User Profile

jvt038

jvt038@bookwyrm.social

Joined 2 years, 11 months ago

This link opens in a pop-up window

jvt038's books

Currently Reading

Michael Scott: The Necromancer (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, #4) (2010)

Review of 'The Necromancer (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, #4)' on 'Goodreads'

The Necromancer is a very long winded book, lacks character development and repeats itself over and over.
The betrayal of Josh isn't very surprising, the introduction of Aoife and her death in the same book, is just a waste of potential and character.
The going back in time thing, to sink Danu Talis is a bit weird, because if the twins are going to have a fight, which will sink the city, how come that no elder remembers them? None of the new introduced elders in the previous books, have recognized the twins, yet they will somehow cause the fall of their ancient capital city?
The interactions between the characters are getting a bit repetitive, and I'd hoped more interactions between Perenelle & Nicholas, since they're a couple, and Perenelle just escaped from a prison full of monsters.
Besides these plot holes and events, I liked the book. It has …

reviewed The sorceress by Michael Scott (Secrets of the immortal Nicholas Flamel)

Michael Scott: The sorceress (2009, Delacorte Press)

While armies of the Shadowrealms gather and Machiavelli goes to Alcatraz to kill Perenelle Flamel, …

Review of 'The sorceress' on 'Goodreads'

The Sorceress, book 3 in the series 'The Secrets of The Immortal Nicolas Flamel'
After the events of The Magician, the protagonists set out in London, to be persecuted by Dr. Dee.
The story took some interesting turns, and we slowly get to know more about the Archons and their successors, the Elders.
The author is very consistent, no weird turns are taken, and the plot goes exactly as I expected; just new mythical beings are introduced, Dee keeps hunting the twins, and Machiavelli obviously does something very cunning and smart, and last but not least, the story ends with a bit of a 'cliffhanger', where Dee finds Clarent, and will most likely do something malicious with it.
However, due to the non-surprising story, it's becoming a bit repetitive, which is slightly annoying.
I'd hoped for something interesting, for example, the twins being captured, but them escaping from captivity; just …

Michael Scott: The Magician (Secrets Imrtl Nicholas Flamel) (2008, Delacorte Books for Young Readers)

After fleeing Ojai, Nicholas, Sophie, Josh, and Scatty emerge in Paris, the City of Lights. …

Review of 'The Magician (Secrets Imrtl Nicholas Flamel)' on 'Goodreads'

I think the Magician has an interesting turn of events, where there's some actual good character development.
Interesting and entertaining parts were Josh and his awakening, the appearance of Mars, who turns out to be Ares, who is the Babylonian Nergal, and actually turns out to be the Aztec deity called 'Huitzilopochtli'.
There's even a little bit of quarrel between the twins too, about Flamel's intentions, which is an improvement from the earlier novel.
However, a bit of extra humour would be appreciated, as it was quite dull regarding actual jokes.
Therefore, I would give it a 4/5.

Michael Scott: The Alchemyst The Secrets Of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel (2010, Corgi Books)

Review of 'The Alchemyst The Secrets Of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel' on 'Goodreads'

The alchemyst is an interesting novel, where various mythical beings and characters make an appearance.
Michael Scott mixes different mythologies, folklore and legends, and merged them into this book.
I think the setting is very fun to read, and the plot is well structured as well.

However, I do wonder, why do the twins never fight? They're siblings, siblings are supposed to fight.
And why is Josh sometimes the weird kid, who can't do anything, and who's useless, while at other moments, Sophie praises him as 'a computer legend' or something like that. Kinda weird, ngl.
I think Morrigan had A LOT more potential as a villainness, yet the book was mainly made Dr. Dee the villain, while Morrigan was more written like a sidecharacter or some kind of minion of Dr. Dee, while Dr. Dee was actually Morrigan's servant.
And the different POVs kind of confused me sometimes, because …

Paulo Coelho: The Alchemist (2014, HarperOne)

Paulo Coelho's masterpiece tells the mystical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns …

Review of 'The Alchemist' on 'Goodreads'

My heart and I have conversed a bit, and we agree on one thing: This book is peculiar, yet inspiring and annoying.
The Alchemist tells a remarkable story of a boy who is "an adventurer, looking for a treasure".
It's inspriring, the idea of having a "personal legend", and being encouraged by omens who will lead you to your own treasure.
The various characters whom the boy met, were well written, and had an interesting background story.
I genuinely recommend this book to anyone. It sets the framework for personal success, for good leadership, and for having faith in the omens.
However, it's a bit superstitious as well; the idea of omens, sent by some all mighty deity / God, doesn't fit in my lane of atheism, and I have difficulty believing such things.
Phrases like "when you really want something, the whole universe conspires in helping you to achieve …

Aldous Huxley: Brave New World (Paperback, 1998, HarperPerennial)

Aldous Huxley's profoundly important classic of world literature, Brave New World is a searching vision …

Review of 'Brave New World' on 'Goodreads'

Brave New World is a classic novel.
I got vibes from 1984 and Fahrenheit 451, regarding the censorship of literature and other elements.
Yet due to the occasional use of Shakespearean English, it was difficult to read for me.
Additionally, the plot was difficult for me to follow.
However, this dystopian society is very intriguing and scary at the same time. The poisonous effect of soma, the brainwashing using hypnopaedia, and censorship of literature, is brilliantly written and contrived.
Therefore 3/5

Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451 (Hardcover, 2012, Turtleback Books)

Review of 'Fahrenheit 451' on 'Goodreads'

"Kerosene", he said, because the silence had lengthened, "is nothing but perfume to me."

Guy Montag, firefighter whose job it is to burn all books and other forms of literature.He meets a peculiar girl, Clarisse, who has a peculiar view of the world.The quotes in this book are very remarkable, like





Books were only one type of receptacle where we stored a lot of things we were afraid we might forget. There is nothing magical in them, at all. The magic is only in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us.




And when the war's over, some day, some year, the books can be written again, the people will be called in, one by one, to recite what they know and we'll set it up in type until another Dark Age, when we might have to do the whole damn …
Marjane Satrapi: The complete Persepolis (Paperback, 2007, Pantheon Books)

From inside front cover: The story of Satrapi's unforgettable childhood and coming of age within …

Review of 'The complete Persepolis' on 'Goodreads'

The Complete Persepolis is the autobiography of a girl growing up in Iran, during the Iranian revolution, 1979. Unlike other novels I've read, it's a graphic novel; this means it mostly exists out of illustrations and has some narration and/or speech bubbles. For the reader, this means there's little room for their own imagination and fantasy, as the scene is already drawn.

The illustrations are made by differences between black and white contrast, creating figures and objects. This limits the illustrator's options in colour, as the only two "colours" available are black and white. I think the illustrator has done a great job of portraying the life experiences of Marjane, by using contrast only.

Throughout Marjane's life and thus throughout this autobiography, various topics come to order. This includes the strict Islamic Sharia laws, the identity struggle between Western and the more conservative and Islamic life of Marjane, and some …

James Dashner: The Death Cure (2011, Delacorte Press)

The Death Cure is a 2011 young adult dystopian science fiction novel written by American …

Review of 'The Death Cure' on 'Goodreads'

Following the events in The Maze Runner - The Scorch Trials, Thomas and the surviving gladers are kept at the WICKED facility. Thomas, Brenda, and 2 gladers escape and go to Denver, where the majority of the book takes place.
The society is very well described and structured, the apocalypse looked frighteningly real, and yet nothing is fully uncovered, the author still keeps the reader in the dark about some topics, which is what has kept my attention and interest.
I recommend it to apocalypse-, and dystopia lovers, and have personally enjoyed every page of this book.

reviewed The Maze Runner by James Dashner (The Maze Runner, #1)

James Dashner: The Maze Runner (Hardcover, 2009, Delacorte Press)

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his …

Review of 'The maze runner' on 'Goodreads'

The story begins with Thomas, waking up in the elevator, or "the Box" as "the Gladers" call it.
Thomas finds out he's stuck in some sort of floating prison. The only way out is through a huge maze, which changes every night.
The emotions and thoughts of the characters are described very well.
As reader, I get fully immersed into the story and the plot is well structured too.
The mysterious background story is also very interesting and it's clear the author doesn't want to spoil everything, which only amplifies my curiosity as the reader.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes dystopia stories, such as the hunger games and divergent.

James Dashner: The Scorch Trials (2010, Delacorte Press)

After surviving horrific conditions in the Maze, Thomas is entrapped, along with nineteen other boys, …

Review of 'The Scorch Trials' on 'Goodreads'

Following the events in The Maze Runner book 1, Thomas finds himself in the formerly called Mexico, presently called "The Scorch".
It has been revealed that a series of sun flares have scorched the Earth and a following sickness called "The Flare" spreads through the world.
The surviving gladers are tasked with one challenge: Travel 100 miles north and survive.
James Dashner has outdone himself and exceeded my expectations. The relationship between Thomas and Teresa is very... interesting.
I find myself intrigued in this dystopia world, where the infected are becoming mindless zombies and where a huge area has turned into a wasteland.
The WICKED organisation is very well described, yet the author doesn't reveal too many secrets and keeps the reader's attention and interest.
For anyone interested in a post apocalyptic dystopia novel, with some crazy romance, I definitely recommend this book.