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Public Library, Goodreads, Crime novel, Book Review, 2 Treasure Boxes

The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie

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Book Review: 2 Treasure  Boxes
First book with Tommy and Tuppence
First published January 1922 by The Bodley Head, hardcover 320 p,
Publisher: Digireads.com (January 1, 2007), Paperback: 148 pages, Language: English, ISBN-10: 1420929194, ISBN-13: 978-1420929195


This book introduces two intriguing and delightful characters known as Tommy and Tuppance.  The book takes place just after the end of the first war and was written in 1922.  Tommy and Tuppance are two young adults who have no money and decide to put an ad in the paper looking for unusual work “no unreasonable offer refused.”  The young couple become “the young adventures” willing to go anywhere and do anything.  Following this, they get involved in a complicated and dangerous scheme.

The Secret Adversary is the first of four novels written with Tommy and Tuppance as the protagonists. They also appear in “N or M?” a 1940’s espionage novel, “By the Pricking of My Thumbs” and “Postern of Fate,” which was the last book Agatha Christie ever wrote.  Each book takes place later in life for these characters and by the final book they are in their seventies. This book is considered a crime fiction. The books are told in a third person narrative that focuses primarily on Tommy and Tuppance but also includes some of the other characters. Agatha Christie wrote 80 detective novels and around four billion copies of her books have been sold.  She was born in 1890 and lived until 1976.  She has written murder mysteries, thrillers, crime fiction, detective and romance novels.

This is a story about two young adults who get involved in a mystery involving the elusive Mr. Brown.  There are several murders and several people are kidnapped.  There is also a threat to the great state of England.  It is up to the young adventures to solve the problem.  Along the way they meet several characters, both good and bad. The language used is very different from today because the story takes place and was written just after the first world war, but I found this charming and pleasureable.  It gave a more authentic feel to the storyt, I felt like I was really there.   I enjoyed reading both Tommy and Tuppance’s adventures, their characters where original and their actions were intriguing.  Both Tommy and Tuppance ran into trouble several times and I was never really sure where the story was going, so this made it a good read. The book follows a good solid story line and it keeps us wondering right up to the end of the book.

This is a standalone book, although Agatha Chrisie wrote additional stories with Tommy and Tuppance, they each take place later and later in the adventurer’s lives.  I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading detective or crime novels as it is a good story.

To Purchase: “The Secret Adversary” from Amazon, click here or on picture above

2 Treasure Boxes, Contemporary Fantasy, Romance, Mobipocket, Goodreads

Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris

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This entry is part 6 of 11 in the series The Southern Vampire Mysteries Series

Book Review: 2 Treasure Boxes
A Sooke Stackhouse Novel (The Southern Vampire Mysteries), Book 5
Publisher: The Penguin Publishing Group (Electronic Edition:March 2005), EBook: 522 KB, Language: English, ISBN-0-7865-5677-3


Sooke Stackhouse is a cute, sweet, down–to-earth barmaid who just happens to be telepathic and she has become involved in the world of Vampires, Werewolves and other supernatural beings. Sooke suffers numerous hardships in this book including being shot at and having her house catch on fire.

This is the fifth book in The Southern Vampire Mysteries series (also known as A Sooke Stackhouse Novel ), there are currently a total of eleven books. All the books are contemporary fantasy books also known as urban fantasy. They also fall into the romance genre. The story is told in the first person narrative with Sooke’s voice and thoughts as we follow her around.

There is a madman running around town shooting weres. This has Sooke a bit concerned since Sam and Calvin were some of the weres who were shot. Then Sooke herself seems to be targeted when first her house is set on fire and then she herself is also shot at. Luckily, Sooke has a faery-Godmother (literally) a gorgeous faery named Claudine is looking after Sooke and saved her life several times in this book.  I enjoyed the story.  I did not think it was as exciting as the previous book, but it was still very interesting. There were not as many sex scenes in this book as well, but there was a special moment with Sam. The mystery of the shooter was written in a compelling manner and it was a shock to find out who it was at the end. Just when we thought the story-line was resolved, Harris throws in a few more plot points, just to make things interesing. The book is a stand alone book in that everything is resolved by the end of the book.  However, the story builds from book to book and it is best to read the books in order.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading contemporary, urban fantasy books that focus on life with vampires and werewolves.  I think it is one of the better series in the genre.  The book has some sex scenes in it, although not the main focus of the book but enough to put the book into the romance genre.  So if you enjoy reading about sex, romance and vampires then you will enjoy this book.

To Purchase: “Dead as a Doornail” from Amazon, click here or on picture above

3 Treasure Boxes, Suspence, Mobipocket, Goodreads

Vengeance in Death by J. D. Robb

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This entry is part 6 of 26 in the series In Death Series

Book Review: 3 Treasure Boxes
In Death Series, Book 6
Publisher: The Penguin Publishing Group (Electronic Edition: October 2003), EBook: 560 KB, Language: English, ISBN-978-0-425-16039-8

Lieutenant Eve Dallas is a tough, smart, likable homicide detective, featuring in a good futuristic suspense novel. In each book she solves a crime and finds the killer. The book also encompasses her entire life including her personal relationships. The murders in this book stem from Roake’s past and give us the opporturnity to learn more about Roake.

Vengeance in Death is the sixth book in the In Death series by J.D. Robb, to date she has written 38 books in the series with book # 39 to be released  November 30, 2010.  I have read most of these books and found them all to be enjoyable and well written.  This book falls into both the suspense and romance categories as the book focuses on the case Eve is currently working on as well as Eve and Roake’s relationship.  This is a futuristic suspense that takes place in 2058 in New York City. The books are told in a third person narrative that focuses primarily on Lieutenant Eve Dallas, a dedicated and talented homicide detective. At times, the author also gives us insight into some of the other characters including the murderer. The books are written by Nora Roberts under the pseudonym of J. D. Robb.

When Roake was young, he lived with Summerset and Summerset’s daughter.  However, for revenge Roake’s enemies brutually raped and murdered Summerset’s daughter when she was 14.  Over time Roake avenged this death, but now it is coming back to haunt him.  Someone is systematically murdering everyone who supplied information to Roake which allowed him to obtain his revenge. It is up to Leutenant Eve Dallas to find the murderer before he gets to Roake.

This is a fascinating story which gives us a lot more insight into both Roake and Summerset. There are not many clues as to who the culprit is except someone from Roake’s past. Robb keeps any information as to who the murderer is until the end of the book and then all is revealed in a final exciting climax.  Eve is fearless in her defence of Summerset and it shows a bond growing between the two of them, but the bond is still very nebulous. As usual there were a few sex scenese between Eve and Roake and they were steamy as ever.

This is a stand alone book, and I am sure that if you read it you would be quickly reading the previous books in the series. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about a strong female lead and enjoys a suspense story.  The story is well written and  enjoyable. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading romance since there is a fair bit of this as well as some hot sex scenes between Eve and Roake.

To Purchase: “Vengeance in Death” from Amazon, click here or on picture above

Fantasy, 3 Treasure Boxes, Public Library, Goodreads

The Tangle Box by Terry Brooks

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This entry is part 4 of 5 in the series The Magic Kingdom of Landover

Book Review: 3 Treasure Boxes
Book Four of The Magic Kingdon of Landover Series
Publisher: Del Rey (March 1, 1995), 368 pages, Language: English, ISBN-10: 0345387007, ISBN-13: 978-0345387004

Ben Holiday was a lawyer from our world in modern times, he was unhappy and kind of lost because he lost his wife and their unborn child in a tragic accident. One day he finds a most unusual ad in the paper. It is for the sale of a real live magic kingdom for $1,000,000.  This magic kingdom has fairy magic, witches, trolls, and other strange creatures including a living castle. Now Ben is living as King of Landover with his new wife, Willow, who is a wood sylph.

This is the fourth book in The Magic Kingdom of Landover Series.  To date there are a total of six books in this series.  Terry Brooks is also very well known for the numerous books he has written in the Shannara Series, but these two series are totally unrelated.  The Magic Kingdon of Landover Series are fantasy books that go back and forth from contempory to traditional fantasy depending on the location of the book.  This book is written and the story is told in the third person narrative from the various character’s point of view.

This book combines three stories together.  Ben Holiday, Strabo the dragon and Nightshade the witch are lost inside the tangle box.  The tangle box is a magical device which confines them both physically and mentally (they do not even know who they really are.) The evil faerie creature which was originally caught in the tangle box is now loose in Landover and causing a great deal of trouble.  Meanwhile Willow has her own task to fulfill. She is pregnant with a child that is part once-faerie, part human and part magic from Landover.  This is not a normal child and it will not be a normal birth, instead the child will be born while Willow is in her tree state and the soil needs to be from the faerie mists, earth and Landover.

Brooks did a good job of maintaining the three storylines and yet also expertly intertwining them, it kept the story interesting.  This is my favourite book in the series. I liked how the story unfolded and I like all the characters.  It was interesting how Ben, Nightshade and Strabo got along with each other in the tangle box. We get a better understanding of each of these characters and their interpersonal relationships form new meaning based on their interactions within the tangle box. In someways this story was similar to Wizard at Large.  In both books an evil creature switches place with one of the main characters in Landover and then creates trouble. I enjoyed the story and thought it had a great ending.   I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

This is a stand alone story which I always find satisfying, yet it is also clearly part of a larger story. I recommend you read the books from the beginning to get a better understanding of the world in which they live.  The story also builds from one book to the other, yet each book can be read independently from any other. If you enjoy reading Terry Brooks, then you will enjoy this book, it is a good fantasy novel that is fun to read.

Mobipocket, Goodreads, 3 Treasure Boxes, Contemporary Fantasy

Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris

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This entry is part 4 of 11 in the series The Southern Vampire Mysteries Series

Book Review: 3 Treasure Boxes

A Sooke Stackhouse Novel (The Southern Vampire Mysteries), Book 4
Publisher: The Penguin Publishing Group (Electronic Edition:July 2004), EBook: 484 KB, Language: English, ISBN-0-7865-4848-7
Sooke Stackhouse is a cute, sweet, down–to-earth barmaid who just happens to be telepathic and she has become involved in the world of Vampires, Werewolves and other supernatural beings. In this book she babysits the gorgeous and dangerous vampire Eric who has lost his memory so he is kinda lost and a lot sweeter. Also her brother Jason is missing and there is a contingent of powerful and dangerous witches causing trouble.

This is the fourth book in The Southern Vampire Mysteries series (also known as A Sooke Stackhouse Novel ), there are currently a total of eleven books. All the books are contemporary fantasy books also known as urban fantasy. They also fall into the romance genre. The story is told in the first person narrative with Sooke’s voice and thoughts as we follow her around.

Sooke is once again a single girl. Alcide is back and he is gorgeous although he is not a love interest for Sooke since he is still hung up on his ex-girlfriend the crazy Debbie Pelt.  Jason is missing and it is a real mystery as to what happened to him.  There are new witches in Shreveport and they are causing problems and not only are they evil but they are also deadly.  They are responsible for placing a curse on Eric which has removed his memory.  He is now an insecure, caring person, nothing like the real Eric. Sooke found him running half naked, not knowing who he was and in typical Sooke style felt responsible to take care of him. With a financial  compensation of more than $25,000, Sooke agrees to keep Eric’s where abouts secret and to keep him safe from the witches. During all this Sooke is also trying to find out where Jason is and she suspects the witches. There is a rather interesting battle scene towards the end of the book.

This book captured my attention from the first page and the story kept building throughout the whole book until the final battle scene at the end. It was interesting reading, always wondering what was going to happen next. Sooke is an endearing character and I enjoy reading about her adventures.  There were a number of hot sex scenes between the “new” Eric and Sooke. It is a mystery right up to the end as to what happened to Jason.  The book is a stand alone book in that everything is resolved by the end of the book.  However, the story builds from book to book and it is best to read the books in order.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading contemporary, urban fantasy books that focus on life with vampires and werewolves.  I think it is one of the better series in the genre.  The book has some sex scenes in it, although not the main focus of the book but enough to put the book into the romance genre.  So if you enjoy reading about sex, romance and vampires then you will enjoy this book.

To Purchase “Dead to the World” from Amazon, click here or on picture above

3 Treasure Boxes, Contemporary Fantasy, Mobipocket, Goodreads

Club Dead by Charlaine Harris

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This entry is part 3 of 11 in the series The Southern Vampire Mysteries Series

 Book Review: 3 Treasure Boxes
A Sooke Stackhouse Novel (The Southern Vampire Mysteries), Book 3
Publisher: The Penguin Publishing Group (Electronic Edition: 2003), EBook: 442 KB, Language: English, ISBN-0-7865-4101-6


Sooke Stackhouse is a cute, sweet, down–to-earth barmaid who just happens to be a telepath and she has become involved in the world of Vampires, Werewolves and other supernatural beings. In this book she goes on a quest to solve a mystery involving her vampire boyfriend and she has a romantic crises.

This is the third book in The Southern Vampire Mysteries series (also known as A Sooke Stackhouse Novel ), there are currently a total of eleven books. All the books are contemporary fantasy books also known as urban fantasy.  They also fall into the romance genre. The story is told in the first person narrative with Sooke’s voice and thoughts as we follow her around.

This book is non-stop action from the beginning to the end. First Sooke comes to realize that things are cooling down with her boyfriend, Bill the vampire.  Then Bill disappears and even though they are no longer dating, Sooke feels responsible to find and save him. There is the introduction of a new character, Alcide Herveaux the hunky and sweet werewolf.  He and Sooke take off to Mississippi to try to find Bill. Eric, the sexy, gorgeous vampire and Bubba, who is Elvis Presley turned vampire help her along the way.  A lot goes down including finding and disposing of dead bodies, being attacked numerous times and a couple of stakings.  There are some pretty tense moments as Sooke goes through her adventure.

As with the previous 2 books, I enjoyed Club Dead. The story was well written and Charlaine Harris has a talent for creating clear visual pictures of what the people look like and what is going on. The action scenes, and there were plenty of them, were exciting and frightening.  Sooke handled herself well and we got to know her character a bit better.  The book follows a good steady pace as it builds up to the final conclusion, but then a few more things happen, each with their own ending.  The story is a complete story unto itself, but it is also clearly part of a larger story.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading contemporary, urban fantasy books that focus on life with vampires and werewolves.  I think it is one of the better series in the genre.  The book has some sex scenes in it, but it is not the main focus of the book but enough to put the book into the romance genre.  So if you enjoy reading about sex, romance and vampires then you will enjoy this book.

To purchase “Club Dead” from Amazon, click here or on picture above

Book Review, Fantasy, 3 Treasure Boxes, E-Reader, Goodreads

Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King

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This entry is part 5 of 7 in the series The Dark Tower
Book Review: 3 Treasure Boxes
Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla
Publisher: Donald Grant/Scribner  (Electronic edition 2003) EBook: 960 pages, Language: English, ISBN-0-7432-5510-0


Roland and his ka-tet (all the protagonists who are on the quest) have been delayed in their path to the Dark Tower with the need to save the town of Calla’s children from being stolen and then returned “roont” (ruined both mentally and physically.)

This is the fifth book in the Dark Tower series, there are currently a total of seven books, and Stephen King announced in 2009 that he is currently working on the eighth book, The Wind Through the Keyhole which will be released at some point in the future.  Stephen King is primarily known as a horror author, but this book does not fall into that genre.  Instead it is in the fantasy genre and it is sometimes considered a western.  The story is told with a third person narrative and focuses primarily on Roland Deschain of Gilead.  Although at times it also focuses on some of the other characters who have joined Roland on his quest to find and heal the Dark Tower. They are all Gunslingers and his fellow questees are Eddie Dean of New York (from 1987) and his wife Susanna Dean of New York (from 1964) as well as their adopted son, Jake Chambers of New York (from 1977.)  The Dark Tower is at the centre of the universe and connects all the varying worlds and time-lines together. These books take place in a post-apocalyptic world where things are running down and time has become inconsistant.

This book deals primarily with the Gunslingers working with the towns people in the hopes of saving the children of the Calla from the “Wolves”.  Once a generation the “Wolves” come to steal half the children and send them back “roont”.  When the children are returned,  they are mentally retarded to the point where they can barely do much for themselves.  They also grow to become giants and in the process they suffer great pain.  They have short lives and when they pass away, they also suffer great pain.

While they are working on a plan, there is derision and divisiveness within the town. We get to know the town folk and we learn more about our characters, although there is not a lot of character development.  But there is a climax building up to the point of the arrival of the wolves and the story Stephen King weaves is told very well and it is extremely interesting.  There are also a couple of other storylines going on simultaneously which keeps things intriguing.

It is interesting to note that the main character from Salam’s Lot, Callahan reappears in this book as a preacher known as the “old fella” and this book ties Salam’s Lot to the Gunslinger’s quest in a very interesting manner. I really enjoyed reading this book as well as all the previous books in this series.  The story is masterfully told, it was particularly touching to read about Jake’s challenges between his loyalty to his new friend and his gunslinger duty.  It is fun to read how the people of this town talk with “the thank-ye big, big” (as they say in the Calla.)  The big battle scene at the end was exciting but pretty straight forward without any surprises.

Although this book did a good job of resolving the Calla’s problem with the wolves, it did not do a good job of resolving the other story-lines which were unfolding at the same time.  This book ended with a cliff-hanger.  I personally prefer a book that ties up all the story-lines by the end of the book, so in this area the book fell short for me. For this reason and for the way the wolves were dealt with at the end of the book I gave the book a 3 Treasure Box rating.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good story, but please read the prior books first as this book is not really a stand-alone book.  If you enjoy reading fantasy/science fiction books then you will definitely enjoy this book since it has a bit of both within it.

 

To Purchase: “Wolves of the Calla” from Amazon, click here or on picture above

Fantasy, 4 Treasure Boxes, E-Reader, Goodreads

Wizard and Glass by Stephen King

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This entry is part 4 of 7 in the series The Dark Tower

Book Review: 4 Treasure Boxes
The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass
Publisher: Penguin Putnam (2003), EBook: 672 pages, Language: English, ISBN-0-7865-1758-2

Roland and gang continue on their dangerous quest for the Dark Tower in a world that is shutting down. This book picks up where the Waste Lands ended off and it quickly resolves the cliff-hanger.  Then the book focuses primarily on Roland’s back story, just after he first became a Gunslinger and why he started on the quest for the Dark Tower.

This is the fourth book in the Dark Tower series, there are currently a total of seven books, and Stephen King announced in 2009 that he is currently working on the eighth book, The Wind Through the Keyhole which will be released at some point in the future.  Stephen King is primarily known as a horror author, but this book does not fall into that genre.  Instead it is in the fantasy genre and sometimes considered a western.  The story is told with a third person narrative and focuses primarily on Roland Deschain of Gilead.  Although at times it is also told from the other characters who have joined Roland on his quest to find and heal the Dark Tower. They are all Gunslingers and his fellow questees are Eddie Dean of New York  (from 1987) and his wife Susanna Dean of New York (from 1964) as well as their adopted son, Jake Chambers of New York (from 1977).  The Dark Tower is at the centre of the universe and connects all the varying worlds and time-lines together. These books take place in a post-apocalyptic world where things are running down and time has become weird.

First, Roland, Eddie, Susannah, Jake and Oy (Jake’s intelligent, taking pet) all are on the crazy, sentient train known as Blaine, who has threatened to kill itself and the gang unless they can give it a riddle that it can not solve. So far Blaine knows all the riddles that Roland knows (and he knows a lot) as well as all the riddles in Jake’s book. They are close to the end of line going 800 miles an hour.  If Blaine is not stopped soon, they all will die.

The crazy train has now transported the gang many miles across the wasteland and when they arrive at their destination they are no longer in Roland’s Mid-World and no longer on the path of the beam.  Instead they have arrived in a deserted version of Topeka, Kansas in 1980, but it is not Eddie, Jake and Susannah’s world.  Close by is a Thinny, this is a thinning of the fabric of reality between worlds and it is a very dangerous thing.  This Thinny reminds Roland of his past and is the catalyst for him telling his story. The majority of the book is a recounting of Roland’s beginning and gives us a good insight into his enigmatic character.

We learn a lot about what happened to Roland and his boyhood friends when they were 14. This was just after Roland became the youngest gunslinger.   There is also a love story between Roland and his first and only love, Susan.  This story of Roland’s past takes place a few years before the fall of Gilead, which was the beginning of the end. The world had already started moving on but now time became weird, which is why it is now 1,000 years after the fall of Gilead and Roland is still searching for the tower.  It also explained how and why Roland started to search for the Tower.

Stephen King is phenomenal in his writing style and he delivers very well, and I say thank-ee (as they say in Mid-World.) The story is very interesting and very intriguing. This book is intrical in the development of the story as it outlines where the story is going and why. It does a great job in showing Roland’s character development. We really come to understand and love Roland after this tale. This book also completed all the story-lines it was following in this book and brought them all to a satisifying conclusion, although it is still clearly part of a larger story.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good story, but please read the prior books first as this book is not really a stand-alone book.  If you enjoy reading fantasy/science fiction books then you will definitely enjoy this book since it has a bit of both within it.

To Purchase: “Wizard and Glass” from Amazon, click here or on picture above

Fantasy, 2 Treasure Boxes, Kindle, Goodreads

The Sword and The Dragon by M. R. Mathias

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This entry is part 1 of 3 in the series The Wardstoned Trilogy

Book Review: 2 Treasure Boxes
Publisher: Michael Robb Mathias Junior (July 24, 2010), File Size: 1014 KB, Print Length: 522 pagess, ASIN: B003X9775Q
Book One of the Wardstone Trilogy


I was captivated with this book from the first page. Initially it is a mystery as to where the story is going and the book keeps you wondering as the plot unfolds, right up to the end. The book starts out with the introduction of two brothers; Gerard and Hyden Skyler, they are members of the Skyler Hawker’s clan who once a year risk their lives to gather the precious hawkling eggs from the high cliffs.  The brothers clearly love each other.

Each brother has received a unique gift but whether it is good or evil remains to be seen. Gerard found a magic ring. One of Hyden’s Hawk eggs hatched which, according to legend, has never happened before but is a very special event.

The book moves back and forth between the two brothers and numerous unrelated events and people within the Kingdom. These include the dead king’s squire who has been given a secret mission to deliver the King’s magical sword to the King of the Giants and the evil wizard who wants to control the dead King’s son.

A tale is then woven together following these various groups.  As you read the book you are not sure how they will interrelate, but you do know that somehow they will all be tied together and the author delivers.

I found the story to be very complex with lots of people and events and at times it was a bit confusing and hard to follow.  Overall the story was interesting and I wanted to find out what was going to happen to all the various people involved. The story was very original and it left you guessing and unsure as to what was going to happen next which is always enjoyable to read.

There were plenty of graphic action scenes in the book some of them quite gory. There was a very diverse range of characters, both good and evil. I liked that the author showed two sides to most of the characters.  Although you know who is good and who is evil, they each had fairly well rounded personalities, although some more than others.

However there were a couple of big plot holes which affected the main storyline.  First, if the good King Balton knew that Pael the wizard was evil, why did he leave him to raise his son to be evil?  Why didn’t he intervene, get rid of the evil Pael and raise his son to be good like himself.  He was able to raise his bastard son Mikahl to be good so why didn’t he raise his legitimate son to be good?

Second, if the Goddess, the White Lady knew how to close the seal forever, why wasn’t this done in the first place?

I liked the ending of the story, although I did find it to be sad.  I really liked that the story came to a good and satisfying conclusion.  The story also left a stepping stone to the next book in the series with lots of story left to be told.

I am really interested to see what happens with Shaella and Gerard as well as Pael.  I will be interested to read the next book in the series.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to support a new author and who likes fantasy novels with lots of graphic action.  Just be prepared to follow the story as it does get confusing at times following all the different people and events, but this certainly does keep it interesting.
To Purchase: “The Sword and the Dragon” from Amazon, click here or on picture above

 

E-Reader, Goodreads, Fantasy, 3 Treasure Boxes

The Waste Lands by Stephen King

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This entry is part 3 of 7 in the series The Dark Tower

Book Review: 3 Treasure Boxes
The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands
Publisher: Penguin Putnam (2003), EBook: 2,023KB pages, Language: English, ISBN-0-7865-3754-X

This book starts out with an exciting battle against a gigantic, crazy, cyborg bear who has been defending his forest for thousands of years.  The bear is now at the end of his existence and it is up to Susannah and Eddie to put him out of his misery before he destroys all of them. The story continues several weeks after Roland has joined up with Eddie, who is from our world in 1987 and Susannah who is from our world in 1964. Roland realizes that the bear was one of the Guardians and he deduces that if they go back to his lair they will be able to follow the beam of the portal which will lead them to the Dark Tower. This is the closest Roland has ever been in all his long travels to reaching the Dark Tower. Soon after they start on this new adventure many things occur to distract them along their path.

This is the third book in the Dark Tower series, there are currently a total of seven books, and Stephen King announced in 2009 that he is currently working on the eighth book, The Wind Through the Keyhole which will be released at some point in the future.  Stephen King is primarily known as a horror author, but this book does not fall into that genre.  Instead it is in the fantasy genre and sometimes considered a western.  The story is told with a third person narrative and focuses primarily on Roland Deschain of Gilead.  Although at times it is also told from the other characters who have joined Roland on his quest to find and heal the Dark Tower. They are all Gunslingers and his fellow questees are Eddie Dean of New York  (from 1987) and his wife Susanna Dean of New York (from 1964) as well as their adopted son, Jake Chambers of New York (from 1977).  The Dark Tower is at the centre of the universe and connects all the varying worlds and time-lines together. These books take place in a post-apocalyptic world where things are running down and time has become weird.

I really enjoyed this book, I loved reading about these people and their adventures as they work their way towards the Dark Tower. More light is put on the world they live in and why the world has moved on, why things are wearing out and changing for the worse.  We learn that these problems not only affect Roland’s world, but all worlds because there is something seriously wrong with the Dark Tower and the Dark Tower is at the centre of all existence in all the worlds. We learn that all the worlds are inter-related and can be access through various mystical doors as well as through the Dark Tower.  We find out that the Great Old Ones discovered the Dark Tower and found a way to access to it by creating twelve interconnected portals known as the Guardians.

Eddie and Susannah fall in love and under Roland’s tutelage truly become gunslingers. Due to Roland changing events in our world in 1977 in the previous book, Jake does not die but instead is drawn to join again with Roland in this book at a different time and place. There is a very interesting, exciting and frightening unfolding of events which allow this happen. The group continues onto a dilapidated city that is ruled by gangs and cruel crazy people.

There is lots of action and excitement once they arrive in this new location.  However, the story did not come to a conclusion; instead it ended in the middle of the story, which I do not really like and for this reason it lost one treasure box rating.  The good thing was that the next book was available for me to pick up and read so I was able to see how the story ended in the next book, Wizard and Glass. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good story, but please read the prior books first as this book is not really a stand-alone book.  If you enjoy reading fantasy/science fiction books then you will definitely enjoy this book since it has a bit of both within it.