Tuesday, September 15, 2009

A Book Review: The Vanishing Sculptor

Title: The Vanishing Sculptor
Author: Donita K. Paul
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 390

Quality Rating: 7
Content Rating: G

The Vanishing Sculptor was a different twist on a fantasy world I thought I already knew from Ms. Paul's Dragonkeeper series. I greatly enjoyed seeing a new culture and new faces as well as having the familiar faces beside them on their epic journey. If you have not read the Dragonkeeper series, never fear. Foreknowledge of the world is not necessary, and this book is self contained in itself. I loved the story, the innocent romance, and the heavy Christian influence. Reading one of Ms. Paul's books is a break from reality that is still heavy in truth. I could barely put it down, and sincerely hope there are more books.

There is violence, but its not graphically described, but it is the only thing that could possibly push this book into a PG rating. There is romance, but its very light and innocent, the romance of a young girl and a boy who is simply charming. I can see no harm in children in elementary school reading these books, but don't let that fool older readers. This book is enjoyable even for me, a 22-year-old girl.

A Book Review: The Law of Nines

Title: The Law of Nines
Author: Terry Goodkind
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 502

Quality Rating: 5
Content Rating: PG-13

If you did not like the Sword of Truth, you won't like this book. Welcome to Richard Rahl Jr and his story that revolves around a problem that is very similar to the problem that Richard Rahl faced. Reading this book made me wonder if Terry Goodkind was capable of writing another character, but I'm not here to badmouth authors. If you did like Sword of Truth, you might like this book, depending upon how you feel about very familiar plot lines. I read the book because I was intrigued by the fact that it was set in the United States instead of a fantasy land, but honestly that was the only facet of this book that made it interesting. I have already read 11 books about Richard Rahl. Oh, correct that, 12, since Alex Rahl is Richard's clone. I would rather not read another.

This book is rated PG-13 for violence and sex. There is a lot of talk about guns, and the author is clearly pro-gun owning. If that's not up your ally, you may not want to read this book. The main character gets himself into a precarious sexual situation at one point that might be hard to explain to younger readers, so I would generally recommend this for older readers. The violence is not too graphic, but its there, and as guns are involved it's slightly more realistic than a sword fight.

A Book Review: The High King's Tomb

Book Title: The High King's Tomb
Author: Kristen Britain
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 642

Quality Rating: 6
Content Rating: PG-13

The High King's Tomb
is a set up book, pure and simple. It's trying to get the reader somewhere, and its not always exciting for the reader to come along. However, because I loved the characters, I kept reading. This book jumped between more characters than the previous books have been known to do, which sometimes made it frustrating. On the other hand, it brought back characters that I thought were pointless in the first book, proving me wrong. (Shocking, I know, but it happens). All in all, I enjoyed reading this third book and seeing how Karigan develops and deals with the complexities that have been added to her life. She also discovers new facets of herself, that drew me in. These facets have to play into what is eventually going to be an epic finale that I can't wait for.

Karigan is grown up, so the story deals with more grown-up issues. Generally, the entire story is PG. However, a stay at a brothel brings up issues about sexuality and sexual preferences that some parents may not feel that their younger readers are ready for. Karigan also struggles with her own feelings about a man, bringing more romantic thoughts to her mind than the past books have. However, the content is all still very mild. Just be aware, that reading this book might bring up questions with younger readers.