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Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
J.K. Rowling | 2014 | Children, Fiction & Poetry
10
9.1 (270 Ratings)
Book Rating
***Contains minor spoiler***
Harry Potter is young orphan living with his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and Cousin Dudley. The Dursley’s are not a nice family and Harry is near non-existent to them. Strange things start happening, things that Harry cannot explain but he can’t tell the Dursley’s as they already look at him like he is something they have trodden in. One day Harry gets a letter, Harry never gets letters, he doesn’t know anyone. Only Mrs Figg down the road but she wouldn’t send a letter and surely she doesn’t know he sleeps in the cupboard under the stairs. Unfortunately the letter is snapped away before Harry can open it, whoever wants to get hold of Harry is persistent, the next day 2 letters arrive the day after that 3 and so on and till Uncle Vernon is at breaking point and takes the family to a deserted shack on a little island. Vernon thinks he has outsmarted the sender until a huge monstrous man charges through the shack and introduces himself as Hagrid from Hogwarts, the school of magic and wizardry. Harry is shocked to find that this Hagrid knows his name and is now telling him that he is a wizard and a famous one at that. Harry finds himself being whisked off into a magical world where people play a sport called Quidditch and have potion lessons. He makes friends with Ron and Hermione but also he makes enemies of Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle from the Slytherin House. With him trying to pass his first year at Hogwarts and bypassing Filch in the corridors, it seems that Harry is to be at the centre of attention and adventures as Voldermort tries to kill Harry for the second time.

I loved this book, I liked all the characters. My daughter asked me who my favourite character was and I couldn’t answer it, they were all equally good and when I asked my partner who has been listening to it on Audio he couldn’t pick a favourite either. (Harry Potter on audio narrated by Stephen Fry is supposed to be amazing) All the characters were equally fleshed out they were complex and three-dimensional, there are a lot of characters to this book but it’s not overwhelming. The world building was brilliant even without the pictures from this book you would have a clear understanding of what Hogwarts was like. The different characters names, spells, potions and various animals/mythical creatures were just phenomenal, Rowling has one pretty amazing imagination and she grips you from the start and holds on to the finish. The ending to this book was great, it gave me a fuzzy feeling inside and also happy goosebumps. The writing style was easy to read as it’s aimed at children as our main character is only eleven in this book, however this shouldn’t put you off reading it. It doesn’t matter how old you are, this book is for everyone who just wants a bit of magic and adventure in their life. I have to say that JK Rowling has changed a lot for children, reading has become joyous and somewhat an inspiration and pivotal role in the educational system, my daughter is at primary school and is set into houses just like Hogwarts and gain points and urges them to do better.
  
The Written (Emaneska #1)
The Written (Emaneska #1)
Ben Galley | 2010 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
9
8.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Ben Galley is a fantasy author and staunch defender of independent publishing. The Written is his first book, and the first in The Emaneska trilogy.

I have to say I was expecting some fairly standard sword and sorcery tale here, a bit of magic, a few fabulous beasts slain, the usual wise grey beards and prophecies. As a first book that would have definitely been the safe option, and would still have been a good read.

Needless to say this isn't what you get. You get a slew of mythical creatures - dragons (I suspect only the Pern novels exceed the sheer number in this book), werewolves and more besides. You get heroes and villains. You get magic. You get sword fights. But all of these are put together in a way that's different from the norm. Rather than trying to subvert all the fantasy tropes it is as if Galley dropped them and they smashed and in putting them back together they aren't quite the same as they were before.

The basic story concerns the theft of a spell book which, in the wrong hands, can be used to summon a mighty and powerful evil. Farden, one of the Written (a sort of magic user that has spells tattooed onto his back) has to try to prevent this happening. I won't give any more details as there are many twists and turns as the story unfolds.

Farden is a powerful mage and a tough fighter and although he is heoric he also has personal demons that could cause his mission to fail. He is a loner with little patience for others. He doubts his own abilities and judgement. As the reader you feel you want to give him a good shaking sometimes to get him to act. This makes him a very complex character, realistic and interesting to follow. The other main characters are also fully realised with their own mannerisms and momentum.

Galley takes his time describing the world and there is a feeling of real depth and history, perhaps not on the same scale as Tolkien but the comparison is apt. Clearly Galley has spent considerable time putting this world together and is rightly proud of the results.

He takes his time with descriptions, each of the many locations vividly worded and memorable. The action scenes (of which there are a fair number) crack along at a breathless pace although possibly a little overwritten at times (allowable when there is so much to try to convey to the reader I think).

As the first of a trilogy of books this obviously leaves the story open for the sequel at the end, but it is a satisfying conclusion and there is no doubt that the first part of Farden's journey is complete but that there is much more - and probably harder - to come.

Really the only criticism I have is that occasionally - at the start and then a small part about half way through - the writing perhaps isn't up to the standard of the rest, which I think is because this is a first novel. And the standard of the rest of the writing to so high this really is a niggle.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes their fantasy fast and interesting. It's a long book and a good book. And even better, it's free to download so what is stopping you?
  
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Emeli Sande recommended track Take the Box by Amy Winehouse in Frank by Amy Winehouse in Music (curated)

 
Frank by Amy Winehouse
Frank by Amy Winehouse
2003 | Rhythm And Blues
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

Take the Box by Amy Winehouse

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Track

"Amy Winehouse – her music’s amazing, and she was amazing. Such a great loss to the British music industry, and to the world, really. She’s so missed ­– what a gift her music was to us. Often I’ll listen to music ‘cause musically it’s something I love, but although she ticks every box for me, I just loved what Amy was saying lyrically and how she found such a free way to be herself through music. She really took that spirit of jazz and brought it forward to now. I love Back To Black, that was a phenomenal album, but her first album, Frank, had such an edge to it, and such a rawness, that I just fell in love with it. ""I remember when I was first coming to London to do showcases – I was about 16 – the people that managed me at that point were like, ‘you need to hear this girl! She’s signed to Polydor, she’s amazing, she sits and plays guitar and she’s got these really cool songs!’ They were just raving about this girl called Amy. It was so cool that we were in this similar world. ""I remember when I went to Polydor to see if they wanted to sign me, they gave me a couple of her CDs for free. I was so excited to be in London in the first place, and then to be at a record label, then to get a free CD! I was completely gassed, and the fact it was Amy Winehouse was so cool. ""Frank is such a beautiful album and it reminds me of that time. It reminds me of a real freedom, and of feeling so inspired by what she was saying and how she was saying. There seemed to be no rules – every track was a different genre. The one thing sustaining it – the backbone of the whole album – was her and her voice and her lyrical style. That, to me, is the definition of a true artist. No matter what you put out, your style and artistry belongs to you and you’re the one that carries it through. ""With this song, 'Take The Box', it’s so visual. I don’t even think there was a video for the song, but I feel like I’ve seen it! I feel I can see the whole scenario playing: breaking up with someone, and speaking about relationships in such an open, honest way. I think that’s so important for women. You want to sugar-coat things, you want a perfect reality, and sometimes that stops people telling the truth and getting out of relationships they shouldn’t be in. Amy always gave this very frank account of what it was. ""I loved the melody and the topline of this song. I’ve really been trying to take a step back and look at the process of songwriting instead of just delving straight into it. When you get that perfect trilogy of the topline melody, the chords your using, and the lyric making sense at the same time… she did that perfectly with this song: “Your neighbours were screaming / I don't have a key for downstairs”. It’s such a memorable melody, I think that’s the first thing that pulled me in."

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