Books: The Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz

As an adult, I’m not at all ashamed to admit that Anthony Horowitz is one of my favourite authors. In the space of ten months, I have read eight of his books which used to be more books than I consumed in an entire year! Anthony Horowitz may write for a young adult audience but his fast-paced, imaginative and explosive books are great for reading on the train, when I am not working or when I am not reading up on wars and other non-fiction stories.

The first book in the Alex Rider series is called Stormbreaker. Alex Rider’s uncle and guardian Ian dies in suspicious circumstances and on investigating his death, Alex is taken by MI6 and blackmailed into becoming an operative for them. He learns that his uncle had been training him to be a spy his entire life and after training with the SAS, Alex’s first mission is to investigate Darrius Sayle who plans to donate one of his new Stormbreaker computers to every school in Britain.

Like his Power of Five series, this book follows a break-neck pace and is fast, daring and imaginative. Like the Daily Mirror said, “being James Bond in miniature is way cooler than being a wizard”.

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Mere weeks after the events of Stormbreaker, Alex gets into trouble trying to singlehandedly apprehend a local drug dealer. Once again, he is brought in by MI6 and blackmailed into working for them. So begins the second instalment in the Alex Rider series, Point Blanc. Posing as Alex Friend, son of a major retailer, Alex is sent to the mysterious Point Blanc academy in France to investigate the only lead in the deaths of two prominent business men.

Once again, the book is explosive and it is no wonder The Times had advised to “prepare for action scenes as fast as a movie”.

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Despite enjoying the pace and adventure of the first two books, I had been slightly disappointed with the Alex Rider series so far. It certainly wasn’t the Power of Five series and I felt something was missing. Nevertheless, after a 6 month break, I decided to try another Alex Rider book in March of this year.

I am so glad that I did!! Anthony Horowitz really comes into his own with this book. He retains the pace, adventure and intrigue of the first two stories but for the first time, you get real character development and you start to really identify with Alex Rider.

I absolutely loved this book, I adored the Cuban setting and I liked the portrayal of the “bad guys” in the book. After reading this book I can firmly say that I recommend the Alex Rider series to people young and old and to fans of the Power of Five series and of young adult fiction.

In the book, Alex Rider starts off with a simple enough mission at Wimbledon during the tennis, but is then palmed off on a joint-CIA mission when it becomes too dangerous for him to remain in England. He is to help the CIA in their attempt to investigate the suspicious Russian ex-general Alexei Sarov and his movements on the island of Skeleton Key. Alex is meant to simply accompany the CIA agents so that they can appear to be a family unit but as usual, nothing is ever that simple in the world of Alex Rider.

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Eagle Strike is the fourth book in the Alex Rider series and it is the most ambitious book so far. Whilst holidaying in the South of France, Alex’s hosts are subjected to a horrifying and vicious attack. Alex recognises his old enemy, Yassen Gregorovich, the man who killed his uncle and he realises that this is the man behind the attacks.

Alex takes what he knows to MI6 but this time they are not interested. Alex is left out in the cold and it is up to him to find out what is going on and once again to save the world.

This is a brilliant and explosive book and I couldn't put it down! I am looking forward to the rest of the books in the series and I believe that the rest of the series in on an equal par with the Power of Five series (which Anthony Horowitz only began writing after the fifth Alex Rider book).

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And so concludes my review of the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz. Read the books, I highly recommend it!

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Band: The Cinematics

When I am super busy like I was last week, I listen to a lot of dance music to get myself going in the mornings and keep myself awake on the train coming home late at night. Come Monday morning, my scattered brain needed something less hectic and I put on some of my all time favourite indie albums of all time on to play. 

I think I've mentioned before that I don't usually react too well to music that is recommended to me. I have the most eclectic taste out of anyone I know and yet I am extremely particular about my music. Recommendations from my brother often sit on my iPod for months before I finally "discover" them there and decide that they're quite good actually!

I think the reason for this is not that I'm specifically arrogant, ungrateful or rude. It is that I have a very strong emotional tie to my music and change my music with every mood. Given that I am very prone to mood swings, you can imagine why I need to have 80gb worth of music on my iPod to cater for every possible whim that I may have! I do not like travelling without my iPod, that is for sure.

The Cinematics – Strange Education

The Cinematics formed in 2003 in Glasgow in Scotland and draw their inspiration from bands like The Cure and Echo and the Bunnymen.  Their sounds reminds me strongly of the Bunnies in fact.  I mentioned recommendations before because this band was recommended to me by Last.fm and I immediately fell in love with their song Being Human.  I’m really sorry that I couldn’t find an official video for the song but you have to listen to this:

• Listen to the whole album at Imeem
• Visit them on MySpace and listen to their new single
• Visit their website, thecinematics.com
• Listen to all of their tracks at Last.fm

I really recommend a listen to this band.  Their new stuff sounds really edgy and even more Bunny-esque.  Definitely worth a listen!

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Film: recycled Disney!

Aaah, how heartening to know that Disney were recycling even before it became trendy.  This is very funny.

Link: Disney fans surprised by recycled scenes [TimesOnline.co.uk]

A Swedish teenager has spliced together scenes from some of the classic Disney movies to show that scenes were recycled. The Times article states that it is called "video referencing" and that of course studios used it as copying human movement is a painstaking and time consuming process. A commenter on YouTube noted how most of the movies he spliced are older and I imagine that this is down to the advent of computer based animation or something.

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Book review: Slaves of the Mastery – William Nicholson

Last year I read The Wind Singer by William Nicholson and though impressed by the originality and sheer inventiveness of this novel, I only gave it four out of five stars.  This was only the second young adult or children’s book I had read after the “Harry Potter” and “His Dark Materials” series and I found it to be less accessible to me as an adult and more aimed towards the younger market.
In December last year, I visited Pizza’s blog and a couple of us were recommending books to each other.  One of Pizza’s friends, Kestrel, said that “the best book I'd say I've ever read is Slaves of the Mastery, the second book in the Wind on Fire trilogy”.  This really piqued my interest and I decided to give the author a second chance.

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I’m glad I did.  This is officially one of the best books I have ever read and it is certainly in my Top Five Young Adult Books list.  This book has it all – action, adventure, imagination, likeable characters, wonderful worlds and an excellent plot. 
The story takes place five years after the events of The Wind Singer and our protagonists are now 15 years old.  Aramanth is attacked and the Manth people are taken into slavery by the army of the Mastery.
Kestrel Hath is the only living person left behind and she embarks on a solo journey tracking her family and her people across the desert.  She is rescued by the people of the Gang who happen to be travelling in the same direction.
The plot involves great character development of both Kestrel and her twin brother Bowman.  It is a great story and a wonderful adventure and I will certainly reading the rest of William Nicholson’s books now.
William Nicholson is actually quite famous as a screen writer and you are probably familiar with his work including Shadowlands, Sarafina!, Gladiator, First Knight and Elizabeth: The Golden Age.  I am definitely reading more of his work in future and have even added a “William Nicholson” label!
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Almost 20 million views can't be wrong

Prepare yourself for the biggest shock of your life. I can't believe this woman's voice!

Susan Boyle auditioned for the reality show Britain's Got Talent and blew the socks off the judges and the audience! She has since been invited to appear on Oprah and Larry King.

EDIT: Embedding has been disabled apparently - click on the YouTube link: Susan Boyle on Britain's Got Talent. There have been almost 20 million views of this video so far and that excludes all the clones!

[Image source]

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Book review: The Trial – Franz Kafka

In my previous post, I discussed how lately I have been trying to read some modern literature classics.  I don’t think I am the type of person to ever read Dickens or the Brontë sisters (although one day I would like to try Wuthering Heights); but then again, I never thought I would be the type to enjoy chick-lit as much as I do.

The Trial by Franz Kafka is the second “classic” I have read this year (George' Orwell’s 1984 being the first). Unlike 1984 however, I didn’t enjoy reading The Trial as such but then that is Kafka’s great accomplishment with this book in that he leads his reader to feel as helpless as his protagonist.

The Trial is about a man called Josef K, a middle-class, middle management banker, who awakes one morning to find himself under arrest.  Not once in the book is he (or the reader) told what the actual charges are and in fact, he finds it quite hard to take the whole “process” seriously.

The original German title to the book was “Der Process” and in fact, I find this may have been a more accurate title as the book chronicles K’s process through court bureaucracy, learning of the seriousness of the charges as the whole matter starts to permeate into all aspects of his life.

According to Wikipedia, there have been two major interpretations of this work.  The first is that it refers to “human existence” and that the start of K’s trial is when he wakes up one morning and questions his own existence.  This is supported by the undertone throughout the book that his guilt is not entirely criminal.  I don’t personally subscribe to this theory but imagine that people better versed in religious or metaphysical texts might see the similarities.

The other interpretation is that this is a reflection of the process of marriage and social relations, mirroring Kafka’s own relationships and failed engagements.  I find this interpretation to make far more sense and can identify with the idea that once you tie yourself to someone, you are no longer in control of your own decisions.  Men, especially, often feel they are at the mercy of their in-laws once they have bought that all important ring.  Nevertheless, without giving away the story, I still find K’s closing words to be a little harsh.

This is an excellent book that was left by Franz Kafka amongst his papers when he died.  He asked that the book be destroyed but his friend Max Brod went against his wishes and published the book.  One of the chapters was unfinished and in later years it has been suggested that the chapters might have been presented in the incorrect order. 

This is a fine book and I would recommend it to lovers of modern fiction and existentialism.  It can be a bit tedious to read at times and for that reason, I give it four out of five stars.

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