"Allegiant" by Veronica Roth

Title: Allegiant

Author: Veronica Roth
Publisher: Harper Collins

Book 3 of 'Divergent'

Blurb:

What if your whole world was a lie?

The thrillingly dark conclusion to the No. 1 New York Times bestselling DIVERGENT trilogy.

What if a single revelation – like a single choice – changed everything?

What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected?

The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered – fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she's known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.

But Tris's new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature – and of herself – while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice and love.

Told from a riveting dual perspective, Allegiant, by #1 New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth, brings the Divergent series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.

Synopsis:

Tris is shocked by the video released to the public at the end of the raid on Erudite headquarters. The video revealed the truth about the faction system and announced that the Divergent are needed outside the borders of the city.

Tris, Four and some of the others leave the city. They find out what is really going and decide to do something about it.

For a full synopsis go visit Wikipedia.

Verdict:

Truly I got bored, but had to finish it. It is a well written book, but I lost interest and was not completely happy with the ending.

Rating: 3/5

"Running with the Demon" by Terry Brooks

Title: Running with the Demon

Author: Terry Brooks
Publisher: Orbit

Book 1 of 'The Word and the Void'

Blurb:

It is the beginning of the hottest July in decades, and two men have come to Hopewell, Illinois. One is not human, a dark servant of the Void, who will use the anger and frustration of the community to achieve a terrible secret goal. The other is John Ross, a Knight of the Word. While he sleeps, he lives in the hell the world will become if he fails to change its course on waking. John Ross has been given the ability to see the future. But does he have the power to change it?

At stake is the soul of a fourteen-year-old girl and the lives of the people of Hopewell. And that's just the beginning. This Fourth of July, while friends and families picnic in Sinnissippi Park and fireworks explode in celebration of freedom and independence, the fate of Humanity itself will be decided . . .

Synopsis:

Nest Freemark lives in hopewell, Illinois, a wielder of Magic helping a farey creature in her local park. John Ross comes to her town claiming to have known her mother, but in reality he is tracking a demon.

For a full synopsis go visit Wikipedia.

Verdict:

This is a great urban fantasy book set in our world, bringing magic and demons to life. A bit more in depth than a Sunday read, but well worth the effort. looking forward to book two.

Rating: 5/5

"Insurgent" by Veronica Roth

Title: Insurgent

Author: Veronica Roth
Publisher: Harper Collins

Book 2 of 'Divergent'

Blurb:

Fighting for survival in a shattered world… the truth is her only hope.

I have done bad things. I can’t take them back, and they are part of who I am.

Tris has survived a brutal attack on her former home and family. But she has paid a terrible price. Wracked by grief and guilt, she becomes ever more reckless as she struggles to accept her new future.

Yet if Tris wants to uncover the truth about her world, she must be stronger than ever… because more shocking choices and sacrifices lie ahead.

Synopsis:

Tris, Four, Caleb, Peter, and Marcus travel to Amity to meet with other Abnegation survivors to seek sanctuary. Whilst there, Erudite and Dauntless traitors turn up to search for any Abnegation survivors. As you ould expect, Tris et al do not go down without a fight, evade capture and head back into the city.

After a while they meet up with the Factionless and Four's mother. A plan is hatched to expose the data that the Erudite are keeping secret and the rest of the book is about the war that escalates from this.

For a full synopsis go visit Wikipedia.

Verdict:

Picking up from book one, the story flows straight into quite a lot of action. The love story takes a back seat as our lead character fights herself internally. I enjoyed this book as much as the first and look forward to the film being released. The plot actually is less predictable in the second book, than the first, so in some ways this was a better book and not so teenager'ish. I liked it.

Rating: 4/5

"Divergent" by Veronica Roth

Title: Divergent

Author: Veronica Roth
Publisher: Harper Collins

Book 1 of 'Divergent'

Blurb:

For sixteen-year-old Tris, the world changes in a heartbeat when she is forced to make a terrible choice. Turning her back on her family, Tris ventures out, alone, determined to find out where she truly belongs.

Shocked by the brutality of her new life, Tris can trust no one. And yet she is drawn to a boy who seems to both threaten and protect her. The hardest choices may yet lie ahead….

Synopsis:

In a post-apocalyptic Chicago, survivors divide into five factions based on their dispositions: Abnegation, for the selfless; Amity, for the peaceful; Candor, for the honest; Dauntless, for the brave; and Erudite, for the intelligent. Each year, all sixteen-year-olds must take an aptitude test that describes the one faction for which they are best suited. After receiving the results, they can decide whether to remain with their family's faction or transfer to a new faction. Those who do not complete initiation into their new faction become "Factionless", and are forced to live in poverty on the streets of the city.

Tris Prior and her brother Caleb are approaching their Choosing Day. The day they either choose to stay with the faction they have grown up in, or pick a new one. They are tested prior to choosing and Tris' tests are inconclusive to which faction she should choose, hence she is Divergent. She is warned never to reveal this to anyone.

On the day of Choosing, she picks Dauntless and enters their initiation program. During initiation she makes friends and enemies within her new faction. And she also finds love in the initiation trainer namer 'Four'.

For a full synopsis go visit Wikipedia.

Verdict:

When I first got told of this book/movie, a friend described it as "The Hunger Games" only without the Hunger or the Games. Lol. Although the comparison of post-apocalyptic world with teenage female main character is true, that is where the comparison ends. This was a good read, OK so the plot is predictable once it gets going, but hey what book isn't.

Rating: 4/5

"A Feast for Crows" by George R. R. Martin

Title: A Feast For Crows

Author: George R. R. Martin
Publisher: Pocket Books

Book 4 of 'A Song of Ice and Fire'

Blurb:

It seems too good to be true. After centuries of bitter strife and fatal treachery, the seven powers dividing the land have decimated one another into an uneasy truce. Or so it appears. . . . With the death of the monstrous King Joffrey, Cersei is ruling as regent in King’s Landing. Robb Stark’s demise has broken the back of the Northern rebels, and his siblings are scattered throughout the kingdom like seeds on barren soil. Few legitimate claims to the once desperately sought Iron Throne still exist—or they are held in hands too weak or too distant to wield them effectively. The war, which raged out of control for so long, has burned itself out.

But as in the aftermath of any climactic struggle, it is not long before the survivors, outlaws, renegades, and carrion eaters start to gather, picking over the bones of the dead and fighting for the spoils of the soon-to-be dead. Now in the Seven Kingdoms, as the human crows assemble over a banquet of ashes, daring new plots and dangerous new alliances are formed, while surprising faces—some familiar, others only just appearing—are seen emerging from an ominous twilight of past struggles and chaos to take up the challenges ahead.

It is a time when the wise and the ambitious, the deceitful and the strong will acquire the skills, the power, and the magic to survive the stark and terrible times that lie before them. It is a time for nobles and commoners, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and sages to come together and stake their fortunes . . . and their lives. For at a feast for crows, many are the guests—but only a few are the survivors.

Synopsis:

Brienne goes here, Brienne goes there, Brienne goes everywhere, oh and meets Lady Stoneheart. Cersei plots and plots and plots. Sam crosses the sea with Gilly. Arya goes to Bravos and sells fish. Petyr does whatever he wishes...

Verdict:

What a long mainly boring book. Everything interesting happens in the last twenty percent of the book. I hope book five is better as this took me like what felt forever to read.

Rating: 3/5 (Let us hope the TV series is better)

"Day by Day Armageddon: Beyond Exile" by J. L. Bourne

Title: Day by Day Armageddon: Beyond Exile

Author: J. L. Bourne
Publisher: Pocket Books

Book 2 of 'Day by Day Armageddon'

Blurb:

Sporadic news reports indicate chaos and violence spreading through US cities. An unknown evil is sweeping the planet. The dead are rising to claim the earth as the new dominant species in the food chain. Day by Day Armageddon and its sequel Beyond Exile are the handwritten journals of one desperate survivor as he battles in the face of global disaster. Zombie fiction at its finest, these books will take you to a whole new level of terror.

Synopsis:

Our Naval Officer has survived the attack by the raiders and secured the base and its occupants. When the next attack comes, the occupants of Hotel 23 realise that the attackers are military wanting the  contents of the base and the resources it may provide. Knowing that they eventually cannot survive lots of attacks, our Naval officer does the one thing the military would not expect. He puts on his uniform and goes topside to take effective command of the units.

The population of Hotel 23 suddenly increases ten fold and contact is made with the remnants of the military currently running operations from Naval vessels.

A branch of the government, known as Remote Six, help our officer after he crash lands on a reconnaissance mission in a supplied helicopter. But are they really here to help, or do they have their own agenda...

Verdict:

Enjoyed this book, as the 288 pages again seemed to disappear quite rapidly. The descriptions are well written, enabling you envisage the situations that the officer finds himself in. Although we still do not know his name, it does not matter, the story stands up on its own merits.

Rating: 5/5

"Day by Day Armageddon" by J. L. Bourne

Title: Day by Day Armageddon

Author: J. L. Bourne
Publisher: Pocket Books

Book 1 of 'Day by Day Armageddon'

Blurb:

Day by Day Armageddon is the handwritten journal of one man and his struggle for survival. Trapped in the midst of global disaster, he must make decisions that could mean life, or which could condemn him eternally to walk as one of them. Enter, if you dare, into his world. The world of the undead.

Synopsis:

One Naval officer’s New Year’s resolution is to keep a journal. In the January a mysterious plague breaks out in China. By February the plague has signalled the end of the world as we know it and has given rise to the undead walking.

The journal becomes the narrator’s salvation and point of reference as day by day he tries to survive the madness that unfolds before him. Soon he makes contact with a neighbour (John), trapped inside his house just down the street. When a broadcast informs them that the city they live in is to be nuked, the Officer and John escape and start a trek across Texas. Along it they rescue a family and finally reach a nuclear launch facility named Hotel 23. This becomes their home and they rescue a couple more people.

After a while some people turn up that want the base for themselves. The occupants now have two enemies.

Verdict:

Enjoyed this book, as the 224 pages disappeared rapidly. Not as fast paced as some zombie novels, but well described and keeps your interest. As this is a journal, you can see where our unknown officer has his highs and lows.

Rating: 5/5