And Then There Were None

Today's post is on And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. It is a stand alone novel. It is 264 pages long. The cover has the island shrouded in mist with the title and author's name. The intended reader is someone who likes mysteries, no winners, and good writing. The story is told from the third person close of the main characters. There is no sex, some mild language, and violence in this novel. Teenagers and older should enjoy this novel with no problem. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- Ten people are invited to a lonely mansion on an island, off the coast of Devon, by a host who unfortunately fails to appear... when people of whom it can truthfully be said that each one had something out of the past to hide, something perhaps of which to be ashamed. Even on that glorious summer evening of their arrival there seemed something sinister about the island, but not one could anticipate the adventure in which each and all were to be involved. A odd business... a very odd business.. a diabolically clever business, devised by that incomparable writer of detective stories- Agatha Christie.

Review- This was a very unique story by Christie. The murderer is very clever and like every Christie villain I do not feel sorry for him. I also do not feel very sorry for the victims either. The plot is very interesting. The murderer wants to get those who killed but in a way that law could not get them or even see that they had killed at all. The story is fast paced. The whole novel lasts three days and four nights. The ending was very good. The killer ends the story by writing a letter and tossing it into the sea; if the fates wanted it to be found it would be. The strongest part of the story is the characterization. I believed in this people. I believed that they had killed, some without intent, others with it. I did not discover who the murderer was until the letter. Christie out did herself on this one.

I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.

Falling Upwards: How We Took to the Air

Today's Nonfiction post is on Falling Upwards: How We Took to the Air by Richard Holmes. It is 404 pages long including notes and index. It is published by Patheon. The cover is a beautiful illustration of a balloon rising. The intended reader is someone who is interested in science, scientific history, and ballooning. There is no sex, mild language, and no violence in this book. The story is told from third person close with first hand documents and the author's own experiences added in for favor. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- In this heart-lifting chronicles, Richard Holmes, author of the best-selling Age of Wonder, follows the pioneer generation of balloon aeronauts, the daring and enigmatic men and women who risked their lives to take to the air (or fall into the sky). Why they did it, what their contemporaries thought of them, and how their flights revealed the secrets of out planet is compelling adventure that only Holmes could tell.

His accounts of the early Anglo-French balloon revelries, the crazy firework flights of the beautiful Sophie Blanchard, the long-distance voyages of the American entrepreneur John Wise and French photographer Felix Nadar are dramatic and exhilarating. Holmes documents as well the balloons used to observe the horrors of modern battle during the Civil War (including a flight taken by George Armstrong Custer); the legendary tale of at sixty-seven manned balloons that escaped Paris (the first successful civilian airlift in history) during the Prussian siege of 1870-1871; the high-altitude exploits of James Glaisher (who rose seven miles above the earth without oxygen, helping to establish the new science of meteorology); and how Mary Shelly, Edgar Allen Poe, and Jules Verne felt the imaginative impact of flight and allowed it to soar in their work.

Review- Fun, interesting read about something I knew next to nothing about. The history and science behind ballooning was not something that had ever crossed my mind or desk before so I went into this with any open mind. I really enjoyed learning about ballooning, who did what first, and why ballooning is now something to play with, not real serious stuff. The people who first fell upwards were interesting people with dreams of flight. Of course we now know that lighter-than-air travel is not the best but with that science they had it was the best course. Not all stories end in happiness and flight. Many of the people who tried to use balloons for travel ended up dead. But it is the dream of flight that matters. The dream of being carried away with the clouds that pulls both the ballooners and the reader. Holmes is a good writer with passion for his topic. Add in good research and foot notes, you get a very well written and interesting story.

I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.

MARS volume 10

Today's post is on MARS volume 10 by Fuyumi Soryo. As it is the 10^th in the series you need to have read the first 9 to understand the story. It is published by Tokyopop. The cover has Kira and Rei on it looking pretty. The intended reader is young adult, likes teen drama, and more drama. There is sex, some mild language, and violence in this volume. The story is told from Kira's perspective. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of book- Free at Last

Now that Rei and Kira are an 'official' couple, Kira experiences a refreshing taste of freedom for the first time in her life. But soon, she and Rei find themselves at one of life's major crossroads. The two must decide how school and work will play into their future. Kira deiced to take a job in order to secure her independence, while Rei contemplates quitting school so he can support Kira. Just when you think you have your future all mapped out, love enters the picture and changes the scenery.

Review- Kira and Rei have sex in this volume. It is not graphic but it is very clear what they are doing. Kira is forced to interact with the real world. She does get scared but she deals with it. Rei does help but it is Kira who chooses. The character development in this volume is more relationship development. Because they are living together now Kira and Rei have to deal with some things that neither could have guessed was coming. Rei's father is still trying to get in touch with him. Kira of course is worried that Rei is ashamed of her or something like that. That is something that I wish would get dealt with but ten volumes in and Kira still thinks that like. But I still really enjoy in this series. But that said she is much better than she was at the beginning of the series. True love and all that. All the drama is good for your heart.

I give this volume a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money.

Copperhead

Today's post is on Copperhead by Tina Connolly. It is the second in her Ironskin trilogy. It is 316 pages long and is published by TOR. The cover has the main character on it with a iron mask in her hand looking at the reader. The intended reader is someone who has read the first book, likes steampunk, fae, and fast plots. Teens and adults would get the most out of this book. There is some mild language, no sex, and little violence. The story is told from the first person perspective of the main character. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- Helen Huntingdon is beautiful- so beautiful she has to wear an iron mask.

Six months ago, her sister, Jane, uncovered a fey plot to take over the city. Too late for Helen, who opted for fey beauty- and now has to cover her face with iron so she won't be taken over, her personality erased by the bodiless fey.
Not that Helen would mind that some days. Stuck in a marriage with the wealthy and controlling Alistair, she lives at the edges of her life, secretly helping Jane remove the dangerous fey beauty from the wealthy society women who paid for it. But when the chancy procedure turns deadly, Jane goes missing- and is implicated in a murder.
Meanwhile, Alistair's influential clique Copperhead- whose emblem is the poisonous copperhead hydra- is out to restore humans to their 'rightful' place, even to the point of destroying the dwarvven who have always been allies.
Helen is determined to find her missing sister, as well as continue the good fight against the fey. But when that pits her against her own husband- and when she meets an enigmatic young revolutionary- she's pushed to discover how far she'll bend society's rules to do what's right. It may be more than her beauty at stake. It may her honor... and her heart.

Review- This is a fast-paced sequel to Ironskin. Helen was seen as only a silly and thoughtless woman gets to redeem herself. Helen has to do more character growth than Jane did. Helen has to learn that she has power, a voice, and a will to use them. There is some tense moments when Alistair is drunk and angry but Connolly uses them to make Helen grow. Helen wants to please but learns that she has to take care of herself and those in need. There is not much more world building in this one. We see more of the dwarvven world, more of the fey plots, and that is about it. Connolly gets into the darker human world where people might make their wives get new faces. And she dives into how that would make someone feel. The women in this novel are not taken seriously and they are mad about it. I like that Connolly is not afraid to talk about that. The dailog is not bad but it really is the world and the mystery that makes you keep reading.

I give this book a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this book with my own money.

Mauve: How One Man Invented a Color that changed the World

Today's post is on Mauve: How One Man Invented a Color that Changed the World by Simon Garfield. It is 222 pages including an index and it is published by W. W. Norton & Company. The cover is an oil painting of Sir William Perkins. The intended reader is someone who likes science, history, and surprising inventions. There is no language, no sex, and no violence in this book. The story is told in two ways; the past is from the third person perspective with letters and other first hand documents added in for development, and the present Garfield writes from first person as he interviews people. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- Born of an experimental slip, this odd shade of purple revolutionized the worlds of fashion, industry, and chemical research.

Mauve is the story of a man who accidentally invented a color, and in the process transformed the world around him. Before 1856, the color in our lives- the reds, blues, and blacks of clothing, paint, print- came from insects or mollusks, roots or leaves, and dyeing was painstaking and expensive. But in 1856 eighteen-year-old English chemist William Perkin accidentally discovered a way to mass-produce color in a factory.
Working on a treatment for malaria in his London home laboratory, Perkin found mauve by chance. His experiments failed to result in artificial quinine as he had hoped, but produced instead a dark oily sludge that happened to turn silk a beautiful light purple. Mauve became the most desirable shade in the fashion houses of Paris and London, and quickly led to crimsons, violets, blues, and greens, earning its inventor a fortune. But its importance extends far beyond ballgowns.
Before mauve, chemistry was largely a theoretical science. Perkin's discovery sparked new interest in industrial applications of chemistry research, which later bought about the development of explosives, perfume, photography, modern medicine, and today's plastics industry.
Perkin is honored with the odd plaque and bust in colleges and chemistry clubs, but is otherwise forgotten man. With great wit, savvy, and historical scope, Simon Garfield delivers a fascinating tale of how this accidental genius set in motion and extraordinary scientific leap.

Review- This is why I love Garfield so much. This book is interesting, funny, moving, and very well written. Garfield takes something that I knew next to nothing about and does all that with it. Garfield is a wonderful writer. He makes the very technical world of chemistry and makes it readable. In addition to uncovering Perkin and his discoveries, he interviews people in the different industries that were affected by his work. Going from birth to his death Garfield then goes beyond Perkin into the future that he helped create. The way that Garfield blends the past and the present to make one story is brilliant and just like him. I love the way that he makes the subjects of his books so normal by showing how it intercedes with our own lives.

I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.

MARS volume 9

Today's post is on MARS volume 9 by Fuyumi Soryo. It is published by Tokyopop. As it is the ninth in the series you need to have read the first eight to understand the story. The cover has Rei on looking at the reader. The intended reader is someone who likes teen drama, real life stories, and more drama. There is some mild language, some violence, and implied sex in this volume. Older teens and adults are best suited for this series. The story is told from the perspective of Kira. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Flying Solo

The unthinkable has happened: Rei and Kira have finally broken up, and it's the talk of the town. Kira can only stand by helplessly as Rei walks out of her life. Though Rei feigns indifference as he walks into the arms of waiting suitors, he begins to realize that he may have made a big mistake. When Kira decides to make up with Rei before it's too late, he's nowhere to be found. With her family life also suffering, Kira has no idea where to turn...

Review- Lots of drama in this volume. Rei breaks up with Kira because she and her mother are living the man who raped her again. Rie cannot stand the thought that something might happen to Kira so he takes the easy way out. In the end Kira has to leave home because her stepfather is too controlling. This volume ends with Kira and Rei kissing. This series does have a lot of drama but it does not make light of the more serious issues. Rei makes a good point about repeat rapists and that is they will not stop. Kira's stepfather is one. He swears that he will never do it again but when he sees Kira with Rei he loses it. Kira does stand up for herself but in the end she has to leave home. Kira's mother wants things to be easy but the price is Kira's safety. So Kira chooses herself and Rei. Another thing that Soryo talks about with this is how being devalued like Kira has been does to a person. She does not really care about anything. Because she feels that she is not important or has any value as a person. Heavy stuff for a shojo manga. More drama coming next week.

I give this volume a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money.

MARS volume 12

Today post is on MARS volume 12 by Fuyumi Soryo. As it is the 12th in the series you need to have read the first 11 to understand the story. It is published by Tokyopop. The cover has Kira on it looking at the reader with a very intense gaze. The intended reader is young adult but this has enough teen drama that adults can enjoy it too. There is no sex, no language, and no violence in this volume. The story is told from Kira's perspective. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Secret Lives
Kira has finally left home and is one her own, but she feels safe with Rei by her side. When Kira finally meets Rei's father for the first time, she is surprised to find he is a familiar face from her past. As Kira and Rei explore his mammoth mansion, shocking family secrets are revealed. As Rei grapples to cope with the unearthed memories of his past, Rei leans on Kira for some much-needed support.

Review- This volume is all about character. Rei and Kira get a lot of growth time. Kira's mother lets her leave home to be safe. Rei's father wants to help them so they move into his house. Then Rei starts to deal with unhappy memories about his mother and Kira learns something terrible about Sei. The drama is there but it is quieter than in previous volumes. Kira and Rei have to make some adult choices and deal with what that means. Rei remembering things about his mother is going to change the way he sees things. What he remembers is not good. In addition Kira now knows more about Sei's death and what she is going to do with this knowledge. Good pacing for this volume. With the volume ending as this bombshells drop more drama is coming up next!

I give this volume a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this book with my own money.