"Gemina" | Book Review

*Includes Minor Spoilers*

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Damn, this book was a roller coaster.

Coming out of Illuminae, Kristoff and Kaufman had made me ready for Gemina. I could barely wait to get my hands on it. The explosive ending to it prepared me for a rocket-quick and mind-bogglingly large story in Gemina.

I think it was these high expectations that made the beginning a let-down. In fact, for the first 300 pages, I was a bit upset at the plot we were getting. Yes, the invasion was exciting, but even that comes so late in the book it wasn't the speed I was expecting.

And that's fine. There was nothing wrong with that. In fact, that slow-burn build up was part of what I loved about Illuminae. It just wasn't what I was expecting for Gemina.

Now, this didn't ruin the book. While I didn't love our new cast of characters, Nik, Hanna, Ella, and co. slowly won my heart. The way they were developed in this epistolary novel makes it much more interesting to read about.

Also, I LOVED the drawings by Marie Lu in this novel. The journal and the almost light tone the drawings added to this book where it was lacking in Illuminae.

And yes, by the time the plot amped up, and my nerd side was TOTALLY satisfied by the idea of gemina particles and alternate realities, I fell in love with this series again.

The unique style, the intense plot, and the awesome ending where Nik and Hanna save their world by returning the ship to the correct universe at exactly the same point is what ultimately left me just as excited as the last one did.

Oh yeah, and that ending was badass.

Characters: 85%

Plot: 90%

Depth: 80%

Style: 100%

Intrigue: 80%

Overall Rating: B+

"Heartless" | Book Review

*Includes Spoilers*

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"'But hoping,' he said, 'is how the possible can be possible after all.'"

I have to admit this was good. Shockingly good.

Heartless by Marissa Meyer is the YA origin story of Catherine—a.k.a. the Queen of Hearts before she was Queen.

Now, before I begin, I have two confessions: I've never read the Lunar Chronicles (I know, I know, I need to get on that) so I have no previous judgement on Meyer, and I know very little about Wonderland and the stories of that world.

So, to say I was going into this book blind would be an understatement. I had no expectations and no knowledge on what was being written. Maybe that enhanced my experience, or maybe it didn't. That's for you to decide.

Now, to start, I took an instant liking to Cath, our main character. I loved that despite her social status and the expectations society had for her to focus on marriage, she decided to follow her dreams of being a baker. This allowed me to immediately connect to her. No, I don't bake, but yes, I can relate to being someone trying to follow their dreams in a world where that isn't seen as logical.

I think that this was where my intrigue in the story began. It was from the first page, where Meyer wrote in Cath's distinct voice, and showed us her love for the art of baking. It was enthralling to read something so personalized in a voice that felt very much the character's.

From there, the characters only got better. We meet Cath's parents, the Marquess and Marchioness, who are perfectly cruel, putting on warm veneers but fighting tooth and nail to keep Cath on the path of marriage. We meet the Jest, the brooding, "swoon" character who we now find out later in the book has a dark mission in Hearts, the reason for being here. We meet the King, in all his blundering glory, who is determined to court Cath. We meet Mary Ann, whom I felt a soft spot for, hearing her talk about why opening the bakery with Catherine is important to her.

From the main characters to the supporting characters; Cath and the King to Jest to the Raven to Sir Peter, every character felt fleshed out, interesting, motivated, and idiosyncratic.

Now, on to the plot. I'll admit, I was wondering where it was going at the beginning. Like I said, I have little knowledge of wonderland, and I knew we ended ultimately with "Off with his head," but I was getting worried that there would be nothing other than Cath fighting to be with Jest instead of the King. Toward the end, the other plot-lines and darkness that feels like it has been ruminating throughout the novel. But what held it up before me was the Jabberwock. I found myself growing more and more intrigued in how this beast was somehow intertwined with Peter, and how the pumpkins played into it.

It was this mystery, and this evident dark well of the book that kept me intrigued even while most of what Cath was dealing with was her love life.

In terms of depth, I also have to admit I was blown away. As I said, I loved the way Meyer understood her characters, but I also think she did a fantastic job with the world, understanding the history of it, the way the kingdoms interacted, and I loved seeing how she pulled a few strings.

The style was beautiful in this book, her writing beautiful, haunting, but fast paced where it needed to be.

In total, I feel like it was the mix of golden threads of character, plot, and style that made this book what it was. It didn't feel as much a retelling as it did Meyer being inspired the ropes of the world, making it her own while still being true to what I know of the original Wonderland.

Ratings:
Characters: 100%
Plot: 90%
Depth: 100%
Style: 90%
Intrigue: 80%
Overall: A-

Chekhov's Gun

This post deals more with the technicalities of writing, and I would consider it to describe a strategy for analyzing descriptions in the story, and truly looking at whether or not you are being superfluous in description.

Chekhov's Gun is essentially the principle that the details and memorable elements to the story must be purposeful, or have a role later in the story. In his words, "Remove everything that has no relevance to the story. If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it's not going to be fired, it shouldn't be hanging there."

The reason I think this is worth talking about, and a genuinely good rule to follow is it enhances your story in that it is more engaging.

If every detail or element to the story ultimately has a purpose, your readers will forever be guessing at how everything will tie together, and it will cause them to scour the book's details and mentions for clues at what will happen next.

This is huge to keep people not just flipping from one page to the next, but genuinely captured by the story.

In practice, I think this is also a really fantastic way to cut down your word count in editing should you find yourself with one that's too large. It will force you to weed out that which you don't need, and leave you a story that is tight and interactive, and would likely help to clean up some of the writing or even bits of the plot.

Now, this isn't to say you shouldn't describe anything unless every word in the description has a meaning later, but it is a good way to look at symbols or objects and what role they could play. Again, describing someone's features, or building the word is vital to the story, so you can't take it out solely on the principle it's not coming back as part of the plot, but it is a cool device to use with objects or concepts that you know will be part of your plot later in the novel.

"Where Things Come Back" | Book Review

**Includes spoilers**

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I finished "Where Things Come Back" by John Whaley, and I have to say I didn't have many expectations coming into this book. And I have to admit, I was pretty satisfied with the end of the book.

We begin our story in Lily, Arkansas, following seventeen-year-old, Cullen Witter. I have to admit, at the beginning, I was worried I would only find this book average, because Cullen is just that: average. Yes, I related to him because his sort of outside qualities in a mainstream world, and his love for writing, but he just seemed to be your average, slightly whiny teenager. As the plot progresses, Gabriel, Cullen's brother mysteriously disappears.

This is the point where I grew more interested. Personally, I've read my share of love and loss stories, but his close relationship with his brother enhanced this one particularly. The reader begins to feel for Cullen because his ties with his brother are so strong—in other words, Whaley has made the reader fully understand why Cullen feels the way he does, and we begin to feel it ourselves. It was here when his character got interesting to me. It was here that I began to read more closely, and found myself with a strong desire to continue the story. The plot, from here on, is actually fairly little—mostly, we cover the emotional ramifications of a loss, and the way people must deal with that—but to be honest, this was the most interesting part. Where Cullen was normal, we begin to see the weird intricacies of his brain, and understand the underlying and undying strange in him that makes him so much more real.

It is because of this fascinating character development and fresh take on dealing with the loss of a loved one that kept the intrigue up, because when Gabriel finally did get back, I'd been expecting it the whole time (I mean, hello, the title is, "Where Things Come Back"), but at that point I was no longer invested in the plot, but more in the emotional arcs.

This brings me to my next point on characters: our theology story. I found it interesting in the beginning because it was so different, but I have to admit, I found it tiring after so long to read about the crazed sacerdotal lust both characters in the third person narrative fell into. And to be honest, their role in the story was predictable at best. No, he wouldn't include a second storyline just to spice things up—I could easily anticipate they played some role in Gabriel's disappearance, and I'd had that bit figured out from the moment I started it.

But was it still rewarding when the estranged plots finally wove together into one nice bow? Yes. It was. Despite being able to predict it, it added the bit of action needed to finish off this purely emotional, semi-depressing story (as Whaley calls it).

Now, onto the other characters. I liked them, but I didn't love them. I sort of felt the same way as I did with Cullen at the beginning, except I didn't feel like they developed and progressed into the introspective and inherently peculiar character Cullen did. Sure, they were enjoyable to read about, with Lucas and Mena's love affair, and their friendship for Cullen being a nice addition, but could I have read the story without them and not felt the lack? It's possible.

This was the reason I wasn't fully against the characters—despite a few flaws, Lucas, Mena, Cullen, and Gabriel pulled together to make an overall interesting story, which is good for such a character-driven book.

I think my ultimate thoughts, though, revolve around that which I'd already touched on. The interesting style and beautiful portrayal of emotion in a way that isn't as washed out as many other books are is what made this worth it for me. The depth of analysis of his emotion, and the rawness of that emotion is the main reason I would recommend this book—it's not a thriller, it's not plot-driven, and it's not particularly intellectual (though it's not dumb in any way); it's a character book; it's an emotional book.

And don't worry—it's not an overwhelmingly negative book: "I can't seem to be a pessimist long enough to overlook the possibility of things being overwhelmingly good."

That bout sums up the book for me; both poignant and warm; both dark and light; both sad and happy.

Ratings:
Characters: 80%
Plot: 70%
Depth: 100%
Style: 100%
Intrigue: 80%

Overall Grade: B

Fear

I figured I'd start my first blog post on the topic that everyone of us experiences at some point in our lives—that I am experiencing right now as I craft my very first entry into a world of blogging that I know so little about.

But, what do I know about fear, you ask?

In truth, I know little more than the next guy about the neurology behind fear; what I know of the treacherous emotion is that which I have experienced. I'm an aspiring author—someone who has worked day after day, slaving away at perfecting my words on the page, chasing the ever-elusive art of writing.

In no way to do I claim to be an expert, or an old and wise soul, but it's something I grapple with daily, as everyone does.

And I think the more I struggle with it, the more I spend time wondering about the future, about writing, about my dreams and how possible they are, I've decided that it is one of the most debilitating emotions.

It tugs at the heart, eats at the mind and taints the soul. I've heard story after story from friends, family members, or someone with an online presence where pure penitence laces the words as they speak of something they let go due to fear.

The older I get, the more I have to make decisions about the future, the more this feeling seems to affect me, and it dawned on me the other day that the very reason I can't stop thinking about fear instilling loss is fear itself; I am afraid to let fear govern my life and my decisions.

It's ironic, I know, yet there I sat, basking in fear at the concept. So what did I do?

I used it.

Yes, fear is pesky, devitalizing, and prostrate. But at the same time, it can be the most useful tool of any, the very sustenance one needs to finish their project, or run that final stretch, for fear makes manics of us all.

Once you can take a step back from the emotion, really examine what you're afraid of, evaluate the pros and the cons, fear can be your greatest weapon.

I know it sounds far too pragmatic to be realistic. So here's what you should do: Take a few breaths. Maybe step away from whatever it is, be it a project, a job offer, a friend, the future. Try to stop thinking about it for a bit, give yourself some time, and then revisit it with a fresh lens. Maybe your fear will be gone, or maybe you'll be ready to confront it better.

This leads me to the next step: Confront the fear. Don't beat around the bush, don't pretend like you aren't afraid. Fear is human. Fear is good. Acknowledge it. Think about what might be causing it, then confront it. Walk yourself through it. Question if what the fear makes you think is rational, or if they are entirely contrived from that fear.

The moment that you acknowledge your fear is the moment you can begin to harnass it, and then use it.

What was once your what held back your pen is now the very ink that you write with. So fight the fear. Use it. Damn it to hell. No matter what, just don't put down that pen.