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Mythic Battles: Pantheon

8.0 (2 Ratings) Rate It

Tabletop Game

Hera, tired of Zeus' infidelity, decides to take her revenge and releases the Titans on Mount...

Connor Sheffield (293 KP) rated Assassin's Creed: Forsaken in Books

May 15, 2017

Assassin's Creed: Forsaken

Oliver Bowden | 2012 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics

8.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

The story of a Templar rather than the Assassin (3 more)

Set out like a journal, makes it intriguing

Good descriptive action

An insight to the history of the character

Some chapters are slow (1 more)

The journal format limits the experience to the view of only one character

Insight to a character we barely see

- MINOR SPOILER IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED ASSASSINS CREED 3 -

The 5th book in the Oliver Bowden collection of Assassin's Creed novels, follows the life of Haytham Kenway, son of Pirate / Assassin, Edward Kenway and father of the Native American Assassin Connor Kenway, who you play as in the video game Assassin's Creed 3.

Haytham is a British Templar who is sent to America during the French and Indian and American Revolutionary Wars, to learn more about, and find an ancient cave that would help the Templar Order discover more about the first civilization, also known as 'Those who came before'. After centuries of the two factions, Assassins and Templar, fighting a never ending war in secret, over advanced technology known as the Pieces of Eden, created by the first civilization.

Though it is interesting to learn more about Haytham, since we only get to play a small part of his story in the video game, my only issue, though minor it may be, with the book is that the journal format limits our experience of the story to the view point of one man, and there are so many interesting characters within the plot that are sure to have their own interesting stories to be told, but sadly we are limited to one man's thoughts and opinions, and learn very little about other characters, besides their outspoken interactions with Haytham.

However this book is exciting and really does open up a whole new story within the franchise that we do not get to see. The descriptive writing ensures that the world that is described to us, is enough to clearly imagine, as the writer imagines it, in our minds, but enough for us to also have our own image of the areas, the surroundings and the sights, sounds and smells of such a place that our protagonist visits.

If you're a fan of the franchise then I highly recommend any of these novels to you, because they open up so much more to the characters and the stories that we do not get within the games. This is what makes the books such an exciting read, because we get to delve deep inside the minds of the characters, from start to finish.

Kudos

Zuky the BookBum (15 KP) rated Bird Box in Books

Mar 15, 2018

Bird Box

Josh Malerman | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry

8.3

(23 Ratings)

Book Rating

Read my review here! https://bookbumzuky.wordpress.com/2017/01/27/bird-box-by-josh-malerman/

The sky is falling, the sky is dying, the sky is dead.

One day you wake up and read a horrifying news story, there are people who are seeing things that make them go insane. So insane that they are driven to kill themselves. Soon, the entire world is infected with this thing and your only hope of survival is this: do not open your eyes.

This book was skin crawling-ly creepy! The plot is so unique and it really chills you to the bone at times. I liked how, as a reader, you were left just as blind as Malorie was, with Malerman giving you the opportunity to believe if there was something evil lurking, or not. This novel plays into one of my deepest fears. Being blind. Thinking about going blind has always scared me, but especially the thought of having to become blind involuntarily. Not being able to use your sight when you have the ability to do so would be excruciating and terrifying.

Malorie was such a refreshing, interesting and bold character. I loved her from page one and I never stopped loving her throughout. Her being a paranoid, helpless mother really brought out the scariness of the entire apocalyptic situation so well that you just know this book would have been nowhere near as good if Malerman has chosen to lead with another character, such as Tom, or Shannon.

Throughout, this book had me on the edge of my seat with fear and trepidation. One scene that really got to me in this novel was the scene in the bar. Malorie not being able to open her eyes to see what Victor was fussing about or having the ability to know if there was danger in the room with her really gave me goosebumps.

My only qualm with this novel was one aspect of the main plot line that I felt was left at a bit of a loose end. I guess, in some ways, it was good that it was left unspoken. We only have our thoughts about it to simmer in, to make our decisions as we did with so much of this book. But on the other hand, I would have liked an outcome of why and where.

This is by far one of the scariest novels Ive read in a long time and I want more of Malermans writing, right now!