READY PLAYER ONE by Ernest Cline

  

      The book took me two days to finish. I hardly had time to post that I started reading this on Goodreads. It's not because the book was hard to get through, but because there’s plenty to soak in. I mean, there are literally worlds of information to soak in. I cannot simply zip through it without enjoying it, right? There are worlds within worlds, as much as there are games within games. Arcade games are played in 3D; there are virtual schools and libraries; players get to have armors, swords, and magical powers; spaceships too; and 80’s music and movies. And that Og guy is ridiculously a-ma-zing. His estate was modeled after Rivendell. He is one of my favorite guys right now because he plays Duran Duran and Billy Idol…  
...Am I making any sense here?

Okay, let me back up a little…

The setting is 2044, the Earth is a mess. There’s an energy crisis, food crisis, and the rest of the crisis we can think of to add on the list. Possibly, the only good thing about that age ahead is the existence of OASIS, a free online simulation of a virtual utopia, wherein anyone can log in and escape their ugly reality.

OASIS was created by James Halliday, who died without an heir to his vast empire and fortunes. After his death, his last will was released to the world. Within the OASIS, Halliday hid an Easter Egg, whoever finds it will inherit everything that he owned, including OASIS itself. Naturally, people want to get their hands on the egg. These egg hunters are called gunters, and among them are Parzival, Art3mis, Aech, Shoto, and Daito. The book is narrated from Parzival’s POV, so it mostly chronicles his adventures. His adventures can be rated from amusing, to excitingly dangerous.

For a bunch of hairless apes, we've actually managed to invent some pretty incredible things.

This book also has everything from 80s pop culture references, to a futuristic dystopian world with virtual and real-life danger, plus plenty of mysteries and quests. The main characters are likable with distinct personalities and typical young-adult angst. This is simply one of those fun books -it’s not particularly deep or thought-provoking. It’s just a plain enjoyable ride.

READY PLAYER ONE is one incredibly detailed and well-thought-out virtual world, constructed with astounding creativity and imagination. For an 80’s kid like me, it feels like coming home. 

Book details: 

Title:  Ready Player One

Author:  Ernest Cline

Publication:  August 16th, 2011, Random House NY 

Genre:  Science Fiction, YA

Rating:  ★★★★

Read more →

2015 Reading Challenge: May

Back in my Intermediate years in grade school, the English department would post six (6) books for the Summer Reading Challenge. There'd be extra points for the finishers on the next term. If Ms. Andres and Ms. Mercader were still alive today, they'd probably be pretty happy to know that I've read more than six (6) books last month alone,  just probably. 

• High Fidelity by Nick Hornby - 4/5 stars - TFG book for April.
• Breath by Jackie Morse Kessler - 5/5 stars - It was interesting to know what might happen if Death had a breakdown. Last book from the Riders of the Apocalypse.
• When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro - 4/5 stars - Buddy read this with some TFG mommies.
• Lemon Meringue Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke -3/5 stars - 4th book from the Hannah Swensen Mystery.
• Twerp by Mark Goldblatt - 4/5 stars - A story about a boy who stood up against bullying.
• In the Woods by Tana French - 3.5/5 stars - 1st book from the Dublin Murder Squad.
• The Likeness by Tana French - 4/5 stars - 2nd book from the Dublin Murder Squad.

Hopefully, I'll be able to catch up with my book reviews as well.

...

Regardless of the current weather today, in which the city is suffering from 36°C, I am still confident in lining up the following books for May:

• Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz - This is TFG's book for May. Although, technically, I already finished reading this late last week.
• The Shadow of the Crescent Moon by Fatima Bhutto – A debut novel set in Mir Ali, Pakistan. As it happens, I’m halfway through this already.
• 12^th of Never, Unlucky 13, and 14^th Deadly Sin by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro – I missed so much from this series, I have to catch up. 

 Hey, stay cool and read!

Read more →

THE PARIS ENIGMA by Pablo de Santis

     

THE PARIS ENIGMA started off by narrating the back story of Sigmund Salvatrio, a cobbler’s son, who has a great fascination with the renowned detectives and their solved crimes. Purposely, he joined the Buenos Aires Academy opened by Renato Craig, co-founder of The Twelve Detectives (the group of the world’s best private investigators).  When Craig’s best student was killed, both the academy and Craig’s health took a spiral dive.

…during the day we worship syllogisms, but the night belongs to the metaphor.

Only a few days are counting before the grand opening of the Paris World Fair and Eiffel’s Tower in 1889 when Craig sent Salvatrio in his stead.  Upon arrival, Salvatrio was instructed to confidentially give Viktor Arzaky (Craig’s co-founder of The Twelve Detectives) two things. The first one is Craig’s multi-purpose cane, to be showcased as part of the fair; and second is the true details behind Craig’s last solved case.

Gentlemen, though we want to live in glass bubbles, to use pure reason, to interrogate witnesses without ever being interrogated, we are always surrounded by questions, and we answer them –subconsciously, through our actions. Through our investigative methods, we show who we are. It is us and not the poets, who aspire to live in ivory towers, but time and time again we come down to earth, and we reveal, without realizing, our worst secrets.

At first, the Twelve Detectives were cajoled, but when he finally reached the end of his patience  Arzaky mandated them to share tools of their trade to showcase for the fair. Apart from that, they are to congregate and share truth-seeking insights about enigmas. Until real detecting called Arzaky to investigate the murder of one of their colleagues.

But detectives are like artists. In the life of every actor, musician, singer, or writer there is always a moment when they begin to play the role of themselves, and everything that they do in the present is merely a ceremony with which they evoke something from their past. And life becomes, for the artist of the detective, the incessant fine-tuning of their own legend.

The Paris Enigma has a surreal feel to it.  This is not a clear-cut detective story,  not a detective story in the typical sense, more like the art of detection. Every now and then, I was knocked by some thoughtful quote, which I find very intriguing that those have wormed into this genre. This is filled with a digression, too, whenever the detectives share their past cases and theoretical way of looking at enigmas.  And I had some few snooze time while reading, but it’s a decent read with good, flowing translation.

Book details:

Title:  The Paris Enigma

Author:  Pablo de Santis

Publication: 2008, Harper

Genre:  Fiction, Mystery

Rating:  ★★★

Read more →

TWERP by Mark Goldblatt

A Quintessence of Dust.

   

TWERP is a coming-of-age story set in 1969, Queens, New York. Julian is a good kid, mixed up with the wrong company. Most of the time, peer pressure and wanting to belong got the worst of Julian and lands him into trouble. The biggest trouble wasn't revealed until the end of the story. But throughout the book, there are hints for Julian’s week-long suspension. His English teacher assigned him to write a journal involving all of his activities for the semester to get out of reading Julius Caesar, so he thinks this is a pretty good deal. His entries were fun and revealing, but he tried very hard skipping that incident with Danley.

That’s what it means to be a man. You do what you think is right, regardless of who it hurts, and whether it works out, because in the end you have to live with yourself.

It took him quite a while, writing things down, he made some huge realization. Some, he made peace with himself; mostly, he started making changes. Belonging and finding one’s place is important, but Julian also realized that deciding to stand up for what is right is important too. He decided that anything he does in 1969 is but a speck of dust in the future, but doing what is right will always make a difference.

But here’s the weird part. Knowing the truth frees you up. Or at least it frees you up if you accept it. Knowing that, in a thousand years, nothing you’re doing or not doing will matter frees you up to do what your heart tells you to do.

Twerp is all about bullying. Not just about bullying the weakest kid by some neighborhood or school kids, but being bullied by your own friends into doing something wrong. Standing up and saying no to a dare is a choice kids at any age should always keep in mind. But don’t think for one second that this is a heavy book. Between Julian’s misadventures with his ragtag group of boys, sports ambition, and initiation with a girl, there are plenty of things to enjoy in this story.

Book details:

Title:  Twerp

Author:  Mark Goldblatt

Publication:  May 28th, 2013, Random House Books for Young Readers 

Genre:  Fiction, YA (9-12)

Rating:  ★★★★

Read more →

THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS by Arundhati Roy

   

Photo courtesy of Tina.

THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS takes us into Ayemenem, a village in the Kottayam District of Kerala, India, during the 1960s, when the Twist was a hit and bell-bottom pants were the fad. We meet the twins Rahel Mol and Esthappen Yako, whose view of life was distorted by their complicated family and childhood tragedy.

There is more to this book than the story that changes from when “Everything is Forever” to when “Things can change in a day”. It is set upon social discrimination, domestic atrocity, and the caste system, fused with basic human desires. The imposition of the social segregation and blind bureaucracy allows the inevitability of violence, both physical and psychological.

The core theme deals with the consequences of forbidden love – those who tamper with "the laws that lay down who should be loved and how…and how much." Crossing such a divide is a place where "anything can happen to anyone" and "it is best to be prepared". And so, every detail is rich, showing varying degrees of disparity, wickedness, and prejudice.

Arundhati Roy used layers of themes to support the core. One of which is her emphasis on the small moments, creatures, objects, and changes –like whispers, the play of light, and the activities of small insects. 
Small things that lead to the bigger picture. 
Small things that adults fail to acknowledge. 
Small things that are magnified, rather, through the eyes of small children.

The story has a non-linear narrative, it unfolds like a memory. It delves on its themes, rather on the chronological order of events, which demands the reader’s close attention. Initially, it can be really trying to get through, given its sudden narrative shifts from past to present ever so often. However, this novel has a way of transforming into an amazing read. The most reader may be put off by the repetitions, which was a charm for me, along with the singsong sense of wordplay that Roy employed. I believe that it gave focus on the innocent way a child sees the world, and on their vulnerability from fear that can seed in, propagate, and shatter their world. Compared to the ignorance employed by the adults around them, until the very end.

The Great Stories are the ones you have heard and want to hear again. The ones you can enter anywhere and inhabit comfortably. They don’t deceive you with thrills and trick endings. They don’t surprise you with the unforeseen. They are as familiar as the house you live in. Or the smell of your lover’s skin. You know how they end, yet you listen as though you don’t. In the way that although you know that one day you will die, you live as though you won’t. In the Great Stories you know who lives, who dies, who finds love, who doesn't. And yet you want to know again.

This book is anchored on misery and told with unusual prose that assaults the senses in unspeakable fervor.

Book details:

Title: The God of Small Things

Author: Arundhati Roy

Publication: Harper Perennial; May 1, 1998

Genre: Literary Fiction

Rating: ★★★★

●●●

F2F39, held at Om Lifestyle + Cafe, Greenhills, San Juan City, 

last March 21, moderated by sweet Monique.

Read more →

PERDIDO STREET STATION by China Miéville

   The other two books of China Miéville I read before were Un Lun Dun and The City and the City. I guess two was enough to make me a fan and agree to buddy-read this mammoth-sized book last February.

PERDIDO STREET STATION is another testament to Miéville’s genius. His ability to create a different world is cerebral. The squalid city of New Crobuzon has a classical steampunk theme that extends to advanced technology. The invention level and variety of sentient beings are most notable; some are even beyond my imagination.  The atmosphere of violence and corruption is unrelenting, making this a perfect avenue for Miéville’s political and social beliefs.

The plot starts with Isaac Dan der Grimnebulin, an impoverished scientist waiting for his next discovery and invention to be recognized. He was furtively approached by a garuda named Yagharek, who was punished for a shameful crime that led to the amputation of his wings by his own kind. He asked Isaac to restore to him the power of flight in any means possible in exchange for gold. Isaac agreed and dropped everything to start his research on how avian creatures fly.

From here on, the plot gradually became more complicated with the tangent events taking over and the original plot drifting into the background. This is without question a very busy and circuitous plot that sometimes got into tight corners that may seem irrelevant unless you keep going and realize it was significant after all.

Every intention, interaction, motivation, every colour, every body, every action and reaction, every piece of physical reality and the thoughts that it engendered, every connection made, every nuanced moment of history and potentiality, every toothache and flagstone, every emotion and birth and banknote, every possible thing ever is woven into that limitless, sprawling web. 

It is without beginning or end. It is complex to a degree that humbles the mind. It is a work of such beauty that my soul wept.

China Miéville’s books can stay with the reader for quite some time. They present situations and questions that needed further pondering. From the very beginning and through its winding path, I was excited to see Yagharek fly again… but that excitement was not granted. Miéville dared to present his readers a great moral dilemma regarding Yagharek’s past crime. I can no longer recall how many f*** yous Isaac got from me after his decision. I was not pleased with that, and it took me a while to make peace with the ending.

See, we may not always agree with the author, but that doesn't reduce them from greatness.

PERDIDO STREET STATION is a very complex novel, often shocking and gruesome, but definitely fascinating. Its uniqueness was handled exceptionally well.

Book details:

Title:  Perdido Street Station

Author:  China Mieville

Series:  Bas-Lag, #1

Publication:  July 29, 2003; Del Rey

Genre:  Science Fiction

Rating: ★★★★

Reviews from buddies:
Tin
Monique

Read more →

2015 Reading Challenge: April

March is a very long month for me. A lot of things happened and I am very glad that they were done and over. After a quick Rn’R (with sand, water, and palm trees), I guess I can now properly go back to book blogging.

Here are the books I read last month:

• The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holy Black – 4/5 stars – A brand new fairy tale, without a damsel in distress. Well, there’s obviously a damsel, and in distress, but those two words don’t exactly go together. You know what I mean.
• The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy – 4/5 stars – TFG’s book for March. The plot is intricately layered with themes upon themes.
• The Paris Enigma by Pablo de Santis – 3,5/5 stars – A book about detectives and their unsung assistants.
• Who Buries the Dead (Sebastian St. Cyr #10) by C.S. Harris– 5/5 stars – As always, I love how this series is eloquently and substantially written, historically speaking. If you are a Jane Austen fan, then you’ll love this installment all the more.
• The Conversations by César Aira – 4/5 stars – The story begins with an extraneous Rolex watch, but the conversation is extensive and winding, which led to a thorough philosophical dissection by an insomniac on his bed.
• Loss (Horsemen of the Apocalypse #3) by Jackie Morse Kessler – 5/5 stars – The depth of this series is life-saving, really: How to survive to bully and come out as the winner.
• The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead – 4/5 stars – An alternative history paying particular attention to elevators: its invention, inspection, and evolution.
• The Geneva Strategy (Covert-One #11) by Jamie Freveletti – 4/5 stars. Espionage, Bio-weapon, Global Chaos. There’s a reason why I love this series.

For weeks now, I have this huge craving to read mysteries, and I don’t think I am sated enough. So, I’ll list only two (2) books for April, and then I intend to feed my cravings to the brim.

• High Fidelity by Nick Hornby – TFG’s book for April. A lot is happening in the discussion thread, come and join us. We will meet, discuss, and celebrate our group anniversary at Baang Coffee, in Tomas Morato, on the 18^th.
• When We WereOrphans by Kazuo Ishiguro – You probably already heard from others that 4 mommies from TFG agreed to read this together this month. If you have a copy and wish to join, you can still give us a holler here.

Happy April, everyone! It’s scorching hot, but do enjoy the summer. ♥

Read more →