Genghis is not a book that I would typically read. I’ll grab a historical fiction book every once in awhile, but for the most part, fictional books based around history are not usually my books of choice. History was hardly my favorite subject in school. But every once in awhile I come across one that completely makes me change my mind. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet was one. The Help, if you can count that, is one of my favorite books of all time. Genghis is, to my surprise, a good one as well.
Before I started this book (and even now that I’ve finished it) I couldn’t even pretend to know anything about Ghengis Kahn, so I’m going to give you as much background on this book as I had: basically nothing. A quick Wikipedia search on the subject explains that he was an emperor, who came to power by uniting several wandering tribes in Asia.
So, given that amount of information, you’d think that since I know nothing about the subject matter, I wouldn’t like the book right? But my friend’s husband insisted it was a good one, and I’m not one to turn down a recommendation. And good job, Patrick. This was so much better than I expected. I want to read up and find out what really happened and what was embellished, it’s all so crazy that I can hardly believe any of it’s true. I’m sure I’ll read the rest of the series and probably Caesar as well. It’s very well written, very engaging, and unbelievably interesting.
I think the only thing I didn’t like was the flip flopping of perspectives within chapters or paragraphs. Occasionally that would throw me off and bring me out of the story, but that’s really about it. Well, you know, other than the obvious and fairly alarming violence that you’d expect in a book about the early life of a brutal emperor who came to power by uniting tribes that already had leaders. So there was that. But overall, such a good book.
4- I think I want to learn some more about Genghis Kahn and then re-read it to figure out what was real.
Divergent is a book that’s obviously trying to capitalize on the popularity of the superior Hunger Games trilogy. But you know what? I don’t care. It was worth the read, and I’m really excited to read the next one.
Divergent is the story of Beatrice Prior, a 16 year old living in the future, dystopia version of Chicago. In this future, the human race is split into five factions, each of which values a different trait: Abnegation (selflessness), Amity (kindness), Candor (honesty), Dauntless (bravery), and Erudite (intelligence). When a teenager turns 16 they decide whether to remain with their families in the faction that they grew up in or switch to a new one based on one monumental test. Beatrice makes a difficult decision, and then is put through initiation.
This book reminds me strikingly of Ender’s Game, which is one of my favorite fantasy novels of all time. I think between the parallels of that book and the Hunger Games, I was pretty much never going to dislike this one, and I can’t wait for the sequel to come out in May to continue Beatrice’s story. The end of Divergent was non-stop action packed, and things are definitely going to be different in the sequel.
I read this one in three weeknights, which tells you something right there. The only complaint I have is that in my opinion, some of the so-called “twists” were easy to predict, and the writing is not as good as that of Orson Scott Card (Ender’s Game), or Suzanne Collins (Hunger Games). That being said, I definitely thought the plot was interesting and the writing was good enough to keep me involved. I flew through it.
Another solid 4- no serious complaints here.
The Magicians is the first audio book I’ve listened to in awhile that was not a re-listen of the Harry Potter books. Come to think of it, it’s not actually that big of a change. At first glance, Lev Grossman’s book is somewhat like Harry Potter goes to College.
Quentin Coldwater is the protagonist of this book, known mostly throughout the early part of the book as a quirky semi-weirdo who likes to do card tricks and is obsessed with a series of books about a fictional magical place called Fillory, which draws obvious parallels to C.S. Lewis’ Narnia. Little does he realize that magic is real, and soon he is a pupil at the magic school of Brakebills, a college for magicians.
This was a very interesting book, and as soon as I finished it I picked up the sequel, The Magician King, to continue to hear about the adventures of Quentin and his friends. The audiobook was especially good due to the man who did the reading, who was entertaining without being obnoxious, which is a trap that a lot of audio books seem to hit. It was nice to hear distinction between the characters without getting really awful voices.
4- highly recommend. Especially as an audiobook.
