I never thought it’s going to be like that. The construction of the site started like when I was in 1st year college and I couldn’t comprehend the future of the said site. A year after, a structure has been emerging slowly. When I first saw the signs, my heart jumped. I saw the cream wallpaper, the glass wall and the dark brown shelves wrapped in cling wrap or something similar.
What is it like to be an alien? And what is it like to be hunted down by killers who will do anything just to get a grip of your throat? This new genre by Pittacus Lore (a pseudonym for James Frey) tells us more about how feasible it is to have life outside our planet and how it’s fictionally realistic to have aliens living among us.
Written in the perspective of Number 4, an alien, the book covers how Number 4 managed to survive and hide for years in Earth and how he is being hunted down for being the next victim-in-line. The surviving aliens were numbered from 1 to 9 and the only way to kill them is to kill them in order. Number 1, 2 and 3 are already dead. Number 4 is next. Adding to the intriguing story plot is the character development of Number 4 and the people around him. Will he be ready to face his enemies? Will he be ready to sacrifice everything for his race’s safety, including the girl he loves? Is he ready to be human?
The book was an easy-to-read one and it has an interesting plot which is still kept simple. And the alien theories that the author had managed to incorporate in the story will really make you feel like it’s really true and scientific. One point for James Frey for that. These include how the crop circles were formed or even how legendary people from the past became associated with aliens.
There were no boring parts in the book. From the beginning ’til the end where everyone’s fighting with super powers and stuff, I really enjoyed how I felt the action and how I felt the story creeping in to me. Every paragraph was worth reading and every bits were related and important. Over-all: the book is an A+ for a SciFi fan. The formula of the story is unique and comprehensible.
The film version of the book stars Alex Pettyfer and Dianna Agron.
When Adam and Eve was sent off by God from the Garden of Eden for disobeying Him, was it really the right thing? If He didn’t want them to eat the fruit from the tree then why put it there in the first place? What is really good and evil? Are people really/naturally bad? — these are the few of the questions that the book The Devil and Miss Prym tried asking the readers, and tried answering.
The Devil and Miss Prym is a book of Good vs Evil. It is not, though, the generic good fights over evil then good wins. It’s more than that. There’s some sort of a puzzle in which you have to understand first: what is good and what is evil? It’s a story of temptation and trust. It’s a story of Faith.
When a stranger arrived at Chantal Prym’s village, she was tempted to fulfill her dream of escaping from the village’s poverty. The stranger, someone with vengeance, challenged the people of the village by offering them gold bars in exchange for a murder. The villagers must murder one member of the village and the stranger will give them the location of the gold bars. Only Chantal and the stranger know where the gold bars are. It is now a battle between good and evil. Will the villagers resist the temptation of killing someone for gold? Or will Chantal resist the temptation of getting the gold bars by herself and let her people kill each other without gain in the end? Or what is it really mean to be good or bad?
I love how this book tackled a very confusing topic: good and evil. It let me open up to ideas that what you see is not always what you get. It is evil, yes, but, is it really evil or can we say that the end will justify its means? And if one’s good, is it really good? Aside from the message that Coelho had successfully relayed, I enjoyed how the story went on. It’s one of those stories that you would want to continue reading for hours. There’s this unique thrill and excitement in every chapter and every moment is worthy of my time.
One of the drawbacks of reading a Coelho book is getting bored when sometimes, a story just goes on plainly. Fortunately, The Devil and Miss Prym isn’t one of the typical Coelho books. It’s exciting, thrilling and an over-all magnificent work of art. A must-read!
Who would have thought that someone is capable of giving up? Because that someone is just too happy and had had enough? Veronika Decides to Die is a book of revelations and new perspectives. It has been a very intriguing book.
Veronika is a very successful young lady who has more than enough blessings in life. She almost had everything. And one day, she seems to have forgotten about this happiness and decided to kill her self. And then she survives.
The book follows this remarkable book of revelations and discoveries and at the same time, a unique journey in finding your true self and even true happiness. When Veronika survived her suicide attempt, she was sent into a mental asylum and was told that the attempt made complications on her body and she’ll die anytime soon. But she knew she isn’t ready to die. There is still something missing and she’s on the run to search for it. This gives off a twist that is really the Paulo Coelho way. On this journey of life and death, the uncertain question lies in the abyss: what will really matter?
I admire how the book was written with this sort of excitement and at the same time, because it was written by the great Coelho, there are hidden messages for the readers to absorb. More than the story, I appreciated the moral and the wonderful meanings of Veronika’s actions – including suicide. There’s this mystery about death that made me excited while reading the book. The aspects behind searching for one’s value even made it more mind-opening and I really can’t put the book down.
Unlike other Coelho books, I can’t remember a time when I got bored reading on a few pages of this book. As a matter of fact, I finished it for 7 hours. It was a thrilling book and every Coelho fan should have at least read this book.
After reading three Coelho books, I took a break and read a fantasy book which was making a noise during that time (Film-version set to be released in a few weeks). The Lightning Thief was the first Rick Riordan book I’ve read and I had no experience in his writing styles or even how the story goes on. Generally, I enjoyed the book – simply not as exciting as I have read other fantasy/science fiction books.
The Lightning Thief’s genre focuses on Greek Mythology and how it ended up in the modern world. It follows the story of a socially awkward boy who is suffering from ADHD and Dyslexia. It was discovered that he is, in fact, the son of the modern Poseidon; he was a Demigod. The story follows an immense range of twists and plots starting from how this boy, Percy Jackson, ended up as a fugitive of Olympus after being suspected of stealing Zeus’ lightning bolt to how he managed to successfully saved all the gods and even man-kind.
I loved how Rick Riordan became creative in exploring the ever-interesting Mythology of the Greeks. Reading it made me imagine that all the stuff in the book was possible – assuming the Greek gods are real. It was interesting, on another side because of the incorporation of the modern time – like Medusa wearing shades or Percy’s winged sneakers and a pen that can transform into a sword. What made it even more interesting are the unexpected twists in the story like who really is good and bad or something. And for a children’s book, it was great and an ultimate find.
I enjoyed the story but honestly, I believe I got used to Coelho’s style and I can’t help but notice how the book was intended for children from 9 to 12 years of age. I can’t blame Rick Riordan if that’s his target audience but I just really can’t suggest this to someone who is serious about reading mature and deep stuff. It was a fun book and a good read, nevertheless, so I can strongly recommend it to anyone who reads for fun and for the story.
I never had the chance to read the next four books of the series and even the books after the series that have been like the sequel of the series. Given only a chance, I would never doubt reading those in the future.
You’ll oftentimes notice how Paulo Coelho maximizes the aspect of exploration and how it affects one’s perspective on life. In The Zahir, Coelho tackles about the lost and found, the adventure within the search and the values within it.
The Zahir focuses on this character, a writer, a married man. It follows his adventures while searching for his wife who left him and at the same time, learning stuff that the search had taught him. The book explored how the man has changed personally including how he now sees and loves his missing wife. In the end, after finding his missing wife, there was this question: is he ready to take her back? The Zahir tackles mainly on the challenges that love brought to the couple, including meeting the other boy.
The twist in the story really made me enjoy it. However, I honestly would say that it is not one of my favourite Coelho books. I guessed I got used to Coelho’s short novels rather than this slightly-bulky book. Nevertheless, it was a good read. With all the twists and mind-puzzling lessons Coelho had told, I would still suggest it to anyone looking for something or to anyone who just love reading.
He did it again. Another amazing story has been introduced to me by Paulo Coelho. Like his other novels, The Witch of Portobello has been successful in sending a striking message to the readers and not only a bunch-ful of wonderful stories.
The Witch of Portobello centers on Feminism and Religion altogether. There are some aspects of courage and love and you’ll find it strong and striking how he wrote the whole novel.
It focuses on this girl named Athena. At an early age, she changed her name to Athena to change something within. She had actually everything but she felt that there is something missing. She then searches and stumbles upon different aspects especially the aspects of religion and being a woman. With her search, she has managed to establish this religion circle, with her on the lead – epitomizing and emphasizing that she is a woman with great potential.
The novel gives readers this sort of strength and by using a woman, Coelho managed to empower the perspectives of being a woman and what it takes to do an incredible peat albeit being a woman. It breaks barriers of the world’s view on being a woman and to the aspect of Religion, isn’t it usually a man who is leading, preaching and spreading?
I admire how Coelho quite uniquely wrote the whole novel. It was a collection of ‘interviews’ from different people who had experiences with Athena, who is now dead. It’s good to know that even with different perspectives, readers will be able to put together pieces of stories. And what’s even better in this form of writing is that you give variety to the personality of the protagonist and the story itself.
It’s an honest novel and very intriguing and striking yet peaceful. One of Coelho’s greatest stories.
Paulo Coelho has this habit of making realistic life lessons and even spiritual help through fantasy. It is a clash, yes, but he managed to put it all together. Who could have thought that you can absorb life lessons, not only from a life story but from a fantasy story involving witches and more.
In Brida, Coelho explored the aspects of love and making decisions. He explored how one must look on love and how to deal with it and the choices you have to make to be happy.
Brida is an Irish girl who have a dream. To learn magic and become a witch. She meets this ‘wizard’ and tries to persuade him to teach her magic. However, in her search for magic, she found herself not only looking for magic, but beyond that and even better.
I admire Coelho’s style of writing because aside from the story, you can feel that he, the author himself, is talking to you via the words in every chapter. It’s like he’s giving you advice while telling a story and I liked that. There was a quotation in this book that really made me smile. “Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.” It’s like telling me that there’s always an answer, a hope and a future for everything. In Brida, Coelho describes how important it is to pick the right choices and the book tells us how important it is to fulfill your happiness.
I had fun reading the book. However, there are some points in the book where you’ll get bored – well, I’ve been, at some point and this may be the result of too much fascination on science fiction. So I really can’t blame this book.
A must-read.
