Book Reviews for August

August was a crazy month for me; one moment in California, the next in Hawaii. As a result I don't have too many books that I finished in August. Now that I've settled back into the college routine however I've been busily stocking up on library books and am halfway through half a dozen of them! Home, after all, is where your book rests XD

Doctor Who: Paradox Lost, by George Mann
This book read like watching an episode, and I mean that in the best way possible. Mr. King Kong novelist could learn a lot from Mr. Mann. Eleven was delightfully Eleven-y; just reading about him and his dialogue I could easily visualize Matt Smith acting it all out. Wonderful. Another bonus to this story is that most of it is told from Rory's point-of-view, and one can never have too much Rory! Even better? The story involves a mystery, time-travel, an android, aliens, and both Futuristic and Victorian London. Also, since it's a book and not an episode it allows for a bit more gore, which I'm sorry to admit is something I like, ha. It's brainy and fun and a pleasant surprise, and I wouldn't mind reading more.

Marvel Civil War: Frontlines
I've been keen on reading the Civil War comics for a while now, I just haven't been able to find them. Problem now solved, thanks to my local library! I really enjoyed reading this. The dialogue's snappy, the art is brilliant, and the story is both clever and thought-provoking, clearly social commentary but also entertaining in its own right.

Marvel Civil War: Captain America
What I said above, really, more of the same. I think I prefer the art in Frontlines, but the storytelling in this collection, but I'm not sure. One thing's certain, though: Winter Soldier rocks.

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
Book of the Month! YES I only just got around to reading this, but I've been trying to for years, it's just always checked out of the library. Anyway, I thought the book was great, if not quite up to the hype surrounding it. The narrative voice, the characters, and the plot are all good, and I liked the deliberate twists Collins puts on such tropes as the love triangle, for example. Sometimes it's a bit too deliberate, and so a little distracting, but usually it's just right. The tension was kept up really well throughout the story and the tricky issues and social critiques in the story were explored and utilized well. Something that irritated me a little was how quickly some problems were solved, but that's just part of the fast-paced nature of the novel, which in other places serves the story very well, so I suppose it's a necessary ill. Anyway, as far as dystopian literature goes this is nowhere near "Fahrenheit 451" or "1984" status, but it's still a very good read and a book I'll surely reread after I track down the remainder of the trilogy.