention of the power of the triad, even though all three parties are together at the end of the book. The series would end right here if the logic of the story was played out properly and the triad was effectively used, I guess that is why it was ignored in this book.

The Demon Awakens by R.A. Salvatore

This entry is part [part not set] of 1 in the series The DemonWars Saga

Book Review:  no trash cans and no treasure boxes
First Book of the first trilogy in the Demon Wars Series
Publisher: Del Rey (February 28, 1998), Paperback: 624 pages, ISBN-10: 0345421620, ISBN-13: 978-0345421623


This book takes place on a world that is equivalent to our pre-technological world, but it includes Goblins, Giants, Dwarfs, Elves, Demons and magic.  It starts out with 3 different, seemingly unrelated people and events, the first is the re-awakening of our antagonist the demon dactyl, the second is an introduction of our protagonist Elbryan Wyndon, who is thirteen years old, the third is a young monk named Avelyn.

I really enjoyed the first third of the book where the characters were introduced, I found them to be intriguing.  However, by the half way point I found the book to be a bit slow and draggy.  The story is your typical good versus evil, however there is not much dimension in the characters, they are either good or evil, with next to no variety in their personalities or characters. I found the story to be predictable and more of a chore to read than a pleasure.  The ending was true to form and not very satisfying.

To purchase: “The Demon Awakens” from Amazon, click here or on picture